312: My Top Tips to Make Your Talks Memorable with Carol Cox

In the trends for 2023 episode I did 2 weeks ago, trend #3 was about the return and resurgence of in-person activities and events, which means more in-person speaking opportunities.

(Btw, if you haven’t listened to the trends episode 310 yet, definitely do so. I’ve received great feedback from listeners and I’m going to be talking about each of the trends more in depth in future episodes.)

When new women join our Thought Leader Academy, I ask them to share what they liked to do when they were young and most of them loved performing, whether in school plays, singing, or dancing.

There’s definitely a connection between speaking and performance.

However, once we start speaking for our business, we don’t see the connection between speaking and performing and we miss out on bringing performance elements into our presentations and speeches.

You don’t need to sing and dance - unless you want to! - but there are things you can do to create a more immersive and memorable experience for your audience.

At the end, I’ll share an embarrassing moment from a high school performance I was in.

In this episode, I talk about:

• Different types of performances
• Why we love attending performances
• The importance of synchrony and collective effervescence as humans
• My top tips you can do as a speaker to incorporate performance elements - and the benefits of doing so

If you would like to work together to improve your in-person speaking skills, we are hosting our 3-day speaking intensive in Orlando at the end of February 2023. Get all the details at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/retreat/.

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 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/312/

New York Times article by Adam Grant: “There’s a Specific Kind of Joy We’ve Been Missing”

Attend our in-person client retreat speaking intensive: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/retreat/

Join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/academy/

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 310: Trends in Public Speaking and Thought Leadership for 2023 with Carol Cox
• Episode 197: What We Can Learn as Speakers from ‘Hamilton’ with Carol Cox
• Episode 244: Behind the Scenes of My Recent Keynote with Carol Cox
• Episode 245: How to Get Selected as a Speaker by Event Organizers with Sarah Soliman
• Episode 246: Audience Engagement Strategies for In-Person Speaking with Ramona J. Smith

Become Bookable Live Online Workshop - April 15, 2026
If you want to speak more but you’re not sure where to start or your efforts haven’t produced the results you want, I’m hosting a live online workshop called “Become Bookable: How to Get Speaking Invitations” on Wednesday, April 15th.

A lot of brilliant women assume they just need to pitch themselves more. But the real reason speakers get invited isn’t because they pitch harder — it’s because they’re positioned as bookable.

In this 3-hour interactive workshop live on Zoom, I’ll show you how speakers actually get invited — and help you clarify the positioning that makes event organizers say yes.

As a podcast listener, use the coupon code “Podcast100” to save $100 on your registration.

Learn more and register at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/bookable