Madame Speaker Says

Magogodi
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Self-Improvement

Madame Speaker Says is the podcast for women of colour ready to own the mic, drop that book and get paid like a legend. Join Magogodi oaMphela Makhene - author, speaker and coach - for real talk, shortcuts and receipts to help you lead with confidence — on stage, on the page and way beyond the 9–5. No caucacity, no crusty old school leadership.  Edges snatched. Script flipped. No apologies. Fresh episodes drop weekly.Pull up. 

  1. 1d ago

    How I Turned My Biggest Flop On Stage into 5-Figure Speaking Fees

    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.

  2. Jul 26

    My Secret For Turning Talks Into Clients + Paychecks (Not Applause)

    🎤💥 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.

  3. Jul 19

    Your Excellence Is Paying Everyone Else's Bills: How to stop funding everyone else's success and start owning yours

    🎙️ 💥 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.

  4. Jul 12

    How to Find Your Voice Again After Life Knocks You Down

    Learn how to Speak up for Your Excellence: https://lovekindcure.kit.com/b80a66aa37 You don’t need to bounce back — you need your voice back. That’s not a discipline problem and it’s not unique to whatever knocked you flat. This is the story of the year that took my identity, my title, and my ability to talk about either one and the two years it actually took to rebuild all three. 🌿YOU'LL GET — Why “bouncing back” is the wrong goal after a year that wrecks you — What actually rebuilds your voice (it's not what you think) — The real difference between grieving who you used to be and building who you’re becoming (most people mix them up) — What I started doing differently once grit and hustle stopped working  — The one shift that actually rebuilt me Picture 2023: my debut book, Innards, just came out, I had a newborn, and I was breastfeeding backstage before walking onstage to deliver a keynote in Hong Kong. Girl, I was in my power. Trumpets-announcing, Netflix-special energy. Then 2024 hit — and I mean hit. I was on the bathroom floor, completely forgot that woman I’d just been, and spent all of 2025 trying to “bounce back” to her. It doesn’t work like that. There’s nothing to bounce back to — that version of you is gone and grinding harder just keeps you standing in the same wrecked conditions. So, I did something different -- my family and I didn’t just move zip codes — we moved countries. We traded more hustle for different ground. If losing your identity (or your title, or both) in a year that flatlines you —and then feeling pressure to “get back to normal”— is something you’re carrying, you’re not alone and this video was made specifically for you. Buckle up.  YOUR TURN 👇🏽What’s the year that completely flatlined you?  Lmk the 4 digits.Mine: 2024.  Drop yours in the comments. CHAPTERS 0:00 The Comeback That Never Comes 0:55 Why ‘Bouncing Back’ Is The Wrong Goal 1:50 The Comeback Myth, Explained 2:10 My 2023: The Book, The Baby, The Keynote 4:21 2024: On My Knees In The Bathroom 6:39 Why We Moved Countries 7:08 Change The Conditions, Not Yourself 8:07 Bouncing Back Is A Myth 9:17 Rebuilding Starts With Your Voice 10:43 The Client Who Got Gagged 13:22 The Two-Sentence Exercise 15:25 The Call To Action — Drop Your Year 15:54 Close 16:05 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 DM me on Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/madamespeakersays/  Storytelling website: http://www.magogodi.com  Madame Speaker Says site: http://www.madamespeakersays.com #ComebackMyth #RebuildingYourself #IdentityAfterBurnout #StartingOver 📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

  5. Jul 5

    They Loved Me, Nobody Hired Me: Why Your Talks Aren't Converting Into Clients

    🎙️ 💥 Learn how to Speak up for Your Excellence: https://lovekindcure.kit.com/b80a66aa37 They clapped. They cried. They told you it was the best thing they'd ever seen — and then nobody hired you. That's not a talent problem. It's not even a confidence problem. 👀 What's actually going on?  THIS VIDEO UNPACKS: -- Why your talk needs a "job" before you ever walk on stage — and the one question I ask every client before we even get on a call -- The exact window after you speak when people are primed to say yes and how fast it slams shut -- The one sentence that decides whether people leave inspired or leave ready to hire you. A couple years back I led a retreat for a room full of corporate executives, and when I tell you it was stiff — you could've dropped a pin and heard it echo. One guy, built like a big buffy bear, came at me sideways the second I asked an opening question, like I was there to run some cute little woo-woo thing on him. By the end of that session? Same guy is walking side by side with me, telling me everything about his company. People were crying. The room was electric. Electric. 🔥 And it still didn't book me again. Not because the work wasn't real — because that retreat didn't have a job. I never architected it to convert. That's mistake number one, and it's probably costing you clients right now too. Then there's the flip side — missing the moment entirely. I once sat through a multi-day experience so good the whole room felt like friends by lunch. The founder never made the ask in the room. I got in my Uber, called my baby to say Mommy's flying home, landed, walked into my house — still nothing. Days later, an email shows up trying to recreate a moment that was already gone. 😬 YOUR TURN Of the 3 issues we talk about in the video—your talk as no job, you missed the moment, or your promised land is unclear--which one is showing up in your talks right now? 👇🏽 Drop it in the comments, I've got popcorn and I'm waiting... CHAPTERS 0:00 They Loved Me, Nobody Hired Me 2:00 The One Thing Your Talk Needs Before You Walk On Stage 4:50 The Retreat That Never Rebooked Me 7:00 You're Missing the Conversion Moment 7:35 The Keynote Where the Ask Came Too Late 10:25 The Promised Land Problem 12:10 What TED Gets Right About Selling Without Selling 13:40 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 #PraisedNotHired #GetHiredMore #ClientAttraction #BusinessGrowth #TheWholeDamnTalk 📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

