Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

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 Empowerment Coach™ with over 20 years of public speaking and presenting experience across multiple industries. She’s passionate about closing the gender speaking gap, which I learned more about during the VIP Day we did to create her new signature talk. In this episode, Kristin and I talk about:  The gender speaking gap and what we can do about it Lessons she’s learned as a professional speaker for the past 20 years How the pandemic has changed what audiences want from speakers as in-person events are starting to return Why she decided to book a VIP Day and what the experience was like (This is the audio from one of our LinkedIn Live shows.) About My Guest: Kristin Oakley is a professional speaker, emcee, on-camera presenter and Personal Empowerment Coach™ with over 20 years of public speaking and presenting experience across multiple industries. She spent 12 years as an on-camera host and professional spokesperson, traveling throughout North America as a presenter for top brands within the automotive, technology, and financial services industries – and was even a guest presenter on QVC! She is a professional member of the National Speakers Association, and creator of the Unstoppable Speaker Program and the Unstoppable Speaker Challenge: 10 Days to Master Your Fear of Public Speaking. She was also named the 2020 Unstoppable Influencer of the Year.   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 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/261 Watch the video of our conversation from LinkedIn Live: https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6866024667812032512/  Download our FREE workbook on how to position yourself as a thought leader: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/guide/.  Schedule a consult call with us to talk about creating your signature talk and thought leadership platform: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/contact.  Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Kristin Oakley (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinoakleyspeaker/  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 251: What Makes Public Speaking Unique as a Medium with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz Episode 243: How We Create a Signature Talk in a VIP Day

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 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/260/ Download our FREE workbook on how to position yourself as a thought leader: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/guide/.  Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Schedule a consult call with us to talk about creating your signature talk and thought leadership platform: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/contact.    Connect on social: Carol on LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Carol on Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/carolmorgancox  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 127: Developing Confidence in Public Speaking Episode 131: Pitching and Negotiating for Bigger Speaking Opportunities with Maureen Taylor Episode 241: The Expert Trap: What Holds Women Back from 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 business How to connect your thought leadership and your business My own thought leadership message The a-ha moment I had when I gave my keynote talk back in September Examples from some of our clients The biggest challenges I see when working on your thought leadership 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/259 Download our FREE workbook on how to position yourself as a thought leader: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/guide/.  Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Schedule a consult call with us to talk about creating your signature talk and thought leadership platform: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/contact.    Connect on social: Carol on LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Carol on Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/carolmorgancox  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 162: Why We’re #ChoosingWomensVoices – and You Should Too with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz Episode 213: The V.O.I.C.E. of Thought Leaders with Carol Cox [Big Ideas Series]

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, as well as to your business and visibility strategy in general.  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 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/258/ Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox   Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 251: What Makes Public Speaking Unique as a Medium with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz Episode 241: The Expert Trap: What Holds Women Back from Thought Leadership with Carol Cox  

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. Tiffany and I talk about: How getting published is the ultimate vetting process and credibility marker What makes a book “a book” (the medium) The pros and cons of traditional vs. self publishing The timeline for writing and publishing a prescriptive nonfiction book The book proposal I’m working on right now with Tiffany as my book coach About My Guest: Tiffany Hawk is an author and book coach who helps leaders write agent-ready books and book proposals. Her clients have landed literary agents, traditionally published with big New York Presses and small literary presses, self published, won awards, and seen their stories in places like Harper’s, the Los Angeles Times, Narratively, McSweeney’s, and The Atlantic.   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 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/257 Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Tiffany’s website: https://www.tiffanyhawk.com/  Get Tiffany’s “How good is your book idea?” free assessment: https://www.tiffanyhawk.com/idea  Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Tiffany Hawk (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanyhawk/   Good models for prescriptive nonfiction books recommended by Tiffany: Practical How-To: Profit First by Mike Michalowicz Mindset How-To: Rich As F*ck by Amanda Frances (also a great example of self-publishing the right way) Personal Self-Help: Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck  Scholarly Thought Leadership: Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 186: From Hashtag to Podcast to Book: Developing Your Thought Leadership Platform with Elayne Fluker [Thought Leadership Series] Episode 250: Lessons Learned from 250 Podcast Episodes with Carol Cox [The Medium is the Message Series] Episode 256: Making the Most of LinkedIn as a Thought Leader with Tyrona Heath [The Medium is the Message Series]

In this enlightening conversation, Tyrona Heath, Director of Market Engagement at LinkedIn's B2B Institute, shares her expertise in B2B marketing. She discusses why LinkedIn is crucial for thought leaders, emphasizing its unique professional context and the importance of authenticity. Tyrona reveals actionable strategies for building a strong content presence, including the use of video and organic amplification. She also highlights common mistakes entrepreneurs make on social media and offers insights on effectively engaging audiences.

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 starts in January. This episode is from a recent LinkedIn Live we did. You can watch the video replay at https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:6871110343964323840/. 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 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 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/255 Apply to join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Connect on social: Carol on LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Carol on Instagram= https://www.instagram.com/carolmorgancox  SYB on YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS7AtXV0f_HL09mepAON65w  Diane Diaz on LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 201: 2020 Year in Review: What Worked, What Didn’t, What’s Next with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz

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 personal stories with no styling. Our open rate remains consistent, but the personal emails get the most engagement for sure. This is why I wanted to bring on an email expert, Kate Doster, for the series we’ve been doing called “The Medium is the Message”. You’re going to love this episode. Kate has fantastic energy and she’s a great guest.   Kate and I talk about: What our brains want when we check our email inbox The ways email can be used for different goals (brand awareness, sales, thought leadership) What entrepreneurs often get wrong about their email list What's working well with email right now (length, format, type of content, etc.) The best way to promote a podcast episode or other content you’ve created in an email About My Guest: Kate Doster is the host of the Inbox Besties Podcast, creator of the Love Your List 2.0 email marketing mega course and is dangerously obsessed with helping ethical entrepreneurs carve out their slice of the interwebs. She helps her students woo open the hearts (and wallets) of their small but mighty audiences thanks to fun email marketing and easy yes mini-offers. She believes you don’t need to bleed the alphabet or be a dirty rotten spam face to write emails that jolt subscribers into taking action, gobbling up your paid offers like candy… or kale if that’s their thing.   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 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/254   Get Kate’s free 2-years-worth of email ideas: https://www.katedoster.com/speaking-your-brand    Apply for our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/    Download our free thought leadership workbook and get on our email list: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/guide/    Connect on social: Carol on LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Carol on Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/carolmorgancox  Kate Doster (guest) on Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/kate_doster/ Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 234: How to Create Content Using Your Authentic Voice with Ashleigh Rennie

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 day in yoga clothes, hair in a ponytail, and no makeup and the clerk said to me, slowly and with a hint of uncertainty, “Did I see you on TV?” Why, yes, you did, and I looked a lot more put together then!) Being on TV gives you built-in authority and credibility because so few people get the opportunity.  TV is one of the last gatekeepers (along with traditional book publishing) where the audience assumes that if they're seeing you on their television, you’ve been selected and vetted as an expert. Being on TV has lots of advantages for giving you this credibility. It can also have a downside, especially as a woman and even more so as a woman of color (never read the comments). My guest today is Dr. Christina Madison, the Founder and CEO of The Public Health Pharmacist, PLLC, a public health consulting firm. Christina has been featured in over 200+ on-air TV appearances since January 2020 related to the pandemic and public health, so when I met Christina recently on a consult call and learned about her background, I knew I had to have her on the podcast.  Christina and I talk about: The benefits of being on TV The challenges we’ve both faced as women having a public presence and voice Tips for working with TV stations so they keep calling you back How Christina got her first TV appearance and how she prepared What TV as a medium wants (visuals, soundbites, mass market information) How to pitch your topic to local news to make it newsworthy The importance of representation of women and women of color in the media {There is one very appropriate f-bomb in this episode, hence the "Explicit" rating. It's worth it!}   About My Guest: Dr. Christina Madison is the Founder and CEO of The Public Health Pharmacist, PLLC, a public health consulting firm. She is an Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice with Roseman University of Health Sciences and works as a clinical pharmacist specializing in public health with a focus on infectious communicable diseases. A trusted and valued health care professional with 14 years of experience in Public Health and 17 years’ experience as a pharmacy professional. She has been asked to share her clinical public health and infectious disease expertise with Local, State, and International Media outlets and NGO’s. Dr. Madison has been featured in over 200+ on-air TV appearances since January 2020 related to the pandemic and public health. Advocating for public health and the profession of pharmacy to improve the health and wellness of vulnerable populations and the underserved is her passion and mission.   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 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/253 Christina’s website: https://www.thepublichealthpharmacist.com/ Christina’s speaking reel: https://youtu.be/1ftHfCaVJZw  Apply to join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/ Connect on social: Carol Cox on LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Dr. Christina Madison (guest) on LinkedIn= https://www.linkedin.com/in/drchristinamadisonthepublichealthpharmacist Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 191: Women in Politics and the Public Sphere with Rep. Anna V. Eskamani Episode 209: The Differences in Doing Interviews for Podcasts, TV, & Publications with Marie Fiebach

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) Finding a way to be both natural and rehearsed (I love the phrase she uses) The process Stacy goes through to create and edit the videos The results she’s seeing on LinkedIn How she’s using video in her sales process and the big impact it’s had How she uses video to pitch for speaking engagements This is the third episode in our “The Medium is the Message” series. Be sure to listen to the intro to get the details on how you can enter for our special giveaway to win a 60-minute coaching session with us. About My Guest:  Stacy Mayer is a Certified Executive Coach, a promotion strategist, a mother, a wife, and the creator and founder of Executive Ahead of Time, helping women get promoted into the executive suite on their own terms. Her vision is to bring more diversity to leadership by empowering women to take ownership of their careers and claim a real voice at the table. She does that through her coaching programs, podcast "Maximize Your Career with Stacy Mayer" and her soon-to-be released book "Promotions Made Easy: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Executive Suite". 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 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/252   Download our FREE workbook on how to position yourself as a thought leader: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/guide/.    Schedule a consult call with us to talk about creating your signature talk and thought leadership platform: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/contact.    Connect on social: Carol Cox on LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Stacy Mayer (guest) on LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacymayer/ Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 250: Lessons Learned from 250 Podcast Episodes with Carol Cox [The Medium is the Message Series]