Madame Speaker Says

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

📧 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.

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

📧 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.

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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

📧 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.

📧 NEWSLETTER: Madame Speaker Says (Weekly Truth Bombs)

Why 98% of Immigrant Businesses Fail (And What One Bankruptcy Survivor Learned) | Art Chang on Leadership, Small Business, and the Currency Beyond Money

What happens when your business dies at 27 and still, your employees don't leave you? Art Chang—NYC mayoral candidate, women's studies major, and bankruptcy survivor who went on to build dozens of wildly successful companies—reveals the hidden currency that saved him, why immigrant entrepreneurship myths are dangerous and the systemic failures killing small businesses in America.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• Why a man majored in women's studies—and how it became his framework for understanding power
• Growing up amid racism and trauma: How immigrant childhood shapes resilient leadership
• Running for NYC mayor: Ranked choice voting, coalition building, and sharing the mic
• COVID exposed the tech gap: Why 98% of Chinatown businesses lost revenue
• Storytelling as survival: The hidden advantage separating thriving founders from struggling ones
• Bankruptcy at 27: What the system rewards (hint: not community value)
• Trust as currency: Why his employees stayed when he couldn't pay them
• Beyond networking: Give before you get and build relationships that matter
• Tender-hearted masculinity: Redefining leadership for a new era

SHOCKING STATS:

• 61% of small business owners struggle with cash flow (QuickBooks, 2021)
• Immigrant business owners face 2-3% higher interest rates (Harvard Business School)
• Small business owners often one week of revenue away from collapse

ABOUT ART CHANG: 

NYC Mayoral Candidate 2020 | Bankruptcy Survivor | Small Business Advocate | Women's Studies Major | Champion for Immigrant-Owned Businesses

Art learned the most important business lesson through bankruptcy: real currency isn't money—it's faith in people, confidence you instill in them, and genuine investment in their growth.

🔗 CONNECT with Art:
LinkedIn - http://linkedin.com/in/artchang
Medium - http://medium.com/@achangnyc
Instagram - http://instagram.com/achangnyc
The Tech Mayor Project - https://techmayor.nyc/
CACF: Coalition for Asian American Children and Families - http://cacf.org/

CHAPTERS: 1:00 Show Open And Guest Introduction 3:15 Why A Man Majored In Women's Studies 6:08 Growing Up Amid Racism And Trauma 10:22 Women's Studies As A Framework For Power 14:50 Running For Mayor And The Mic 16:22 Ranked Choice Voting And Power Sharing 20:30 Small Businesses As A Lifeline 24:40 COVID Exposed The Tech Gap 28:10 Storytelling As Survival For Founders 31:00 Privilege, Access, And Who Gets To Start 34:40 Self-Education And Business Basics 38:10 The First Company's Rise And Fall 42:20 Bankruptcy, Balance Sheets, And Capitalism 46:05 Community Value Capital Doesn't Count 49:20 Paying People Back And Earning Trust 52:05 Beyond Networking: Give Before You Get 56:20 Tender Heart, New Masculinity, Close

💬 What currency are you building that money can't buy?

#SmallBusiness #ImmigrantEntrepreneur #Bankruptcy #Leadership #ArtChang #Entrepreneurship #BusinessFailure #NetworkingTips #TrustAsCurrency

📧 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.

She Almost Died and Came Back to Tell Y'all: Stop Giving These Companies Your Integrity for Free

What happens when you almost die—and then go back to work in a place built on performative safety? In this raw, unflinching conversation, Jodi-Ann Bury shares how a three-week hospital stay rewired everything she thought mattered about career, status and survival—and why she couldn't keep lying to protect a company's image.

We get into:

💀 The hospital reckoning — When you think your life is over, the only thing left is integrity. Status symbols? Gone. The 3am emails? Irrelevant. What remains: the people who show up every single day.

🎤 The unbearable weight of the lie — Returning to public-facing leadership after nearly dying, and realizing she couldn't keep pretending her company was a "safe space" just because she was there.

