Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

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 How to find relevant shows How to be a great guest Strategies for lead generation when you’re a guest Do’s and Don'ts of pitching - this also applies to pitching for speaking engagements Tips for your first time being a guest This episode is part of our series on Goals & Planning. ENROLLMENT IS OPEN! Join our Master Your Speaking coaching program that begins in mid-January: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/mastery/. You get the best of one-on-one work with us on your signature talk (Virtual VIP Day) + a 3-month online group coaching program so you learn how to position, market, and promote yourself as a paid speaker. About My Guest: As a podcast visibility expert who fiercely believes in the power of women stepping more fully into their gifts, Angie Trueblood knows that the only 'perfect pitch' is the one that leads with value and focuses on building a genuine connection. Whether she is teaching entrepreneurs how to pitch themselves or working behind the scenes to secure opportunities for others, Angie leverages her super-connector powers to grow businesses and build long-lasting relationships. Angie is the host of the Go Pitch Yourself podcast.   About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/150 Connect with Angie on her website at https://www.angietrueblood.com/. Listen to Angie’s podcast “Go Pitch Yourself”: https://www.angietrueblood.com/podcast/. Join our Master Your Speaking coaching program at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/mastery.    Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 149: A Different Way of Setting and Achieving Your Speaking Goal [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. In this episode, you’ll learn a different way of setting goals: First, we go through specific questions to reflect on the speaking and visibility you did this year (Diane shares hers) Visualizing the big picture of what you want with a journaling exercise Stepping back and thinking about WHO you want to become as a speaker Identifying what you’ll need to do to make that happen, using a handy acronym S.E.A.M. we came up with   → Download the prompts we go through and the S.E.A.M. acronym in the free PDF guide at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/149 This episode is the first in our new series on Goals & Planning.   ENROLLMENT IS OPEN! Join our Master Your Speaking coaching program that begins in mid-January: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/mastery/. You get the best of one-on-one work with us on your signature talk (Virtual VIP Day) + a 3-month online group coaching program so you learn how to position, market, and promote yourself as a paid speaker. Spots are limited to 10-12 women, so secure your spot today at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/mastery/.   About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox, joined in this episode by our top speaking coach Diane Diaz. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.    Links: Download the FREE PDF guide for this episode at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/149 Join our Master Your Speaking program at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/mastery.  Get instant access to our LinkedIn for Speakers online masterclass = https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/linkedin  Brainy Business podcast episode 70 on goals = https://thebrainybusiness.com/podcast/70-how-to-set-achieve-exceed-brainy-goals/ Book: “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” by James Clear   Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 72: How to Speak Strategically for Better Business Results Episode 118: Push Past Your Speaking Plateau

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 using a framework. Sura and I talk about: Why we (individually and in teams) get stuck creatively The innovation framework Sura uses with her clients How having this framework helps get buy-in from various stakeholders in the sales process Key mindsets that help in creative sessions How to set up a creative session   This episode is part of our series on Frameworks, episodes 145-148. Need help creating your framework? Work with us in a 90-minute strategy session or create both your signature framework and signature talk in a Virtual VIP Day.    NEW! We’ve created a LinkedIn for Speakers online masterclass so you can leverage the power of LinkedIn to land speaking gigs, build your brand, and grow your business. In this video masterclass, you’ll learn the 3 C’s:  Copy = Write copy for your LinkedIn profile that optimizes your profile for search and gets you found by your ideal clients Content = Create and share content on the LinkedIn platform that enhances your profile and brand, positions you as a thought leader in your industry, and gets your LinkedIn presence in front of more of your ideal audience Connections = Mine the data on the LinkedIn platform to grow your network, nurture your connections, and build your know, like, trust factor   SPECIAL LIMITED-TIME DISCOUNT FOR PODCAST LISTENERS: Get 50% off the masterclass by using the coupon code “podcast” at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/linkedin. Available for a limited time.   About My Guest: Since 2001, Sura Al-Naimi has been in the world of innovation and creativity. She is a former Disney Global Innovation Officer at their internal think tank, B2B tech and luxury jewelry entrepreneur, and challenger strategist at the What If Innovation Group, Synectics and EatBigFish. Sura has bridged the worlds of startups and Fortune 100 organizations. Disney, Hyperloop, Facebook, Chick-Fil-A, Levis, Kaiser Permanente, Barilla to name a few. She is the co-founder and Chief Co-Creation Officer of WeOverMe, an innovation network, founder of HiHelloSura, and an adjunct at Ray Kurzweil and Peter Diamandis Singularity University.   About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.    Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/148 Connect with Sura on her website at https://www.hihellosura.com/. Book recommendation “The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters” by Priya Parker. Download our free Strategic Speaking Guide at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategic-speaking/ or text the word SPEAKING to 33-777. Get on the interest list for our Master Your Speaking group coaching program at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/mastery.  