From Noise To Clarity: Practical Communication For Podcasters, Leaders, And Teams with Corine La Font

Words are cheap; clarity is rare. We sat down with communication pro Corine La Font to unpack how direct, relevant messaging can change your results in meetings, sales, and the podcast chair. From the first laugh to the final takeaway, we press on a simple promise: say what matters, respect time, and let listening do the heavy lifting.

We start by naming the everyday clutter that muddies messages—overlong intros, busy-life monologues, and the impulse to justify instead of answer. Corine offers clean alternatives you can use today: offer three specific times instead of a saga, cut bios to the essentials, and make relevance your rule. On sales, we compare notes on the power of silence after the ask and why overselling sounds like doubt. For leaders and creators, we explore crisis communication and reputation management, showing how extra details can open needless loops while a precise statement contains risk and builds trust.

Then we go deeper into the craft: intentional listening and reading the room. Corine breaks down how to hear what isn’t said, how to track energy in a live crowd, and how to style shift without losing your voice. Hosts learn why conversation beats scripts for real chemistry, and guests learn how to answer the question asked, not the one they wish they were asked. We also talk energy management—how introverts and extroverts alike can reset between recordings, stay present, and keep their message crisp.

If you’re ready to communicate with precision and warmth—on stage, on mic, or in the boardroom—this conversation is your field guide. Subscribe, share with a friend who overexplains, and leave a review with one phrase you’re cutting from your vocabulary this week.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Show Focus
• 0:46 Why Clarity Matters Everywhere
• 1:32 Meet Corine LaFont
• 2:32 Warm-Up Banter And Energy
• 4:17 The Problem With Vague Communication
• 6:00 Relevance Over Backstory
• 7:46 Respect Time And Get To The Point
• 10:18 Say Less To Sell More
• 12:10 Intentional Listening And Reading The UnsAid
• 14:02 Observe Energy And Body Language
• 15:47 Hosting Vs Guesting: Flow Over Scripts
• 18:02 Confidence, Presence, And Style Shifting
• 20:22 Managing Energy As An Introvert
• 22:20 Resources And How To Connect With Corine
• 24:10 Closing Thanks And Calls To Engage

Transcript

Carl: 0:04

Welcome to Communication Connection Community, the Podcasters Podcast. This podcast takes a deep dive into modern-day communication strategies in the podcasting space. We chat with interesting people who make the podcasting and speaking spaces exciting and vibrant. We also dive into the podcasting community with news, updates, latest trends, and topics from this ever-evolving space. So strap in, it's going to be one amazing ride. Let's dive into today's episode. How clear are you with your messaging. Not just when it comes to your podcast or the content that you're creating for your YouTube videos or your shorts or your lives. In general, how clear is your communication? How clear is your communication to your team? Is your communication clear in your personal relationships? As a leader in your business or as a leader in your community, are you clear? Are you clear enough for you to even understand what it is that you do and what it is that you say? And I know this sounds maybe a little bit coarse, Carl. I'm clear with what I'm doing. Hey, sometimes as entrepreneurs, business owners, even CEOs of larger companies, sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees, right? Well, today's guest is an expert when it comes to communication, especially when it comes to being clear. And we're going to chat about that today. Corine La Font. Oh my goodness, she is a ball of energy. You're going to love her. She was born and raised on the lovely island of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, and she migrated to Jamaica back when she was in her 20s. She lived and worked there for 21 years, and now she's back home since 2017. She is naturally creative. She likes to dance to the rhythm of uh Ahsoka and Latin music. She loves to paint. She loves to draw. She's a professional speaker. She's written and published books and articles. She is a whirlwind of an expert when it comes to communication and positioning yourself as the expert. And she has a passion for it. She is a sought-after podcast guest. She is a podcast host. And today it's all about clarity and getting clear with your messaging. Corine, welcome to the podcast.

Corine: 2:29

Thank you so much, Carl. It's great to be here.

Carl: 2:32

Okay, temperature check. Not your temperature, the outside temperature right now in Trinidad and Tobago. Go.

Corine: 2:41

83 degrees Fahrenheit. I just looked at my laptop.

