Speak Up With Laura Camacho

Kathy Klotz-Guest's fascinating background, a former tech exec who also worked as a comedian, then became a podcast host and keynote speaker. She knows exactly what leaders need to build trust and connection. Without these key ingredients, your team cannot innovate.She and Laura discuss how using humor (not necessarily telling jokes) is a great way to be human at work. The reality is that trust is at an all time low and to retain top talent and be innovative, your team or group has to be a great place people WANT To work - where trust, laughter and connectionhappen.Bringing humor and levity is not about being funny; it's about connection and trust.Be inspired and grab your pen

We agree that the purpose of television is to entertain. Most effective enterprise business leaders know how to make their key messages entertaining. All business owners either grab enough attention, or go out of business. And that’s what Maz Farrelly shares with us in this conversation: how to be more interesting."It’s not my job to be interested, it’s your job to be interesting."Like excellence in all things, paying attention to detail makes the cut. Whether it’s dressing in a signature look (á la Steve Jobs) or crafting unexpected metaphors, or even bringing the best cake in town to a client meeting, standing out from the vanilla beige crowd is the supreme competitive advantage. And Maz has the stories to prove it. And yes, they’re entertaining."There's no point in being incredible and making beautiful things if no one knows you exist."Grab your pencil ✏️ and take note of these life-altering takeaways!

In this episode, Laura is excited to introduce you to Carlo Pignataro, whose uber cool job is to help companies & individuals add a touch of luxury and elegance to their business so they can stay out of price wars and build emotional links with their clients/stakeholders. How’s that for a unique approach to executive communication?We kick off by chatting about culture as top luxury brands, like other top companies, focus on retaining top talent. (Hint: no ping pong balls, beer, or even luxurious workspaces needed.)We spend a lot of time connecting the allure of luxury brands - theirdesirability, their quality, their stories, their courage to accept they’re not all things to all people in relationship to leadership and communication.15+ years of experience in the international luxury industry have taught me that value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.– Carlo PignataroGrab your Cartier pencil ✏️ and take note of these takeaways andothers!

Today’s eclectic and engaging guest, Melissa Dinwiddie, helps us all think about work from a more creative perspective, especially through improv exercises. Did you know that improv can help you think on your feet faster? We even did a cool improv exercise on this episode. (Try it with an introverted member of your team!)Connectivity means more connected brains.Melissa regales us with her stories from the trenches and also shares hard research on the benefits of bringing improv practices and creativity in general, to your “non-creative” work.Time to grab your pencil ✏️ and note down these these takeaways:

Today is special as for the very first time, we brought back a former podcast guest. That happens even less frequently than a Perseid meteor shower or a Triple Jovian Eclipse. Chris is back to share some of the highly effective communication tools he’s developed since we last spoke on Episode 127 when The First Minute was released back in May, 2021.Since then his two books have won quite a number of impressive awards!!!Chris’ technical background gives him particularly useful insight in that important communication flow between the IT side and the business side of any company. Chris and Laura are both astounded at the level of complexitywe all manage on a daily basis, and the cognitive load and the pace of change are only going to get heavier, which makes communication even more challenging.Stop what you’re doing, grab your pencil ✏️ and note down these these Swiss-Army knife quality takeaways and more!

Get the inside scoop on how to be the belle or beau of any gala ball in this fun conversation with the master of fundraising, Rob Giardinelli and Laura Camacho . Rob and Laura crack the code on how anyone, even the socially awkward, can become stunning guests at any social event. Rob’s attended literally over 2,000 gala events and is hand down the man who knows what works and what doesn’t.Grab your pencil ✏️ and note down these these takeaways just in time for the social season kicks off!

In this lively episode introverts Laura Camacho and Matthew Pollarddiscuss the actions we can take to fast-track our success, from how to shine at a dinner party to being a recession-proof professional.Adversity seeds the success of our future.Matthew is obsessed with accelerating growth for others, whether they work in a company or own a company. Starting without a college degree, connections or even a vision, he learned what it takes to connect with people, even if you’re a hardcore introvert.Every skill can be learned and mastered.See how you can be even more proactive and build your own influence, impact, and income.Among the influence takeaways, you’ll learn:

Laura and Lisa Gaché met through a common client/friend in LA, where Lisa is the queen of helping media stars and execs mind their manners. Laura and Lisa hit it off like PB and dark chocolate and dropped so many juicy tips on influence through good manners. In this unfiltered conversation you’ll get the exact etiquette insights that NO ONE tells you (except maybe your mom

Everything you need to know about answering questions in a meeting or presentation with graciousness and calm.Let’s re-frame your brain’s attitude toward questions, show how you can use them to build your relationships and your reputation.Laura lets you in on the reasons you WANT people to ask you questions, how to make preparation easier by anticipating questions, how to deal with absolutely any question from anyone, even your frenemies, with graciousness.Following up on Laura’s most popular podcast episode, Slay the Q&A, she’s prepared this updated version for your listening pleasure and career advancement.Unless you’re driving, grab your pencil ✏️ and note down these these diamond-studded platinum takeaways and more!

There is a point where powering through doesn’t work. If you feel stuck in your career trajectory, it could be you’re caught in the performance paradox. Join this fascinating conversation about what to do when working harder stops working.In this interview with Growth-Mindset expert, Eduardo Briceño, Laura highlights ways leaders can strengthen their team cultures, cultivate growth mindsets in their teams, and adapt better learning strategies.Eduardo’s book, The Performance Paradox, was just releasedSeptember, 2023.The team is the strongest cultural unit. – Eduardo BriceñoUnless you’re driving, grab your pencil ✏️ and note down these these takeaways and more!