Sign up for a Strategy Session to create your framework at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy. Create your signature talk or TEDx talk. Get all the details at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/coaching.  Connect with Carol on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox/. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave a review! Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 145: You Need to Create a Framework [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 Radical Customer Empathy is (you can use this in your business too) Examples of 3 different stages of companies with which Shea has used her framework How having a replicable, scalable, and predictable framework has been beneficial to the growth of her company, including in the sales process and for attracting speaking opportunities How she came up with and tested the framework, including their Ideal Customer Journey   This episode is part of our series on Frameworks, episodes 145-148. Need help creating your framework? Work with us in a 90-minute strategy session or create both your signature framework and signature talk in a Virtual VIP Day.  NEW! We’ve created a LinkedIn for Speakers online masterclass so you can leverage the power of LinkedIn to land speaking gigs, build your brand, and grow your business. In this video masterclass, you’ll learn the 3 C’s:  Copy = Write copy for your LinkedIn profile that optimizes your profile for search and gets you found by your ideal clients Content = Create and share content on the LinkedIn platform that enhances your profile and brand, positions you as a thought leader in your industry, and gets your LinkedIn presence in front of more of your ideal audience Connections = Mine the data on the LinkedIn platform to grow your network, nurture your connections, and build your know, like, trust factor   SPECIAL LIMITED-TIME DISCOUNT FOR PODCAST LISTENERS: Get 50% off the masterclass by using the coupon code “podcast” at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/linkedin. Available for a limited time.   About My Guest: Danya Shea is co-founder of FervorWorks and is your on-call market-acquisition strategist and technologist. As an advocate and activist, she stays on top of rapidly changing trends in consumer behavior and expectations. Keeping objectives in full-view, she insists data be meaningful and clear to support rapid decision-making. Shea’s leadership and teaching on empathy in business and modern business design has earned her recognition by the Orlando Business Journal as one of twelve 2016 Economic Game Changers, Women Who Means Business and a 2015 Top 40 Under 40.  About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/147 Connect with Shea on her website at https://www.fervorworks.com/. Get Shea’s book “Radical Customer Empathy” at https://www.fervorworks.com/book. Download our free Strategic Speaking Guide at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategic-speaking/ or text the word SPEAKING to 33-777. Get on the interest list for our Master Your Speaking group coaching program at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/mastery.  Sign up for a Strategy Session to find your framework at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy. Create your signature talk or TEDx talk. Get all the details at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/coaching.  Connect with me on LinkedIn. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave a review! Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 16: Connecting through Empathy and Storytelling with Karen Millsap Episode 28: Aligning Your Mission with What Your Customers Want with Bruce Friedrich of the Good Food Institute Episode 145: You Need to Create a Framework [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. We then turn that process into an acronym, so it’s easy for her and her audiences to remember. What do we end up with for the acronym? Listen in to find out.  This episode is part of our series on Frameworks, episodes 145-148. Need help creating your framework? Work with us in a 90-minute strategy session or create both your signature framework and signature talk in a Virtual VIP Day.    NEW! We’ve created a LinkedIn for Speakers online masterclass so you can leverage the power of LinkedIn to land speaking gigs, build your brand, and grow your business.   In this video masterclass, you’ll learn the 3 C’s:  Copy = Write copy for your LinkedIn profile that optimizes your profile for search and gets you found by your ideal clients Content = Create and share content on the LinkedIn platform that enhances your profile and brand, positions you as a thought leader in your industry, and gets your LinkedIn presence in front of more of your ideal audience Connections = Mine the data on the LinkedIn platform to grow your network, nurture your connections, and build your know, like, trust factor SPECIAL LIMITED-TIME DISCOUNT FOR PODCAST LISTENERS: Get 50% off the masterclass by using the coupon code “podcast” at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/linkedin. Available for a limited time.   About My Guest: Cha'Lea Stafford is the host of a leadership podcast called Flipping the Script Leadership Behind the Scenes, a soon to be author and the CEO and 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 is an ex-corporate executive who has over a decade of leadership experience successfully leading high performing sales teams across the nation. She is no stranger to what it means to lead the complexities of your success through fear, failure, and adversity. By challenging some of the darkest moments of her life, she broke the barriers of adversity, climbed the corporate ladder, and launched into entrepreneurship. Cha'Lea is on a mission to create diverse leadership strategies for ALL.    About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/146  Connect with Cha’Lea on her website at https://www.goflipthescript.com/. Listen to Cha’Lea’s podcast “Flipping the Script Leadership Behind the Scenes.” Download our free Strategic Speaking Guide at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategic-speaking/ or text the word SPEAKING to 33-777. Get on the interest list for our Master Your Speaking group coaching program at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/mastery.  