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What happens when you stop playing small and finally use your voice the way you were meant to?

In this episode of Madame Speaker Says, host Magogodi Makhene closes out Season 2 by breaking down the real work behind storytelling, leadership visibility, and building authority without selling your soul. She shares how ancestral wisdom, lived experience and creative strategy can help founders, speakers, creatives and executives step into their power and expand their impact.

We talk calling, confidence, community building, public speaking and why your voice matters more than ever in today’s attention economy.

If you’ve been feeling stuck, unseen or ready for your next level, this episode is for you.

In this episode of Madame Speaker Says, Magogodi shares:

• Why playing small keeps talented leaders invisible
• How to build a strong public voice through storytelling
• What real community building looks like (without gatekeeping)
• How to step into leadership visibility with confidence
• Why imagination is a serious leadership skill
• How Season 3 is being shaped by listener input

If you feel called to more, this episode will help you stop holding yourself back.

Chapters

0:00 — Welcome to Madame Speaker Says
1:52 — The business of storytelling
2:30 — Leadership through lived experience
5:39 — Building real community
6:28 — Shaping Season 3 together
10:55 — Stop playing small
11:35 — Answering your calling

Connect with Madame Speaker Says

📲 Instagram: @madamespeakersays
🎙 Subscribe: Madame Speaker Says Podcast

Connect with Magogodi

📲IG: @magogodimakhene
👩🏽‍💻Website: https://www.magogodi.com

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CultureCon's Imani Ellis: From Living Room to 12,000 People 

What happens when you stop waiting for someone else to build the thing you've been craving? CultureCon founder Imani Ellis knows—because she built it herself, starting with 10 friends in her New York City apartment.

In this episode of Madam Speaker Says, Imani takes us inside the journey from publicist at NBCUniversal to founder of the largest creative conference for Black professionals. She reveals her definition of purpose (spoiler: it's not what the self-help industry sold you), why she believes "the dream evolves as your courage evolves," and the uncomfortable truth about the gap between what audiences say they want and what they actually need.

We talk leadership, loneliness, living room beginnings, and why sometimes the scariest thing isn't failure—it's realizing you might actually be qualified.

If you've been waiting for permission to start the thing that's been keeping you up at night, this is your sign.

In this episode of Madam Speaker Says, Imani Ellis shares the raw truth about:

→ Why she believes "purpose = your gifts solving a specific problem"

→ The mistake she made signing her first venue (no bathrooms, no AC 😬)

→ Why big things HAVE to start small

→ How to build self-trust as a leader

→ The gap between what audiences say vs. what they actually want

If you've been waiting for permission to start YOUR thing, this conversation is your sign.

Chapters

0:00 — "We are the ones we've been waiting for"
3:13 — How CultureCon started with 10 friends in a living room
5:02 — Why seeing your full vision too early would terrify you
8:09 — Your easy skill is still a skill (stop discounting it)
10:33 — Purpose = your gifts solving a specific problem
12:31 — The magic of starting when nobody's watching
17:31 — Building self-trust: "80% of the time, I make good decisions"
21:00 — What audiences say they want vs. what they actually need
25:14 — Inside the CultureCon war room: Reverse engineering success
29:39 — Stop letting no's make you bet against yourself

Connect with Imani 

📲IG: @imaniimani

👩🏽‍💻Website: https://www.imaniellis.com/info

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From Cubicle to CEO: Ellen Yin on Turning Expertise Into Speaking Revenue

Ellen Yin went from corporate marketing employee to multimillion-dollar entrepreneur — without a backup plan. Now the host of the globally charting podcast Cubicle to CEO, she's taught 14,000+ entrepreneurs (mostly women) how to build authority, land speaking gigs, and turn expertise into revenue. 

In this episode, Ellen breaks down:

• Why thought leadership isn't about having the "holy grail" to say — it's about showing up over time
• How she landed her first paid speaking gig (and turned it into recurring revenue)
• The truth about whether you should speak for free
• Why public speaking is the fastest way to hyper-nurture relationships and build trust
• Her income report transparency and what it taught her about business

Plus: Why every sales call, coffee chat, and podcast interview is actually public speaking practice — and how to use it.

