011: [Coaching] Creating and Preparing for a Keynote Presentation with LuAnn Nigara

We're going behind-the-scenes to look at what it’s really like to prepare and deliver a keynote.

Keynotes are meant to be inspirational and aspirational, which is different from a standard business presentation or breakout session where you’re sharing tactical, step-by-step things that people can do.

In a keynote, you want to take the audience on a journey, weaving in your own stories and experiences, and sharing with them your big idea.

In this episode, I talk with one of my clients, LuAnn Nigara, and we do a debrief of the keynote she recently gave at a large industry conference.

You’ll hear about the process we went through to create the speech, how LuAnn felt on stage, and LuAnn shares with us some things she would do differently. I knew she would nail her keynote - and she did!

You’ll love LuAnn’s energy - she was a lot of fun to work with and to have on the show.

Let me tell you about LuAnn’s background: She is an award-winning window treatment authority, host of one of the most popular podcasts for the design industry, A Well-Designed Business, and overall business dynamo. She has a multi-million-dollar window treatment business in New Jersey, which has serviced over 24,000 customers over the past 35 years.

Be sure to subscribe to the show if you haven’t already. I have more training and coaching calls coming up, including on TEDx talks and pitching the media, so this way you’ll automatically get the new episodes.

And share this episode with a friend, especially if you know someone who will be doing a keynote or wants to in the future.

Highlights:

• Why LuAnn was invited to do a keynote
• How LuAnn prepared for the keynote, starting 3 months ahead of time until a few days before
• What LuAnn felt like she needed the most help
• How LuAnn and I worked together to create her message and keynote speech
• How LuAnn decided to start her keynote
• Lessons she learned and what she would do differently next time
• LuAnn’s decision to memorize her talk and how she went about doing that
• The importance of really knowing your transitions between sections
• The feedback she received after her keynote
• The core message from LuAnn’s keynote

Links:

Connect with LuAnn on her website at http://windowworks-nj.com

LuAnn’s podcast A Well-Designed Business = http://windowworks-nj.com/podcasts/

Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/luannnigara/

Twitter = https://twitter.com/WindowWorks_NJ

I was on LuAnn’s podcast, A Well-Designed Business, in episode 140, to celebrate her 1 year podcast anniversary: http://windowworks-nj.com/luann-nigara-2/

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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