    They Loved Me, Nobody Hired Me: Why Your Talks Aren't Converting Into Clients

  6. Jun 28

    Your Work Doesn't Speak for Itself - The Most Expensive Lie Brilliant Women Believe

    Learn how to Speak up for Your Excellence - The Whole Damn Talk. We've told brilliant women one of the most expensive lies in the world--that if the work is good enough, it'll speak for itself. It won't. I just closed out a season of interviews with women whose work has shaped institutions, ideas, their communities and countries—Wanuri Kahiu, who became the first Kenyan director to take her film to Cannes, Lebo Mashile who turned Sarah Baartman's story into a play and now an opera, Alicia DeLia, reimagining how we move money in the Global South, Rachel Cargle on the personal renaissance, Dr. Kemi Doll revolutionizing gynecologic care for Black and Brown bodies and Dr. Djamila Robeiro, the woman who disrupted a white-centric publishing industry and gave Brazil new language for dissecting power.  On paper, completely different lives. Underneath, the exact same pattern: not one of them got here by quietly becoming excellent and waiting to be discovered.  Each one learned how to make others being understand why her work mattered.That's the skill. And we celebrate it far too little. In this episode, you learn: Why "your work will speak for itself" is costing you the opportunities that are actually yoursHow you're already a public speaker every single day — whether you'd ever call yourself one or notWhy the skills don't change whether you're in front of 2 people or 2,000What I actually do (hint: I can't make you smarter — I help the room understand how smart you already are)And what's coming nextIf you're an expert with a body of work you've spent forever building, this one's for you. 🎙️ Hit subscribe so you don't miss the next episode.  💬 Got a question about translating your own expertise? Send it my way, here.  Chapters  00:00 — The one thing every guest had in common 01:04 — The women of this season, and why they could all speak to their work 02:13 — The expensive lie: "work hard and your work will speak for itself" 03:17 — Translation is a skill (send me your questions) 04:20 — You're already a public speaker, even if you'd never call it that 05:32 — Two people or two thousand: the skills don't change 06:29 — "I can't make you smarter. I make the room understand how smart you are." 07:32 — Turning expertise into bank: 18 crisp minutes that move people to act 08:37 — The throughline I didn't expect to find 09:45 — What's next: turning the lens on you 10:46 — Why I'm betting on Black and brown women Resources 📚 Innards — My debut, a short story collection and among Guardian Best Fiction Books of 2023. 🎤 The Whole Damn Talk: https://madamespeakersays.com Connect with Magogodi  Magogodi: http://www.magogodi.com  Madame Speaker Says: http://www.madamespeakersays.com  📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

    Your Work Doesn't Speak for Itself - The Most Expensive Lie Brilliant Women Believe

  7. Jun 21

    The Overnight Success That Took 20 Years | Rachel Cargle on Building a Movement From One Idea

