Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

“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 feminism How her hot seat in our mastermind has helped her to walk into her re-brand with confidence Setting speaking fees and deciding how many free speaking engagements to do each year About My Guest: Dr. Zoe Shaw is a passionate practitioner in the field of clinical psychology. She is licensed as a psychotherapist and divides her time between her family life, clinical practice, virtual life and relationship coaching, speaking, writing and hosting her podcast (The Dr. Zoe Show).  Dr. Zoe holds a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University, a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from UCLA, where she also competed as a sprinter and hurdler. Dr. Zoe has been sought out as an expert and featured in Oprahmag.com, Prevention Magazine, Voyage LA Magazine and the Los Angeles APA magazine discussing issues relevant to women and psychology.  Dr. Zoe has presented at the National APA Convention regarding racial identity development and has been a keynote speaker for various engagements, including the NAACP and U.S. Navy.  She is author of A Year Of Self Care, published in 2021. She is currently writing her memoir.   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/225 Zoe’s website: https://drzoeshaw.com/  Listen to Zoe’s podcast: https://drzoeshaw.com/podcast/    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 media: Carol Cox on LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Dr. Zoe Shaw on LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/dr-zoe-shaw-1409b5122  Carol Cox on Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/carolmorgancox  Dr. Zoe Shaw on Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/drzoeshaw 

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 Sisson, who has achieved a lot of big goals, both personally and professionally. Natalie has written 3 books, had 2 different podcasts, given a TEDx talk, biked across Africa, and much more. In this conversation, Natalie and I talk about: The identity shift Natalie went through when she changed her brand name and focus after being The Suitcase Entrepreneur How she prepared for her TEDx talk she gave in 2016 Why she decided to self-publish and crowdfund her latest book The success she’s had using public accountability to achieve her goals And more! About My Guest: Natalie Sisson is a New Zealand entrepreneur, author, speaker, host of the ‘Untapped’ podcast and triathlete. After ditching a successful corporate career and co-founding a technology company, Natalie decided to monetise her humble, 6-month old blog, The Suitcase Entrepreneur, into a multiple-six figure online education platform back in 2010. In her efforts to continuously innovate, Natalie, the OG of digital nomads, has since turned that content and knowledge into 8 different revenue streams including digital products, courses, workshops, international retreats, and coaching. These days, she’s passionate about helping others leverage their unique set of skills, knowledge, and experience to earn a living and make an impact from anywhere, simply by being them. She’s the author of three books, and proud Queen Bee to the Queens of the $10K Club, an international posse of women who support each other through trials and success, all while being coached and mentored by Natalie. 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/224    I’ll be participating in Natalie’s Monetise You Summit happening May 25-27! I’m talking all about how to get paid speaking engagements. Register for free at https://speakingyourbrand--nataliesisson.thrivecart.com/all-access-pass/.   Natalie’s website = https://nataliesisson.com/    My episode 114 on Natalie’s podcast “Untapped”: https://nataliesisson.com/eps-114-how-to-find-your-thought-leadership-message-signature-talk-topic-with-carol-cox/    Get Natalie’s new book “Suck It Up, Princess”: https://nataliesisson.com/princess    Natalie’s TEDx talk: https://youtu.be/lNNCMu1OjRQ   Schedule a consult call with us to talk about creating your signature talk: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/contact.    Connect on social media: Carol Cox LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Natalie Sisson LinkedIn = http://linkedin.com/in/nataliesisson/ Carol Cox Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/carolmorgancox/ Natalie Sisson Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/nataliesisson Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 65: Writing, Publishing, and Promoting Your Book with Julie Broad Episode 186: From Hashtag to Podcast to Book: Developing Your Thought Leadership Platform with Elayne Fluker [Thought Leadership Series] Episode 198: Find Your Hook for Your Book and Talk with Kelly Notaras [Storytelling Series]

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 presentations and interviews, with some live components, over a period of a few days. I invited Lisa on to the podcast to talk about: The specific goals she had for her summit Why she decided to structure hers the way she did How she chose her speakers and curated the content The price points she had and why she decided to charge more than others typically do The results she got Changes she’ll make for next time About My Guest: Lisa Princic helps impact-driven business owners dive deep into their unique value and business models to build sustainable & profitable brands. She helps them simplify their offers, increase their visibility with bolder messaging, strengthen and deepen their marketing systems and scale with membership programs. She is a trained business strategist and the host of the Scaling Deep Podcast. Lisa is a results-oriented, deep thinker who has a knack for “seeing” the value of each business and turning that into a pipeline of ideal clients. A staunch believer in business simplicity and intention, Lisa helps her clients accomplish their goals by focusing on what to do AND what to ignore.   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/223 Lisa’s website: http://www.scalingdeep.com/ and https://scalingdeep.com/freebie/  Listen to Lisa’s podcast “Scaling Deep”: https://scalingdeep.com/podcast/  My episode 111 on Scaling Deep: https://scalingdeep.com/thought-leader-carol-cox/ Schedule a consult call with us to talk about creating your signature talk: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/contact.    Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Lisa Princic (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaprincic/  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 12: Defining Your Value Proposition for Marketing with More Heart and Less Hustle with Lisa Princic Episode 142: Positioning Your Brand for Business Growth with Lisa Princic [Leadership Series] Episode 174: Hosting Your Own Virtual Summit with Dr. Holly Tucker Episode 189: Behind the Scenes of Planning Our Virtual Summit with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz [Use Your Voice Series] Episode 196: Why Our Summit Was the Best Virtual Event Experience People Have Had with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz

