More and more women are making an impact by starting businesses, running for office, and speaking up for what matters. Whether you want to craft a business presentation, a keynote, a workshop, or a TEDx talk, you’ll learn how to create compelling content, pitch conferences and organizations, and persuasively communicate your message to your audience. Listen in as Carol Cox, entrepreneur, and speaker, and TV Democratic political analyst, interviews and coaches purpose-driven women to shape their message, grow their companies, and become recognized as influencers in their field. Are you ready to create an impactful brand and signature talk to support your business and empower others in a transparent and transformational way to change the experience of women in business, at work, and in leadership? This is Speaking Your Brand - your place to learn how to persuasively communicate your message to your audience.
360: Achieve Bigger Things by Having Thought Partners in the Same Industry with Tenice Wehmeyer and Cherie Mylordis
There are always going to be other people who do what you do and talk on the same topic. Have you ever collaborated with someone who’s in your same industry, who does similar work? It may seem counter-productive to do this because they’re kind of competitors, after all. But what if you could change your perspective on this? Having a thought partner who’s in the same industry can be very beneficial, which you’ll hear in today’s episode. My guests are two women who met in our Thought Leader Academy last year and have stayed connected ever since. They both work in the corporate leadership space, but with different approaches and types of clients. The three of us talk about: Why they decided to connect and stay in touch What it mean
27/11/2023 • 28 minutes 49 seconds
359: Getting More Women into A.I., Reducing Bias, and How to Use A.I. Responsibly with Juliette Powell
Whatever your opinion is about AI, it’s being integrated into everything we do, from what we see on social media to how facial recognition systems work to how decisions are made about you by companies. I personally enjoy using ChatGPT and find it incredibly valuable, but I also want to make sure I’m using these AI tools responsibly and ethically. This is why I invited Juliette Powell, co-author of the recent book "The AI Dilemma: Seven Principles for Responsible Technology,” to come on the show. Juliette and I examine the compelling reasons why AI needs the influence of women's voices and how we can work towards a more inclusive AI landscape. We talk about: The inspiration behind her co-authored book and why it's a wake-up call for responsible AI What companies are doing to reduce bias in AI systems T
22/11/2023 • 45 minutes 8 seconds
358: Leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) as Your Strategic Partner and Coach with Alysia Silberg
If you’ve listened to the recent episodes we’ve done on thought leadership, you know that I’ve been working this year on positioning myself as a thought leader in the AI space. I want to make sure there are lots of women talking about and being heard on this topic because this technology is going to have a huge impact on our society. This episode and the next one are with women who are thought leaders in AI. Whether you’re into AI (artificial intelligence) or not, you’re going to LOVE this conversation. My guest today is Alysia Silberg, a vanguard in the AI industry and author of a recent memoir. Alysia isn't only an entrepreneur; she's a visionary who sees AI not just as a tool but as a strategic coach and partner in business and life. In this episode, Alysia and I talk about: The transformative potential of using AI in your own busin
20/11/2023 • 44 minutes 28 seconds
357: Create Real Change by Shifting Your Identity to Who You Want to Be with Dr. Kim Foster [Thought Leadership Series]
How can you accomplish what you want, from the small to the big? As we gear up for the new year, I’m sure there are things you have on your vision board and list of goals you want to achieve. There are practical, tangible steps you can take (the what and the how). There’s also WHO you want to be, the identity you want to shift into, which is essential to aligning your actions to what you want, creating lasting change, and building self-confidence. My guest is Dr. Kim Foster, who recently graduated from our Thought Leader Academy. Kim was a practicing family doctor for nearly 20 years and a few years ago decided that she wanted to make a big change to become a wellness coach and entrepreneur. You’ll be inspired by her story and her thought leadership message! Kim and I talk about: <li dir="l
16/11/2023 • 30 minutes 38 seconds
356: What to Do Now to Position Yourself as a Thought Leader [Thought Leadership Series]
We’re continuing our new podcast series on thought leadership. We’ve talked about finding and developing your big idea and what your signature talk should be doing for you. Today we’re diving into what you can start doing now to position yourself as a thought leader. Yes, you can absolutely be a thought leader - and we need you to be! Thought leaders have an interesting idea and they're willing to share it in a bigger way. Most thought leaders are also public speakers because of the built-in authority and credibility you get standing in front of an audience and the broader impact you can make. But, here's the thing: Seeing yourself as a thought leader doesn't come *after* you've done the thing. You need to see yourself first as a thought leader and claim that identity. <p dir=
13/11/2023 • 39 minutes 12 seconds
355: What a Signature Talk Is and What It Should be Doing for You [Thought Leadership Series]
We’re continuing our new podcast series on thought leadership. Today we’re going to take a look at what exactly a signature talk is and what it should be doing for you. Any presentation you give *should* be a signature talk. Why? Because any presentation you deliver should be a combination of your expertise + your thought leadership + your personal brand. Your signature talk isn’t a bunch of information on your topic. Your signature talk has a specific purpose for you and for your audience; it should be doing something for you. You’re not there to pass along information and to train your audience, unless you’re doing a workshop, which if you are, that’s great and you should be getting paid for that. This is where I see speakers get stuck in what I call the expert trap. They think they have to train and teach in order to provide value; but whe
09/11/2023 • 16 minutes 59 seconds
354: Finding and Developing Your Big I.D.E.A. [Thought Leadership Series]
Today’s episode it’s all about finding and developing your Big Idea for your thought leadership and public speaking. Ideas are incredibly powerful; they can live on for years, centuries, even millennia. Ideas spark movements for political and social change. Ideas help us as humans understand ourselves, each other, and the world around us Your idea doesn’t have to be something people have never heard of before; that’s unlikely as most things have been talked about before - and that’s ok! As a speaker, you want to have something interesting and unique to talk about, you want to make a positive impact on your audience, and you want to develop your thought leadership Perhaps you’re not sure what makes a good idea or which of your ideas is the best one. It all feels a bit messy and muddy. That’s what I’m going to help you with in this episode! Think of me as your idea whisperer. <p dir="ltr
06/11/2023 • 22 minutes 24 seconds
353: The Power of Frameworks: How Sharon Ehrlich Found Her Voice and Message
Many accomplished professional women come to a point in their lives where they struggle to balance their personal and professional responsibilities. Whether it’s their high-pressure career, raising children, caring for aging parents, or all of the above, it can often feel like you lose control over your lives and yourself in the process. On this week’s podcast guest, Sharon Ehrlich, a former hospital administrator, English teacher, and professional at IBM and now an executive coach, and our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz chat about the challenges Sharon faced when she felt she was losing control of her life while juggling her role as a mother, caring for a disabled parent, and managing her demanding professional life and how she came to realize the importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing her needs. Sharon, a graduate of our Thought Leader Academy, shares
30/10/2023 • 39 minutes 7 seconds
352: 7 Things the Best Speakers Do: My Takeaways from TEDWomen
I recently had the honor of attending the TEDWomen conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Over 3 days, I heard 35 speakers deliver their TED talks, on topics ranging from democracy to abortion rights, menopause to artificial intelligence. Of course, as I was sitting in the audience, I was taking lots of notes on each speaker, how they structured their talk, the elements they included, and how they delivered it. I’ve taken those notes and identified 7 key things the best speakers do. Whether you’re delivering a TEDx talk, a keynote, a conference session, or a business presentation, you can use these 7 things to make your talks impactful and memorable. Join us on November 16th for the Storytelling for Speakers workshop we’re hosting live on Zoom! Register at https://www.speaki
23/10/2023 • 25 minutes 3 seconds
351: Hot Takes: Country Club Feminism, The Barbie Movie, Taylor Swift, & More
From Barbie and the Super Models to Beyonce and Taylor, women and the influence they have on culture and the economy are being seen and talked about everywhere. Since here at Speaking Your Brand we're all about amplifying and championing women's voices and advocating for gender equality, we figured it was time to give our own hot takes. Along with all the positive gains women have made, we know that there has also been a considerable backlash, both culturally and legally, most noticeably in the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year and in the states that have since passed laws restricting women's reproductive health care rights. It's easy (and accurate) to blame lawmakers and voters who vocally support such restrictions and want to turn the tide back. But what about those who do support women yet do so in myopic ways? That's why I call "country club feminism." In this episode, Diane Diaz and I talk abo
16/10/2023 • 37 minutes 24 seconds
350: The Differences Between Authentic vs. Contrived Storytelling
Last week, I talked about connecting your personal brand and your thought leadership Your stories and experiences are integral to both. Your stories connect you with your audience. Have you ever heard a speaker share a story and have one of these reactions: #1: Wow, I really feel connected to what this person is saying. I have a new perspective on my own situation. -OR- #2: Why is this person telling this story? I don't get how this relates to the rest of their content or why I should care or this feels icky. You don't want to end up being the speaker where the people in the audience are having the second reaction. You want your stories to have purpose and meaning and be of service to your audience. In this episode, Diane Diaz and I talk about: Contrived vulnerability (your au
09/10/2023 • 25 minutes 22 seconds
349: Connecting Your Personal Brand and Your Thought Leadership
In the age of more & more content (whether human- or AI-created), your personal brand matters more than ever. Potential clients and event organizers can easily find lots of experts in what you do. What you want them to realize is what sets you apart and why they should pick you. That’s where your personal brand and thought leadership come in. I know you want to have a positive impact on the world and you may feel like cultivating a personal brand is unnecessary or self-indulgent or you just don’t have time for it. But, here’s the thing: you have a personal brand, everyone does. It’s how other people would describe you; not just your qualities like are you smart, kind, professional, but also what matters to you. Do people know what matters to you, the better world you imagine? In this episode, you’ll hear: <li dir="ltr" aria-level
02/10/2023 • 16 minutes 34 seconds
348: Confidence Unleashed: Owning the Stage with Authentic Presence with Dr. Christina Madison [In-Person Speaking Series]
When you step on stage, I know you want to feel comfortable and confident, to project authenticity and energy. Developing your confidence and stage presence happens both externally and internally. When your content and your delivery are aligned, you can have a bigger impact on your audience with your message. This is what I talk about with my guest, Dr. Christina Madison. Christina has delivered a TEDx talk and has been on TV over 250 times, including two appearances on Good Morning America. I’ve known Christina for nearly two years: we worked together on her TEDX talk and she attended our in-person client retreat. In this episode, we talk about: Why Christina said ‘yes’ to her first TV appearance <p dir="
25/09/2023 • 25 minutes 8 seconds
Attend Our In-Person Client Retreat Public Speaking Workshop in Orlando
Registration is open for our in-person client retreat speaking intensive coming up February 26-28, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. We are already half-full (it's limited to 12 women). Get all the details and apply at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/retreat/. Our speaking workshop is for you if ANY of these apply: You want to speak at conferences and events and increase lead generation at your presentations You want to attract paid speaking engagements and raise your speaker fees You'd like to do a TEDx or keynote talk one day You know how important your message is and you want to truly connect with your audience You want to feel more comfortable and confident as a speaker You imagine walking onto a stage with calm and joy, delivering your talk while having fu
20/09/2023 • 3 minutes 53 seconds
347: The Power of REAL Practice to Transform Yourself as a Speaker [In-Person Speaking Series]
We’re continuing our podcast series to help you up level your in-person speaking skills. Imagine you’re standing on stage, looking out at the audience, and feeling 100% confident in your content and delivery. You’re moving fluidly, getting into your stories, engaging with your audience, and feeling connected to them. You can absolutely do this - but it takes the *right* kind of practice. Most speakers practice the wrong way. The result is that they rely on their notes, their nerves get the best of them, and they stand like a statue and don’t move around (or even worse, they see-saw in place). Doing the right kind of practice can make all the difference, which is what we’re talking about with our retreat clients Dr. Nicole Rochester, Terese Bottner, and Debby Kerr-Henry for a roundtable discussion on how they’ve t
18/09/2023 • 36 minutes 54 seconds
346: Get More Speaking Gigs by Adding Body Movement and Vocal Variation with Victoria Moran [In-Person Speaking Series]
Did you know that you will get *more* speaking gigs if you focus on your delivery as well as your content? Your body movement, use of the stage, and vocal variation are all essential to become a compelling and in-demand speaker. My guest today is Victoria Moran, an incredible speaker, author and podcaster, whom I’ve known for nearly 10 years, so I’m thrilled to have her on the show. In this episode, Victoria and I talk about: Getting started as a professional speaker What she learned from acting training How she uses body movement and dance in her speaking engagements (even though she’s not a dancer, as she admits!) Why your delivery as
11/09/2023 • 40 minutes 43 seconds
Elevate Your Audience Engagement Skills with These Proven Strategies with Katie Anderson [In-Person Speaking Series]
How do you keep your audience engaged throughout your talk or presentation? There are basic strategies like asking questions of the audience, but there are more ways to keep your audience interested and engaged. This is what I talk about with my guest and client, Katie Anderson. Katie has been around the world, from Portugal to Poland to Brazil, speaking to audiences of all sizes. In this episode, Katie and I talk about: Strategies she has used that have worked well to keep audiences engaged Fun things she has tried The importance of storytelling, performance, and stage presence A recent challenging speaking engagement t
04/09/2023 • 32 minutes 54 seconds
How to Monetize Your Public Speaking with Lead Gen Talks and Paid Gigs with Carol Cox
I know you enjoy speaking - AND you want to make sure you’re getting an ROI from it. Your ROI can come from getting paid to speak and/or from getting leads and clients from your presentations. If you don’t consistently get leads from your presentations, there are a few things you can do to make that more likely to happen. You may think your audience doesn’t want to be sold to, but that may not be the case. You also may not be sure how to go about letting event organizers know that you have a speaker fee. In this episode, I share with you: 3 ways to increase leads from your presentations What to do even when conferences say “no selling from the stage” The one thing to do that
28/08/2023 • 30 minutes 24 seconds
Why YOU are the Messenger for Your Idea and Audience with Carol Cox
I often hear from clients that they feel like their topic isn’t unique, that what they would present on others have already been said. And they’re right: That will always be the case - there are always going to be lots of people out there who do or say something in the same umbrella as you. What you need is an IDEA, not just a topic. Ideas look for a messenger - and it’s up to you to activate the idea. YOU are the messenger your audience needs to hear. In this episode, I share with you: Why ideas are so important The four layers of thought leadership The different ways ideas can come to you What can stop you from activating an idea <li dir="ltr" aria-level
21/08/2023 • 26 minutes 53 seconds
I Almost Got Stuck in the Expert Trap: How I Escaped and Delivered My Recent Successful Conference Presentation by Carol Cox
I *almost* got stuck in the expert trap when I was creating my recent presentation for MAICON called Maintain Your Brand Voice Through AI Personalization and Storytelling. I had lots of slides filled with examples and case studies. Useful, sure, but not impactful or memorable. I knew it was missing heart and soul. Fortunately, I took my own advice :-) and saved myself from the expert trap. Attendees loved my session - they said it was “fantastic, amazing, and valuable." In this episode, I share 3 specific things I did to escape the expert trap to create an impactful and memorable presentation, plus one more bonus thing that made a huge difference. I know you want to create and deliver outstanding presentations, get excellent feedback from attendees and the event organizers, stand out and get noticed, and get leads plus more speaking invitations. <p di
14/08/2023 • 25 minutes 1 second
Unearthing Your Unique Message: Discovering What Makes You Stand Out with Judy Carlson
Raise your hand if you’re used to giving presentations chock full of information, facts, and figures? You are not alone! Many of us get comfortable doing this, probably because that’s how we got started as speakers and presenters. But, your audience doesn’t need to hear tons of facts and figures; they need to understand the big picture of your topic, how it relates to them, and what they should do next. This is precisely the evolution that our guest, Judy Carlson, did while she was in our Thought Leader Academy. She worked with our lead speaking coach, Diane Diaz, to create her new signature talk and framework. In this episode, Diane sits down with Judy to chat about her goal to do more public speaking and how she developed her unique framework and signature talk. Judy also shares about her career path,
07/08/2023 • 40 minutes 12 seconds
340: Can I Tell It's You? What a Brand Voice Is and Why You Need One with Carol Cox
Today, we're delving into a topic that lies at the heart of powerful communication and compelling thought leadership: brand voice. If you've ever wondered, 'How can I stand out in a crowded market?' or 'How can I make my messages resonate more deeply with my audience?', then this episode is for you. We're going to explore what a brand voice is, why it's so crucial to your business, and how you can develop and refine your own unique voice. This episode is based on the presentation I recently gave at MAICON, the Marketing AI conference. I share: What a brand voice is (more than tone and personality) Why we need to think about brand voice as we use AI writing tools like ChatGPT The problem with ‘Generic Internet Voice’ in LLMs What’s your M.E.M.E.? De
31/07/2023 • 36 minutes 12 seconds
339: Using Public Speaking to Influence Social Change with Tanya Golash-Boza, PhD
I talk a lot about the power of public speaking for building brand awareness, generating leads, and becoming known in your industry. The other power of public speaking is to influence social change. Throughout history, public speakers have inspired us about what's possible, from JFK's moon speech to MLK's I have a dream. TED speakers have done this for us for the past 15+ years: getting us to think differently about important issues. When one of our former clients and Thought Leader Academy grads, Tanya Golash-Boza, emailed me a few months ago about collaborating with her on a project, I jumped at the chance. Tanya decided to put on an event called Change the World Through Research through the University of California Washington Program (UCDC), where Tanya is the Executive Director. We worked closely with the select
24/07/2023 • 24 minutes 6 seconds
338: Escaping the Expert Trap: From Academic Presenter to Sought-After Speaker with Teri DeLucca, PhD
What does the journey look like to evolve from an expert presenter to a sought-after speaker and thought leader? How can you escape what I call “the expert trap” and make the shift into thought leadership? My guest and Thought Leader Academy graduate, Teri DeLucca, PhD, has done exactly this. I know you’ll be inspired by Teri! In this episode, Teri and I talk about: Why she started her business a few years ago Her initial reluctance to share personal stories and be vulnerable - and what changed her mind Her desire to escape “the expert trap” and go beyond her comfort zone of academic presentations The impact storytelling and vulnerabilit
17/07/2023 • 35 minutes 37 seconds
337: Sharing Your Story as a Catalyst for Transformation with Karen Keene
I strongly believe that sharing your story transforms not only your audience, but also yourself. You and your audience discover that you’re not alone and that change is possible. From the consciousness-raising circles of the women’s movement in the 1970s to present-day campaigns for policy and legislative changes, our stories can make a profound difference. My guest today is Karen Keene, who is a pillar of the Orlando, Florida, community. I’ve known Karen since 2016 when I went through one of the women’s leadership programs, Athena NextGen, that she runs. Karen recently graduated from our Thought Leader Academy, where we worked together to create her keynote so she can share her story of courage and resilience to her audiences. In this episode, Karen and I talk about: The tragic event that happened to Karen in March 2020 <li dir="ltr" role="p
10/07/2023 • 29 minutes 17 seconds
336: Go from a Good Speaker to a Great Speaker with These 5 Lessons from 'Hamilton' with Carol Cox
This episode airs the week of our 4th of July holiday in the United States, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to re-air one of my favorite episodes. If you want to go from being a good speaker to a great one, there are key elements to infuse into your content and delivery. Three years ago, during the July 4th holiday weekend of 2020, I was at home with not much to do since we were all still in the throes of the COVID-19 social distancing. Luckily, that weekend, “Hamilton: The Musical” (filmed from the Broadway production) aired on Disney+. I was instantly transfixed. I knew I would like the play, but didn’t realize I was going to love it. In this episode, I talk about “Hamilton” the play and the production and what we can learn from it as speakers. Why study the play? After all, as speakers, we’re not acting in a play or singing i
03/07/2023 • 42 minutes 14 seconds
335: Amplifying Your Personal Brand: Public Speaking as the Ultimate Authority Booster with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
We’re wrapping up our podcast series on personal branding. Today we're diving into how to amplify your personal brand. You've started to define it, you're building it, and now, how can you leverage public speaking to really become a sought-after authority? We're going to explore strategies that work - like how to find speaking engagements that are right up your alley, ways to refine your public speaking skills, and tips on using speaking opportunities to enhance your personal brand. In this episode, Diane Diaz, our lead speaking coach, and I talk about: Why public speaking is the fastest way to build authority and credibility for yourself The journey from getting started with speaking to landing bigger stages S
26/06/2023 • 22 minutes 6 seconds
334: Styling Your Personal Brand: Be Comfortable and Confident in Any Room with Solita Roberts
We’re continuing our podcast series on personal branding. Imagine you have a speaking engagement coming up: What do you wear? How does what you wear reflect and reinforce your personal brand? Our guest in this episode is Solita Roberts, who is an image stylist, LinkedIn Top Voice, and in the first class of LinkedIn’s Creator Accelerator Program. Diane Diaz, our lead speaking coach, talks with Solita about: How our style and clothing (and shoes!) connect to our personal brand What to consider when selecting what to wear, whether it’s on stage or to a networking event Why Solita doesn’t believe in clothing basics And more! Discover
19/06/2023 • 42 minutes 24 seconds
333: Building Your Personal Brand: Establishing Thought Leadership Online and Offline with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
We’re continuing our new series on personal branding. If you caught our episode last week, we dug deep into defining what a personal brand is. We chatted about how to discover your unique brand, and why it's crucial as a thought leader to sync it up with your audience. Today, we're all about building that brand of yours and establishing your thought leadership, both in the digital world and in person. In this episode, Diane Diaz, our lead speaking coach, and I talk about: How we built our personal brands when we started our businesses in 2015-2016 The importance of consistency Why you shouldn’t discount jobs or businesses you’ve had in the past, even if they don’t feel like they are relevant to what you do now</
12/06/2023 • 31 minutes 31 seconds
332: Defining Your Personal Brand: The First Step to Becoming a Thought Leader with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
We’re kicking off a new series all about personal branding. Do you know you have a personal brand, whether you're aware of it or not? Now more than ever, your personal brand is essential. We're all swimming in a sea of online content, from social media posts to podcasts and videos, and even AI churning out more stuff. How do you stand out in that crowd? How can you connect with the people you most want to connect with so that they understand who you really are, what matters to you, and then how they align with that? We know it can be confusing about what personal branding actually means. How slick and buttoned up does your personal brand need to be? Does it feel superficial or like a facade to have a personal brand? How does your personal brand connect with your company brand? T
05/06/2023 • 24 minutes 22 seconds
331: Igniting Change by Using Your Voice: How One Instagram Post Turned into a Powerful Movement with Sharon McMahon
We are wrapping up our podcast series on Using Your Voice with a very special guest. Sharon McMahon is a former high school government and law teacher whose Instagram went viral in 2020 (she now has over 1 million followers!) and who is the host of the podcast Here’s Where it Gets Interesting. Sharon is “on a mission to combat political misinformation by sharing non-partisan facts about the US government and democracy.” Our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz is a super fan of Sharon and has been following her since the 2020 election season. Diane reached out to Sharon who graciously agreed to chat with Diane and share with us how she started using her voice where she was with what she knew. In this episode, Sharon shares how her journey began with one small post on her Instagram about wanting to change one perso
29/05/2023 • 45 minutes 6 seconds
330: The Journey from Settling to Speaking Up with Kelly Lopez [Use Your Voice Series]
Have you ever felt so passionate about something that you experienced and the lessons you learned from it that you thought to yourself “others need to hear about this?” If you’ve ever thought something like this, then you’ll want to hear this conversation with our guest Kelly Lopez. Kelly is a graduate of our Thought Leader Academy and in this continuation of our Use Your Voice series, she talked with our Lead Speaking Coach Diane Diaz about: Her story of going from settling, personally and professionally, to being intentional about her life and work Why she almost said no to a huge speaking opportunity and what changed her mind How she manages imposter syndrome when speaking What inspires her to continue to use her voice to speak about her passions <li dir="ltr
22/05/2023 • 38 minutes 15 seconds
329: From Compelled to Take Action to TEDx Speaker with Dr. Nicole Rochester
Have you had an experience that impacted you so much that you were compelled to take action, to make a shift in your life, business, or career? “Compelled to take action” is one of the core stories you can use to frame a talk (others we teach include crisis of confidence, paradigm shift, pin drop, and more). This is precisely what happened to my guest Dr. Nicole Rochester. Nicole was inspired to start her company, Your GPS Doc, after caring for her late father and witnessing the complicated healthcare system from the other side of the stethoscope. Not only has Nicole channeled her advocacy work into her business, but she also does a lot of speaking engagements and panels. Nicole was on this podcast way back in December 2018 (episode 98) when we did an on-air coaching call to help her take her personal story and universalize it. She did exactly that, which led to her TEDx t
15/05/2023 • 26 minutes 38 seconds
328: Feeling Worthy Enough to Have a Voice with Kelly Schermerhorn [Use Your Voice Series]
Have you ever felt imposter syndrome, that you weren’t sure if you had enough expertise or experience or knowledge or credentials [or fill in the blank] to speak up, share your perspective, and use your voice? If so, you’re not alone - and there are ways to move past this. My guest is Kelly Schermerhorn, who describes herself as a recovering people-pleaser and accolade-collector (I can relate!). Kelly recently graduated from our Thought Leader Academy. Kelly and I talk about: Her story of feeling worthy enough to have a voice Her message around mental health Why she wanted to create a signature talk and speak to audiences Why she decided to enroll in the Thought Leader Academy The doubts that came up while she was creating her
08/05/2023 • 30 minutes 41 seconds
327: From Expert to Thought Leader: 3 Key Strategies You Need Now to Set Yourself Apart in Our New AI-Driven World with Carol Cox
If I take a look at your slide deck or presentation outline and I can’t tell that the content is yours (vs. another speaker on your topic), you’re in danger of being a commodity speaker. Commodity speakers are undifferentiated and interchangeable. It will be harder for you to attract higher-profile speaking engagements, raise your speaking fees, and generate quality leads at your presentations. What you want instead is for your content to position you as a thought leader. You will have a much bigger impact on your audiences and your speaking will be an effective marketing channel and revenue stream in your business. Now more than ever it's time to escape the expert trap that will keep you undifferentiated and interchangeable with other experts and with the A.I. and instead step into thought leadership. This is how you’ll stay relevant in the age of A.I. were rapidly entering. <p dir="l
02/05/2023 • 52 minutes 3 seconds
Register for Our New Free Training: 3 Key Strategies You Need Now to Set Yourself Apart in Our New AI-Driven World
Register for our new free online training at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/training/ If you’re like many of us, you like being seen as an expert. After all, expertise is celebrated because it generally takes some combination of degrees, credentials, and experience to be seen - and to see yourself - as an expert. You’ve put in the hard work, you’ve mastered a subject, and you can help others in your area of expertise. You speak to audiences and you share your expert tips and insights in your presentations. All of that is changing - and changing fast. If you’ve used ChatGPT, you’ve probably marveled at how quickly and seamlessly (and pleasantly) it comes back with a well-written response to your query. Sure, it’s not perfect, but remember it’s still in its i
25/04/2023 • 3 minutes 53 seconds
326: Getting PR and Media with Cheryl Tan [Marketing Series]
We’re wrapping up our series on how marketing is changing and new approaches you can take to more effectively connect with your audiences and prospective clients. This episode is all about getting PR and media, which can be an important element of your visibility. Have you ever seen someone you know featured in a television news story and wondered how they made it happen? It’s no secret that public relations efforts like being interviewed on television can ramp up your visibility and grow your reach. But it might feel like a mystery as to how to get those opportunities. Our guest is Cheryl Tan, who is a former TV news anchor & host and the creator of the Media Authority Plan, a program designed to help experts increase their visibility through video. Cheryl talks with our lead speaking coach Diane Dia
24/04/2023 • 45 minutes 55 seconds
325: A Marketing Framework that Feels Good for You and Your Audience with Wendy Kendall [Marketing Series]
We’re continuing our series on how marketing is changing and new approaches you can take to more effectively connect with your audiences and prospective clients. Two weeks ago, I kicked off this series on how we’re ditching the traditional hero’s journey framework for marketing and how here at SYB we’re approaching marketing. Last week, I talked to Cara Steinmann about relationship marketing and strategic collaborations. Today, I’m excited to have on the podcast Wendy Kendall, who is a Chartered Psychologist and a co-founder of The Self Led Practice, the health virtual workplace for independent mental health practitioners. I invited Wendy to come on the podcast because a few months ago she shared a post on LinkedIn about what she calls “regenerative marketing”, a framework she developed to better serve her clients. (You
17/04/2023 • 35 minutes 55 seconds
324: Creating Strategic Collaborations with Cara Steinmann [Marketing Series]
We’re continuing our series on how marketing is changing and new approaches you can take to more effectively connect with your audiences and prospective clients. Last week, I kicked off this series on how we’re ditching the traditional hero’s journey framework for marketing and how here at SYB we’re approaching marketing. I knew I had to have on as my guest today, Cara Steinmann, for this series. I met Cara last fall and when we had a consult call and I learned about the work she does around relationship building and strategic collaborations, I was instantly intrigued. I got to know Cara over the past couple of months as she went through our Thought Leader Academy. In this episode, Cara and I talk about: What strategic relationships and collaborations look like <li dir="ltr"
10/04/2023 • 37 minutes 46 seconds
Sign up for our Storytelling for Impact workshop
You know that stories have the power to inspire, engage, and create lasting connections with our audiences. But, do you wonder: Which stories should you share? How do you connect your stories to your overall message? How do you tell your stories in a way that the audience can relate to and get value from? We're thrilled to announce our upcoming live online workshop, "Storytelling for Impact," designed specifically for women entrepreneurs and leaders who want to elevate their communication skills and make a difference. Wor
04/04/2023 • 3 minutes 13 seconds
323: Marketing Is Changing: Why We're Ditching the Hero's Journey with Carol Cox [Marketing Series]
We’re kicking off a new podcast series on how marketing is changing and what to do now. The rise of AI tools means that endless quantities of decent content can be generated at virtually no cost. This is going to impact social media marketing, SEO, and online advertising. As speakers, content creators, marketers, and entrepreneurs, doing the same things we’ve always been doing isn’t going to work for much longer. Along with content saturation making it harder for our content to be discovered and seen, pretty soon we’re not going to be able to tell who online is real and who is not. This is why I believe that as a public speaker, you have a unique opportunity to cut through the noise, authentically garner people’s attention, build relationships, and attract leads and clients. In this episode, I talk about: The big shifts in online
03/04/2023 • 16 minutes 53 seconds
322: Changing the Image Women Have of Themselves with Heike Martin
As women, we are all too familiar with the societal expectations imposed on us from a young age. Both implicitly and explicitly, we are told how we should look and act and what roles we should embody. This pressure often leads to a struggle for many women, as we try to conform to these external demands while grappling with our own unique identities. But there comes a transformative moment when we decide to break free from these constraints and embrace our authentic selves. This moment of self-acceptance and empowerment is not only liberating, but it also paves the way for us to lead more fulfilling and successful lives. To conclude our podcast series for Women’s History Month, we're delving into the topic of self-perception and its impact on our personal and professional lives. I'm thrilled to have Heike Martin, a tale
27/03/2023 • 34 minutes 54 seconds
321: What It Means to be Visible to Yourself and Others with Bibigi Haile
Fear of failure, fear of rejection, imposter syndrome, self-doubt, vulnerability hangovers, nerves. All of these can cause us to be reluctant to be visible, to put ourselves out there. I’ve certainly experienced all of these throughout my career. Yet, I’ve also experienced the power and transformation that comes from being visible not only to others but also to myself. My guest is Bibigi (Bibi) Haile who works with women to help them be visible. We talk about: What comes up for women when they think about being visible Getting curious and living with the discomfort Our examples of times when we didn’t want to be visible What happens when we see other women punished for their visibility Bibi’s recommendat
20/03/2023 • 33 minutes 47 seconds
320: The Iranian Women's Revolution with Dr. Bibi Pirayesh
I’ve been wanting to do an episode since last fall on what’s been going on in Iran with the huge protests by girls and women. This is a fascinating and important conversation about the power of women using their voices and how privileged we are in the U.S. and other democratic countries to be able to use our voices without fears of arrest or death. Last September, a young woman named Mahsa Amini died while in custody of Iran’s morality police after being detained for allegedly not adhering to the strict dress code. When news of what happened spread on social media, young women took to the streets to protest having to wear the hijab to cover their hair along with having to comply with many other strict and misogynistic rules. As the protests have grown and spread, the Iranian government has cracked down on protesters, including mass arrests, death sentences, and the execution of four young protesters.
