Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

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 Why she feels her voice matters in her male dominated industry What prompted her to join the Thought Leader Academy The reason she believes it’s imperative that more women use their voices  This episode is part of our Use Your Voice series.   About My Guest: Kelly Lopez is the Executive Vice President, Enterprise Services at Scout Sourcing, a woman-owned nationwide sourcing and distribution company providing sustainable paper, raw materials, and packaging solutions to Fortune 500 companies. Kelly is responsible for the strategy and execution of emerging product and service categories at Scout Sourcing. Prior to joining Scout Sourcing, Kelly was Vice President of HealthCare Sales at RR Donnelley. While at RRD, she held both operational and sales leadership roles providing print and marketing solutions to Fortune 500 companies. Kelly's experience spans almost every facet of life from her career in corporate America climbing the ladder in a male-dominated industry and mentoring emerging professionals to her personal journey of navigating through divorce, life as a working mom, running a blended family of 8, and fostering support for events and organizations in her local community. She has a degree in Public Relations from the University of Florida.   About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. This episode is hosted by our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz. 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 platforms. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power because it's through women's stories, voices, and visibility that we challenge the status quo and change existing systems. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/330    Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/   Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/    Connect on LinkedIn: Diane Diaz = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz Kelly Lopez (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyglopez Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 328: Feeling Worthy Enough to Have a Voice with Kelly Schermerhorn

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 talk in 2019! In this episode, Nicole and I talk about: What she learned from that on-air coaching call How she prepared for her TEDx talk Why she decided to leave her career as a physician and start her own business The mindset challenges she’s faced and how she’s overcome them What’s next for Nicole as she scales her business and impact This episode is part of our new podcast series called Use Your Voice. About My Guest: Dr. Nicole T. Rochester is a board-certified pediatrician, TEDx and keynote speaker, and the CEO of Your GPS Doc, LLC, an innovative company whose mission is to eliminate health disparities by empowering, educating and advocating for patients and family caregivers struggling to navigate the healthcare system and by providing health equity consulting services to healthcare organizations. Dr. Rochester was inspired to start her company after caring for her late father and witnessing the complicated healthcare system from the other side of the stethoscope. Dr. Rochester has been featured on television and radio, is a frequent podcast guest, has an active presence on social media, and has contributed to more than thirty digital publications. She speaks locally and nationally about health equity, navigating the healthcare system, and elevating the patient and family caregiver voice. A Maryland native, Dr. Rochester obtained her undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University, her medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine. She is a member of the Alliance of Professional Health Advocates, the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Medical Association, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Most importantly, she is the proud mother of two young adult daughters. 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 platforms. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power because it's through women's stories, voices, and visibility that we challenge the status quo and change existing systems. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/329  Nicole’s website: ​​http://yourgpsdoc.com/  Nicole’s TEDx talk: https://youtu.be/0bcVfiI1zeM  Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/    Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Dr. Nicole Rochester = https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-rochester-m-d-40700812/ Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 98: Expanding Your Personal Story into a Universal Message with Nicole Rochester, M.D. Episode 297: Integrating Your Story Into Your Talks with Carol Cox, Diane Diaz, and Joy Spencer  

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 talk and our conversation about it The process of creating and refining her talk and framework This episode is part of our new series called “Use Your Voice.”   About My Guest: Kelly Schermerhorn is a recovering people-pleaser and accolade-collector. She’s ditching her long-time history of collecting accolades in return for being her authentic self. Kelly’s traversed skyscrapers, tiptoed through galas at the Smithsonian and traveled from the United States’ East Coast to West Coast, all to say she’s worked in ‘Corporate America’ for the last 15 years. She’s taken her years of climbing skyscraper stairs and corporate ladders to provide women a framework to shed their shields, their suit coats, and instead become authentically who they are – beautiful, unique women, who will change the world, just as they are.    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 platforms. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power because it's through women's stories, voices, and visibility that we challenge the status quo and change existing systems. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/328    Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/   Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/    Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Kelly Schermerhorn (guest) = https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/KellySchermerhorn Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 301: Why We Get Imposter Syndrome and What to Do About It with Melody Wilding Episode 321: What It Means to be Visible to Yourself and Others with Bibigi Haile  

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. In this episode, you’ll learn: What the expert trap is, why we stay in it, and how it holds us back What being a thought leader truly means 3 key strategies you can use now to step into thought leadership and set yourself apart Examples to inspire you How we work with our clients in our Thought Leader Academy This is the audio from a live training I did on Crowdcast. You can watch the video and see the slides at https://crowdcast.io/c/syb-speaking-ai. 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 platforms. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power because it's through women's stories, voices, and visibility that we challenge the status quo and change existing systems. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/327  Watch the video replay: https://crowdcast.io/c/syb-speaking-ai Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 313: How to Thrive in the Age of A.I. with Carol Cox Episode 323: Marketing Is Changing: Why We're Ditching the Hero's Journey with Carol Cox  

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 infancy (and GPT-4 is significantly better than what most people have been using with GPT-3.5). A.I. (artificial intelligence) tools like ChatGPT have more expertise than we as humans can possibly acquire, remember, or synthesize. A.I. is now the expert. It has the answers at its fingertips (bits?) and can put them together faster than we can think of them. Where does that leave us? We used to think that our intelligence, cognitive abilities, even art and creativity were what made us human. That’s no longer the case.  It’s incredibly important now more than ever 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. In this new free live online training I’m hosting on May 2nd, you’ll learn: What the expert trap is, why we stay in it, and how it holds us back What being a thought leader truly means 3 key strategies you can use now to step into thought leadership and set yourself apart Examples to inspire you How we work with our clients in our Thought Leader Academy   When = Tuesday, May 2 from 1-2 pm Eastern / 10-11 am Pacific Where = Crowdcast   Register for free at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/training/   There will be a recording if you can’t attend live. But if you are there live, you’ll get our special bonus action guide on supercharging your speaking.  

