Unearthing Your Unique Message: Discovering What Makes You Stand Out with Judy Carlson: Podcast Ep. 341

Unearthing Your Unique Message: Discovering What Makes You Stand Out with Judy Carlson

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Raise your hand if you’re used to giving presentations chock full of information, facts, and figures?

You are not alone!

Many of us get comfortable doing this, probably because that’s how we got started as speakers and presenters.

But, your audience doesn’t need to hear tons of facts and figures; they need to understand the big picture of your topic, how it relates to them, and what they should do next.

This is precisely the evolution that our guest, Judy Carlson, did while she was in our Thought Leader Academy.

She worked with our lead speaking coach, Diane Diaz, to create her new signature talk and framework.

In this episode, Diane sits down with Judy to chat about her goal to do more public speaking and how she developed her unique framework and signature talk. 

Judy also shares about her career path, personal story, and what she learned from her time in the Thought Leader Academy. 

Plus, she gives us the lowdown on her VIP Day and how her awesome WEAVE framework came to be. You’ll love this story!

Here’s the scoop on what you’ll hear in this episode:

  • Why Judy decided to step up her public speaking game now
  • Judy’s reasons for wanting to switch gears from training to thought leadership in her speaking
  • How Judy’s personal story influenced her unique message and framework, to help her stand out from the crowd in her industry
  • The inside story on Judy’s time in the Thought Leader Academy and her biggest takeaways
  • The step-by-step process we followed to create Judy’s WEAVE framework – hint: WEAVE wasn’t our first idea
  • What Judy thought her VIP Day would be like and what it was actually like

 

We hope Judy’s story and her journey to creating her standout framework and signature talk inspire you to find your own unique message and SPEAK! 

This episode is a must-listen for anyone dreaming of becoming a thought leader or making a big splash through speaking.

Our Thought Leader Academy is currently open for enrollment for our next start date.

 

About Our Guest: Judy Carlson is an independent lifetime wealth strategist, investment advisor representative, and life insurance professional. She has 40 years of experience as a CPA and has owned her own independent financial firm for the past 12 years. Her mission is to help individuals and families protect their assets and preserve their wealth throughout their lifetimes and legacy. Judy went from being a successful CPA in Corporate America to a stay-at-home mom to losing almost everything financially. She brings a fresh perspective to taking control of your money no matter what financial decisions you’ve made in the past. Judy loves helping her clients become aware of their financial options through her education. As their guide, Judy helps her clients decide what’s best for their money. Together they custom design and build unique lifetime wealth and legacy plans.

About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. This episode is hosted by Diane Diaz, our lead speaking coach. 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/341/

Judy’s website: https://judycarlson.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:

341-SYB-JudyCarlson.mp3: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

341-SYB-JudyCarlson.mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Carol Cox:
If you've been wondering how to find your unique message and framework, you're going to appreciate this conversation with our thought Leader Academy client Judy Carlson on this episode of The Speaking Your Brand podcast.

Carol Cox:
More and more women are making an impact by starting businesses, running for office and speaking up for what matters. With my background as a political analyst, entrepreneur and speaker, I interview and coach purpose driven women to shape their brands, grow their companies and become recognized as influencers in their field. This is speaking your brand, your place to learn how to persuasively communicate your message to your audience.

Carol Cox:
Hi there and welcome to the Speaking Your Brand podcast. I'm your host, Carol Cox. Now raise your hand if you're used to giving presentations chock full of information, facts and figures. Well, you are far from alone. Many of us get very comfortable doing this, probably because that's how we got started as speakers and presenters. But here's the thing. Your audience doesn't need to hear tons of facts and figures in your presentation. In fact, that can actually detract from your overall message and call to action. Instead, they need to understand the big picture of your topic, how it relates to them and what they should do next based on what they learn. This is precisely the evolution that our guest Judy Carlson, did while she was in our Thought Leader Academy.

