Madame Speaker Says

🎤Claim you seat - How to Land Your First Paid Talk:
https://lovekindcure.kit.com/8b86f85d8e

I'm 44 and wasted years waiting for permission, believing I had to be a certain kind of speaker, and mistaking exposure for opportunity.

In this episode of Madame Speaker Says, I’m sharing the three mistakes I’d avoid if I were starting again—and what I wish I’d known sooner about turning my expertise into paid speaking opportunities.

We get into:

• Stop waiting for permission. Why pitching yourself—and even creating your own stage—can change your speaking opportunities.
• Build a talk with a job. Why a talk that solves a real problem can be more commercially valuable than one that simply inspires an audience.
• Question the promise of exposure. How to evaluate free speaking invitations, identify who's in the room, and decide whether an opportunity can actually move your business forward.

If you're a creative, executive, founder, or expert who knows you have something valuable to say but hasn't figured out how to get paid to say it, this episode is for you.

You don't need to wait until someone decides you're a speaker. You can start building the talk—and the strategy—that gets you there.  Join my November 11 masterclass, How to Land Your First Paid Talk, where we’ll work on building a talk you can pitch and a strategy to turn speaking opportunities into real business. It’s interactive and tailored to your questions.

📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

📺 WATCH - Enjoyed this episode? Get actionable videos to level up your public speaking & communication, on my YouTube channel Madame Speaker Says.

🎤Claim your seat: Land Your First Paid Talk → 
https://calendly.com/love-kind-cure/new-meeting-1
The professional voice you're reaching for is a made-up rule, borrowed from people who never sounded like you in the first place — and the accent, energy, and volume you were taught to mute are exactly what make you sound like the expert you are. 

YOU'LL LEARN
— Why "sounding professional" is a made-up rule you may not want to copy/paste
— How to take the useful parts of "professional" without losing your own voice

You don't have to erase your accent, your decibels, or your energy to be taken seriously.
What you need is permission to make up new rules for what expertise sounds like — so the next person who sounds like you sees that her leadership--as she already speaks--is also possible.

YOUR TURN
👉🏾Have you ever shrunk your natural voice or accent to sound "professional"? Let me know in comments

CHAPTERS
0:00 The Energy Nobody Ever Coached Me To Bring To The Stage
1:00 The Investor Who Wouldn't Say My Name
2:30 Choosing To Be Judged As Me, Not A Sanitized Version
4:00 Where "Professional Voice" Anxiety Actually Comes From
6:00 The Baggage Of Being The Only One In The Room
8:00 "Professional" Is A Made-Up Rule
10:00 Take The Meat, Leave The Bones
12:00 Giving Someone Else Permission To Sound Like Them
13:30 The Call To Action — Have You Shrunk Your Voice?
14:00 Learn More: The Whole Damn Talk

🗓️ BOOK One-hour Working Session - Let's find where you're performing instead of speaking up for what you want: https://calendly.com/love-kind-cure/speak-up-for-your-excellence-clone

LET'S CONNECT
📚 Innards: My debut, a short story collection + Guardian Best Fiction Books of 2023.
📲 Are we instagram friends? https://www.instagram.com/madamespeakersays/
👩🏽‍💻 Storytelling website: http://www.magogodi.com
🎤 Madame Speaker Says site: http://www.madamespeakersays.com

#CodeSwitching #AuthenticVoice #PublicSpeaking #ImposterSyndrome

📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

📺 WATCH - Enjoyed this episode? Get actionable videos to level up your public speaking & communication, on my YouTube channel Madame Speaker Says.

📩 DOWNLOAD free guide to Sound Like the Expert You Are when Speaking to a new High-Stakes Audience: https://lovekindcure.kit.com/a01edf3c35

The Truth? Thought I’d be further along by 44. I thought I’d have more money, a retirement plan, more figured out. Instead, I’m building again — raising a toddler, running a business, and honestly, feeling scared shitless.

And as if that's not enough...just for funsies, I’m also experiencing a second adolescence: hormones raging, my body changing, my identity shifting, and the very human fears I thought I had outgrown suddenly getting louder.

So this episode is me asking, in real time: when you’re scared, disappointed and nowhere near the timeline you imagined for yourself, where do you find the reserves to keep going?

I’m sharing this because I think there’s something powerful about seeing the person behind the work still in the middle of it — still building, still afraid, still dreaming, still trying to make a life that feels like hers.

Because maybe building isn’t what happens after you conquer your fear.

Maybe building is what you do while you’re afraid.

📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

📺 WATCH - Enjoyed this episode? Get actionable videos to level up your public speaking & communication, on my YouTube channel Madame Speaker Says.