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 Diaz about:  How media and PR has changed and how it’s impacted getting your story in front of your audience  What media people are looking for in pitches and strategies you can use to pitch your story to them What makes a story compelling and interesting to the media How to identify and engage with reporters to pitch your story  Common mistakes in pitching stories to the media and how to avoid them  We know once you listen to this episode you’ll want to put these tips to work immediately. About Our Guest: Cheryl Tan believes everyone has a story to tell. Her mission is to help entrepreneurs, nonprofit organizations, and corporations tell those stories better on video and become known as experts in their space. A former TV news anchor & host, Cheryl shares the skills she learned in the newsroom to help businesses around the country become media authorities. She is the creator of the Media Authority Plan, a program designed to help experts increase their visibility through video. Cheryl and her husband have three sons and live in Virginia Beach, Virginia.   About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. This episode is hosted by our lead speaking coach, Diane Diaz. 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 platforms. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power because it's through women's stories, voices, and visibility that we challenge the status quo and change existing systems. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/326  Cheryl’s website: cheryltanmedia.com Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/    Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Diane Diaz = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz/  Cheryl Tan (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryltanmedia/ Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 253: TV Can Make You Famous - But Don't Read the Comments with Dr. Christina Madison Episode 209: The Differences in Doing Interviews for Podcasts, TV, & Publications with Marie Fiebach  

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 know we love frameworks!) I was intrigued because it aligned so well with how I was thinking about a better approach to marketing. I have a huge light bulb moment towards the end of our conversation, so be sure to listen to the end. Wendy and I talk about: Why traditional marketing approaches didn’t sit well with her or her clients Pain points and problems = why so many of us don’t like to lead with this in our marketing and what to do instead What “regenerative marketing” is How Wendy approaches her marketing, including on LinkedIn The huge light bulb moment I have when Wendy mentions “survivor bias” in the context of social media marketing About My Guest: Wendy Kendall, Chartered Psychologist, and co-founder of The Self Led Practice, the health virtual workplace for independent mental health practitioners. Wendy has over twenty five years of experience in working as a psychologist, having started her career as a military psychologist for the British Army before building her own practice. She is dedicated to creating innovative and empowering opportunities in mental healthcare, where practitioners, clients and businesses all flourish. Wendy is recognised as an industry leader in entrepreneur coaching and is a sought-after speaker and trainer whose passion is helping independent therapists and coaches to become successful entrepreneurs.   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 platforms. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power because it's through women's stories, voices, and visibility that we challenge the status quo and change existing systems. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/325  Wendy’s website: http://www.inspiringpsych.com  Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/   Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Wendy Kendall (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendyakendall/ Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 323: Marketing Is Changing: Why We're Ditching the Hero's Journey Episode 300: How to Create Your Own Framework to Set You Apart as a Speaker & Thought Leader  

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 Why who you see as a competitor may be the perfect person for a collaboration Why you don’t need to be an extrovert to be good at networking How to go about building strategic relationships Why Cara decided to join our Thought Leader Academy and what her experience was About My Guest: Cara Steinmann is a business development strategist who helps purpose-driven women service entrepreneurs build strategic networks that lead to rapid referrals and more ideal clients. She believes the collective power of women is the key to dismantling systems of oppression and has made it her mission to connect as many women as she can so they can build more wealth and amplify their impact together.   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 platforms. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power because it's through women's stories, voices, and visibility that we challenge the status quo and change existing systems. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/324  Cara’s website: https://carasteinmann.com  Ravel Collective: https://www.ravelcollective.com/  Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/    Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Cara Steinmann (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carasteinmann Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 323: Marketing Is Changing: Why We're Ditching the Hero's Journey  

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 marketing that are only going to accelerate Why we’re ditching the hero’s journey as a marketing framework The problems with the hero’s journey that is making it less compelling The shift from the individual to the collective What we’re focusing on instead in our marketing and sales Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/. 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 platforms. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power because it's through women's stories, voices, and visibility that we challenge the status quo and change existing systems. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/323  Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox   Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 310: Trends in Public Speaking and Thought Leadership for 2023 with Carol Cox Episode 313: How to Thrive in the Age of A.I. with Carol Cox Episode 314: Using ChatGPT and Image Generators to Enhance Your Content with Carol Cox  

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 talented photographer and Thought Leader Academy graduate, as our guest on this week's episode of the Speaking Your Brand podcast. Heike's powerful work captures the essence of authenticity, allowing her subjects to truly shine as they are. Together, we discuss how our self-perceptions as women shape our experiences and how we can cultivate a stronger sense of self-acceptance and self-love.   About My Guest: "Owning Your Visibility" is at the core of Heike Martin's vision and mission as owner and lead photographer at Heike Martin Photography. She is the author of "Owning Our Game: Female athlete stories of strength, beauty and athleticism". Combining curiosity, creativity and expert photography skills Heike helps busy, focused and soulful female professionals grow their impact and profits with intentional visual storytelling. Drawing on 17 years of fair trade marketing experience, Heike's photography centers joy and a celebration of self. To help women shift their perspective, Heike regularly speaks about visibility and branding—in her trademark German accent—for networking groups, panels, and podcasts. Heike Martin Photography offers both headshot and lifestyle branding photography at her studio in Manheim, PA and on location. 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 platforms. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power because it's through women's stories, voices, and visibility that we challenge the status quo and change existing systems. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/322  Heike’s website: http://www.heikemartinphotography.com  Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Heike Martin (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/heikemartinphotography  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 321: What It Means to be Visible to Yourself and Others with Bibigi Haile