Speaker Life

Speaker Life is your behind-the-scenes pass into the world of professional speaking, luxury branding and media opportunities. Hosted by media strategist and Speaker Life Magazine founder Lea Woodford, this podcast delivers actionable insights, expert strategies, and powerful conversations with speakers who are building unforgettable brands and booking high-impact stages. Whether you're just stepping into the spotlight or scaling a multiple six-figure speaking career, Speaker Life gives you the tools, connections, and confidence to own the mic and rise as a thought leader. New episodes weekly—subscribe now and get booked, seen, and heard.

Speaker Life is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 63 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts Speaker Life, a business show with 63 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Speaker Life

  Chris Voss: FBI Negotiation Secrets for Building Trust & Influence

  Sep 29, 202627 min

  What can an FBI hostage negotiator teach you about building trust, strengthening your personal brand, handling difficult conversations, and becoming more influential? In this episode of Speaker Life, Lea Woodford sits down with Chris Voss, former FBI lead kidnapping negotiator, bestselling author of Never Split The Difference, and founder and CEO of The Black Swan Group. Chris reveals how the same negotiation skills he developed during high-stakes FBI crisis negotiations can help speakers, entrepreneurs, leaders, sales professionals, and business owners communicate more effectively, earn trust, and achieve better outcomes. You'll discover why Chris believes authenticity and integrity are the foundation of a powerful personal brand, why your reputation often enters the room before you do, and why standing out in a "sea of sameness" requires more than clever marketing—you have to actually live what your brand promises. Chris also explains the philosophy behind The Black Swan Group and how small changes in language can dramatically change the direction of a negotiation by creating trust and accelerating collaboration. In this conversation, you'll learn: • How Chris Voss built his personal brand around authenticity, honesty, and integrity • Why trust is one of the most powerful tools in negotiation • How small communication changes can create dramatically better outcomes • Why successful personal branding requires you to "walk your talk" • How Chris evaluates speakers bureaus and speaking agents • What professional speakers should look for in a bureau relationship • How FBI negotiation principles can help speakers handle difficult audiences • Why Chris believes the pursuit of excellence is healthier than the pursuit of perfection • How different negotiation personality types communicate • What aspiring entrepreneurs should understand before leaving corporate America • Why entrepreneurship is about more than simply making money • How better negotiation skills can improve both your business and your life Chris also shares his experience working with the Harry Walker Agency, the importance of finding business partners who will negotiate rather than simply take orders, and why even world-class speakers occasionally have presentations that don't go as planned. One of the biggest lessons from the conversation: you cannot control every outcome—but you can continually improve your ability to communicate, negotiate, build relationships, and pursue excellence. ABOUT CHRIS VOSS Chris Voss is a former FBI lead kidnapping negotiator, bestselling author of Never Split The Difference, and founder and CEO of The Black Swan Group, a negotiation training, coaching, and consulting organization that teaches people how to achieve better outcomes in high-stakes conversations. Through The Black Swan Method® and Tactical Empathy®, Chris and his team help business owners, leaders, sales professionals, and other professionals develop negotiation as a practical, repeatable performance skill. Learn from Chris Voss and The Black Swan Group: Negotiation training and resources: https://www.blackswanltd.com/ In-person and live training: https://www.blackswanltd.com/live-events Online negotiation training: https://www.blackswanltd.com/online-negotiation-classes ABOUT LEA WOODFORD Lea Woodford is the founder of Speaker Life Magazine and Luxury Media Brands. Through Speaker Life Media, she helps speakers, coaches, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders get seen, get heard, and get booked by strengthening their message, authority, media presence, and personal brand. With a background as a TV host and celebrity interviewer, Lea brings a media-driven perspective to public speaking, storytelling, influence, and positioning. GET SEEN. GET HEARD. GET BOOKED. Speaker Life Media is The Complete Speaker Media Ecosystem™, helping speakers, coaches and entrepreneurs build visibility and authority through our magazine, podcast, YouTube show and annual Speaker Life Summit. Learn more: https://speakerlifemedia.com/ Speaker Life Summit: https://speakerlifemedia.com/summit Subscribe to Speaker Life for conversations with top speakers, agents, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and industry experts sharing what it really takes to build authority, grow your influence, and create a profitable speaking career.