Carl: 2:45

Okay, that's not bad. That's not bad. We have had weather like that here in Canada. So when are you coming to visit?

Corine: 2:51

Tomorrow.

Carl: 2:53

Well, I'll put on the kettle for a hot cup of tea then, because it's not that temperature right now here in Canada. Just so you know. Um, I'd love to have fun with that. And I have to say that Corine did threaten that she was going to go on social media and say that. Carl, he hasn't come to visit me yet. So we're going to make this happen at some point, Corine, because I believe that like attracts like. I love your energy, I love your spirit, and I love what it is you're doing to help people with their messaging and their communication. So so it's going to happen. You know that, right?

Corine: 3:24

I know this. And it needs to happen around Carnival. I will check to see when Carnival is happening in Trinidad and Tobago in 2026. I think it's normally around February, March. It's just before the Easter. Because we need to amp up that trip. It is not just to say you're coming to Trinidad and Tobago, it is to put you in a carnival costume, right? Record you going down the stage, chipping away, and being in the whole frolic and frenzy. Okay. So it's all of that. So when I put you out on social, it's not to just say, Oh, Carl didn't come to Trinidad. No, it will be Carl is in Trinidad people. Look at him.

Carl: 4:02

Now that is a different kind of communication, but I'm gay. I'm definitely open to do it. I thought you were trying to come out of it there for a second.

Corine: 4:11

I just thought.

Carl: 4:13

Oh, I love it. I love it. So let me ask you this, Corine, as we get started. What is it that led you to this world of wanting to help people in their communication strategies?

Corine: 4:23

Because they need help clearly. I see it every day. I see it every day. And I keep meeting upon barriers to communication when I talk to people, they get upset with me. They get angry when they talk to me. And I realize that I'm communicating extremely clear, and they're just not used to that. They're used to a sort of chaotic way of expressing themselves. So you will ask a direct question. So for example, let me know your availability, you know, for a meeting.

Carl: 4:59

Yeah.

Corine: 5:00

And they will start telling me. So for instance, you will start telling me, oh, you have this to go to and a wedding, and the dog died, and the fish jump out the tank and all of these things. And I'm like, okay, so when are you available? You know, they will tell me all the things that they're busy doing, but they're not answering the question.

Carl: 5:21

Yeah, that's interesting. It's almost like we want to give too much information. We want to relay the, for lack of a better word, excuses or the reasons why we can't do something, or the reason why something is something's late, or something wasn't done.

Corine: 5:36

No, I have realized. I mean, that may be part of it, from my experience is more about showing their level of importance. So, you know, they have the funeral for the dog and the fish that jump out of the tank and the wedding to attend and the whatever. So it just gives this impression I have a lot of things to do. I don't know if I have time to meet you. You know, I have all of these things. When you could just say I wouldn't be available next week, the following week I'm available on this particular date and time. We get straight to the point.

Carl: 6:04

That would be such an easier way to say it, but we tend to complicate things. And you must have noticed this when people are doing their elevator pitches or their infomercials and networking settings, too, that they want to give all their credentials, all the wonderful things that they've done, but they don't say how they're helping people.

Corine: 6:21

Oh my god, that's so nauseating. I have been in webinars. The webinar is for an hour. Let's just see. The person is speaking, they're supposed to have a time of let's say five, 10 minutes. Eight minutes is taken up with speaking about their credentials. I am like, hello, hello, get to the point. You know, and by the time they do open their mouth, their 10 minutes goes over to the whole hour. Okay, so they overlap. And I have a thing about time. If something is about is for an hour and you have two or three speakers, everybody's supposed to be managed within that time. You're supposed to manage yourself within that time. So I really, you know, they get upset with me. So when I say, hey, you know, I have an hour, you put this thing for an hour. Why are you going over into two hours, two hours and a half? You need to respect people's time, you know. So it's things like that. They get upset when I shed a light, Carl, on the things that can help them be more efficient in speaking and delivery and communication, you know, they just get upset because what it does is I think to them, it makes them feel bad, but the intention is not to make them feel bad, it's to help them. But I don't know, they're just insecure. Don't tell me what's wrong with me. It makes me feel less, but that's not the intention. Because if somebody says something to me about the way I deliver and communicate, I take it as, hey, I really need to look into this thing. Um, I could improve here because I'm always looking to be more efficient and effective in what I do.

