I Shouldn't Say This, But...

Consider this a proper catch-up from the sofa at Mollies, and this time I’ve brought someone new to meet you all. 

Introducing Isi who is now running my social media! She follows me round with a camera, keeps me grounded and won’t let me eat a croissant until she’s got the shot (obviously!)

When this episode launches, we'll be two days out from my first TEDx Talk rehearsal and right now it’s not going in yet. I’m sharing why this one feels so vulnerable, plus a first look at what it’s about. 

We also catch up on a busy few weeks and look ahead to something I still can’t believe... we’re going to South Africa!

In this episode, we get into:

💡 A first look at my TED Talk: How to Turn Anxiety Into Action in Two Minutes
🤝 Two talks in one day in London, and the “secret sauce” behind Social Chain’s growth
📱 Debating the under-16 social media ban with Tulisa at Leeds International Festival of Ideas
🌍 Speaking at Auto Trader’s 500-person conference in Johannesburg
😅 The guilt of downtime when you work for yourself
✍️ My relaunched Substack

🎙️ Recorded at the beautiful Mollies Manchester. Proudly sponsored by We Are The Allies.

We Are The Allies plugs you into the UK's best network of freelance talent whether you're launching a new campaign or need to get through a backlog of content: https://newbusiness.wearetheallies.com/katyleeson/

This week is Baby Loss Awareness Week, so I'm re-sharing a conversation that means a lot to me.

Seven years ago, shortly after my own miscarriage, I sat down with Ruth Bender Atik. She was National Director of what was then the Miscarriage Association (now Miscarriage UK) and has since retired.

We talk honestly about how common miscarriage really is, why it's still such a taboo, and what nobody tells you about the experience. That includes the guilt, the decisions you're asked to make in hospital while you're in shock, and the fear of trying again.

In this episode:

If you've been through baby loss, or love someone who has, this one's for you.

Please note: this episode was recorded seven years ago, so some of the information, services and guidance discussed may have changed since. For the most up-to-date information, advice and support, please contact Miscarriage UK:

🌐 https://www.miscarriageuk.org/
 📞 0303 003 6464
 💬 Live chat is available through their website

🎙️ Recorded at Mollies, Manchester
🙏 Sponsored by We Are The Allies

A TED talk was on my vision board for this year. So when I was asked to speak at TEDx Trafford this November, I was thrilled, but when I started the process I was surprised by just what it takes to get on that stage.

So for this week's episode, I'm joined by TEDx Trafford Curator Martina Witter to throw back the curtain on what really goes on behind the scenes.

Martina had her first TEDx licence application rejected outright, but rather than treating that as a final no, she used it as information to try again and successfully put on the very first TEDx Trafford last year.

In this episode we discuss:

🎤 The difference between TED and TEDx, and how a curator's values shape the whole event
 💡 Why TEDx isn't looking for speakers, it's looking for one idea worth spreading (not ten, as I found out the hard way)
 📋 The TEDx framework: 8–18 minutes, grounded in science, no politics, religion or plugging your business, and a powerful hook within the first 60 seconds
 🧠 Why coaching starts months in advance, and how Martina builds psychological safety into it
 🎭 The art of TEDx curation, and why the running order is planned around the audience's emotions
 👀 What the coaching has changed about how I speak on stage, and a little teaser of my own idea worth spreading (watch this space…)

If you've ever thought "I'd love to do a TED talk one day," well this episode is giving you a sneak peak into the process.

TEDx Trafford takes place on 21st November. Grab your tickets at tedxtrafford.com or on Eventbrite. I'd love to see you there.

🎙️ Recorded at the beautiful Mollies Manchester. 

Proudly sponsored by We Are The Allies. Looking for creative firepower, a new skillset or need to get through a backlog of content? The Allies can help!

18 episodes into series 6, and I don't know where the time's gone! This week, to celebrate, I've pulled together my favourite moments from my guests this series. If you'd like to watch any of the episodes in full, scroll down for the links.

In this episode:

- Kelly Tucker on why your team are "subscribing" to your workplace
- Sarah Louise Keane on why we keep playing down our own numbers
- Jade Reilly on creatine: what it is and who should take it
- Pav Riyat-Ward on what freelancers need to get booked
- Ash Jones on personal branding when there are no gatekeepers
- Sacha Lord on why he spoke out after a tragedy at Warehouse Project
- Heather Elkington on nice vs kind, and why saying the hard thing matters
- Liberty Mills on the fertility conversation nobody's having with men

Once again, thank you to my sponsor, We Are The Allies 🤝
Launching a new product, working on new creative or tackling a content backlog? We Are The Allies has the biggest and best bank of UK freelancers around. Find out more: https://newbusiness.wearetheallies.com/katyleeson/

Catch up on the full episodes 🎧

Kelly Tucker → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSXlrwk4H-k
Sarah Louise Keane → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9exBcd6MZY
Jade Reilly → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9UHWIgRqyk
Pav Riyat-Ward → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMrs-bFaADk
Ash Jones → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNCzgrs8OEQ
Sacha Lord → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-Mh7nSdiig
Heather Elkington → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1_qmqkZMOA
Liberty Mills → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvLRLU2KFo4

🎙️ Recorded at the beautiful, Mollies Manchester.