Sign up for a Strategy Session to find your framework at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy. Create your signature talk or TEDx talk. Get all the details at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/coaching.  Connect with me on LinkedIn. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave a review! Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 67: Integrating What You Do in Your Business into Your Presentation with Melissa Bennett [Coaching] Episode 79: How to Develop the Shape of Your Framework for Your Presentations with Coryne Forest [Coaching] Episode 145: You Need to Create a Framework [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). In this episode, you’ll learn: What a framework is The multiple benefits of having one How to create yours The many places you can use your framework Lots and lots of examples   This episode is the first in our new series on Frameworks. Need help creating your framework? Work with us in a 90-minute strategy session or create both your signature framework and signature talk in a Virtual VIP Day.    NEW! We’ve created a LinkedIn for Speakers online masterclass so you can leverage the power of LinkedIn to land speaking gigs, build your brand, and grow your business.   In this video masterclass, you’ll learn the 3 C’s:  Copy = Write copy for your LinkedIn profile that optimizes your profile for search and gets you found by your ideal clients Content = Create and share content on the LinkedIn platform that enhances your profile and brand, positions you as a thought leader in your industry, and gets your LinkedIn presence in front of more of your ideal audience Connections = Mine the data on the LinkedIn platform to grow your network, nurture your connections, and build your know, like, trust factor   SPECIAL LIMITED-TIME DISCOUNT FOR PODCAST LISTENERS: Get 50% off the masterclass by using the coupon code “podcast” at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/linkedin. Available for a limited time.   About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. In this episode, Carol is joined by one of our speaking coaches, Diane Diaz. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/145 Download our free Strategic Speaking Guide at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategic-speaking/ or text the word SPEAKING to 33-777. Get on the interest list for our Master Your Speaking group coaching program at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/mastery.  Sign up for a Strategy Session to find your framework at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy. Create both your signature talk and framework. Get all the details at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/coaching.  Connect with us on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox/  Diane Diaz = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz/    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave a review!   Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 57: How to Use Simple Story Structure to Create Compelling Content with Carol Cox Episode 61: A Game Changer for Your Business and Presentations: Developing Your Own Framework Episode 79: How to Develop the Shape of Your Framework for Your Presentations with Coryne Forest [Coaching] Episode 106: Get More Speaking Opportunities with a Powerful Personal Brand with Diane Diaz

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 it happen. Listen in for strategies you can use to be a more impactful speaker and leader. This episode is part of our podcast series on Leadership, episodes 141-145.   About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/144 Connect with us on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox/  Diane Diaz = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz/  Company page = https://www.linkedin.com/company/speakingyourbrand/  Download our free Strategic Speaking Guide at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategic-speaking/ or text the word SPEAKING to 33-777. Get on the interest list for our Master Your Speaking group coaching program at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/mastery.  Sign up for a Strategy Session at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy. Create your signature talk or TEDx talk. Get all the details at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/coaching.  Say hi to me on Instagram and Twitter: @CarolMorganCox. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave a review! Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 46: We All Need a Wingwoman with Mia Scharphie Episode 97: Thinking Bigger – I Get Coached On-Air by Geraldine Carter Episode 118: Push Past Your Speaking Plateau

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 How to uncover your blindspots 2 key questions to ask yourself The benefits of deadlines and constraints for getting things done   This episode is part of our podcast series on Leadership, episodes 141-145. About My Guest: Rhonda Peterson, ACC guides financial services leaders and entrepreneurs to lean into their Return on Energy (ROE) to increase their ROI, both professionally and personally. This opens space for their highest priorities. Rhonda spent her corporate career in Consumer Affairs and Marketing, working for Fortune 500 companies, including Borden Foods, International Paper, and Abbott Labs.  She describes herself as moving from marketing products to marketing people as she transitioned from consumer product brands into coaching leaders on developing their personal brand for marketplace impact through executive coaching. Along with coaching individual clients, Rhonda is an engaging speaker and an accomplished facilitator. Her audiences and clients love her high energy, her sense of humor, and ability to connect to their struggles while helping them grow. About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/143 Connect with Rhonda on her website at https://rhondapeterson.com/ and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhondapetersoncoach/. Books mentioned: The E-Myth Revisited Flow The Big Leap Deep Work   Download our free Strategic Speaking Guide at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategic-speaking/ or text the word SPEAKING to 33-777. Get on the interest list for our Master Your Speaking group coaching program at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/mastery.  Sign up for a Strategy Session at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy. Create your signature talk or TEDx talk. Get all the details at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/coaching.  Connect with Carol on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox/. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave a review! Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 111: Make More Time for Speaking and Visibility with Clockwork Principles with Adrienne Dorison Episode 112: Deciding On Your Signature Talk Topic with Teresa McCloy [Coaching]  

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 positioning problem 3 ways to figure out your positioning The impact of having a signature offering on your business growth About My Guest: Lisa Princic helps impact-driven business owners dive deep into their unique value and business models to build sustainable $1million brands. She helps them simplify their offers, focus their brand with bolder messaging and strengthen their marketing systems. Lisa is a trained business strategist and marketing mentor who eases business owners from successful chaos to strategic flow to create more success and fulfillment. Lisa is also the host of the Message & Mastery podcast.   About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/142 Connect with Lisa on her website at https://lisaprincic.com/. Listen to Lisa’s podcast “Mastery & Message” (I was on in episode 4). Listen to “Leveraging Your Special Sauce with Carol Cox” on the What Works podcast episode 236 hosted by Tara McMullin. (Tara was on the SYB podcast in episode 122: A Fresh Approach to Social Media Engagement.) Listen to “Scale Your Message with Carol Cox” on the Fierce Feminine Leadership podcast episode 369 hosted by Eleanor Beaton. (Eleanor was on the SYB podcast in episode 128: The 4 Visibility Mindset Shifts You Must Make.) Download our free Strategic Speaking Guide at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategic-speaking/ or text the word SPEAKING to 33-777. Get on the interest list for our Master Your Speaking group coaching program at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/mastery.  Sign up for a Strategy Session at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy. Create your signature talk or TEDx talk. Get all the details at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/coaching.  Say hi to me on Instagram and Twitter: @CarolMorganCox. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and leave a review! Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 12: Defining Your Value Proposition for Marketing with More Heart and Less Hustle with Lisa Princic Episode 102: Getting Local Media and Publicity to Expand Your Visibility with Amanda Berlin Episode 106: Get More Speaking Opportunities with a Powerful Personal Brand with Diane Diaz Episode 131: Pitching and Negotiating for Bigger Speaking Opportunities with Maureen Taylor [Confidence 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 wanted to shout through the podcast during that episode to tell Dr. Nicole what she could do to get policies enacted, something most of us never think about doing. We also talk about women in politics, how Nicole approaches her speaking engagements, and why she decided to write a book. Nicole has a fascinating and impressive background: she worked on Capitol Hill for 10 years as a high-ranking staffer, with a focus on issues related to national security.  Nicole recently started her own company to help organizations and individuals learn how to advocate for themselves, whether it’s in Congress, your state legislature, or local city council. About My Guest: Nicole Tisdale, principal of Advocacy Blueprints, works with individuals and organizations who are eager to accelerate policy issues, increase advocacy efforts, and create changes in their organizations and communities. Nicole’s passion is making government accessible to all. During her ten-year tenure on the US House Committee on Homeland Security, Nicole developed a strong proficiency in handling congressional investigations of the Executive Branch and the private sector by mastering congressional process and procedure.  Serving as the former Director of Intelligence and Counterterrorism and the Director of Outreach and Coalitions for members and staff, she helped to advance the Committee’s outreach efforts by creating strategic partnerships between the private sector and the Committee in an effort to harness support for legislation and oversight for national security efforts. Her book, “Right To Petition: A Practical Guide to Creating Change in Government with Political Advocacy Tools and Tips,” is already a political reference bestseller and has received numerous excellent reviews, as the first of its kind.  Nicole received both her Juris Doctorate (’09) and Bachelors of Art (’06) from the University of Mississippi.    About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs and workshops at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.  Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/141 Connect with Nicole on her websites at https://nicoletisdale.com/ and https://advocacyblueprints.com/.  Nicole’s book “Right To Petition: A Practical Guide to Creating Change in Government with Political Advocacy Tools and Tips.” Download our free Strategic Speaking Guide at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategic-speaking/ or text the word SPEAKING to 33-777. Get on the interest list for the Master Your Speaking group coaching program at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/mastery.  Sign up for a Strategy Session at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy. Ready to create your signature talk and framework? Email me at carol@speakingyourbrand.com or click here to schedule a call.  Say hi to me on Instagram and Twitter: @CarolMorganCox. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts and leave a review! Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 98: Expanding Your Personal Story into a Universal Message with Nicole Rochester, M.D. [Coaching] Episode 114: Building Your Thought Leadership Platform with Lisa Zawrotny [Coaching] Episode 125: Handling Hard Conversations at Live Events with Sarah & Beth of Pantsuit Politics