From "I'll Quit" to TEDx: How Janet Kim Found Her Voice

Janet Kim had a deal with her manager at Stanford: "If you make me speak at an all-hands meeting, I'll quit."

She wasn't kidding.

If speaking was on the agenda, Janet would call in sick. She'd been avoiding the spotlight for decades, watching her career possibilities shrink every time she stayed silent in a room that needed to hear her voice.

For years, learning to speak confidently lived on her bucket list, right next to all those other someday dreams. And like most bucket list items, it stayed there, gathering dust while life kept moving forward.

Until one day, Janet decided enough was enough.

The Turning Point

When Janet moved to a new job, she realized it was time. She started looking for help and found Yes You Can Speak. She looked at other programs too, but even though ours cost more, she had a feeling it would be worth it.

That feeling turned out to be right.

"What I got out of it changed how I showed up as a person and a leader," Janet told me later. "Before, I used to agonize over finding the right words. But during the program, I realized I didn't need to focus on the speaking. I just needed to show up fully and take up the space I deserved."

Here's what really changed: Janet stopped trying to perform being confident and instead started feeling it. She stopped obsessing over what to say and started trusting that she'd know in the moment. And most importantly, she stopped hiding.

The Moment Everything Changed

About a year after our work together, Janet was in a meeting when her colleague looked around the room and said, "Who wants to speak tomorrow? How about you, Janet?"

The old Janet would have frozen, would have made an excuse, would have felt her heart racing just thinking about it.

But this Janet? She thought for a second and said, "Sure, no problem."

And she meant it.

The next day, she stood before 100 people and delivered without sweating, without spiraling, and without the typical emotional hangover afterward. She prepared, she spoke, and she felt great.

That's when Janet really knew something fundamental had transformed within her.

From Terrified to TEDx

Janet had always dreamed of giving a TEDx talk, but never had the guts to actually do it. After our work together, that dream didn't feel impossible anymore.

So she went for it.

The preparation process took 6+ months. She wrote different stories, iterated them countless times, practiced every week, and memorized her talk in chunks. The beauty was that she wasn't white-knuckling her way through the fear and trepidation anymore. In fact, she was actually enjoying the process.

Janet got creative with her preparation. She asked herself, "Who do I want to sound like on stage?" She thought of the 2 executives she really admired, and practiced delivering her lines the way they would. She imagined speaking to her former colleague Anuj, who would always laugh when she told her stories, and letting that connection enhance her energy.

When certain phrases kept tripping her up, she didn't panic. Instead, she treated them like music, focusing on rhythm and intonation the same way she'd learned to play piano in 8th grade.

"Playing music is like telling a story," Janet explained. "You nail the notes first so you can improvise and make it music."

The Red Dot

When the day came, Janet stepped onto that red circle and did something quite remarkable: she wasn't nervous at all.

She didn't deliver a formal presentation. She had a conversation with her audience, as if she were sitting down for coffee with friends. She focused on her connection. People listened. They laughed. She paced perfectly, paused to let the words sink in, and let her story really land.

Her excellent talk, "The Power of Being 'The Other' and 3 Korean Words," explored leadership through the lens of her experience as an immigrant and woman of color in corporate America. She shared how feeling like an outsider actually became her superpower, teaching her lessons about authentic leadership that she never would have learned from the inside. Through three specific Korean words and the cultural wisdom they carry, Janet reframed what it means to lead with vulnerability, connection, and courage.

Janet did a beautiful job. Notice her comfort, connection, and conversational style. She is a true leader and a gift to her audiences. It’s a very relevant talk for anyone who wants to speak and lead.

Afterward, people came up to her and said her talk was the best of the event. One person told her, "I had goosebumps listening to you."

This is the same woman who once told her manager she'd quit rather than speak at an all-hands meeting.

What Actually Changed

Janet's transformation wasn't about learning better speaking tips or memorizing scripts more effectively. Those things helped, sure, but what actually changed was the inner transformation she had.

She stopped believing that being seen was dangerous.

She stopped needing to prove her worth every time she opened her mouth.

She started trusting that she belonged in the rooms she walked into.

"Your program wrapped all of us in the most cozy blanket," Janet told me, "and before we knew it, we all found our voices. What I loved most was how it changed the way I show up in all areas of my life, not just in public speaking. I'm more present, clear, connected, and optimistic with everyone I meet."

Janet calls Yes You Can Speak a game-changer. A life-changing experience. She says it felt like she became a different person, a much better version of herself.

"You say your work is about public speaking, which it is, but I got ten times more out of it. It's in a whole different category. Your program is a gem. I continually apply what I learned in all areas of my life."

What's Possible Now

Today, Janet speaks at all-hands meetings without a second thought. She's created leadership classes that she teaches at Stanford. She's building a coaching business with a dream to help Asian women in countries where coaching isn't as prevalent.

And she's already thinking about her next TEDx talk.

Looking back, Janet can only imagine where she'd be today if she'd made finding her authentic voice a priority decades earlier. But she's exactly where she needs to be, and making significant ripples now.

The Truth About Fear

Janet's story isn't unique. I've watched hundreds of brilliant, capable people transform the same way she did.

They all start in the same place: convinced there’s something wrong, that speaking will always be hard, that maybe they're just not cut out for it.

And they all discover that everything they needed was inside of them all along. They just didn't feel safe enough being seen.

Once your nervous system understands that visibility isn't dangerous, everything changes. Not just your speaking. Your leadership. Your relationships. Your entire life.

If you're reading this and thinking, "I could never do what Janet did," I want you to know that Janet thought the exact same thing a few years ago.

And now she's standing on red dots, writing books, building businesses, and helping others find their voices, too.

That's what's possible when you finally feel safe being seen.

P.S. If you love the talk as much as I do, please support Janet by liking and commenting on her YouTube video to boost her rankings.♥️