13/03/2023 • 37 minutes 31 seconds
319: The 3 Stages We Go Through as Women When We Use Our Voice with Carol Cox
We’re kicking off Women’s History Month here in the U.S. in the month of March. Of course, we champion and advocate for women every month and every week :-), but I do have some special episodes for you this month, starting with today’s. Last fall, I delivered a keynote address and as I was working on that talk, I was really thinking about what happens as women when we use our voices and the transformative power it can have. That’s what I’m going to share with you in today’s episode, including: What I hear from women about public speaking The 3 stages we go through when we use our voice Why many women stop at stage 1 How I got stuck in stage 2 What happens at stage 3 3 things we can do at
06/03/2023 • 22 minutes 26 seconds
318: How My Thought Leadership Has Evolved with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
We are celebrating 6 years of the Speaking Your Brand podcast! To mark this milestone, I invited Diane Diaz, our lead speaking coach, to interview me. I know you’re going to enjoy our conversation! Diane and I talk about: Why I decided to start a podcast The benefits I’ve experienced (both for the business and personally) How my thought leadership has evolved How podcasting has increased my confidence Vulnerability hangovers And more! About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox, joined in this episode by our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals clarify their bra
27/02/2023 • 32 minutes 54 seconds
317: [Coaching] Using Client Case Studies Effectively in Your Presentations with Cherie Mylordis
We’re going behind the scenes so you can hear how and why to integrate case studies into your presentations. My guest is Cherie Mylordis, who is currently in our Thought Leader Academy. Cherie and I have been working on her signature talk using our Signature Talk Canvas® framework (based on 3 acts). In this episode, Cherie and I talk about: Her thought leadership message and framework around a new way of working Why we decided to use case studies as the main content in Act 2 of her talk The benefit of using case studies for thought leadership talks Cherie’s experience as a leader helping to organize the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Why Cherie decided to enroll in our Thought Leader Academy And more! About My Guest: Cherie Mylordis is a business transformation expert, leadership coach
20/02/2023 • 35 minutes 31 seconds
316: Education, A.I., and What It Means to Be Human with Dr. Bibi Pirayesh
When ChatGPT came out at the end of 2022, one of the first industries to be instantly impacted was education. There were a lot of articles written bemoaning ChatGPT and schools announced they were banning the tool because students could use it to very easily and quickly write papers. Sure, there will always be students who want to find a way to do less work. But, what if there’s a way that A.I. tools like ChatGPT can be used to improve education and to allow students to learn in a new way? I knew that I had to have on the podcast Dr. Bibi Pirayesh to talk about this important topic. Bibi is an educational therapist and one of the smartest people I know. Get ready for a deep conversation! Bibi and I talk about: What the purpose of education is <p dir="l
13/02/2023 • 38 minutes 49 seconds
The Business of Speaking: Sign up for our NEW online workshop
Do you find yourself staring at a blank document when writing speaking proposals, struggling to figure out what to include and how to title your talks? Are you not sure what to charge for your presentations and workshops? Do you wonder if you're undercharging but you don't know how to negotiate your fee? Would you like to have speaking invitations come to you? This is where we come in! We have a NEW LIVE online workshop we're hosting all about The Business of Speaking, so you can: Learn the key elements of compelling speaking proposals and how to title your talks Learn how to find speaking opportunities based on your goals, topics, and target audiences and start making a list Learn what typi
09/02/2023 • 5 minutes 12 seconds
315: Using the Future (A.I. and Blockchain) to Solve the Challenges of the Past with Dr. Elena Mechik
We’re continuing our new podcast series on A.I. with my conversation with startup founder Dr. Elena Mechik. Elena was inspired after spending two months in the Brazilian rainforest to use technologies like blockchain and A.I. to provide transparency and accountability to solve challenges of the past using the technologies of the future. In our conversation, Elena and I talk about: How she’s using AI in her software and why What blockchain is and why it's important Her experience in the Brazilian rainforest and the work she did for her PhD How we see AI impact
06/02/2023 • 29 minutes 12 seconds
314: Using ChatGPT and Image Generators to Enhance Your Content with Carol Cox
Get ready for a fun episode where I share how I’ve been using A.I. tools like ChatGPT and image generators like Midjourney and DALL-E. You don’t have to be a techie or tech savvy to start trying them out. The key to thriving in the age of A.I. is to be proactive and adaptable. By embracing the technology, developing relevant skills, and staying informed, you can position yourself to take advantage of the many opportunities that A.I. has to offer. This is the second episode in our new podcast series on A.I. About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals clarify their brand message and story, create their signature talks, and develop their thought leadership p
30/01/2023 • 21 minutes 2 seconds
313: How to Thrive in the Age of A.I. with Carol Cox
This is the first episode in a new podcast series on A.I. (artificial intelligence) and what that means for us as entrepreneurs, content creators, speakers, and thought leaders. In the next few years, it’s very likely that up to 90% of the content we see online will have been artificially or synthetically created, from text to photos and images to audio and video. How will we know what’s real and what’s not? How can we double down on what makes us human? We used to think that our intelligence, cognitive abilities, even art and creativity were what made us human. This is no longer the case. In this episode, I make t
23/01/2023 • 18 minutes 45 seconds
312: My Top Tips to Make Your Talks Memorable with Carol Cox
In the trends for 2023 episode I did 2 weeks ago, trend #3 was about the return and resurgence of in-person activities and events, which means more in-person speaking opportunities. (Btw, if you haven’t listened to the trends episode 310 yet, definitely do so. I’ve received great feedback from listeners and I’m going to be talking about each of the trends more in depth in future episodes.) When new women join our Thought Leader Academy, I ask them to share what they liked to do when they were young and most of them loved performing, whether in school plays, singing, or dancing. There’s definitely a connection between speaking and performance. However, once we start speaking for our business, we don’t see the connection between speaking and performing and we miss out on
16/01/2023 • 22 minutes 31 seconds
311: How to 10x Your Speaking Skills
If you’re a speaker who has in-person events coming up OR if you’re planning an in-person event, you won’t want to miss this conversation. We held our first in-person client retreat speaking intensive in Orlando, Florida, in April 2022 and it was incredible! We brought 12 women together to practice their speaking delivery skills (on a real stage!) and get professional videography they can use in their speaking reels. I asked two of the women who attended, Betsy Jordyn and Joy Spencer, to join me and Diane Diaz to talk about the experience. We talk about: Top takeaways from the the instruction and practice on delivering keynote speeches Favorite parts of the retreat<
09/01/2023 • 30 minutes 32 seconds
310: Trends in Public Speaking and Thought Leadership for 2023 with Carol Cox
Happy New Year! This is the 5th year in a row I’ve done a trends episode for the start of the year. This may be the most important podcast episode I’ve done to date, as the trends I’m talking about will impact every business and every industry in profound ways, including the rise of A.I. tools; the shift from mass audiences and the attention economy to trust-based audiences and the imagination economy; and a renewed focus on local, in-person activities and business. What I mean by trends are not fads or cliches or gimmicks. Trends are like currents or waves of energy that move through our society and affect everything from business and politics and the economy to popular culture and media. How do these trends impact our public speaking and thought leadership? </p
02/01/2023 • 22 minutes 55 seconds
309: Year In Review: What Worked, What Didn’t, What’s Next with Carol Cox
I’m taking you behind the scenes to share what worked, what didn’t, and what’s next for us in the areas of speaking, visibility, this podcast, and the business in general. 🎉 What we’re celebrating that went well this year ❌ Things we tried that did not go as well as we had wanted 💡 Larger lessons we’re taking from what worked and what didn’t 🎯 What we’re planning for 2023 I encourage you to use this template to reflect on and write down your own wins, experiments, lessons, and priorities. Enrollment is open for our next Thought Leader Academy group that starts in January. About Us: <span
26/12/2022 • 24 minutes 43 seconds
308: Thriving as a Woman in Business with Angela Guice
This is a tour de force conversation about being a woman business owner and how to navigate changes in the economy that we’re all seeing and experiencing right now. My guest is Angela Guice, the founder of an Emmy-award-winning Los Angeles-based production company that has worked with clients like The Walt Disney Company, Netflix, Hulu, BET, Warner Media, NBCUniversal and DreamWorks. Angela and I worked together on creating her new keynote around the importance of personal branding and how your uniqueness, even what you may perceive as a weakness, is actually your strength. In this episode, Angela and I talk about: Her roots and why she wanted to work in Hollywood The weaknesses she perceived she had and how they turn
19/12/2022 • 26 minutes 57 seconds
307: From University Lecturer to Thought Leader with Heather Hausenblas, PhD
I’m joined in this episode by one of our Thought Leader Academy grads, Heather Hausenblas, PhD. Heather has an impressive background as a health psychology expert, an international award-winning scientist, and a professor of health sciences. We met at an event I spoke at earlier this year and it was perfect timing because Heather had been wanting to make the shift from expert to thought leader. Heather and I talk about: Heather’s message around the importance of social health and social connections How she has made the shift into thought leadership with her presentation content The results she’s seen so far from the presentations she’s been giving <span s
12/12/2022 • 30 minutes 6 seconds
306: All Things Speaking with Dorie Clark: What to Charge, TEDx Talks, & More
This is a fun and lively conversation about all things speaking, from what to charge to what makes a great TEDx talk to setting long-term goals. My guest is Dorie Clark, who is a keynote speaker, a top business thinker, and a bestselling author. Dorie has given 4 TEDx talks since 2015. Her most recent one this year currently has over 1.8 million views (!). I’ve been a fan of Dorie’s since reading her books, including The Long Game, Entrepreneurial You, Reinventing You, and Stand Out. Dorie and I talk about: Her goal of writing a musical that appears on Broadway (with my love of Hamilton, I had to start there) What it means to think and set long-term goals in a sh
05/12/2022 • 36 minutes 33 seconds
305: Spellbinding Storyteller Speaker Archetype with Shannon Bumgarner
This is the fourth and final episode in our series exploring the four speaker archetypes. (You can discover your archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz.) Knowing your archetype will help you to: Create more impactful and memorable presentations Market yourself as a speaker using your</s
28/11/2022 • 28 minutes 28 seconds
Sign up for our NEW workshop on storytelling
You know how important stories are in your presentations and content, but do you struggle with thinking of stories or worry that yours are not that interesting or relevant? Or maybe you have stories but you're not sure how to tell them in a compelling way and how to integrate them into your talks? This is where we come in! In our brand NEW hands-on storytelling and storywriting workshop on December 8th, you'll: Learn how to tell compelling stories Identify your best stories from our list
22/11/2022 • 2 minutes 37 seconds
304: Provocative Performer Speaker Archetype with Cara Houser
This is the third episode in our series exploring the four speaker archetypes. (You can discover your archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz.) Knowing your archetype will help you to: Create more impactful and memorable presentations Market yourself as a speaker using your <stron
21/11/2022 • 30 minutes 5 seconds
303: Fabulous Facilitator Speaker Archetype with Susan Moe
This is the second episode in our series exploring the four speaker archetypes. (You can discover your archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz.) Knowing your archetype will help you to: Create more impactful and memorable presentations Market yourself as a speaker using your <stro
14/11/2022 • 31 minutes 14 seconds
302: Stellar Scholar Speaker Archetype with Kristen Albert, Ed.D.
This is the first episode in our new series exploring the four speaker archetypes. (You can discover your archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz.) Knowing your archetype will help you to: Create more impactful and memorable presentations Market
07/11/2022 • 37 minutes 19 seconds
301: Why We Get Imposter Syndrome and What to Do About It with Melody Wilding
You’ve most likely heard of “imposter syndrome” and perhaps you’ve experienced it yourself. If so, you’re not alone! I hear from women we work with that they sometimes suffer from imposter syndrome, especially as they think about putting themselves out there in a bigger way. You’re going to learn a lot in my conversation with Melody Wilding, who has an impressive background as a best-selling author, a contributor to places like Harvard Business Review, and a LinkedIn Learning instructor. Melody and I talk about: What imposter syndrome is The various ways it can show up (one of these surprised me) <li style="font-weight: 40
31/10/2022 • 27 minutes 57 seconds
300: How to Create Your Own Framework to Set You Apart as a Speaker & Thought Leader with Carol Cox
Do you know that one of the most powerful elements of your presentations is showcasing your own framework? Having your own framework differentiates you from others - you’re building your thought leadership and intellectual property. Having a framework is a tremendous asset for your business - you can use it for sales conversations, on your website and marketing materials, and of course for your presentations. A framework helps your audience to remember you and your content - it also helps you to remember your own content! This applies to lead generation presentations, thought leadership talks, and keynotes - and how you use a framework will depend on the type of talk you’re giving. In this episode, you'll learn:</spa
24/10/2022 • 50 minutes 4 seconds
299: [Case Study] All the Ways You Can Leverage Your Own Framework with Amber De La Garza
If you already have a framework that you use in your business and presentations, you will get some new ideas in this conversation on ways to use your framework. If you don’t already have your own framework, you’ll be inspired to create one! My guest is Amber De La Garza, the Productivity Specialist. Amber has a unique framework she developed about 4 years ago that has been paying dividends ever since. Frameworks usually reflect the work you do with your clients to get them from results. Frameworks can also be representative of your overall approach to problem solving or innovation. Frameworks can oftentimes be represented as an acronym (such as our V.O.I.C.E. thought leadership model), an alliteration (the 3 C’s of…), a metaphor, or a visual shape (think Maslow’s hierar
17/10/2022 • 31 minutes 36 seconds
298: Women in STEM Panel: Ways to Use Your Voice and Build Thought Leadership
You won't want to miss this powerhouse panel of women in STEM sharing how they use their voices to advocate for change and build their thought leadership. Whether you're a woman in a STEM field or not, does it sometimes feel like you struggle to stand out, get your ideas heard, and have a bigger impact with the work you do? You have all the credentials and plenty of ideas, but perhaps you struggle with imposter syndrome and how to be seen in a crowded space? This can be common for women in male-dominated industries. But it’s so important to find a way to use your voice and build your thought leadership to create the impact you want and that the world needs. Join our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz for a live conversation with
10/10/2022 • 41 minutes
Register for Our NEW Free Live Training: How to Create Your Own Framework to Set You Apart as a Speaker & Thought Leader
Hi, I’m popping into your podcast feed to invite you to a brand new free live training I’m hosting on Wednesday, October 12 all about frameworks. I’m going to share with you How to Create Your Own Framework to Set Yourself Apart as a Speaker & Thought Leader. Go to https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/training and register today. Having a framework is a tremendous asset for your business - you can use it for sales conversations, on your website and marketing materials, and of course for your presentations. Having your own framework differentiates you from others - you’re building your thought leadership and intellectual property. A f
06/10/2022 • 1 minute 51 seconds
297: Integrating Your Story Into Your Talks with Carol Cox, Diane Diaz, and Joy Spencer
How do you integrate your story into your talk and message? Which story should you choose? This is one of the main areas we work on with our clients in our Thought Leader Academy. Your personal story is one of the essential ingredients for your thought leadership and for your talks, whether you ’re delivering a lead generation presentation, a keynote, or a TEDx talk. Join me and our coaches Diane Diaz and Joy Spencer as we talk about: Frameworks you can use to integrate your story The 3 essential ingredients a great story needs Examples from our own talks and from women we’ve worked with About Us: <span style="fon
03/10/2022 • 34 minutes 24 seconds
296: Make an Impact by Writing Op-Eds with Princella Talley
On the podcast this month, we’re exploring different ways you can channel using your voice and building your thought leadership platform. In this episode, we’re diving into the impact and legacy you can have by writing op-eds. Did you know that most op-eds are only 650-850 words in length? You can do this! My guest is Princella Talley, who is a writer and speaker. In 2020, she was selected as a Public Voices Fellow of the OpEd Project and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Princella and I talk about: The purpose of op-eds and why you would want to write one How Princella got into writing op-eds The elements tha
26/09/2022 • 31 minutes 15 seconds
295: Creating a Non-Profit for Your Thought Leadership with Arlene Blake
On the podcast this month, we’re exploring different ways you can channel using your voice. Last week, we talked about building your personal brand. Next week, we’re going to focus on the impact you can have by writing op-eds for newspapers and magazines. In this episode, we’re taking a look at creating and leading a community-based non-profit as a way to amplify your thought leadership. My guest is Arlene Blake, who’s the founder of Women on the Rise, a 501(c)3 organization based in Orlando, Florida. Arlene has built an incredible community, so I invited her to come on the podcast to share what she’s learned. Arlene and I talk about: Why she started her non-profit organiza
19/09/2022 • 28 minutes 39 seconds
294: Attracting a Diverse Clientele with Solita Roberts
I hit the “easy” button earlier this year. I say this not as an excuse but as a wake-up call for myself. It was May of this year and we had an incredible group of women join our Thought Leader Academy - and I couldn’t help but notice that almost all of them looked like me (white). This is in no way to discount how much I’ve enjoyed having each of them in the program, seeing their progress, and being incredibly proud and excited to see how they’re going to make positive changes in their communities and industries. And yet I also recognized that something was lost by not having a diversity of races and backgrounds in our program because I know how much we learn from each other’s experiences, perspectives, and ideas. At our team meeting that month, our executive assistant Solita Roberts pointed this out. I knew without
12/09/2022 • 32 minutes 34 seconds
293: The True Value of Your Personal Brand with Monique Bryan
We’re continuing our podcast theme for this quarter on “Wealth” with this episode on the true value of your personal brand. You’ve most likely heard about the importance of understanding your personal brand and how you’re perceived by others. Your personal brand stays with you no matter if you change jobs, businesses, careers, or industries. The power of your personal brand is that you *can* shape it. My guest is Monique Bryan, who runs a successful personal brand consultancy that helps established professionals amplify their industry credibility and use their personal brand and visual online presence to become an in-demand business leader. Even if you think you know a lot about personal branding, you will learn something ne
05/09/2022 • 40 minutes 49 seconds
292: Your Net Worth is in Your Net Work with Colleen O’Mara and Jessie Nagel
This quarter on the podcast we’re focused on the theme of “Wealth.” We’ve talked about how to go from commodity speaker to thought leader (last week’s episode 291) to generating more leads from your presentations (on-air coaching call episode 290) to increasing your speaker fees (episode 289) to using our framework to create a signature talk for both impact and income (episode 288). Today we’re focusing on the wealth of your relationships. After all, your net worth is in your net work. If I think about many of the speaking invitations I’ve received over my career, the vast majority came from my network. <span style="font-weight
29/08/2022 • 42 minutes 29 seconds
291: Speaking for Income & Impact: The 3 Key Elements You Need (and What’s Getting In Your Way) to Go from Commodity Speaker to Thought Leader with Carol Cox
If I take a look at your slide deck or presentation outline and I can’t tell that the content is yours (vs. another speaker on your topic), you’re in danger of being a commodity speaker. Commodity speakers are undifferentiated and interchangeable. This means that, as a commodity speaker, it will be harder for you to attract higher-profile speaking engagements, raise your speaking fees, and generate quality leads at your presentations. As more conferences, groups, and associations are returning to in-person events, they need speakers who can deliver engaging content and present ideas that get them to think differently, not speakers who share the same-old stuff their audiences have heard on countless trainings over the past few years. As a thought leader, you will have a
22/08/2022 • 50 minutes 1 second
290: [Coaching] Get More Leads from Your Presentations with Monica Young
One of the best reasons to be a speaker is to increase brand awareness for your business and to generate leads and clients. Especially as social media gets noisier and the algorithms make it harder for our content to be seen, being a speaker standing in front of an audience (whether in person or virtually), with the built-in credibility and authority and attention that comes from that, is an incredible opportunity to connect with potential clients and take them to the next step on their buying journey with you. However, what I see happen a lot is that speakers provide too much content, especially too much training, in their lead generation presentations, which makes it less likely that they will get the leads they want. This episode is an on-air coaching call with one of our Thought Leader Academy clients, Monica Yo
15/08/2022 • 35 minutes 40 seconds
Register for Our New Free Live Training: The 3 Key Elements You Need to Go from Commodity Speaker to Thought Leader
We have a new free LIVE training happening on Tuesday, August 16! Register today for free at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/training/. If I take a look at your slide deck or presentation outline and I can’t tell that the content is yours (vs. another speaker on your topic), you’re in danger of being a commodity speaker. Commodity speakers are undifferentiated and interchangeable. It will be harder for you to attract higher-profile speaking engagements, raise your speaking fees, and generate quality leads at your presentations. What you want instead is for your content to position you as a thought leader. You will have a much bigger impact on your audiences and your speaking will be an effective marketing channel and revenue stream in your b
09/08/2022 • 2 minutes 22 seconds
289: Less Free, More Paid: How to Increase Your Speaker Fees with Carol Cox
If you’ve been getting speaking requests, but they’re free or low paid, or you’ve been charging the same amount for a while and aren’t sure if (and how) to raise your speaker fees, tune in to this episode. I share 3 reasons you *should* increase your speaking fee and how to confidently do so. I also go through specific dollar amounts of what you could be charging based on where you’re at in your speaking journey. Finally, I talk about reasons why you may decide to speak for free and specific things you can do to make sure you’re getting maximum value from those speaking engagements. About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals clarify their bra
08/08/2022 • 19 minutes 31 seconds
288: A Framework for Creating a Signature Talk for Income and Impact with Carol Cox
Do you sometimes sit down to create a new presentation and stare at a blank document or slide deck, not sure where to start or you feel like you have so many ideas you don’t know which to include? Or perhaps you’ve been delivering your presentations for a while and they’re not quite as effective as they could be for lead generation? Or perhaps you want to put more of your thought leadership and personal stories in your presentations but aren’t sure how to do that? This is why I created the Signature Talk Canvas® framework. I use it for my own presentations and we use it with our clients in VIP Days and in our Thought Leader Academy. It works for any topic in any industry. Our framework is a proven, repeatable process that wor
01/08/2022 • 20 minutes 55 seconds
287: The ROI of Investing in a Speaking Coach with Dianna Deeney
What can you expect when you work with a speaking coach? What are the outcomes and results you get? In last week’s episode, we talked about what a public speaking coach does and when you need one. In this episode, I talk with one of our Thought Leader Academy grads, Dianna Deeney, on why she decided to invest in a speaking coach, including: What attracted her to thought leadership for her business Why public speaking wasn’t on her radar until after she joined our program The tangible results she’s seen so far, both personally and professionally What surprised her about adding storytelling and performance aspects to her presentations </
25/07/2022 • 26 minutes 24 seconds
286: What a Speaking Coach Is and When You Need One with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
What exactly do we do as speaking coaches when we work with our clients? When is the right time for you to work with a speaking coach? In this episode, Diane Diaz, our lead speaking coach, and I talk about: Different types of business and speciality coaches When and why we’ve hired coaches ourselves The purpose of hiring a coach What we do as speaking coaches Some trigger points for when you could benefit from worki
18/07/2022 • 30 minutes 4 seconds
285: 4 Speaker Archetypes: Learn How to Market and Sell Your Speaking with Carol Cox
What kind of speaker are you? How would you describe your style? I’ve always told our clients that we don’t want to fit you into some type of “speaker mold” that doesn’t feel natural to you. Instead, I encourage you to take your natural speaking strengths and amplify them. This also means adding to your speaking toolkit by taking some of the elements that other speaking styles have and making them your own. I’ve been thinking a lot about this since we held our in-person client retreat speaking intensive a few months ago. It was fun to see a variety of speaking styles of our clients as they practiced on stage and to realize that each one brought something different and also what they wanted to improve. <span sty
11/07/2022 • 13 minutes 58 seconds
284: Connecting Your Ideas into One Message with Cindy Rowe
Have you ever felt like you have a bunch of ideas and you’re not sure how they’re connected and how to get them into one message? You are not alone! Most of us struggle with this because we’re too close to our own ideas, expertise, and stories. Our guest, Cindy Rowe, owns a marketing agency that works with small businesses. Cindy also has a passion for speaking and for spreading her message around kindness. Cindy joined our Thought Leader Academy in March and worked with our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz in a VIP Day to create her signature talk. In this episode, Diane and Cindy talk about: What led Cindy to her thought leadership message and how it connects to her story
05/07/2022 • 39 minutes 10 seconds
283: How to Exceed Expectations as a Speaker at an Event with Jill Janecke
If you’re going to be speaking at an in-person conference, this episode has some excellent tips on how you can exceed expectations as a speaker to make it a win-win-win for you, the audience, and the event organizer. Our guest is Jill Janecke, who is a mental health counselor and has opened and operates 15 offices in South Dakota. Last year, Jill decided to host a conference for women around mental and brain health and recently held it for a second time. As the organizer, Jill delivered a keynote address and joined our Thought Leader Academy to develop it with our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz. In this episode, Diane and Jill talk about: What Jill does in her business and why she decided to create her own conference</s
28/06/2022 • 38 minutes 48 seconds
282: Going Bold with Your Thought Leadership Message with Jodi Flynn
Do you sometimes wonder how BOLD you want to be with your thought leadership message? You know you have something important and impactful to say, but you’re a bit uncertain on how it will be received and if there will be any backlash. I have definitely experienced this - and the benefits have far outweighed any negativity. My guest is Jodi Flynn, who is the founder of Women Taking the Lead, which helps corporate women advance in leadership, and the host of the Women Taking the Lead podcast. Jodi recently graduated from our Thought Leader Academy, where she worked on her thought leadership message and signature talk. Jodi and I talk about: The types of speaking engagements Jo
21/06/2022 • 29 minutes 27 seconds
281: 6 Winning Ways to Open and Close Your Talks with Carol Cox
How should you open and close your talk? When we work with our clients on their signature talks using our framework, we always make sure to have a strong opening and closing. In the beginning, you want to make a good impression and set the right tone. You may also be nervous, so feeling confident about how you’re going to open your talk can make you feel better. At the end of your talk, you want to leave the audience feeling satisfied AND wanting more. In this episode, I’m sharing with you: 6 ways you can open your talk Examples from my own talks and from our clients How to choose
14/06/2022 • 31 minutes 40 seconds
280: Making the Shift from Expert Presenter to Storyteller in Your Keynotes with Katie Anderson
Last year on this podcast, I did several episodes about the distinction between being an expert and a thought leader. As speakers, we often get stuck in what I call “the expert trap.” We get comfortable training and teaching in our area of expertise and we think that’s the only way to provide value to our audiences. The way out of this is to incorporate more of your personal journey and storytelling into your talks and to believe that providing your audiences with transformation is more important than information. My guest on the podcast is Katie Anderson, an internationally recognized leadership and learning coach, consultant, and professional speaker. Katie and I have been working together since the beginning of the year on her new keynote and helping her incorporate m
07/06/2022 • 34 minutes 48 seconds
279: Building Trust and Connection Through Vulnerability with Dr. Katrina Skinner
Do you have an experience that happened to you that you’re reluctant to share with your audience? What would happen if you did? So often we feel like our stories are too uncommon or unrelatable or not interesting enough to include in our talks. What I see happen is that speakers generalize their stories - and by doing so they remove what makes a great story. It may seem counterintuitive, but it’s the specificity and details of our stories, the very thing we think is uncommon, that makes them powerful. Sharing a deeply personal story, one that shaped who you are and how you understand yourself, is what can connect you to your audience and build trust. Building trust with your audie
31/05/2022 • 21 minutes 56 seconds
278: Co-Creating with Your Audiences with Shannon Hughes
I took an improv class a couple of years ago and it has been incredibly helpful to me as a speaker, so much so that I had the attendees at our recent in-person client retreat do some improv games (they appreciated it, I swear!). Improv is not only useful for getting into your body as a speaker on a stage; improv is also a philosophy of engagement, vulnerability, and co-creation. This is what I talk about with my guest Shannon Hughes in this episode. Shannon melds business strategy with improv training techniques to embolden trustful communication, belonging, and transformational leadership. Whether you have in-person or virtual speaking engagements coming up, you’ll get a lot out of our conversation. Shannon and I talk about: <span style="font-weight:
24/05/2022 • 32 minutes 43 seconds
277: The Authority Gap Women Face and What to Do About It with Mary Ann Sieghart
I’m going to start this podcast with a bit of a controversial question: Why do we (and, yes, I said we) often feel much more uncomfortable having a woman in a position of authority than we do men? My guest Mary Ann Sieghart is a London-based journalist and broadcaster and author of the new book “The Authority Gap: Why women are still taken less seriously than men, and what we can do about it.” The authority gap isn’t just a challenge of how men see women but also how we as women see other women in positions of power and authority. As women we have to go beyond “lip service feminism” - it’s important that we are aware of our own biases so we can correct them. Think about some of the choices you make, from the books you read to the television broadcasters you listen to. How many are women? <span style="font-w
17/05/2022 • 47 minutes 22 seconds
276: Money Has a Story Too: Understanding Your Business Finances with Melissa Houston
I talk a lot about storytelling and the importance of integrating stories into your presentations and talks. Well, money has a story too. Your money story may be driving behaviors in your business. My guest is Melissa Houston, a CPA and Financial Strategist for CEOs. I’ve gotten to know Melissa over the past few months as she’s gone through our Thought Leader Academy to develop her speaking skills and create her keynote signature talk. Melissa and I talk about: The #1 challenge she sees with the women she works with about their finances What it means to have a money story and how much that can impact our relationship to money and to our business <span style
