Libsyn Directory

You are the Messenger: How to Activate the Idea that’s Been Calling You

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

Release Date: 03/27/2025

From Technical Talks to Inspiring Keynotes: Finding Your Authentic Speaking Style with Elaine Schomburg-LaFleur

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

How do you go from giving short, tip-focused talks to inspiring audiences with a full keynote? That’s exactly the journey our guest has taken and it’s one so many of us can learn from. Our lead speaking coach Diane Diaz talks with Elaine Schomburg-LaFleur, a senior project engineer who has spent over 20 years in the theme park industry, including at Disney. Elaine thought of herself as “the tip girl” - packing her presentations with lots of helpful advice. But when she was invited to give her first keynote, she realized she needed a new approach. With the help of a VIP Day and...

Why Your Story Is More Powerful Than You Think [Case Study]

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

Whether you've had one day that changed your life forever - or a series of events that shifted your understanding of yourself and the world - or a culmination of hard-won lessons from work and life, you have a story worth sharing. This is something I emphasize often, because so many women tell me, “I don’t really have a story. Nothing big has happened to me.” What matters isn’t the size of your story, but how you tell it and what lessons you offer your audience. In this episode of the Speaking Your Brand podcast, I talk with Karen Keene, a graduate of our Thought...

Taylor Swift’s Speaking Secrets: How to Connect with Any Audience

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

Ever wish you could walk on stage and instantly connect with your audience, whether it’s a room of five people or a stadium of 50,000? In this episode, Diane Diaz and I are trying something new: a reaction video to a famous speech. And who better to kick things off than Taylor Swift’s 2022 NYU Commencement Address? You might think being a global superstar makes Taylor impossible to relate to. But what she does in this speech is exactly what you can do in your own presentations to make your audience lean in, laugh, and feel like you’re speaking directly to them. We break down three...

Grow Your Speaking Career by Escaping the Expert Trap [Case Study]

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

Do you ever feel like you're stuck in the "expert trap" - sharing lots of great information, but not quite connecting with your audience the way you want to? In this episode, I talk with Dr. Teri DeLucca, founder of Impact Early Education and a graduate of our Thought Leader Academy, about how she made the bold leap from academic researcher and fact-based presenter to transformational speaker and sought-after thought leader. Teri has not one, but TWO PhDs (yes, you read that right!), and like many high-achieving women, she found comfort in data and research. But as she began training preschool...

How to Turn Your Business Talk into a Lead-Gen Machine [Case Study]

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

If you're using speaking for lead generation, you won’t want to miss this episode. I’m joined by Danielle Hayden, CEO of Kickstart Accounting, Inc., who came to me for a VIP Day to create a new signature talk. Like many entrepreneurs, Danielle had been speaking often, but she knew she was overloading her audience with too much information and not enough transformation. In this conversation, we pull back the curtain on the process we used to refine her message, develop her thought leadership, and craft a presentation that truly connects - with results to prove it. You’ll learn: Why...

*Not* Your Typical Corporate Presentations: Live Signature Talks from Thought Leader Academy Grads

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

We believe that every presentation, whether internal or external, at a conference or at a board meeting, has the power to shift how your audience views a topic and the positive changes that can come as a result. It’s not just about delivering information – it’s about shifting perspectives, sparking new ideas, and inspiring action. This episode is the audio from a live show we did with two of our recent Thought Leader Academy grads: Dr. Bonnie Boles and Denise Cárdenas López. Both Bonnie and Denise are executives at companies and often present both internally to team members as...

Turn Your Stories Into Impactful Messages: Live Signature Talks from Our Thought Leader Academy Grads

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

The key to a powerful presentation isn’t just telling stories – it’s uncovering the lessons within them. When you share a personal experience or an impactful moment, you’re not just recounting events; you’re inviting your audience to see the world through your eyes, to feel what you felt, and to learn from what you lived. Your stories become more than just a narrative – they can spark change in the hearts and minds of your audience. This episode is the audio from a live show we did with three of our recent Thought Leader Academy grads: Moe Boles, Melinda Hrynewycz, and Sara...

From Blank Page to On Stage: What It’s Like to Create and Practice a Talk in One Day

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

What if you could go from a completely blank page - or in this case, a blank poster board - to mapping out and practicing your signature talk… all in just one day? That’s exactly what happened at our recent in-person Speaking Accelerator Workshop in Orlando, and in this episode, you’ll hear directly from three of the incredible women who participated: Lesline Pittman, Monica Mitchell, and Dr. Emma Jones. You’ll get the behind-the-scenes scoop on what it’s like to go from idea to delivery in a single day (yes, it’s totally possible!) - including the unexpected improv exercises,...

AI Needs Women: Why Your Voice Matters to Shape the Present and the Future

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

I vividly remember the day after Christmas 2022. Not because I was relaxing, but because I was at my laptop, updating my university courses and diving headfirst into AI tools for my business and podcast. ChatGPT had just launched, and I knew instantly: this was different. This wasn’t just another tech trend; this was a transformation. In this episode, I share the talk I recently delivered at the ElleX Summit, where I wove together history, technology, and the urgent need for women’s voices in AI. From Ada Lovelace and the women of NASA to Eleanor Roosevelt and the Brontë sisters, women...

Behind the Scenes of My AI-Powered Business: Real-World Use Cases

Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

Ever wish you had an extra set of hands - or better yet, an AI assistant - to take care of all those repetitive tasks in your business? In this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes to share the exact AI-powered workflows I’ve built and now rely on every week at Speaking Your Brand. From automating my podcast production (yes, even these show notes!) to cloning my voice for a brand-new companion podcast, you’ll get a sense at what’s possible - and what's already working. I walk you through real-world examples of how I’m using AI to: Save time with automated content workflows ...

More Episodes

Have you ever had an idea that tugged at you, asking to be brought to life?

In this episode, I share why I believe so strongly that you are the exact messenger for your idea and your audience. Not someone else. You.

Yes, your topic may be similar to what others are talking about. But ,your idea, your lens, your story, and your experiences are what make it yours.

And your audience? They’re waiting for you to say it in the way only you can.

We dig into:

The difference between having a topic versus having an idea (this is a game-changer for standing out!)
Why thought leadership is more than just expertise—it’s about the courage to show up with your unique take
The two ways ideas tend to come to us (and what stops us from activating them)
Why fear and perfectionism are such sneaky dream stealers (and how to move through them)
What Lin-Manuel Miranda, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Greta Gerwig can teach us about being the messenger for your idea

I even share a behind-the-scenes moment from preparing my 2016 TEDx talk when I realized I needed something more than a “good” talk - I needed to say something only I could say.

If you’re feeling that nudge that there’s an idea stirring inside you - or one that’s been sitting dormant - it’s time to give it voice.

Remmber: Your audience is waiting for you.

This episide originally aired as episode 343 on August 21, 2023.

Links:

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/343/

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

Mentioned:

Related Podcast Episodes:

TOPICS