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  Speaker Life

  How to Get a TEDx Talk: What Organizers Look For | Cesar Cervantes

  Sep 22, 202621 min

  How to Get a TEDx Talk: What Organizers Look For How do you get a TEDx talk? Start by finding licensed TEDx events in your area, researching what each organizer is looking for, developing one clear idea that serves the audience, and being willing to apply more than once. In this episode of Speaker Life, host Lea Woodford sits down with speaker coach, speechwriter, and TEDx coach Cesar Cervantes to break down what it really takes to move from an idea to the TEDx stage. If you have ever wondered how to apply for a TEDx talk, what makes an idea TED-worthy, why some TEDx applications get rejected, or how a TEDx talk can help build your authority as a professional speaker, this conversation gives you a practical roadmap. Cesar explains that one of the biggest mistakes aspiring TEDx speakers make is treating the application like a keynote pitch—leading with credentials, accomplishments, and why they are an impressive speaker. TEDx is different. The strongest TEDx ideas are idea-driven, audience-focused, rooted in expertise, and relevant beyond one specific industry . Cesar explains that a speaker should be able to clearly identify the problem, the new way they see that problem, the solution they are proposing, and what could change if the audience embraced that idea. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL DISCOVER: • How to find TEDx events and speaker application opportunities • Where to start when searching for a TEDx event • What TEDx organizers actually look for in speakers and ideas • How to determine whether your idea is TED-worthy • The difference between TED and TEDx • Why a TEDx application should not sound like a keynote speaker pitch • How to turn your expertise into one clear, memorable idea • Why shortening your message can make you a stronger professional speaker • How a TEDx talk can become a valuable speaker reel and authority-building asset • Why your audience—not you—should become the hero of your story • How to use personal stories without making your speech entirely about yourself • Why rejection is part of the TEDx application process • How persistence can help your idea eventually find the right stage • What professional speakers can learn from TEDx-style short-form presentations HOW DO YOU CREATE A TEDx-WORTHY IDEA? Cesar recommends starting with the idea rather than starting with yourself. Instead of asking, "How do I impress the organizers?" ask: What problem have I discovered? What do people usually believe about that problem? What have I learned that changes the way we should think about it? What could happen if people acted on this idea? That change in perspective helps transform a personal story into an idea worth sharing with an audience . SHOULD YOUR PERSONAL STORY BE THE CENTER OF A TEDx TALK? Your experience can establish why you are qualified to speak about the subject, but Cesar cautions against making yourself the hero of the entire talk. When listeners only hear about your transformation, they may think, "That worked for you—but what does it mean for me?" Instead, use your story to help listeners see themselves in the message. When the audience recognizes its own struggles, possibilities, and next steps in your story, the speech becomes more powerful and memorable. HOW MANY TEDx APPLICATIONS SHOULD YOU SUBMIT? Persistence matters. Cesar tells his coaching clients to be prepared to submit at least 50 applications rather than assuming one rejection means the idea is wrong. Because TEDx events are independently organized, speaker selection can vary significantly from event to event. His advice: get clear about what you want to say, continue improving the idea, keep applying, and give the message an opportunity to find the right stage. ABOUT CESAR CERVANTES Cesar Cervantes is a speaker coach, speechwriter, and co-author of the USA Today –featured bestseller Great Speech! He helps speakers turn their ideas into TEDx talks and signature keynotes that build authority and that people actually remember and share. A former stand-up comedian featured on Comedy Central, Cesar taught comedy at Colorado College before becoming a professional speaker. He is a 5x TEDx speaker coach on three continents and leads Top Talks and his speaker mentorship program. CONNECT WITH CESAR: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrcesarcervantes/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrcesarcervantes/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thatwhichmoves/ ABOUT SPEAKER LIFE Speaker Life helps speakers, coaches, consultants, entrepreneurs, authors, and experts become stronger communicators, build their authority, get booked, and create more opportunities from their message. Hosted by Lea Woodford, Speaker Life brings you conversations with successful speakers, business leaders, coaches, media experts, and thought leaders who reveal what it takes to build influence both on and off the stage. Visit Speaker Life Media: https://speakerlifemedia.com/ Subscribe to Speaker Life wherever you listen to podcasts, and share this episode with someone who has an idea that deserves a bigger stage.