10/05/2022 • 29 minutes 25 seconds
275: Public Speaking Has Changed: The 3 Skills You Need Now to Get Selected, Stand Out, and Make Money as a Speaker
If you plan on speaking in-person this year, you’ll want to listen to this entire episode. I'm sharing with you the 3 key skills you need now to: Get selected as a speaker Stand out by delivering the exact content your audience wants Make money, whether it ’s from paid engagements or by generating leads and sales from people in your audience I recently returned from an in-person speaking engagement and put these skills into practice. Here are the results I got *that same day*: New client (worth $5,000+) New keynote speaking invitation (wor
03/05/2022 • 55 minutes 47 seconds
274: The Key to Booking More Speaking Engagements with Sarah Lynn Wallace
Speaking opportunities are increasing as more events and conferences are returning to in-person and organizations are looking to bring in trainers. Now is the time to get prepared and take action. This is exactly what our guest, Sarah Lynn Wallace, has been doing as she’s been going through our Thought Leader Academy this year. Sarah has booked several speaking and training engagements, including paid ones. I asked Sarah to come on the podcast and have a conversation with our lead speaking coach, Diane Diaz, to talk about what has been effective for her in booking speaking engagements. Sarah has a unique take on the marketing and visibility work she does with her clients, which you’ll hear about as well. <span
26/04/2022 • 38 minutes 41 seconds
Register for Our New Free Live Training: 3 Speaking Skills You Need Now
We have a brand new FREE live training happening on Tuesday, April 26! Register today for free at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/training/. After two years of virtual speaking on screens (and, let’s face it, virtual living), the old model of public speaking no longer works. Content dumps, information overload, and one-way communication don’t cut it anymore. Your audience expects more - and you have an incredible opportunity to set yourself apart as a dynamic speaker. There are 3 key skills you need now to get selected as a speaker, stand out by delivering the exact content your audience wants, and make money, whether it’s from paid engagements or by generating leads and sales from people in your audiences. You'll learn: The old model vs. the new model of public speaking The 3 key
21/04/2022 • 2 minutes 29 seconds
273: How to 10x Your Speaking Skills
If you’re a speaker who has in-person events coming up OR if you’re planning an in-person event, you won’t want to miss this conversation. We held our in-person client retreat speaking intensive a couple of weeks ago in Orlando, Florida, and it was incredible! We brought 12 women together to practice their speaking delivery skills (on a real stage!) and get professional videography they can use in their speaking reels. I asked two of the women who attended, Betsy Jordyn and Joy Spencer, to join me and Diane Diaz to talk about the experience. We talk about: Top takeaways from the the instruction and practice on delivering keynote speeches Favorite parts of the retrea
19/04/2022 • 27 minutes 47 seconds
272: The Business Case for Speaking and Thought Leadership with Carol Cox
As entrepreneurs, we have a lot on our plate and fitting in the time to build our thought leadership platforms, create presentations, and pitch ourselves can too often get relegated to the back burner. However, if you’re a service-based entrepreneur who is not a volume business (you’re not looking for thousands of clients at a time), you need speaking and thought leadership to grow your business. The other thing you need is to say “yes” to opportunities even when you don’t feel prepared and it feels scary. That’s what I want to talk to you about today. In this episode, you’ll hear: The importance of timing and saying yes to opportunities Having a bias towards action
12/04/2022 • 22 minutes 48 seconds
271: Providing Transformation vs. Information with Carol Cox
Are you providing transformation or information in your presentations and talks? Whenever I work on a presentation or a keynote or even the agenda for the in-person client retreat we’re holding in April, my default is to think of all the information I want to convey to the audience. You may be the same way. We’re usually good at coming up with lots of things we can share and teach. But, I want to challenge you (like I challenge myself) to reduce the information and increase the transformation. Why? Because you’ll have a bigger impact on your audience; you’ll get traction on your thought leadership message; and you can increase your prices, both for speaking and for the services and programs you offer. In this episode
05/04/2022 • 17 minutes 15 seconds
270: The Hub and Spokes of Your Thought Leadership Message with Christie Rocha
When you start putting your thought leadership out into the world, think of your overall message as the hub. You then have various spokes you can use to share the message and get others involved. These spokes can include your own podcast; a LinkedIn Live or Instagram Live show; a challenge; speaking (of course!); podcast guesting; and events you host. My guest Christie Rocha recently graduated from our Thought Leader Academy and we worked together on her thought leadership message and her signature talk. Christie has a really important message to share, particularly to millennial moms, about mental health and self-care. Christie has such a fun and vibrant personality, which comes across in her podcast “Sass Says” and in this interview. <span style="font-wei
29/03/2022 • 34 minutes 19 seconds
269: Creating a Memorable "Bit" for Your Keynote Speech with Nicole Edwards
As you’re working on your keynote speech (or aspiring to one), there are key elements to include that make it different from a regular business presentation or training. Along with stories and audience engagement (always!), you can also create what’s known as a “bit.” This is a section of your keynote, usually just a few minutes long, that stands out and becomes memorable for the audience. My guest Nicole Edwards recently graduated from our Thought Leader Academy and we worked together to create her keynote. I really enjoyed working with Nicole because she was always open to learning and improving. In this episode, Nicole and I talk about: Her background and what has brought her to thought leadership <sp
22/03/2022 • 26 minutes 43 seconds
268: Using a Signature Talk for Lead Generation with Kelley Carlstrom, PharmD
What does it look like to create your signature talk and put it out there for the first time? Our guest, Kelley D. Carlstrom, PharmD, did just that a couple of months ago. Kelley recently graduated from our Thought Leader Academy and worked with our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz to create her signature talk for lead generation. Kelley took her new signature talk and presented it as a webinar to promote her program for oncology pharmacists, called the ELO Collaborative. Not only did Kelley get great feedback, she also got enrollees for her program! In this episode, Diane and Kelley talk about: What prompted Kelley to want to develop her thought leadership <s
15/03/2022 • 37 minutes 57 seconds
267: The Way to Gender Equality is through Public Speaking with Carol Cox (#IWD)
Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is Break the Bias. I appreciate that on the IWD website, they write, “Celebrating women's achievements and increasing visibility, while calling out inequality, is key.” In this episode, I share the premise of the book I’m working on around the importance of women being public speakers as a way to advance women in leadership and gender equality and a new model of public speaking. What if I told you that the key to being more confident is not what you’ve been told in the myriad of women’s leadership and personal development books you’ve read? Well, at least it’s not the whole story. <span s
08/03/2022 • 13 minutes 39 seconds
266: How I've Found and Used My Voice with Carol Cox
In this episode, I share 3 ways public speaking has helped me to find and use my voice and the lessons I’ve learned along the way that may help you too. I take a broad view of public speaking = stages, in front of audiences, on TV, in the media, also virtual presentations and podcasting, live streaming, video. Public speaking, in all of these ways, helps you to get your message out, to share your thought leadership ideas, and to have a bigger impact. It’s also an incredible way for more people to know about your business and the work you do and to attract clients, speaking engagements, and media opportunities. I talk about: The one time when I was on TV that I momentarily lost my voice and had to ask for a retake <span style="font-weight:
01/03/2022 • 21 minutes 32 seconds
265: 3 Ways to Love Your Audience with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
We’re wrapping up the month of February talking about how we as speakers can love our audiences. Why is this important? Because the more connected the people in our audience feel to us and to each other, the more impactful and memorable our presentations and talks will be. And here’s the thing about loving our audiences: it’s about relationship, which is much different from the standard approach to public speaking which tends to put all of the spotlight on the speaker. In this episode, which is the audio from our LinkedIn Live show, we share 3 ways you can love your audience. You can watch the video replay at <span style= "fo
22/02/2022 • 17 minutes 27 seconds
264: The Role of Symbols and Metaphors in Our Stories with Susan Moe
If you’re an analytical, left-brained thinker like me, this episode is going to give you a different perspective on your content, your speaking, and yourself. My guest Susan Moe is an MBA-trained former business executive who is now a clairvoyant reader who helps her clients understand themselves better through their own symbols and metaphors. Susan is a long-time and loyal podcast listener who did a reading for me back in December 2020 (the first one I’ve ever had). It was powerful and revealing - and I share a bit about it in this episode. You’ll hear in this conversation how I’m on my own journey to get more in touch with my intuitive, creative, right-brained side. I invite you to come along with me! Susan and I talk about: <span style="fo
15/02/2022 • 38 minutes 42 seconds
263: Finding the Emotional Heart of Your Message with Carol Cox
Since we’re in the month of February, I figured it was a good time to talk about finding the emotional heart of your message. As speakers, we can get so focused on the information we want to share that we neglect emotions and feelings and making a heart-to-heart connection with the people in our audiences. If you want your talk to be memorable and impactful and you want to become a keynote speaker, be on bigger stages, deliver a powerful TEDx talk, you need to have an emotional heart to your message. In this episode, I’m going to share: What I mean by the emotional heart of your message Examples ranging from Eliza Hamilton to Taylor Swift to a recent workshop I facilitated on storytelling <spa
08/02/2022 • 16 minutes 26 seconds
262: The Four Layers of Thought Leadership with Carol Cox
I remember last year I was doing some research and I googled “famous thought leaders.” Guess what the results were? All men. Now, we know there are women thought leaders: Brene Brown, Mel Robbins, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Minda Harts all come to mind. But, Google hasn’t caught on yet. Why not? Because we need MORE women thought leaders to flood the zone. This is where you come in and this is why I’ve been talking a lot on the podcast about thought leadership and the role it plays in your business and for you getting bigger opportunities and the impact you want to have. It’s also why I created our Thought Leader Academy - to give women entrepreneurs and professionals a place where they can develop their thought leadership ideas and signature talks. <span style=
01/02/2022 • 23 minutes 25 seconds
261: Closing the Gender Speaking Gap with Kristin Oakley
You won't want to miss the story I share in this episode that made me so mad at the time. About 5 years ago, I was attending an event run by a very prominent women's organization and I couldn't believe who they had on stage. Here's a hint: It has to do with our topic today, which is the gender speaking gap. Similar to the gender pay gap, the gender speaking gap represents the disparity between the number of women and men we see speaking at events, from high-profile keynotes to panel discussions (#nomoremanels). We know how important it is for more women to be visible and have a public voice, so I’m excited to have Kristin Oakley as my guest. Kristin is a professional speaker, emcee, on-camera presenter and Personal Empowermen
25/01/2022 • 36 minutes 50 seconds
260: Self-Doubt Happens: Here's What I Do with Carol Cox
One of the side effects of going bigger with your message and putting yourself out there is self-doubt. Even when you’re excited about what you’re working on, self-doubt can creep in. Self-doubt can masquerade as procrastination, boredom, shiny object syndrome, distractions, filling up your to-do lists and calendar, even deciding to clean those areas of the house that never get cleaned. Self-doubt can also keep you stuck and not developing further as an entrepreneur, speaker, and thought leader. In this episode, I’m sharing my own struggles with self-doubt and specific things I do when it comes up that may be helpful to you. About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speakin
18/01/2022 • 15 minutes 45 seconds
259: Connecting Your Business and Your Thought Leadership with Carol Cox
How is your thought leadership message connected to your business? Should it be related? I look at it this way: Thought leadership is the personal WHY to the WHAT (vision) and HOW (mission) that you have for your business. Think of your thought leadership as a parallel track to your business; it’s WHY you do what you do. I talk about thought leadership because it’s the way to get more of what you want: better speaking engagements, including paid ones, plus the way to reach more people with your message and create change. In this episode, I talk about: What thought leadership is How thought leadership is different from your marketing and sales message in your busin
11/01/2022 • 27 minutes 6 seconds
258: Trends in Public Speaking and Thought Leadership for 2022 with Carol Cox
Happy New Year! This is the 4th year in a row I’ve done a trends episode for the start of the year. What I mean by trends are not fads or cliches or gimmicks. Trends are like currents or waves of energy that move through our society and affect everything from business and politics and the economy to popular culture and media. How do these trends impact our public speaking and thought leadership? As speakers and leaders, our talks and messages have more of an impact if our audiences can see the bigger picture of what’s affecting them and the world around them. In this episode, you’ll learn 3 trends (and action steps for each) related to format, audience, and content that you can apply to your speaking and thought leadership,
04/01/2022 • 20 minutes 2 seconds
257: Writing a Book Gives Your Ideas Depth and Longevity with Tiffany Hawk [The Medium is the Message Series]
This is the final episode in the series we’ve been doing called “The Medium is the Message”. In this series, we’ve covered the mediums of podcasting, public speaking, video, TV, email, and social media - what makes each one unique and how to make the most of them. This episode is all about the medium of the book and my guest is author and book coach Tiffany Hawk. Writing a book allows you to develop your thought leadership in a deeper way and gives your ideas longevity. A book can also be an important asset for you to have as a speaker, especially if you want to be a keynote speaker. <span style="fon
28/12/2021 • 41 minutes 36 seconds
256: Making the Most of LinkedIn as a Thought Leader with Tyrona Heath [The Medium is the Message Series]
This is one of the best conversations I’ve had about how to use social media effectively as a thought leader. My guest is Tyrona (Ty) Heath, who is Director, Market Engagement, at The B2B Institute at LinkedIn. You’re getting the inside scoop of the big picture of how to make the most of LinkedIn. We get past the superficial tactics and really dig into what makes social media and LinkedIn in particular unique, how to showcase your body of work as a thought leader, and what your audience wants from you. Ty and I talk about: The ways social media, and LinkedIn in particular, can be used for different goals (e.g., brand awareness, lead generation, thought leadership) What ent
21/12/2021 • 38 minutes 30 seconds
255: Year In Review: What Worked, What Didn’t, What’s Next with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
We’re taking you behind the scenes to share what worked, what didn’t, and what’s next for us in the areas of speaking, visibility, and the business in general. Diane Diaz and I talk about: 🎉 10 things we’re celebrating that went well this year ❌ 3 things we tried that did not go as well as we had wanted 💡 5 larger lessons we’re taking from what worked and what didn’t 🎯 3 strategic priorities for next year I encourage you to use this template to reflect on and write down your own wins, experiments, lessons, and priorities. Applications are open for our next Thought Leader Academy group that
14/12/2021 • 42 minutes 43 seconds
254: What Your List Wants from Your Emails with Kate Doster [The Medium is the Message Series]
What does the *medium* of email want in order to be the most effective? What do *we* want when we look through our inboxes? The answers surprised me! We’ve heard for years that it's important to build our email list. Unlike social media platforms, you own your email list and can communicate with the people on it directly, without the filters of algorithms. However, just because someone is on your email list, that doesn’t mean they’re opening your emails, much less reading them and taking action. I like to experiment with the emails I send. I’ve sent fancy newsletter styles with lots of content and links. I’ve sent p
07/12/2021 • 37 minutes 20 seconds
253: TV Can Make You Famous - But Don't Read the Comments with Dr. Christina Madison [The Medium is the Message Series]
If you’ve ever thought that you’d like to be on TV as a contributing expert - or if you think you’re not qualified (you are!) - you’ll get so much out of this episode. We’re continuing our series “The Medium is the Message” and in this episode we’re focusing on TV as a platform that can quickly propel your visibility and credibility. Since 2005, I’ve appeared (too many times to count) on Orlando-area news stations as a Democratic political analyst. Being on TV can turn you into a mini-celebrity, as people who see you on the news start recognizing you at the store. (True story: During the 2016 election cycle, I was on the news frequently. I was at the store one
30/11/2021 • 1 hour 1 minute 36 seconds
252: Using Video for Thought Leadership, Brand Awareness, and Sales with Stacy Mayer [The Medium is the Message Series]
More and more social media platforms, from Instagram and Pinterest to LinkedIn, are encouraging users to create videos and prioritizing video in their algorithms. As entrepreneurs, speakers, and content creators, how can we effectively use different types of video formats for thought leadership, brand awareness, and sales? My guest is Stacy Mayer, a Certified Executive Coach and founder of Executive Ahead of Time, helping women get promoted into the executive suite on their own terms. I’ve noticed Stacy using video on LinkedIn, so I invited her on the podcast to share what’s been working for her. Stacy and I talk about: The types of videos she creates (length, format, content) <span style="font
23/11/2021 • 36 minutes 26 seconds
251: This is What Public Speaking Does for You with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz [The Medium is the Message Series]
Did you know that public speaking is one of the fastest ways that you can establish your expertise, credibility, authority, and thought leadership? Why? Because of the intrinsic benefits being the speaker standing in the front of a room or on a stage conveys, before you’ve even said a word. This in and of itself is one of the best reasons to be a speaker. This is the second episode in a new series we’re doing called “The Medium is the Message.” Each medium/platform we use, whether public speaking, podcasting, video, social media, TV, books, and so on, gives us particular benefits due to the nature of the medium itself. This also means that each m
16/11/2021 • 32 minutes 35 seconds
250: Lessons Learned from 250 Podcast Episodes with Carol Cox [The Medium is the Message Series]
We’re celebrating 250 episodes of the Speaking Your Brand podcast! I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you lessons I’ve learned after hosting and creating 250 episodes, including what makes podcasting unique and different from video and writing and how it has impacted my business and thought leadership. This is the first episode in a new series we’re doing that I’m calling “The Medium is the Message.” This phrase is from media theorist Marshall McLuhan and books he wrote in the 1950s and 60s. McLuhan analyzed technologies (mediums) like the printing press, electric light, radio, and television and saw that it was the medium itself, not the particular content, that affected and changed society and human behavior. It was
09/11/2021 • 29 minutes 31 seconds
249: Add Performance Elements to Your Speaking with Carol Cox
We’ve been doing a series on in-person speaking, as more conferences and events return to in-person. Today, I’m talking about the relationship between speaking and performance. This episode was prompted by one of our Thought Leader Academy calls from a few weeks ago. I asked each woman to tell us what she liked to do when she was young and most of them loved performing, whether in school plays, singing, or dancing. There’s definitely a connection between speaking and performance. However, once we start speaking for our business, we don’t see the connection between speaking and performing and we miss out on bringing performance elements into our presentations and speeches. You don’t need to sing and dance - unless you want to!
02/11/2021 • 20 minutes 48 seconds
248: Boost Learning and Engagement in Your Presentations and Programs with Manja Horner
Whether you’re presenting at a conference or running a program or course, you want to make sure that your audiences and clients are learning and, more importantly, applying what they learn. My guest is Manja Horner, who has a deep background as a learning experience designer. She now helps entrepreneurs create effective and impactful programs and courses. Manja and I talk about: Mistakes we make when designing our programs and courses Making our courses bingeable in a weekend The importance of experiential learning Assessing our audiences and clients at the beginning and along the way Suggestions for audience activities for in-person and virtual presentations<
26/10/2021 • 33 minutes 4 seconds
247: Creating Your Body of Work by Noticing Who's Missing with Katrine Marçal
When you think about your thought leadership, one of the questions to consider is: What is missing in your field/industry? For my guest Katrine Marçal, the question wasn’t only “what” is missing, but “who” is missing and what the consequences have been for all of us. Katrine is a bestselling author on women and innovation and her second book just came out called “Mother Of Invention: How Good Ideas Get Ignored In An Economy Built For Men.” Katrine and I talk about: Why women have been missing from economics The innovations we’re missing as a society because women have been ignored and don’t receive funding for their ideas and businesses How Katrine is "speaking her bran
19/10/2021 • 30 minutes 55 seconds
246: Audience Engagement Strategies for In-Person Speaking with Ramona J. Smith
We’re continuing our series on in-person speaking with this episode to talk about audience engagement strategies you can use and how you can give your audience an experience. My guest is Ramona J. Smith, who holds the prestigious title of the 2018 World Champion of Public Speaking from Toastmasters, only the 2nd Black woman and 5th woman overall to win this award. Ramona and I talk about: How she created her award-winning speech The importance of using your body and the stage Handling nerves Fun strategies for audience engagement Setting your speaking fees About My Guest: <sp
12/10/2021 • 31 minutes 14 seconds
245: How to Get Selected as a Speaker by Event Organizers with Sarah Soliman
As the speaking season is ramping up (both virtual and in person) and conferences are planning for next year, how can you stand out and get selected as a speaker? Our guest is Sarah Soliman, who’s the founder of Soliman Productions, a full video content firm that produces videos and also manages and executes hybrid events and full virtual experiences from start to finish. Sarah is also active with MPI (Meeting Professionals International). Sarah and Diane take you behind the scenes to talk about: What meeting planners look for in speakers What kinds of video clips / sizzle reels to have Getting the best from videography when you're speaking at events The importance of
05/10/2021 • 1 hour 18 seconds
244: Behind the Scenes of My Recent Keynote with Carol Cox
I’m taking you behind the scenes to talk about the recent keynote I delivered, including how the event organizer found me, how I created and prepared for the speech, and how it went the day of. It was my first in-person speaking engagement since before the pandemic and it felt so good to be back at an event! It was in Orlando, where I live, so I was able to invite my mom and sister along with Diane Diaz and some of our clients who also live here. You can see event photos and a video clip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CUDEF8ZLdLb/ Video I posted on LinkedIn of how I used our Signature Talk Canvas® framework
28/09/2021 • 26 minutes 25 seconds
243: How We Create a Signature Talk in a VIP Day
What is it like to create your signature talk in a day? Can it really be done? What are the results? This episode is the audio from a LinkedIn Live we did recently with two women, Erin Austin and Casey Gromer, who’ve worked with us in VIP Days to create their signature talk. We take you behind the scenes to talk about: Why they wanted a signature talk What the VIP Day experience was like How they’ve been using their signature talk Why we like the VIP Day process to give our clients clarity and momentum Ideas for how you could offer a VIP Day for your own services <span style="font-w
21/09/2021 • 35 minutes 49 seconds
242: Evolving from Experts to Thought Leaders (TLA Grads)
How can you evolve from being an expert to a thought leader? What mindset shift needs to happen and what does thought leadership message and content look like? This episode is the audio from a LinkedIn Live we did recently with two of the women who've graduated from our Thought Leader Academy, Emily Rogers and Jackie Roby. We take you behind the scenes to talk about: What it means to them to be a thought leader The role that vulnerability plays in being a thought leader <span style="f
14/09/2021 • 34 minutes 19 seconds
241: The Expert Trap: What Holds Women Back from Thought Leadership with Carol Cox
You’re an expert in what you do: you have work experience, skills, knowledge, credentials, degrees. You’re well regarded as an expert in your field. You enjoy presenting and training in your area of expertise. Being an expert is great for attracting clients who need your specialized services and for doing workshops and conference breakout sessions. And it’s holding you back. It’s holding you back from thought leadership: making a bigger and bolder impact, integrating meaning and mission into your business, and delivering speeches that are transformational and game-changing. It’s holding you back from developing your full potential. <span style="font
07/09/2021 • 25 minutes 34 seconds
240: My Realization of What's in MY Way to Thought Leadership with Carol Cox
Is there something holding you back from your thought leadership? If so, it just might be the way through. In the episode from 2 weeks ago with Betsy Jordyn, we talked about Betsy’s realization, which she shared in her Thought Leader Academy graduation speech, that “What I thought was *in my way* to my thought leadership was *the way* to my thought leadership.” The idea is that what holds us back, where we get stuck, what we’re putting off doing, what we’re afraid to talk about is precisely what we need to do. Our audiences will relate to our struggles and WE will grow by pushing past the doubts and fears. I’ve been reflecting about what holds me back - and it’s that I don’t like being in the spotlight. This seems counter-int
31/08/2021 • 25 minutes 20 seconds
239: Leadership is about the Heart as much as the Head with Emily Rogers
As a high-achieving woman and a left-brained/logical/analytical person, I've been perfectly comfortable living and working from my head. However, I’ve begun to realize over the past couple of years that leadership and coaching and, really, being human is about your heart. My guest is Emily Rogers, a high-achieving woman who has learned to tap into her somatic wisdom and helps her executive coaching clients with that as well. Emily had a very successful career as an executive in a high-profile role in a very male-dominated industry. And then one day her coach asked her, “What if you led with your heart?” Emily resisted that for a while, until she recognized what a benefit that would be for her team and for herself.
24/08/2021 • 31 minutes 53 seconds
238: What's IN Your Way IS Your Way to Your Thought Leadership with Betsy Jordyn
This is an incredibly powerful conversation about owning and telling our story and what it looks like to develop into a thought leader. My guest is Besty Jordyn, who is truly a brand whisperer. She has a magical ability to understand who her clients are at a deep level and help them position their business and marketing. Betsy went through our Thought Leader Academy earlier this year and on our final graduation call, Betsy shared her journey through the program. This part of her speech stopped me in my tracks: “What I thought was *in my way* to my thought leadership was *the way* to my thought leadership. What I felt crippled me actually qualifies me for the message that I want to deliver to others,” Betsy said. Betsy and I have had many conversations since then about wh
17/08/2021 • 39 minutes 39 seconds
237: The Power of Being Vulnerable with Your Personal Story with Cyndi Shifrel
I know from first-hand experience how hard and scary it can be to be vulnerable sharing a deeply personal story that reveals something that shows you’re not perfect. And I also know how incredibly powerful doing so can be. Not only for those who hear it, but for yourself. This is the journey that our guest Cyndi Shifrel has gone through during the past year, as COVID dramatically impacted her events businesses. As the CEO of two businesses (with nearly 40 employees) and a leader in her community, it wasn’t easy for Cyndi to decide to share what she went through, both from a business perspective and also her own personal struggles. And yet doing so has helped others and has shaped her thought leadership message. Cyndi is curre
10/08/2021 • 40 minutes
236: Using One Story with Different Angles for Different Audiences with Chanta Wilkinson
You know that including stories, especially personal stories, in your presentations is important to connect with and engage the audience. This is true whether you’re giving a keynote, a business presentation, or a training. Along with integrating various stories and examples throughout your presentations, you can also have one core story that illustrates your topic and why it’s important. This is what my guest Chanta Wilkinson and I have been working on during our coaching sessions as part of our Thought Leader Academy. Chanta provides trainings and workshops for organizations around diversity, equity, and inclusion, so we identified a story going back to when she was a young girl that perfectly illustrates why she has gravitated to this work and why DEI is so important. <span style="font-weight: 400;"
03/08/2021 • 41 minutes 3 seconds
235: Pivoting Your Brand and Business into Thought Leadership with Marisol Erlacher
Have you been getting the feeling that you’re ready to go bigger with your ideas and message? That you want to have a bigger impact and reach more people? This is what today’s guest, therapist Marisol Erlacher, started feeling last year, as she took part in conversations with other BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) women who were recognizing the role that trauma has played in their leadership development and how it has shown up in their professional lives. Marisol is currently in our Thought Leader Academy and has been working one-on-one with our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz on her thought leadership platform and signature talk. I love what Marisol says towards the end of their conversation about her evolution as a thought leader: “It’s not about how other people see me. It’s about how I see myself.”<
27/07/2021 • 48 minutes 18 seconds
234: How to Create Content Using Your Authentic Voice with Ashleigh Rennie
The best way to describe this episode is to share what my guest, copywriter Ashleigh Rennie, wrote when she scheduled our podcast interview: “When I was growing up in South Africa, the country was in the darkest days of the Apartheid. It was the 80s. Nelson Mandela had been in jail for twenty years. We were on the verge of a civil war. My parents were liberals who voted for democracy. And I was making speeches at school about social injustice, equality and marginalisation, and why Apartheid was wrong. “Then I went to work for a non-profit, The Foundation for Tolerance Education, and I held workshops and made speeches about Apartheid, the Holocaust, and what it means to be a victim, a perpetrator, and a bystander. “I'm passionate about being vocal about what you believe in. It's everything to me. It
20/07/2021 • 47 minutes 15 seconds
233: Identify Your Thought Leadership Model with Carol Cox
In this episode, I share 3 types of thought leadership models: personality-driven, research-driven, and mission-driven. A lot of times we see someone who we would categorize as a thought leader and think that we can’t do what they do - and you don’t have to be just like them. You can see which of these 3 types most closely aligns with who you naturally are. Just like your business model influences your customer segments, value proposition, key activities, and channels, your thought leadership model will do the same. Once you have an understanding of which type of thought leader you are, your goals, your message, your content, and your platforms will be much clearer and easier to implement. About Us: <span style="font
13/07/2021 • 23 minutes 18 seconds
232: Are You an Influencer, an Expert, or a Thought Leader? with Carol Cox
What’s the difference between an influencer and a thought leader? And what’s the difference between an expert and a thought leader? Which one you choose will determine the kind of content you create and where (what platforms) you should be spending your time and focus. Most likely, you’re currently in the expert category (which is great!) and perhaps you want to develop into a thought leader. There’s a lot of overlap between being an expert and a thought leader that you can leverage - AND there’s a critical difference between the two, which you’ll hear in this episode. In this episode, I talk about the differences between influencers, experts, and thought leaders, including examples, what they do, platforms, monetization streams, and what their content looks like.
