Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

It seems counter-intuitive, but it's true: the narrower the niche for your business (or podcast), the more successful it will be. In this episode, I talk with my guest Edie Berg about her shift in focus from strong women to strong Jewish women, some of her concerns in making this change, and why she ultimately decided to do it. We cover a lot, including: Why you need to niche down in your business Why Edie decided to shift from talking to all business women to focusing on Jewish women One of the reasons that almost kept Edie from making this shift How being open about your identity and what matters to you gives validation and permission to others How Edie’s online summit is set up and her business model for it What Edie looks for in selecting podcast guests When pitching for podcasts or speaking engagements, why what you do isn’t as important as your bigger message The angle I used to get on podcasts last fall and why it worked How Edie can pitch sponsors for her online summit My advice for creating an elevator speech   Edie Berg is the founder of The Strong Women’s Club, whose mission is to promote Jewish women’s leadership and to build a community of Jewish women who support one another, through workshops and masterminds. As she says on her website, “No politics, no judgement. Each member celebrates her Judaism in her own wonderful way.” Edie is the creator of the Strong Jewish Women’s online summit, which is The World’s Largest Online Symposium for Jewish Women, which is coming up soon. It’s entirely free to participate: 5 days, 2 live panels, over 40 interviews and practical sessions. You’ll hear stories from Jewish women leaders and learn practical and useful tools and tips to grow your business. This summit grew out of Edie’s podcast, The Strong Women’s Club, which highlights the behind-the-scenes stories of successful Jewish women. I met Edie because we’re currently in a mastermind together and I’ve been on her podcast (episode 66), before her decision to niche down from strong women to strong Jewish women, which is part of what we discuss in this episode. Links: You can connect with Edie on her website at http://www.thestrongwomensclub.com. Register for Edie’s free online summit for Jewish women = http://thestrongjewishwomenssummit.com/ Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Strong-Womens-Club/717444848336523 Twitter = https://twitter.com/edieberg LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/edieberg/ I was on Edie’s Strong Women’s Club podcast episode 66 = http://www.thestrongwomensclub.com/066-tv-democratic-analyst-and-speaking-mentor/ Join the free Speaking Your Brand community at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/join/. Sign up for a strategy session at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy-session/. Say hi to me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/carolmorgancox/. Subscribe to the podcast, so you don’t miss out on future episodes! JOIN US: Our in-person Speaking Accelerator Workshop is coming up in Downtown Orlando on October 30, 2025. Create and practice your signature talk in one day using our proven framework, so you can confidently share your message and attract more opportunities. It's a fun, supportive environment where you get personalized feedback, professional photos, and more. Limited to 15 attendees. Get the details and secure your spot at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/orlando/.

Shelli Warren of SheConnex spent 25 years as an executive leader and trainer at a Fortune 500 company and is now a success coach helping other women launch their own encore careers as entrepreneurs. I met Shelli through the mastermind we’re currently in together and have been so impressed with her wisdom and her fierce advocacy for women. Shelli is particularly good at creating local events to connect women with each other. In this episode, Shelli and I strategize ways she can leverage podcasts as well as local speaking engagements and events to build her following and get more clients. We talk about: Shelli’s career and why she decided to leave and start her own business The differences Shelli has seen between men and women getting promoted How Shelli helps her clients see the skills they have as transferable and marketable Shelli’s focus on local clients and speaking engagements Why Shelli should branch out from speaking to all women’s groups to co-ed groups too Shelli’s two different client avatars but the common need they share (and how that impacts her presentation content) What to hand out at speaking engagements (not your business card!) How to most effectively pitch podcasters Links: You can connect with Shelli on her website at http://www.sheconnex.com. Be sure to sign up for her free SheLeads Success video series. Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/sheconnex Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/iamsheconnex/ Twitter = https://twitter.com/SheConnex Join the free Speaking Your Brand community at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/join/. Sign up for a strategy session at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy-session/. Say hi to me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/carolmorgancox/. Subscribe to the podcast, so you don’t miss out on future episodes! JOIN US: Our in-person Speaking Accelerator Workshop is coming up in Downtown Orlando on October 30, 2025. Create and practice your signature talk in one day using our proven framework, so you can confidently share your message and attract more opportunities. It's a fun, supportive environment where you get personalized feedback, professional photos, and more. Limited to 15 attendees. Get the details and secure your spot at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/orlando/.

