Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

We believe that every presentation, whether internal or external, at a conference or at a board meeting, has the power to shift how your audience views a topic and the positive changes that can come as a result. It’s not just about delivering...

Show Notes

We believe that every presentation, whether internal or external, at a conference or at a board meeting, has the power to shift how your audience views a topic and the positive changes that can come as a result.

It’s not just about delivering information – it’s about shifting perspectives, sparking new ideas, and inspiring action.

This episode is the audio from a live show we did with two of our recent Thought Leader Academy grads: Dr. Bonnie Boles and Denise Cárdenas López. 

Both Bonnie and Denise are executives at companies and often present both internally to team members as well as externally at conferences and to groups. 

When we worked with them in a VIP Day to create their signature talk as part of the Thought Leader Academy, we kept both of these audiences in mind. 

You’ll get to hear Bonnie and Denise deliver a 10-minute version of their new signature talk.

We also have a roundtable discussion about what they’ve learned from being in the Thought Leader Academy and what’s next for them as speakers and thought leaders.

 

Links: 

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/437/ 

Watch the video at https://youtube.com/live/FuUSOnXMYPg

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

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

 

Connect on LinkedIn:

Related Podcast Episodes:

 


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What is Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies?

It's time to escape the expert trap and become an in-demand speaker and thought leader through compelling and memorable business presentations, keynotes, workshops, and TEDx talks. If you want to level up your public speaking to get more and better, including paid, speaking engagements, you've come to the right place! Thousands of entrepreneurs and leaders have learned from Speaking Your Brand and now you can too through our episodes that will help you with storytelling, audience engagement, building confidence, handling nerves, pitching to speak, getting paid, and more. Hosted by Carol Cox, entrepreneur, speaker, and TV political analyst. This is your place to learn how to persuasively communicate your message to your audience.

I think corporate presentations have to be

boring and not the way we do them.

Here are two of our recent Thought Leader

Academy grads share versions of their new

signature talks on this episode of the

Speaking Your Brand podcast.

More and more women are making an impact by

starting businesses, running for office and

speaking up for what matters.

With my background as a TV political analyst,

entrepreneur, and speaker,

I interview and coach purpose driven women to

shape their brands, grow their companies,

and become recognized as influencers in their

field. This is speaking your brand,

your place to learn how to persuasively

communicate your message to your audience.

Welcome everyone to backstage at Speaking

Your Brand. I'm Diane Diaz,

lead speaking coach at Speaking Your Brand.

Yesterday, you had the opportunity to hear

from three of our recent Thought Leader

Academy graduates. And today I am super

excited to bring you two more graduates from

our recent Thought Leader Academy program.

They are going to share with you for the very

first time, live anywhere.

The first ten minutes of their talk that they

worked on with us during their time in the

Thought Leader Academy.

You know, I often hear from women that I meet

that I chat with that either they'll either

say I'm not really a speaker because they

only speak internally to their teams,

or that since they are speaking on behalf of

the corporation they work for,

that their personal story shouldn't really be

part of that. And like, why would I include

my personal story? Well,

today you're in for a treat because our

thought leader Academy grads are going to

share with you their talks that not only

incorporate personal stories,

but also are for speaking that they're doing

internally to teams.

And so you'll see how you can use the

framework that we use to create talks,

whether you're speaking inside your company

to internal teams, outside,

at conferences, to small groups or wherever.

But these talks work for all those different

types of audiences, so you are in for a real

treat today. Now, as you watch our Thought

Leader Academy grads deliver their talks,

look for the stories, listen for how they are

using frameworks and just how they're

generally delivering the message that really

resonates with an audience to move them to

action. All right, so let me introduce who we

have here with us today.

First we have, um, Denise,

go get my tongue together where I can speak.

We have Denise Cardenas Lopez and Denise is a

technology and innovation executive.

And then we have doctor Bonnie Boles,

who is senior vice president and chief

medical information officer at Tanner health.

Now, I will first welcome to the stage

doctor, Bonnie Boles.

Bonnie, take it away.

Thanks, Diane. It's great to be here.

Today I'm going to talk about a feeling that

most of us are experiencing.

And that's a feeling of being completely

overwhelmed by new technology.

At the same time that we're completely

overwhelmed. A lot of us are very excited

about new technology.