When I went on BBC Radio 4's The Bottom Line, someone said that people fear public speaking more than they fear death.

It's stuck with me ever since. Because if that's true, most of us are walking into every pitch, presentation and team meeting carrying a fear we've never actually been taught how to handle. So this episode is all about changing that.

I'm letting you in on how I, a self-confessed introvert who refused to be in the Social Chain daily vlogs, ended up speaking every single week.

In this episode, we get into:

- My speaker journey, from winning new business at Social Chain to being signed by Champions Speaker Agency
- The coffee with an audience member that gave me my "why"
- The best advice I've been given to plan my talks: have data, because you can't argue with data
- How to plan the "landing points" in a talk
- Why I only talk on topics I have lived experience on
- My method for cutting a full script down to the points you have to nail, and how this can practically help you
- What's in my boost folder right now, and what I'm manifesting into it for 2027

🎙️ Recorded at the beautiful Mollies Manchester. Proudly sponsored by We Are The Allies, the creative network that makes this podcast possible. Find out more about what they do here: https://newbusiness.wearetheallies.com/katyleeson/

I’m back for another catch-up with my producer Stefan - the second one now, so if you liked the last unfiltered chat, this is more of that.

We're covering off everything that’s been going on in my life since the last one: 

If you've ever wondered what actually goes on behind the scenes of building a business and a podcast at the same time, this one's for you.

🎙️ Recorded at the beautiful Mollie's, Manchester. 

Proudly sponsored by We Are The Allies.

Need creative firepower without the agency overhead? We Are The Allies connect brands with the UK's best freelance talent, fast. No endless briefs, no mismatches, just the right person for the job. Get in touch here.

*This episode was recorded at the start of August. We've re-ordered the episodes to  publish our Guest episodes first.

At 43, Liberty Mills was told one of your ovaries is empty and you are barren. 

She could have accepted it. She didn't, having already reversed her lupus diagnosis and gave birth naturally two weeks before turning 25.

I sit down with Liberty, a Fertility and Autoimmune Coach, to unpack how she did it and the philosophy she teaches clients: test, don't guess. Before any supplement or protocol, find out what your body is actually doing.

We also get into a stat almost nobody talks about: 48% of infertility cases involve a male contributing factor. Plus how stress shows up in the body before you notice it, and Liberty's "golden hour" routine, journaling, movement, and learning something unrelated to your goals, in that order.

In this episode:

If you've ever been handed scary language about your body and told to just accept it, this one's for you.

🎙️ Recorded at Mollies, Manchester 🙏 Sponsored by We Are The Allies

We're a good few episodes into the new series of I Shouldn't Say This, But, and I wanted to do something different this week - a solo recap of what I've personally learned, what's changed, and where we're going next, so buckle up!

When I brought the podcast back, it wasn't just about creating more content. I wanted to create a safe space where leaders and founders could feel less alone talking about the things we really don't want to say out loud.

To do that properly, I had to think hard about the guests and the topics. And honestly? The lessons have really stuck with me.

In this episode, I take a deep dive into:

If you've ever wondered what's actually going on behind the scenes of this podcast, this one's for you.

🎙️ Recorded at the beautiful Mollies Manchester. Proudly sponsored by We Are The Allies.

Heather started out being trained not to say the word "toilet" on the Harrods shop floor. She ended up running culture for a Footsie 100 business, sat in rooms twenty years her senior, telling herself her opinion didn't count.

This episode is about what happened in between, and the philosophy she built off the back of it: nice vs kind. 

Why being nice is the coward's option. Why the strongest relationships in her life have come from saying the hard thing instead of softening it. And why she built a spreadsheet to figure out exactly how long she could survive before she quit her safe, well-paid job to bet on herself (plus the one message from her dad that pushed her over the edge).

We finish on Custard, her new culture intelligence tool with an AI coach called Geraldine built in, and why she's refusing to grow it fast just because AI makes that possible now.

If you've ever softened a message you should have said straight, this one's for you.

We're three months into the podcast (five if you count the planning), and I wanted to do something different for this one: an unfiltered chat with my producer Stefan.

In this episode, we get into: