Markus Milla Zuefle is a poet, thought alchemist, communication trainer and motivational speaker. In principle, this is nothing unusual. However, if you look at his life story, it is. Because, before he could call himself a communication trainer for people with speech inhibition, it was a challenging path between chronic pain and active mental exercise; between monosyllabic shyness and musical-poetic stage performances; between Realschule failure and Bavaria’s best Abitur.
With hat as trademark, stuttering as past and high sensitivity as ever-present companion, he now leads people with speech anxiety or speech disorder into an expressive and self-confident future! We talked to Markus Milla Zuefle about what he talks about in his lectures and what he thinks about the future and change.
Interview with Markus Milla Zuefle
Premium Speakers: What are the core topics of your presentations?
Markus Milla Zuefle: Since childhood, despite my stutter at the time, I have loved the subject of language and artistic expression in all its variations: written, spoken, rhymed, sung. Topics around communication, personality development, self-confidence and social interaction may be my professional metier, but everything starts with mindset and creativity. When I connect these two foundations, it comes to the solution key of many blockades: Flow!
Through rhythm and the art of using one’s brain constructively instead of being used by one’s own mind, miraculous transformations are possible: stuttering becomes speech competence, (speech) fear becomes (self-)confidence, unlucky people become lucky people and school failures become A-level graduates. I talk about those topics that I myself have been able to successfully contest and develop. This goes far beyond the linguistic topics of small talk, repartee, learning & creativity strategies or effect in front of people and cameras. Chronic pain, anxiety, panic attacks and eating disorders are also the result of inner dysfunctional communication, which I was personally able to bring back into balance.
Success is the consequence of the right words. These form in ourselves and speak even when we say nothing at all. So I help far more than introverted or stuttering people to find their voice, to come into their verbal and non-verbal expressiveness and to discover and develop their unique potential. I show a way to a confident life appearance, no matter which stage of life is entered.
Premium Speakers: Which audience or industry do you reach with your speech?
Markus Milla Zuefle: My speeches will be valuable for all those people who strive for different results as well as changes in their private as well as professional lives, and are ready to start with their own communication (with themselves). From young, curious generations to supposedly long-established schema F-ers, the principles for creating a fulfilling reality are the same across industries. They start with awareness and “end” with the perpetual cycle of feedback on the outside, optimization on the inside, and wonder at the whole level.
Since the onset of the pandemic, we communicate much more digitally. Suddenly we speak more into screens and webcams than into real eyes. But even there we are allowed to convey energy, appear strong and fully develop our impact. We don’t just sell our products and services, we primarily sell our credible personality through three levels of communication.
While as a coach I primarily provide more fluent, confident speaking, my audience as a keynote speaker includes all those who want to discover themselves and their communication in an unorthodox way to give their personality more flow, confidence and expressiveness.
Premium Speakers: Why are you a Premium Speaker and where do you get your knowledge from?
Markus Milla Zuefle: From my point of view, “Premium” cannot be justified logically and objectively. Premium is an experience. A resume of numerous appearances does not necessarily say anything about special quality. What added value does the listener take away at the end? What messages did he feel?
What would my volatile, multi-layered and dramatic life story be worth if I couldn’t draw from it to enrich other lives? Learning and Teaching. As a coach and communications trainer, I not only get to positively impact other lives – I also get to grow myself in the process every time. For the audience, it’s less about hearing what the speaker says. It’s more about experiencing what the speaker is telling. What he conveys and offers. My performances stand for appreciation, creativity and fun. My sensitive and poetic nature makes every speech a tangible experience for the audience. Online as well as offline. That is Premium.
Premium Speakers: What does the future hold? Does “time” play a role in your profession? Or consistency?
Markus Milla Zuefle: For me, the healthy answer lies in balance. Nothing is as constant as change. Change inevitably comes with time. Despite everything, one thing always remains the same: the only time we can bring about change is NOW. If the past has led us to the point we are at today, we will end up in the future on the path we begin to walk today.
So, to answer what the future holds for us, we may inquire what the present shows us. Communication, self-confidence and expressiveness will be just as important tomorrow as they were yesterday. There will still be many unhappy, speechless people the day after tomorrow who already had the chance the day before yesterday to discover new perspectives and set out on the path to a stronger future. The means of communication may change in this technologically fast-paced age. What remains is the importance of authenticity and tangibility in our own communication energy.
Premium Speakers: Tell us your life motto! What would you definitely like the audience to take away with them?
Markus Milla Zuefle: As a thought alchemist, I am guided by the hermetic principle “As within, so without”. As soon as we become aware of how our inner world shapes the outer world, we have the wonderful opportunity to constructively reshape a large part of our reality. Every change in social interaction begins with the question: How does everyone deal with themselves? This is self-aware communication. It changes the world.
Thank you very much for the interview!