All of the new technology coming to us today

has artificial intelligence.

So we're going to talk about breathe,

slow down beta, start small and build.

Build your team so that you can successfully

address all the new technology.

And if you're worried about AI taking your

job, we're going to hear a story about robots

getting the pink slip.

I'm Bonnie Boles, chief medical information

officer at Tanner health.

We go by the acronym CMI.

And if you're wondering what a cameo does.

You're not alone.

My parents wonder what a CMO does.

They said, wait, you went to medical school?

And what are you doing now?

You aren't really seeing patients.

So this is a role that is a liaison or a

bridge between health care information

technology and the clinical world.

And as a medical doctor,

we know the clinical side.

As a CMO, we learn and have help with our

teams on the technology side,

and we try to bridge that gap.

So I'm going to share principles that I've

learned, making the transition from an ICU

doctor to a healthcare technology worker,

because in the ICU, there's no time to go to

the bathroom, much less breathe.

There's no time to beta.

There's no time to build teams and consensus.

You have to take care of patients in the

moment and what's right there in front of

you. So I hope that sharing three principles

and lessons learned will help you when you

are addressing the onslaught of new

technology. So many of you are familiar with

the Roger innovation.

Roger's innovation adoption curve.

And it's fascinating that the smallest

percentage. Is innovators and early adopters.

And then equal to those two groups are the

laggards. And crossing that chasm between

innovation and early adopters to get your

majority buying in a new technology can be

super challenging.

And then the laggards often are thought to be

a completely lost cause.

I myself must confess that I was a laggard.

But more about that later.

We're going to get to principle number one.

And that is slow down to go fast.

We know the story of the tortoise and the

hare and we know how that turned out.

Slowing down the go fast allows you to really

think about and address the problem that

you're trying to solve,

and sometimes, more importantly,

to look at the resources that you have to

solve that problem.

And often during this phase of looking at new

technology, we have to tell our teams.

The answer is not no.

We don't want you to implement that new

technology or have that.

The answer is yes.

Comma. Yes.

Comma. If yes.

If we have the resources or yes.

Comma. When when we finish the other 15

projects that we have going on right now.

Because sometimes going fast is a recipe for

failure. So I'm going to tell a story about

my mom that I hope ties in that principle of

slowing down to go fast.

Does anybody remember this hungry,

hungry Hippo game?

I may be aging myself,

but this was a game that we like to play.

You press that lever and advance the mouth of

the hippo to try to grab those marbles.

Well, little did I know,

until my niece had a graduation party and my

sister thought it would be a great idea to do

this. There is an adult version of the

Hungry, Hungry Hippo game.

It's a giant inflatable.

And adults actually strap themselves to a

bungee type cord and run out and try to get

to the center of that giant inflatable and

grab those marbles or the little balls to win

the game. It's quite challenging,

and the bungee cord is pulling you back and

you're bumping into one another.

My mom is the joy of our family,

the glue that holds our family together.

She rides bikes with her grandkids,

plays basketball, gets on the floor with her

great grandkids.

The hungry, hungry hippo, however, was a

little challenging.

Mom decided she wanted to play,

had a great time, but towards the end of the

game she experienced a knee injury,

so that sidelined her mom.

And this is where she ended up in a hospital

bed after a knee replacement for underlying

arthritis. That the injury just really

highlighted. So the good news is because of

the great shape that my mom was in.

She did well with surgery.

She did so well with recovery.

She was up and ambulatory after surgery.

She passed all the milestones to be

discharged home.

The bad news was the nurses who were very,

very busy were not able to discharge her.

They came and told her they had the discharge

order. They were ready to send her home,

but they needed to go at MIT.

A couple of patients who had been waiting,

and it would take at least two hours or more.

So my mom looked very discouraged.

The whole family was upset because everyone

is more comfortable at home.

But the nurse said, you can go home.

If yes, you can go home,

comma, if you'll let our virtual nurses do

your discharge. My mom said absolutely.

Bring it on. Let's do it.

So the screen in her room became a two way

video audio, and the virtual nurse went over

my mom's surgery, her post-op course,

the expectations, her physical therapy plan

and follow up, her medications,

her new medications.

And my mom was discharged in less than 30

minutes. This highlighted to me the just the

epitome of innovation,

making a huge difference for patients and for

the nursing staff.

