What I learned about women and public speaking

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I attended a private lunch in Silicon Valley, celebrating powerful women in Silicon Valley. I gave an impromptu Ted Talk about how I leveraged technology to change my life for ever.

I introduced a room full of powerful women to #ThatChallengeGirl, changing your life one challenge at a time. I walked them through how I launched challenges to lose wight, become a vegan body build, do stand up comedy, being cast in my first hollywood sci fi film, became a bee keeper to over 100,000 bees, became a country western line dancing teacher, produced a documentary, and how I became a trap god! Yes I produced a trap song about data science, got a meeting with a real record label, shot a 40 person music video, and launching a full out campaign to encourage data science. All leveraging technology and social media

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My favorite part of the talk was “How many women in here listen to Trap Music” “How many listen to Future”

70% of the hands flew up!!!

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After my talk women lined up to speak with me.
I was waiting to answer questions about weight loss and my year of challenges but that never happened. Ok I happened but not to the degree I was hoping.

80% of the ladies who lined up to speak with me after my talk simply said ….”How did you do that, that speech was amazing. I want to do that”

I was taken back.
I was actually SPEECHLESS

Ok side note, between you and I .. I honestly truly thought people were aiming for poor speeches. I mean clearly they have seen them done in a different way but yet in still they were doing it another way. I’m sure they have enjoyed talks and have been inspired by talks…..but yet they are developing a different product. A dull, trite, not so bad, less inspiring boring lecture. At that point I assume it is their preferred choice.

Keep in mind these ladies are not who I am referring to when I say dull talks. I am referring to every boring conventional talk. I guess I just want to much out of life. I love the excitement, the story telling, the powerful energy, the move to me to take action excitement: I want it all!

Ok now I’m back

70% of the attendees who lined up to speak with me had one thing in common, they all wanted to know if they could do what I did,I said absolutely!!

To my surprise …
They were referring to speaking!

I was floored. I literally said “What”!!!

Surprisingly enough I was Speechless!

Two Harvard doctors standing in front of me asking for my help. ASking me to help them deliver their message. I was flattered as well as confused. But I had just witnessed NASA, board members, founders, brilliant women hide in a corner to avoid telling the room what they are passionate about and what they are excited about…..so I could buy it…

A peek into our conversation:

Her: I want to do what you did

Me: Well you just talk

Her: Do you think it is something anyone can learn?

Me: Absolutely!

Her: The way you command the room, everyone was silent. How do you know when to talk, when to walk, when to turn, the things you did with your voice, the posture, the energy? I want to do that EXACTLY that.

Me: WOW! Thank you!!

Her! I want to do exactly what you did. Can you help me?

Me:
I have spent thousands of hours and thousands of dollars on public speaking classes, acting school, and charm school. I LOVE public speaking. It never crossed my mind that I could apply it to professionals in the workspace and beyond. I never really considered creating frameworks and strategies on public speaking.

It is just something I absolutely love, I love speaking in public, so I invest in it. Time, energy, because I want to present myself well.

It is work.
Here is an example.
When a conference hires a public speaker at 50k per talk, they are not paying for the 1 hour he is on stage…..they are paying for every hour it took to get him there.
He puts in the work.

Her: I never thought of it like that.
Me: I honestly did not come here to launch a public speaking workshop, or sell you a course. I came to talk about my passion and motivate others to live their passion.

But one comment stopped me in my tracks…
Her: If you see a need, and the market is here, and we will help you do this, why say no to a new revenue stream that allows you to do what you love. You will be helping so many women, so many entrepreneurs.

Me: silent
(As soon as I heard I could help entrepreneurs I was in!)

I must say I never thought of hosting a public speaking lab/workshop. But this is brilliant. Thank you for the idea!

Her: You would be helping empower so many women!

These comments from accomplished ladies that really spoke volumes.

1. How do you do that?
2. I do not want to go to Toastmaster, or improve class, or do stand up comedy, I just want to do what you did.
3. How do you know when to move?
4. How can I learn to do what you just did
5. I felt so comfortable during your talk
6. How did you do your voice that way?
7. Can you help me?