TIMESTAMPS: 

00:00 — Why podcasts teach more than elite degrees 

05:28 — What thought leadership actually is (you already have it) 

06:06 — Why women hide their expertise (and how to stop) 14:22 — Every conversation is public speaking practice 

19:37 — How to pitch yourself instead of waiting 

21:08 — Should you speak for free? The real answer 

23:26 — Why speaking builds trust faster than anything else 

32:29 — Income transparency: what Ellen learned from sharing her numbers

CONNECT WITH ELLEN:

🎧 Cubicle to CEO Podcast: https://www.cubicletoceo.co/podcast 
📱 Ellen on Instagram: @missellenyin
🌐 Website: cubicletoceo.co

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Why does wanting scare you more than failing ever will?

In this solo episode, Magogodi Makhene unpacks why thought leaders, founders, and creatives shrink from naming what they actually want—and how that silence is costing you more than any failure could.

📚You'll learn: 

→ Why desire feels dangerous (especially for women and marginalized leaders) 

→ The 3-part Magogodi Method to get clear on what actually lights you up 

→ How to build your thought leadership platform without burning out 

→ One fear reframe that will change how you approach 2026

If you're building a personal brand, writing a book, launching a speaking career, or stepping into visibility—this episode is your mirror and your map.

🔗 CONNECT with Magogodi:
📲 Instagram: @madamespeakersays @magogodimakhene
👉🏾 Website: http://www.magogodi.com
📚 Book: Innards

CHAPTERS:

00:00 — Why I stopped writing (and what it revealed)

02:15 — The hidden cost of avoiding what you want

06:30 — How playing small is more expensive than failing

09:45 — The 3-part clarity framework to unfuck your direction

10:30 — Find your light-up zone (check your body, not your résumé)

13:00 — Identify who you'd serve even without the paycheck

15:30 — Match how you communicate to how they learn

18:00 — Your thought leadership is an ecosystem, not one platform

21:30 — Reframe: Failure is guaranteed, humiliation is optional

24:00 — Three paths to accountability (pick one today)

26:30 — Help me build what you actually need in 2026

28:00 — Your thesis: If you don't want it, you won't build it

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Thought Leadership Is Spiritual Work. No Ego, No Performance.

What if thought leadership isn’t about influence — but about responsibility?

In this powerful conversation, we explore why thought leadership is spiritual work, and what becomes possible when you speak not to be impressive, but to serve humanity. Ra invites us to reconnect with our deepest longings, reclaim imagination, and stop settling for 20% of what’s possible.

We talk about courage as a practice, honoring intuition, speaking truth in rooms where silence feels safer, and what happens when you deny the voice you came here to give.

This episode is for leaders, creatives, and visionaries who feel called to use their voice with integrity, depth, and soul — especially in a world that’s unraveling and asking us to dream again.

✨ If you’ve ever felt your voice mattered — this episode will remind you why:

→ Speaking truth in rooms that resist it
→ Dreaming again in uncertain times
→ Why your voice matters more than you think
→ Courage, intuition, and spiritual leadership

Chapters
00:07:26 — You Came With a Charge
Why denying your voice blocks joy, freedom, and fulfillment
00:10:25 — Courage as a Practice
Honoring intuition and speaking truth even when it’s uncomfortable
00:19:07 — Permission to Dream Again
Returning to longing, play, imagination, and childlike wonder
00:52:37 — Stop Settling for 20%
What becomes possible when we remove the guardrails
01:01:06 — Thought Leadership Is Spiritual Work
Speaking for, with, and to humanity — channeling real power
01:38:02 — The Moment Everything Broke Open
Rock bottom, asking for help, and the beginning of healing

Connect with Rha:
📚 Intentional Ambition: https://courses.movethecrowd.me/intentionalambitionbook
📱 Rha on Instagram: @rhagoddess
🌐 Website: https://rhagoddess.com/ 

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Tired. Angry. Happy. The Truth About This Year We Survived

What if there’s nothing wrong with you for feeling tired, angry, hopeful, and joyful all at once? This week, I’m pulling back the curtain on why so many of us—especially Black women and marginalized leaders—are carrying emotional contradictions that actually make sense in this chaotic world.