Now, the sad thing is that I realized that

the nurses at Tanner health,

where I work, have been begging for this

technology they wanted implemented yesterday,

but we currently don't have the resources and

the staff to successfully implement this

because of all the other competing projects.

So what I have learned to continue to

leverage the technology and keep the team

excited about what's coming is to teach them

about slowing down to go fast and

understanding that while we have a problem

we're trying to solve, and that is

discharging patients in a timely manner.

We aren't quite there yet with the resources.

In addition to the influencers and champions,

which is principal we get to later.

So slowing down to go fast is the first

lesson learned. The second lesson is start

with a pilot.

Start small beta something.

Start with a pilot.

Pilot don't plunge is what I like to tell the

team. There are a lot of pilots happening in

healthcare with new technology.

There are a lot of robotic things happening,

and there are robots and hospitals that are

being deployed to deliver supplies,

deliver blood, deliver telemetry boxes,

deliver labs to the lab,

medications to the bedside,

keeping the nurse at the bedside,

hospital robots and one health system save

the staff 14 million steps over a year.

But those kinds of technologies need to be

piloted so that they can be tweaked and

improved. Because what you don't want to

happen is for a robot to go rogue in real

time. So there was a large health care system

with 19 floors and 90 robots,

and their robots had a traffic jam trying to

get in the elevator, and they all came to a

complete standstill.

The good news is this was a pilot before the

hospital was occupied.

So by the time the hospital opened and they

actually had patients and staff,

they had worked out those problems with the

robots. Not so much for a hotel in Nagasaki,

Japan. The Han Na Hotel,

which translation means strange hotel.

They had robots checking guests in,

taking their information.

They even had robots that were concierges

that would respond to the guest requests,

that would deliver things to the rooms,

help get the luggage to the rooms.

But what they found was those concierge

robots mistook snoring for a cry for help or

a security problem, and they banged on the

door in the middle of the night,

waking guests up because of the snoring.

And so this pilot, this was not piloted.

If they piloted these robots,

they may have avoided that problem by

realizing the robots needed to be

reprogrammed.

Not to think that snoring was a call for

help. So those robots got the pink slip.

So the second principle is start with the

pilot. The third principle is find your

influencers and champions.

And remember, I told you that I must confess

that I was a laggard AI when we went from

paper to the electronic medical record.

Years ago, I was not very happy with that and

did not want to participate.

This was not me on the left.

I was not a happy camper.

I am the doctor on the right that wanted to

throw the whole kit and caboodle out the

window. In fact, the person that was trying

to help me and train me told me that if she

heard one more cuss word come out of my

mouth, she was going to call my mother.

So much. To my complete surprise and

amazement, I was asked to be the physician

champion for the transition from paper to the

electronic health record.

And you can imagine that I said,

you have got to be kidding me,

I hate this.

But thinking back to the innovation adoption

curve, the goal is to take some of those

laggards and make them your champions.

If you can get those to be your influencers

and combine them with your early adopters and

innovators, you're going to win over that

majority much more easily.

And more importantly, you're going to pull

those laggards along.

So there is hope for laggards.

I am living proof that there is hope for

laggards. So your call to action,

when faced with this new technology that

we're all being bombarded with,

is breathe.

Slow down to go fast.

Beta pilot.

Don't plunge. Build.

Find your influencers,

your champions.

And those are the people that will help you

take that pilot to the next level for a

successful implementation,

and then for successful scaling of whatever

new technology that you're looking to

implement. And whatever you do,

don't stay at a hotel with robots that are

concierges until you find the answer to the

question whether they think snoring should be

extinguished. And watch yourself on adult

hungry, Hungry Hippos,

because those are a recipe for knee injuries.

Thank you.

Oh my gosh Bonnie, that was fan tastic.

And I noted I will not be playing hungry

Adult Hungry Hungry Hippo because I don't

need a knee injury. That was so good.

How did that feel for you?

I feel great.

Good, good. And, uh, I know you said at the

beginning that you were a little bit nervous,

but that did not come through at all.

How did it did it feel nervous,

or did you feel confident or how did.

What are your thoughts?

Um, I think once I get past the first few

sentences, then I don't feel nervous.