Carol Cox:
She worked with our lead speaking coach, Diane Diaz, to create her new signature talk and framework. In this episode, Diane sits down with Judy to chat about her goal to do more public speaking and how they work together to develop Judy's unique framework and signature talk. You'll hear how Judy's personal story influenced her message and framework so that it was unique to her to help her stand out from the crowd in her industry. Diane and Judy also talk about the step by step process that they followed to create Judy's new frameworks. So you'll hear them talk about the acronym that they ended up decided on. The beauty of having a unique and well defined framework is that not only can you use it in your signature talk in your presentations, but also in so many different aspects of your business. If you would like to create your signature talk and framework, our Thought Leader Academy is currently open for enrollment for our next start date, which is coming up August 29th. So just in a few weeks, we only have two enrollment periods left for the entire rest of 2023 August 29th and October 24th. So if you know you're ready to start positioning yourself as a sought after speaker, as a paid speaker to evolve from that expert presenter to a thought leader, this is the program for you.

Carol Cox:
We work with you closely during eight weeks, including a one on one virtual VIP day where we create your signature talk with you. So by the time you leave the Thought Leader Academy, you have a complete talk ready to go. You have your framework. You have your message defined. We help you work on your personal brand, the business of speaking and delivering your talk. It truly is a comprehensive program and is limited to seven women because we want to make sure that you have personalized hands on feedback and attention from us as of the day. This episode airs August 6th. We currently only have three spots remaining of the seven, so if you've been thinking about joining us in the Thought Leader Academy, now is the time you can get all the details, including pricing at speaking your brand.com/academy. Again, that's speaking your brand.com/academy. You can go ahead and roll right there on the page or you can schedule a zoom call with either myself or with Diane. We are more than happy to talk with you about your speaking and thought leadership goals and to make sure that the Thought Leader Academy is the best fit for you. Again, go to speaking your brand.com/academy to get all of the details. Now let's get on with the show!

Diane Diaz:
Hi Judy. Welcome to the Speaking Your Brand podcast.

Judy Carlson:
Hi, Diane. Glad to be here.

Diane Diaz:
Oh, I'm so excited to have you here. So you are a recent graduate of our Thought Leader Academy. And today we're going to talk all about your experience and get into some of the specifics of what you did in the academy and sort of the realization that we had about your message, which is I think will be really fun for the audience to hear about. But first, if you would, could you just take a few minutes and tell our audience a little bit about who you are and what you do in your business?

Judy Carlson:
Sure. So my journey has been long, as you know, starting in college with my accounting degree, passing my CPA exam and plunging into my career in the accounting world and corporate finance, and then took some time off to be a stay at home mom. And during that time, as my kids were in their teenage years, we had a difficult time in the 2008 financial crisis and lost almost everything which propelled us into a completely new family situation. And I went back in the workforce in the personal financial planning side versus the corporate side, which I love helping people individually with their personal financial plans. And I come at it from a completely different perspective than most because I'm independent and I've got licensures to do almost anything anybody would ever want. But my focus really started because I saw the downward spiraling tax cycle that retirees were getting into, and they they just weren't educated. They just didn't know what that part of their lifetime wealth journey was all about. So. Being that I'm still a CPA and have that tax background, that's kind of what I dove into. So once you understand what happens during your retirement years, it can help you prepare much more for your accumulation years. So that's my joy and that's where I get fulfillment and that's what I love to do with my clients.

Diane Diaz:
Oh, I love it. I love it. And I can relate because I am not of retirement age yet, but I am approaching it. I'm certainly more towards the retirement than the accumulation and building my career and everything. So I think it's a super important message. And I think and this is one of the things we talked about in the Thought Leader Academy, your story and your personal experience that you had really informs the work that you do and made it into your talk, which we'll get into in just a minute. But I'm glad you shared some of your story and how you came to do the work that you do because when people are creating their signature talks, the personal story has to be part of that. And it's really what connects you with the audience that's going to hear from you. Right. So had you I'm curious, too, Judy. Had you done any speaking in the past? What has been your your experience with speaking public speaking?

Judy Carlson:
Um, so I have done a lot of speaking over the years. I started as a senior in high school speaking at a Rotary luncheon, and all these years later I'm part of a Rotary group and serving with them. So that's kind of a neat connection. And then as I develop my entrepreneurial business, I've done lots and lots of webinars, seminars, workshops for people. Um, they've all been rather, shall we say, technical, um, and the in the content. So they're, they're more to learn something specific. And that kind of sprung me to wanting to do more of a signature talk, which then led me to speaking your brand. So I've done a lot of workshops, seminars, never put together my signature talk, and it was something that I had in my heart to do in 2023.

