Madame Speaker Says

Building Authority No One Can Take | Djamila Ribeiro on Power & Speaking Unapologetically

What does it cost to keep waiting for the world to confirm what you already know about yourself? Djamila Ribeiro's answer will stop you: "People didn't give the opportunity to me, so I created the opportunity — because I knew my value." Djamila Ribeiro is one of the most important philosophers at work in the world right now. She coined a concept that gave Brazil new language for power. When the publishing industry couldn't hold her work, she built a publishing house. When 90% of books in her country had been written by white people for fifty years, she launched a collective that published 80 Black authors. When the United Nations needed someone to speak on the International Day of Recognizing the Victims of Slavery, they called her — the first Brazilian civilian ever invited to that stage. She gave herself three words before she walked up: speak unapologetically. This is a masterclass in what happens when you stop waiting for permission and start building from what you already know. In this episode, Djamila breaks down: * Why the moment she read Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye at 19 didn't just change her — it issued her a demand, and what she did with it * What it actually means to know your value before the academy, the industry, or the institution confirms it — and how that self-knowledge becomes the foundation everything else is built on * How she diagnosed a market that wasn't built for her work and built an alternative market instead of waiting for it to change * What happened the day she found out a stranger had built a community library by hand in a poor neighborhood and named it after her work — and what it teaches you about building something that outlasts you * The one concrete move she gives her students before she sees them again — not over the course of the semester, but before next time * The three words she gave herself before walking onto the floor of the UN General Assembly — and why they are the only preparation that mattered 🔔 Subscribe to Madame Speaker Says - new episodes every Sunday.  Join the conversation - madamespeakersays.com [http://www.madamespeakersays.com] Chapters 00:00 Introduction — Djamila Ribeiro 02:30 Toni Morrison at 19 — What Recognition Demands of You 08:00 Brazil's Racial Landscape — The Last Country to End Slavery in 1888👀 13:30 University at 27 — Self-Knowledge Before the Degree 19:00 Lugar de Fala & the Feminismos Plurais Publishing Collective 27:30 The Library in Campinas — When the Work Leaves Its Creator 33:00 What Brazil Can Teach the Rest of the World 37:30 Take the Floor — Rapid Fire 44:30 The UN General Assembly — Speak Unapologetically 48:00 The Whole Damn Talk — Work with Magogodi Resources Mentioned 📚 The Bluest Eye — Toni Morrison 📚 Where We Stand — Djamila Ribeiro (Yale University Press, 2024) 📚 Letters to My Grandmother — Djamila Ribeiro Connect with Djamila 🔗 djamilaribeiro.com.br 📱 Instagram: @djamilaribeiro1 📧 JOIN [https://lovekindcure.kit.com/9a6eb6b63e] -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs. Ready to turn your ideas into influence?  APPLY [https://madamespeakersays.com] for 1:1 coaching to transform your voice into your greatest asset.

AI Wants to Erase You. Here's How I Use Clause to Sharpen My Talks & Essays.