But there's a little bit of a brain block

with the first few sentences like, wait,

what was I? Why? How did I want to open?

I practiced this, I know this,

but once that hurdle is overcome,

then the rest of it was I felt less nervous.

Yes, I.

Think, I think.

Yeah. Go ahead.

I think I talk really fast also.

So I was really trying not to talk so fast.

I got great advice from my team.

I practiced with my team and they said,

hey, look at your look at your first

principal. I said, what do you mean? They

said, breathe. You're not breathing.

So that was great advice.

That is such good advice.

Well, you definitely implemented it because I

didn't. I felt like you had exactly the right

pacing. So I know most of us,

it's a really good point because most of us

have a tendency to speak really quickly.

I think because we are a little bit nervous

and then we just rush through it.

But you really pause in the right places and

you took your time and let the stories

unfold, and you did a great job.

It looks like you have some fans watching.

So wonderful, wonderful doctor B,

fantastic job from Ty N Davis.

So I don't know if any of these names are

familiar. Yeah. So, uh,

Mau Mau is on.

She said fantastic presentation.

Carol's on. She said.

That was awesome, Bonnie.

So well done.

So we'll get to some more questions for you

in just a minute. So sit tight.

Now we're going to welcome to the stage

Denise Cardenas Lopez,

go ahead and take it away Denise.

Thank you Diane.

It is great to be here and sharing for the

first time part of my talk.

So I want to start today by introducing you

to three figures.

You might not recognize them from their

silhouettes or even their names Tabatha,

Tabatha Babbitt, Mary Anderson,

and Josephine Cochran.

They didn't wait for permission to innovate.

They didn't wait for the perfect conditions

they observed.

They acted.

They changed the world in their own way.

We will come back to them later,

but they represent what I'm about to share.

They saw problems differently.

And this is how we solve big challenges.

Not with the perfect plan,

but with someone who dares to see the problem

differently. Someone who asks what if this

could be better?

And that question and that curiosity is where

innovation begins.

It is a question every one of us can ask.

And when I think about the courage to

challenge the status quo,

I am reminded that even today,

many of us working in energy and nuclear are

still misunderstood.

And it is still amazes me how different the

perception is from the reality.

So when people hear that I work in nuclear,

the reactions are priceless.

Some friends think that I am a mad scientist.

Is sparks flying everywhere in a secret love?

My kids, they imagine I am a superhero,

scientist and engineer,

saving the world one atom at a time.

And some people they imagine.

I spend my days next to a giant red button

mark. Do not press or perhaps glowing in the

dark at night.

But the truth is, just like these pioneering

women, that the work that we do is far more

powerful and much more human.

We solve problems that matter.

We work with complexity and we are building

the future. And I have seen that up close.

Over the last 20 years,

I have led teams through major engineering

programs working on highly regulated

industry, not just building capability,

but building people.

Today, I serve as Vice President for a

strategic capability and integrated delivery

at momentum, which means I help shape how we

grow talent, how we connect technical

expertise and deliver with purpose across our

international programs.

So what I'm sharing today,

although, will be a simple Concept.

It is built on lessons that come from leading

in with complexity.

And of course, the challenges that we face

are in small.

So across the world we are struggling to

solve what is not known as the energy

trilemma, which is how do we deliver energy

that is secured, that is sustainable and that

is equitable all at once.

So energy security means know that we have

the lights on even when the demand on energy

is high, or at times that are uncertain.

Sustainability means using resources wisely

and protecting the planet for future

generations, and equity means making sure

everyone, not just the wealthiest or most

developed, can access clean, reliable energy.

So balancing all those three is not just a

technical challenge is a leadership

challenge. And this is why this concept of

the power trio comes in and in all the

challenges I have worked on,

one thing has become crystal clear as that

within the energy industry engineering

industry, we do not lack ambition,

but we often lack is an integrated approach

and that is the shift that we need to make.

So in 2020, as I work major projects and I

led teams through very complex,

complex change and including the pandemic

pandemic, I felt the need to create a model

that could help us think and grow and lead

differently. And that is how the SSIS model

or the power trio of growth and economic

impact was born and is built on three

essential lenses sustainability,

innovation and UN skills.

So in ways that they are collaborative and so

that we integrate value that lasts.

I will take you today through the first

pillar and maybe a high level on the second

pillar as well.

