MIAMI Women Presents: Six Principles for Being a Great Communicator
Featuring authors, Ruth Milligan '90 and Acacia Duncan '03
Presented on: Wednesday, May 7th 2025 at 12:00 PM EDT
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What do you need to understand to be a great communicator?
In this webinar, you will learn the six principles - or threshold concepts - that will help you accelerate your public speaking skills and performance. Without them, you may find yourself in bad habits or unhelpful mindsets. It doesn’t matter if you are just starting in your career or are a seasoned leader, these concepts apply to everyone who speaks.
Presenters and co-authors of The Motivated Speaker Ruth Milligan ’90 and Acacia Duncan ’03 are both Miami alumni. Along with their third author, Blythe Coons, they worked closely with Miami’s Howe Writing Center Director Dr. Elizabeth Wardle in naming these concepts and developing this book that explains them. It releases on May 6 and we are thrilled for Miami to be one of the first stops on their book tour.
The Motivated Speaker offers a practical and accessible approach that will help you establish powerful habits in your speaking practice. You’ll understand what’s preventing you from being influential and persuasive, and build a new foundation toward being a highly effective communicator.
https://www.articulationinc.com/the-motivated-speaker-book/
Ruth Milligan
Ruth Milligan helps people find their voice, tell their story, and have their message be heard. For over three decades, she has served as a communication strategist, coach and trainer. Founder and curator of one of the longest-running TEDx programs, TEDxColumbus, her career has included roles of speechwriter, national press secretary, and embedded consultant to billion-dollar contract pitches for Fortune 10 companies.
Ruth received her BA in Speech Communication from Miami University. Prior to founding Articulation in 2010, which focuses exclusively on executive communication coaching and training, she ran a PR and marketing firm and worked in political and non-profit communications.
She has a deep connection and commitment to her forever home, Columbus, where she has served on a variety of non-profit boards, and helped to launch the nation’s third women-founded bank in town, Fortuna. She keeps active ties to Miami, having just finished a term on the university’s foundation board.
In her spare time, Ruth plays a healthy amount of Pickleball, enjoys working out, biking, and hiking with her husband Dave. They have two college-aged children and a dog, Bean.
Acacia Duncan
Acacia Duncan trains speakers to captivate their audiences with purpose, precision, and passion. She helps leaders, CEOs, and experts to transform complex ideas into communications that shift perspectives and inspire action.
In one-on-one coaching, small group settings, and workshops for 400+ people, Acacia equips professionals with tools for communicating confidently and persuasively. She also elevates company cultures by creating innovative training programs for businesses.
In addition to being the Director of Coaching and Training at Articulation, Acacia is a founding Company Member of Available Light Theatre. She is a professional director and actor who has performed in over sixty plays and three feature films. Her decades of experience -- on stage and off -- have taught her how to bring out the creativity in every collaborator.
Before joining Articulation in 2016, Acacia spent 14 years as a corporate coach and trainer in the retail sector. She graduated from Miami University with degrees in Theatre Performance and Economics, studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and received her coaching certification from Erickson Coaching International.
Acacia lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband, Matt Slaybaugh. She is a hiker, a baker, a dog lover, and a life long Trekkie.
This event is open to all and free to attend, but registration is required. Questions? Please reach out to Michelle Rosecrans at martin63@miamioh.edu.
The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Miami University Alumni Association.