Diane Diaz:
So yes, you know, the the experience that you describe sort of that more technical type of talk, which we'll call sort of it's educational. So that is that expert trap that we that Carol talks about a lot and that we often find ourselves in because we just keep doing these trainings right where we're using our expertise, training the audience on something. And then you obviously saw that you could move more into the thought leadership realm by having a little bit of a shift in the message, right? And so and so you mentioned that that's what brought you to speaking your brand. Now, what what specifically made you want to join the Thought Leader Academy then?

Judy Carlson:
Right. So I knew that's what I wanted to do. And when I know what I want to do, I go after it and love it. Yeah. Amazingly enough, I was Googling all kinds of signature talk things and downloading things and reading them and studying them. And there was a podcast on Google by Carol Cox where it was more of an introductory message about the importance of a signature talk and how it's different from that expert trap. And so I went to the website and signed up for a introductory call with Carol, and that was on a Thursday afternoon. And she said, Well, our thought Leader Academy is starting. Our next one is starting on Tuesday. And I said, I want to be in it.

Diane Diaz:
That's awesome.

Judy Carlson:
And done a lot of research, but ended up in the very best place I could have ever ended up with with my goal of of writing a signature talk. So really grateful for that opportunity.

Diane Diaz:
Yeah, that's, that's good. And I think, I think you, you know, as sort of a situation where you're in the right place at the right time and knew that you needed something to help you get past that expert trap like you talked about. Now, I know during our Thought Leader Academy, of course, we do a lot of training calls as we're sort of introducing you to our process and the idea of defining your thought leadership message and developing your framework. And so I want to focus a little bit on the framework. You have a very unique framework. We talk a lot about frameworks and speaking your brand. And I know our our podcast listeners have heard all about our frameworks before and how we, you know, arrive at them and some of the techniques that we use. But I love your framework in particular. Could you share with our audience the process that and the iterations that your framework went through and then we can talk specifically about what your framework is and what it means, but how did the idea for it start and then where did it end up? Because it's pretty interesting.

Judy Carlson:
Yeah. Um, so I've been in the financial space for, you know, 40 years and there's a financial advisor on every corner in every town. And I don't, I don't even like, I don't use that as, as a title because, oh, you're just another financial advisor. And so when we were sort of framing what how my talk would come about, I was like, Oh, I'm not sure I want to stay in the financial realm. And I know that you and I had talked about and you're so good, Diane, because like we talked about in our group, maybe using a tree as a acronym for my business, and you were writing all kinds of things down and sending it to me, but it was still sort of financial. And then I was looking at other acronyms that could potentially work and sending them to you and and you're so good. You're just like, Yeah, that we could do this and laid out the words the three P's for you know, but they were all still financial. And then all of a sudden it dawned on me that. Something completely outside of the financial services business was something that I had been using in my own life and to minister to women and other people in my life that was more related to a tapestry.

Judy Carlson:
And the idea with the tapestry is that a lot of times in our lives when crises and chaos happen, we look at the underside of our life's tapestry and it can be all knotted and gnarled and tangled. But what we don't see is the upper side, which may actually be creating a beautiful tapestry in our lives. And so to never lose sight of the fact that those messes in our lives sometimes are creating something more beautiful. And so I sent that to you and you had all kinds of words that we could potentially use. Relate to the tapestry. And one of those was the word weave, w e a v e, And I'm like, Oh my gosh, that's perfect. Because, you know, in our lives, different threads of different people and different experiences and sometimes it's yarn and sometimes they're short and sometimes they last the entire life. And that to me, all of a sudden I was like, This is what it's going to be.

Diane Diaz:
Wonderful. And I love that story because I think it's a good illustration of how, you know, sometimes we do get hung up on, oh, it has to be something financial related or it has to make sense from the financial standpoint. And so it has to be very literal, right? Whatever that framework is. And maybe it's like you said, like the three C's of financial planning or tree because growth and money grows and it's very literal, right? But I remember in these back and forth exchanges and we had a lot of emails back and forth about this, a lot of emails, but it was in the back and forth exchanges that it became apparent that you weren't in love with this idea of keeping it very literal, which is honestly, I think makes for a much more interesting talk, right? Because we've where we arrived with the word we've as your framework or your acronym for your framework is has much more deeper personal meaning for you, which then leads to a talk that is going to light you up, which is going to light the audience up. Because if you're talking about a framework that you're not really excited about or it's not really meaningful, yeah, it might work, but it won't have the same impact as something that you really embody. And so when you mentioned this idea of weave or of tapestry and how that has been present in your life, that we're like, Oh, that is the weave is the word we have to use.

