The difficult things that happen in your life become part of your story, but they don't have to define what happens next.
For this conversation, Mardi Winder sits down with her friend and Business of Speaking Coach Orly Amor for a powerful conversation about adversity, finding your voice, sharing what you've learned, and recognizing that your experiences may have value far beyond what you initially imagined.
Orly shares parts of her own difficult history and how she made the decision to stop allowing those experiences to determine the direction of her life. Today, she helps people develop their messages and step onto stages, while also using her work to support causes that are deeply personal to her.
Mardi and Orly talk about something that can be especially important after divorce or another major life transition: you don't have to tell the world every private detail of what happened to you in order to have something meaningful to say. Your expertise, experiences, mistakes, successes, and even ordinary moments can all become stories that help another person see something differently.
They also explore why you don't need to consider yourself an “expert” before sharing an idea, why confidence often comes after taking action rather than before it, and how speaking can become anything from a way to contribute in your community to an entirely new professional opportunity.
Q&A
Q: Do you have to share the painful details of your life to tell a powerful story?
A: No. Mardi and Orly discuss the difference between having a story and feeling obligated to disclose everything that has happened to you. You get to decide what remains private. A meaningful message can come from your professional knowledge, everyday experiences, lessons you've learned, or countless other parts of your life.
Q: What if you don't think you have anything interesting to talk about?
A: Orly encourages people to look at what they have experienced, accomplished, learned, and observed. Even an ordinary experience can become a useful story when it connects to a larger point. The value isn't necessarily in how dramatic the story is. It's in the message you create from it.
Q: Do you need to feel confident before you start speaking?
A: Not necessarily. Orly describes being physically nervous when she first began speaking and taking the stage anyway. Confidence can develop through experience. Sometimes the first step isn't waiting until the fear disappears. It's deciding that what you want to do matters enough to begin.
Q: Does speaking have to become a career?
A: Absolutely not. Mardi and Orly discuss many reasons someone might choose to speak. You might share your knowledge professionally, speak to a community organization, volunteer with a cause that matters to you, present within your workplace, or eventually develop paid speaking opportunities. There isn't one definition of what being a speaker has to look like.
Q: How can difficult experiences eventually become something meaningful?
A: Orly believes that sharing what we have learned can become a contribution to other people. That doesn't mean minimizing what happened or pretending that painful experiences were somehow good. It means recognizing that what you know now may help someone else feel less alone, consider another possibility, or take their own next step forward.
About the Guest:
Meet Orly Amor — a globally recognized Business Coach for Public Speakers, Authors, Coaches, and Entrepreneurs who has spoken on more than 5,000 stages worldwide. Known for her bold honesty, magnetic energy, and no-excuses approach, Orly has spent over 27 years helping experts turn their message into a profitable speaking business.
She is the founder of OAE Orly Amor Enterprises and creator of transformational programs including Monetize the Mic™, Master Your Message, and the Mindset Mastery Coaching Certification Program. Orly is widely known for guaranteeing her clients will make $150K from paid public speaking — or she continues working with them until they do. Her expertise combines mindset mastery, marketing strategy, stage presence, positioning, and business development to help people stop speaking for free and start building legacy-level income and impact. She is also the founder of the You Are My Light Foundation, supporting healing and restoration initiatives for survivors of human trafficking.
To connect with Orly:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/orlyamor-businesscoach/
FB Personal Page: https://www.facebook.com/OrlyAmor
FB Professional Page: https://www.facebook.com/OrlyAmorcom/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/iamorlyamor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamorlyamor
Website: https://meetorlyamor.com/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@IamOrlyAmor
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamorlyamor
About the Host
Mardi Winder is a Strategic Divorce Consultant and High-Conflict Divorce Coach who helps high-achieving individuals navigate divorce with clarity, confidence, and control. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience in mediation, divorce coaching and conflict resolution, she supports clients in making smart decisions while reducing emotional and financial fallout, particularly in high-conflict, high-asset and complex divorces. Mardi is the founder of Positive Communication Systems, LLC, and the Strategic Divorce Directory, LLC.
For Mardi’s gift: The Resilience Building Blueprint: A 28-Day Journey To A Stronger You https://www.divorcecoach4women.com/rbb
Connect with Mardi on Social Media:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Divorcecoach4women
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mardiwinder/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divorcecoach4women/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@divorcecoach4women
Thanks for Listening!
Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.
Do you have feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!
Subscribe to the Podcast
If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
Leave an Apple Podcast Review
Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.