English gave me a passport to rooms I couldn't have imagined as a kid growing up under apartheid in South Africa. It's also, quietly, the language that's been costing me the one I was born speaking — and now that I'm watching my own toddler acquire language in real time, I can't stop thinking about what that trade actually cost, and what it's still costing.

This one's a little different — part story, part reckoning. I take you back to being a little girl put on a school stage to recite English I'd learned secondhand from my sister, who'd snuck into a school I wasn't allowed to attend. I talk about what it meant to build a career — and now a life in Oaxaca — inside a language that was never fully mine. And I sit with the question I don't have a clean answer to yet: what do I pass down to my son, and what do I let go of?

If you speak more than one language, or you've ever felt the pull between the language that opens doors and the one that feels like home — I'd love to hear from you on this one.

🎤 How to Talk About Your Expertise Without Sounding Like A Bio:
📩 DOWNLOAD your free guide to Sound Like the Expert You Are when Speaking to a new High-Stakes Audience: https://lovekindcure.kit.com/a01edf3c35

LET'S CONNECT
📚Innards: My debut, a short story collection + Guardian Best Fiction Books of 2023.
📲 Are we instagram friends? https://www.instagram.com/madamespeakersays/
👩🏽‍💻 Storytelling website: http://www.magogodi.com
🎤 Madame Speaker Says site: http://www.madamespeakersays.com

📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

📺 WATCH - Enjoyed this episode? Get actionable videos to level up your public speaking & communication, on my YouTube channel Madame Speaker Says.

I was auditioning to host a live TV show at HuffPost — dressed for it, feeling powerful, killing the segment — when my body decided to remind me I'm human, live, on camera, on a white couch. This is the story of the most mortifying thing that's ever happened to me in a professional setting, and why, looking back, I refuse to call it embarrassing.

We talk about confidence like it's about never having the wardrobe malfunction, never having the bad moment on the big stage. But real self-possession isn't the absence of mortifying moments — it's what you decide they mean about you afterward. I'm walking you through exactly what happened in that studio, what I told myself walking out the door, and the small, unexpected moment on the street right after that stuck with me more than the audition itself.

If you've ever had a professional moment go sideways in a way that felt deeply personal and deeply public at the same time — this one's for you.

🎤 How to Talk About Your Expertise Without Sounding Like A Bio:
📩 DOWNLOAD your free guide to Sound Like the Expert You Are when Speaking to a new High-Stakes Audience: https://lovekindcure.kit.com/a01edf3c35

LET'S CONNECT
📚Innards: My debut, a short story collection + Guardian Best Fiction Books of 2023.
📲 Are we instagram friends? https://www.instagram.com/madamespeakersays/
👩🏽‍💻 Storytelling website: http://www.magogodi.com
🎤 Madame Speaker Says site: http://www.madamespeakersays.com

📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

📺 WATCH - Enjoyed this episode? Get actionable videos to level up your public speaking & communication, on my YouTube channel Madame Speaker Says.

🗓️ BOOK One-hour Working Session — Let's unpack how you can speak up and get that intimidating opportunity, before creating another credential roadblock:  https://calendly.com/love-kind-cure/speak-up-for-your-excellence-clone

Credentials don't give you permission to speak up for what you want; you do. I have two master's degrees from top universities PLUS I'm a published author and speaker who's been on stages from Hong Kong to New Zealand—none of those degrees or fancy credentials did the talking for me on any stage, panel or pitch. I had to dig up that confidence and speak up for my excellence. By the end of this video, you'll know exactly how to catch yourself when you're chasing one more degree, certificate or title...instead of just speaking up and going for the big opportunity that intimidates you.

YOU'LL LEARN
— Why collecting more credentials can stall you from going after what you really want
— The scrunch-it-up exercise that gives you permission to go after the intimidating thing today.

And the protection you think the credential buys? It doesn't exist. Your achievements will not protect you — you still have to open your mouth and explain the excellence, over and over. The credential was never the magic. You are.

👇🏽YOUR  TURN
Have you ever caught yourself plotting one more credential before letting yourself go after the thing? Tell me in the comments

CHAPTERS
0:00 The Lie About What Credentials Buy You
1:30 The Scrunch-It-Up Permission Exercise
3:00 Telling Stories In Soweto Long Before Any Degree
4:30 What My Sister Said On A Street In Iowa City
6:30 You Changed — Not The People Around You
8:00 The Protection I Thought The MFA Bought Me
9:30 "Your Achievements Will Not Protect You"
11:00 The Trap Of Always Needing One More Credential
12:30 Catching Myself Plotting Law School
13:30 Permission First, Then The Work
14:15 The Call To Action — What Credential Are You Chasing?
14:45 Learn More: The Whole Damn Talk

