336: Go from a Good Speaker to a Great Speaker with These 5 Lessons from 'Hamilton' with Carol Cox

This episode airs the week of our 4th of July holiday in the United States, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to re-air one of my favorite episodes.

If you want to go from being a good speaker to a great one, there are key elements to infuse into your content and delivery.

Three years ago, during the July 4th holiday weekend of 2020, I was at home with not much to do since we were all still in the throes of the COVID-19 social distancing.

Luckily, that weekend, “Hamilton: The Musical” (filmed from the Broadway production) aired on Disney+.

I was instantly transfixed.

I knew I would like the play, but didn’t realize I was going to love it.

In this episode, I talk about “Hamilton” the play and the production and what we can learn from it as speakers.

Why study the play?

After all, as speakers, we’re not acting in a play or singing in a musical. We’re speaking to grow our audiences, build our businesses, generate leads, get paid.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen a lot of so-so and boring presentations.

Your presentations shouldn’t be flat - they can be fun and engaging and they should be layered - and speak to universal themes.

In this episode, I share what I saw as I watched “Hamilton” as well as what I learned from reading the amazing book called “Hamilton: The Revolution” that gives behind the scenes of the creation and production of the musical.

You can listen to this episode whether you’ve seen Hamilton or not. If you haven’t, this episode will hopefully inspire you to watch it!

(This episode originally aired in November 2020 as episode 197. It’s a must-listen!)

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/336/

Book “Hamilton: The Revolution” = https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Revolution-Lin-Manuel-Miranda/dp/1455539740/

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

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 195: Our Opening and Closing Speeches from Our Brave. Bold. Beyond. Summit with Carol Cox and Diane Diaz
• Episode 185: My Journey as a Thought Leader & How We're Evolving at Speaking Your Brand with Carol Cox

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.

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