06/07/2021 • 15 minutes 50 seconds
231: What Event Organizers Look for in Speakers with Kelly Youngs
How can you get selected to speak at an event? What do event organizers look for in speakers? My guest is Kelly Youngs, the founder of global women’s network She Is Fierce!, which puts on in-person and virtual events. Kelly and I talk about the balance between inspirational speakers and expertise speakers, what kinds of speakers are inspiring to us, and how she curates the content and speakers for her events. I’ll be speaking (in person!) at Kelly’s She is Fierce! Summit this September 22-24, 2021, in St. Augustine, Florida. Join me there! Show notes, links, and related episodes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/231.
29/06/2021 • 37 minutes 45 seconds
230: Use Your Story for an Inspirational Talk with Tanea Smith
Have you ended up somewhere in life that you did not expect (or was not expected of you)? Do you have a life story that people have told you is inspirational? For my guest and client Tanea Smith, the answer to both of these questions is YES. In this episode, Tanea and I talk about how she’s using her life journey for her signature talk, including identifying her big idea, how we selected specific stories, and what happened to her recently that confirmed the message she wants to share. Show notes, links, and related episodes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/230.
22/06/2021 • 41 minutes 11 seconds
229: 3 Speaking Styles You Can Use
Are you ready to challenge yourself with your presentation content and delivery to make a memorable experience for your audience? In this episode, I share with you 3 main speaking styles, the overall goals of each, what each of them looks like including examples. You can take parts of each to create a style that’s your own - one that you enjoy, stretches you, and is memorable for the audience. After doing many, many Zoom sessions and virtual presentations over the past 16 months, I know I can’t wait to be in front of an audience and to truly make an experience for them and for me. You can use this opportunity as we shift from virtual to in-person to try new things, maybe go out of your comfort zone a bit and play with a new speaking style. <span style="font
15/06/2021 • 30 minutes 26 seconds
228: Mistakes Speakers Make That Turn Off Audiences
Have you attended presentations, whether in person or online, where you get frustrated or bored? Perhaps even the thought has crossed your mind to walk out of the session or to close the Zoom window? I know I’ve had those experiences as someone in the audience - and that’s definitely *not* something you want your audiences to experience when you’re the presenter. As speakers, we want to deliver a really great experience, get excellent feedback, and get leads and clients. Hear 5 mistakes I see speakers make that turn off their audiences AND what to do instead. This applies no matter the audience size and whether you’re presenting in person or online. Show notes, links, and related episodes at <span style= "font-weigh
08/06/2021 • 26 minutes 13 seconds
227: How We Pitch and Prep for Speaking Gigs
Get behind the scenes on what we do at Speaking Your Brand to get, pitch for, and prep for speaking engagements. When I'm at a live event, whether it's a conference with speakers or a play with actors, I'm just as curious to know what goes on *back* stage as what's going on *on* stage. As such, we’ve started a NEW LinkedIn Live show called "Back Stage with Speaking Your Brand"! This podcast episode is the audio from the first LinkedIn Live show we did last week on how we and our clients pitch for and prepare for speaking engagements. We talk about: strategies for attracting inbound speaking requests, submitting speaking proposals, and preparing for the re
01/06/2021 • 38 minutes 53 seconds
226: Build Your Brand with Consistency and Authenticity with Sydney Cummings
Sydney Cummings is a YouTube sensation with over 1.1 million subscribers, which she built organically over the past 3 years by uploading a new workout every day (talk about consistency!) Recently, Sydney gave a TEDx talk called “Resilience: How to Emerge from your Tragedies Stronger”, which was her first (!) experience with public speaking. Sydney was invited to give the TEDx talk because the organizers at UC Davis heard about her and her story. This is how consistency and authenticity can build your brand and lead to opportunities. Our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz has been following Sydney for a while (doing her workouts!) and invited Sydney onto
25/05/2021 • 45 minutes 48 seconds
225: Speaking Fees, Rebranding, and Niching with Dr. Zoe Shaw
“The more you speak, the more you understand yourself and your audience.” I love this quote from my guest Dr. Zoe Shaw. Zoe is a psychotherapist, coach, podcaster, and speaker, whom I have known for the past few years as I’ve seen her speaking career grow. You’ll get a lot out of our conversation! Zoe and I talk about: How her speaking career got started How she got her first paid speaking engagement How speaking led to Zoe getting her first book contract Why Zoe has decided to re-brand her podcast and narrow her focus and audience to be more specific around faith and
18/05/2021 • 32 minutes 8 seconds
224: Achieve Big Goals with Public Accountability with Natalie Sisson
When you have a big goal or project you want to achieve, what do you do to keep yourself on track? For me, having external deadlines and public accountability is what gives me the motivation to complete the goal. This is what happened with our first Brave. Bold. Beyond. Live Virtual Summit. I set the date of October 15, 2020, announced it to our email list and on social media, and then worked backwards from the date to make sure everything happened that needed to. I did the same thing when I launched this podcast in February 2017. I applied to speak at a podcasting conference and figured it would be helpful to have a podcast by the time of the conference, so the week leading up to it, I worked to make sure this podcast went live. My guest in today’s episode is Natalie Si
11/05/2021 • 46 minutes 27 seconds
223: Hosting Your Own Event for Positioning and Revenue with Lisa Princic
Hosting your own event can be incredibly valuable for you and your business. It can position you as an expert and authority in the topic of your event; it can expand your visibility to new audiences; and it can build your email list and bring in revenue. There are different types of events you can host: live vs. pre-recorded; one day vs. multiple days; online or in person. Here at Speaking Your Brand, we hosted our Brave. Bold. Beyond. Live Virtual Summit in April 2021 and in October 2020. We chose to do it live on one day: all of our speakers delivered their talks live on the day of the event. My colleague and business coach Lisa Princic took a different approach to the summit she hosted in February (called The Profitable Membership Summit): hers was pre-recorded prese
04/05/2021 • 55 minutes 20 seconds
222: Communicating Your Vision and Values to Your Team with Amber De La Garza
I’ve always thought of “Speaking Your Brand” as not only how you communicate externally to audiences, whether it’s at conferences and events, on webinars, or on podcasts. It’s also how you communicate internally with your team members, your clients, and your vendors. How can you best share your vision and values with your team? I invited my friend Amber De La Garza onto the podcast to talk about how she has done this with her team members as her business has grown. Amber and I talk about: The team retreats we held for our respective teams What content we included in those retreats to help our team members better understand our businesses <span style="font-w
27/04/2021 • 38 minutes 16 seconds
221: Your I.P. Can Make Your Business Scalable and Saleable with Erin Austin
We talk quite a bit on this podcast about the value of creating frameworks. A framework is the repeatable process you use with your clients to help them achieve a particular outcome. We have our own Signature Talk Canvas® framework that we created and use when we work with our clients on their presentations. Your framework is your intellectual property (I.P.), which becomes an asset to your business. My guest in this episode is Erin Austin, who is an intellectual property attorney and the founder of Think Beyond IP. She helps B2B professional services firms identify, protect, and leverage their valuable intellectual assets. Erin and I talk about: <span styl
20/04/2021 • 35 minutes 21 seconds
220: The Power of Stories Told by Women (Summit Speeches by Carol Cox & Diane Diaz)
In this episode, we’re sharing the opening remarks from our recent Brave. Bold. Beyond. Live Virtual Summit. Listen in for not only the content but also the structure of our speeches. What elements do you notice? Our emcee Amber Hawley kicked off the event and then our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz opened with her speech on how as women we’ve studied our absence and how that has affected our confidence. I then picked up on this thread and talked about the importance of stories told by women, why as women we silence ourselves, and what we can do to change this. Our event was inspiring, motivating, and empowering for the hundreds of women who attended. Here's what attendees said: <span style="font-weight
13/04/2021 • 40 minutes 46 seconds
219: Identifying and Pitching Places to Speak with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
As we get closer to resuming in-person conferences and events later this year (yay!) plus with many groups still doing virtual events, this is a great time to research, identify, and reach out to organizers to get on their roster. What are ways you can do this? How do you know which types of speaking engagements are best for you? This episode is made specifically for you to address these questions and more! This is a mini-training based on the one we do for our clients in our Thought Leader Academy on creating your visibility plan and identifying and pitching places to speak (in TLA, we also go into creating your speaking fees and packages, writing your speaking proposals, and more). Our next Thought Leader Academy is enrolling now through April 19, 2021! Get all the det
06/04/2021 • 40 minutes 49 seconds
218: Being a Force for Change vs. a Force for Good with Natalie Legrand
My guest Natalie Legrand recently graduated from our Thought Leader Academy and is one of our panelists at our Brave. Bold. Beyond. Live Virtual Summit. I invited Natalie on to talk about: Her thought leadership project What it looks like to implement DEI as a small business owner Why you want to be a force for change and not just a force for good Questions we can consider to be a force for change Recognizing obstacles others have that we don’t think about Natalie coaches me (really helpful!) Our Thought Leader Academy is starting again in April 2
30/03/2021 • 49 minutes 27 seconds
217: Steps to Build Your Thought Leadership Platform with LuAnn Nigara, Tammy Lally, and Dr. Karen Wilson
What steps can you take to start building your thought leadership platform? What are strategies you can use to build an audience and grow your business, speaking, and visibility? This episode is a panel discussion from our Brave. Bold. Beyond. Live Virtual Summit that we held last October 2020. (Our next event is coming up very soon on April 1, 2021! Register for free at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/summit.) Our panelists (LuAnn Nigara, Tammy Lally, and Dr. Karen Wilson) are all accomplished speakers, from having a podcast with over 3 million downloads to having a TEDx talk go viral with over 2 million views to being a sought-after
23/03/2021 • 30 minutes 10 seconds
216. Why We're #ChoosingWomensVoices - and You Should Too with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
Last March 2020, as part of Women’s History Month, I released this episode and our challenge called #ChoosingWomensVoices. This content and challenge is just as relevant today, so this is an excellent opportunity to listen again or to listen for the first time. I’m taking this opportunity myself to audit the podcasts I listen to, the books I read, and the people I follow to make sure there are a preponderance of women’s voices and of diverse women’s voices. This all started towards the end of 2019 when I was listening to a well-known, very popular male podcaster and he put me over the edge when he said something like this (I'm paraphrasing): "Some people tell me I should have more diverse guests - women and people of color - but I don't think that should be a criteria fo
16/03/2021 • 36 minutes 14 seconds
215: Moving Past the Surface to Find Your Deeper Story and Message with Zaribel Clay
Have you ever felt like you have a deeper story and message to share with your audience? Perhaps you’re uncertain what it is because it’s hidden under surface content. Or perhaps you know what the deeper story is but you have some fears and doubts about being vulnerable and sharing it. We all have a deeper story and message - and our audiences can benefit when we’re willing to open up. This is exactly what we’ve seen Zaribel Clay do in our Thought Leader Academy during the past few months. Zaribel has been working closely with our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz on her thought leadership mes
09/03/2021 • 45 minutes 30 seconds
214: Top Takeaways from Our Speaking Coaches
Get ready for a value-packed and heartfelt episode with key takeaways you can use as you think about your thought leadership message and signature talk and putting yourself out there. This is a round table discussion with our speaking coaches who work with our clients in our Thought Leader Academy and with the speakers for our upcoming Brave. Bold. Beyond. Live Virtual Summit. Joining me in this episode are Diane Diaz, Marie Fiebach, and Joy Spencer. We talk about: The shifts we’ve seen our clients go through over the past few months Common challenges and obstacles we see clients face <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-leve
02/03/2021 • 43 minutes 2 seconds
213: The V.O.I.C.E. of Thought Leaders with Carol Cox [Big Ideas Series]
How can you start developing your thought leadership message? In this episode, I walk you through: my V.O.I.C.E. model for thought leadership common fears that keep us as women from speaking up the rewards you get from speaking up 6 steps to position yourself as a thought leader Download our free Thought Leadership workbook that has the V.O.I.C.E. framework, question prompts, and more: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/guide/. I define a thought leader as someone wh
23/02/2021 • 33 minutes 25 seconds
212: 5 Rules for Being an Excellent Emcee with Carol Cox and Amber Hawley
Have you been asked to be an emcee for an event or thought about being one? An emcee (or MC, Master of Ceremonies) is the person who is the bridge and what I call the cohesive glue of the event. Being an emcee is harder than it looks! You’re a host, an entertainer, and a representative of the event’s brand. As the emcee, your goal is to make the participants, the event organizer, their brand, and their business look good. I recently was the emcee for a virtual event and wanted to share my experiences and lessons with you. I’m joined in this episode by Amber Hawley, who is the emcee for our Brave. Bold. Beyond. Live Virtual Summit coming up o
16/02/2021 • 43 minutes 25 seconds
211: Turning an Academic Topic into a Powerful TEDx Talk with Tanya Golash-Boza [Big Ideas Series]
We all love TED talks, right? The best ones tell us something we haven’t thought of before and inspire us to take action. TED talks became so popular because they showcased Big Ideas that oftentimes came from or were influenced by the speaker’s own personal story or experience (plus they’re under 20 minutes!). In this episode, I’m joined by Tanya Golash-Boza, who recently delivered her TEDx talk called “How to Kill a Neighborhood and Make a Profit” about how disinvestment in Black communities during the 20th century has led to gentrification in the 21st. Tanya is currently in our <span style
09/02/2021 • 46 minutes 34 seconds
210: Finding Your Big Idea By Noticing What's Missing with Jackie Roby [Big Ideas Series]
What does it mean to have a Big Idea? Your Big Idea doesn’t need to be something that’s never been talked about before or something that new research you’ve done has uncovered for the first time (if yours does, that’s great!). I like to think of Big Ideas as ones that aren’t getting talked about in *your* circles, in your community or in your industry. Big Ideas can often be found at the intersection of your industry and a trend (not a fad - I talk about the differences between trends and fads in episode 206). For example, in episode 163 <s
02/02/2021 • 35 minutes 7 seconds
209: The Differences in Doing Interviews for Podcasts, TV, & Publications with Carol Cox and Marie Fiebach
Many of us guest on podcasts and it’s an excellent way to increase your visibility and expand to new audiences. Have you considered pitching yourself for traditional media, like TV, radio, and publications? You should! Joining me in this episode is Marie Fiebach, who is one of our speaking coaches for our Thought Leader Academy and for our Brave. Bold. Beyond. Live Virtual Summit. Marie is the host of the Feed Your Family Tonight podcast and a regular contributor on her local ABC TV affiliate in Wichita, Kansas. Marie and I have been working on a training she’s doing in our academy on media pitching and prep, so it got me thinking that it would be helpful for us to talk about the differences in doing interviews for podcasts, for media (TV and radio), and for publications
26/01/2021 • 42 minutes 32 seconds
208: Being an Introvert and a Speaker with Katherine N. Johnson
If you’re an introvert, the thought of visibility, and maybe even the thought of public speaking, is one that you may be a little bit more hesitant to pursue. However, did you know that there are so many speakers from professional speakers all the way down to entrepreneurs, who do public speaking and consider themselves introverts? You do not need to be an extrovert to be a really great public speaker. As an introvert, there are many things that you can do to put yourself out there, to find your voice, and to use your voice effectively. My guest today is Katherine N. Johnson, who is a Certified Professional Coach, mentor, writer, podcaster, and speaker. In this episode, Katherine opens up about her experiences as an introvert and details her journey in finding and using
19/01/2021 • 31 minutes 56 seconds
207: [On-Air Coaching] Visibility Strategies for 2021 with Mary Beth Simon
It’s no question that 2020 definitely threw us for a loop. With many of our speaking engagements and events forced to convert to online presentations and webinars, I know that a lot of us are excited to get back to in-person speaking (hopefully sometime in the later half of 2021). My guest today is Mary Beth Simon, who is the founder of Niche Partnership Consulting and also a current client in our Thought Leader Academy. In this episode, Mary Beth & I talk about what she’s doing for visibility and various strategies she can implement to leverage her visibility opportunities including: In-person speaking engagements Virtual presentations <li style="font-weight: 400;" ar
12/01/2021 • 39 minutes 43 seconds
206: Trends in Public Speaking and Thought Leadership for 2021 with Carol Cox
Happy New Year! This is the 3rd year in a row I’ve done a trends episode for the start of the year. You’d think after what happened in 2020, I’d shy away from projecting trends, but the trends I talked about a year ago surprisingly held up pretty well. (I recap them in this episode.) What I mean by trends are not fads or cliches or gimmicks. Trends are like currents or waves of energy that move through our society and affect everything from business and the economy to popular culture and media as well as our politics. How do these trends impact our public speaking and thought leadership? Because as speakers and leaders, our talks and messages have more of an impact if our audiences can see the bigger picture of what’s affecting them and the world around them.
05/01/2021 • 26 minutes 53 seconds
205: The 4 Types of Talks You Need as a Speaker and Thought Leader with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz [Goals & Planning Series]
I talk quite a bit on this podcast about signature talks - why you should have one and what goes into one. Your signature talk is your foundation for your brand message and story. It showcases who you are, what you do, who you do it for, and why it matters. We’ve worked with our clients for the past 5 years to help them create their signature talk, which they’ve used for presentations (in-person and virtually) for brand awareness, lead generation, keynotes, and TEDx talks. In this episode, Diane Diaz and I talk about: 4 types of talks you should have as an entrepreneur, speaker, and thought leader When you should use each type <span style="font-weight:
29/12/2020 • 35 minutes 2 seconds
204: Make Better Decisions Around Business and Speaking Opportunities with Danielle Hayden [Goals & Planning Series]
How can we create a decision-making filter to determine which opportunities to say ‘yes’ to and which to say ‘no’ to? If you are newer in your business and/or with speaking, it can be very beneficial to say ‘yes ’ to a lot of opportunities because it provides you with experience and with data for future decision making. Then, as we get further along in our businesses and in our speaking careers, we inevitably get more and more invitations and opportunities. My guest today is Danielle Hayden, who is the founder of Kickstart Accounting, Inc. where she and her team help business owners with bookkeeping, financial analysis, and education. Danielle and I talk about: Decision-
22/12/2020 • 34 minutes 40 seconds
203: What Should Be On Your Financial Review Checklist with Lesley Batson [Goals & Planning Series]
This episode is 2 conversations in one. I invited my guest and client Lesley Batson, founder of Rebel Rock Wealth, on to the podcast to help us with our financial review and planning as we end one year and start the next. Lesley shares with us the areas we need to review as individuals and as business owners. This ends up being the 2nd half of our conversation. The 1st half of the conversation is about an incident that happened to Lesley when she was co-hosting an online event in November. You won’t want to miss either parts of this episode. About My Guest: Lesley Batson launched Rebel Rock Wealth, a strategic financial consulting firm that teaches independent thinking professionals and small busi
15/12/2020 • 47 minutes 28 seconds
201: Year in Review: What Worked, What Didn't, What's Next with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz [Goals & Planning Series]
Although 2020 didn’t end up going quite as planned (understatement of the year), there are lessons I’ve taken from it that have made me and Speaking Your Brand as a business stronger and more resilient. In this episode, Diane Diaz and I talk about: The impact COVID had on the business and our plans for the year The value of constraints What worked and what didn’t work this year 5 big lessons from 2020 (these are not the obvious ones) My commitments and strategic priorities <span style= "font-weight
01/12/2020 • 40 minutes 21 seconds
200: Lessons, Mistakes, & Wins from Creating 200 Podcast Episodes with Carol Cox
200th episode celebration! After creating 200 podcast episodes over nearly 4 years, I’ve learned a lot. In this episode, I share: The impact podcasting has had on my business How my guest selection process has evolved Things I wished I had done earlier The most popular episodes and why I think they are My favorite episodes The surprising lessons I’ve learned about finding and using my voice <li style="font-
24/11/2020 • 22 minutes 38 seconds
199: Make Your Data-Driven Presentations More Interesting and Story-Driven with Monique Ositelu, PhD [Storytelling Series]
We’ve heard so much about the importance of storytelling over the past few years that using data, statistics, and research in our presentations seems to have been sidelined. However, data can play a very important role in helping people understand what’s going on and what’s possible. Data can be used to tell stories and to affect change. This is a fantastic conversation with my guest Monique Ositelu, PhD, who runs a data-consulting firm that helps educational institutions, non-profits, and companies leverage their data into useful strategic insights to curate actionable solutions. In this episode, Monique and I talk about: The stories she heard growing up and how they impacted her
17/11/2020 • 33 minutes 58 seconds
198: Find Your Hook for Your Book and Talk with Kelly Notaras [Storytelling Series]
Writing a nonfiction book and having a signature talk go hand in hand: both are a reflection of who you are, what you do, and why you do it. Both your book and your signature talk should have a “hook,” which is your particular angle that answers “why me” and “why now” for your topic. Some of our clients come to us after they’ve written a book to work on their signature talk, so we help them pull out the most important stories and key points. Other clients create their signature talk first, which becomes the foundation and outline for their book. My guest in this episode is Kelly Notaras, founder of kn literary arts, which works with authors who are writing nonfiction books. Kelly and I talk about: <li
10/11/2020 • 50 minutes
197: What We Can Learn as Speakers from 'Hamilton' with Carol Cox [Storytelling Series]
I admit, I’m a bit obsessed with the musical “Hamilton.” I watched it on Disney+ the July 4th weekend it came out and was instantly transfixed. I knew I would like it, but didn’t realize I was going to love it. Today I’m going to talk about “Hamilton” the play and the production and what we can learn from it as speakers. Why study the play? After all, as speakers, we’re not acting in a play or singing in a musical. We’re speaking to grow our audiences, build our businesses, generate leads, get paid. I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen a lot of so-so and boring presentations, both in perso
03/11/2020 • 40 minutes 19 seconds
196: Why Our Summit Was the Best Virtual Event Experience People Have Had with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
The live virtual summit that we hosted a couple of weeks ago was a smashing success. Attendees told us that it was the best virtual event they’ve even been to; some even said it was the best event, in person or virtual. And the stats prove it: the average watch time was nearly 3 hours. People told us they planned to pop in for an hour and ended up staying for the entire time! In this episode, we talk about why we think that was. As a speaker, you’ll learn takeaways you can use when presenting virtually. If you’re planning an event, you’ll learn what the critical elements were that made it such a great experience for the attendees. If you’re interested in more behind the scenes ab
27/10/2020 • 31 minutes 2 seconds
195: Our Opening and Closing Speeches from Our Brave. Bold. Beyond. Summit with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz [Storytelling Series]
What an incredible day we had last week for our Brave. Bold. Beyond. live virtual summit! Our speakers truly embodied being brave and bold. There were tears and laughter, mic drops and raised hands. In this episode, you get to hear the audio from my opening keynote and Diane Diaz’s closing speech. (In next week’s episode, Diane and I are going to talk about our takeaways from the summit, to help you as a speaker and as an event organizer, should you decide to host an event as your thought leadership project.) The summit was an all-day live experience and it was truly extraordinary to see our speakers deliver their powerful stories and the women in the chat supporting the speakers and networking with each other. <p
20/10/2020 • 35 minutes
194: How to Structure a Movement-Making Speech Using Your Story with Joy Spencer [Storytelling Series]
Why would you want to start a movement when you’re busy with your business? Isn’t a movement for activists and non-profits? Not necessarily. A movement is a group of people coming together to act towards a common cause who share similar values. As a business owner, you can ask: How can I serve people who believe the same thing I do? What can I create for this community to achieve our goal? You can use your business to have a bigger purpose and a greater impact, plus having a movement can provide a *container* for your thought leadership message. And of course public speaking can get out your bigger message and attract the people who believe in what you believe. My guest today is Joy Spencer, who was on the podcast earlier thi
13/10/2020 • 39 minutes 37 seconds
193: Five Kinds of Stories to Share in Your Thought Leadership Content with Carol Cox [Storytelling Series]
You’ve heard by now the power of storytelling in your presentations and thought leadership content. But, do you sometimes feel stuck and uncertain about what *kinds* of stories to share? As we work with our clients on their signature talks, we ask them questions about their past, present, and future, so we can extract the stories that will reveal who they are and how they can relate to and help their audience by sharing their own experiences. In this episode, you’ll learn about the 5 kinds of stories you can share in your presentations, including what each story type represents and examples to get you thinking about your own stories. This episode is the first in our new podcast series on Storytellin
06/10/2020 • 23 minutes 8 seconds
192: The Cure for Vulnerability Hangovers with Carol Cox [Use Your Voice Series]
Have you ever had a vulnerability hangover? I know I have, including just last month, along with other times this year after recording particular podcast episodes or writing emails to our list. A vulnerability hangover is that feeling of regret or uncertainty after you share something that’s personal or something that could be considered controversial. I’ve been thinking about vulnerability hangovers as we’re preparing the speakers for our virtual summit that’s coming up live on October 15. I’m in awe of the emotional resonance of the personal stories they’re sharing and the journeys they’re going to take us on. <span styl
29/09/2020 • 17 minutes 43 seconds
191: Women in Politics and the Public Sphere with Rep. Anna Eskamani [Use Your Voice Series]
I’m excited to have on the show today Anna Eskamani, who is my state representative in the Orlando, Florida, area where I live. Anna is young, outspoken, and tireless in the work she does for her constituents and for Floridians in general. I invited her on to have a conversation about what it’s like to run for office as a woman, how she found her voice, how she deals with negative and vocal opponents, and the importance of supporting progressive women running for local offices. I have a background in politics myself, having served as chairperson of my county’s Democratic Party in 2005-2006. I also founded a technology company called DemsLink that was one of the first in the nation to provide a complete set of online tools for Democratic candidates and organizations. And
22/09/2020 • 42 minutes 31 seconds
190: Speaking Truth to Power and the Importance of Language with Karla Manning, PhD [Use Your Voice Series]
Have you had an experience that made it so you couldn’t *not* speak up and use your voice? It could have been something that happened directly to you or it could have been something you witnessed or learned about. My guest is Dr. Karla Manning, who had such an experience when she taught in South Africa, which she calls a transformative experience that led her to be more vocal about injustice and disparities, particularly in education. Karla is the founder of The Equitable Leadership Group, LLC, a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultancy focused on K-12 schools. Karla received her PhD in Curriculum & Instruction and Multicultural Teacher Education. How she sees what she does as a spiritual pursuit <li style="font-weight: 40
15/09/2020 • 48 minutes 44 seconds
189: Behind the Scenes of Planning Our Virtual Summit with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz [Use Your Voice Series]
What’s it like to plan an event in only 8 weeks? We’re about to find out! Our live virtual summit takes place on October 15. Register at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/summit (it’s free!). This is a one-of-a-kind event: a mix of TED-style 10-minute talks plus panel discussions so you can learn how to craft a stellar speech and build your thought leadership platform. I’ve coached a number of TEDx speakers over the years and love the format of short, impactful talks that center around a big idea and a powerful personal story. If you enjoy speaking, want to get better at speaking, want to hear high-quality speeches, and want to learn what
08/09/2020 • 36 minutes 18 seconds
188: Trendsetting, Thought Leadership, and Trusted Circles with Gina Bianchini [Use Your Voice Series]
This episode is the perfect bridge between the series we just wrapped up on Thought Leadership and the new series we’re starting called Use Your Voice. My guest is Gina Bianchini, the founder of Mighty Networks, which enables people like you (and me!) create and host online communities (and more). I’ve been a fan of Gina’s since her days as co-founder of Ning and in the past couple of years even more so as Gina has been bold and direct in calling out Facebook for their lack of transparency and accountability around data privacy, misinformation, and disinformation.
01/09/2020 • 52 minutes 22 seconds
187: [Coaching] Identifying a Container for Your Message and Content with Diane Diaz and Brenda Reiss [Thought Leadership Series]
A few weeks ago in episode 184, I talked about the five elements that thought leaders have. One of these elements is what I call a *container* for their message and content. What happens as content creators and speakers is that we create pieces of content here and there. What makes the content more impactful is when there’s a participatory project or initiative, a container, that your audience can get involved with and carry with them, which means it’s more memorable and shareable. In this on-air coaching call, listen in as Speaking Your Brand coach Diane Diaz and one of our clients, Brenda Reiss, talk through the work that Brenda does with her clients and then identify a container for her message and content. <a href= "https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/pod
25/08/2020 • 50 minutes 47 seconds
186: From Hashtag to Podcast to Book: Developing Your Thought Leadership Platform with Elayne Fluker [Thought Leadership Series]
We’ve been talking about thought leadership for the past few episodes - what it means to be a thought leader, what thought leaders have in common, and the importance of having a container/project for your message. My guest Elayne Fluker has done exactly that - even though she didn’t start out with that plan in mind. It evolved as she paid attention to what she needed and what she was hearing from her audience and community. From a personal mantra of “Support is Sexy” to a hashtag to a podcast and now a book coming out in 2021 with HarperCollins Leadership, Elayne’s evolution shows how powerful it can be to stay consistent with your message and to give your audience a way to be involved. It was such a joy to have this conversation with Elayne and I know you’re going to le
18/08/2020 • 50 minutes 22 seconds
185: My Journey as a Thought Leader and How We’re Evolving at Speaking Your Brand with Carol Cox [Thought Leadership Series]
This episode didn’t go quite as planned. In last week’s episode, we looked at why some speakers become thought leaders - the elements they have in common. I’ve gotten great feedback on that episode, so go back and listen to it if you haven’t already. I decided to do this series on thought leadership because of a client survey we did and a recent conversation I had with my business coach. She pointed out to me that I needed to step up. So, I was planning on sharing my own journey as a thought leader over the past 15 years. I have 3 particular inflection points: when I was in politics; when I had my prior technology company; and the past 5 years since I started SYB. Except Sunday mo
11/08/2020 • 20 minutes 7 seconds
184: Why Some Speakers Become Thought Leaders with Carol Cox [Thought Leadership Series]
What do you think when you hear the term “thought leader?” Do you think you can be one? (Hint: you can!) I define a thought leader as someone who has an interesting idea that challenges the status quo, challenges our assumptions, maybe even breaks the rules, especially one that hasn’t been talked about a lot in their circle of influence, who communicates it with conviction and boldness, who inspires people to take action AND who causes people to be self-reflective, to learn more about themselves and how they relate to the world. We did a client survey recently and the phrase “thought leadership” came up more than I had expected. It makes sense that if you enjoy speaking, it means you want to have a bigger impact, reach more people, and grow your brand and business, all o
04/08/2020 • 32 minutes 57 seconds
183: Amplify Your Voice by Having a Sponsor with Jhaymee Tynan [Finding Your Voice Series]
If you've seen the incredible production of the play “Hamilton,” you may remember the song, “The room where it happens.” In it, Aaron Burr laments that he wants to be in the room where it happens - where leaders make decisions, make compromises, make opportunities for themselves and those who they are allied with. The idea is that to get traction, to have your ideas heard, to be successful, you want to be where things are going on, where you can make a difference, where the people around you can help you out. But what happens if it's not possible for you to be in that room? You need people who are advocates for you, people who are in those rooms, especially higher-level rooms that you may not have access to or be invited to or be there at that moment, who can advocate o
28/07/2020 • 39 minutes 20 seconds
182: Your Voice Can Help Others Break the Silence with Kelli Palfy, Ph.D. [Finding Your Voice Series]
In this episode, my guest and I talk about what may be a difficult topic for some of you: sexual abuse and in particular male sexual abuse. We don’t go into detail about the abuse, but I wanted to let you know in case this is an area that is personal to you and you’d rather not listen to our conversation. Even if we’ve never personally experienced sexual abuse or have a close family member who has, this topic can be uncomfortable precisely because it’s not talked about. I’m not one to shy away from uncomfortable topics because I believe that it’s invisibility and silence that maintain the status quo - and there are so many things in our society that need to change. My hope is that after listening to this conversation, you will be inspired to use your voice because you ca
21/07/2020 • 25 minutes 2 seconds
181: Find Your Story, Find Your Voice with Dr. Jerrica Dodd [Finding Your Voice Series]
We’ve been talking for the past couple of podcast episodes about finding your voice and both the challenges and opportunities around that. My guest today is Dr. Jerrica Dodd, a pharmacist who now coaches other women pharmacists transitioning into starting their own businesses. Jerrica is an incredible entrepreneur, coach, and speaker. We’ve worked together twice on her talks and she has a dynamic personality and presence. Jerrica and I talk about: The key question she asks her coaching clients - one that’s oftentimes difficult for us as women to answer Asking yourself: If you could do anything, what would it be? <span style=
14/07/2020 • 38 minutes 32 seconds
180: You Say You Want to be a Thought Leader: What That Really Means & How to Find Your Voice with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz [Finding Your Voice Series]
Have you struggled to figure out what to say, whether it's on a social media post or in a presentation? Have you stopped yourself from sharing something because you weren't sure what the reaction would be? Do you feel like there's something deeper, more meaningful, more impactful you want to say, but you haven't quite been able to tease it out? Do you feel stuck in your business and marketing and haven't been able to break through the online noise? As business owners, we're used to being marketers: crafting a message that appeals to a customer market to help them where they're at and where they see *they* want to go. Being a thought leader is different: it requires you to push your audience (and yourself) to go somewhere new.