Carl: 7:58

Well, Corine and you and I both know too that really being clear with your messaging is a direct path to success in whether it's business, whether it's personal relationships. If you're not clear with what you're saying, the receiver won't be clear on receiving the message either. Would that be a the simplest way to put it? Which, by the way, hold that thought for a minute. I'd love to see this fish jumping out of the tank. That I think would be it. I'd love to see it jump back in the tank, but love to see the fish go and the size of that fish. That's what I'd love to see.

Corine: 8:31

Yeah, well, we can make that happen. When you come for carnival next year, we could do that. Yeah, but that could be safe. Time could be safe. And when I say, hey, Carl, what's your availability next week for a meeting? You could simply say, Hey, um, you know, Tuesday at so-and-so time. I have a window here. This time I have a window. And normally I would ask persons, give me three options because now I could look at those three. Three is like a magic number. You know, it's easier. One, two, three. Give me three options. I could look at my schedule and I could match back and say, Hey, Carl, yeah, Tuesday at three to four is wonderful for me too. Let's do that. I lock it in. Easy. It doesn't take a minute to have that quick conversation. But when you start to go into the dog and the funeral for the fish and the this and the and the wedding, I'm like, oh my God.

Carl: 9:20

It's information you didn't ask for, but somehow you magically received it. And how often that that information, I quite often will say, and tell me if this is the way you think as well, or if this is part of your practice and your teachings, is the audience doesn't know what you don't tell them. And you don't have to tell them everything. You don't have to give the audience your entire backstory about the fish and the dog and the cat and the this and the whatever, or how that one time in grade four, you stubbed your toe on the desk. It's not relevant to everything that you're trying to convey in that moment.

Corine: 9:56

Yes. And that is relevant. That scenario you're putting there is relevant, especially for crisis communications, and when you're dealing with reputational management. You know, and people might think, probably in listening to us expressing this, that we are holding back, we are keeping secrets. It's not that. Is that you really want to get to the essence of the matter? And if something isn't really relevant to the person, it's not going to impact them in any way, then why share it? If it is going to be impactful, then fine. But if it isn't, why share that with the public? Because sometimes you share a bit too much, other people read more into it, and it tends to open up a can of worms, more and more questions that you never anticipated. So when you're dealing with one crisis, it ends up being crises that you have to manage and damage control.

Carl: 10:48

A little trick I learned in sales years ago. Um, once you ask for the sale, for example, and it's a very simple example. Once you ask for the sale, shut up. Let the other person speak because the next person who speaks loses. That's the way it's been taught to me in sales. It loses in the sense of like the transaction's going to happen somehow. It's either going to be the sale or it's going to be something. But the more you talk, the more you give away, like you say, too much information. It's almost as if the more information you give, the less we need whatever it is that you're providing, your services, the less we need because you've already given it all to us.

Corine: 11:32

I've been in sales too, so I could relate to that and I know about that um learning paradigm. Yes, you should shut up. The reason why you should shut up is because you don't want to talk yourself out of that sale. That's really what it is. You don't want to talk yourself up because what we tend to do when we talk too much or try to talk ourselves into the sale is trying to convince the person and oversell ourselves. It's like, here I am, I could do this, this, this, this, that, and I'm the person for you, and yada, yada, yada. And I could put the fish back in the bowl and unbury the person that had died. And so you end up talking a bit too much about yourself, and it gives the impression to the other person who is listening. I don't know if you're really the right person for me. Let me think about it. So you may have already had them before, but from the time you put that extra two, three, four, five sentences, their mind is going somewhere else. You have lost them, you have taken them on that yellow brick road. You know, you're going in that that spiral. No, shut up. And as a salesperson, you really should be doing listening. One of the key skills in communication is intentional listening. Listening. Shut up, shut up, and just listen. Because you hear a lot of things, and I tell people I hear what you didn't say, and they might be confused, but I do hear what people don't say because people may say things, and that's not really what they mean. The words that come out of their mouth is not what they really want to say. So you have to give them time, and you will find coming down to the end of the conversation, after all the fish and the dog and the cat, is really where you get the essence of what it is they want to say. So you have to give them time. So you listen, you ask, why, how come? You know, more questions to dig deeper as opposed to you giving information, but you dig deeper, you ask prodding questions to get more out of them, you know, and it also shows you're interested in knowing more. I'm interested in you, Carl. I'm interested in you coming to Trinidad and putting on that costume and parading on the street.

