Why Stage Size Doesn’t Matter And What Truly Makes a Talk Powerful

Two weekends ago, I gave myself the ultimate treat… a double whammy of musical theatre.

Two shows.
Two nights in a row.
(Any other musical theatre fans here? Because SAME. Guilty!)

The first night, I saw Hamilton in Sydney.

It was performed in a huge theatre—over 2,000 seats.
The energy was electric.
The dancing, the acting, the vocals… absolutely flawless.

The next night, I saw The Hunchback of Notre-Dame in a much smaller theatre—around 350 seats.

And again… breathtaking.
Beautiful storytelling.
Incredible performances.
A spellbound audience.

And that’s when it hit me:

SIZE DOESN’T MATTER.

Even though one theatre was massive and the other intimate, the audience experience was remarkably similar.

In both rooms, I saw the same thing:

✨ Eyes glowing
✨ Bodies leaning in
✨ Smiles softening into awe
✨ Hearts captured by the story unfolding on stage

Every person was completely enthralled—regardless of the size of the stage.

And it made me think about women in business… especially women who want to speak.

We spend so much time obsessing over:

“I need to get on a BIG stage.”
“What if only a handful of people show up?”
“Will people think I’m a failure if my event is small?”
“Does a small room mean I’m not good enough?”

We let the size of the stage become the measurement of our worth.

And because of that, many women never step up at all.

But watching those two productions back-to-back reminded me of something profound:

The audience member in the 350-seat theatre had the SAME experience as the one in the 2,000-seat theatre.

Because the value didn’t come from the room.
It came from the story.
The emotion.
The connection.

It came from what was happening on stage, not around it.

Yet, so many of us cling to the illusion that “big” equals better.

We see Tony Robbins rocking a stadium of thousands and think,
“That’s success.”

But if even ONE person in that stadium feels unseen or disconnected…
is that really success?

I’d argue no.

In fact, I’d argue this:

✨ A well-crafted, captivating Signature Talk delivered to a small audience can be far more powerful than a mediocre talk on a massive stage. ✨

Transformation doesn’t require a big room.
It requires a meaningful message.

So let’s redefine what success looks like.

Let’s stop waiting for “big stages” to validate us.
Let’s stop believing that impact is determined by numbers.
Let’s stop shrinking ourselves because we think small equals insignificant.

Instead, let’s ask:

What is the smallest stage you could speak on where you could truly captivate, connect, and transform the people in front of you?

Because maybe… just maybe…
that small stage is your next step.

And remember:

When it comes to speaking…
Size doesn’t matter.
It’s what you do with your talk that counts.

Much love,
Casey xx