07/07/2020 • 1 hour 1 minute 33 seconds
179: The Deep Truths You and Your Brand Need to Say with Rebeca Arbona [Finding Your Voice Series]
When my guest said this during our conversation, we both stopped to write it down because it was so good: “You can’t attract the like-minded to you if you don’t speak your mind.” Boom. Mic drop. This is an incredible conversation, one you’re likely to listen to more than once. Why do some brands resonate more than others? How can you connect with your audience in a deeper way? How do you find what your deeper truth is? My guest is Rebeca Arbona, who is an expert in helping companies develop their brand voice and strategy. In this episode, you’ll learn:
30/06/2020 • 49 minutes 24 seconds
178: The Most Important Questions in Negotiations with Alexandra (Alex) Carter
This is not your typical conversation or approach to negotiations. I came across my guest, Alexandra (Alex) Carter, on another podcast where she was talking about her new book called “Ask for More: Ten Questions to Negotiate Anything.” Alex is a Director of the Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, where she is also an award-winning professor, and a world-renowned negotiation trainer for the United Nations. She speaks and appears on TV and in the media regularly. Intrigued, I purchased her book, figuring it would be the standard negotiation questions you’d expect about understanding what the other person wants, finding common ground, knowing your walkaway point, etc. Oh, it’s so much more than that! At its core, Alex’s boo
23/06/2020 • 31 minutes 52 seconds
177: A Radically Different Approach to Understanding Racism with April Harter, LCSW
We’ve been hearing and seeing a lot over the past few weeks about anti-racism education and the need for white people (like me) to learn about how deep systemic racism is embedded throughout our society and the actions we can take to combat racism and anti-Blackness. This is a very different conversation about racism. My guest is April Harter, who is a therapist and licensed clinical social worker and the founder of the Racism Recovery Center. April has what I call a radically different approach to understanding racism. She looks at it from a behavioral/psychological/personal level. What she has found is that racism is rooted in childhood trauma/abuse/neglect and narcissism.
16/06/2020 • 46 minutes 41 seconds
176: Handling Triggers, Reactions, and Emotions in Ourselves and Others with Lara Currie
We’re all feeling a lot of emotions and seeing reactions and triggers in ourselves and others. Whether we’re having one-on-one conversations with family and friends, interacting on social media, watching the news, or even speaking to audiences, how can we better understand how to recognize triggers in ourselves and others and handle them better? My guest is Lara Currie, who specializes in helping her clients, primarily women in high-stress fields, handle difficult conversations and difficult people. In this episode, Lara and I talk about: The 4 triggers people can have The secret gifts of emotions <span style="font-weight: 40
09/06/2020 • 38 minutes 11 seconds
175: The Work of Anti-Racism as White Women with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
This is a conversation for white women about our role and privilege in a racist and white supremacist society and the work *we* need to do. As Kamala Harris said in a recent tweet: “The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor are not isolated incidents. They are the result of systematic racism that has existed for generations.” I’ve seen on social media from white women that they’re uncertain and scared about what to say. Yes, it can feel risky to speak up, to say something, to not be silent. But, our speaking up is *nothing* compared to the risk that Black women and men face every day. It’s the very least we can do - and it’s not enough. Saying “I’m not racist” isn’t enough. <span style="font
02/06/2020 • 33 minutes 51 seconds
174: Hosting Your Own Virtual Summit with Dr. Holly Tucker
Have you thought about hosting your own virtual summit? We've talked quite a bit for the past few months about the power of hosting webinars, which are typically just you talking to your audience (perhaps with a co-host). Virtual summits, on the other hand, typically bring together a group of speakers on a topic, with you as the host pre-recording the interviews with each speaker and then delivering them all on a particular day for registrants to watch. Hosting your own virtual summit can boost your visibility and brand, build relationships with people in your industry, grow your email list, and bring in revenue. (Virtual summits is one of the 5 types of webinars we talked about on our most recent webinar. You can watch the webinar recording at <a href= "https://
26/05/2020 • 22 minutes 25 seconds
173: Going Virtual with Your Business and Speaking for the First Time with Dr. Bibi Pirayesh
What happens when your entire business is in person, from meeting with clients to speaking, and the pandemic hits and that’s no longer possible? My guest is Dr. Bibi Pirayesh, who is an educational therapist in the Los Angeles area. Bibi faced this in mid-March when California closed the schools and issued their stay-at-home order. Bibi was in our Master Your Speaking program and went through our Webinar Idea to Launch program. In this episode, Bibi and I talk about: How she came up with her webinar topic (that’s different from her signature talk) Doing a webinar for the first time (!) The ini
19/05/2020 • 36 minutes 43 seconds
172: Get Past Perfection and Throw Out the Script with Joy Spencer
Get ready to be inspired to get past perfection and throw out the script you may *think* (consciously or unconsciously) you should be using in your career, business, and life. My guest is Joy Spencer, who works as an organizational development consultant and is a certified professional coach. Joy and I worked together earlier this year on her signature talk called “Beyond Your Dream Job: A Reframe to C.R.E.A.T.E. Your Ideal Work Experience and Legacy.” Joy was planning on using her signature talk for in-person workshops for her coaching business. With in-person events not possible right now, Joy joined our Webinar Idea to Launch program in April and repurposed her signature talk into a webinar version, which she delivered for the first time a couple of weeks ago.<
12/05/2020 • 32 minutes 41 seconds
171: 5 Types of Webinars You Can Do to Grow Your Business and Visibility with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
Do you have a strategy for your webinars? Do you know whether you should make a direct sales pitch on your webinar - or use it to build brand awareness and visibility? What's the difference between presenting to your own audience vs. someone else's? Can you get paid to do webinars? Knowing why you're doing a webinar and what to expect from it can provide clarity around the content to present, give you confidence when delivering it, AND see how it fits into your overall marketing strategy. We covered these questions and more on the live webinar we did last week on the 5 Types of Webinars You Can Do to Grow Your Business and Visibility.</sp
05/05/2020 • 1 hour 13 minutes 33 seconds
170: [Coaching] Taking Action and Pivoting in Your Business with Virtual Offerings with Amanda J. Hill
Have you been wanting to add a new offering to your business but haven’t had a chance to yet? As my guest Amanda J. Hill says in our conversation, the current crisis has accelerated her action, from *thinking* for the past year about adding a new offering to *doing* it. This episode is a case study and on-air coaching call on how to quickly pivot and take action to be of service to your clients. About My Guest: Amanda J. Hill founded MaesAwyr in 2015 and leads airport, airspace, capital improvement, and strategic planning projects for airport sponsors, consultants, and state agencies. She’s worked successfully with, for, and at many levels within the airport development industry as a planner and program manager for more than 15 years. She's an instrument-rated private pilot and also loves
28/04/2020 • 25 minutes 46 seconds
169: Leveraging Free Speaking Engagements Into Bigger Opportunities with Angela Hosking
A question I get asked a lot is: How can I get paid to speak? One of the best ways is to speak and present for free. (This goes for both in-person and online presentations and trainings.) Why speak for free? You build relationships with event organizers who can then recommend you or pay you to speak at future events. You get to know other speakers who recommend you for paid events. You can get video clips of you speaking to showcase your ability to deliver. You become more comfortable and confident with your material and
21/04/2020 • 33 minutes 55 seconds
168: Speaking and Embodying Your Values In Your Work with Patti Perez
How do your values show up in your work, whether it’s interacting with clients or employees, presenting to an audience, appearing on a podcast, or creating marketing materials? My guest today is Patti Perez, the founder of a consulting firm that’s dedicated to teaching leaders and teams how to create and sustain healthy, inclusive and profitable workplace cultures. Patti has a fascinating background that has informed her career, the work she does, and the values that she embodies, including truth telling, curiosity, and radical fairness. These values are also ones that she helps organizations develop so they create better workplaces. In this episode, Patti and I talk about: Her work as a workpl
14/04/2020 • 47 minutes 19 seconds
167: Creating a Sense of Belonging with Your Audience with Traci Baxley, Ed.D.
Whether you’re presenting online or in person, to any size audience, creating a sense of belonging with your audience builds trust and contributes to their learning experience. My guest Traci Baxley, Ed.D. calls herself a “belonging advocate” and she walks her talk. In this episode, Traci and I talk about: Specific belonging practices you can use for in-person and online Why your own vulnerability is the key - and how to do this How Traci thinks about her role as a speaker How Traci gets speaking engagements <span style="fon
07/04/2020 • 35 minutes 27 seconds
166: Reimagining Our Businesses, Industries, and Public Speaking with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
We've been hosting virtual office hours on Zoom for our clients and it's been so good to chat, commiserate about the situation we're all in, and talk about strategies for our businesses. One of the women remarked that she appreciated coming on because none of us was in a state of fear. Instead, we're focused on how we can meet our clients and audiences where they're at and innovate around our businesses. This pandemic and the economic fallout is going to affect the speaking and events business (it already has), which means it’s also going to affect my business, Speaking Your Brand, too. We’re all in a state of uncertainty right now about our businesses, our industries, our communities, the economy, plus the health crisis itself. <span style="font-weight: 4
31/03/2020 • 45 minutes 47 seconds
165: How to Repurpose Your In-Person Presentation into an Engaging Webinar with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
Have you attended a boring or poorly done webinar? Tune into this episode to hear webinar audience engagement in action! This episode is the audio from a live webinar we did last week. If you’d like to see the video recording with the slides, register at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/webinar/. With many of us having speaking engagements and in-person workshops postponed or canceled because of Covid-19, offering webinars or virtual workshops can be an excellent way to provide value to your audience. You don’t have to start from scratch when creating your webinar content. Instead, repur
24/03/2020 • 59 minutes 12 seconds
164: Mindful Leadership in Uncertain Times with Puja Madan
I don’t know about you, but for the past week, I’ve been checking the NYT website and my Twitter feed WAY too many times a day, as we all struggle to understand what the impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) will have on us, our families, our businesses, and our communities. My friend Puja Madan, who is an expert on mindful leadership for entrepreneurs and business executives, has been sharing really helpful posts and videos on LinkedIn. I invited Puja for an impromptu conversation we recorded a few days ago to talk about: The two brains we have and deciding which will dominate As leaders, being mindful of and reducing emotional contagion and herd mentality <span style="font-
17/03/2020 • 27 minutes 41 seconds
163: A Feminist Approach to Public Speaking with Carol Cox
As I’ve worked with nearly 200 women over the past few years, I’ve seen how the same things trip us up, as well as what liberates us as women - our voices and our stories. Have you ever attended an event, heard a speaker, and thought, “I could give just as good as, if not a better, presentation. Why am I not up there?” Have you ever shied away from submitting to speak at a conference or pitching yourself for a paid workshop because you don’t feel like you’re expert enough? Lack of confidence, imposter syndrome, self-doubt, the critical inner voice can all prevent us from putting ourselves out there or from talking about what we really want to talk about. I’ve been a self-proclaimed feminist since high school and have Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in women’s history an
10/03/2020 • 26 minutes 11 seconds
162: Why We're #ChoosingWomensVoices - and You Should Too with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
I was listening to a well-known, very popular male podcaster a few months ago and he put me over the edge when he said something like this (I'm paraphrasing): "Some people tell me I should have more diverse guests - women and people of color - but I don't think that should be a criteria for who I invite. I want the best person on a given topic no matter their gender or race." And at that moment, I hit stop, unsubscribed, and deleted his show from my podcast app. 🤯 (You'll hear who it was and more in this episode.) I do have to thank him for partly inspiring the #ChoosingWomensVoices challenge we're running this month to raise our awareness of the voices we listen to (and read), from podcasts and books to movies, tv, and news to our specific industry. <sp
03/03/2020 • 33 minutes 33 seconds
161: Mindset and Negotiation Strategies for Speakers with Latesha Byrd [Mindset Series]
Join me for an insightful conversation with my guest Latesha Byrd, a speaker, podcaster, and the founder of Byrd Career Consulting, a consulting agency that provides professional and executive career coaching. Latesha and I talk about: Figuring out what you want to be known for The identity shift that Latesha went through when she left one career to go into an entirely different field Why and how Latesha re-birthed her own brand and what the results have been Mindset strategies we can use to put ourselves out there: “Marry the process, not the outcome” <span style= "f
25/02/2020 • 44 minutes 45 seconds
160: Shifting Your Sales Mindset and Strategies for Greater Success with Reena Philpot [Mindset Series]
How would you like a bucket of leads at your business doorstep every day? Sounds great, right? Well, maybe not. This conversation with sales expert Reena Philpot is going to revolutionize the way you look at sales. I’ve gotten to know Reena over the past 2 years, and we worked together a few months ago to create her signature talk. The sales insights and approaches she shared with me while we created her talk were so profound that I started using them myself - and have seen the results. In this episode, Reena and I talk about: Why more leads coming to you is *not* the answer <li style="font-w
18/02/2020 • 36 minutes 14 seconds
159: What Holds Us Back and What Can Propel Us Forward with Stephanie Harter [Mindset Series]
How do you know when you’re ready for the next big thing, to make a change? Do you feel that you need to learn more, become more of an expert? Or are you the type of person who’s willing to learn while leaping? I’m joined by my friend and incredible coach Stephanie Harter, who’s made a few leaps herself over the years. We talk about what prompted her career changes, whether she felt ready, and what mindset strategies helped her and could help you. Stephanie has great energy, so you’ll be inspired by this conversation! Women's voices should carry equal weight, authority, and expertise. Join us in the #ChoosingWomensVoices 7-day challenge to bring awareness to and expand who we list
11/02/2020 • 36 minutes 33 seconds
158: Dealing with Uncertainty and Fear When Public Speaking [Mindset Series]
Public speaking can certainly bring about nerves and uncertainty, whether you’re a new speaker or you’ve been speaking a while and want to try something new on stage or with a larger audience. In this episode, Diane Diaz and I talk about: The improv class we’re taking and what we’ve learned so far that can help you Our own personal experiences of feeling uncertain about new experiences How Diane is approaching hiking part of the Appalachian Trail next year (bears, oh my!) How I’m approaching writing my book proposal and book this year (self-doubt, for sure!) <span style=
04/02/2020 • 32 minutes 42 seconds
157: Traits of a Successful Speaker
I’m sharing 7 books and 4 podcast series that have impacted me personally and professionally because they’ve made me think about being a speaker (and an entrepreneur) in a different way. You won’t find these books or podcasts in the business or marketing section. They’re also not about public speaking tips. Instead, they can add depth and dimension to you as a speaker, so you’re more captivating, engaging, and memorable. I’ve listed the names of the books and podcasts below. To hear what I’ve learned from them as a speaker, listen in. I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve read any of these books or listened to these podcasts. Let me know on <a href= "https://www.linkedi
28/01/2020 • 24 minutes 16 seconds
156: Visibility Strategies That Get You Noticed with Janice Gassam, Ph.D.
What does “being visible” mean? It means being seen and being in public view. As entrepreneurs, we want to be seen, so people know what we do and how we can help them. Visibility strategies, including being a panelist and speaker, posting on LinkedIn, and writing for publications, is what my guest Janice Gassam has successfully done over the past few years (even as an introvert - and we talk about this). From graduating with her Ph.D. in Applied Organizational Psychology to becoming a sought-after speaker and a Senior Contributing Writer to Forbes, Janice has quickly elevated her visibility. But, “visible” also means something that’s apparent or obvious (from dictionary.com). It
21/01/2020 • 36 minutes 5 seconds
155: How Public Speaking Built My Businesses: Lessons and Mistakes
Public speaking has undoubtedly been one of the key factors in building 3 different businesses over the last 18 years. You’ll hear the lessons and mistakes I learned, so you can use speaking effectively and strategically as part of your overall marketing strategy, whether you’re newer in your business or years in. Why does public speaking work so well as an entrepreneur? Being a speaker gives you instant credibility and authority. Putting your message out there gives you invaluable feedback (real-time market research). It generates leads and clients and fast tracks the sales process. <span style="
14/01/2020 • 30 minutes 5 seconds
154: Trends in Public Speaking for 2020
What trends are on the horizon that you can capitalize on to get better speaking engagements and to get better results from them? How can you improve your presentations so the audience raves about you and you get invited to do more (including paid speaking)? How can you be memorable as a speaker? In this episode, you’ll learn 3 trends you can apply to your presentation content and delivery that can make the difference between a so-so speaking engagement and one that makes an impact. After having worked with over 150 clients during the past 4 years to create their presentations, workshops and keynotes, attended and spoken at many conferences and events, and talked to event organizers,
07/01/2020 • 33 minutes 30 seconds
153: [Coaching] Threading a Story Throughout Your Signature Talk with Amber Hawley
Do you feel like you have too much content in your presentations? Too many good things you can share with your audiences and you’re not sure how to select what to include? Most of us feel this way - and it’s our job as speakers to identify the most essential elements and convey them in a way the audience can understand and apply. One way to do this is to thread a story throughout your talk, where the people (could be you, a client, or someone else) in the story, the situation they’re in, the challenges they face, and how they overcome them becomes the lessons the audience learns. In this on-air coaching call, my guest Amber Hawley and I do exactly this as we go through her signature talk. We identify a client story Amber can use and then play with the timeline to keep it
31/12/2019 • 1 hour 3 minutes 2 seconds
Bonus: Year in Review: What Worked, What Didn’t, What’s Coming in 2020
This is a secret bonus episode - my podcast editor doesn’t know about it, neither does my assistant (shhh!). I had originally planned to do a “year in review” episode, but as early December became mid-December and the holidays were upon us, I got busy and decided to skip it. But, I’ve found myself enjoying listening to other podcasters talk about their year and what worked for them. So, here’s my review of what worked this past year, what didn’t, and what’s coming in 2020. I cover the business, the podcast, visibility, social media, sales approaches, and personal experiences. At the end, I sum everything up into 3 big lessons, including my biggest lesson, which was a surprise for me. <span style="font-weight: 4
28/12/2019 • 41 minutes 4 seconds
152: Where Are They Now: Updates from Past Coaching Guests Teresa McCloy and Anne Torrez
Remember the VH1 series from the late 1990s called “Where are they now?” The show would look back at artists, bands, and actors (mostly from the 1980s) and see what happened to them. It was captivating television because we’re curious to see what happens to people, especially famous people, after they’ve had their big success. My guests today, Teresa McCloy and Anne Torrez, aren’t 80s pop stars and they're not famous (yet!), but they have been on this podcast previously in on-air coaching calls. Both Teresa and Anne also recently graduated from our Master Your Speaking online coaching program. I figured it would be a great opportunity to catch up with them to see what they’ve been doing since we last heard from them and what
24/12/2019 • 46 minutes 44 seconds
151: Dream Big, Speak Big: Inspiration from Women Speakers [Goals & Planning Series]
What stage do you dream to be standing on, looking out at the audience, sharing your message? What kind of speaker do you want to be? This month on the podcast, we’re talking about goals and planning, so I thought it would be fun to bring on some women entrepreneurs and have them share with us what their big speaking dreams are. Hopefully, they will inspire you as much as they’ve inspired me. Appearing in order in this episode: Angela Hosking is the owner and CEO of Her One Tribe <span style="font-weight:
17/12/2019 • 25 minutes 12 seconds
150: Podcast Pitching and Guesting with Angie Trueblood [Goals & Planning Series]
Do you have being a guest on podcasts as one of your goals for 2020? It’s a fantastic way to reach new audiences, build relationships with podcast hosts, and hone your message. But, there’s definitely a *right* way and a *wrong* way to pitch podcast hosts. As a podcaster, I get email pitches every day. And I delete 99% of them. The few I’ve kept have been from my guest on this episode, Angie Trueblood. Why are her pitches so effective? That’s what we talk about, along with how to be a great guest. You’ll learn: The benefits of being a guest on podcasts
10/12/2019 • 44 minutes 19 seconds
149: A Different Way of Setting and Achieving Your Speaking Goals with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz [Goals & Planning Series]
Before you ask yourself *what* goals you want to achieve as a speaker, ask yourself *who* do you want to *be* as a speaker and then what do you need to do to become that? Taking on that identity is what will make the goals real to you. This has been so helpful to me because traditional goal setting has never worked that well. I’d make a goal, like guesting on 2 podcasts a month or doing 1 speaking engagement a month. But, I never felt truly motivated to keep pursuing them. I’d give a bit of an effort and then it would fizzle out. Until I read a book earlier this year about a different way of setting and achieving goals: WHO you want to be comes first. Then, the goals and habits follow. <span style="font-weight:
03/12/2019 • 40 minutes 22 seconds
148: Improve Your Business Creativity and Innovation with a Framework with Sura Al-Naimi [Frameworks Series]
Ideas that come from innovation and creativity seem like they come out of nowhere, a flash of inspiration that hits you all of a sudden. This can certainly happen, but in a business, innovation and creativity can - and should - be harnessed regularly to understand your customers, create new products, and find new market opportunities. My guest is Sura Al-Naimi, who is a former Disney Global Innovation Officer at their internal think tank and now has her own company that helps startups and Fortune 100 organizations, including Hyperloop, Facebook, and Kaiser Permanente. In her workshops and consulting, Sura helps teams get out of silos and risk-averse behavior to find a common language, toolkit, and mindset to unlock their creativity to solve problems. And she does so usin
26/11/2019 • 31 minutes 40 seconds
147: Radical Customer Empathy: From an Idea to a Framework to a Book with Danya Shea [Frameworks Series]
We’re continuing our series on Frameworks with a deep dive into how my guest and her business partner created their framework, from idea to testing with clients to writing a book. My guest is Danya Shea, who is the co-founder of FervorWorks, a think tank that helps companies achieve exponential growth and scalability. How do they help companies do this? With what they call Radical Customer Empathy. What is Radical Customer Empathy? You’ll learn about it in this episode, as well as how Shea has successfully used their framework to attract different types of clients, from software start-ups to mid-tier consumer goods companies. Shea and I talk about: What
19/11/2019 • 45 minutes 50 seconds
146: [Coaching] Finding Your Framework with Cha’Lea Stafford [Frameworks Series]
In last week’s episode, you learned why having a framework in your business and for your presentations and workshops is incredibly powerful and the many ways you can use it. In today’s episode, you’ll hear an on-air coaching call where I help my guest find her framework. My guest is Cha’Lea Stafford, who is the founder to a non-traditional leadership development firm that partners with purpose-driven organizations to engage the leadership of their workforce and connect their work to their world. Cha’Lea’s been facilitating workshops for her clients using her leadership development approach, but hadn’t yet codified it into a framework. You’ll hear the questions I ask Cha’Lea, that you can ask yourself, to extract the process she uses to get results. <span s
12/11/2019 • 43 minutes 26 seconds
145: You Need to Create a Framework with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz [Frameworks Series]
When you hear “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,” does a shape come to mind? How about “sales funnel?” These are both examples of frameworks. Having a framework is a tremendous asset for your business - you can use it for sales conversations, on your website and marketing materials, and of course for your presentations. Frameworks help us to organize information, visualize a process, and remember it. A framework can be represented by a visual shape (triangle, circle, roadmap), an acronym (e.g., I.D.E.A.L. story ingredients - see episode 137), or an alliteration (such as 3 C’s or 3 S’s). <
05/11/2019 • 40 minutes 15 seconds
144: What I've Learned about Being a Leader [Leadership Series]
We’re continuing our podcast series on Leadership: what does it mean to be a leader for your audience, your clients, your community, and yourself. In this episode, I share key lessons I’ve learned, including around a recent business decision. To me, being a leader means helping others navigate change, to move from initial resistance and discomfort to understanding, acceptance, and enthusiasm to take new action. As humans, we tend to resist change out of self-protection (fear of the unknown) and desire to keep the status quo (“don’t fix what’s not broken”). At times, this serves us well. However, progress, innovation, and success require change. And it’s leaders like you who make
29/10/2019 • 17 minutes 29 seconds
143: Uncovering Your Leadership Blindspots with Rhonda Peterson [Leadership Series]
We all have blindspots. As leaders, entrepreneurs, and speakers, we should want to find out what they are and then work to minimize or improve in those areas. How do you know what your blindspots are? My guest is Rhonda Peterson, who works with business owners and executive teams on leadership and delegation, to help them bridge the gap between the leader they currently are and the leader they want to be. In this episode, Rhonda and I talk about: Where business owners and leaders should be focusing their time and attention The difference between managing time and managing energy <li style="font-weight: 400;
22/10/2019 • 46 minutes 4 seconds
142: Positioning Your Brand for Business Growth with Lisa Princic [Leadership Series]
As we continue our series on Leadership, how can you position your brand, both as a speaker and as an entrepreneur, for growth? When you’re seen as a leader in your industry, you’re going to attract premium clients and speaking engagements. My guest is Lisa Princic, who was my first business coach in 2015 and who helps business owners develop their business models and value proposition. In this episode, Lisa and I talk about: What it means to have a strong personal brand The difference between marketing and positioning Most people *think* they have a marketing problem, but really they have a po
15/10/2019 • 53 minutes 16 seconds
141: Advocating for What You Want for Yourself and Others with Nicole Tisdale [Leadership Series]
We’re kicking off a new podcast series on Leadership: what does it mean to be a leader for your audience, your clients, your community, and yourself. You’re going to love the stories and strategies that my guest, Nicole Tisdale, shares. Her story of literally running down a Congressman to ask him for a job is incredible - and shows the power of an “elevator pitch” (or, in this case, the Capitol Hill subway pitch). I had to ask Nicole where she got the confidence to go after what she wants - and you’ll hear what she answers. Nicole first contacted me earlier this year after listening to episode 98 with Dr. Nicole Rochester and her work that she’s doing to improve the doctor-patient-caregiver relationship. Nicole said she wante
08/10/2019 • 59 minutes 15 seconds
140: Comparing Political Speeches from Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Warren, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [Storytelling Series]
What can we learn from political speeches to apply to our own presentations? Quite a bit! For this episode, we watched speeches given by former First Lady Michelle Obama, Senator and Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren, and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (known as AOC). I’m joined by one of our speaking coaches Diane Diaz as we talk about the similarities and differences in their speeches, including: Understanding who their real audience is Using certain stories and historical references to relate to their audience The impact of visual imagery when telling a story <li s
01/10/2019 • 46 minutes 10 seconds
139: [Coaching] Selecting the Best Stories to Include in Your Signature Talk with Marie Fiebach [Storytelling Series]
We're continuing our series on storytelling with this on-air coaching call episode about what stories you should select to include in your signature talk, whether it's a business presentation, a conference session, or, in this case, a keynote. My guest is Marie Fiebach, who is a speaker and a regular contributor on her local TV station. Marie is part of our Master Your Speaking online group coaching program and she’s been working on her keynote talk. I invited her to come on the podcast to share with us how she selected the main story that was going to be the thread throughout her talk, as well as some of the other stories that she chose, including ones that showcase her credibility and her experience. This is a fun episode! We cover a lot, from call backs that comedians
24/09/2019 • 40 minutes 57 seconds
138: Scientists Need to Tell Stories Too with Karen Corbin, PhD, RD [Storytelling Series]
If you're sharing something personal in a presentation or a talk, you know that you should make it a story and include stories in your presentations in general. What about if you're presenting on topics that are more data-driven or research-based? You should definitely include stories as well. My guest in this episode is Karen Corbin, PhD, RD, who's a scientist herself and has a company with a great name called Geeks That Speak® to inspire and empower scientists to become powerful storytellers. Incorporating storytelling into their presentations is crucial, whether they’re presenting at conferences to peers or to the general public. Stories can help spark curiosity, give context to facts and data, and make the information be
17/09/2019 • 31 minutes 34 seconds
137: The Missing Ingredients in Your Stories [Storytelling Series]
We’ve all heard to use stories in our presentations. Stories make our content more interesting and memorable for the audience and can aid in learning. What I’ve seen is that we’re good at providing a *summary* of the story. But, what we’re not doing is *telling* a story. What’s the difference? 5 key ingredients that will spice up your stories. How do you go about telling a good story? Make it an I.D.E.A.L. story. You know I love acronyms and alliterations, so I came up with the acronym I.D.E.A.L. In this episode, we go through each letter - each ingredient - for a great story. <p
10/09/2019 • 24 minutes 31 seconds
136: How to Use the Feedback Form for Higher Quality Lead Generation [Money Series]
How can you increase leads and sales at your presentations? By asking for them! Having a feedback form that the audience fills out is one of the best ways to generate leads, especially if you don’t feel comfortable making a hard sales pitch in your presentation or if the place you’re speaking at forbids “selling from the stage.” Since I first started talking about the feedback form on this podcast in 2017, I get asked regularly which episode someone can listen to specifically about it. I haven’t had one specific episode - until now. In this episode, I describe what the feedback form is, what’s included on it, and how to use it. And then you’ll hear from six women in the Speaking Your Brand community who have used the feedback
03/09/2019 • 42 minutes 2 seconds
135: The Profits in Putting On a Live Event for Your Community with Anna Seewald [Money Series]
For the past few episodes, we’ve talked about how you can monetize your speaking, whether it’s by getting paid a fee or generating leads and sales. Have you thought about putting on your own live, in-person event as another way to monetize your speaking and business? Notice that the title of this episode is “profits” (plural). That’s because, as you’ll hear, there are multiple benefits for you of putting on a live event. My guest is Anna Seewald, who has built a community from her own podcast and Facebook group. She decided at the end of 2018 that she was going to put on a live event in 2019. In this episode, Anna and I talk about: Why she decided t
27/08/2019 • 52 minutes 17 seconds
134: Gender Pay Gap: Talking About Uncomfortable Topics with Your Audience with Michelle Gyimah [Money Series]
How can you approach an uncomfortable or difficult topic with your audience, so that they open up and you can facilitate a productive conversation, learning, and action taking? For many companies, the gender pay gap is one of those issues that they want to be seen as making progress on, yet having real conversations around it, that lead to action, can be challenging. This is the situation that my guest, Michelle Gyimah, finds herself in regularly. Michelle lives in the U.K. and works with companies to improve the pay and leadership gap between men and women. Michelle faced this issue herself when she went back to work after having children and what she found was frustrating: resistance by companies to part-time and remote work for women at her skill level who should be paid equitably but aren’t. <span
20/08/2019 • 45 minutes 21 seconds
133: Authentic Selling at Your Speaking Engagements with Nikki Rausch [Money Series]
When we’re doing unpaid speaking engagements, the expectation is that, because it’s free, we can use it for building brand awareness and for lead generation. However, many conferences and groups explicitly forbid “selling from the stage.” I’ve never liked that phrase because it conjures up images of a pitchman on stage hawking their wares like on an infomercial. It’s a turn off to the audience and for many of us speakers it feels awkward and inauthentic. But, there IS a way to sell who you are and what you do in your presentations authentically and by providing value to your audience. My guest is Nikki Rausch, who is my sales coach and who last appeared on the podcast in episode 34 in September 2017. In this episode, Nikki an
13/08/2019 • 1 hour 15 seconds
132: 7 Reasons Why You Aren’t Getting Paid to Speak with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz [Money Series]
As we gain more experience as speakers and build our platforms, many of us want to get paid to speak. But, we don't know where to start - or we're asking to be paid and hearing "it's not in our budget." In this episode, I’m joined by one of our speaking coaches Diane Diaz to talk about 7 reasons why you aren’t getting paid to speak - and what to do to change it. A few of the reasons may seem obvious (not knowing to ask to be paid in the first place), but some of them may surprise you and be ones you haven’t considered. If you’re ready to position yourself as a paid speaker as well as generate more leads from your speaking engagements, get on the interest list for our upcoming Mone
06/08/2019 • 45 minutes 5 seconds
131: [Coaching] Pitching and Negotiating for Bigger Speaking Opportunities with Maureen Taylor [Confidence Series]
Have you held back from pitching yourself for bigger speaking engagements? Or have you not raised your speaking fees even after you’ve been speaking for a while? Or have you not asked to be paid at all? Just like in our businesses, we need to develop confidence in the value, expertise, and experience we provide as speakers at an event. And sometimes having an outside perspective, like a coach, can be the push you need. My guest is Maureen Taylor, known as The Photo Detective. Maureen has been a speaker for years and has appeared on national TV programs like The View and <span style= "
30/07/2019 • 1 hour 37 seconds
130: Your Movements Say As Much As Your Words with Ritu Chander [Confidence Series]
We all know that non-verbal communication can be as important as our words, whether we're talking with a person one-on-one or speaking in front of an audience. Did you know that our body movement - our kinetic energy - is something different from what we traditionally think of regarding body language and it has an impact too? My guest is Ritu Chander, the founder of The Next Move LLC, which is a decision-making consultancy. In this episode, Ritu and I talk about: How she became interested in body movement The history of movement analysis The subconscious behaviors we do <li style="f
23/07/2019 • 42 minutes 39 seconds
129: From Fear of Speaking to Keynote Speaker in 2 Years with Dr. Charmaine Gregory [Confidence Series]
If you have a fear of public speaking, this episode is for you. If you’re confident when speaking but have a fear in a different area of your life, this episode is for you. My guest’s story of how she went from a self-described fear of public speaking to being an in-demand paid keynote speaker in just 2 years is incredibly inspiring. Charmaine Gregory, M.D. is an emergency room doctor and speaks to professional groups about burnout. You’ll hear: How Charmaine’s fearlessness and love of the stage as a child transformed into fear How the fear of speaking presented itself when she had to do it <li style="font-we
16/07/2019 • 41 minutes 18 seconds
128: The 4 Visibility Mindset Shifts You Must Make with Eleanor Beaton [Confidence Series]
This conversation is one I’ll be listening to again, especially the end (!). Is there something that has held you back from being more visible, whether it’s sharing a powerful message or standing on a stage in front of an audience? You’re far from alone. As women, we’ve grown up with societal and cultural messages (some subtle and subconscious, others not) that can influence us to keep quiet, not share our strong opinions, or even feel fearful of being seen. My guest is Eleanor Beaton, a women’s leadership mentor and founder of Fierce Feminine Leadership, an organization and a podcast of the same name. This is a powerful and enlightening conversation on the mindset shifts and strategies we can use to be willing to be seen and
09/07/2019 • 37 minutes 25 seconds
127: Developing Confidence in Public Speaking [Confidence Series]
Starting with this episode, the next 5 episodes will be related to confidence: from putting yourself out there to pitch for speaking gigs, to conquering a fear of public speaking, to standing on stage and delivering your talks with presence and poise. This episode kicks off this series by talking about what confidence is, my own ups and downs with confidence, and specific strategies you can use to increase your confidence. Although power posing is great (I recommend it!), we’re going deeper than that - much deeper to discuss: Why we lack confidence in the first place Why confidence is attractive What we gain by being confident
02/07/2019 • 33 minutes 18 seconds
126: Gain Skills and Visibility By Serving on a Board with Shireen Motara
Serving on a corporate or non-profit board is an excellent opportunity for you to gain skills and visibility and broaden your network. Plus, representation matters: not only to the performance of the companies and organizations who have more women on their boards, but to women who see other women on boards and can then imagine it for themselves (“If you can see it, you can be it”). I’ve served on several boards over the years and the relationships I’ve made have been such an important part of building Speaking Your Brand. My guest is Shireen Motara, who consults with companies and agencies like the United Nations on gender equality and women’s rights, including board diversity. This is a deep conversation about: <span style="
25/06/2019 • 40 minutes 31 seconds
125: Handling Hard Conversations at Live Events with Sarah & Beth of Pantsuit Politics
You may not be talking about politics at your speaking engagements, but you may be discussing issues that are controversial or where people have a distinct point of view. Or, you may get a question from an audience member that throws you off. How can you handle hard conversations, whether it’s at events, panels, media interviews, or even with your family and friends? Joining me in this episode are Sarah Stewart (from the left) and Beth Silvers (from the right) of the Pantsuit Politics podcast. Along with their strategies for handling hard conversations, we get into why companies don’t seem to value training on these “soft skills” as much as they should, why they tend to bucket it as a “women’s issue”, and how we can position these topics differently.
