What Most Speakers Miss: 3 Secrets to Insightful and Inspirational Presentations

Have you ever walked away from a presentation thinking, “That was… fine,” but not truly moved, inspired, or motivated?

Here’s the truth: Most presenters mean well - they want to share valuable information - but they miss what truly makes a talk stick with the audience.

In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on a recent presentation I gave at a local AI meetup that got amazing feedback - not because I taught all the things, but because I did these 3 key things instead.

You’ll learn:

• What made this AI-focused talk both insightful and inspiring to a room full of people at all levels of tech

• Why having a clear structure (yes, our Signature Talk Canvas!) is non-negotiable

• How to go beyond teaching and step into thought leadership by showing your audience what’s possible

• The powerful “aha” moment a friend shared with me after my talk - and why it matters for your delivery

• How I use AI workflows and agents in my business, from podcast production to lead nurturing
  
  

Whether you're speaking to clients, colleagues, or on a stage, these 3 secrets will help you create the kind of talk that resonates and gets you invited back.

 

Links:

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/429/

Get my AI presentation slides + my Notion project: speakingyourbrand.com/ai-human

Want to create your own insightful and inspirational signature talk? Book a VIP Day or join our Thought Leader Academy: https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/work-with-us/coaching/

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 288: A Framework for Creating a Signature Talk for Income and Impact

• Episode 327: From Expert to Thought Leader: 3 Key Strategies You Need Now in the AI Age

• Episode 355: What a Signature Talk Is and What It Should be Doing for You

 

Episode Transcript

Carol Cox: How can you make your presentations both (00:00):
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insightful and inspirational?
I'm sharing three secrets you can use for
every talk you give, no matter the topic,
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

(00:21):
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.

(00:43):
Welcome to the Speaking Your Brand podcast.
I'm your host, Carol Cox.
Today, I'm going to take you behind the
scenes of an hour long presentation that I
recently gave at an AI meetup.
The presentation topic was behind the scenes
of an AI powered business,
workflows that save time and scale impact.
And in that hour long presentation,

(01:04):
I showed specific examples,
real world use cases of how I'm using AI
automations and agents in my podcast
Production Lead Nurturing.
I've even created an assistant that I can use
in slack. It's really,
really cool to do things like send emails and
add meetings to calendars and so on.

(01:25):
This presentation had about 50 to 60 people
in the audience. It was a full house at the
venue where it was at,
and the people. There were all levels of AI
knowledge and expertise,
everyone from people who are very techie in
the machine learning space to people who just
have a curiosity about AI.
I had friends and some speaking your brand

(01:46):
clients in the audience,
so it was so much fun.
How this speaking engagement came about is
because I had attended the prior months
meetup, introduced myself to the event
organizer and casually said to her,
if you're ever looking for any presenters,
I'm happy to do so because I've been
integrating AI into what I'm doing with my
business and podcast.
And she said, oh, as a matter of fact,

(02:07):
we're looking for a speaker for next month
because our speaker can't make it because he
has to go out of town. Would you be
interested? And I said yes on the spot,
because number one, deadlines really do spur
me to action to kind of finish some things
that I was working on and also to put
together the presentation.
And I am very passionate about this topic,
and you'll hear me talk a little bit more

(02:29):
about this as we get into the episode.
What I want to share with you today is how
you can make your presentations both
insightful and inspirational.
Now you may think with a tech focused
presentation like this.
After all, I'm showing video demos and
screenshots of different automation workflows
and different ways that I'm using AI in my

(02:51):
business and podcast.
So yes, it's very practical and it's and is
very tangible, but I also wanted it to be
inspirational. I wanted to make sure that my
thought leadership came through.
Here's what some people who were in the
audience commented on my LinkedIn post about
this, and I'll include a link to that post in
the show notes. They said things like it was
a memorable, insightful,

(03:12):
and engaging presentation.
It was engaging, informative and incredible
presentation, great content,
and a fully engaged audience.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom and knowledge
with us. Equal parts informative and
inspiring, and this is the kind of feedback
that I aim for.
And you heard the word engaging several

(03:32):
times, and I'm going to talk about that in
secret number three today.
As far as how to make your presentations both
insightful and inspirational.
So engaging is a key word.
Insightful is a key word and wisdom and
knowledge. So you notice it wasn't about
teaching and training.
It's about wisdom.
That's where the insights come from.
But it's also about the inspiration,