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  Speaker Life

  How to Build Strategic Partnerships That Grow Your Business | Michelle Jacobik

  Sep 15, 202621 min

  Strategic partnerships can help you grow your business faster, reach new audiences, generate referrals, and create opportunities you may never reach alone. But the wrong partnership can cost you time, money, energy, and trust. In this episode of Speaker Life , host Lea Woodford sits down with business profitability strategist, bestselling author, speaker, and Path to Profits® founder Michelle Jacobik to explore how speakers, coaches, consultants, entrepreneurs, and business owners can build strategic partnerships that actually work. Michelle explains why the strongest strategic partnerships are built on relationships, shared values, reciprocity, trust, audience alignment, and mutual benefit rather than purely transactional networking. You'll learn how to identify the right strategic partners, what red flags to watch for, why relationship-first networking creates better long-term opportunities, and how to know whether a partnership is actually benefiting both sides. Michelle also shares the three criteria she uses when evaluating a potential strategic partner: • Do you share similar values? • Do you serve compatible audiences? • Can both businesses genuinely benefit? If the answer is not yes to all three, it may not be the right partnership. The conversation also explores an important distinction between relational and transactional business relationships . Michelle and Lea discuss what happens when people are more interested in accessing your audience than adding value, why reciprocity matters, and how to recognize when someone may no longer belong in your "front row." They also discuss why strategic partnerships can be especially powerful for professional speakers, coaches, consultants, solopreneurs, and personal brands who are trying to expand their reach without building everything alone. One of the most important lessons in this episode comes when the conversation turns to money. When a relationship becomes a business investment, financial partnership, coaching investment, or other monetary commitment, Michelle emphasizes the importance of due diligence instead of relying only on trust or intuition. In this episode, you'll learn: • How to build strategic partnerships in business • How to find the right business partners • The difference between a business partnership and a strategic partnership • Why relationships should often come before partnerships • How to bring value before asking for something • Red flags to watch for in potential business partners • The difference between transactional and relational networking • Why shared values matter in strategic partnerships • How reciprocity strengthens business relationships • Why audience alignment matters • How strategic partnerships can generate referrals and opportunities • Why follow-up is essential for building trust • How to evaluate whether a strategic partnership is working • Why due diligence matters before investing money • How speakers, coaches, consultants, and entrepreneurs can grow faster through collaboration About Michelle Jacobik Michelle Jacobik is a business profitability strategist, bestselling author, speaker, and founder of the Path to Profits® framework. Drawing on more than three decades of entrepreneurial experience, Michelle helps business owners strengthen their financial foundations, increase profitability, and build successful businesses that support the lives they want to create. Connect With Michelle Jacobik Website: https://michellejacobik.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellejacobik Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michellejacobik Lea Woodford is the founder of Speaker Life Magazine and Luxury Media Brands. Through Speaker Life Media, she helps speakers, coaches, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders get seen, get heard, and get booked by strengthening their message, authority, media presence, and personal brand. With a background as a TV host and celebrity interviewer, Lea brings a media-driven perspective to public speaking, storytelling, influence, and positioning. . . . Speaker Life Media is The Complete Speaker Media Ecosystem™, helping speakers, coaches and entrepreneurs build visibility and authority through our magazine, podcast, YouTube show and annual Speaker Life Summit. : https://speakerlifemedia.com/ ️ : https://speakerlifemedia.com/summit Subscribe for conversations with top speakers, agents, thought leaders and industry experts sharing what it really takes to build a profitable speaking career.