Carl: 13:54

In Canada, we call that Halloween, where we parade on the street with a costume on, but that's a different story altogether. But I like how you said that. I like how you said that listening, it's a very effective part of communication. I'll go one step further with you and say it's not just the listening, it's the observing of what the other person is doing, especially if we have the visual. Now, you and I don't have a visual right now, but I can tell, and you could probably tell that I'm listening as well, because I'm responding accordingly. If I wasn't listening, I would just be moving question by question by question, saying, Oh, that's great, Corine. Here's another question for you. But no, this is a conversation, so you know I'm listening. But it's those observations of people, whether it be in a sales setting, whether it be in an interrogation, whether it be you're standing on a live stage and you're speaking to your audience, you're not just listening, you're observing what's going on. Yeah.

Corine: 14:51

Oh, yeah. And I like when you say observing because I incorporate observation as part of my listening skill. Because listening to me is listening to the energy, the aura, the body language, the flicker of the eyes, the twitch of the lip, the shifting in the body. That's listening for me. You know, it's all the observation on the body language, everything. And coming to a stage, when you're on a stage, people, you know, you get the fear, the fright of being on a stage. But you could tell if an audience is engaged, you know, because you would know if they are responding to you, if they're quiet, if they have, you know, they're clapping loud enough. There are certain things you feel, and it might be a thousand people or more. It might be dark. So you might be able to pick a face or you know, pinpoint a particular person, but you have to feel or listen to the energy in the room.

Carl: 15:47

And in the podcasting space, it's very relevant as well. And I want to talk about this because you are a podcaster and you are a guest. So you've seen, you sat in both chairs. You've sat in the hosting chair, you've sat in the guesting chair. How much of what you're talking about is also spilling over into what you've experienced in the podcasting world?

Corine: 16:10

Love it. Love that question, Carl. When I'm sitting in the host chair, so if we were to reverse the rules here now, I have you as my guest. I am so in tune with the conversation that based on even what you say, that listening, it would lead me to the other question because I don't ask um stiff, you know, have a list of questions because some of my guests may ask, you know, tell me what questions you want to ask ahead of time. I'm like, nope, I don't do that kind of thing. If that's a thing for you, well then you can't be my guest. I like organic flow. I want we're sitting in a coffee shop or we're having wine on a vineyard and we're just chilling. We're out on the veranda, you know, and we're just having fun. So let's just have a nice little conversation and it flows. And that's how I run my podcast. So intentional listening comes in there. When I'm in the seat I'm in now as a guest, I have to pay attention to what you are asking me and also try to intertwine it with my experience and move with the energy. So I am listening to the energy that you're giving me and giving it back, probably even double, triple full. This is more now for your audience. I want when they listen to this, they're like, damn, I can't put this thing down. I need to, I need to listen to the entire episode. Who is Corine? I need to follow her, you know. So it's more about that. Because the attention now for you as a host and for me when I'm a host is about the guest, you know, when is the reverse.

Carl: 17:42

I will say, Corine, that your energy is okay. It's okay. It's I I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Your energy is phenomenal. That's the thing. You talk about energy, but you can even as if you're listening to this conversation right now that Corine and I are having, you must be able to feel the energy. And if you are feeling the energy, I encourage you to just drop us a note and let us know how you're feeling listening to this. I'd love to love to hear your response to this. But Corine, it is about energy because energy isn't something that I have an energy/slash healing coach, and he says energy doesn't know geography. Energy is everywhere, it's all around us, it can travel. So when he does healing, he can do healing remotely because the energy is coming from all different parts of the world. So this energy that we're talking about, it's there, it's there already. We've created this place for you and I to have this energy exchange, basically, is what we're doing. Yeah, and I do like how you did share though that this is something that you're seeing in the podcasting space as well. I like how you are, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you are your own poster child to what you teach because when you're hosting your podcast or whether you're a guest on your podcast, you're putting your best communication and clarity forward for the most success for what it is that you do. Would I be right in saying that?

