SPEAK LIKE A CEO

Mo Bunnell, business development expert and author of Give to Grow, breaks down winning work versus just doing it. He discusses bringing half-formed ideas to create buy-in. He explains pricing strategies, how to ask for referrals effectively, and ending meetings to build momentum. He also covers storytelling that makes the client the hero and using AI as a BD thought partner.

You’ve been trained to stay on message. The problem? “On message” is forgettable.Bill McGowan, author of Speak, Memorably and founder of Clarity Media Group, has spent 25 years coaching executives on how to be memorable, even working with clients like Kim Kardashian and Cookie Monster.In this episode, he breaks down the difference between speakers people remember and speakers people tune out. From how to open your presentation to the physical and verbal techniques that keep people listening, he shares what actually works and what to avoid.⏰Timestamps00:00 Introduction01:00 Staying on Message02:15 Be 22x More Memorable03:30 Keeping Attention05:09 The 60-Second Rule08:13 The Three Ps of voice09:32 Projection and Energy16:03 Spotting Clichés18:25 The Magnificent Seven20:34 What to Do With Your Hands22:30 Crafting a Memorable Talk25:01 Kardashians and Cookie Monster27:33 Reading the Zoom🎧More Episodes Like This• 316: Surrounded by Idiots w/ Thomas Erikson https://open.spotify.com/episode/2YFSr9PbPZlFQJAUpebogU?si=u_Dt5fqgRVqzOOoyCJoctA• 315: Nir Eyal NYT Best Sellerhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/2MjPtegbC6wSmLWG6Nqjvy?si=r_en9YaUQFqT5eBBgrN6MA• 308: Confidence on Commandhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/1tTFZKF5RA1gWDZvJzSpl9?si=m32VAVaTQUONT8VVS8qm🔗LinkedInHost: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-aust/Guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-mcgowan-7103b/📩NewsletterHost: https://eo-ipso-comms.kit.com/profile📚Resources• 21 Storytelling Frameworks: https://eo-ipso-comms.kit.com/21-storytelling-frameworks-with-oliver• Become a Presentation Genius (Free Course): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wJloFeNwBg• Speak Like a CEO Academy: https://www.speaklikeaceo.academy/📧 Email: info@eoipsocommunications.com🙌 This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Most leaders think their idea will win on merit. It won't.Even NASA could not get funding for a $100 million mission to measure air pollution from space. Not because of the science, but because not enough people believed in it.In this episode, NASA's former Chief Story Architect Paul Propster shares the persuasive framework NASA now uses to win funding for their missions. You'll learn the four-point structure they use to plan their pitches, the simple test Pixar taught them for vetting ideas, and the single insight that will get review boards rooting for your idea instead of picking it apart.⏰Timestamps(00:00) Introduction(01:21) Winning a $100M(04:30) Story Architecting(06:06) NASA’s Credible Messengers(08:58) What Pixar Taught NASA(12:52) 6-Sentence Story Template(14:17) Artemis Moon Program(16:29) Storytelling Through Failure(19:05) Story Architect Circle(23:22) Teaching Authenticity(29:52) Paul’s Best Advice🎧More Episodes Like This• 316:Surrounded by Idiots w/ Thomas Erikson https://open.spotify.com/episode/2YFSr9PbPZlFQJAUpebogU?si=u_Dt5fqgRVqzOOoyCJoctA• 315: Nir Eyal NYT Best Sellerhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/2MjPtegbC6wSmLWG6Nqjvy?si=r_en9YaUQFqT5eBBgrN6MA• 308: Confidence on Commandhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/1tTFZKF5RA1gWDZvJzSpl9?si=m32VAVaTQUONT8VVS8qm🔗LinkedInHost: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-aust/Guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-propster/📩NewsletterHost: https://eo-ipso-comms.kit.com/profile📚Resources• 21 Storytelling Frameworks: https://eo-ipso-comms.kit.com/21-storytelling-frameworks-with-oliver• Become a Presentation Genius (Free Course): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wJloFeNwBg• Speak Like a CEO Academy: https://www.speaklikeaceo.academy/📧 Email: info@eoipsocommunications.com🙌 This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com💡 This episode’s supervising editor was Chelsea B. Olsen https://chelseabolsen.com

Tyler Denk, co-founder and CEO of beehiiv and early Morning Brew team member, built a $500K newsletter while scaling a $30M company. He discusses why owning your audience beats relying on platforms. He explains newsletters as durable distribution, storytelling as a leadership tool, and how transparency and CEO-as-creator strategies accelerate growth.

Allison Shapira, Harvard lecturer and author of AI for the Authentic Leader, advises executives on using AI to enhance authentic leadership. She explores when leaders underuse or overuse AI and how that affects trust. She explains the AI Authenticity Loop, when AI can aid tough conversations, and practical first steps to adopt AI while protecting credibility.