From political exhaustion to tiny pockets of joy, from grief to grit, from outrage to laughter…this episode is your reminder that your emotional complexity isn’t a flaw—it’s a compass.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why you feel “tired” even after a year of doing everything “right”
• The anger behind DEI rollbacks, layoffs, and the cost-of-living crisis
• The quiet joys keeping us afloat (yes, you’re allowed to have both)
• How to use your emotions as strategic data in your thought leadership
• Toolkit – A simple practice to tell the truth about what you feel…and what it’s pointing toward

🔗 CONNECT with Magogodi:
📲 Instagram: @madamespeakersays @magogodimakhene
👉🏾 Website: http://www.magogodi.com
📚 Book: Innards

CHAPTERS

00:02 You Don’t Have to Choose One Feeling
01:11 The Political & Cultural Exhaustion Beneath the Fatigue
03:25 Anger: The Data Point We’ve Been Taught to Ignore
05:02 Joy as a Survival Practice (And Why It Still Counts)
07:44 Using Emotional Truth to Strengthen Your Thought Leadership
09:15 Permission to Be Tired, Angry, Happy—All At Once

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Unrig the Game: How to Organize Through Autocratic Fear with Vanessa Priya Daniel

What's your part to contribute when autocracy tightens its grip and fear becomes a daily ration? For Vanessa Priya Daniel, the answer has always been: organize. But not the performative kind—the kind that might get you attacks...from your own team. The kind that moves $100 million from donor control to community power. The kind that may costs you everything and also, actually work.

In her book, Unrig The Game, Vanessa breaks down what organizing actually looks like when Black and brown women social justice leaders come under attack—not from the right, but from our supposed own side. She reveals how to survive when your own team comes for your throat, how to build a thought leadership platform that fortifies resistance (not just your book sales), and why the tools women of color have used since Day 1 are exactly what we need now.

But here, Vanessa goes beyond the book to give you the toolkit you need to actually speak the difficult truth that needs to be spoken and take your idea from the pit of your stomach to published and disruptive AF thought leadership, to a book tour that fortifies community power in a time of raids and authoritarian fear. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The real-time playbook for when you speak truth and folks on "your side" come for your throat—because if you're doing this work right, they will
• How Vanessa found an agent and publisher who align with her values, then built a book tour that fortified community and resistance (real numbers, real strategy, real receipts)
• Toolkit: How to channel your gifts to stand up to authoritarianism instead of metabolizing fear your body can't process

🔗 CONNECT with Vanessa: 

📚 Book: Unrig the Game: https://www.vanessapriyadaniel.com/books

📲IG: https://www.instagram.com/vanessapriyadaniel 

👩🏽‍💻Website: https://www.vanessapriyadaniel.com/ 

CHAPTERS:

• 00:02 What's Your Part to Contribute?
• [Time] From Farm Laborers to Wealthy Philanthropists: What Organizing Actually Looks Like
• [Time] The Oligarchy Playbook: How American Philanthropy Still Runs on Donor Control
• [Time] Telling the Bare-Ass Truth: From Childhood Sexual Violence to Calling Out the Left
• [Time] When Your Own Team Attacks: The Real-Time Playbook for Survival
• [Time] How to Build a Book Tour That Fortifies Resistance (Not Just Sales)
• [Time] Your Antidote to Fear: Channeling Your Gifts Against Authoritarianism

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The Productivity Lie That's Killing Your Thought Leadership (Why Rest Is Your Secret Weapon)

What if the most powerful move you can make as a thought leader isn't relentless productivity—but radical restoration? After a sudden health crisis forced me to stop everything--including a week off this podcast schedule--I'm here to unpack the toxic lie that pausing makes you irrelevant. 

Here, I reveal why clarity and resonance require you to rest deeply.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• The health scare that exposed the hidden cost of constant productivity
• Who actually profits from the lie that "if you pause, you'll disappear"
• The science of how restoration fuels clarity and focus
• Toolkit - How to shift from chasing the optics of productivity to operating from genuine resonance

🔗 CONNECT with Magogodi:
📲 Instagram: @madamespeakersays @magogodimakhene
👉🏾 Website: http://www.magogodi.com
📚 Books: Innards

CHAPTERS:

• 00:02 Your Most Powerful Move: Restoration Over Productivity
• 01:02 The Treadmill Lie: What Happens When You Give Yourself Permission to Rest
• 01:50 The Health Scare That Changed Everything
• 04:31 The Hidden Cost of Suppressing What Your Body Needs Most
• 06:55 Is Constant Productivity Undermining Your Thought Leadership?
• 07:28 Who Benefits When You Believe Pausing Makes You Disappear?
• 09:12 The Catastrophic Cost to Your Clarity When You're Not Well-Rested

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From Stanford Grad to Paid Storyteller: The Thought Leadership Blueprint for Resistance with Anna Malaika Tubbs

