388: What Makes a Stand-Out Conference Speaking Proposal and Presentation with Cathy McPhillips

Many conferences get hundreds of speaker submissions. How can you make yours stand out so it gets selected?

Then, once you do get selected, how do you make sure you deliver an engaging presentation at the conference?

That’s what I talk about with my guest Cathy McPhillips, who is Chief Growth Officer at the Marketing AI Institute.

Along with the virtual events they host year-round, they also host an in-person conference called MAICON, which I spoke at in 2023.

I invited Cathy on the show to share with us:

• Her background and what brought her to the Marketing AI Institute
• How Cathy and the team select speakers for MAICON and their other events
• What they look for in speaker submissions
• What makes a great speaker at their events (based on audience feedback)
• Tips she has for the listeners who want to speak at conferences
• >What they’re doing at the Marketing AI Institute and you can get involved

About My Guest: Cathy McPhillips is Chief Growth Officer at the Marketing AI Institute, overseeing marketing, growth, and customer experience, including MAICON and AI Academy for Marketers. Previously, Cathy led marketing at Content Marketing Institute and Content Marketing World, managed community growth for Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, and owned her own strategic digital marketing business. She started her career at two Cleveland advertising agencies. Cathy was an Ohio University Jerry L. Sloan Visiting Professional in Public Relations, is a Folio: Top Women in Media, and a MarTechExec Woman You Need to Know in Martech.

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/388/

Marketing AI Institute: www.marketingaiinstitute.com

The Artificial Intelligence Show podcast: https://www.marketingaiinstitute.com/podcast-showcase

Discover your Speaker Archetype by taking our free quiz at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/quiz/

Connect on LinkedIn:

• Carol Cox = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox
• Cathy McPhillips (guest) = https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathymcphillips

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 245: How to Get Selected as a Speaker by Event Organizers with Sarah Soliman
• Episode 342: I Almost Got Stuck in the Expert Trap: How I Created My Recent Successful Conference Presentation

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