(03:53):
walking away with ideas,
thinking about how this can apply to them.
Now, I know if you're listening to this
podcast, you want to deliver a great
presentation, you want to make sure your
audience gets value from it,
and you also want to get leads for your
business and probably more speaking
invitations as well.
Well, as soon as I was done with my
presentation that evening,

(04:15):
I got one speaking invitation.
As soon as someone came up to me right off
the bat. So that's what I want for you as
well. But we have a tendency to want to teach
and train, to show all the things,
to walk people through step by step.
When we're giving a presentation,
say, at a conference session or at a business
luncheon, learn. But that's not really the

(04:36):
appropriate time and place for a teaching and
training. Those are better for YouTube
tutorials, video trainings that you have in
your online program or paid workshop that
you're doing instead.
If you're doing a presentation,
especially for lead generation and that you
want to be seen as the go to person in your
industry, the go to person in your space.

(04:57):
You really want to make sure that you're
incorporating thought leadership and that
inspiration into what you're doing.
So I'm going to share with you here three
secrets to do to make sure every presentation
you deliver, no matter the topic,
no matter the audience,
is both insightful and inspirational.
And I'll share with you what a friend who was

(05:17):
in the audience told me afterwards,
which I was very happy to hear,
but I hadn't ever really thought about it in
that way. If you want to see my presentation
slides, you can get access to those by going
to speaking your comments.
Again, that's. There's a link in the show

(05:39):
notes. You can just click on that link along
with my presentation slides.
You'll also get access to the notion project
that I'm building out that shows how to build
some of these AI workflow automations for
yourself. I'm also in the process of creating
a live online workshop or online program to
help you build these AI automations and

(05:59):
agents for yourself.
So if you sign up at that link speaking your
brand. You'll also get on our email list,
and so you'll know when that workshop or
program launches.
Now let's get on with the show.
Secret number one have a clear flow and
structure to your presentation.

(06:21):
Every great talk needs structure.
This does not mean that you write out word
for word what you're going to say.
Not really possible, especially in an hour
long presentation.
So it's not about being rigid,
but it's about knowing where you're going.
And in this I presentation that I delivered,
I used our signature talk canvas framework,
which I use for every presentation that I

(06:42):
give. No matter if it's a more technically
oriented presentation or a keynote,
and we use it for every single client that we
work with, because it helps you to organize
your ideas into a compelling narrative with a
beginning, a middle, and an end.
So often when I see speakers,
especially at, again, more technically
oriented presentations or conference

(07:03):
sessions, is that they kind of have a
beginning and they talk a bit about
themselves, and then they have,
I guess, what you would call a middle,
because that's like their main content, but
then it kind of just fizzles out.
There's no really clear ending.
The ending doesn't tie back to the beginning.
So that's what our framework does,
is it gives you that clear structure.
I went through the signature Talk Canvas

(07:25):
framework in detail and podcast episode
number 288.
So you can go back and find that one.
As I was creating this I presentation in act
one, I talked about what the audience wants.
So these new opportunities in AI,
they want to learn how it can apply to them,
how they can apply it within their own
business and in their own career.

(07:47):
I talked about some of the obstacles that we
face in thinking about how to apply AI.
It seems overwhelming.
There's new tools every single week.
How do we make sense of it all?
And then I built in my background and
credibility. I was a software developer in
the first part of my career.
I founded and ran two technology companies
and worked with everyone from fortune 500

(08:08):
companies to government agencies to startups.
So I kind of built in my credibility with
that and an audience engagement,
of course, along the way.
Then in act two, that was the main part of my
content. And as I mentioned,
I had these different automation workflows
that I had created. So I wanted to show real
world, practical ways to do this.

(08:29):
So not just, oh, here's a tool and here's a
tool, but here's how I'm actually thinking
about it for my podcast,
for lead nurturing, for operations and so on.
So then in the middle of my talk,
I broke it into three content buckets.
So I talked about using AI in operations,
in marketing and in revenue.
So operations, marketing and revenue and that

(08:50):
I had 2 or 3 examples under each of those
buckets. So instead of just having like a
laundry list like, oh,
here's 8 or 10 different workflows that I'm
using, but no real rhyme or reason as to why
I'm showing one and then the next.
I put them into these three buckets.
So as you think about for your talks,
how can you organize that act?
Two that kind of middle main part of your

(09:12):
talk into three buckets or three segments.
So the things that are related to each other
go together. And doing this creates natural
transitions. That also gives your audience a
mental map to follow as you're going along.
And it helps you stay focused and helps the
audience stay focused as you're going through
your talk. So that was secret number one is
have a clear structure and flow and use our

(09:35):
signature Talk Canvas framework to make it
easy for you to do that.
Secret number two is incorporate thought
leadership. No matter what your topic,
no matter the audience,
no matter if you really are doing teaching
and training, and if you have to show how to
do certain things, you should always,
always include why this matters,

(09:55):
why this matters to you,
and why this matters to your audience.
You need to give them the bigger picture.
In this case, with my presentation,
in addition to showing these very practical
automation workflows, I talked about how AI
and these new AI agents are transforming,
how we think about the work that we do.