So sustainability is just not only about the

climate targets and carbon reduction,

which is really important.

It is that I add a different or an additional

lens. One is building sustainable careers

where people can grow,

where they can thrive and feel that their

work matters.

It is about sustainable organizations.

So one that ones that give more,

that they take and that contribute to their

communities and the broader economy.

And yes, it is about a sustainable planet

where our innovation support that

environmental restoration and not just

efficiency. So one of the moments that really

cemented for me the importance of what I now

call the Power trio, was a project that I led

to secure a nuclear site license for our

waste processing facility,

and for those outside the nuclear sector.

Asi license is a government approval,

a legal approval that allows a nuclear

facility to operate and is really complex,

multiple stakeholders.

But it is about trust to bring all these

people together and the challenges that that

come with that.

It is about national security and the long

term impact. And this was the first time in

over 15 years that a license had been granted

for an operational nuclear site in the UK.

So through that experience,

I really saw how powerful this power trio is,

embedding sustainability not only to manage

that risk, but really connect with the work

with the community.

That was extremely important.

All the stakeholders but the community and

the people, it was really at the center of

it. Then we applied innovation and navigating

that challenging regulation,

and we also invested in the skills,

created local jobs, build internal capability

and preparing people to operate this new

site. So we deliver great measure,

like a great value, measurable value to the

UK taxpayer.

We secure long term national capability,

and we enable the business also to grow with

confidence. And this idea of the long term

integrated impact is really important.

So we have a global responsibility.

And as Damilola Ogunyemi,

CEO of Sustainable Energy for all,

remind us, developed countries must do more

to support emerging economies on the path to

a greener future.

And that is exactly where this model or or

this model of growth and economic impact

matters. Because when we lead through that

lens, we deliver that value that is shared,

that is a skill and can be lasting.

The second pillar, I won't go in in deep,

but it is innovation.

And innovation is not always about the

breakthrough inventions or the newest tools.

It's about the courage to see things

differently, to be curious.

And it starts with observation.

It goes through creation,

looking for better processes,

new ways of working and and succeeds through

collaboration.

But more than the technology is about the

mindset as well.

And that is how we accelerate progress.

I wanted to share with you just a little bit

about a little bit about the technology I.

These are here the next generation nuclear

technologies that they are designed to be

smaller, safer and more flexible so we can

bring clean energy to more places faster.

And the teams that I lead are actively

involved in these advancements.

There is I also have doctor.

I can't see her name right now and it escapes

me. But our biggest challenge,

she's a former secretary in working with Doe

in the US. And she reminds us that right now,

our biggest single source of clean

electricity in this country is nuclear.

And this is not the case only in the US,

but in countries like the UK.

So this is model coming back to this model.

There are three parts or three legs of this

framework. And if one leg is missing,

the whole structure becomes unstable.

But if we think about them together,

we can create some something that Stan can

stand the test of time.

So now I want to.

I want you to imagine the future where every

home has access to clean,

affordable energy no matter where you live or

what you wear.

Your postcode is how we say in the UK.

Imagine a workforce where young people,

especially girls, see engineering and science

not as a distant career but as a place where

they belong and they can thrive and imagine

decisions made today by governments,

by business and leaders that don't just solve

short term problems, but look at a safer

planet and fair planet for the next

generation. So there is two simple actions I

love for you, our audience,

to take first in the next 48 hours.

Have a conversation with someone,

a colleague, a friend,

your child about the kind of legacy you want

to leave, and I want you to name it and own

it. And the second action is to take one

challenge you are facing.

Big or small, and apply this power through

your lens to it.

It can be in your home or can be in your

work. Where is the sustainability gap?

Where might there be an innovation blind

spot? And is there a skills opportunity for

you or for someone around you?

And sometimes the shift to start with just

asking better questions.

So now I want to go back where we started.

Do we know these women?

So Tabatha Babbitt, some men wasting effort.

She saw the two To my two men.

So only going in one direction.

So invented. She invented a circular saw.

Mary Anderson watched drivers struggle in the

rain. So she created the windshield wiper and

Josephine Cochran.

So dishes being chipped and built the

dishwasher. So they simply saw something that

wasn't working and believed it could be

better. And now we face that same kind of

challenge because we need energy that is

clean, reliable and fair,

and people are right to ask questions.