18/06/2019 • 49 minutes 44 seconds
124: [Coaching] Opportunities Come When You're Prepared with Karen Briscoe
Have you ever been asked to give an important talk or presentation with a very short time frame? You knew that saying “yes” would be beneficial, but then you had to scramble to put it together, which meant pushing aside your other work, stressing about it, and creating a presentation that wasn’t as good as it could have been? What if, instead, you’re prepared when great speaking opportunities present themselves? My guest today is Karen Briscoe, the author of several books, highly successful in real estate, and an action taker. In this episode, Karen and I talk about: Why she decided it was time to create her signature talk <span style="font-weight: 400;
11/06/2019 • 43 minutes 13 seconds
123: The Key Elements You Need to Get Paid Speaking Engagements with Li Hayes
You’re going to love this episode, so much so that you may want to listen to it more than once. It’s packed with what you need in order to get paid speaking engagements. There are 5 key elements that event planners look for in speakers they hire. In this episode, you’ll learn what these key elements are and how to position yourself as a paid speaker. My guest is Li Hayes, who is a speaker manager and also facilitates speakers’ exchange groups. Li has been on both sides: helping event planners find speakers and helping speakers get paid gigs, so she knows exactly what speakers need - and what they’re lacking that’s preventing them from getting paid engagements. Li and I talk about:
04/06/2019 • 1 hour 7 minutes 12 seconds
122: A Fresh Approach to Social Media Engagement with Tara McMullin
Have you heard the term “call and response”? When I hear the phrase, I think of preachers, especially in black churches, who use it to engage their parishioners and uplevel the energy in the room. As speakers, we can use call and response to heighten energy and emotion with our audiences and get them to participate more in the experience. (See episode 113 on E.P.I.C. content for some examples.) But, have you thought about using this idea of “call and response” on social media? I certainly hadn’t until I saw a post by my guest, Tara McMullin, in her What Works online community that I’m a member of. <span style="font-weight: 40
28/05/2019 • 51 minutes 25 seconds
121: Designing Your Website So It Speaks Your Brand with Melanie (Mel) Richards
How does your website impact your speaking opportunities and the fees you can charge? More than you may think. If you want to be seen as an authority in your field and charge premium rates, as both a speaker and an entrepreneur, your branding needs to reflect that. This includes your website, your marketing materials, your graphics, and your content. This may be controversial, but I’m going to say it: DIY is not your BFF. When you come to a place in your speaking and business when you need to level up, you need to bring in experts to help you. As a
21/05/2019 • 44 minutes 18 seconds
120: [Coaching] Focusing on the Why vs. the How in Your Presentations with Layne Booth
A question I get a lot is: What content should I include in my lead generation presentations? How much information do I share? To figure this out, start with these two questions: #1 = What are you selling (your program, service, product)? This will help you to determine what content will best align with your offer. #2: Who is your ideal client and what do they need to know to make a decision / take action? This is what my guest today, Layne Booth, and I did during our recent VIP Day to create her signature talk. Layne is brilliant at numbers and data analysis - and her clients love her for that. However, we decided to go in a slightly different direction for her signature talk.</s
14/05/2019 • 40 minutes 19 seconds
119: Deconstructing a Keynote: Writing, Preparation, and Delivery with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
In the last episode, I talked about pushing past your speaking plateau - what happens when we get to a certain point in our skillset, it’s a comfortable place, but we’re no longer progressing or challenging ourselves, and I shared some ways you can get past your plateau. That’s where my guest today, Diane Diaz, was in her speaking journey. You may recognize Diane - she’s been on the podcast a couple times this year and she’s one of the speaking coaches here at Speaking Your Brand. Diane does quite a bit of speaking for her business, The Brand Teacher - about once a month for the past few years, mostly to build brand awareness and for lead generation. She’s gotten really good at - audiences love her presentations and she gets clients from them. <span style="
07/05/2019 • 51 minutes 29 seconds
118: Strategies to Push Past Your Speaking Plateau for Better Results with Carol Cox
In today’s episode, we’re talking about hitting a plateau, why it happens, the danger of staying there, and how to get past one. I’m going to be sharing some of my own experiences plus giving you specific strategies you can use. The definition of plateau is to reach a state or level of little or no growth or decline, especially to stop increasing or progressing; remain at a stable level of achievement; level off (from Dictionary.com). Notice the word “achievement”. Just because you’re at a plateau doesn’t mean you’re not a good speaker - or entrepreneur or writer or podcaster. You’re achieving - getting speaking engagements, getting good feedback. But, you’re not getting the same results you
30/04/2019 • 35 minutes 3 seconds
117: [Coaching] Turning Your Signature Talk into a Lead Generation Webinar with Lorena Klingel
How can you take the presentation you do in person and convert it to a webinar for lead generation, particularly if you’re selling a program or course? Much of the content from your presentation can be easily repurposed for a webinar, but there are some considerations and constraints when you have attendees online vs. in person. Hosting a webinar before giving your presentation in person is also a great way to practice and get comfortable with the content and get feedback from a real audience. In this episode, my guest Lorena Klingel of Learn to Flourish and I talk about how we approached repurposing her signature talk into a webinar to promote her online program, Video Fundamentals. You’ll learn: <span style="font-weight: 40
23/04/2019 • 49 minutes 47 seconds
116: 16 Ways You Can Use Your Signature Talk
When we think of a signature talk, we naturally think of standing in front of a group of people delivering our talk. Did you know that there are many more ways - 16 at least! - that you can use your signature talk? Why can you use it in all these ways? The work of creating your signature talk becomes the foundation on which everything else stands. A signature talk is what you want to be known for, your area of expertise, and the insights you want to share. Your talk reflects your beliefs and values, what you do or believe that’s different or that others aren’t seeing, as well as the way you work, your methodology, process, approach. Not only do you have your presentation ready to
16/04/2019 • 26 minutes 20 seconds
115: How Your Speaking, Media, and PR Can Work Together with Wendy Glaister
What happens when lots of good things start happening to you and your business, as more people and organizations are recognizing you as a rising star in your industry? You may be tempted to back off your visibility, thinking the organic growth will continue. However, an even better strategy is to accelerate your visibility and go after bigger opportunities: TV, major publications, speaking at high-profile events. My guest, Wendy Glaister, talks about why she decided to hire a PR firm to help her grow her visibility through TV appearances, speaking engagements, magazine features, Instagram takeovers, and more. We also talk about why Wendy reached out to me a few months ago to help her create a talk. However, the talk wasn’t one about interior design (that one’s next), rat
09/04/2019 • 44 minutes 51 seconds
114: [Coaching] Building Your Thought Leadership Platform with Lisa Zawrotny
What are the elements of being a thought leader? What does it mean to be a thought leader? How can you build your thought leadership platform? As a speaker, you are seen as a leader, an authority, an expert in your space, which is why many of us want to speak to share our big idea to larger audiences. In this episode, my guest Lisa Zawrotny and I talk about how she’s going to be putting herself out there with her new message and signature talk, including in speaking engagements, workshops, webinars, a book, and potentially a TEDx talk. Lisa is a holistic productivity coach, so you’ll also hear Lisa’s unique perspective, framework, and approach to decluttering and organization. →
02/04/2019 • 53 minutes 28 seconds
113: Storytelling Isn’t Enough: Your Content Needs to be E.P.I.C.
I gave this presentation on E.P.I.C. content 4 times to 4 different groups in a recent 2-week period. Whew! In this episode, you'll hear the presentation itself as well as why I decided to include certain things, like video and music clips. Why this topic? Business storytelling has been all the rage for the past few years: we’ve been told to share stories in our presentations, on our websites, and on social media about our companies, our customers, and our team members. But, for the most part, these stories have fallen flat and no longer have the novelty they once did. A bunch of random stories included here and there or sharing your personal bio or your business origin story isn’t enough. <span style="font-weig
26/03/2019 • 40 minutes 15 seconds
112: [Coaching] Deciding On Your Signature Talk Topic with Teresa McCloy
If you have multiple aspects of your business or of the work you do with your clients, it can be challenging to figure out what’s the best topic and content to use for your signature talk. Should you just pick one? Should you have two different signature talks? Should you try to combine them? The answer could be yes to any of those three questions - it depends on your goals, your audience, and your offer. In this episode, my guest is Teresa McCloy, who was facing this question when we first spoke a few months ago. We did a Virtual VIP Day together to create her signature talk and decided to select a topic that would have the most use for the types of groups she’ll be speaking to. You’ll hear why we selected the topic we did (Time Blocking for Productivity), working backw
19/03/2019 • 43 minutes 37 seconds
111: Make More Time for Speaking and Visibility with Clockwork Principles with Adrienne Dorison
I’m obsessed with the book “Clockwork” by Mike Michalowicz (who also wrote “Profit First”). I read it the first weekend it came out last fall and it has revolutionized the way I look at my business. When a mutual colleague offered to connect me with Adrienne Dorison, the co-founder of Run Like Clockwork™, I jumped at the chance to have her on the podcast. As an entrepreneur, one of your most important roles is being the face and voice of your business, which means speaking at conferences and events, being a guest on podcasts and in other people’s groups, and appearing in the media. However, I see this a lot with colleagues and clients: When they started their business, they had time for speaking and visibility. Then, as as they approach years 2, 3, 4 in their business, t
12/03/2019 • 46 minutes 38 seconds
110: Making the Most of Speaking at Trade Shows and Conferences with Sue Monhait
When you speak at a conference or trade show, have you thought about how you can invite the audience to continue the conversation with you after your session? In this episode, my guest Sue Monhait shares strategies she uses when she speaks at trade shows - and she’s done it a lot! Sue has two different kinds of businesses: one is product-based called The Ribbon Print Company (she sells ribbon printers, software, and ribbon itself - the kind you see on gift packages) and the other is an online program, Makers MBA. Sue is delightful and you’ll hear her experience come out as we talk about how she makes the most of speaking at trade shows. Whether you’re a product or service business, you’ll learn: <span style="font-weight: 400;
05/03/2019 • 40 minutes 31 seconds
109: How to Put On a Winning Workshop with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
This episode is jam-packed with what you need to know to put on your own paid workshop. I recently co-hosted a workshop on Personal Branding and Visibility with Diane Diaz, founder of The Brand Teacher and a Speaking Your Brand coach. From deciding on the topic and price to selling seats to determining the agenda, we lay it all out for you, so you can successfully put on your own paid workshop. We talk about: Deciding on the topic and content based on who your ideal clients are and your offer Determining the best pricing for the workshop Partnering with a local business for the venue<
26/02/2019 • 40 minutes 42 seconds
108: NLP Can Make You a Better Speaker with Candice Czaplak
You want to feel more confident and prepared for your speaking engagements, especially if it’s an important one like the first time delivering your signature talk or a big keynote or a TEDx talk. But, oftentimes, our minds and thoughts get in our own way. I first heard about NLP a few years ago in a sales context but didn’t know much about it. Then, I had a pre-chat with my guest, Candice Czaplak, a few months ago when I was on her podcast and she mentioned she uses NLP with her clients to help them achieve their goals. My ears perked up and I immediately saw how this could be helpful for you as a speaker. In this episode, Candice shares with us specific techniques we can use to feel more confident and to prepare ourselves fo
19/02/2019 • 45 minutes 6 seconds
107: Make Your Presentations More Brain-Friendly Using Behavioral Economics with Melina Palmer
I love this line from my guest: “Our brains are lazy.” That includes your audience’s brains (no offense). Knowing this, how can you make your presentations more brain-friendly, engaging, and persuasive? In this episode, Melina Palmer, who has a Master’s degree in Behavioral Economics, shares with us how we can use behavioral economics principles to be better speakers. Melina breaks it down for us in simple and straightforward strategies we can use right away. We talk about: What happens when our brains get overwhelmed Why 3 choices are better than more if we want people to buy
12/02/2019 • 38 minutes 8 seconds
106: Get More Speaking Opportunities with a Powerful Personal Brand with Diane Diaz
We hear the term “personal brand” a lot, but do we know exactly what it means and how to use our personal brand to get more speaking opportunities? Imagine getting requests from organizers to speak at their conferences and events without you having to pitch them and, even better, getting paid speaking engagements. That’s what having a powerful personal brand can do for you. My guest in this episode, Diane Diaz, has experienced exactly that that as she’s built her personal brand both online and offline. We talk about: What a
05/02/2019 • 44 minutes 38 seconds
105: Tips for Speakers: From Negotiating Your Fee to Opening Your Talk with Mia Voss
Get ready for a whirlwind conversation on all things speaking! I guarantee you will learn something you didn’t know before. For instance, do you have a walk-on song? Don’t know what a walk-on song and why you need one? Definitely listen in to hear Mia’s and how to choose a good one. If you do have one, let us know in the Speaking Your Brand Facebook group. (Join for free at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/join.) Want to hear what mine is? I share in the group the week this episode airs. My guest is Mia Voss, who is a speaker, emcee, and brand ambassador, and we have a lot of fun - and we get re
29/01/2019 • 48 minutes
104: [Coaching] The Key Question to Ask Yourself to Find Your Core Message with Nettye Johnson
You may have a twinkling of an idea for your topic for your signature talk, keynote, or TEDx talk, but perhaps you’re not sure where to go from there. How can you take your idea, expand upon it, and make it your own? In this on-air coaching call, you’ll hear the key questions I ask my clients to help find their core message, including the one question that tends to be the most useful. My guest, Nettye Johnson, a certified health educator and coach, sent me a lovely email after I posted in the Speaking Your Brand Facebook group asking for on-air coaching call guests. (A great reason to join the group and check in every few days! Not a member? It’s free. Go to https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/join <span style="font-we
22/01/2019 • 58 minutes 19 seconds
103: [Coaching] How to Become a Keynote Speaker with Laura Gallaher
If one of your goals is to become a keynote speaker, this on-air coaching call will help you identify the stepping stones to get you there. My guest in this episode, Laura Gallaher, was on the podcast about a year ago (episode 54), talking about how to build trust with your teams and audience, based on a powerful workshop experience I had had with her. Laura and I have worked together on her signature talk and, more recently, on her TEDx talk for TEDxOrlando (here's the intro). <p
15/01/2019 • 53 minutes 41 seconds
102: Getting Local Media and Publicity to Expand Your Visibility with Amanda Berlin
You’re speaking, you’re podcasting, you’re creating videos to increase your visibility. Have you thought about expanding your visibility strategy to include “traditional” media like TV, radio, and magazines? Appearing on TV and radio as a political analyst over the past 12 years has been a vital part of building my personal brand and visibility, not only in my local market (Orlando) but also using those clips on my website and social media to build credibility. Seeing yourself on TV with your name on the lower third of the screen can be a thrill - and it’s something that can position you as an expert in a way that online videos you create yourself can’t. Our mission at Speaking Your Brand is to get more women in positions of influence and power - and that includes more r
08/01/2019 • 41 minutes
101: Public Speaking Trends for 2019
What trends are on the horizon that you can capitalize on to get better speaking engagements and to get better results from them? What are conferences and events looking for in their speakers and the topics they select? How can you improve your presentations and workshops so the audience raves about you and you get invited to do more (including paid speaking)? After having worked with over 100 clients during the past couple of years to create their presentations, workshops and keynotes, attended and spoken at many conferences and events, and talked to event organizers, I’ve noticed several key areas that too many speakers (and thus events) are missing, but that you can incorporate to set yourself apart. In this episode, you’ll learn 3 trends you can apply to your present
01/01/2019 • 30 minutes 37 seconds
100: Best of the Podcast: 100 Episodes of Speaking Your Brand
When I launched this podcast in February 2017, I committed to myself that I was going to do it for one year. No matter what, I was going to make the time to release a weekly episode (and there were weeks when I was up until midnight getting the podcast done for the next morning’s release!). We’re now at episode 100 (woohoo!) and in a couple of months, the podcast will be 2 years old. My tendency is to breeze past this milestone. After all, it’s just one more episode. That’s my Type-A personality: going from achievement to achievement and not taking the time to reflect and celebrate. It’s like when we run off the stage after we’ve finished our talk instead of receiving the applause and celebrating (ahem, yes, I’ve done this in
25/12/2018 • 28 minutes 5 seconds
099: Where Are They Now? Updates from Past On-Air Coaching Guests
You’ve heard their on-air coaching calls - and now you get to hear what they’ve been up to since their coaching call. You know that I love leaving my guests and clients with action items and homework. As a speaking coach, I want you to take what we do together and get results, so you can gain more confidence, get better results from speaking, and someday soon stand on your dream stage and deliver the message you know will have an impact. Putting yourself out there isn’t easy and doing an on-air coaching call isn’t either! A huge thank you and congratulations to these women for sharing their updates with us. See if you can spot the themes - I’ll pull them together in the outro, along with some action items for you (of course!). <span style="font-weight: 400;
18/12/2018 • 29 minutes
098: [Coaching] Expanding Your Personal Story into a Universal Message with Nicole Rochester, M.D.
