Beyond The Keynote Show

Beyond the Keynote: Extraordinary Stories from the World's Most Influential VoicesDive deep into the untold stories of today's most compelling leaders and speakers.Hosted by performance strategist Carmen Sederino, this podcast goes beyond the stage to reveal the raw, powerful journeys that truly shape extraordinary communicators.Each episode delivers:- Unfiltered personal narratives- Career-defining revelations- Intimate insights into leadership and impactFor dreamers, leaders, and anyone who believes in the power of an authentic story.

Beyond The Keynote Show is a business podcast hosted by Carmen Sederino, with 40 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Carmen Sederino hosts Beyond The Keynote Show, a business show with 40 episodes published.

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  Beyond The Keynote Show

  Partnership Strategist: Why Trading Beats Buying — How Partnerships and Free Stages Built Her Business

  Sep 30, 20261 hour

  There is a massive lie in the business world that you need a multi-million dollar budget or a massive injection of cash just to get your ideas off the ground. You don't. What you actually need is resourcefulness, the right partnerships, and the courage to look at trading value differently. When I sat down with international award-winning speaker and partnership strategist Katrina McCarter, she took me back to where that raw resourcefulness actually came from. She wasn't handed a network or an investment fund. She was raised by a fierce, hard-working single mother who taught her, out of sheer determination, exactly how to make money, how to respect it, and how to manage a strict budget at just 13 years old. But her mum gave her a gift even greater than financial literacy. She deliberately taught Katrina the uncomfortable, painful, but beautiful power of being completely different and standing out from the crowd. Years later, when Katrina became a mother herself, she noticed something nobody was acting on: the business world was completely overlooking mums. So, fuelled by that same single-mum blueprint, a mortgage on her back, and three young children at home, she decided to build a business dedicated entirely to mothers and their families. She didn't have a big corporate budget, so she relied on raw bravery. She reached out to platforms far bigger than hers, set up clever joint partnerships that cost as little as $50 at a time, and bootstrapped an email community of 150,000 mothers before successfully selling the company. She didn't pay for expensive advertising. She worked out exactly where her customers already gathered, and traded her speaking services for free just to get her book into the hands of the mums who needed it. But perhaps the most powerful part of our conversation was when Katrina pulled back the curtain on what it truly takes to command a stage. She shared her exact, battle-tested advice on how to handle the ultimate speaker nightmare: being told minutes before you walk on that your time has just been cut, and how her entire life's journey shaped the bulletproof way she views public speaking today. Today, Katrina has packaged a lifetime of survival, grit, and corporate success into her Partnership Mastery program, helping business owners scale through intimate, one-on-one coaching. This isn't just an episode about business mechanics. It's a deeply moving conversation about being bold, being wise, and realising that building a dream always starts with being brave enough to ask. This is Katrina McCarter, on Beyond the Keynote. Quotes to Remember "If you don't ask you don't get, it's always a no." "My whole role when I'm standing up on stage is not about me reciting my presentation, it's about delivering value." More from Beyond the Keynote Finding Your Truth, the Power of Breathwork & Coming Back to the Stage | Susan Oubari Dr Margie Warrell: From a Gippsland Dairy Farm to Closing the Courage Gap Free Resource Beyond the Keynote Masterclass Connect with Katrina McCarter Website: katrinamccarter.com LinkedIn: Katrina McCarter Instagram: @katrina.mccarter Book: Marketing to Mums Connect with Carmen Sederino Website: illuminatedstory.com LinkedIn: Carmen Sederino YouTube: Illuminated Story Instagram: @illuminatedstory About the Host Carmen Sederino is the founder of Illuminated Story, transforming high-stakes presentations into unforgettable performances. With a background in theatre and corporate leadership, she helps leaders create memorable speaking experiences. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and host, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Illuminated Story.