Nuclear can feel distant and sometimes even

scary. But the truth is,

we need a stable, low carbon energy source

that works and nuclear can give us that

backbone. And while I speak from nuclear in

this talk, because I work in this sector and

we needed this lens of the power trio can be

applied anywhere.

So sustainability, innovation and skills are

not just for engineers.

So for scientists they are how we move

forward in any sector,

any system, any challenge.

Because in a world that is fast moving,

interconnected, uncertain us today,

these aren't just good ideas.

They are how we need to to lead,

how we build, and how we shape what is next

together. So thank you very much for

listening. And if the message resonated with

you, and if you are leading change or you

want to know more about nuclear or simply

questioning how you can do things better,

I will love to connect.

Thank you.

Oh, Denise, that was so good,

I was riveted.

I love all the facts that you included.

They support what you were talking about and

then the stories were good as well.

How did it feel for you?

Thank you. It feel good,

I try to adopt it at the last minute just to

share more relevant or give a little bit of

more information to our audience.

As the talk was intended for women in

nuclear, the examples can be personal but are

also more technical.

So yes, I am very pleased to have the

opportunity to share with you.

Yeah, good. Well, you did great and both of

you did amazingly.

Um, so let's go into our our roundtable

discussion and I want to pose some questions

to you now. We'll start with you,

Denise. You just mentioned that you would

adapted your talk for a more,

let's say, generic audience versus

specifically towards women and nuclear.

And that's the beauty of this signature talk

framework that we use to create your talk.

So, um, how did it feel you and I actually

worked together? Uh, I don't even remember

how long ago it was now,

but. So we worked together in a VIP day.

On your talk.

And you did create it with a specific

audience in mind, which was women in nuclear

and I believe. Have you given this talk?

I think you have. Yes.

No, I will do it in July.

We initially so going through the VIP was

fantastic. And we originally,

if you remember, because it was a while ago

we create I wanted to create a talk for women

in senior leadership because of the lack of

diversity in decision making.

And as we talk, I talk about this framework

that I had created and what we what you

convinced me and what we decided really,

is that any other talks and the work that I

do is at the intersectionality of

sustainability and innovation and skills and

that any other talk could really fall from

that framework. And I'm very pleased because

I was encouraged by you to apply to speak,

and I got accepted to deliberate.

And so for everybody watching,

that is the power of applying.

You will never know if you don't just do it.

And so when you especially when you work with

us at speaking your brand,

we are always going to push you to apply for

those things, even if you don't think you'll

get it. Because this is what can happen is

you actually find out,

oh, we actually do want you to come speak to

us. So that's fantastic.

Um, now, Bonnie, I know that you have spoken.

I believe now you worked with Carol.

Of course, uh, on that talk.

But I think you gave that talk internally.

Did you? Yes. And tell me,

how did that go?

Uh, it went well. I got great feedback,

and it was to a large group of nurses,

and I think it was I've given a lot of talks

over my career at Tanner,

and I think it was one of the top 2 or 3

talks just felt more natural,

and the framework really helped a lot.

And it was fun to tell more personal stories

and be a little more vulnerable.

And I think it kept everyone's attention

better.

Yes, I love that. I'm glad you mentioned

that, because my my next question was going

to be about these stories,

because I know that it can feel, especially

when we're giving talks internally to a team

for a company that we work for,

but also for speaking at a conference.

It can feel weird to incorporate personal

stories into something that's more a

professional setting.

But. So, Bonnie, when you worked with Carol,

I know she she, of course,

you know, made sure and encouraged you to

include personal stories.

Did it feel strange at first?

Did you? Were you unsure about it?

What was. What were you thinking?

Yeah. Great question. It did feel strange at

first. And, um, but, you know,

the the VIP day was, as you all pointed out,

the time flew by and it was just fascinating

to just have a conversation with Carol and

then have her come up with a framework for a

talk. To the point that I said,

oh, wow. Could you just please give my talk?

So, um, yes, it feels a little strange at

first, but then as I saw my classmates doing

it and I realized how relevant it was to the

topic I was talking about,

then it just felt natural.

And then the more we've practiced,

and the more tips and tricks you all have

given us, it just got easier.

And now it feels like,

how could you not? Because it really captures

the audience's attention.