Go behind the scenes as I deconstruct the key elements of the presentation I recently gave at Podfest Multimedia Expo, which is a podcasting conference. I do the speech for you (it's less than 7 minutes) and then I deep dive into why I chose this topic, explain the structure I used, and describe how and why I connected the opening and closing. You'll learn about 3-act structure, the rule of 3, using humor and inspiration, and the call back. The presentation I gave is called a Pecha Kucha talk. The format for a Pecha Kucha is 20 slides x 20 seconds each (so the entire presentation is only 6 minutes and 40 seconds). The title of the presentation is "Zebras, Chameleons, and Peacocks: Speaking Your Brand in Our New Media Age." Which are you? Which should you be? (You may be surprised!) You can view the slides and get the free PDF on the show notes page at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/podfest-pecha-kucha-presentation/. Let me know if you found this episode useful and I'll do more of them in the future. Finally, I have two requests: First, if you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to the podcast. Second, share this podcast with a friend. Do you know another entrepreneur who's looking to do more speaking for her business? Let her know about this show. Links: I coach Natalie Eckdahl on her Biz Chix podcast = http://bizchix.com/231/ Need help creating your presentation? Schedule a free call at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/contact/. JOIN US: Our in-person Speaking Accelerator Workshop is coming up in Downtown Orlando on October 30, 2025. Create and practice your signature talk in one day using our proven framework, so you can confidently share your message and attract more opportunities. It's a fun, supportive environment where you get personalized feedback, professional photos, and more. Limited to 15 attendees. Get the details and secure your spot at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/orlando/.

Diane Diaz is the founder of The Brand Teacher and a self-described brand geek. She worked in the corporate world for 15 years doing marketing and branding and now teaches branding classes at the same university where I teach, which is how I met Diane 8 years ago. Diane has been doing speaking engagements during the past year at local networking groups and is now ready to take her speaking to the next level. In this episode, Diane and I strategize about how she - and you - can do that. We talk about: How branding is different from marketing How Diane helps people understand what their brand says about them The speaking engagements Diane did in her first year in business Applying lean startup methodology to speaking The results she got and the lessons she learned What Diane is looking to do with speaking in her second year in business Finding speaking engagements that fit with her target clients Ideas for revenue streams from speaking Links: You can connect with Diane on her website at http://www.thebrandteacher.com/. Be sure to download her free personal brand workbook. Diane’s upcoming workshop = http://www.thebrandteacher.com/events Twitter = https://twitter.com/thedianediaz Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/thebrandteacher/ LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz Join the free Speaking Your Brand community at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/join/. Sign up for a strategy session at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy-session/. Say hi to me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/carolmorgancox/. Subscribe to the podcast, so you don’t miss out on future episodes! JOIN US: Our in-person Speaking Accelerator Workshop is coming up in Downtown Orlando on October 30, 2025. Create and practice your signature talk in one day using our proven framework, so you can confidently share your message and attract more opportunities. It's a fun, supportive environment where you get personalized feedback, professional photos, and more. Limited to 15 attendees. Get the details and secure your spot at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/orlando/.

Heather Ryan looks like an elementary school teacher, but for 14 years she served as a Special Agent with NCIS (no wonder she was so effective under cover and as an interrogator!). Now, she teaches effective safety techniques for women and offers innovative prevention education for men, from college campuses to organizations and corporations. Heather has a book called “Special Agent Mom” coming out soon, with stories from her days as an agent plus safety tips. I first met Heather in a mastermind we were in together in the fall of 2015 and we have been business BFF’s ever since. Heather worked with me to create her signature talk on safety and intuition and she was in my Stand-Out Speakers group coaching program in the fall of 2016. In this episode, Heather and I strategize ways for her to reach out to organizations, universities, and companies to hire her as an expert speaker and trainer. We talk about: The eye-opening experience that led Heather to join NCIS What it was like to be a manager in a male-dominated work environment The qualities that made her a good leader and interrogator The work Heather does now in her business My recommendations for what to include in pitch letters What works better than sending emails to get booked as a speaker Putting together speaking packages How to get momentum and buzz for you as a speaker, especially when you’re starting out Whether to contact conference organizers after submitting a speaking proposal Links: You can connect with Heather on her website at http://www.specialagentheather.me. Be sure to download her free PDF with safety tips for you and your family. Twitter = https://twitter.com/SpclAgntHeather Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/SpecialAgentHeather/ Join the free Speaking Your Brand community at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/join/. Sign up for a strategy session at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/strategy-session/. Say hi to me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/carolmorgancox/. Be sure to click subscribe on the podcast, so you don’t miss out on future episodes! Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/1/ JOIN US: Our in-person Speaking Accelerator Workshop is coming up in Downtown Orlando on October 30, 2025. Create and practice your signature talk in one day using our proven framework, so you can confidently share your message and attract more opportunities. It's a fun, supportive environment where you get personalized feedback, professional photos, and more. Limited to 15 attendees. Get the details and secure your spot at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/orlando/.