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  Beyond The Keynote Show

  Former Intel GM: How to Prepare, Rehearse, and Deliver a Keynote They Quote

  Sep 23, 202658 min

  Most speakers treat a keynote like a presentation, but the world's best leaders treat it as a high-stakes relationship. If you aren't rigorously preparing for that value exchange, you're leaving massive business growth on the table. In this episode, Sandra E. Lopez, former Intel General Manager and founder of Ambi Ventures, breaks down the preparation behind a talk people repeat. She was terrified of her first keynote, an Intel women-in-leadership conference inside a company of 120,000, and she had about three months to get ready. She has built talks that way ever since, and can still name every step. Her reason for caring is blunt. A 60-minute keynote that teaches nobody anything costs thousands of people an hour of their lives. In a market where AI is absorbing more of the work, she argues the network you build is the part it cannot replace. In this Episode Keynote preparation: the one decision she makes before writing a word Executive presence: her mentor's note on how much to move on stage Public speaking nerves: the prep behind her first Intel stage Keynote openings: what the first few seconds have to do Presentation skills: slides as backdrop, and when they take centre stage Rehearsals: why she walks the stage, and what she changes on the day Media coverage: the lines a journalist can lift Audience connection: the feedback she waits for Speaking strategy: why she is careful about saying yes Chapters 00:00 Meet Sandra Lopez, former Intel GM and speaker 03:46 Can an introvert become a keynote speaker? 09:06 How do you turn a no into a yes? 11:09 What does a glass ceiling sound like in real life? 17:54 Is a company all hands really a keynote? 18:56 How do you prepare for your first big keynote? 20:42 What happens the moment you walk on stage? 23:59 What do you get back from an audience? 26:21 How do you get a keynote picked up by the press? 34:51 Why should you network wide instead of deep? 38:40 How do you speak when life is falling apart? 44:58 How should you start a keynote? 46:30 Why do rehearsals matter more than you think? 51:06 Can you scale a business on kindness? Quotes to Remember "In the world of AI, where AI is taking many of our jobs, I don't think AI can replace a network." Send this one to someone who has a stage coming up. More from Beyond the Keynote Finding Your Truth, the Power of Breathwork & Coming Back to the Stage | Susan Oubari Dr Margie Warrell: From a Gippsland Dairy Farm to Closing the Courage Gap Free Resource Beyond the Keynote Masterclass Connect with Sandra Lopez Website: ambiventures.co LinkedIn: Sandra E. Lopez Connect with Carmen Sederino Website: illuminatedstory.com LinkedIn: Carmen Sederino YouTube: Illuminated Story Instagram: @illuminatedstory About the Host Carmen Sederino is the founder of Illuminated Story, transforming high-stakes presentations into unforgettable performances. With a background in theatre and corporate leadership, she helps leaders create memorable speaking experiences. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and host, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Illuminated Story.

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  Beyond The Keynote Show

  3-Time TEDx Speaker: How to Introduce Yourself: Stop Being Forgettable & Be Unexpected

