Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

If you’ve listened to the recent episodes we’ve done on thought leadership, you know that I’ve been working this year on positioning myself as a thought leader in the AI space. I want to make sure there are lots of women talking about and being heard on this topic because this technology is going to have a huge impact on our society. This episode and the next one are with women who are thought leaders in AI. Whether you’re into AI (artificial intelligence) or not, you’re going to LOVE this conversation. My guest today is Alysia Silberg, a UN Women Empower Women Global Champion, CEO of Street Global venture capital firm, an AI expert, and author of a recent memoir. Alysia isn't only an entrepreneur; she's a visionary who sees AI not just as a tool but as a strategic coach and partner in business and life. In this episode, Alysia and I talk about: The transformative potential of using AI in your own business and personal development Specific examples of how Alysia leverages AI as a strategic asset, guiding her decision making and sharpening her competitive edge Using AI to create a more equitable and inclusive world The power of storytelling: how Alysia sharing her story in her memoir set her free Alysia’s advocacy for more women in the field of AI, and how she believes diversity can lead to more innovative and ethical AI solutions Alysia’s strategies for building a strong personal brand and powerful network Her speaking experiences and tips Want to learn how to use AI tools to give your speaking a boost? Come to our hands-on AI Tools for Speakers workshop live on Zoom on Thursday, December 7. You’ll learn how to use tools like ChatGPT and others to write outlines and speaking proposals, create images for your slides, add audio and music, and more. Sign up today at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/ai-tools-workshop/.    Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/358/  Alysia’s website & book: https://www.readunemployable.com/  Sign up for AI Tools for Speakers workshop: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/ai-tools-workshop/ Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Enroll in our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Alysia Silberg (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/alysiasilberg/ Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 313: How to Thrive in the Age of A.I. with Carol Cox Episode 316: Education, A.I., and What It Means to Be Human with Dr. Bibi Pirayesh

How can you accomplish what you want, from the small to the big? As we gear up for the new year, I’m sure there are things you have on your vision board and list of goals you want to achieve. There are practical, tangible steps you can take (the what and the how). There’s also WHO you want to be, the identity you want to shift into, which is essential to aligning your actions to what you want, creating lasting change, and building self-confidence. My guest is Dr. Kim Foster, who recently graduated from our Thought Leader Academy. Kim was a practicing family doctor for nearly 20 years and a few years ago decided that she wanted to make a big change to become a wellness coach and entrepreneur. You’ll be inspired by her story and her thought leadership message! Kim and I talk about: Her own identity shift from being a doctor to an entrepreneur What helped her to make that shift Her thought leadership message and framework that the WHO is as important as the what and the how to make lasting change How you can start thinking about your own identity Why she decided to join our Thought Leader Academy and what she got out of the experience   This episode is part of our podcast series on thought leadership. Links: Show notes at  https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/357/ Kim’s website: https://drkimfoster.com/  Kim’s podcast “The Wellness Project”: https://drkimfoster.com/podcast  Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Enroll in our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Connect on social: Carol Cox on LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Dr. Kim Foster on LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-foster-14362646/ Dr. Kim Foster on Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/drkimfoster/   Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 356: What to Do Now to Position Yourself as a Thought Leader Episode 354: Finding and Developing Your Big I.D.E.A.

We’re continuing our new podcast series on thought leadership. We’ve talked about finding and developing your big idea and what your signature talk should be doing for you. Today we’re diving into what you can start doing now to position yourself as a thought leader. Yes, you can absolutely be a thought leader - and we need you to be! Thought leaders have an interesting idea and they're willing to share it in a bigger way. Most thought leaders are also public speakers because of the built-in authority and credibility you get standing in front of an audience and the broader impact you can make. But, here's the thing: Seeing yourself as a thought leader doesn't come *after* you've done the thing. You need to see yourself first as a thought leader and claim that identity. That's what's going to align your actions and propel you forward. In this episode, you’ll learn: What exactly a thought leader is How people become thought leaders Self-limiting beliefs around claiming an identity, including my own self-limiting beliefs around an identity I need to claim for myself Why *you* can be a thought leader 6 things to do to position yourself as a thought leader How I positioned myself as a thought leader in AI this year Get the 6 steps to position yourself as a thought leader and a lot more in our FREE guide on Developing Your Thought Leadership at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/guide/.   Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/356/  Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Enroll in our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/ Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Diane Diaz = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz   Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 354: Finding and Developing Your Big I.D.E.A. Episode 355: What a Signature Talk Is and What It Should be Doing for You Episode 342: I Almost Got Stuck in the Expert Trap: How I Created My Recent Successful Conference Presentation  