🎤 How to Talk About Your Expertise Without Sounding Like A Bio:
📩 DOWNLOAD your free guide to Sound Like the Expert You Are when Speaking to a new High-Stakes Audience: https://lovekindcure.kit.com/a01edf3c35

LET'S CONNECT
📚Innards: My debut, a short story collection + Guardian Best Fiction Books of 2023.
📲 Are we instagram friends? https://www.instagram.com/madamespeakersays/
👩🏽‍💻 Storytelling website: http://www.magogodi.com
🎤 Madame Speaker Says site: http://www.madamespeakersays.com

#ImposterSyndrome #PermissionToSpeak #SpeakWithAuthority #ThoughtLeadership

📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

📺 WATCH - Enjoyed this episode? Get actionable videos to level up your public speaking & communication, on my YouTube channel Madame Speaker Says.

🗓️ BOOK One-hour Working Session —Turn that criticism into your superpower : https://calendly.com/love-kind-cure/speak-up-for-your-excellence-clone

Workplace feedback will tell you to tone down whatever makes you "too much" — too direct, too intense, too blunt. But the exact trait you've been criticized for at work is very often the thing that makes people remember you, trust you, and follow you when the stakes are high.

In this episode, Magogodi breaks down how to tell the difference between deploying a criticized communication trait as an asset and swinging it like a sledgehammer — and why the urge to shrink before a high-stakes room is your brain protecting your sense of belonging, not a sign you're doing something wrong.

You'll learn:
— Why the exact word someone used to criticize your communication style might be the key to your professional edge
— The real difference between a trait that's an asset and the same trait deployed without self-awareness
— Jodi-Ann Burey's story of being criticized at work for being too much—speaking truth to power; and how that same trait landed her an op-ed in the Harvard Business Review and on the TED stage.

If you've ever been told your speaking or communication style is "too much," this episode will change how you think about that criticism for good.

📩 Free guide — Sound Like the Expert You Are When Speaking to a New High-Stakes Audience: https://lovekindcure.kit.com/a01edf3c35

If this episode helped you see your own communication style differently, hit follow so you don't miss the next one — and if you've got 10 seconds, leave a quick rating or review. It's the single biggest thing that helps new listeners find this show.

📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

📺 WATCH - Enjoyed this episode? Get actionable videos to level up your public speaking & communication, on my YouTube channel Madame Speaker Says.

Why fear never disappears, and what actually separates speakers who improve from speakers who quit.

Manifestation coaches will tell you the fix for stage fright is to visualize success until the fear disappears. It doesn't. Even Michelle Obama says she still gets nervous before a talk. What actually separates the people who keep improving in front of high-stakes audiences from the people who quit isn't less fear — it's what they do with the flop. A keynote, a panel, a client pitch, a Monday morning presentation to your own team — doesn't matter where it happens.

By the end of this episode you'll know exactly how to turn your next flop into the data that gets you to a bigger stage.

YOU'LL LEARN
— The 3-part deliberate practice framework that turns a flop into your next breakthrough
— Why the fear never actually goes away, and what to focus on instead so it stops running the show
— The exact first move to make after a flop, before you're tempted to quit

A flop isn't proof you should quit. It's data telling you exactly where to focus your practice next. The version of you that keeps showing up after a flop — hyper-focused, working toward a real stretch goal, getting honest feedback on your blind spots — is the version that gets to the next stage, the next client, the next opportunity.

IN THIS EPISODE
0:00 Flopping on stage was the best thing that happened to me
0:45 The quick win: write down your 5 speaking fears
2:30 Genesis Briggs: booed off stage at 15 years old
4:15 Her comeback: bodying the same stage a year later
5:30 The 3-part practice framework (Angela Duckworth)
7:00 My own flop: 4 views on YouTube
9:00 Tayari Jones' lesson at an almost-empty book event
11:15 Even Michelle Obama still gets nervous
12:30 What's your flop?

RESOURCES
📩 Free guide — Sound Like the Expert You Are When Speaking to a New, High-Stakes Audience: https://lovekindcure.kit.com/a01edf3c35
📞 Book a one-hour working session — let's fix what isn't landing: https://calendly.com/love-kind-cure/speak-up-for-your-excellence-clone
📚 Innards — my debut short story collection, among the Guardian's Best Fiction Books of 2023

CONNECT
Instagram: @madamespeakersays

📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

📺 WATCH - Enjoyed this episode? Get actionable videos to level up your public speaking & communication, on my YouTube channel Madame Speaker Says.

