249: Add Performance Elements to Your Speaking with Carol Cox

We’ve been doing a series on in-person speaking, as more conferences and events return to in-person.

Today, I’m talking about the relationship between speaking and performance.

This episode was prompted by one of our Thought Leader Academy calls from a few weeks ago. I asked each woman to tell us what she liked to do when she was 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
• Specific things you can do as a speaker to incorporate performance elements - and the benefits of doing so

This episode is part of the series we’ve been doing on In-Person Speaking: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/podcast/in-person-speaking/.

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/249

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

Download our FREE workbook on how to position yourself as a thought leader: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/guide/.

Schedule a consult call with us to talk about creating your signature talk and thought leadership platform: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/contact.

Connect on social:

• Carol on LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox
• Carol on Instagram= https://www.instagram.com/carolmorgancox
• SYB on YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS7AtXV0f_HL09mepAON65w

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 197: What We Can Learn as Speakers from ‘Hamilton’ with Carol Cox [Storytelling Series]
• 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