We’re continuing our new podcast series on thought leadership. Today we’re going to take a look at what exactly a signature talk is and what it should be doing for you. Any presentation you give *should* be a signature talk. Why? Because any presentation you deliver should be a combination of your expertise + your thought leadership + your personal brand. Your signature talk isn’t a bunch of information on your topic. Your signature talk has a specific purpose for you and for your audience; it should be doing something for you. You’re not there to pass along information and to train your audience, unless you’re doing a workshop, which if you are, that’s great and you should be getting paid for that. This is where I see speakers get stuck in what I call the expert trap. They think they have to train and teach in order to provide value; but when you’re speaking at a conference or at a local group or as a keynote, you’re there to share an experience with the audience, to get them to think about something in a new or different way.   In this episode, you’ll hear: Determining what you want your signature talk to do for you The elements that make a transformative signature talk How to put your signature talk together using our Signature Talk Canvas® framework Ways you can repurpose your signature talk Whether you can have more than one signature talk The signature talk I’m working on Get our Signature Talk Canvas® framework and a lot more in our 24-page FREE guide and workbook on Developing Your Thought Leadership at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/guide/. Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/355/  Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Enroll in our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 353: The Power of Frameworks: How Sharon Ehrlich Found Her Voice and Message with Sharon Ehrlich Episode 288: A Framework for Creating a Signature Talk for Income and Impact Episode 290: [Coaching] Get More Leads from Your Presentations with Monica Young

Today’s episode it’s all about finding and developing your Big Idea for your thought leadership and public speaking. Ideas are incredibly powerful; they can live on for years, centuries, even millennia. Ideas spark movements for political and social change. Ideas help us as humans understand ourselves, each other, and the world around us Your idea doesn’t have to be something people have never heard of before; that’s unlikely as most things have been talked about before - and that’s ok! As a speaker, you want to have something interesting and unique to talk about, you want to make a positive impact on your audience, and you want to develop your thought leadership Perhaps you’re not sure what makes a good idea or which of your ideas is the best one. It all feels a bit messy and muddy. That’s what I’m going to help you with in this episode! Think of me as your idea whisperer. You’ll learn: What a Big Idea is Why too many speakers get stuck with superficial content How to identify your I.D.E.A. using this handy acronym I came up with Examples of Big Ideas from myself, from some of our clients, and from thought leaders you’ll recognize Specific questions you can ask yourself to get started developing your Big Idea Get these questions and a lot more in our 24-page FREE guide and workbook on Developing Your Thought Leadership at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/guide/. This episode is part of our new podcast series on thought leadership.   Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/354/  Get our free Thought Leadership guide and workbook: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/guide/  Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Enroll in our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 352: 7 Things the Best Speakers Do: My Takeaways from TEDWomen Episode 343: Why YOU are the Messenger for Your Idea and Audience Episode 339: Using Public Speaking to Influence Social Change with Tanya Golash-Boza, PhD Episode 338: Escaping the Expert Trap: From Academic Presenter to Sought-After Speaker with Teri DeLucca Episode 319: The 3 Stages We Go Through as Women When We Use Our Voice

Many accomplished professional women come to a point in their lives where they struggle to balance their personal and professional responsibilities.  Whether it’s their high-pressure career, raising children, caring for aging parents, or all of the above, it can often feel like you lose control over your lives and yourself in the process.  On this week’s podcast guest, Sharon Ehrlich, a former hospital administrator, English teacher, and professional at IBM and now an executive coach, and our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz chat about the challenges Sharon faced when she felt she was losing control of her life while juggling her role as a mother, caring for a disabled parent, and managing her demanding professional life and how she came to realize the importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing her needs. Sharon, a graduate of our Thought Leader Academy, shares how the program helped her gain clarity and direction for her message.  She talks about her transformative experience during her VIP Day, where she worked intensively on her signature talk.  The result was a powerful framework for her talk - OWN (Observe, Weigh, Negotiate) - which she used to regain control of her life and now shares to help other women do the same. In this episode, Sharon and Diane talk about: Sharon's journey from hospital administration to IBM leader to executive coach, and her life-changing move to Austria Her struggle with balancing her personal life and professional commitments and how very long (6-hour!) hikes helped her find clarity and a way forward How empowering others, both personally and professionally, can lead to growth and free up our own time The creation and application of her O.W.N. framework (Observe, Weigh, Negotiate) during her VIP Day How the Speaking Your Brand Signature Talk Framework that she learned in the Thought Leader Academy helped her to create an entirely new talk, boosted her confidence, and enabled her to deliver a powerful talk that got rave reviews . . . and leads!     Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/353/  Sharon’s website: https://livingwhileleading.com/ Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Enroll in our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Diane Diaz = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz/  Sharon Ehrlich (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonehrlich1/  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 341: Unearthing Your Unique Message: Discovering What Makes You Stand Out with Judy Carlson  