(10:17):
They're changing how we need to work.
So now we're going to be doing a lot more
guidance and management and leadership and
less of the doing.
And all of this requires not only a different
mindset, but really us developing those
management and leadership qualities.
So that was a thought leadership I integrated
because your audience doesn't just want the
how. They also want the why now?

(10:40):
So why does this matter to me now?
What difference is it going to make and how
can I be a part of it?
So ask yourself what trend shift or insight
can you shine a light on?
What's the transformation you want your
audience to believe is possible for them?
This is what elevates your presentation from
a helpful talk to a thought provoking one.

(11:03):
So that was secret. Number two is always
integrate thought leadership.
That bigger picture that bigger.
Why that insight or that shift that you see.
Secret number three is all about your
delivery. Yes, your content is important.
You want to have nice looking slides.
You want to make sure that you're taking your
audience on that journey with a clear

(11:23):
beginning, middle and end.
But your delivery is ultimately what's going
to make your presentation engaging and
memorable. After my presentation was over,
a friend who I invited to attend came up to
me and said, wow, Carol,
you are the same person up there as you are
when I'm just talking to you at our dinner

(11:44):
table. And that means so much to me because
he said it was so conversational.
It was like you were having a conversation
with the 60 of us who were in the audience.
And I must say that that has not always been
the case with the presentations that I've
delivered, but I feel like all of the work
I've been doing, especially for the past five

(12:04):
years, over 400 podcast episodes,
the many, many, many speaking engagements
I've done, both in person and virtually,
I've been able to let go of like that
presenter mode, which I often found myself in
and instead just show up,
just show up as me, as I literally as I'm

(12:25):
having a conversation with someone over the
table. And so it helps that I'm genuinely
excited about the topic of AI and what it's
going to mean for us, but it's also the
result of a lot of practice and about
choosing connection over perfection.
This is why we always say,
do not memorize your talks.
Do not try to memorize your talks because

(12:47):
you're going to lose that natural,
authentic way that we talk to people.
When you're trying to remember that perfect
turn of phrase that you wrote down,
which is probably not the turn of phrase you
would ever use in a normal conversation with
someone when you're up there on stage,
or even on zoom.
Think about having a conversation with your

(13:08):
audience. Let them feel your passion.
Share stories with them.
Share funny memes, funny video clips.
Add humor. Let them see your humanness.
After all, that's what our advantage is over
the AI. And that's especially the case if
you're talking about something that's
technical or maybe a little bit more
abstract. And again, you can see how I

(13:30):
integrated video clips and humor and funny
memes in my presentation slides.
You can get them as speaking your brand.
Now, you don't need to be a professional
speaker or a content machine to create a
powerful presentation.
You just need to incorporate these three
secrets. A clear structure and flow.

(13:52):
A big picture lens of your thought
leadership, and a delivery style that is
rooted in conversation and authenticity.
Whether you're speaking to clients,
to conference audiences,
or to colleagues, these three elements will
help you to deliver talks that inspire action
and get results for you,

(14:12):
including leads for your business,
more opportunities, and more speaking
invitations. Now, if you would like to work
with us to create your signature talk using
our framework, we do this one on one in a VIP
day that clients call magical.
We take all of those ideas,
all of those content pieces,

(14:33):
all of your stories and client examples that
are running around in your head.
And we put them into the structure and flow
using our unique and proven framework.
You can do a standalone VIP day,
or you can do a VIP day as part of our
Thought Leader Academy.
You can get all of those details about the
standalone VIP day and our Thought Leader

(14:53):
Academy, including pricing on our website as
speaking your brand. Again,
that's speaking your brand. And then please
schedule a call with us.
We always love to talk with podcast
listeners. We'd like to hear what your goals
are, what you feel like you need the most
help with, and then we'll talk about which of
our programs is the best fit for you,

(15:15):
to help you achieve your goals and become the
kind of speaker and thought leader you want
to be. Until next time,
thanks for listening.