Ok so how did this experience impact me?

I understand my first thought was …NO I am not doing this I came here to share my passion for content, social media, fitness, and data science.

The common theme from each executive was:
I do not want to go to improve class, I am not interested in being a professional actor.
I don’t want to do a stand up comedy show, I am interested in being a professional comedian.
I don’t want to go to Toastmaster, I don’t like the style of speech.

If you don’t like Toastmaster, improve, or stand up you are stuck giving bad speeches… What can I do, I just want to do what you did! You were amazing!

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After speaking with most of the ladies I learned on thing, they did not only seek speech techniques, they needed permission to speak.
They already had the knowledge and accomplishments. They were brilliant!! Had I been another person I might have been intimidated by all of the beauty and success in the room.
I continued to gather data and this is what I learned.

They need confidence, empowerment, and permission. Once they have that we can channel that into public speaking techniques.
I realized EVERY woman needs this!

I left the group with two major keys that transformed my speaking and creativity.

I live by two mottos, I left this with them…

If it is not entertaining, no one cares
If it is not fun, why are you doing it?

I am considering launching a public speaking workshop for female founders.

Later, I ran the concept by an engineer at salesforce and other senior engineer today and they loved it!

1ST EVER CISCO Social Media Influencer to Take over Cisco Corporate Social!

New face of @Ciscoo Social anyone?
#ThatTechGirl named 1ST EVER CISCO Social Media Influencer to take over Cisco Corporate Social!
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For the first time in history a non Cisco employee partners with the legacy brand to drive engagement via social! #ThatTechGirl Takes over #CISCO social!

I caught up with Liberty Madison in San Francisco California as she was leaving an invite only event, 5th Annual Extraordinary Womens Lunch hosted by Anjou Ahlborn Kay, I asked for a few moments of her time to discuss her latest announcement on Instagram @LIbertyMadison

“I’m thrilled to be the 1st ever non #cisco employee to over their social. They have worked with influencers in the past but this is a very unique opportunity. I am the first ever social media influencer to take over their social. They have millions of fans and loyal followers and I am looking forward to meeting them. This is Huge! To me, this says the brand is moving in the right direction by connecting with millennials and entrepreneurs” says Liberty Madison #ThatTechGirl.

So what is the goal? Why work with CISCO?

“My goal is to show millennials that Cisco is an innovative tech company working on interesting and innovative products in the tech space. I am excited to show how they support women in tech. I want women of all backgrounds to know Cisco is a great company to work for as well as an ideal strategic partner for their startup. I am excited to be a part of this team!”

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Liberty goes on to say “Connecting with millennials via social and mobile is key, it is where we spend most of our time. Seeing Cisco leverage that with someone that people know and trust is exciting!”

Watch Liberty on @Cisco Instagram March 8th for International Women’s Day! She gives you a personal behind the scenes look as well as exclusive interviews at Cisco Women’s Day of Impact Event for International Women’s Day at Cisco Headquarters in San Jose, CA

Are you excited about this opportunity?

“As a tech founder I’m thrilled to see Cisco take a startup approach and leverage digital to talk directly with audiences. As a content creator this is EPIC!”

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“I am excited to share the really cool things Cisco is doing for #Millennials. It’s soooo dope! It’s pretty Lit at Cisco!”

I will be following this partnership. I am thrilled to see they are working with Liberty, she is so exciting, fun, and high energy! She is entertaining and to watch! She is extremely passionate about tech and it shows!