Meetings, emails, conversations – the reason they all break down is the same: we get the first minute wrong.Chris Fenning, author of The First Minute, literally wrote the book on how to get that first minute right. His frameworks are simple, but they fix the problems most leaders deal with every single day.In this episode, you'll learn how to lead better meetings, write emails that actually get answered, and communicate your point before people tune out.Topics discussed:Introduction (00:00)3 questions you must answer in the first minute - and why it matters (00:37)The science behind the first minute (05:22)The GPS framework for getting results (07:36)How to recover when conversations go wrong (11:00)The TPO framework for better meetings (12:38)How to change communication culture in organizations (14:46)When to replace a meeting with something else (18:34)Who to include (and not include) in meetings (21:08)Should you use AI to write your emails? (23:17)How to set communication preferences within your organization (28:27)How to structure emails that get replies (31:02)The 10-second habit for clearer communication (34:59)Where niceties belong in an email (36:15)Connect with Chris Fenning:https://chrisfenning.com/Connect with Oliver: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-aust/Get the Presentation Planner Oliver uses with elite communicators: https://eo-ipso-comms.kit.com/presentation-plannerWant to work with Oliver and become a top 1% communicator? Join the Speak Like a CEO Academy:https://www.speaklikeaceo.academy/This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Scott Osman, executive coach who scaled Marshall Goldsmith’s pay-it-forward coaching network, and Jacquelyn Lane, leader at 100 Coaches who matches executives with elite coaches, reveal what makes leaders coachable. They discuss how coachability predicts fast results, how to find the right coach, common leadership blind spots, the openness framework to change, and AI’s growing role in coaching.

Leaders learn a three-step plan to cut prep time and double presentation impact. Practical tips cover structure choices, killer openings and endings, and making the audience care. Delivery advice includes body language, the five Ps of vocal variety, handling interruptions, and staying calm under pressure.

Here's a hard truth: the people you think are idiots think the exact same thing about you.In this episode, Thomas Erikson, bestselling author of Surrounded by Idiots, helps us answer the question: are we really surrounded by idiots or are we simply failing to communicate? He breaks down the four personality types that shape how every person around you behaves and explains exactly how each one thinks, communicates, and needs to be led.You’ll learn the truth about energy vampires, narcissists, and how to protect yourself without sacrificing yourself in the process.Topics discussed:Introduction (00:00)Why you think you're surrounded by idiots (00:51)The four “colors” of human behavior (04:10)Yellow vs. blue: the communication gap (09:58)How to adapt to different colors (15:03)What each color needs most from their leaders (16:47)How to build your leadership communication skills (18:22)The trap most leaders fall into (23:05)The colors that struggle the most to adapt (28:47)How to deal with energy vampires (30:27)The truth about working with narcissists (34:04)Connect with Thomas Erikson:http://surroundedbyidiots.com/Get the Presentation Planner Oliver uses with elite communicators: https://eo-ipso-comms.kit.com/presentation-plannerWant to work with Oliver and become a top 1% communicator? Join the Speak Like a CEO Academy and sign up for the FREE webinar! https://www.speaklikeaceo.academy/This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com (https://podcastboutique.com)

Beliefs can limit us – or liberate us. And most of us are still carrying a few that stop us short of reaching our goals. Our guest Nir Eyal helps us identify and overcome the limiting beliefs that hold us back.Nir is the bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable. He spent the last six years researching the science of motivation for his brand new book Beyond Belief  – and what he found explains why even highly motivated leaders limit themselves.He makes a provocative argument: the real limiter isn’t motivation or willpower. It’s belief.Not positive thinking. Not affirmations. Not mantras in front of the mirror. That stuff hardly works. What does work is to treat “beliefs as tools, not truths.”You’ll learn why motivation isn’t about willpower, why confidence collapses under pressure, and how one missing layer – your beliefs – determines whether you persist, command the room, and communicate like a true leader.Topics discussed:Introduction (00:00)How limiting beliefs hold us back (00:47)Facts vs. faith and why the difference matters (05:38)Why toxic positivity hurts you (10:45)The framework for challenging a limiting belief (14:45)How identity and fear keep people stuck (19:47)Becoming an anti-fragile communicator (22:47)"Fake it till you make it" — the reframe (25:58)The three powers of belief (30:05)High-agency leadership in the age of AI (35:53)The first step to changing your limiting beliefs (37:13)Connect with Nir Eyal:https://www.nirandfar.com/beyond-belief/Want to work with Oliver and become a top 1% communicator? Join the Speak Like a CEO Academy: https://www.speaklikeaceo.academy/This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com (https://podcastboutique.com)