What does it really take to build a career around storytelling and public speaking—especially when the world needs your voice most? Anna Malaika Tubbs, award-winning author of "The Three Mothers" and "Erased," breaks down the exact roadmap from validating your "crazy" dream to leveraging your platform as a tool for change in times of division and crisis.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why your vision of getting paid to write books and speak isn't crazy—and the mindset shift that makes it possible
• The #1 thing Anna wishes she'd started sooner to accelerate her thought leadership career
• How social media has become more important than your traditional resume—especially for breaking into TV and film
• Why this moment requires you to speak up—and how to find your role in the fight
• How to study legacies of resistance when you're feeling hopeless—and why learning from those who stood up before gives you clarity and actionable tools
• What makes a true leader right now: The ability to call out BS, maintain clarity amid distractions, and equip others for the battle
• Why this isn't the worst we've ever been through—and how historical perspective grounds you for action
• Why documenting your journey creates opportunities and helps others find their path
• The storytelling identity framework: Moving from private impact to public platform
• Your expertise as resistance: Building a thought leadership career that offers an alternative in times of division

🔗 CONNECT with Anna Malaika Tubbs:

• Instagram: @annamalaikatubbs
• Website: annamalaikatubbs.com
• Books: The Three Mothers and Erased

CHAPTERS:

• 51:47 From Stanford Grad to Paid Storyteller: The Career Path No One Maps Out
• 52:08 Validating Your "Crazy" Dream: Yes, You Can Get Paid to Tell Stories
• 52:32 The Social Media Mistake: What I Wish I'd Started Sooner
• 53:03 Your Platform Is Your Resume: How Followers Unlock TV and Film Opportunities
• 47:51 Documenting Your Journey: Why Capturing Moments Creates Career Opportunities
• 25:40 This Moment Is Not Unprecedented—But Your Response Might Be
• 26:01 Legacies of Resistance: How to Study Those Who Stood Up Before You
• 26:24 Finding Your Role in the Fight: Clarity, Strategy, and Actionable Tools
• 27:00 True Leadership Now: Calling Out BS and Equipping Others for Battle

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Why Black Women's Stories Matter - And How to Master Yours with Kutloano Skosana Ricci

Your story isn't just yours—it's a lifeline for someone walking streets halfway across the world who needs to hear they're not alone. Kutloano Skosana, founder and host of Shades and Layers podcast, reveals why mastering your personal narrative isn't optional for Black women and women of color, how the right people at the right time can transform everything, and why your voice matters more than you think in a world starved for diverse stories.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why Black women's experiences are worth sharing—and why platforms celebrating us are still dangerously rare
• The diaspora gap: How representation for women of color remains far from mainstream
• "You gave us permission to": The ripple effect of sharing your mastered expertise
• Thought leadership as resistance: Why women like us must take our voices seriously
• The power of the right people at the right time—and how to find your community through technology
• Why stories aren't a joke: How personal narratives create understanding across continents and cultures
• From Soweto to Oaxaca: The universal language of Black women's lived experience
• Master storyteller framework: Understanding your past, embracing experiences, and shaping your compelling story
• Dynamic beings, dynamic stories: Why your narrative requires constant refinement
• The universe's nudges: Turning life's pushes and conscious choices into narrative power
• Owning mistakes and choices: How vulnerability shapes authentic leadership
• Your story as a gift: Don't underestimate the power of bringing your truth to the world

🔗 CONNECT with Kutloano:

• Shades and Layers Podcast
• Instagram: @shadesandlayers
• Website: shadesandlayers.com

CHAPTERS:

• 04:19 Why Women Like Us Must Take Thought Leadership Seriously
• 05:00 The Scarcity Of Platforms Celebrating Black Women
• 05:33 Mastering Your Expertise And Giving Permission
• 07:49 You Have A Story: Becoming The Master Of Your Narrative
• 08:32 Understanding Your Journey: Nudges, Choices, And Mistakes
• 08:55 Owning Your Story And Learning From Experience
• 58:53 The Right People At The Right Time
• 59:01 Finding Community Through Technology And Connection
• 59:15 People Sitting In Your Earbuds: The Power Of Podcasts
• 59:21 From Oaxaca To Soweto: Stories That Travel Across Borders
• 59:51 People's Stories Are Not A Joke
• 60:13 Your Story As A Gift To All Of Us

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

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