I recently had the honor of attending the TEDWomen conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Over 3 days, I heard 35 speakers deliver their TED talks, on topics ranging from democracy to abortion rights, menopause to artificial intelligence.  Of course, as I was sitting in the audience, I was taking lots of notes on each speaker, how they structured their talk, the elements they included, and how they delivered it. I’ve taken those notes and identified 7 key things the best speakers do. Whether you’re delivering a TEDx talk, a keynote, a conference session, or a business presentation, you can use these 7 things to make your talks impactful and memorable.   Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/352 Sign up for our Storytelling workshop on November 16: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/storytelling-workshop/  Apply for our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/  Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox  Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 277: The Authority Gap Women Face and What to Do About It with Mary Ann Sieghart Episode 343: Why YOU are the Messenger for Your Idea and Audience Episode 329: From Compelled to Take Action to TEDx Speaker with Dr. Nicole Rochester

From Barbie and the Super Models to Beyonce and Taylor, women and the influence they have on culture and the economy are being seen and talked about everywhere. Since here at Speaking Your Brand we're all about amplifying and championing women's voices and advocating for gender equality, we figured it was time to give our own hot takes. Along with all the positive gains women have made, we know that there has also been a considerable backlash, both culturally and legally, most noticeably in the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year and in the states that have since passed laws restricting women's reproductive health care rights. It's easy (and accurate) to blame lawmakers and voters who vocally support such restrictions and want to turn the tide back. But what about those who do support women yet do so in myopic ways? That's why I call "country club feminism." In this episode, Diane Diaz and I talk about: The “rad trad” movement on TikTok and what it means about feminism How we define feminism The Barbie movie, from the visual impact to the satire to the overt feminist message Taylor Swift and the backlash she’s receiving for being a powerful, independent woman as she’s dating an NFL player The new documentary “The Super Models” on AppleTV+ and what it says about female beauty and power What we’re calling “country club feminism”,  how it reinforces the status quo, and what to do instead Clearly, we are using our voices and that’s what we want you to do too! (This episode was recorded on October 5, 2023.)   Links: Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/351/ Register for our live online workshops on Zoom this fall = https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/workshops/ Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Diane Diaz = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 277: The Authority Gap Women Face and What to Do About It with Mary Ann Sieghart Episode 216: Why We're #ChoosingWomensVoices - and You Should Too Episode 191: Women in Politics and the Public Sphere with Rep. Anna V. Eskamani Episode 163: A Feminist Approach to Public Speaking

In the last episode, I talked about connecting your personal brand and your thought leadership Your stories and experiences are integral to both. Your stories connect you with your audience. Have you ever heard a speaker share a story and have one of these reactions: #1: Wow, I really feel connected to what this person is saying. I have a new perspective on my own situation.  -OR- #2: Why is this person telling this story? I don't get how this relates to the rest of their content or why I should care or this feels icky.  You don't want to end up being the speaker where the people in the audience are having the second reaction. You want your stories to have purpose and meaning and be of service to your audience. In this episode, Diane Diaz and I talk about: Contrived vulnerability (your audience can tell) What contrived storytelling sounds like and feels like The elements of authentic storytelling Examples of authentic storytelling, from our clients and from our own talks Links:   Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/350/ Register for our live online workshops on Zoom this fall = https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/workshops/ Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Connect on LinkedIn: Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox Diane Diaz = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz   Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 337: Sharing Your Story as a Catalyst for Transformation with Karen Keene Episode 341: Unearthing Your Unique Message: Discovering What Makes You Stand Out with Judy Carlson Episode 92: Deconstructing My TEDx Talk: Why We’re Uncomfortable with Women in Power

In the age of more & more content (whether human- or AI-created), your personal brand matters more than ever. Potential clients and event organizers can easily find lots of experts in what you do. What you want them to realize is what sets you apart and why they should pick you. That’s where your personal brand and thought leadership come in. I know you want to have a positive impact on the world and you may feel like cultivating a personal brand is unnecessary or self-indulgent or you just don’t have time for it. But, here’s the thing: you have a personal brand, everyone does. It’s how other people would describe you;  not just your qualities like are you smart, kind, professional, but also what matters to you. Do people know what matters to you, the better world you imagine? In this episode, you’ll hear: How your business connects to your thought leadership How your personal brand connects to your thought leadership Example from my own personal brand and thought leadership Pushback I got early on when I started my business about a particular aspect of my personal brand Finding the consistency and commonality among all of the threads in your career What humans have over AI when it comes to storytelling We’re doing a NEW workshop series this fall live on Zoom. Join us in October for personal branding and brand voice; in November for storytelling; and in December for using AI tools for speaking. Get all the details and register at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/workshops/. 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/349/  Register for our live online workshop on Zoom on October 26th to build your personal brand plan and define your brand voice = https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/workshops/  Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/ Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox   Related Podcast Episodes: Episode 343: Why YOU are the Messenger for Your Idea and Audience Episode 259: Connecting Your Business and Your Thought Leadership Personal Brand podcast series, episodes 332-335