    Rachel Cargle on the quiet years behind "overnight" success — building The Loveland Foundation from one Instagram post, self-knowledge, and real thought leadership. You keep watching other people blow up overnight. Meanwhile you've got the idea, the skill, the whole thing — and it's still just sitting in your notes app. So what are they doing that you're not? "All I had to do was usher them into place — because I had already dreamt it out." — Rachel Cargle These days, The New York Times calls and quotes Rachel Cargle. But the moment that "made" her wasn't luck and it wasn't sudden. One Instagram post — asking if we could pay the therapy bills of Black women — raised $10,000 in 24 hours and grew into a foundation that's funded over $10 million in mental health care. It looked like an overnight win. It wasn't. That post sat on top of almost 20 years of quietly curating herself — all the way back to a 10-year-old practicing handwriting she admired until it became her own. So by the time the money and the right people showed up, she already knew exactly where everything went.  This episode is the part nobody posts: the long, quiet work that makes the loud moment land. You'll learn: The real reason your idea hasn't taken off yet — and the unglamorous work that actually changes thatHow Rachel turned one vulnerable post into a $10M movement, and why it wasn't the post that did itWhat those 20 quiet years actually looked like — and how to use the years before anyone's clapping so you're ready the day they areHow to get so clear on what you want that the right people and money come find youWhy she walked away from a Columbia degree, and what she chose insteadOne small move you can make this week to startHere's the thing: the talk inside you is the same kind of quiet work. The Whole Damn Talk is the three hours where we build it — the talk that makes a room not just nod, but book you, sign up, join what you're building. I only take five clients a month. Book a call at madamespeakersays.com. New episode every Sunday. Follow Madame Speaker Says so you don't miss one. Chapters 00:00 — The authority The New York Times calls now 00:00 — Curating yourself since age 10: the handwriting story 00:00 — Why she left Columbia 00:00 — Building rooms instead of waiting to be invited into one 00:00 — One post, $10,000, 24 hours: the Loveland Foundation 00:00 — Why it wasn't actually overnight 00:00 — What being public really costs 00:00 — Your move this week 00:00 — Rapid fire Resources 📚 A Renaissance of Our Own: A Memoir & Manifesto on Reimagining: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/635409/a-renaissance-of-our-own-by-rachel-e-cargle/ 🌿 The Loveland Foundation: https://thelovelandfoundation.org 🎤 The Whole Damn Talk: https://madamespeakersays.com Connect Rachel Cargle: @rachel.cargle Madame Speaker Says: @madamespeakersays 📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

    The Overnight Success That Took 20 Years | Rachel Cargle on Building a Movement From One Idea

  8. Jun 14

    Building Authority No One Can Take | Djamila Ribeiro on Power & Speaking Unapologetically

    What does it cost to keep waiting for the world to confirm what you already know about yourself? Djamila Ribeiro's answer will stop you: "People didn't give the opportunity to me, so I created the opportunity — because I knew my value." Djamila Ribeiro is one of the most important philosophers at work in the world right now. She coined a concept that gave Brazil new language for power. When the publishing industry couldn't hold her work, she built a publishing house. When 90% of books in her country had been written by white people for fifty years, she launched a collective that published 80 Black authors. When the United Nations needed someone to speak on the International Day of Recognizing the Victims of Slavery, they called her — the first Brazilian civilian ever invited to that stage. She gave herself three words before she walked up: speak unapologetically. This is a masterclass in what happens when you stop waiting for permission and start building from what you already know. In this episode, Djamila breaks down: Why the moment she read Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye at 19 didn't just change her — it issued her a demand, and what she did with itWhat it actually means to know your value before the academy, the industry, or the institution confirms it — and how that self-knowledge becomes the foundation everything else is built onHow she diagnosed a market that wasn't built for her work and built an alternative market instead of waiting for it to changeWhat happened the day she found out a stranger had built a community library by hand in a poor neighborhood and named it after her work — and what it teaches you about building something that outlasts youThe one concrete move she gives her students before she sees them again — not over the course of the semester, but before next timeThe three words she gave herself before walking onto the floor of the UN General Assembly — and why they are the only preparation that mattered🔔 Subscribe to Madame Speaker Says - new episodes every Sunday.  Join the conversation - madamespeakersays.com Chapters 00:00 Introduction — Djamila Ribeiro 02:30 Toni Morrison at 19 — What Recognition Demands of You 08:00 Brazil's Racial Landscape — The Last Country to End Slavery in 1888👀 13:30 University at 27 — Self-Knowledge Before the Degree 19:00 Lugar de Fala & the Feminismos Plurais Publishing Collective 27:30 The Library in Campinas — When the Work Leaves Its Creator 33:00 What Brazil Can Teach the Rest of the World 37:30 Take the Floor — Rapid Fire 44:30 The UN General Assembly — Speak Unapologetically 48:00 The Whole Damn Talk — Work with Magogodi Resources Mentioned 📚 The Bluest Eye — Toni Morrison 📚 Where We Stand — Djamila Ribeiro (Yale University Press, 2024) 📚 Letters to My Grandmother — Djamila Ribeiro Connect with Djamila 🔗 djamilaribeiro.com.br 📱 Instagram: @djamilaribeiro1 📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

    Building Authority No One Can Take | Djamila Ribeiro on Power & Speaking Unapologetically
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Madame Speaker Says is the podcast for women of colour ready to own the mic, drop that book and get paid like a legend. Join Magogodi oaMphela Makhene - author, speaker and coach - for real talk, shortcuts and receipts to help you lead with confidence — on stage, on the page and way beyond the 9–5. No caucacity, no crusty old school leadership.  Edges snatched. Script flipped. No apologies. Fresh episodes drop weekly.Pull up. 

Information

  • Creator
    Magogodi
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Madame Speaker Says
  • Show Website
    Madame Speaker Says