You may have had an experience, a situation, a life event that caused you to change how you looked at the world or led to a new understanding of how something is wrong and needs to be changed. Your personal story can have a powerful impact on an audience. But, for it to spark a movement, to cause others to change, to cause systems to change, you need to expand your personal story into a universal message. This is especially true for TEDx talks and keynotes. I had posted in the Speaking Your Brand Facebook group about a month ago looking for some willing participants to do on-air coaching calls. (Not a member? Join for free.<span styl
11/12/2018 • 50 minutes 11 seconds
097: Thinking Bigger: I Get Coached On-Air by Geraldine Carter
Whew, this episode was much harder than I had anticipated. You’ve heard me coach my clients and members of the Speaking Your Brand community on this podcast. On-air coaching calls are some of the most popular episodes because we go deep and you get to hear what it’s like to be in a coaching session. After hearing Geraldine Carter be interviewed by Jodi Flynn on Geraldine’s podcast (flipping roles), I had the bright idea to have Geraldine interview me. (Both of these amazing women have been on this podcast: Geraldine in episode 36 and Jodi in episode 26.) Except I decided to go beyond a standard interview and asked Geraldine to coach me on “thinking bigger” for myself and for Speaking Your Brand (the name of her podcast is “She Thinks Big” and Geraldine is great at drawin
04/12/2018 • 55 minutes 10 seconds
096: [Coaching] Booking Corporate Workshops from Local Speaking Gigs with Louise Brogan
How can you increase the likelihood that free speaking engagements you do lead to companies hiring you do workshops for them? In this episode, my guest Louise Brogan, a social media expert and trainer, and I talk about: The topics her corporate clients want training on The topics she speaks about when she gives free presentations at local groups The importance of having a system/framework in your presentations Using the feedback form at your presentations for lead generation How Louise gets paid workshops <li style="font-weight
27/11/2018 • 40 minutes 47 seconds
095: Finding Your Idea Worth Sharing (TEDx) with Lori DiGuardi
If you have doing a TEDx talk on your list, you’ll need a TED-worthy idea, an “idea worth spreading.” How do you know if you have a *really good* idea for a speech, one that’s going to make an impact, whether it’s for TEDx or a keynote? In this episode, my guest Lori DiGuardi, a TEDx and professional speaker, and I discuss: What makes a great talk How an “idea” is different from a “topic” How Lori came up with her TEDx idea Why people are chosen and aren’t chosen as TEDx speakers Questions to
20/11/2018 • 56 minutes 8 seconds
094: Speaking and Showing Up Powerfully as Women with Molly Baker McPherson
When my guest Molly McPherson introduced herself in the Speaking Your Brand Facebook group and said one of her topics is helping women speak powerfully, I knew I had to have her on the podcast. Molly McPherson is a PR professional and speaker, with a focus on communicating in the digital age and crisis communication, helping her clients protect their reputations with proactive plans and messaging. In this episode, Molly and I talk about specific strategies we can use as women to come across more powerfully, whether it’s in person or in how we write. We also talk about the Kavanaugh hearings and the contrast between how Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh showed up and what that indicates
13/11/2018 • 59 minutes 38 seconds
093: Turning Your Framework into a Course with Jessica Korthuis
One of the most popular episodes of this podcast is episode 61 on developing your own framework. I’ve heard from so many of you - in the FB group and via email - that it got you thinking of creating your own framework for your business and your presentations. Having a framework differentiates yourself from others in your field, it makes it easier for your audience and clients to understand what you do, and you’re creating intellectual property. In today’s episode, my guest Jessica Korthuis and I talk about how she developed a framework to use with her one-on-one clients and then saw how it could be turned into an online course so more people could benefit from it - and she can add another revenue stream to her business. In this episode, we get into the details of how Jes
06/11/2018 • 38 minutes 27 seconds
092: Deconstructing My TEDx Talk: Why We’re Uncomfortable with Women in Power
Two years ago, right before the November 2016 U.S. presidential election, I gave a talk at a small, local TEDxWomen chapter. Until now, I’ve never shared it publicly (beyond the audience that was there). Why? There are several reasons, which you’ll hear about in this episode. It was the most challenging speaking experience I’ve ever had. Not because of the format or the short length (8 minutes), but because of the topic I chose to talk about and the pressure I put on myself. The talk was called “It’s About Time We Really Talk About Women and Power” (the theme of the event was “It’s About Time”). As a society, why are we so ambivalent and
30/10/2018 • 33 minutes 54 seconds
091: Visibility Works: From Local Speaking to TED.com to a Book with Tammy Lally
How does a visibility strategy actually work? What does it look like to grow your business and your personal brand through speaking? What are the steps you can take? This episode is truly a case study in what happens when you show up consistently and put yourself out there with courage and conviction. Over the course of the past couple of years, my guest and client Tammy Lally went from speaking for free at local groups and the library to sharing her message on a TEDx stage to the national TED organization posting her talk on the TED.com home page (which is huge - it has over a million views now!) to writing a book that she recently published. The results? Knowing that her message is reaching more people, an influx of clients, and new opportunities for collaboration and
23/10/2018 • 40 minutes 52 seconds
090: Hosting Your Own Workshop or Retreat with Blair Thielemier
Speaking at someone else’s event is great, but hosting your own workshop or retreat can be even better. You get to control the content and you’re center stage as the host and presenter. But, there’s also a lot that goes into planning a successful workshop or retreat that’s a full day or even two days. My guest, Blair Green Thielemier, recently hosted her first one-day retreat (combination workshop and mastermind) at a hotel venue in Nashville. Blair shares with us: Why she decided to have an in-person event when the rest of her (very successful) business has been entirely online How far in advance she started planning</sp
16/10/2018 • 41 minutes 7 seconds
089: [Coaching] Building a Community from Your Podcast with Debbie Gonzales
“My dream is bigger than my fear.” Have you ever felt like that? My guest today, Debbie Gonzales, heard that from a guest she interviewed on her brand new podcast and she said it’s what pushed her forward to launch. In this on-air coaching call, Debbie asks me questions about launching her podcast, including: Creating a community of listeners The magic number for a Facebook group Tips for working with a podcast editor/team Imposter syndrome How I
09/10/2018 • 46 minutes 4 seconds
088: Why You Need to Live Broadcast with Jenny Melrose
If you’re a speaker, you should be doing live broadcasts on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. But…. I hear you say in your head, I don’t like to see myself on video … I don’t have time … I don’t know what to say. These are all things I’ve said to myself. Even though I’ve been on TV dozens of times, have hosted over a hundred webinars over the years, and speak in person often, I’ve shied away from doing live broadcasting. However, as media consumption is changing and people are spending more and more time on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, we have to go where our audience wants us. My guest today is Jenny Melrose, a live broadcasting expert who helps influencers pitch brands and monetize their content. <sp
02/10/2018 • 56 minutes 15 seconds
087: Launching a Podcast: What's Important and What's Not
Have you been thinking of launching your own podcast? It’s been a game-changer for my business and personal brand - and it can be for yours too. But, it can seem overwhelming and daunting: What to do first, then next, what equipment and software do you need, much less thinking about the format and interviewing guests, and so on. In this episode, you’ll learn what’s important - and what’s not - when launching your podcast. I’ll also share with you the #1 reason for podcasting success. This is from a presentation I gave recently to the Orlando Podcasters Meetup group, so you’ll also see how I use my story structure framework when creating my own presentations. See if you can spot th
25/09/2018 • 35 minutes 35 seconds
086: [Coaching] How to Generate Leads From Your Podcast with Stacey Ogden
Do you have a podcast - or video series or blog - but aren’t getting leads from it as you had expected? You know your content is good - you’re getting listeners and viewers and readers - but, when it comes to making money as a result of that content, it’s crickets (and an empty inbox). What can you do? This is the question my guest today, Stacey Ogden of Busy Mom Collective, had. In this on-air coaching call, you’ll hear as we dissect what’s going on with her podcast (if you don’t have a podcast, you can apply it to the content you’re creating). We come up with specific strategies she - and you - can use to generate leads, including: <li
18/09/2018 • 47 minutes 23 seconds
085: Pivoting Your Business Model by Asking ‘What Do You Really Want’ with Katie Krimitsos
When’s the last time you asked yourself: “What do I *really* want? What’s right for me *right now*?” And then what happens if the business you’ve been building is not quite the right answer. You can either ignore the answer and try to go down the same road, bumping into obstacles along the way. Or, you can pivot your business model to better align with your mission, your lifestyle, and opportunities you see. This is what my guest Katie Krimitsos, founder of Biz Women Rock, recently did. She has built a very successful business (and podcast) coaching women entrepreneurs one-on-one, in masterminds, and at small retreats. But, then something hap
11/09/2018 • 41 minutes 39 seconds
084: [Coaching] Less Is More: Developing Your Visibility Strategy with Wendy Zanders
There are many, many ways you can get visibility for yourself and your business: Speaking to local groups Presenting at conferences Being a member or officer of a local organization Guesting on podcasts or hosting your own podcast Doing Facebook Live and YouTube videos Hosting webinars Being active in Facebook groups and other online communities But, you can’t do all of thes
04/09/2018 • 53 minutes 38 seconds
083: Collaborating to Expand Your Reach with Baily Hancock
How can you expand your network and reach new people? Collaborating with others who share a similar mission, vibe, and audience can be one of the best ways to do that. But, how do you actually collaborate in a pre-planned way? What does that look like (webinars, FB Live, workshops, podcasts, etc.)? What does each person gain and, just as importantly, what does each person’s audience gain? My guest today is Baily Hancock, a Collaboration Consultant who teaches people how to collaborate with their community to achieve their goals. In this episode, Baily and I talk about: Tips for attending networking events, even if you’re an introvert <span style= "font-
28/08/2018 • 40 minutes 38 seconds
082: [Coaching] How to Create an Emotional Connection with Your Audience with Leanne Kabat
How can you create an emotional connection with your audience? Even if you *think* you have a topic that doesn’t lend itself to creating an emotional connection, there are ways you can pull your audience in. Creating an emotional connection: Engages the audience and keeps them interested Builds trust with you and with each other by being vulnerable and relatable Helps them to remember what you’re teaching Gives them a way to apply what you’re sharing to themselves In this on-air coaching call, my guest L
21/08/2018 • 1 hour 51 seconds
081: Be a Better Speaker: Top Takeaways from Watching Presenters at Podcast Movement
What separates a great speaker from a so-so one and how can you be a great one? I recently attended a 3-day conference (Podcast Movement) and took notes during the keynotes and breakout sessions on what the speakers did well and what could have been better, so you can take these tips and apply them to your own presentations. Although it was a conference for podcasters, this episode is not about podcasting - it’s about how you can be a better speaker and presenter. (But, if you are a podcaster, it will help with that too!) You’ll learn: Top takeaways from watching presenters at Podcast Movement that you can apply to your own presentations What the best speakers had in
14/08/2018 • 29 minutes 8 seconds
080: [Coaching] Connecting Your Why and What Makes Your Approach Unique with Anne Torrez
Do you know what makes your approach and process unique? As a speaker and entrepreneur - whether you’re a coach, consultant, strategist, trainer, therapist, or other type of business owner - your methodology and philosophy are important components of what you do. In this on-air coaching call, I help my guest Anne Torrez find what makes her coaching approach unique, so she can better articulate her brand message, whether she’s speaking to a group, being interviewed on a podcast, or talking with a prospective client. We go deep to dig out what’s important to Anne and to find her why, which carries over into the work she does with her clients and why her clients like working with her. You’ll hear us brainstorm to come up with Anne’s brand statement: “I help [target audience
07/08/2018 • 1 hour 2 minutes 28 seconds
079: [Coaching] How to Develop the Shape of Your Framework for Your Presentations with Coryne Forest
In this on-air coaching call, you’ll hear how my guest Coryne Forest and I create the visual shape of her framework to use in her presentations. In episode 61, you learned how developing your own framework can be a game changer for not only your presentations but also your business. Many listeners have told me how impactful that episode was for them. They’ve even shared sketches of their frameworks in the Speaking Your Brand Facebook group (get access at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/join). In this episode, you are truly a fly on the wall as you’ll hea
31/07/2018 • 53 minutes 14 seconds
078: Speaking Around the World with Annie Mori
What is it like to travel around the world, from Europe to China, to speak - and get paid for it? My guest is Annie Mori, a licensed pediatric occupational therapist and founder of playSense, based in California. Annie is paid to travel internationally several times a year to conduct trainings and workshops and to be a keynote speaker at conferences. In this episode, Annie and I talk about: How she became an international speaker How she negotiates contracts with conferences and organizations Challenges with speaking to an international audience, includin
24/07/2018 • 46 minutes 39 seconds
077: [Coaching] Balancing the What, Why, and How in Your Presentations with Libby Rothschild
In this on-air coaching call, you’ll hear how to distinguish and balance the WHAT, the WHY, and the HOW of what you teach related to your business and your offer. My guest is Libby Rothschild, a registered dietitian who helps other registered dietitians build their businesses and use social media, especially Instagram, effectively. With her partner, Libby offers an online course and masterminds. We talk about how she can tweak the content of her presentation to focus on the WHAT and WHY so that people in the audience are interested in taking her course or mastermind for the HOW. We also brainstorm audience engagement activities, whether the audience is 60-70 people to audiences of 300-500. About My Guest: Libby Rothschild, MS, RD, CDN, is a social media
17/07/2018 • 46 minutes 6 seconds
076: Why the Stories We Tell Matter with Leena Nasser
I’ve talked before about how sharing stories in your talks helps the audience to better understand and remember what you’re teaching. In this episode, we’re going deeper into why stories matter - not just for our presentations, but for understanding ourselves, our place in the world, and our identity - who gets included and who is excluded in the stories we hear and the stories we tell. My guest is Leena Nasser, who is Executive Director of The Chopra Institute in NYC. Leena Nasser specializes in the intersection of neuroscience, cognitive psychology and education. She explores the question of how experiential storytelling, told orally, or spatially impacts the mind-brain connection, identity and behavior. I met Leena this past March when I was in NYC. We hit it off imme
10/07/2018 • 43 minutes 53 seconds
075: [Coaching] Finding the Right Presentation Content for Your Business with Regina Byrne
Do you feel like everything’s already been said about your topic and that your audience has heard it all before? Let me assure you that sharing your own experiences, knowledge, and examples*will* set you apart. The key is to have a unique angle and to align your presentation content with what you do in your business. In this on-air coaching call, you’ll hear how my guest Regina Byrne and I find what she should center her presentation around. Hands-on audience engagement activities end up being a big part of it, precisely so that the audience can get a sense of what it’s like for Regina to come to their organizations and provide them with training and coaching. For your presentations, think about how you can involve the audien
03/07/2018 • 51 minutes 35 seconds
074: [Coaching] Increase Conversions at Your Speaking Engagements with April Caldwell
In this on-air coaching call, you’ll learn how you can shift the content and flow of your presentations to increase conversions (leads, clients, and referrals) at your speaking engagements. My guest is April Caldwell, who helps professional women manage their money and achieve their financial goals. April hosts a monthly in-person event for women and also speaks at other groups, but isn’t getting the leads and clients that she knows she can. We talk about: How to make the audience feel comfortable and build trust when dealing with a vulnerable topic like money The importance of including client stories and successes <span sty
26/06/2018 • 52 minutes 43 seconds
073: Using Podcasts to Connect with Your Ideal Clients with Nicole Holland
Being a guest on podcasts is great for brand awareness, credibility building, networking, and lead generation. How can you pitch podcasters the right way so they want to have you on their show? In this episode, I talk with Nicole Holland of Interviews That Convert on: what to do and, just as importantly, what *not* to do in your podcast pitches how to turn listeners into leads specific tips on how to be a good podcast guest Here’s an example of a landing page I create for each podcast I’m a guest on,
19/06/2018 • 36 minutes 7 seconds
072: How to Speak Strategically for Better Business Results
Speaking in front of the right audiences with the right message can position you as an expert in your field, showcase your business, build relationships, and lead to clients and referrals. Have you been getting the results you want from the speaking engagements you’ve been doing? What you need is a clear and intentional speaking strategy and a powerful signature talk. Consider: Are you speaking in front of the right audiences? Are you talking in the right settings based on your natural and pr
12/06/2018 • 27 minutes 36 seconds
071: Using Humor in Your Talks Will Get You More Speaking Gigs with Kathy Klotz-Guest
You’ll notice that the title of this episode is in the definitive: using humor in your talks *will* get you more speaking engagements. I don’t mean you have to add a stand-up comedy routine to your presentations (leave that for the comedians!). Rather, as my guest Kathy Klotz-Guest and I talk about in this episode, using humor and improv techniques: Makes you more relatable to your audience Allows you to be present and in the moment Provides for a richer learning experience for the audience The results? You’
05/06/2018 • 51 minutes 42 seconds
070: Aligning Your Wardrobe with Your Brand with Jennifer Mackey-Mary
How can your wardrobe align with and reflect your brand and make you feel confident, so that you attract your ideal clients, whether you’re speaking, on video, or at a networking event? My guest is wardrobe stylist Jennifer Mackey-Mary, founder of Apple + Pear Wardrobe. We talk about what you should wear on stage and how you can use your business branding to decide what to wear, including whether or not to wear your brand colors. Jennifer uses two words that are crucial for dressing to attract your ideal clients (and I love that they both start with “A” :-). What do you like to wear when you speak? I’d love to see a photo - share in the Speaking Your Brand Facebook group. Not a member? It’s free - go to <a href="https://www.s
29/05/2018 • 44 minutes 39 seconds
069: What Event Organizers Look for in Speakers with Erin Smith
Do you have your eye on a conference or event that you really want to speak at? How can you get selected? My guest today is Erin Smith, who runs the annual Entrepreneur Summit in Dallas, Texas. We go behind-the-scenes into how event organizers select speakers, who they choose to pay and why, and what *not* to do as a speaker. Erin shares what to include in your speaker submissions to get noticed and how to negotiate your speaker fee. This conversation was very eye-opening for me and you’ll walk away with a new understanding of how to get selected to speak. About My Guest: Erin Smith is the founder of The Starters Club, a place for entrepreneurs and new business owners to get on their feet and start making sa
22/05/2018 • 29 minutes 27 seconds
068: Getting Paid to Speak and Negotiating Speaker Fees
How can you get your first paid speaking engagement? How do you figure out what to charge and how to negotiate? In this episode, you’ll hear from 7 women entrepreneurs and speakers who share how they got their first paid speaking engagement. I also share how I got my first paid gig for Speaking Your Brand and how I got paid to be a political analyst on TV news. There are lots of great reasons to speak for free and I speak for free several times a year for: Brand awareness Credibility builder Lead generation Networking</
15/05/2018 • 36 minutes 27 seconds
067: [Coaching] Integrating What You Do in Your Business into Your Presentation with Melissa Bennett
If you’ve been giving a presentation but you feel like what you do in your business isn’t well integrated into it and you aren’t getting the leads, clients, and referrals that you know you could, it’s time to stop giving that version and create one that gets you results. In this on-air coaching call, I help my guest Melissa Bennett re-work her presentation to make it more impactful for her audience and for her business. If you’ve listened to episode 57 on my story structure framework, you’ll see it put into action here. There’s a way of integrating what you do through your experiences, client stories, and framework that’s much more effective than “selling from the stage” and you’ll hear how we do that with Melissa’s content. About My Gue
08/05/2018 • 47 minutes 4 seconds
066: Mastering Your Speaking Style and Stage Presence
I can remember talks I’ve given, especially ones on stages in front of large audiences, where it felt like an out of body experience. I gave my talk, it went really well, but it was a complete blur, like tunnel vision. It all happened so fast and I felt like I was observing myself rather than being truly present and a part of it. Now, when I do a presentation, I’m in my comfort zone. I feel confident about my material and my stage presence. That’s what I want for you too, which is what I’m sharing with you in this episode: specific techniques and strategies you can use when preparing for and delivering your talk, including what to do the day-of and on stage. I also share a few personal stories of how I conquered my nerves and what happened to me in a dress rehearsal and why I’m really glad there wer
02/05/2018 • 46 minutes 35 seconds
065: Writing, Publishing, and Promoting Your Book with Julie Broad
Have you thought about writing a book, but you’re not sure what’s involved or even if it’s worth it? My guest today, Julie Broad of Book Launchers, answers the questions you have about the process of writing, publishing, and promoting a book. You’ll hear towards the end of the episode what’s the best way to promote and sell your book - and it’s not social media. We talk about: The advantages of self-publishing vs. traditional publishing The typical timeline of writing, publishing, and promoting a book How ha
24/04/2018 • 37 minutes 7 seconds
064: [Coaching] Show, Don’t Just Tell, Your Audience How You’re Different with Kimberley O’Brien
Speaking at groups and conferences is one of the best ways to create awareness about what you do and how you help your clients. The key is to show, through the examples and main points you include in your presentations, how what you do is different from others. In prior episodes, I’ve talked about how to do this without “selling from the stage” (episode 59), using story structure to create compelling content (episode 57), and developing your own framework (episode 61). Now, in this on-air coaching call, listen in as I coach entrepreneur Kimberley O’Brien on how she can show, not just tell, her audience how her approach is different and
17/04/2018 • 1 hour 4 minutes 8 seconds
From the Archive: Why You Need a Signature Talk for Your Business
What opportunities are you missing out on because you don’t have a signature talk? In this episode, I share why having a signature talk is critical for your business and your personal brand, including examples of what makes a great signature talk (and how it’s different from a training). With a signature talk, you become the go-to expert and thought leader for your topic and industry. You establish your personal brand and business reputation. You’re ready to accept speaking opportunities when they come your way, because you’re always prepared with
11/04/2018 • 16 minutes 48 seconds
063: Five Mistakes You’re Making in Your Presentations that Turn Off Your Audiences
Have you been to conferences and events and, during sessions, you see lots of people in the audience on their phones? And not using their phones to take notes, but to do other things because they’re not engaged with the speaker. How can you keep your audience interested and off their phones? In this episode, I share 5 mistakes I see speakers make that turn off their audiences - and specific techniques you can use instead to keep your audience engaged and learning. This applies no matter the audience size - whether 10 people, 100, 500, 1000, or more. Download the free PDF for this episode that has the 5 mistakes: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/63 <
03/04/2018 • 25 minutes 45 seconds
062: Tired of Asking? A Better Way to Get Referrals with Stacey Brown Randall
Ever since I started my first business over 15 years ago, I was told to make it a habit to ask for referrals: from my current clients, past clients, and network. I never did make it a habit, but in all three of the businesses I’ve started, including Speaking Your Brand, referrals have been a key component of getting new clients. My guest today, Stacey Brown Randall, believes we should *not* ask for referrals. Instead, she advocates a better way. Listen in as Stacey and I talk about why she believes this, the system she teaches her clients for getting referrals (without asking!), and as speakers, how we can approach getting referrals for speaking engagements. About My Guest: Stacey Brown Randall’s online programs and live coaching provide a blueprint to
27/03/2018 • 47 minutes 57 seconds
061: A Game Changer for Your Business and Presentations: Developing Your Own Framework
Developing your own framework can be a game changer for your business and presentations. It differentiates yourself from others in your field, it makes it easier for your audience and clients to understand what you do, and you’re creating intellectual property. What is a framework, why do you need one, and how can you find yours? It’s not an internal system or process; it’s how you work with your clients to get them results. Listen to this episode to learn how to identify your framework and how to use it in your presentations. To see framework examples, visit the show notes page at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/61. <span st
20/03/2018 • 24 minutes 28 seconds
060: [Coaching] Finding Your Presentation's Spine and Why It Absolutely Needs One with Joanna Sapir
Do you feel like you have so much you want to share in your presentations that you’re not sure what to keep, what to exclude, and how to streamline it? Or, are you afraid that you’re giving away too much valuable information? In this on-air coaching call, I help business strategist Joanna Sapir simplify her presentation content, so that it’s more useful for her audience AND gets her better results for her business. Your presentation needs a spine, a clear focus that you can hang all of your points and examples onto. Otherwise, your audience can get confused and overwhelmed, leaving them less likely to want to buy from you. Your presentation content - the spine - should reflect your unique approach and how
13/03/2018 • 46 minutes 40 seconds
059: Why You Shouldn't Sell from the Stage - and What to Do Instead with Carol Cox
Episode 59: Have you heard the phrase “sell from the stage”? The idea is that you pitch your programs and products to the audience at the end of your presentations. If you’ve been doing speaking engagements, you know it takes time, effort, energy, and sometimes money (especially when travel is involved), so it’s understandable that you want to get a return from it. However, when preparing your presentations and delivering them to your audience, “selling from the stage” is the wrong approach - and I’m going to explain why in this episode. Many of my clients tell me that they don’t want to come across as salesy. It can feel especially icky if you’re not comfortable doing it and the audience can tell, so it’s not going to work that well. You’ll end up feeling awkward, your
06/03/2018 • 23 minutes 6 seconds
058: Using Your Strengths to Reach Your Speaking and Business Potential with Belinda Brown
How can you reach your highest potential in speaking and in your business? What does it take to be the best you can be? For many years, I felt that I had to learn and master anything I came across in my businesses, from coding and SEO to marketing and PR to graphic design, accounting, and contracts. Each of these areas are specialized and require not only certain skills but also constant upkeep. Sounds pretty crazy, right? But, I know many of you are trying to do this all as well. The downside is that this is costing us - and in more ways than you may think. In this episode, my guest Belinda Brown, an executive and leadership coach, shares how she helps her clients, many of whom are executives at large companies, reach their potential as individuals, as teams, and as an organization. <span style="font-
27/02/2018 • 40 minutes 59 seconds
057: How to Use Simple Story Structure to Create Compelling Content with Carol Cox
Why use story structure? Simple: It’s what makes us human. You want to make sure the content you’re sharing is compelling, keeps your audience interested to the end, and invites them to take action, whether you’re hosting a podcast, being interviewed on one, or giving a presentation. Our brains are hard-wired to understand and respond to story structure. Think about the fairy tales you read as a kid and your favorite books and movies. Like a good movie or book, the content we create should have a beginning, middle, and end that takes the audience from the setup of the situation with tension (Act I) to the big idea/angle/process/solution (Act II) and finally to the resolution, reward, and next steps (Act III). The framework I’ve created and describe in this episode is bas
20/02/2018 • 22 minutes 21 seconds
056: How to Become a TEDx Speaker with Tamsen Webster
If you’ve been wanting to do a TEDx talk, this episode is perfect for you. My guest Tamsen Webster and I talk about everything TEDx, including what are the 3 key elements that make a great TEDx talk and how to know if you have a TED-worthy idea (“an idea worth spreading”). Tamsen was the Executive Producer of one of the oldest and one of the largest locally organized TED talk events in the world, so she shares how she found speakers and what she looked for in TEDx applications (this may surprise you!). You definitely don’t have to be a professional speaker to be selected for TEDx, but you do need to have authority and passion. About My Guest: Tamsen Webster is an acclaimed keynote speaker, “idea whisperer,” and message strategist. She combined 20 years in marketing, 13 y
13/02/2018 • 37 minutes 33 seconds
055: Should You Give an Instructional or an Inspirational Talk with Carol Cox
Should you give an instructional or an inspirational talk? You probably think I’m going to say that the answer is “It depends,” but I’m not. I think the real question behind this question is you want to know what kind of content to present to the audience. You’re not sure if they want to learn specific strategies and tactics and how-to’s (instructional) or if they want what we would call a motivational speaker (inspirational). You want to make sure the audience is happy and has their expectations met, and, yes, you need to provide relevant content that’s valuable to them. But, I also want the speaking engagement to have an ROI for you - to clearly connect to your business so that the audience understands what you do, who you
06/02/2018 • 23 minutes 47 seconds
054: Building a Culture of Trust with Your Team and Audience with Dr. Laura Gallaher
When you’re in a group dynamic, whether it’s during a presentation or at work with your team, how can you build real and deep trust and connection? It may seem like this could take days, weeks, or even months or years. But, during a recent workshop I attended that was facilitated by today’s guest, I personally experienced a profound sense of connection with a group of strangers in a matter of 20 minutes. A connection deeper than one I’ve felt with people I’ve known for years. How did this happen? My guest Dr. Laura Gallaher is on the podcast to talk about radical communication and the transformational change in people and culture that emerges from it. The specific techniques we discuss are ones you can use in one-on
30/01/2018 • 58 minutes 15 seconds
053: What It’s Like to be an Influencer with Jeanette Johnson
What is it like to have over 1.25 million visits to your blog every year and over 250,000 followers on social media? My guest is well-known fashion blogger Jeanette Johnson, who started her blog way back in 2010, before influencer marketing was a thing. Since then, her business and brand have skyrocketed and Jeanette has done lots for visibility: blogging, social media, TV, speaking, and now a book. In this episode, we talk about the shifts in influencer marketing, how Jeanette makes decisions about what brands to work with, and what brands look for when partnering with someone. Jeanette shares the online bullying she experienced in the first few years of her blog and how she dealt with it (it’s crazy to me how mean-spirited people can be!). We also get into a discussion
23/01/2018 • 47 minutes 42 seconds
052: Producing Live Events to Showcase Your Business & Brand with Renee Warmack
Have you thought about creating and hosting your own in-person event, whether it’s a monthly meetup, a panel discussion related to your industry, or a full conference? Or, if you’ve hosted your own event, but felt like your business and personal brand didn’t get as much exposure as you would have liked (probably because you were busy running around taking care of everything!), you’ll learn what to do instead. My guest, Renee Warmack, and I talk about how to create an event that’s a win-win-win for everyone involved: the content provides value to the audience, the panelists/speakers are showcased, AND your message and brand come through too. Renee is an expert at putting on live events, so we talk about coming up with a topic/theme, how to select good panelists and speakers, the structure/agenda of the event, and how
16/01/2018 • 38 minutes 41 seconds
051: Marketing Trends You Need to Know for 2018 with Sandi Eveleth
There’s been a dramatic shift in online marketing in the past 1-2 years. What used to work doesn’t work anymore, or at least not the same way it did. My guest Sandi Eveleth, a digital marketing strategist, and I share strategies you can use now including: how to market to cold audiences vs. warm ones; the #1 reason to do Facebook Live videos (it’s probably not what you think); the new Facebook Local (move over, Yelp!); and more. During our conversation, we hit upon what I believe is THE key to successful marketing nowadays. It’s something you can <stron
09/01/2018 • 47 minutes 57 seconds
050: The 3 C's of Visibility: What It Takes to Get Known
What does it take to get known? How can you become the “go to” person for what you do? You know you need to be more visible in order to grow your business and network and to achieve your goals. But, there’s a lot of noise out there: not only competition, but things competing for people’s attention AND people not being clear about what exactly you do, who you do it for, and the outcomes you get for them. What you need are the 3 C’s of Visibility: Consistency, Courage, and Community (plus a bonus 4th C). I share with you the ways to be consistent for it to make an impact; why being an advocate and standing up can get you known (but why it’s scary to do so); and why having support can make all the difference, including places we need to show up where we might not be right n
02/01/2018 • 31 minutes 44 seconds
049: This Surprising Element Will Make You a Better Speaker with Janice Rous
There’s something you can do as a speaker to connect with your audience and have an impact on them that goes beyond your content or the activities you have them do. It’s one of the four essential elements (fire, water, air, and earth), which is why I used the word “element” in the title. It’s your breath. The most powerful speakers in the world know how to use their breath, resonance, tone, and pauses to create a moving experience for their listeners. You can do the same. More than simply helping to calm your nerves or speak more clearly (which it definitely does as well!), using your breath properly and intentionally can connect you on a deeper level with your audience and make your words more powerful and impactful. My guest Janice Rous is an expert on the breath and t
26/12/2017 • 56 minutes 8 seconds
048: [Coaching] Strategy Session to Get Visible with Pam Andrews
How can you get more visibility for your business? In this on-air coaching call, my guest Pam Andrews and I discuss specific things she can do, from obvious ones like speaking to groups and going on podcasts to some less obvious ones that may be a good fit for you too. You’ll learn the questions to ask yourself to determine where you should focus your time and energy. Interestingly, we discover during our conversation that the customers who purchase Pam’s books are most likely not the same people who would purchase her services - they are two very different types of customers. You may have the same thing in your business and not realize it. I encourage you to go back and listen to episode 45, where I go over four different visibility roadmaps you can use, depending on what stage your business is in. <s
19/12/2017 • 54 minutes 19 seconds
047: Creating Better Audience Engagement and Learning with Amy Lang