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  Speaker Life

  How to Sell Without Being Salesy: Matt Leitz's Courteous Close

  Sep 8, 202627 min

  How do you sell without being salesy—especially when you're a speaker, coach, consultant, or entrepreneur who needs people to invest in what you offer? In this episode of Speaker Life, Lea Woodford sits down with Matt Leitz, founder and CEO of BotBuilders, to uncover a more authentic approach to sales, webinar conversion, marketing, and selling from the stage. Matt explains why great advertising cannot rescue a weak offer, why changing social media algorithms shouldn't control your business, and how to build a repeatable marketing system that turns attention into customers. You'll also learn Matt's "Courteous Close," a sales strategy designed to help prospects make a decision about the outcome they want before asking them to choose who will help them achieve it. Rather than pressuring people to buy, Matt teaches speakers and entrepreneurs how to create clarity, commitment, trust, and genuine connection. In this episode, you'll learn: • How to sell without being salesy • Why great ads can't fix a weak offer • How to build a reliable marketing and conversion system • Why your webinar needs to work mathematically before you build it • Matt Leitz's "Courteous Close" sales strategy • Why buyers should make two separate decisions • How to improve webinar conversions and calls to action • Why selling for the customer changes the entire sales conversation • How speakers can sell from the stage without losing audience trust • Why authenticity often outperforms the perfect sales script • How company values and culture become part of your marketing • Why successful sales conversations move from "me vs. you" to "we" • How transparency builds credibility with an audience Episode Chapters 00:00 Is Your Marketing Still Working? 01:32 Why Facebook Has Become Pay-to-Play 02:54 Build a Marketing System Beyond the Algorithm 04:13 Does Your Webinar Business Model Actually Work? 05:22 Matt Leitz's "Courteous Close" 06:49 The Two Decisions Every Buyer Needs to Make 09:10 Do People Really Hate Being Sold To? 11:39 Sell FOR the Customer, Not Yourself 13:26 Why Company Values Are Part of Marketing 16:16 The Sales Disaster That Changed Matt's Approach 20:06 How Speakers Create Real Audience Connection 23:32 Matt's Near-Death Experience and His "Why" About Matt Leitz Matt Leitz is the founder and CEO of BotBuilders, where he helps businesses generate more leads, automate conversations, and increase revenue with AI-powered chatbots. A lifelong entrepreneur, Matt has built three successful companies and earned seven appearances on the Inc. 5000 list. His approach combines sales, marketing, copywriting, and automation to help businesses turn more conversations into customers. Connect with Matt Leitz Website: https://www.botbuilders.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattleitz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattleitzofficial/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattleitzofficial/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mattleitz About Lea Woodford Lea Woodford is the founder of Speaker Life Magazine and Luxury Media Brands. Through Speaker Life Media, she helps speakers, coaches, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders get seen, get heard, and get booked by strengthening their message, authority, media presence, and personal brand. With a background as a TV host and celebrity interviewer, Lea brings a media-driven perspective to public speaking, storytelling, influence, and positioning. Connect with Lea Woodford & Speaker Life Speaker Life Media: https://speakerlifemedia.com Speaker Life Magazine: https://speakerlifemagazine.com/ Speaker Life Summit: https://speakerlifemedia.com/summit Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealspeakerlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leawoodford/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@leawoodford Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speaker-life/id1819421221 GET SEEN. GET HEARD. GET BOOKED. Speaker Life Media is The Complete Speaker Media Ecosystem™, helping speakers, coaches, and entrepreneurs build visibility and authority through our magazine, podcast, YouTube show, and annual Speaker Life Summit. Subscribe to Speaker Life for conversations about public speaking, sales, personal branding, authority building, entrepreneurship, and turning your message into opportunity.

