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