Corine: 19:05

Of course, of course, you are right. I bring my best no matter where I am, what I do, who is in my presence. Sometimes, you know, I I not sometimes, all the time. I'm like, people will say, You're too much. It's telling me my energy is a lot. Oh, honey, don't you worry. When they combine me and you on that stage, don't you worry about that. No, but people say I'm too much. And something like that can also be taken or meant negatively because there are some persons who cannot handle somebody who is extremely confident. When somebody says to me, I'm too much, I interpret it as confident, I'm level headed, I am aware of myself, you know, I'm conscious of my surroundings, if I'm intelligent, this is what I get from me. This is not to beef up myself or make myself aloof, even though I'm entitled to do so. But it is saying to me that probably they are not one used to this type of energy because I don't say that to other people. I don't walk around and say your energy is too little or your energy is too much. I just walk in a room and just do me. But there are people who will say that. So it's communicating to me they are not used to this type of thing. And they're actually feeling my presence. You know, if I'm in a physical space, or they can pick up my presence in a virtual space. And it can be a bit uncomfortable because their insecurities tend to heighten. Because, like I say, I don't have that issue. I don't walk into a room and feel insecure at all. It doesn't matter if I'm with presidents, prime ministers.

Carl: 20:45

But part of the role as a communicator, though, is to be able to style shift accordingly to who it is that you're talking to. You can't shift towards everyone. But if you're talking to a prime minister, if you're talking to Carl Richards, if you're talking to you're going to style shift your communication accordingly, and your energy will shift and pivot a little bit too. Not much. You'll still be very energetic, but there is that style shifting which will at least make you more approachable in that moment.

Corine: 21:17

Of course. So when I'm networking, people may not believe this. I am an introvert.

Carl: 21:24

So I don't really like people, but I was gonna say, wait till I tell them that you said you don't like people. Oh, wait, you just did. But I think that's true for a lot of us. I think when we're, you know, piloted or parachuted in rather to a place where we're just not comfortable. I mean, I'm an extrovert, you must be too. But in certain networking settings, we just I don't know anybody in the room. Who do I talk to first? And eventually we get the hoopspa or the gumption or whatever it is to just go up to someone who looks friendly enough to get that energy flowing to be able to do that. I think so, anyways. It's you. I'm coming to see you.

Corine: 22:07

It's you, you right? I just woke up. I'm like, hello. And I start talking to people because I could stand up in a corner. I mean, I normally would walk into a room and I would probably do a quick assessment, just a quick, you know, assessment. But then I would walk up to somebody, or somebody might walk up to me and say, hey, and I'd be like, oh hi. And that might be the beginning or something. But normally, after I've gotten in a room, it is so much, it is so overwhelming for me because remember, I'm dealing with energy. There's a lot of people there, there's a lot of energy moving around. It becomes a lot for me to handle, and I tend to go in a space, a corner by myself. So people might start missing me. They wouldn't even know I'm gone, you know, and I might just go away for a little while just to get a little reset and probably come back again.

Carl: 23:01

You know what? I've been to events like that, and there's nothing wrong with that. And you know, sometimes I even find recording podcast episodes. If it's somebody I don't know, which is in most cases now, I have to be ready. And I can only do so many recordings or have so many calls in a day with total strangers because it's like you're on high alert, right? You're almost on this heightened level of energy and the adrenaline's going, and you're putting on your best face and you're doing all of that, and then you hit that 15, 20 minute break, and you just go, oh, you just want to collapse for a minute, right? Yeah.

Corine: 23:37

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You need it, you need it. And and with us in communications, we're dealing with a lot of stuff. I mean, even when I'm sleeping, my head is planning. I am constantly on a go. You know, that's just how my mind works. I'm constantly on a go. Thoughts come to me. I have to have like my little note taker next to me with my phone, you know, ideas and stuff, or plans for the next morning, or I need to do this now, kind of thing. So it's we are always on high alert.