Judy Carlson:
That is the word, right? Yes, it was fabulous when I just kind of had that settling feeling like this is the right word. I have no idea where Diane's going to take it from here, but we've got our word.

Diane Diaz:
And that's the thing about the frameworks. When you're working on the framework, especially with an acronym, if there's a word like that that's meaningful, I can almost always back into it to make it make sense for the talk and the content that you're going to share. But it's the finding that word that's the key. And so with your framework, so Weave has five letters. Five letters to count. Make sure. So five letters. Now, in a talk, we typically, unless it's a longer style talk or a workshop, there's usually not time to go over all five. So what we talked about is, well, we'll we will define all five of those letters and what they each stand for. But then in the talk, you'll just talk about maybe the first three or, you know, the last three, whatever makes the most sense. So why don't you take a few minutes and tell our listeners what Weave stands for so they can kind of see how we worked out what each letter in that acronym would relate to.

Judy Carlson:
Right. So that was very, very enlightening during our VIP day. Diane when we brainstormed, what could those letters stand for and communicate the right message to the audience? So the W write down where your money is now. What? What's it doing there? How did it get there and what is its purpose? So it's like it kind of takes listeners back a little and it's like, Oh my gosh, I'm not even sure I know where everything is. And I don't know if my employer set up a 401. K plan for me without my knowledge. Maybe I should go find out, be curious, look into, you know, where your money is and write it down. So that was our first letter and that was like it just brought so much light to the rest of the letters. And so then E and I use I've used this so many times since our our VIP day. You know what the E is everything you've done in the past. It's okay. We can't change the past in any part of our lives, so there's no reason to get all worried about it in our financial lives. Because my goal is to take you from where you are today to life expectancy and legacy. So let's just start where you are today. So the A I love this. A It's awareness of your financial options. And not only that, but we need to understand at some level what's going on in the tax code and the market in order to make the whole plan pull together for the rest of your life and into your legacy. So I love educating my clients and coming up with all of the financial options.

Judy Carlson:
The best part is, is that they get to make their own decision, but they're going to know from black and white standpoint what the numbers look like. It's not an emotional decisions. If you want this amount of cash flow in retirement, here are your options. And then let's talk through them and discover together what's best for your lifetime wealth plan. So then the V is to visualize where do you want to go with your goals and where do you want to go with what you want to do with the rest of your life? We talk a lot about that with our clients and we find out what it is that their true desires are and do they want to walk into their retirement with a heavy burden because they're not sure how long their money's going to last or if they're going to be able to visit the kids or the grandkids as much as they want to. So that's the V and then E, empower yourself and your money with a plan. I thought that was like the most powerful finish to the whole Weave framework because I think a lot of people, they don't really know that. They haven't empowered themselves. They're letting a financial advisor manage their money, they don't understand their options. And once they do, they're like, Wow, I can do this. I can take control of my money. I know where I want to head with it. And then they seize it and take it by the reins. And it's just it's just the most exciting process for me to walk through with them when that happens.

Diane Diaz:
And then they really are weaving a tapestry of their financial life, right? So it makes so much sense to use that word weave. And you you did a really great job, Judy, of walking through each step. What I love too, about that framework is that even if you just talk about the first three or you know, you'll share them all at the beginning of the talk, but then you just focus on the first three. I think what it does is it it sort of lets the the listener, the audience that you're speaking to know your philosophy on how you look at financial planning, right? And so it sets you apart and differentiates you from other financial planners, from other speakers. It also helps the audience to remember when they leave, if they can just remember those first words of each of the letters of the acronym, they've got something that they can think about when they leave, and then hopefully they'll reach out to you, connect with you, and then they'll want to hire you because now you've taught them something, but something that's not, um, overwhelming or intimidating or making them feel like they're not smart enough to even know what questions to ask. Right? So you're, you're educating them, but you're doing it in a way from a thought leadership standpoint and saying, this is the way I look at financial planning and I want you to come along on this journey. So I love that about that that. Framework in that acronym. So I think it was such a it just felt like serendipity when it when we arrived at that word weave, it was like, oh, it's magic. I know.

