Public Speaking
You Don’t Need More Speaking Topics. You Need a Clearer Idea.
If you want more speaking referrals and bookings, you need more than a broad subject or a list of possible presentation topics. You need a clear idea: a specific, supportable point of view that another person can understand, remember, and repeat. I’ve been reviewing my recent consultation calls, and the same challenge keeps coming up.…
Read MoreHow an I.D.E.A., Not a Topic, Makes You Easier to Refer, Pitch, and Book with Carol Cox: Podcast Ep. 483
When someone asks what you speak about, do you give them one clear answer – or a list that includes a bunch of keywords like leadership, communication, resilience, confidence, and change? I understand the temptation to include everything. When you’ve had a long career, narrowing your message can feel like leaving out valuable parts of…
Read MoreThe Questions Experts Stop Asking and Why Their Talks Need Them
The more expertise you have, the easier it is to stop being curious about your own topic. You know the common questions, the expected answers, and the examples people in your industry usually give. You may be able to explain the subject clearly and still miss the part that would make an audience lean in.…
Read MorePublic Speaking Workshop for Women in Orlando: Build Confidence, Calm Your Nerves, and Speak Without a Script
You know your material. You have valuable experience, strong ideas, and a message worth sharing. But when it is time to stand in front of a room, something changes. Your heart starts beating faster. You worry that you will forget what you planned to say. You grip your notes a little more tightly than you…
Read MoreExpertise Alone Doesn’t Get You Booked as a Speaker – Here’s What Does: Podcast Ep. 481
You finish your presentation and people come up to tell you how valuable it was. They say, “You really know your stuff.” The event organizer thanks you. You may even get great feedback on the evaluation forms. But then nothing happens. No one contacts you about another speaking opportunity. You don’t get the referrals you…
Read MoreThe Expert Trap: Why Smart, Capable Speakers Stay Stuck Giving Useful Talks That Don’t Lead to Bigger Opportunities
If you’ve ever given a presentation and gotten great feedback – “That was so valuable,” “I learned so much,” “I wish we had more time” – but then nothing really happened afterward, you may be caught in what I call the Expert Trap. The Expert Trap is what happens when your expertise becomes the place…
Read MoreFrom Workshop Leader to National Conference Speaker: Corrin McCloskey’s Thought Leadership Journey: Podcast Ep. 480
If you love facilitating workshops and trainings, but you know there’s something more you want to say, this episode is for you. My guest is Corrin McCloskey, a healthcare executive, speaker, writer, and facilitator who has made the leap from being a fabulous facilitator into a true thought leader. Corrin joined us in Thought Leader…
Read MoreWhy Marketing Professionals Need Executive Presence and Storytelling Skills
Marketing professionals are exceptional communicators—or at least that’s what everyone assumes. After all, marketers spend their days crafting messaging, building campaigns, telling brand stories, and persuading customers. So why do so many marketing teams struggle when it’s time to present their own ideas? Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to work with corporate…
Read MoreIs Your Talk an Oak Tree or a Palm Tree?
Here’s something I see a lot with smart women who have a deep body of expertise: They know a lot. They’ve had a lot of experiences. They’ve worked with different kinds of clients, studied different approaches, developed different frameworks, and collected all kinds of stories and examples over the years. So when it’s time to…
Read More3 Ways AI Can Hurt Your Public Speaking, and 3 Ways It Can Help with Carol Cox: Podcast Ep. 479
I love using AI, and I use it almost every day. But when it comes to thought leadership, talks, and presentations, I’ve also seen how easy it is for AI to pull us into a new version of the Expert Trap. In this episode, I’m sharing three things to be careful about when using…
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