Carl: 24:05

We are dealing with true, true, absolutely. I love your energy, I love your passion, I love your spirit, I love what you're all about. And I think that there are a lot of ways that if you're listening to this, that you know, that you can benefit from what Corine has to offer. Corine, how can people best connect with you and get into your world? Have you got something that you want to pass along to them?

Corine: 24:26

Uh, I'm sure there is, but I can't think of it right now. Um but I could tell them where to go. I have a website where I have a number of resources, one of which is how to create a powerful podcasting platform. So if you want to get into podcasting, I know a lot of people are getting into it lately because when I started many years ago, I was one of the few in the earlies, the early birds. Now podcasting is a big industry. So if you want to get a resource that could help you with that, that's on my beyond the lineslearning.com. Beyond B E Y O N D T H E L E A R N I N G.COM Beyond the lines. I think I left out LINES. I didn't spell it right. I'm I'm not a good communicator, clearly, or speller. beyond the lineslearning.com.

Carl: 25:15

Our brains are running uh 90 miles a minute, I think, or quicker. And I think that, yeah, by the way, I also believe that as far as Corine and I playing in a similar space, there's more than enough opportunities for Corine and I to both help. If I can't help you, then Corine can, and vice versa. So I'll definitely make sure, Corine, that all of your information is in the chat for people to connect with you and learn from you and get themselves started into a place of being more clear and intentional with their communication. And if it's through a podcast, then hey, uh definitely make sure that you reach out to Corine. Yeah.

Corine: 25:50

And they can connect with me on LinkedIn. That is one of the best places to reach me, LinkedIn. You just put in my name, you'll see a cute face.

Carl: 25:57

I'm gonna do that actually, if I haven't already done so. So let's make sure we definitely do it and keep the conversation going. Corine, I can't believe our time is almost up. Before I turn you loose, though, I'm going to uh I'm going to give you the final thought.

Corine: 26:12

I absolutely love being on your show. It's been a pleasure. I haven't, I kind of put a pause on being interviewed on podcasts for probably a few weeks. So I took a little break. So this is the first in a little while. I think the last one I did was probably in the end of August or something. So I am so thankful for being here. I'm thankful for you having me. I love your energy. I am looking forward to us being for Carnival next year. You know, that's a threat.

Carl: 26:45

Go ahead. Let's do it.

Corine: 26:46

That's all in my mind.

Carl: 26:49

Hey, we could do podcast episodes on location from Carnival. Oh hell yeah. We could start a whole new podcast called, I don't know, Carnival or something along those themes. So, oh my goodness, look at these ideas coming out. By the way, if you're listening to this, this is how ideas happen. When you put two podcasters together and they start to have a conversation, these are ideas happen. Corine, oh my goodness. We have to chat. We have to carry on this conversation after today for sure. So I gotta wrap it up and leave it at that and say thank you once again for being my guest today. It has been so much fun. I appreciate your energy and your spirit. And uh thanks for joining us on the show today.

Corine: 27:26

Of course. My pleasure. Thank you so much, Carl.

Carl: 27:30

And hey, thank you for being a part of the show today. So glad you could join us. Believe it or not, I can't work this magic by myself. So thanks to my amazing team, our audio engineer Dom Carillo, our sonic granting genius Kenton Dobrowolski, and the person who works the arms, all of our arms actually, our project manager and my trusty assistant, Julovell Tiongco, known to us here simply as July. If you like what you heard today, let us know. You can leave us a comment or review or even send us a voice note. And if you really liked it, we hope you'll share it with your friends and your colleagues. If you don't like what you heard today, well, please feel free to share with your enemies. And if you know of someone who would make a great guest on the show, let us know about it. You can get in touch with us by going to our show notes where all of our connection points are there, including the links to our website, LinkedIn, and Facebook as well. And if you're ready to be a guest on podcasts, or even start your own show, let's have a conversation. We'll show you the simplest way to get into the podcasting space and rock it. Because after all, we're Podcast Solutions Made Simple. Catch you game next time.