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Madame Speaker Says
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.
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Madame Speaker Says
Your Work Doesn't Speak for Itself - The Most Expensive Lie Brilliant Women Believe
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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 yours
- How you're already a public speaker every single day — whether you'd ever call yourself one or not
- Why the skills don't change whether you're in front of 2 people or 2,000
- What I actually do (hint: I can't make you smarter — I help the room understand how smart you already are)
- And what's coming next
If 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.
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