Judy Carlson:
Well, and it translates so well if someone were to want to work with me because we build the foundation of Where is your money today? So step one, if they were to take that home and seriously consider it, they're already partway into the process that I do. And sure, we look at where they're at today and where they're at today is because of all the financial decisions they've made until then. But until they have education on what could come next, they may just think that that's all they can do. Absolutely. So it dovetails really nicely into my my process if someone were to work with me. So it's it's just a seamless process. And I love that about the framework.

Diane Diaz:
That's awesome. And it also I like that it sort of, as I say, has legs, so it can be turned into a workshop. You could make some online courses, you could do videos, you could do so many different things. So it gives you some flexibility with different content that you could create around that framework and build upon it so that it becomes even more and, and really does position you as that thought leader that looks at planning your financial tapestry, right, by weaving things together. So it's just so perfect. So I'm glad, I'm glad that I'm glad that you are as in love with that acronym as I am. That was that was probably one of the funnest ones that I've ever worked on.

Judy Carlson:
Well, and it permeates every facet of my business from now on. So yesterday someone said, I want to make an introduction to one of my clients. Could you send me over a couple of sentences? And I pulled, you know, just phrases and sentences right out of the weave framework. And, you know, said Judy, brings a fresh perspective. Everything you've done in the past is okay, but we're going to take where you are today and visualize and build and share your options so that you can have a beautiful lifetime wealth plan for the rest of your life and into your legacy, you know, couple sentences. But it's it's the framework. It's just so exciting to have that as my foundation now to build from.

Diane Diaz:
That's fantastic. It sounds like, too, the other thing that it did was it helped you just in your own mind to clarify what your core message is, Right? Yeah. That's amazing. Yeah.

Judy Carlson:
It's just not, you know, the tax code or it's just not market conditions or it's just not, you know, rate of return anymore. It's way, it's way above that, but it brings it all together. And like you said, if I do a longer 2 or 3 hour workshop, I just bring in more stories, more content. But the other thing I love is that I share my letter and what it means and, and give some perspective on that. Then share a real life example from one of my clients and experiences and then engage the audience. So I have a worksheet, a three page worksheet that you help me design, that I hand out during my talk, and then I say, you know, write down, Do you know where your money is right now? Write it down. Or like for the everything you've done in the past, what are a couple of things that you're really thankful you made those financial decisions or what things are you maybe not so glad you made those financial decisions. So it gets people thinking about it, but but in a fun way, you know, with with a fun framework.

Diane Diaz:
Yes. And that's and that's what we worked on, too. Just so for people who are listening, that's what's part of that VIP day is not only helping you refine what that framework or acronym is, but also making sure that as we create and work on your signature talk, that it has those layers like audience engagement and stories and examples. And so, so, so let me start by just asking you, what did it what were your expectations going into the VIP day? And then did the experience match up with that or did you have some other sort of revelation from the VIP day? What was that like?

Judy Carlson:
So I was anticipating and very excited for the VIP day and I had absolutely no idea what we were going to accomplish or what the end result was going to be. And I was like, Boy, oh boy, I hope that Diane can really take this somewhere because I have no idea. And I was, Oh, my gosh. I don't even know if I can put into words how to describe the inspiration, the the the pulling together, the the seeing how all the pieces go together. Um, and you you asked me now tell me your story so that when you did that I just rattled on about my story. But then you, you know, just perfectly took little sections of my story and wove it through my entire signature talk so masterfully. And I was concerned that I didn't want to share things that weren't appropriate to my audience. And none of that ever was a problem. It was just so well woven through the story and. I mean, I couldn't believe what I had at the end of it. And when you sent me over the outline to then type up. I'm still stunned. I still look at that and I'm like, wow, that's still that's still what I use every time I'm working on a talk. That that framework, that that template, what you sent over, it's just I've added a few things here and there, but the bulk of it is still exactly the same. And it's like, Oh my gosh, I have a map because I'm a CPA and I need a map. And I had that map. I have that map right now. So that's I love.

Diane Diaz:
I love a map, too. So I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed that process and that you're using that as a guide. And so, um, when you I'm glad that the, the maybe you came into it with like not even any expectations into the day and then it just sort of surpassed whatever those might have even been. Um, how did you, what was your experience like in the Thought Leader Academy? What were your expectations there and what did you get out of that experience? Because of course the VIP day is part of that thought Leader Academy. But then there's the group calls and the trainings and getting feedback from myself and Carol and the other participants. So what was that like?