You can see when they're on their cell phones

and they're not really paying attention. And

when you're telling those stories,

that is typically not the case.

They're riveted by those personal stories.

Absolutely, absolutely.

Denise, did you find the same is the sort of

like, well, I don't know about including

personal stories in a talk for a conference.

That's kind of weird. What were your thoughts

around doing that?

Yes, I think that is.

It is something that it has been a challenge

for me and but I have absolutely loved it.

And that's one of the reasons that I wanted

to come into the Leader Academy was to

connect more with the teams.

And now I we have a suite of the beauty of

the process is that you have an opportunity

to think about those stories and how you can

really apply them through different talks.

And I had an opportunity as well through us,

through the process to do a talk that was

more personal and that was really beautiful.

Yes, I.

Remember that was.

Well, now that you mentioned that if you

maybe just tell us a little bit about because

I remember when that came up and that was

actually to a very large group,

but it was a very, very personal story. So

tell us a little bit about that.

Yes. So I wrote a LinkedIn post on Women's

Day and it was very personal.

It was about my story.

Growing up with my mom and my mom's story of

resilience and how she has so she didn't have

anything on how she really was a role model

building her own path.

She was a role model for me and how she

shaped my leadership. But really where I

focus on was on highlighting and celebrating

celebrating those unsung heroes in our lives.

And that was in front of us for our division,

which is around 7000 people.

And I had live around 1000 people,

but people can watch it then after.

But I had great feedback and it felt really

powerful. It was the first time that I shared

something so personal to a big audience.

Yes, and I remember when that came.

Oh, yes. Of course. I remember when that came

up, because you had made that post and then

you were in the Thought Leader Academy, and

then you reached out and you said, hey, I

have this opportunity. And so Carol and I

both sort of encouraged you around this,

you know, idea of sharing that more personal

message. And then you crafted something which

was phenomenal because,

of course, you know, you already sort of

understood how to put something together from

going through the Thought Leader Academy. And

it was so fantastic.

So and these are the types of things that

once you once you have this,

this signature talk framework that you can

use, you can it's so much easier to create

something on the fly like that when you maybe

you don't have a lot of time,

but you need to put something together that's

very impactful and very connecting.

And then you can use the framework and

structure something and then really flesh it

out and make it make it impactful,

you know, and make it work for whatever the

setting is. And as you both know,

you can take your talk and adjust it for

different audiences, make it work for

different time constraints.

So the talks you all gave today are really,

I would say, 30 to 40 minute talks,

but then you paired them down and structured

them for this smaller time frame,

which is like around ten minutes.

But that's easier to do because you've got it

in a structure using that signature talk

framework. And it worked beautifully because

you both did a fantastic job.

So kudos to you.

Um, so tell tell me a little bit about your

experience with the Thought Leader Academy.

How I know, I know, sometimes we'll get

clients who especially,

um, from corporate settings where they might

say, oh, you know, I just want to work on my

talk and I'm not sure about a group program

or, you know, I really just I'm not good

working in a group setting.

Or what are your thoughts on the experience

with the other women in the group getting

feedback also from them?

How did that feel? I'll start with you,

Bonnie.

Sure. Yeah, another great question.

Um, getting feedback from a group of women

that you have, um, shared stories with.

It was easy.

Really? Um, it's not like getting feedback

from, you know, your audience or your your

peers at work. It's a group of women that

don't really know you.

So you're a blank slate,

and you can talk about your trials and

tribulations of former talks and how things

went well and didn't go well.

And it's, uh, non-biased kind of response.

And it's easier to take feedback,

I think, in that setting than it is from

peers or colleagues that that know you well.

It just makes you more nervous.

I think it took that layer away.

So it's you're less nervous.

You just put it out there.

Take the feedback.

I know, and one of the practice sessions,

I really got frustrated.

And just hearing the encouragement and the,

you know, just wait, start over.

It's okay. Uh, was super helpful.

So it was a great experience.

Oh, good. I'm so glad to hear that because,

you know, it is a it's a,

you know, everybody in there is learning.

Right. And so yes, mistakes happen.

Or maybe you're not comfortable with some

topic or you're not quite sure how to address

it. And someone in the group has some other

experience that you can benefit from having

their feedback or hearing their story. And

then you pick up those little nuggets and

then incorporate them into what you're doing.