In this episode, Laura introduces you to the transformative TammyAlvarez, the mastermind behind the Career Winners Circle.Drawing from her prolific C-Suite career on Wall Street, Tammy shares her useful "Break all the Rules" approach, leveraging her extensive experience leading at powerhouse companies like AIG and Bank of America.Now, through her innovative coaching programs at the Career Winners Circle, Tammy equips leaders to amplify their potential and extend their impact.Press play to reshape your self-image as a leader who embodies both courage and innovation. Grab your pencil ✏️ and take note of these takeaways and more!

Former TEDx Senior Speaker Coach, Jacqueline Farrington, joins Laura Camacho to talk ALL the things to uplevel your presentation skill. NOTE: In the podcast Laura says Jacqueline teaches Theatre at Yale. That is PAST tense. She hasn't taught there since 2005.Being able to give outstanding presentations can be your defining career catalyst. The difference between a good presenter and a compelling one is 100 different details, and that is exactly what Laura and Jacqueline talk about in this conversation.Jacqueline brings her theatrical background AND Tedx coaching experience to YOU through this fascinating conversation. Grab your pencil before you start the recording ✏️ and take note of these takeaways and more!

Bob Dilenschneider is the kind of guy who does podcast interviews from his car in Manhattan while his driver pulls over for this conversation! He’s also the kind of guy who’s been rubbing shoulders with the who’s who of national and international politics, media and culture since the 1990s.Bob’s been around the block and has a sharp nose for what’s signal and what’s noise. He’s a charming, straight shooter, old school type. There is so much from our conversation, gems like...

Talking to Peggy was so much fun, Laura is planning to visit her next time she’s in New Mexico. The problem with “tooting your own horn” is that smart people tend toremember only the painful examples and develop fear of coming across as boring and/or annoying.There are actually delightful ways to talk about your accomplishments that provoke authentic and rich conversations. These have the bonus of letting people know who you really are. (Which many people will find encouraging, btw.)Being able to talk about yourself in an interesting way brings a boatload of benefits, which include helping others to do the same. People want to know about you, without the tsunami of self-revelation that traps so many.Laura and Peggy cover small talk, networking conversations, conversation tools you can use on zoom, and many other tips including these:

Along the path of his eclectic career, Tom Jackobs picked out the high-payoff tidbits you need to craft a story that moves people to action. That’s charisma in a nutshell, and being an extrovert is NOT required. It’s about creating a teaching moment, a pitch that doesn’t sound like a pitch (because no one likes being sold to!)What you are really going to love about this episode, and I’m speaking to those whose work is related to technology and or engineering, is that Tom has a PROCESS for crafting a story that sells. What Laura and Tom really focus on is “selling” your solutions/proposals to senior leadership, how to find that story that sells the value you offer.(You should probably listen to this episode twice, just saying.)

Bonus Episode 201 Replay Laura Camacho interviewed by Laura Cox KaplanThis is for you if you ever feel like your hard work is insufficiently recognized, and/or compensated. This is also for you if you are looking for a new role and you need to speak the language that gets you hired and valued.More than ever career success comes down to how effectively you communicate not just about the work itself, the deliverables, but also the value you and your team are providing and the impact of that work on other parts of the organization.In this episode, Laura shares the secrets you need to communicate the value of your work in a way that builds visibility, influence, and impact.This episode was originally recorded for the She Said/She Said Podcast and we found so much value in this conversation we are posting it especially for the Speak Up with Laura Camacho posse!Takeaways from this chat include:

Holy Mackerel!

This encore conversation spotlights influencer and She Said/She Said podcaster Laura Cox Kaplan (@lauracoxkaplan), who shares the EXACT small habits and stories that build influence, wins over those frozen granite hearts and scalpel sharp minds, and even the steps to get a role on corporate or nonprofit boards.Laura Cox Kaplan has forgotten more about influence than most people ever learn. Snag her proprietary influence framework and to help you navigate and better utilize whatever life throws your way!Expand your influence using these habits and story structures:

It sure feels like there are unprecedented levels of turmoil on the economic/social/political landscape, with potentially legitimate concerns of how AI will change our work. Resilience is your fast track ticket to facing adversity, working with annoying people, and pivoting with finesse in your career.If you haven’t already, it’s so important for you to know what your strengths are so you can lean on them to work with more energy. You not only want to leverage your own strengths, but help those around you to know and use their strengths, to build the entire team’s engagement and performance. Russell goes through the Resilience Wheel to deconstruct this key concept into its component parts.Of course your communication skill level mirrors your current level of resilience. If you look carefully into any conversation, you can pretty accurately assess their level of resilience and respond accordingly.Fortify your leadership with resilience, using these life-altering insights:

An accomplished keynote speaker and Managing Partner of Leadership Forum, LLC, Wanda Wallace’s work focuses on improving leadership by improving the quality of conversations. She helps women and men advance, stick and thrive. After 10 years at the helm of Duke's Fuqua School of Business executive education program, her most recent work helps managers break out of being the expert and build truly inclusive cultures. This work is captured in her latest book "You Can’t Know It All: Leading in the Age of Deep Expertise." Laura and Wanda chat up ways leaders add value to their teams WITHOUT knowing all the technical details -> that becomes mission impossible once you reach senior leadership and can actually happen at any time.They chat up a mini-tsunami of practical tips to be a better public speaker and how to get other people on board with your brilliant ideas.Reach your stakeholders in their comfort zone, not yours.Everything that happens in business happens in a conversation.Catch these titanium diamond-st