Judy Carlson:
So every week there was like a mini slide presentation that was all educational and I just soaked it up because I'm a lifelong learner and this is something I haven't ever spent time learning. So I learned it or absorbed what I could during our weekly sessions. But then I had all the materials available to me to go back, reread, study, take notes, see how it was going to fit in to eventually what my signature talk is going to look like. And it was much broader than I thought it was ever going to be taking, you know, you from where you are today to, you know, finding places to speak. And what do you do when you're on the stage or up on the, you know, behind the podium or you're introduced or how do you move and how do you gesture? And so I loved and what do you wear? All of that stuff so important that needs to be part of the entire presentation, I feel. So it was it was so powerful to and the interaction with you and Carol and the other ladies in the in the Thought Leader Academy was just so helpful. And the feedback we got back and forth. It was interesting, too, when there would be a question that Carol would ask and then we would answer right on the spot and, you know, build confidence that, yeah, I can do this. And oh, I do have thoughts that are valuable and valid. So I think the whole the whole thought Leader Academy just brought so much cohesiveness and confidence for me that I can I can go do this.

Diane Diaz:
Oh, I'm so glad to hear that because I think I'm glad you mentioned confidence, too, because that's probably one of the biggest stumbling blocks for most women with regard to speaking is not maybe not having the confidence or not not sure how they're going to manage it or, you know, maybe just a little bit of being self-conscious about being on the stage and and just confidence in the message and the delivery of it and all of those things. And so I think and I hope that through Thought Leader Academy, that's one of the things that does come through is helping thought leader Academy members and graduates to build confidence knowing, okay, you don't have to worry about your talk because that's already been created. You've got your framework, your talk is going to be amazing. And then we do teach you about delivery, stage presence, all of those things. And so hopefully that boosts up the confidence a little bit and let you know that you are ready to go out there to speak. And it's it's interesting, Judy, because you mentioned speaking. You have done in the past, a lot of women come to us saying that they're not speakers and then they will say, I've done webinars and I've spoken to these groups and and then they still say, oh, but I'm not a speaker yet. And I always say, you you are a speaker. You just okay, maybe you need a signature talk, but you are already a speaker.

Diane Diaz:
So, you know, it's just interesting that we we all struggle with that lack of confidence sometimes and, you know, maybe just feeling like either our message isn't powerful enough or our our perspective or maybe the idea we have has already been said but weak in the thought leader academy and through the day we can always get your unique core message out so that we can show your audience when you're speaking your unique perspective on the work that you do. It doesn't mean that you're reinventing financial planning, but you do have a unique message. And your story, Judy, just again, to illustrate the importance of incorporating it into your talk, and I think I said this during the Thought Leader Academy and many of the other women in the group did as well, that your story of having lost everything and then come back from that so many women can identify with some version of that. Right. And so I think that that's a message that will resonate as a financial planner, resonate and build trust with your audience. So incorporating your story, weaving your story into your talk is so important. So I'm so glad that you were willing to share what could be a really vulnerable story with your audience, because I think it's important and will help them connect with you.

Judy Carlson:
Yeah, the underside of my tapestry was very gnarled and knotted, entangled for several years. So, yeah. But I've risen above that and I can see the upper side more than I could when I was in the crisis. And so, yeah, that's a very relevant message in my life and one that's helpful to share. You know, the other thing is, um, as a corporate business woman, I had my finances pretty well under control. And then a stay at home mom, not so much. And not because I wasn't attentive, but I had a big job to do as well. And then going back in and helping people personally, it's been an it's been an interesting thread that's gone through my tapestry from my, you know, days in my career that's encouraging to me. And I like to pass that encouragement along as well to the to the audience.

Diane Diaz:
Well, thank you for being vulnerable enough to share that story with your audience, because I do believe that vulnerability builds trust and people do business with people who they trust. So. That's right. I think that'll go a long way with your with your message and helping the audience to see. How you might be able to help them. So I'm excited for that. So, yeah, that's great. Well, Judy, why don't you tell our audience how they can connect with you if they want to learn more about what you do? Where do you hang out online? Share some information.

Judy Carlson:
Well, thanks, Diane. Yeah, so my website is pretty easy. It's Judy carlson.com and that's.