As a speaker, you’re only one-half of the equation. The other half is your audience. Particularly when you’re doing workshops and breakout sessions with smaller groups, you want to make sure that the audience is engaged, interested, and learning. My guest Amy Lang is an experienced speaker and workshop facilitator and she shares with us strategies she uses, from stories and humor to flipcharts and breathing breaks, to engage adult learners. We also talk about how to manage introverted and extroverted workshop participants, how Amy got her first speaking gigs when she was starting her business, and our mutual love for alliteration and acronyms. This is a very lively conversation that I know you’ll enjoy! About My Guest: A nationally
12/12/2017 • 57 minutes 17 seconds
046: We All Need a Wingwoman with Mia Scharphie
As women, we walk a tightrope between needing to advocate for ourselves, yet not wanting to come across as braggarts or overly promotional (yes, it’s that pesky double bind). How can we make sure we’re getting the visibility and opportunities we deserve for the amazing work I know we’re all doing? We need a wingwoman (or two or three)! In this episode, my guest Mia Scharphie shares what she has named “the wingwoman effect” and how as women entrepreneurs and professionals we can use it to advocate for others, foster collaboration, and gain more visibility. We talk about the difference between having a mentor and a sponsor, creating a recommendation circle, and a better approach to networking events. We also need your input! Du
05/12/2017 • 50 minutes 25 seconds
045: Your Visibility Roadmap: Build Your Business, Brand, and Influence
This episode is a mini-training to help you create your visibility roadmap and identify the areas you should focus on to build your business, brand, and influence. They’re not the same for everyone. I’m going to share with you 4 different roadmaps depending on where you’re at in your business and what your goals are. Whether you want to do more public speaking, give a keynote, do a TEDx talk, create your own workshops or events, launch a podcast or video show or virtual summit, appear on TV, write a book, serve in a leadership position in a community or industry organization, or run for office, you need to identify the stepping stones to get you from where you are to where you want to be. Get the free PDF download of the visibility roadmaps and additional resources at <a href= "https://www.speakingyourbrand.c
28/11/2017 • 24 minutes 15 seconds
044: The Ins and Outs of Virtual Summits with Jaime Slutzky
Virtual summits can raise your visibility: whether you’re being interviewed on one or hosting your own. Being a part of a virtual summit can introduce you to a new audience. Hosting your own virtual summit can help you grow your email list, network, and revenue. My guest Jaime Slutzky is an expert on creating virtual summits - from the tech integration to strategizing on content and marketing for the summit. She may have even convinced me to do my own in 2018! In this episode, we talk about the reasons to participate on a virtual summit, what you should know as a participant and the questions to ask the host, and whether you should host your own. About My Guest: Jaime Slutzky was born a techie. She knew by the age of 7 that she wanted to spend her life working on computers. She
21/11/2017 • 34 minutes 44 seconds
043: How Speaking Can Grow (or Derail) Your Business with Amber De La Garza
Get ready for a fun and lively conversation! We get into the nitty-gritty of speaking in this episode: how to make sure that the speaking opportunities you say yes to are helping you reach your goals and grow your business vs. derailing you. My guest Amber De La Garza is a productivity specialist, so we also talk about productivity tips for us as speakers and entrepreneurs. I even ask her to help me with a productivity struggle - and you’ll be surprised by her recommendation (I was!). Amber shares with us what the National Speakers Association does and how it has helped her in her speaking journey. We also talk about what it takes to get paid big money for keynotes - and why you may not want to go down that path. About My Guest: Am
14/11/2017 • 54 minutes 58 seconds
042: [Coaching] Content Ideas and Strategies to Start a Movement with Marnie Clark
What kind of content should you create when you want to start a movement (or launch a product)? In this on-air coaching call, I help my guest Marnie Clark with ideas and strategies to generate awareness and interest in a movement she’s starting around premium, hand-crafted non-alcoholic cocktails. Marnie’s been frustrated that when she goes to restaurants or out with friends, she’s stuck ordering water or frozen slushy drinks. She wants a beautiful, delicious cocktail, minus the alcohol. We talk about what kinds of videos to create, who to target, and how she can incorporate her story into her content. About My Guest: Marnie Clark is a business owner who has played an integral role for the past 27-years in the multi-million-dollar construction company that she has helped
07/11/2017 • 43 minutes 1 second
041: Behind the Scenes of My Presentation at BizChix Live, From Content to Slides to Delivery
In this episode, I take you behind the scenes of a presentation I recently gave at BizChix Live, a 3-day conference for women entrepreneurs. The title was “Your Visibility Roadmap: Growing Your Business, Brand, and Influence.” I talk about how I created the presentation itself, an overview of the content, how I prepared, and the feedback and results I got. You’ll hear about the nightmare I had 2 nights before I was to speak (and what I learned from it!). You’ll also hear the feedback I received from one of the attendees that stopped me in my tracks - something you need to hear too. In a future episode, I’ll go over the visibility roadmaps from this presentation, so be sure to subscribe to the podcast and share with a friend!<
31/10/2017 • 28 minutes 11 seconds
040: Why Women Need to Speak Up and Roar with Sophia Eng
Have you ever felt scared to say or publish something, but you knew you had to do it? That’s what my guest Sophia Eng did a few months ago when she wrote and published “Hear Us Roar: A Manifesto for Women and Minorities in Startup, Tech, and Business Communities.” She knew that if she wanted other women to speak up, she had to do it herself. Sophia is a Growth Advisor and Founder of Women in Growth, a community dedicated to empowering women to grow businesses. She has been the driving force behind the revenue and user growth at Autodesk, Workday, and now InVision, as well as her own consulting agency using buyer psychology as the backbone of her strategies and insights. Sophia champions female and minority inclusion in Silicon Valley, as
24/10/2017 • 44 minutes 14 seconds
039: Using Personal Stories to Connect with Your Audience with Lisa Woodruff
What kinds of personal stories should you share in a business context? How personal is too personal when sharing stories publicly? How do you get past the fear that creeps up when you’re about to share something? My guest Lisa Woodruff, founder of Organize 365, and I talk about how and why she shares personal stories on her podcast and blog and how that has impacted her business growth. We also get into how Lisa got visibility for her business early on and what she’s doing now with podcasting, blogging, speaking, and social media. About My Guest: Lisa Woodruff is a home organization expert, productivity specialist and author of The Mindset of Organization, Take Back Your House One Phase at a Time, & <span style="font-we
17/10/2017 • 42 minutes 39 seconds
038: Hosting Local Workshops to Reach Your Ideal Clients with Valentina Escobar-Gonzalez
Creating and hosting your own local workshops can be a great way to add a revenue stream to your business and reach prospective clients who get to know you as an expert and then want to work with your further. My guest is social media strategist Valentina Escobar-Gonzalez, who has built a good part of her business through local workshops, partnering with the chamber of commerce and SBA in her town. We talk about how Valentina markets her workshops, how far in advance to advertise them, tips for effectively targeting Facebook ads, and using Twitter to connect with influencers and podcasters. One of the workshops that Valentina offers is on social media for introverts. As an introvert and someone who doesn’t like to post a lot on social medi
10/10/2017 • 40 minutes 17 seconds
037: [Coaching] Strategies for Creating a More Effective Webinar with Samantha Agostino
We’re back with an on-air coaching call! Webinars are an excellent way to increase awareness of who you are, what you do, and how you help people, plus they’re a lot of fun (at least I think so!). In this episode, I help professional makeup artist Samantha Agostino with the content of her webinar. We review her past webinar and how to improve it to make a stronger connection with her audience and get them interested in her program. We talk about getting clear on your goal as well as the audience’s goal, how to structure your webinar content by focusing on 3 (yes, only 3!) main points and keeping them simple to understand, the power of sharing your personal stories and experiences as well as client examples, tips for engaging attendees, and how many slides to use. About My Guest: Samantha Agostino is a professional m
03/10/2017 • 43 minutes 53 seconds
036: Creating a Business for Change with Geraldine Carter
Business can be a vehicle for social impact and positive change. But, oftentimes, entrepreneurs who see themselves as changemakers can get tripped up with money blocks, trusting their idea, and figuring out how to turn their idea into tangible growth. That’s where my guest Geraldine Carter comes in. As co-founder of Climate Ride, she grew the organization from an idea to a seven-figure budget and she now coaches changemaking entrepreneurs. She was even mentioned (by name!) by Seth Godin in one of his TED talks. In this episode, Geraldine and I discuss her background and early adventures traveling the world, the impetus for creating Climate Ride, the struggles she sees changemaking entrepreneurs go through, and much more. About My Guest: Geraldine Carter coaches courageous changemakers who are ready take their busine
26/09/2017 • 49 minutes 8 seconds
035: Be a Better Panel Moderator and Get More Speaking Opportunities with Natalie Eckdahl
Moderating a panel, or being on one, can be a great way to increase your visibility at an event or conference. People in the audience see you as an expert and you get to know and network with the other panelists. But, as the moderator if you’re not careful, panels can quickly become unruly or go off on tangents or end up with one person dominating the conversation. My guest Natalie Eckdahl has moderated several high-profile panels over the past year, including at Social Media Marketing World and Podcast Movement. Along the way, she’s learned strategies and lessons that she shares in this episode. We also talk about her decision to create her own live event, coming up in mid-October in Southern California, as she saw how much she connected with others at conferences she was attending. <span style="font-
20/09/2017 • 51 minutes 30 seconds
034: Relationship Selling with Nikki Rausch
How do you approach selling, whether it’s your product/service or yourself for speaking engagements? Do you schedule time and make it a priority or do you tend to procrastinate on it because you don’t like “sales” and you’re not sure what to do or say? In this mini-training, my guest Nikki Rausch, founder of the Sales Maven, walks us through how to do the sales process, from prospecting to closing, in a way that feels good for both you and the other person and builds a relationship, not a transaction. We talk about what to say so you can get to the next step with a prospect, why you need to take the lead, and why you should offer clients several options for your product or service (you’ll hear why this works so well!). About My Guest: Sales Maven founder and bestselling author,
12/09/2017 • 56 minutes 12 seconds
033: How to Use Interns the Right Way in Your Business with Isabella Johnston
Ah, interns. The promise of inexpensive (or even free) labor as you’re growing your business, especially when you’re in that hard point between having too much work to do yourself but not having extra revenue to hire someone. But, there’s a catch. Interns come with responsibilities for you as the business owner (as well as legal regulations). My guest Isabella Johnston is known as the “intern whisperer.” She has trained dozens of interns in her company and is now getting ready to release a software program that will make it easier for businesses to find interns and for interns to find opportunities. What should you look for in an intern? What are realistic expectations? What do you as the business owner need to have in place before you’re ready for an intern? Isabella and I talk all about this and more in this podca
05/09/2017 • 36 minutes 15 seconds
032: [Coaching] Finding Your Signature Idea and Angle with Adrienne Borgersen
Your signature talk needs to be useful, interesting, and relatable to your audience - and it needs to be original and uniquely yours. In this on-air coaching call, my client Adrienne Borgersen and I discuss how we found her angle for her signature talk topic and we go over key parts of her presentation storyboard. We also talk the groups Adrienne should reach out to for speaking engagements based on who her target clients are. Adrienne shares fantastic style and shopping tips and the importance of making conscious choices when we buy. About My Guest: Adrienne Borgersen is a 25 year veteran of the music industry, a Fashion Institute of Technology certified Image Consultant and a Main Street Vegan Academy Master Certified Vegan Lifestyle Coach & Educator. Wanting to help p
29/08/2017 • 50 minutes 10 seconds
031: [Coaching] Narrow Your Niche and Your Offer for Better Results with C S Wurzberger
Creating your signature talk can lead to clarity and better results not only for your presentations but for your business model, product offers, marketing messaging, and speaking strategy. In this on-air coaching call, I talk with my client C S Wurzberger about how our work together to create her signature talk (using my storyboard method) helped her narrow her niche, design her business model, and align her product offerings with what she is most passionate about: empowering kids who love animals to create real-world projects that make a difference and teach them valuable skills. About My Guest: C S Wurzberger, The Green Up Girl is a Podcaster, Green Movement Marketing Advisor, Sustainability Consultant with 25 years of experience and extensive training in helping animal/nature organizations showcase their green initiatives and conservation efforts for the wor
22/08/2017 • 43 minutes 17 seconds
030: How to Become a Sought-After, Stand-Out Speaker
Here’s the problem I see with many of the presentations and workshops I attend: Too much impersonal information and data, not enough personal stories and connection. Or, to put it even more simply: Too much Wikipedia, not enough people. In this episode, I share examples of how you can create presentations that are personal and memorable for your audience and how, by having a signature talk, you create consistency with your message. I pulled the audio from the online training I recently did because I got such great feedback from the women who attended. I talk about the 3 C’s of Stand-Out Speaking: Consistency<span style="font-weigh
15/08/2017 • 58 minutes 37 seconds
029: [Coaching] Networking the Right Way to Save Time and Find Speaking Opportunities with Dr. Carmen Landrau
Are you spending time going to networking events and not feeling like you’re getting enough out of them? There’s a way to approach networking that can get you better results and save you time. In this on-air coaching episode, my guest Dr. Carmen Landrau and I strategize ways she can network more effectively, from which groups to attend to who to say yes to for coffee or lunch (and how to politely get out of the ones you don’t want to say yes to!). We also talk about Carmen’s background as a medical doctor and how she learned to navigate a very male-dominated industry and now speaks to professional women to help them know their worth and ask for what they want. About My Guest: Carmen W. Landrau, MD is a board certified physician who specializes in cardiology and is a prof
08/08/2017 • 54 minutes 54 seconds
028: Aligning Your Mission with What Your Customers Want with Bruce Friedrich of the Good Food Institute
As mission-driven entrepreneurs, we’re passionate and certain about the changes we’d like to see to make the world a better place. But, what happens if the people you want to reach aren’t as convinced as you are? You have a couple of options: You can work really hard to educate your market, to convince them that what you’re offering is what they need, to get them to change their behavior in favor of what you’re proposing. (Spoiler: this rarely works and you’ll spend a lot of time and money on it.) Or, you can give them what they want and shift your mission to align with that. This is the point my guest Bruce Friedrich arrived at a few years ago, which we talk about in t
01/08/2017 • 41 minutes 4 seconds
027: Building Your Brand on Values and Vision with Marci McCue of Flipboard
How important are values to your company’s brand and culture? For Flipboard, a social news magazine that launched as one of the first breakout iPad apps in 2010 and now has over 100 million monthly active users, it’s been central to their decision making and their success. In this interview, I talk with Marci McCue, who heads up the company’s communications and content strategy, about the process she and Flipboard use to identify their values and embed them into the company culture (a very straightforward process that you can use, no matter the size of your company), the importance of civic engagement, and the power of stories. Marci also shares how she prepares for speaking engagements and the vision curve she uses in her presentations to help brands assess where they’re at with their customers. Did I also mention
25/07/2017 • 50 minutes 35 seconds
026: [Coaching] Specific Strategies to Improve Your Presentations with Jodi Flynn
We’re back with a coaching episode, so you can take the strategies we talk about and apply them to your own presentations. My guest Jodi Flynn of Women Taking the Lead and I go over an upcoming presentation she has, including why your presentation should only have 3 key points (less is more!), how to poll the audience so you can tailor your content and examples, how to transition between points, and rituals to help you before and after you go on stage. Jodi is already an accomplished speaker and podcaster, and with this presentation she’s melding her core message for type A entrepreneurial women (hand raised!) with a podcasting topic for a more general audience. Listen in to see how she’s going about doing that. About My Guest: Jodi Flynn is the Founder of Women Taking the Lead, a podcast and community of ambitious
18/07/2017 • 50 minutes 10 seconds
025: Why You Need a Signature Talk for Your Business
What opportunities are you missing out on because you don’t have a signature talk? In this episode, I share why having a signature talk is critical for your business and your personal brand, including examples of what makes a great signature talk (and how it’s different from a training). With a signature talk, you become the go-to expert and thought leader for your topic and industry. You establish your personal brand and business reputation. You’re ready to accept speaking opportunities when they come your way, because you’re always prepared with
12/07/2017 • 16 minutes 48 seconds
024: What It Takes to Do a TEDx Talk with Tammy Lally
What does it take to do a TEDx talk? In short, a lot of work! But, as my guest and client Tammy Lally talks about in this episode, the process was tremendously rewarding and transformational. Tammy and I talk about the process we went through to create the talk, how she prepared for it, what it was like to be on the TEDx stage, what she learned about herself, how she opened the talk, and much more. About My Guest: In her work as a Certified Money Coach and Financial Planner, Tammy Lally helps couples and individuals achieve financial health and freedom. Since 2009, her ability to help clients succeed is based on her leading edge knowledge and unique approach. She assists them in digging in, questioning, and owning their money beliefs and behaviors and the impact they have on their financial, social, emotional and sp
05/07/2017 • 40 minutes 30 seconds
023: Building Your Influence Online and Off with Kerry Gorgone
If you’re interested in speaking at conferences and/or being a guest on podcasts, this is an episode you won’t want to miss. I met my guest Kerry Gorgone over 8 years ago and I’ve seen her influence rise, both online as she’s become the host of the MarketingProfs podcast and a contributing writer to well-known sites like Social Media Explorer and Entrepreneur.com, as well as offline through speaking and training. In this episode, Kerry and I talk about how she got started speaking, how she approaches creating her presentations and engaging the audience, what makes a great podcast guest, and much more. About my guest: Kerry Gorgone is the host of the Marketing Smarts podcast and Director of Product Strategy for Training at MarketingProfs. She trained as a lawyer and is now a speaker, educator, and contributing writer
28/06/2017 • 43 minutes 26 seconds
022: You Can’t Go It Alone in Business with Kat Mendenhall
Community has been the most important component for me in growing Speaking Your Brand over the past two years, from online masterminds I’ve been a part of to local women’s business groups I’ve joined. In this episode, my guest Kat Mendenhall shares how community and mentors have been instrumental in helping her with her businesses. We also talk about how to turn passion into a profitable business (and what the key ingredient is). Kat is the creator of a company that makes gorgeous cruelty-free cowboy boots and she recently opened a boutique in Dallas called Mend RT vegan retail therapy. Highlights: Turning passion into a profitable business <li sty
20/06/2017 • 44 minutes 36 seconds
021: Using Your Intuition to Create Exceptional Content with Jay Acunzo
There’s a LOT of content out there competing for your (and your customers’) limited attention, from social media updates and blog posts to podcasts and videos. Is the answer to create more content or better content? My guest today, Jay Acunzo, believes that the answer is not “more” or “better”; rather, it’s to create exceptional content. What exactly is exceptional content and how can you use your intuition to create it? Listen to the episode to find out. Jay and I also talk how Jay approaches his speaking engag
13/06/2017 • 57 minutes 21 seconds
020: Perfectionism, the Good Girl, and the Gremlins that Hold Us Back with Regena Garrepy
What’s wrong with being a good girl? What does striving for perfectionism and people pleasing cost us as women in leadership? How does it affect our message and our ability to have a greater impact? In this episode, my guest Regena Garrepy shares with us her journey to reclaim her essence - and the gremlins that keep us from doing the valuable work we should be doing. We also talk about the process Regena and I used to create her new presentation and when you need to mature your message to have a greater impact. I’ve gotten to know Regena over the past year as we’ve worked together on two of her presentations and she is a truly beautiful soul. I admire and respect her tremendously and love the power of her story and her message. About my guest: Regena Garrepy is a mentor
06/06/2017 • 47 minutes 41 seconds
019: How Publishing a Book Impacts Your Speaking Opportunities with Jan Bowen
Have you thought about writing a book to boost your personal brand, your business, or your speaking career (or probably all three!)? I know I have, which is why I got a lot out of my conversation with author, executive coach, and keynote speaker Jan Bowen. In this episode, we talk about why Jan chose to write her book "It’s Not That Complicated", how she selected her publisher, what hybrid publishing is, and whether the book has helped Jan’s speaking opportunities. We also get into a meaningful discussion about Jan’s signature talk topic and what happens when we don’t live our life purpose. As Jan says, "If we deny what we’re born to do, we just won’t thrive." I’ve gotten to know Jan over the past year and really admire her wisdom and focus and her authentic desire to spotlight the work that others do. Check out her
30/05/2017 • 37 minutes 19 seconds
018: [Coaching] Focusing on What Drives Revenue for Your Business with Jamara Wilson
As solopreneurs and small business owners, we often get stuck doing tasks that we really need to delegate or hire someone else to do. We tell ourselves that it only takes a few minutes, or we don’t have time to train someone, or we’ll do it later. The problem is that a bottleneck occurs (us!) that limits our business growth. As the business owner, we should be focusing on doing the activities that drive revenue. My guest, Jamara Wilson, has a great insight into this and helps me through some of my own thinking on this topic. Jamara is CEO & President of Tuxedo Impressions LLC, a company whose mission is to help small businesses create efficiency in their daily operations to sustain growth by using technology that will support your company values and culture. In this episode, we talk about: <span style="font
23/05/2017 • 43 minutes 4 seconds
017: [Coaching] Getting Better Results from Your Online Marketing with Carolyn Delaney
If you’ve listened to some of my other episodes, you’ve heard me help my clients with on-air coaching calls. Now, I’m turning the tables and having someone do a strategy session on me. My guest Carolyn Delaney is the founder of OurCraft.com, which helps creatives and makers by taking care of their technology needs and digital presence through email marketing, SEO, content marketing, ecommerce, and online advertising to amplify their message, reach more of their customers, and sell more of their products. In this episode, you get a peek inside the marketing and technology I’m currently using for my business and for this podcast, and Carolyn asks me insightful questions that you should be asking yourself and gives recommendations you can use as well. Highlights: <span styl
16/05/2017 • 1 hour 5 minutes 33 seconds
016: Connecting through Empathy and Storytelling with Karen Millsap
This idea of empathy and sharing our stories, especially our deep and vulnerable ones, has been coming up a lot for me lately, from panel discussions on politics and social media I’ve participated in to podcasts I’ve been on talking about the power of public speaking to build trust and empathy. Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. I would add to that not just feelings, but their life situation and what brought them to where they are today. My guest today is Karen Millsap, the founder of The Grief Consultant, which helps organizations implement practical empathy in the workplace to strengthen engagement and improve overall performance. In this episode, we talk about: <li style="f
09/05/2017 • 41 minutes 49 seconds
015: Vocal Training and Being More Confident Speaking on Stage with Freya Casey
As speakers, we want to use our voices effectively, feel confident, and project confidence on stage. In this episode, professional singer and vocal coach Freya Casey shares exercises we can do to improve and warm up our voices and how to reduce stage fright and project confidence. What I love about Freya is that she helps people discover the awesomeness in their voice and that she emphasizes mindset and personality as much as physiology and technique. We talk about using the energy of the audience, the benefits of being an introvert as a performer and speaker, what to do if we think our voices are too high pitched or low pitched, and much more. About my guest: Freya Casey is a professional singer and vocal coach from Germany. She studied opera at Southern Methodist University and at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart in Germany, has performe
03/05/2017 • 33 minutes 22 seconds
014: [Coaching] Shifting Your Presentation from Practical to Inspirational with Tara Lynn Foster
If you’ve been giving presentations for awhile that are the typical 30-60 minutes in length, but you’re curious as to how to condense your idea into a speech that’s less than 10 minutes (it is possible!), you’re going to learn a lot in this episode. My guest, Tara Lynn Foster, is a leadership speaker and coach for women professionals and entrepreneurs. She spent her career in corporate America, dutifully climbing the ladder, until she realized she was on the wrong ladder. Earlier this year, Tara was invited to give a TED-style lightning talk at a conference for women entrepreneurs in Denver, so in this episode, I help Tara with putting that together. Since this call was recorded, Tara delivered her speech and I just watched the video. She did great, as I knew she would! We cover how to open and close the speech, what to cut to stay on theme with an 8-minute speech, what slides Tara should use
25/04/2017 • 48 minutes 49 seconds
013: How to Get Local and National Media Coverage with Christina Nicholson
How can you get media coverage for your business? In this episode, you’ll learn common mistakes business owners make when pitching journalists, what to put in your pitches, how to show you’re an expert, and how the media landscape is changing. My guest is Christina Nicholson, an award-winning journalist with more than a decade of experience anchoring, reporting, writing, blogging, video production, editing, excelling in social media, photography, and live TV. She has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, the Huffington Post, and on CNN, WTVJ in Miami, WPTV in West Palm Beach, News 12 in New York City, and many other media outlets. Christina now has her own company called Media Maven and helps businesses with their marketing, PR, and publicity, through consulting as well as by teaching business owners how to do it themselves through her online course.</p
18/04/2017 • 45 minutes 20 seconds
012: Defining Your Value Proposition for Marketing with More Heart and Less Hustle with Lisa Princic
How many of us wouldn't rather market and grow our businesses with heart rather than hustle? It’s exhausting trying to keep up with every new social media channel and tactic (Facebook Live! Snapchat! Instastories!), much less everything else that goes into running our businesses and working with clients. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. In this episode, Lisa Princic and I talk about why "hoping for the best and hustling" is not a sustainable business strategy and what to do instead. The place to start is by defining your value proposition: the unique combination of your attributes, your values, and the outcomes you get for your clients. Listen in for some examples of good and not-so-good value propositions. Let me tell you about my guest Lisa Princic: I know Lisa bec
11/04/2017 • 39 minutes 32 seconds
011: [Coaching] Creating and Preparing for a Keynote Presentation with LuAnn Nigara
We're going behind-the-scenes to look at what it’s really like to prepare and deliver a keynote. Keynotes are meant to be inspirational and aspirational, which is different from a standard business presentation or breakout session where you’re sharing tactical, step-by-step things that people can do. In a keynote, you want to take the audience on a journey, weaving in your own stories and experiences, and sharing with them your big idea. In this episode, I talk with one of my clients, LuAnn Nigara, and we do a debrief of the keynote she recently gave at a large industry conference. You’ll hear about the process we went through to create the speech, how LuAnn felt on stage, and LuAnn shares with us some things she would do differently. I knew she would nail her keynote -
04/04/2017 • 38 minutes 44 seconds
010: [Coaching] Identifying a Target Market Ready and Eager for What You Offer with Susanna Barkataki
If you've struggled with figuring out who your ideal target market is, what problems and needs they have, and what results you can get for them, this coaching episode is going to show you the process I use with my clients to help them identify this. We know that in our businesses and in our speeches, we can’t try to appeal to everyone, because then we appeal to no one. So, what do we do? We need to uncover our unique angle, our particular combination of experiences, expertise, approach, and worldview, and then identify the type of people who are attracted to who we are and what we stand for and who are ready and eager to hear our message and use our product or service. In this coaching call you’re about to hear, my guest Susanna Barkataki and I work on defining who exactly her target market is. <span s
28/03/2017 • 52 minutes 5 seconds
009: [Training] Social Media for Speakers and Thought Leaders with Donna Cravotta
You are going to get so much out of my conversation with Donna Cravotta, who is a social media expert and founder of Social Pivot PR. This episode is part coaching - I give Donna feedback on her presentation content and how she should position herself. And then it leads into training. Donna is so good at what she does with social media that I couldn’t help but ask her questions I have and that I knew you would benefit from. Donna gives us some fantastic tips and tools for how to use social media, as speakers and thought leaders, to build our personal brands and connect with fans and influencers - without spending a lot of time or getting distracted. Highlights: The importance of listening on so
22/03/2017 • 46 minutes 45 seconds
008: [Coaching] Positioning Your Topic for a Keynote with Danielle Liss
What kind of topics are worthy of a keynote versus a presentation you would do in a workshop or breakout session? How can you position what you offer so that clients see you as a go-to expert rather than a one-time or infrequent purchase? Both of these questions are key if you’re looking to expand your business and get paid as a speaker. My guest, Danielle Liss, is a lawyer, but don’t worry - she’s not like the attorneys you’ve met at your typical chamber of commerce or networking meeting. Instead, Danielle and her partner have been called “cool lawyers”. That’s because they understand online entrepreneurship and the new economy. In this episode, I help Danielle come up with a messaging strategy to make legal topics less boring and more appealing when she’s pitching to conferences, especially for keynotes, and to podcasts. <span style="font
20/03/2017 • 42 minutes 58 seconds
007: [Coaching] Finding Your Unique Message to Stand Out with Puja Madan
How can you set yourself apart from others in your field? What makes your approach different? We all have something that is unique to us, but it’s hard for us to see it in ourselves because we take it for granted - it’s with us all the time, after all! In this episode, I coach my guest Puja Madan to help her find her unique message to stand out, so that’s she’s attracting the right clients and creating content that reflects what’s different about her and her approach to productivity and time management. Along with hearing the questions I ask my clients (and which you should be asking yourself), you’ll get some excellent tips on how to structure your day and your week for improved productivity and creativity. Here’s a hint - as women, we need to do productivity differently from men. Let me tell you about Puja Madan: She is the creator of Wild Radiant Woma
15/03/2017 • 58 minutes 15 seconds
006: Why Your Business Needs Diversity with Leadership Expert Loren Margolis
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, an executive, or a professional, you’re a leader, especially if you’re speaking in front of groups of people. It’s important to be aware of the diversity (or lack thereof) in our businesses and in our networks - it's good for us as people and it's good for our company's bottom line. As we sum up at the end, "It all starts with people." We cover a lot in this conversation, from imposter syndrome to what it means to be approachable as a leader to how diversity of both people and ideas impacts your workplace and your business’s bottom line. About my guest: Loren Margolis established her expertise at Columbia Business School in New York City as a leadership coach and career strategist for global leaders in Investment Banking, Management Consulting, Consumer Goods, and Technology. Loren th
13/03/2017 • 36 minutes 13 seconds
005: [Coaching] Niching & Pitching for Business Success with Edie Berg
It seems counter-intuitive, but it's true: the narrower the niche for your business (or podcast), the more successful it will be. In this episode, I talk with my guest Edie Berg about her shift in focus from strong women to strong Jewish women, some of her concerns in making this change, and why she ultimately decided to do it. We cover a lot, including: Why you need to niche down in your business Why Edie decided to shift from talking to all business women to focusing on Jewish women One of the reasons that almost kept Edie from making this shift <span st
08/03/2017 • 52 minutes 18 seconds
004: [Coaching] Attracting Clients through Speaking & Podcasts with Shelli Warren
Shelli Warren of SheConnex spent 25 years as an executive leader and trainer at a Fortune 500 company and is now a success coach helping other women launch their own encore careers as entrepreneurs. I met Shelli through the mastermind we’re currently in together and have been so impressed with her wisdom and her fierce advocacy for women. Shelli is particularly good at creating local events to connect women with each other. In this episode, Shelli and I strategize ways she can leverage podcasts as well as local speaking engagements and events to build her following and get more clients. We talk about: Shelli’s career and why she decided to leave and start her own business The differences Shelli has seen between
03/03/2017 • 1 hour 2 minutes 12 seconds
003: The Key Elements of a Good Presentation
Go behind the scenes as I deconstruct the key elements of the presentation I recently gave at Podfest Multimedia Expo, which is a podcasting conference. I do the speech for you (it's less than 7 minutes) and then I deep dive into why I chose this topic, explain the structure I used, and describe how and why I connected the opening and closing. You'll learn about 3-act structure, the rule of 3, using humor and inspiration, and the call back. The presentation I gave is called a Pecha Kucha talk. The format for a Pecha Kucha is 20 slides x 20 seconds each (so the entire presentation is only 6 minutes and 40 seconds). The title of the presentation is "Zebras, Chameleons, and Peacocks: Speaking Your Brand in Our New Media Age." Which are you? Which should you be? (You may be surprised!) You can view the slides and get the free PDF on the show notes page at <a href= "https://ww
28/02/2017 • 28 minutes 42 seconds
002: [Coaching] Taking Your Speaking to the Next Level with Diane Diaz
Diane Diaz is the founder of The Brand Teacher and a self-described brand geek. She worked in the corporate world for 15 years doing marketing and branding and now teaches branding classes at the same university where I teach, which is how I met Diane 8 years ago. Diane has been doing speaking engagements during the past year at local networking groups and is now ready to take her speaking to the next level. In this episode, Diane and I strategize about how she - and you - can do that. We talk about: How branding is different from marketing How Diane helps people understand what their brand says about them The speaking engagements Diane di
23/02/2017 • 44 minutes 43 seconds
001: [Coaching] Getting Paid Speaking Gigs with Heather Ryan
Heather Ryan looks like an elementary school teacher, but for 14 years she served as a Special Agent with NCIS (no wonder she was so effective under cover and as an interrogator!). Now, she teaches effective safety techniques for women and offers innovative prevention education for men, from college campuses to organizations and corporations. Heather has a book called “Special Agent Mom” coming out soon, with stories from her days as an agent plus safety tips. I first met Heather in a mastermind we were in together in the fall of 2015 and we have been business BFF’s ever since. Heather worked with me to create her signature talk on safety and intuition and she was in my Stand-Out Speakers group coaching program in the fall of 2016. In this episode, Heather and I strategize ways for her to reach out to organizations, unive