🖤 Why Black women's thought leadership is under siege — Our thoughts, our leadership, and our frameworks are being actively targeted and stamped out. And if you don't know what Black women are thinking? You're in danger.

📚 Thought leadership as survival — Not magic. Not aspiration. But ancestral, collective knowledge that keeps us whole, keeps us well, and when done right, keeps us in deep community.

✍️ From concept to reality: Meet Authentic — Jodiann's book didn't start as a book. It started as a need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid and start taking her own medicine. Hear how years in startups, international development, and "let's save the Earth" organizations shaped her refusal to stay silent.

Keywords: thought leadership, Black women leadership, workplace authenticity, integrity, DEI, diversity equity inclusion, speaking truth to power, corporate culture, near death experience, personal transformation, authentic leadership, Black feminist thought, professional development, career pivot, workplace toxicity, burnout recovery, leadership coaching, women of color, corporate survival, building authority

This episode isn't about inspiration. It's about what happens when survival forces you to choose honesty over comfort—and why Black women's intellectual property isn't optional, it's essential for the next seven generations.

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'📚 READ - Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work  by Jodi-Ann Burey

📺 WATCH - Jodi-Ann's TED Talk

🔗 CONNECT - Learn more about Jodi-Ann's work 

👉🏾TAKE THE QUIZ - Stop guessing what your vibe is. Take the quiz to discover your thought leadership type, your secret superpowers, and—let's be real—exactly where you're getting in your own way. Spoiler: it's probably not where you think. 

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

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Ready to turn your ideas into influence? Learn more about building thought leadership on your own terms. Apply for 1:1 coaching to transform your voice into your greatest asset.

👉🏾 APPLY FOR COACHING | Spots are limited.

📧 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.

Skip the Book Deal: One Powerful Article with Kleaver Cruz

Tired of waiting for the "right time" to become a thought leader? In this episode, we sit down with Kleaver Cruz to explore the alternative path to publishing—and why you don't need a book deal to build authority.

We get into:

🔥 How one well-written article can attract editors and agents—bypassing years of the traditional publishing grind

📖 Why there are no hard and fast rules in publishing—success looks different for everyone, and the "right" path might not exist

✍️ Strategic article placement that actually works—it doesn't have to be the New York Times to open doors

💭 Toni Cade Bambara's radical ideas on identity and self-discovery—reclaiming ownership of who you really are (not who the world told you to be)

💪 Why marginalized communities must embrace thought leadership—and how to make money doing it authentically

🎯 The difference between existing in public and being truly amplified—real strategies for building genuine influence from the margins

This conversation is raw, unapologetic, and absolutely essential for anyone building authority without waiting for permission.

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📚 READ - The Black Joy Project by Kleaver Cruz

🔗 CONNECT - Learn more about Kleaver's work 

👉🏾TAKE THE QUIZ - Stop guessing what your vibe is. Take the quiz to discover your thought leadership type, your secret superpowers, and—let's be real—exactly where you're getting in your own way. Spoiler: it's probably not where you think. 

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

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Ready to turn your ideas into influence? Learn more about building thought leadership on your own terms. Apply for 1:1 coaching to transform your voice into your greatest asset.

👉🏾 APPLY FOR COACHING | Spots are limited.

📧 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.

Claiming Audacity: Building Thought Leadership For Marginalized Voices ft. Sisonke Msimang🎙️✨

Tired of waiting for permission to lead? In this episode, we sit down with Sisonke Msimang to unpack what it actually takes to become a thought leader—especially when the world wasn't built with you in mind.

We get into: 

1. 🔥The audacity required to claim your voice when structural violence says you shouldn't 
2. 📖 Why your belief in yourself has to come FIRST—before the book deal, the Ted stage, the validation 
3. 👁️ The power dynamics keeping marginalized voices off the megaphone (and how to reclaim it) 
4. 💪 Why Black women and marginalized storytellers stepping into public power literally changes everything 
5. 🎯 The difference between existing in public and being truly amplified

This conversation is raw, unapologetic, and absolutely essential listening for anyone building influence from the margins.