Diane Diaz:
C a r o n and we'll put these in the show notes as well.

Judy Carlson:
Okay. Sure. Yep. So and then I'm on LinkedIn. Judy Carlson. So that's another place to find me. And yeah, my contact information and information is on my website. I write monthly blogs so you can pop in there and look through some of the more technical information. One thing I really noticed when we were working on our signature talk, Diane, is I kept wanting to gravitate back into the details of the financial lives and the financial systems and the financial knowledge that I have. And it was it was an inner struggle for a while for me to pull myself out of that. And as I've gone back in, because we talked about all the different ways to enhance your talk with maybe a PowerPoint with some slides or some music. And so I dove right in. I love PowerPoints and I put together some slides and I looked through them and I'm like, Man, there you go again. Judy, trying to put something too technical and get out of that and just enjoy and have fun with the the beautiful message, the fun colors, the tapestry. And so my PowerPoint slides are fun and they're colorful and there's a different color for every letter. And I carry that through the whole PowerPoint. But it was a journey and a process to let go and leave behind all that detail financial knowledge I have and maybe bring out little tiny pieces of it in each of the stories that I tell and that kind of satisfied that desire in me to talk about that stuff and more in the context of a story that I've had with a client or an experience in the past.

Diane Diaz:
Well, thank you for sharing that because that is a very common experience for everybody, because we're all experts at what we do and we want to share as much information as possible to help people as much as we can. And then we get into the weeds and then we end up with a presentation that's too long or too hard to digest or too confusing and too technical. And so you could see that that was the experience you were having. But I think you were smart to kind of realize that and like dial it back because that is what you can share with your audience in a workshop or when they work with you, that's when you'll get into the technical things. But telling a story and sharing your philosophy and your perspective on how you work with your clients is what's going to make them want to work with you. So plenty of time for the details, but I think I think you were smart to realize that as you're putting together your slides, it's a very common experience. Yeah.

Judy Carlson:
Thanks.

Diane Diaz:
Yeah. All right, Judy. Well, share with our audience where they can connect with you. Where do you hang out online and where can they reach out for more information?

Judy Carlson:
So I hang out online. I have a website. Judy carlson.com, Judy carlson.com. I'm also on LinkedIn. You can find me on Facebook and I'd love to connect with you and learn your story.

Diane Diaz:
Awesome. Great. Well, thank you so much for coming on the Speaking Your Brand podcast. Thank you for joining our Thought Leader Academy. I truly enjoyed working with you in the Academy and in the VIP day, and thanks for being a guest and sharing your story with our listeners.

Judy Carlson:
You're welcome, Diane, It's a pleasure.

Carol Cox:
I really enjoyed that conversation with Diane and Judy. I hope you did as well and saw how powerful it is to have a well defined message and framework and signature talk to truly put yourself out there and to grow your business and your speaking. And if you haven't already, go back to the episodes that we aired in July, we had three of our thought Leader Academy grads on. We had Karen Keene, Terry DeLuca and Tanya Glebosa. All of these women show the variety of backgrounds, industries, topics, stories, messages that we work with. And even though they all have different topics and messages and stories, the commonality of the women we work with is that they are all purpose driven. They want to make an impact. They want to help and improve their industry, their community and society as a whole. I have a feeling you're just like them. Which is why I invite you to check out our Thought Leader Academy and see if it would be a great fit for the mark that you're looking. To make on your business and in your industry. You can get all the details of speaking your brand.com/academy, and that's speaking your brand.com/academy. Until next time, thanks for listening!

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2 Comments

  1. Cindy Ojczyk on February 14, 2024 at 4:13 pm

    This was a wonderful interview. Thank you, Judy, for the depth of information shared. I’m new to the thought leaders at Speaking Your Brand. I found this very helpful to understand the process and the outcome.

    • Judy Carlson on February 16, 2024 at 10:02 am

      Hi Cindy, you are most welcome. Congrats on joining forces with Carol and Diane and the Thought Leader Academy. I believe you will find so much value working with this team. They are fabulous.

      I just sent you a connection request through LinkedIn and noticed you are in the Twin Cities. I grew up in Rochester, MN, and spent 35 years in the Mpls area before moving to northern WI and then out here to the South Denver area 12 years ago 🙂 Love my Minnesota peeps!

      Thank you for your kind comments and I wish you the very best!

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