Maria Malik
Executive speaking coach, founder of The Introverted Speaker and author of the book of the same name
Maria Malik (Executive speaking coach, founder of The Introverted Speaker and author of the book of the same name) has appeared as a guest on 1 episode in TMT. Topics they speak about most include Public speaking, Personal branding, Forced marriage.
In their words
Positions and remarks grouped by topic, each with the exact quote and where it was said.
Public speaking6 of 8
Malik recommends the PRI structure (point, reason, impact) for answering questions concisely.
“P stands for point. Get to the point. Start with the point. Tell people what the point is. R is the reason”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 54:22
Malik argues that repetition alone does not improve speaking unless it is reviewed or followed by feedback.
“you could keep doing the same thing over and over again and be doing it wrong. So yes, reps help if you're going to go back and watch it”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 36:00
Malik blames TikTok for shortening audience attention spans, making pauses more important.
“audiences, they have such short attention spans. I blame TikTok, honestly, I blame TikTok because people just want the next thing”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 34:14
Malik says speakers should prioritize connection with the audience over performance.
“engage with your audience, focus on connection a lot more than performance. I think that's the most important thing when it comes to public speaking”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 24:14
Malik recommends explaining a presentation to a friend rather than memorizing it, saying it embeds the content better.
“when you explain things to people, it gets embedded in your head much better. So then now when you actually get up, you'll remember what you have to say”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 21:09
Malik views nervousness as a positive sign that a speaker takes the task seriously.
“I think nerves are good. They're not really bad. I think we've given such a negative connotation to nerves”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 12:05
Personal branding
Malik says reposting her marriage story led to 20 million views and media interest from Toronto Life.
“the second time I got 20 million views. And that's when I started getting the phone calls”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 1:20:30
Forced marriage
Malik recounts being taken to Pakistan at 17 and forced into marriage, with her father threatening to disown her if she refused.
“my parents took me back to Pakistan and got me married to a man I didn't know”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 1:15:30
Storytelling
Malik attributes her growth to 100,000 LinkedIn followers in 5.5 months to storytelling and writing skills.
“It's all because I knew how to write. I knew how to connect with my audience. I was using my communication skills in writing”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 1:11:25
Speaker archetypes
Malik says there are eight speaker archetypes and speakers should lean into their own rather than imitating others.
“there's eight different archetypes. Figure out which one yours is. Lean into that”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 1:07:28
Perfectionism
Malik recounts preparing two weeks for a Stanford presentation, rehearsing until 3 a.m., and then calling in sick.
“I'm still trying to get it perfect that it's 3 a.m. now. And the presentation was at 9 the next day”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 50:23
Artificial intelligence
Malik says AI is useful for brainstorming but should not replace one's own thinking, as AI-generated content resonated less.
“definitely use AI, but don't let it replace your mind because trust me, I have tried this”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 35:25
Body language
Malik advises using a Z pattern of eye contact on four audience members to appear to be scanning everyone.
“pick four people in your audience. Find one person on the top left, one person on the top right, one person at the bottom left”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 29:39
Introversion
Malik believes introverts over-prepare out of perfectionism, which can cause cognitive overload.
“we put in all this extra effort, all this preparation, and then sometimes that becomes cognitive overload and you don't do so well”
Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423 (Nov 2, 2026) · Listen from 11:35
Appearances
Maria Malik: Public Speaking Habits That Help Introverted Entrepreneurs Command Any Room | Human Behavior | E423Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast · Nov 2, 2026 · 1 h 21 min
Speaking coach Maria Malik tells Hala Taha how introverts can overcome public speaking anxiety, coaches her live, and recounts growing her LinkedIn brand.
Often appears with
- Hala Taha · 1 shared episode