📚 READ - Sisonke Msimang's transformative works explore identity, narrative, and the power of storytelling 

🔗 CONNECT - Learn more about Sisonke's work at REACH Fellowship 

👉🏾TAKE THE QUIZ - Stop guessing what your vibe is. Take the quiz to discover your thought leadership type, your secret superpowers, and—let's be real—exactly where you're getting in your own way. Spoiler: it's probably not where you think. 

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

💼 READY TO ACTUALLY BECOME THE THOUGHT LEADER? 

You've got the ideas. You've got the fire. Now it's time to get paid for it. I help high-achieving Women of Colour execs, founders, and creatives like you turn that audacity into authority and that whisper into a megaphone.

If you're ready to: 📚 Get your name on a book cover and cement your authority 💸 Command stages and keynote fees that actually match your impact 🥇 Own your space as a #1 voice in your industry

Apply for 1:1 Coaching and let's make your thought leadership impossible to ignore.

Spots are limited—I can only work with a handful of clients to protect the integrity of this work.

👉🏾 APPLY FOR COACHING 

📧 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.

Our 2020 Conversation with Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo—the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate, saxophonist, member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the woman who held that laureateship longer than anyone in decades—breaks down why joy isn't escape, it's resistance.

This conversation pulls from her work that refuses to separate poetry from music, grief from celebration and survival from beauty. Harjo, who lost her mother young, played jazz in honky-tonks to pay for college and still writes poems that make you weep and dance in the same breath.

In this Love As A Kind of Cure 2020 recording, you'll hear Harjo talk about what it means to carry ancestors in your words, why a saxophone is as much a storytelling tool as a pen, and how Indigenous women have been practicing joy as revolution long before anyone gave it a hashtag. This isn't inspiration porn—this is a masterclass in staying soft in a hard world without breaking.

From the poet who gave us "She Had Some Horses," played backup for her own readings, and reminded a country that this indigenous land--Turtle Island--now known as the United States, had poets long before it had a name. Here's Joy Harjo on memory, music  and why joy might be the most dangerous thing you can claim.

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

📧 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.

BONUS Episode - From our 2020 Conversation with Nikki Giovanni

Think poetry is just pretty words? Think again. Nikki Giovanni—who survived lung cancer, buried her best friend James Baldwin, and kept teaching at Virginia Tech through everything—breaks down Morrison's genius, the writers who shaped her, and why celebrating "The Bluest Eye" fifty years later isn't nostalgia, it's survival.

This was our 2020 conversation when the world felt like it was cracking open and we needed Giovanni's voice—sharp, warm, uncompromising—more than ever.

You'll hear her talk about Morrison the way only someone who lived through the same fights can. About what it meant to watch "The Bluest Eye" land in 1970. About the cost of telling truth. This isn't a polite literary chat—this is two women who know what it takes to keep your voice alive when the world wants you quiet.

From the poet who gave us "Ego-Tripping" at 24 and never stopped writing fire: here's Nikki Giovanni on legacy, love, and why some books don't just survive—they save lives.

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

📧 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.

Our 2020 Conversation with Arundhati Roy 

Think love is just sentiment? Think again. Arundhati Roy—author, activist, truth-teller extraordinaire—breaks down how love becomes revolution, how tenderness transforms into resistance, and why the most radical act might just be refusing to harden your heart in a brutal world.

This was our 2020 keynote for "Love as a Kind of Cure's Freedom Festival, hosted with my partner in crime Cleyvis Natera. This conversation was recorded when the world felt upside down and we needed Roy's fierce wisdom more than ever.

You'll hear Roy's unfiltered thoughts on writing as resistance, the politics of storytelling, and why love might be the most subversive force we have. This isn't your typical literary interview—this is a masterclass in using your voice when the stakes couldn't be higher. 

From the Man Booker Prize winner who gave us, "The God of Small Things" and has  never stopped fighting: here is love as a kind of cure. 

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

📧 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.