And it can be it's it's a safe space.

And, Denise, what are your thoughts on that?

How did it feel for you to have feedback from

the other women?

I love to be in the group,

and I think the space that you and Carol have

put together with amazing women doing this

together is really inspiring.

And having that container,

a safe container, and I think courageous is

courage is contagious.

And that's how I feel because we will end

every story that was shared.

It just gave us more confidence.

And I could see we had incredible

storytellers as well in the group.

But it was incredible and it was very

inspiring for me.

Good, good. I'm so glad to hear that.

I love these groups, and I think probably for

me, and also I can probably speak for Carol

on this. Watching the dynamic form between

the women in the group is one of the most

joyful things that we see,

because it's just highlights the supportive

nature of groups like this and working

together and sort of, you know,

although you work in the VIP day with us

individually, you're sort of crowdsourcing

the experience together and sharing with one

another, and that is just one of the most

beautiful things that we see how everybody

grows together and makes it a safe space for

each other. And so it is just as exciting and

joyful for Carol and me as it is probably for

you all to be in it. So we love it.

Um, well, I will ask you then,

um, what is next for each of you on the

speaking scene?

Denise, I know you have something coming up.

Exciting.

Yes. So I have the make the talk in July.

But for me, I want to be able to expand my

thought leadership. I have been focusing on

writing before, so I want to really exercise

this muscle and participate in and take up

the stage in the nuclear industry,

but beyond the nuclear and engineering

sectors, and continue to develop the power

trio framework and continue to have

conversations at a board level and help shape

decisions that shape the future and

participate in talks.

So I have been given a challenge by you to

get out of my comfort zone,

and I'm looking forward to that journey.

Yes we will. I'm glad to hear that.

So Carol and I are notorious for if we even

hear of one little inkling of,

oh, I think I might, we're like, okay, here's

your homework and we'll give you a challenge

to do something. So And if you ever express,

if anybody ever expresses an interest in

something to us, we will give you homework

that you then have to go do so.

So I'm glad to hear that you're interested to

do that. And I really think that for both of

you, you know, your messages are you know,

you crafted them specific to an audience,

but you can see that they they have universal

appeal in the the underlying message within

each talk. And so you can definitely each of

you go out and talk beyond sort of the scope

of what it is that you do in your jobs.

And so I love to see.

I'd love to see each of you doing that.

Bonnie, what is next for you for speaking?

Uh, next week I'll be participating in a

webinar with one of our innovation vendors.

So I'm excited about that.

And then we're already planning next year.

Uh, we're going to host an innovation summit

here at Tanner health. So I hope to have a

great talk on healthcare innovation,

uh, that I can deliver at that.

And that'll be a regional meeting.

So that's something that That's exciting.

And will that be just for Tanner or outside?

Outside of Tanner?

Outside in the region and some.

Yeah, it'll be a regional.

Yes.

That's exciting.

Well, you'll have to keep us posted on that.

Um, and I would just suggest to both of you,

because I think you're both capable of doing

this. Just consider maybe a Ted talk is in

your future, because I could see you both

doing that. I know, um,

that might strike fear into your heart, but

please don't let it. I.

I would encourage you both to,

just, as Denise mentioned,

sort of step outside your comfort zone and,

you know, look for opportunities to speak

because you're both great speakers.

Yes, you are both speakers.

Right. And so we know we've talked about that

in Thought Leader Academy. We make you put it

in your LinkedIn bio. If you have ever spoken

at all, you are a speaker.

But I would love to see both of you pitch to

things that might be outside your comfort

zone, because I do think your voices are

important, your perspectives are important,

and I know the audiences love to hear from

you. So, um, keep us posted on what you're

doing. And then for those of you who are

watching and listening to this,

be sure to connect with both Denise and

Bonnie and our other grads that you saw

yesterday on LinkedIn.

Follow what they're doing.

Give them props, you know.

Just just see what they're doing and see what

they're up to. Now, if you'd like to to join

us in the Thought Leader Academy and work on

your signature talk or any talk that you have

coming up, just like our two graduates today

did. You can go to speaking your brand.

Dot com slash academy for more details and to

apply. Now again that is speaking your brand.

And until next time thanks for watching.