  Sep 17, 20261h 4m

  What happens when you stop introducing yourself like everyone else? Most speakers begin with their name, title, company and credentials, believing that is what makes an audience pay attention. But Marva Bailer tested that belief on a London stage, and what the room did next became the reason she wrote a book about it. Carmen Sederino sits down with Marva Bailer: board director, founder and CEO, strategic advisor, bestselling author and three-time TEDx speaker. She has spent her career at the intersection of leadership communication, technology and storytelling. What makes this conversation so valuable is that Marva has studied around 40,000 meetings, from young children through to executives, to work out what makes people engage, connect and remember. In this episode, Marva explains why introductions fail in public speaking, how to introduce yourself without trying too hard, why storytelling can transform a corporate presentation, and what it takes to prepare for a TEDx talk. For anyone building a speaking career, the presentation skills start long before the opening slide. She also reveals simple techniques for creating connection with an audience, including the one unexpected question that can change the energy in a room. Marva shares How to introduce yourself: why a London room could not name three people who had just spoken Executive presence: the two phrases that cost women credibility in a meeting Vocal delivery: what losing her voice taught her Keynote openings: starting without the credentials Presentation skills: her line for executives who sound like a brochure Business storytelling: how a customer story reached a board TEDx speaker selection: what it takes to be chosen Public speaking preparation: the hours behind a short talk Audience connection: the three things her seven chapters come down to Chapters 00:00 Meet Marva Bailer, TEDx speaker and author 10:12 Executive presence: two phrases to drop 12:34 Vocal health: losing your voice on the job 14:26 How to introduce yourself, in seven chapters 16:08 Public speaking experiment on a London stage 21:25 Career growth: the lattice, not the ladder 32:31 How to open a keynote outside your expertise 35:32 Presentation skills: stop sounding corporate 39:53 Business storytelling that reaches a board 43:58 How to get a TEDx talk 46:03 Speaker preparation: the real hours 53:03 How to meet a speaker at a conference 56:29 Audience engagement: the one question Quotes to Remember "They can't remember, because we're not paying attention. They're just being polite." "I didn't say I don't know. I said, I don't know, but I can learn." More from Beyond the Keynote The Style That Speaks Before You Do: How Authentic Self-Expression Makes Speakers Unforgettable Dr Margie Warrell: From a Gippsland Dairy Farm to Closing the Courage Gap Free Resource Beyond the Keynote Masterclass Connect with Marva Bailer Website: marvabailer.com LinkedIn: Marva Bailer Instagram: @marvabailer Book: Be Unexpected Connect with Carmen Sederino Website: illuminatedstory.com LinkedIn: Carmen Sederino YouTube: Illuminated Story Instagram: @illuminatedstory About the Host Carmen Sederino is the founder of Illuminated Story, transforming high-stakes presentations into unforgettable performances. With a background in theatre and corporate leadership, she helps leaders create memorable speaking experiences. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and host, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Illuminated Story.

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  Beyond The Keynote Show

  Finding Your Truth, the Power of Breathwork & Coming Back to the Stage | Susan Oubari

  Sep 9, 20261h 3m

  What happens when the life that looks perfect from the outside no longer feels right on the inside? In this episode of Beyond the Keynote, recorded live in Paris, Carmen Sederino sits down with Susan Oubari, founder of Breathe in Paris, author, Reiki Master, breathwork teacher and keynote speaker, for a deeply personal conversation about identity, burnout and the courage to step into the light. But this isn't simply a story about changing careers. It's a story about unravelling the conditioning, expectations and identities that can keep us from knowing who we really are, and learning how to create a life that actually fits. What You'll Learn (00:13:27) How to recognise when a life that looks right from the outside has stopped fitting, and what Susan noticed first (00:16:29) Why her six year old's anxiety turned out to be the signal, and what a year of doctors could not tell her (00:23:32) Why unravelling conditioning takes years rather than weeks, and what she was left holding in the meantime (00:29:07) The two categories of breathwork and what each does to your body, so you know which one belongs backstage (00:35:47) How to use your breath before you walk on, and what Susan visualises while she does it (00:41:50) What it takes to learn to speak to a room, and the unlikely person she hired to teach her (00:44:34) How to survive a night that goes badly, and the list she wrote afterwards that she still keeps (00:50:45) Why authenticity on stage still needs a script, and what performing her own life taught her (00:53:21) Why an audience can have a great night when the speaker does not, and why that difference matters Quotes to Remember "The best thing that ever can happen to you is that somebody walks out and that you get up and you go back to another.""Keep breathing. Breathe life into your dreams." Susan's Journey Susan grew up outside Boston dreaming of being an actress, and was told she was too much. She saved her Vogues under her bed, used an inheritance to move to Paris for fashion school in 1990, and built a 360-degree career across Milan, Casablanca, Paris and Vancouver, from art director to photo agent to stylist. Burnout arrived halfway. Reiki came in 2007, breathwork a decade later, and Breathe in Paris was born in the parks of Paris in 2018. She has since guided thousands of people through their own breath. Advice for Speakers Record yourself, watch it back, and let people tell you honestly it was not good. Write down the bad and the good after every event, and keep the list. Before you walk on, breathe into your belly and see the applause. When someone walks out, let it land, then schedule the next one. Her worst nights are the reason she is good now. Free Resource Beyond the Keynote Masterclass Connect with Carmen Sederino Website: illuminatedstory.com LinkedIn: Carmen Sederino YouTube: Illuminated Story Instagram: @illuminatedstory Connect with Susan Oubari Website: susanoubari.com LinkedIn: Susan Oubari Instagram: @susan.oubari Book: Breathwork, Respirez pour Changer (Flammarion, 2020) About the Host Carmen Sederino is the founder of Illuminated Story, transforming high-stakes presentations into unforgettable performances. With a background in theatre and corporate leadership, she helps leaders create memorable speaking experiences. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and host, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Illuminated Story.

