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. 35m ago

    Why I Kept Getting Certified Instead of Speaking Up (And What Finally Changed)

    🗓️ BOOK One-hour Working Session — Let's unpack how you can speak up and get that intimidating opportunity, before creating another credential roadblock:  https://calendly.com/love-kind-cure/speak-up-for-your-excellence-clone Credentials don't give you permission to speak up for what you want; you do. I have two master's degrees from top universities PLUS I'm a published author and speaker who's been on stages from Hong Kong to New Zealand—none of those degrees or fancy credentials did the talking for me on any stage, panel or pitch. I had to dig up that confidence and speak up for my excellence. By the end of this video, you'll know exactly how to catch yourself when you're chasing one more degree, certificate or title...instead of just speaking up and going for the big opportunity that intimidates you. YOU'LL LEARN — Why collecting more credentials can stall you from going after what you really want — The scrunch-it-up exercise that gives you permission to go after the intimidating thing today. And the protection you think the credential buys? It doesn't exist. Your achievements will not protect you — you still have to open your mouth and explain the excellence, over and over. The credential was never the magic. You are. 👇🏽YOUR  TURN Have you ever caught yourself plotting one more credential before letting yourself go after the thing? Tell me in the comments CHAPTERS 0:00 The Lie About What Credentials Buy You 1:30 The Scrunch-It-Up Permission Exercise 3:00 Telling Stories In Soweto Long Before Any Degree 4:30 What My Sister Said On A Street In Iowa City 6:30 You Changed — Not The People Around You 8:00 The Protection I Thought The MFA Bought Me 9:30 "Your Achievements Will Not Protect You" 11:00 The Trap Of Always Needing One More Credential 12:30 Catching Myself Plotting Law School 13:30 Permission First, Then The Work 14:15 The Call To Action — What Credential Are You Chasing? 14:45 Learn More: The Whole Damn Talk 🎤 How to Talk About Your Expertise Without Sounding Like A Bio: 📩 DOWNLOAD your free guide to Sound Like the Expert You Are when Speaking to a new High-Stakes Audience: https://lovekindcure.kit.com/a01edf3c35 LET'S CONNECT 📚Innards: My debut, a short story collection + Guardian Best Fiction Books of 2023. 📲 Are we instagram friends? https://www.instagram.com/madamespeakersays/ 👩🏽‍💻 Storytelling website: http://www.magogodi.com 🎤 Madame Speaker Says site: http://www.madamespeakersays.com #ImposterSyndrome #PermissionToSpeak #SpeakWithAuthority #ThoughtLeadership 📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

  2. Aug 9

    This Criticism About Her Speaking Style Turned Into A Viral TED Talk

    🗓️ BOOK One-hour Working Session —Turn that criticism into your superpower : https://calendly.com/love-kind-cure/speak-up-for-your-excellence-clone Workplace feedback will tell you to tone down whatever makes you "too much" — too direct, too intense, too blunt. But the exact trait you've been criticized for at work is very often the thing that makes people remember you, trust you, and follow you when the stakes are high. In this episode, Magogodi breaks down how to tell the difference between deploying a criticized communication trait as an asset and swinging it like a sledgehammer — and why the urge to shrink before a high-stakes room is your brain protecting your sense of belonging, not a sign you're doing something wrong. You'll learn: — Why the exact word someone used to criticize your communication style might be the key to your professional edge — The real difference between a trait that's an asset and the same trait deployed without self-awareness — Jodi-Ann Burey's story of being criticized at work for being too much—speaking truth to power; and how that same trait landed her an op-ed in the Harvard Business Review and on the TED stage. If you've ever been told your speaking or communication style is "too much," this episode will change how you think about that criticism for good. 📩 Free guide — Sound Like the Expert You Are When Speaking to a New High-Stakes Audience: https://lovekindcure.kit.com/a01edf3c35 If this episode helped you see your own communication style differently, hit follow so you don't miss the next one — and if you've got 10 seconds, leave a quick rating or review. It's the single biggest thing that helps new listeners find this show. 📧 JOIN -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs.

  3. Aug 2

    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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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

  8. 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
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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
    61
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Madame Speaker Says
  • Show Website
    Madame Speaker Says