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 The 3 questions Amber asks her team as well as her clients as part of the feedback loop Speaking Your Brand’s QBR (Queen Bee Role) and how that informs what we do The importance of decision-making filters The nuances of word choice and specific examples regarding words we don’t use with our clients and why About My Guest: Amber De La Garza is a sought-after coach, trainer, speaker, writer, host of the Productivity Straight Talk podcast, and creator of the S.T.O.P. Leverage Formula. She helps small business owners improve their time management and elevate their productivity to maximize profits, reduce stress, and make time for what matters most! Amber passionately shares her message with entrepreneurs all over the world.   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/222  Get Amber’s free training “Take Back Your Time”: https://www.amberdelagarza.com/takebackyourtime  Amber’s Leverage Lab: https://www.amberdelagarza.com/leveragelab  Listen to Amber’s podcast “Productivity Straight Talk.” Book mentioned: “Clockwork” by Mike Michalowicz Schedule a consult call with us to talk about creating your signature talk: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/contact.  Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Amber De La Garza (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberdelagarza/  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 43: How Speaking Can Grow (or Derail) Your Business with Amber De La Garza

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: What it means for a business to be scalable and saleable Why you want to think in terms of what it would look like to sell your business even if you have no intention of doing so The different forms of intellectual property for service-based professional businesses and how to protect them (copyright, trademarks, etc.) Erin’s G.I.V.E. framework The importance of having a speaker contract The benefits Erin received from working with us in a VIP Day to create her signature talk   About My Guest: Erin Austin combines her decades of commercial transactions experience as a former COO and general counsel of IP-driven companies with her intellectual property law background to help professional services firms build and protect their assets to create scalable, saleable businesses. Her service has included roles as general counsel, head of business affairs and COO at large and small companies, including Warner Bros., Lionsgate (fka Artisan), MGM, Teaching Strategies and M3 USA Corp. Her experience as a lawyer and as an executive--at the intersection of business and the law--informs the elevated legal and strategic business advice she provides to her clients.   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/221  Get Erin’s free checklist at https://www.thinkbeyondip.com/carol  Schedule a consult call with us to talk about creating your signature talk: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/contact.  Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Erin Austin (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinaustin/

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: "This is by far the best online event I have attended: intimate, engaging and special. The speakers were riveting, their stories compelling. Thank you to all the women who worked so hard to create this day of empathy and strength to make us all stronger. WOW!" "This is my first summit and so amazing. I feel super motivated and understood." "I love the diversity of age, background, speaking and life experience." "Kudos to all of you for putting together this ambitious program, and to your speakers for sharing their vulnerable stories. This is helping me get real with myself in new ways." A huge and heartfelt thank you to our team, speakers, panelists, summit speaking coaches, and volunteers who made this event happen! Enrollment is now open for our Thought Leader Academy! Get all the details and join us at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/.   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/220  Join our Thought Leader Academy at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/.  Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Diane Diaz = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 195: Our Opening and Closing Speeches from Our Brave. Bold. Beyond. Summit 2020 Episode 216: Why We're #ChoosingWomensVoices - and You Should Too

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 details and sign up at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/.    In this episode, Diane Diaz and I share: What we did early in our businesses to get visibility and speaking opportunities The 4 visibility opportunity areas Selecting the best channels for your visibility goals The surprising results we’ve experienced from tracking our visibility Identifying and researching places where you can speak 6 different types of speaking engagements you can do, including which are generally unpaid and which are paid Ways to connect with event organizers    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/219    Join our Thought Leader Academy at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/.    Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Diane Diaz = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 132: 7 Reasons Why You Aren’t Getting Paid to Speak Episode 150: Podcast Pitching and Guesting with Angie Trueblood [Goals & Planning Series] Episode 169: Leveraging Free Speaking Engagements Into Bigger Opportunities with Angela Hosking Episode 209: The Differences in Doing Interviews for Podcasts, TV, & Publications with Carol Cox and Marie Fiebach