🎤💥 Learn how to Speak up for Your Excellence: [Kit link — evergreen]

Sales coaches will tell you the money is in the follow-up. Wrong 🙄...The money is in the ROOM — and you're leaving it there. If your presentations, panel appearances, talks, keynotes and pitches end in big applause instead of clients, watch this before your next event and  when you open your mouth again, you'll be ready to secure the bag 💰

YOU'LL LEARN
— Why "the money is in the follow-up" is backwards — and the exact moment your ask actually converts
— The real difference between a memorable talk and a transformative one (and which one pays)

The main takeaway: a great talk is not built to generate leads or to be remembered. It's built to create decisions — in the room, while belief is at its highest. Do it right and your Monday follow-up email lands like a gift, not spam.

YOUR TURN
Think about your last big talk, pitch, or high-stakes meeting. Did you:
A) aim for inspiring and memorable?
B) make a clear ask while you had the room? 
C) wait for the follow-up email to do the heavy lifting?

Tell me in comments👇🏽

CHAPTERS
0:00 The Money You're Leaving In The Room
0:20 The Room With Billions That Committed $0
2:00 Why Conviction Fades Before Your Email Lands
2:45 Myth 1: A Great Talk Generates Leads
4:05 Myth 2: The Money's In The Follow-Up
5:20 The Monday Email Test — Gift Or Spam?
6:30 Myth 3: A Great Talk Is Memorable
7:40 Why You Can't Bank Inspiring
8:15 The Call To Action — Build The Talk That Converts
8:45 Learn More: The Whole Damn Talk

RESOURCES
📚Innards — My debut, a short story collection and among Guardian Best Fiction Books of 2023.
🎤 Work with me. Learn more about The Whole Damn Talk: https://madamespeakersays.com

LET'S CONNECT
📲 Are we instagram friends? https://www.instagram.com/madamespeakersays/
👩🏽‍💻 Storytelling website: http://www.magogodi.com
🎤 Madame Speaker Says site: http://www.madamespeakersays.com

#PublicSpeaking #SpeakingToSell #HowToGetClients #KeynoteSpeaker #TalksThatConvert

📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

📺 WATCH - Enjoyed this episode? Get actionable videos to level up your public speaking & communication, on my YouTube channel Madame Speaker Says.

🎙️ 💥 Learn how to Speak up for Your Excellence: https://lovekindcure.kit.com/b80a66aa37

You're invisible for months, nobody remembers your name — and then somebody needs to win, and suddenly your phone won't stop ringing. And by Friday...girl explain how you're a stranger again? I've been watching The FIFA World Cup and Girl, they're running the same exact playbook as your industry? 

But LeBron James handed us a playbook on how to build a personal brand -- understand that Conditional Visibility Is Still Visibility. Use It.

In this video, YOU'LL LEARN
— The two things to get in writing before you ever say yes to your next panel or keynote, most people never think to ask for either
— Why the players scoring goals for countries that side-eye their own communities the rest of the year aren't the ones you should feel sorry for
— The one-hour move — the same one LeBron James made at 20 years old — that turns "just shut up and dribble" into something you actually own.

Here's the part nobody's saying: these players aren't victims. They take the paycheck, the passport, the platform — and they play the game right back. Look at LeBron James. At 20 years old, he fired his agent and called in three friends from Akron nobody in the NBA had ever heard of. Everybody said he was throwing his career away. Instead, Nike went from paying him to being an equity holder in his companies. He turned the call-up into ownership.

YOUR TURN
Are you playing the game, or just letting everyone else win off your excellence? Last time you got called up, did you use it to build something of your own or did you just enjoy the perks and let it end there?

CHAPTERS
0:00 Popular On Tuesday, Invisible By Friday
0:36 Before You Say Yes: Get This In Writing First
2:00 What The World Cup Is Really Showing Us
5:12 Why These Players Are Not The Victims Of The Story
6:36 The Call-Up Is Capital, Not The Prize
7:12 The LeBron James Playbook: Fire The Agent, Build The Team
9:12 Owning Your Personal Brand
10:48 The One Hour That Builds Something That's Actually Yours
13:12 Close

RESOURCES
📚Innards — My debut, a short story collection and among Guardian Best Fiction Books of 2023.
🎤 Work with me. Learn more about The Whole Damn Talk: https://madamespeakersays.com

LET'S CONNECT
📲 Are we instagram friends? https://www.instagram.com/madamespeakersays/
👩🏽‍💻 Storytelling website: http://www.magogodi.com
🎤 Madame Speaker Says site: http://www.madamespeakersays.com

#ConditionalVisibility #OwnYourBrilliance #BuildYourbrand #KnowYourWorth #lebronjames

📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

📺 WATCH - Enjoyed this episode? Get actionable videos to level up your public speaking & communication, on my YouTube channel Madame Speaker Says.