Be sure to follow Liberty on IG and Twitter

#ThatTechGirl is #LibertyMadison
#Oprah of #Silicon Valley
#Technology for Millennials
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Interview by Ashley Lighton, a #ThatTechGirl Contributor

5th Annual Anjou’s Extraordinary Ladies Luncheon

5th Annual Anjou’s Extraordinary Ladies Luncheon

5th annual Anjou's Extraordinary Ladies Luncheon

Anjou Ahlborn Kay, principal at FusionStorm, held The 5th Annual Extraordinary Ladies Luncheon in San Francisco at LUMNIA on March 5, 2017. The invite only lunch brings together Powerful Women of Silicon Valley.
Anjou is also founder of Hack Cancer as well as Mr|Ms. Silicon Valley.
When she is not hosting one of her many events that brings the people of Silicon Valley together Mrs.Kay serves as the North American Ambassador for WED (Women’s Entrepreneurship Day) at the United Nations. She sits on the Women’s Board for SFMOMA and LLS (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) Nominations Board. She also owns Bamboo Asia Restaurant, a unique concept experience where Japanese, Vietnamese, and Indian cuisine meet near Market Street.

Let’s get into it shall we!

It was my first time attending this event and it was such a dynamic experience! I was inspired by a room full of successful women who did not start the conversation with “What Do You Do”!
Oh wow! I am grateful for that one!

I seriously loathe that question. It’s not because I don’t “do” anything, like most people in Silicon Valley we all do a lot, it is because it is uncreative and lacks true interest in the other party. I advise people to NEVER ever start any conversation with “What Do You Do” phrase.

Ok let’s get back to the good stuff!

Anjou kicked off her event with a ice breaker that sparked conversation, chatter, and excitement!
She held up a name tag and pen and yelled “Ladies write your name and one thing you are passionate about or something you are just excited about right now, It does not have to be work related, it can be anything”.

OH and the fun began!!

I met a woman who was excited about puppies, I myself was excited about Instagram, so we begin exchanging instagram accounts about puppies! I later found out she manages startup founders wealth of tens of tens of millions of dollars in private funds! Yes she does wealth management but she also loves puppies. I say this is proof you can have it all, if you ask me!

This ice breaker was Gold! I learned so much about each and every attendee!

We then went on to claim our seats at a beautifully decorated table. We enjoyed a buffet style indian meal as every woman addressed the room regarding her current excitement.

The indian food was amazing!! Vegetarian/vegan gold!!

So who was in the room?

The room was filled with senior engineers, executives, Google, NASA, founders, wealth managers, artist, and developers. One theme rang true throughout this entire lunch. Everyone spoke about there excitement for love, fitness, following their passion and building a well rounded balanced life! I LOVED it!!
Why did I love it? Well I am typically sitting through boring conversation. You know the “This is what I do, this is how important I am, look at me because I am so dope I bet you can’t handle my life” meeting. This is the total opposite. I see why Anjou is so beloved by her friends. Her friends reflect her on so many levels. Each and every woman attended with one goal in mind, to meet friends and truly connect. It was not “job title meets job title” it was simply human meets human.

My style!

Well then it was my turn to take the floor and something came over me… I went full on Ted Talk!
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I started by saying” I could talk to you about original digital content, but I’m not. I could talk to you about my passion for millennial entrepreneurs but I won’t. I could even talk about how I help brands leverage social media to expand and explode their brand
but I would rather talk to you about how I took a year off to change my life by leveraging technology!

I introduced the room to #ThatChallenge Girl.
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I wanted to connect with my new friends on a level we are all passionate about: Accomplishing goals, gaining confidence, achieving new levels of fitness, and mastering self awareness. I just celebrated my one year anniversary of #ThatChallenge girl, on March 1 and I am excited, so I had to share it!!

My first TedTalk!

Anjou is an dynamic woman who brought an amazing group of women together to discuss their goals, passions, and how we can work together to support each other…
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My Instagram recap of the 5th Annual Anjou’s Extraordinary Ladies Luncheon:
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Excited I had the chance to speak in front of over 50 power women in business and technology and share my journey of @ThatChallengeGirl , self awareness, growth, and finding love❤
Living your passion, purpose, and being in position is POWER.
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I spoke on 7 of my challenges I accomplished! Then focused on #DataScience and #DataMining
ONLY LIBERTY gives a data analytics talk mixed with Trap music
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