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 2021. Get all the details and sign up at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/.   About My Guest: Natalie Legrand is a leadership and social impact coach, a trusted advisor, and consultant. Her work addresses various societal issues and brings awareness of the unique cultures, politics, and economies that characterize different regions around the world. She collectively designs, develops, and implements global strategies and programs in which individuals and teams of employees from Fortune 100 organizations strategically engage in underserved communities. She advises companies on corporate responsibility, social issue leadership, employee engagement, and related areas with the goal of creating initiatives that strengthen business and impact society.   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/218  Natalie’s website: https://www.natalielegrand.com/  Natalie’s Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/natalierlegrand/  Register for free for our Brave. Bold. Beyond. Live Virtual Summit at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/summit/.  Join our Thought Leader Academy at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/.    Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Natalie Legrand (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-r-legrand-9443773/  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 175: The Work of Anti-Racism as White Women with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz

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 presenter at top industry conferences.   You’ll hear us talk about: What does being a thought leader mean to you? If you had to pick one thing that was key to getting you from where you were 4 or 5 years ago to where you are today (in terms of your platform/success), what would it be? What’s something you wished you had done early on when building your thought leadership platform? What role has speaking played in developing your platform? Do you ever get vulnerability hangovers? If so, what strategies do you use to work through them? About Our Guests/Panelists:  LuAnn Nigara is the host of the top-rated interior design podcast, A Well-Designed Business®, which recently surpassed 600 episodes and 3 million downloads. Her podcast was named in Architectural Digest as one of the top ten podcasts listened to by interior designers. LuAnn also hosts an annual event called LuAnn Live and has published several books. LuAnn began her career more than thirty years ago as a co-owner of Window Works, an award-winning window treatment and awning retailer in Livingston, NJ.    Tammy Lally is a published author, TEDx speaker, and Certified Money Coach. Her TEDx talk on money shame has been viewed over 2 million times. She helps others master their finances by first conquering their emotions around money, then by creating a comprehensive financial plan.   Dr. Karen Wilson is the founder of ChildNEXUS.com, which aims to dispel myths about issues related to pediatric mental health, disseminate information, and help parents make informed decisions when choosing providers for their children. She’s also a clinical neuropsychologist, with a private practice in Los Angeles, California, where she specializes in the neuropsychological assessment of children and adolescents. Karen is the host of the ChildNEXUS podcast.   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/217  Register for free for our Brave. Bold. Beyond. Live Virtual Summit at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/summit/.  Join our Thought Leader Academy at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/.    Websites: LuAnn Nigara = https://luannnigara.com/  Tammy Lally =  https://tammylally.com/ Dr. Karen Wilson = https://www.childnexus.com/    Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox LuAnn Nigara = https://www.linkedin.com/in/luannnigara/  Tammy Lally = https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammylally/  Dr. Karen Wilson = https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkareniwilson/  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 11: Creating and Preparing for a Keynote Presentation with LuAnn Nigara [Coaching] Episode 24: What It Takes to Do a TEDx Talk with Tammy Lally Episode 91: Visibility Works: From Local Speaking to TED.com to a Book with Tammy Lally Episode 213: The V.O.I.C.E. of Thought Leaders with Carol Cox [Big Ideas Series]  

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 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. How many are women? Is there diversity within those women's voices? Are there women podcasters/authors/experts you can find to augment (or replace) the male voices? You may be wondering: why does it matter if the content I listen to or read is from a woman or a man? That’s what we’re talking about on the podcast as well as during the challenge. In this episode, Diane Diaz and I talk about: What’s just as important as visibility is our actual voices as women and what we’re saying: “If you can see it *and* hear it, you can be it.” Although there are more women in higher-profile positions than ever, we're still hitting that glass ceiling. Why is that? There are many factors, but one is literally the voices we hear. The history of women being shamed, ridiculed, threatened, even harmed and killed for speaking up. This continues even today: GamerGate, harassment on social media, women in politics. Women’s actual voices are criticized as being shrill, nagging, whining, too angry, too emotional or not emotional enough. The positive impact that collective women’s voices can have, as we've seen in movements like Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and #TimesUp.  What we can do about it by being more intentional with the voices we choose. Unsilencing ourselves and developing the confidence to do so. Join the Challenge! To sign up for our free #ChoosingWomensVoices challenge, go to https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/challenge. During the challenge, you'll receive an email prompt each day for 5 days with a short activity, along with recommendations. (You can start the challenge any time.)   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/216  Sign up for our free 5-day challenge #ChoosingWomensVoices at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/challenge. Register for free for our Brave. Bold. Beyond. Live Virtual Summit at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/summit/.  Join our Thought Leader Academy at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/.  Connect on social media: Carol Cox LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Carol Cox Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/carolmorgancox  Diane Diaz LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz    Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 184: Why Some Speakers Become Thought Leaders with Carol Cox [Thought Leadership Series] Episode 191: Women in Politics and the Public Sphere with Rep. Anna Eskamani [Use Your Voice Series] Episode 213: The V.O.I.C.E. of Thought Leaders with Carol Cox [Big Ideas Series]