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  Episode #35

  What If You Said Why Not To Your Fear? The Rule That Opens Doors

  Sep 2, 20261h 21m

  What if the question was never why should I, but why not? Steph Tisdell learned the difference from a stranger in Leeds: yes commits you to everything, why not let you set the rules and then honour them. Carmen Sederino sits down with Steph Tisdell: Yidinji woman, comedian, keynote speaker, actor and author of the novel The Skin I'm In. She was having up to five panic attacks a day and could not leave the house. By 21 she had won a national comedy competition, and the two word rule she picked up in a Leeds bed and breakfast is what carried her there. This is a conversation about fear you cannot reason with, purpose that outlasts the hustle, and why corporate rooms are the hardest audience. What if the question was never why should I, but why not? Steph Tisdell learned the difference from a stranger in Leeds: yes commits you to everything, why not let you set the rules and then honour them. Carmen Sederino sits down with Steph Tisdell: Yidinji woman, comedian, keynote speaker, actor and author of the novel The Skin I'm In. She was having up to five panic attacks a day and could not leave the house. By 21 she had won a national comedy competition, and the two word rule she picked up in a Leeds bed and breakfast is what carried her there. This is a conversation about fear you cannot reason with, purpose that outlasts the hustle, and why corporate rooms are the hardest audience. What You Will Learn How to recognise shame absorbed from other people, and what it takes to put it down What made her walk out of a law degree halfway, after dedicating her whole self to it Five panic attacks a day and unable to leave the house: what finally got her moving The theory she formed at her lowest point, and what it made possible The why not rule a stranger gave her, and why it beats saying yes to everything What happened the first time she did stand up, having never practised or trained What the hustle years actually demand, and how she spent her last money to break in What to do when you suspect you were only booked to tick a box Why corporate audiences are the hardest room in speaking Why she refuses to write her keynotes and improvises to stay present Turning nerves into fuel: extreme fear and extreme excitement are the same response Quotes to Remember "I had this theory that if it's a 10 out of 10 scary to open the door to leave your house then why not jump out a plane and why not do all the things you dreamed of." Steph's Journey Mount Isa to Brisbane at six. Law and journalism, chasing a childhood dream of Foreign Correspondent, abandoned halfway. Four months in the UK with nothing planned. A dare in Ireland, a pub chair in Dublin, and a national win by her seventh gig. Five weeks later she moved to Scotland. Home again, she hustled almost two years out of her car until Kevin Kropinyeri and the Aboriginal Comedy All Stars stepped up. Advice for Speakers Steph does not write her keynotes. She improvises so she can stay present, because corporate audiences take more energy than any other: people are often there under obligation rather than choice. Free Resource Beyond the Keynote Masterclass Connect with Carmen Sederino Website: illuminatedstory.com LinkedIn: Carmen Sederino YouTube: Illuminated Story Instagram: @illuminatedstory Connect with Steph Tisdell Website: stephtisdell.com LinkedIn: Steph Tisdell Instagram: @stephtisdellcomedy Book: The Skin I'm In About the Host Carmen Sederino is the founder of Illuminated Story, transforming high-stakes presentations into unforgettable performances. With a background in theatre and corporate leadership, she helps leaders create memorable speaking experiences. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guests and host, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Illuminated Story.

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