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  Speaker Life

  How to Book the Right Keynote Speaker—and What Gets Speakers Hired | Chris Lee

  Sep 1, 202624 min

  How do event planners choose the right keynote speaker—and what makes a professional speaker get hired? Chris Lee, CEO of CAL Entertainment, joins Lea Woodford to reveal what happens behind the scenes at a leading speaker bureau. He explains how event planners can find, evaluate, and book keynote speakers who understand their audience, support the goals of the event, and create an experience people will remember. If you are responsible for planning a conference, corporate meeting, leadership event, or association gathering, choosing the wrong speaker can affect the entire event. You need more than a recognizable name. You need a speaker with genuine expertise, strong stage presence, compelling content, and the ability to connect with your audience. Chris shares how an experienced speaker agent can shorten your search, help you avoid costly booking mistakes, and recommend the best keynote speaker for your topic, budget, and audience. Professional speakers will also learn what speaker bureaus and meeting professionals expect before they recommend or book someone for the stage. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL DISCOVER: • Why event planners should consider working with a speaker agent • How a speaker bureau helps identify the right keynote speaker • How to distinguish a genuine expert from someone who merely looks like one • Why fresh, unexpected, and entertaining speakers are in demand • What makes a keynote speaker memorable enough to be invited back • How speaker agents evaluate expertise, stage presence, personality, and professionalism • Why phone conversations can reveal more than email when planning an event • Why signing with a speaker bureau does not guarantee speaking engagements • How podcasts, LinkedIn, social media, and video content help speakers get booked • What event planners need to see in a professional speaker demo reel • Why authentic audience reactions matter in keynote footage • How speakers can build a recognizable brand around their expertise QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS EPISODE: How do you choose the right keynote speaker for an event? Start by defining your audience, event objectives, desired outcome, topic, budget, and preferred speaking style. An experienced speaker agent can then narrow the available options and recommend speakers with the expertise and stage presence to meet those needs. Why should an event planner work with a speaker bureau? A reputable speaker bureau understands the speaking-industry landscape, knows which speakers consistently deliver, and can save meeting professionals hours of research. The right agent also helps evaluate fit, availability, speaking fees, audience relevance, and professionalism. What do event planners look for in a keynote speaker? Event planners want genuine expertise, relevant experience, stage presence, audience engagement, professionalism, and a message that supports the goals of the event. Increasingly, they also want fresh and entertaining speakers who offer something audiences have not seen before. How can a professional speaker get booked by a speaker bureau? A speaker bureau alone will not build your career. You must develop a clear brand, speak regularly, appear on podcasts, publish valuable content, maintain a visible presence on platforms such as LinkedIn, and create a high-quality speaker demo reel featuring real keynote footage and audience reactions. What should a professional speaker demo reel include? Your speaker reel should show you delivering a keynote speech to a live audience. Event planners want to see that you can command the stage, communicate with charisma, hold attention, and generate authentic reactions such as laughter, emotion, and engagement. During the conversation, Chris also shares insights from working with and evaluating leading speakers and experts, including Chris Voss, Jim Kwik, Daymond John, and Kenny Aronoff. ABOUT CHRIS LEE Chris Lee is the CEO of CAL Entertainment, a leading speaker bureau that connects top keynote speakers with major events and organizations throughout the United States. With more than two decades of experience working with event planners, meeting professionals, and professional speakers, Chris has helped book some of the most sought-after voices in the speaking industry. His expertise gives him a unique perspective on how event planners can find the right speaker, what makes a keynote successful, how speaker bureaus vet talent, and what professional speakers must do to get booked and paid. CONNECT WITH CHRIS LEE AND CAL ENTERTAINMENT Website: https://calentertainment.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calentertainment ABOUT LEA WOODFORD Lea Woodford is the founder of Speaker Life Media and host of the Speaker Life podcast and YouTube show. An award-winning media personality, keynote speaker, and celebrity interviewer, Lea helps speakers, coaches, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders clarify their message, increase their visibility, build authority, and turn their expertise into opportunity. CONNECT WITH LEA WOODFORD Website: https://www.speakerlifemedia.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leawoodford/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leawoodford/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@leawoodford GET SEEN. GET HEARD. GET BOOKED. Speaker Life Media is The Complete Speaker Media Ecosystem™, helping speakers, coaches, and entrepreneurs build visibility and authority through our magazine, podcast, YouTube show, and annual Speaker Life Summit. Learn more about Speaker Life Media: https://www.speakerlifemedia.com Learn more about the Speaker Life Summit: https://www.speakerlifemedia.com/summit Follow Speaker Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your preferred podcast platform for conversations with top speakers, agents, thought leaders, and industry experts sharing what it really takes to build a profitable speaking career.

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