What does it cost to let a machine make you sound smooth? Because the machine is trained for smooth. And smooth is forgettable. In this solo episode, Magogodi —host of Madame Speaker Says— goes deep on the move most people get exactly backwards. Feed AI "here's the assignment, just write it for me," and you'll sound like a corporate talking machine — forgettable, in a room you fought to get into.  The fix isn't to stop using AI. It's to stop letting AI write for you, and start using it as the most ruthless editor you've ever had. Magogodi walks through the exact process she used to write an application against 1,300 people — owning every first draft herself, then handing it over to sharpen, fact-check and remember what she forgot. And she's been edited by big thinkers at the Iowa Writer's Workshop, Harvard Review and W.W.Norton, so she doesn't say "ruthless editing" lightly. In this episode, Magogodi breaks down: * Why you own the first draft, every time—so the thinking stays yours, plus the voice-note hack for when you freeze * The five words that turn AI into a beast editor—and why they surface what most human editors miss * How to use AI as your fact-checker and your memory bank—the kind that sifts your own life and hands you back the story you forgot was the best part * How to protect your idiosyncrasies—your singular unique phrasing, weird jokes and tone— so your talk still sounds like a human, not a panel * Why ethics matters around here, and why use Claude over the rest. Your authority is in how unmistakably yourself you sound when you connect with folks through the real AF human stuff they're navigating. Used right, AI doesn't flatten that —it makes you clearer, sharper and more obviously, you. When you're done, do the one thing no machine can do for her: rate Madame Speaker Says 5 stars on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. 🔔 Subscribe to Madame Speaker Says — new episodes every Sunday. madamespeakersays.com Chapters  00:00 Introduction & What You'll Learn Today  02:00 The Fear: AI Is Making You Sound Like Everyone Else  04:00 The Machine Is Trained for Smooth — and Smooth Is Forgettable  06:00 Move 1: Own the First Draft — Pretend the Internet Doesn't Exist  08:30 The Voice-Note Hack for When You Freeze  10:30 Move 2: "Show Me My Blind Spots" — AI as Beast Editor  14:00 Move 3: AI as Your Fact-Checker — More rigorous than The New Yorker  17:00 Move 4: AI as a Memory Bank That Sifts for What Matters  20:30 Move 5: Protect Your Idiosyncrasies — Keep the Weird Jokes  24:00 Why Claude, and Why Ethics Matter Around Here  27:00 Your Move This Week  29:00 The Whole Damn Talk — Work with Magogodi Resources Mentioned:  🤖 Claude — claude.ai  📚 Innards — https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324051008 [https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324051008] Work with Magogodi  The Whole Damn Talk — 3 hours, one-on-one. Your hook, your spine, your one-liner, your business case. Built from scratch. Five spots a month.  Learn More → madamespeakersays.com 📧 JOIN [https://lovekindcure.kit.com/9a6eb6b63e] -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs. Ready to turn your ideas into influence?  APPLY [https://madamespeakersays.com] for 1:1 coaching to transform your voice into your greatest asset.

She Grew Up Between Two Worlds. Now She's Changing How Money Moves Between Them | Alicia DeLia Part 2/2

What does it cost to put something sacred on a term sheet? For women in leadership and impact investing, this question is everything. Alicia DeLia's answer will stop you: "I don't think there's a cost in putting it there. I think there's a cost in not putting it there. And that's what we've seen this world become." In Part 2 of this two-part conversation, Alicia — founder of Buen Vivir Capital Institute — goes deep on the building of something entirely new. She tells the story of growing in a multi-class family, with ambassadors on her Cameroonian chief father's side and watching her Salvadoran immigrant mother put in overtime to make sure the check cleared for her school field trip. That childhood became the architecture of everything Alicia is building.  Alicia breaks down: * What Buen Vivir actually means — the Ubuntu of Latin America — and why pairing an Indigenous philosophy with a capital institute is not an oxymoron, it's the point * How growing up multi-class — not just multiracial — shaped her entire approach to fundraising and who gets funded * Why she built an institute and not a fund — and what thinking in 40-year infrastructure actually looks like * The real reason she chose Mexico City over New York or DC for her launch — and what it teaches women in leadership about where to seek your first yes * Why "it's fun to do capital this way" is not soft — it's the most subversive thing you can say in a funding room * How to curate a room where power shifts without anyone having to announce it Haven't listened to Part 1? Go back. This conversation builds on everything there. 🔔 Subscribe to Madame Speaker Says — new episodes every Sunday. madamespeakersays.com Chapters  00:00 Introduction & What You'll Learn Today  03:30 Why She Left the Consulting Seat  07:00 Growing Up Multi-Class — Ambassadors and $15 Field Trips in the Same Week  13:00 What Buen Vivir Actually Means — The Ubuntu of Latin America  18:30 Pairing Something Sacred With a Term Sheet  24:00 "I Don't Think There's a Cost in Putting It There"  29:00 Why She Chose Mexico City Over New York or DC  35:00 How to Curate a Room Where Power Shifts  40:00 It's Fun to Do Capital This Way  44:00 Right Relationship — Credit to Jessica Norwood and RUNWAY  48:00 Building for 40 Years — Why It's an Institute Not a Fund  52:00 The Money Game — Rapid Fire  57:00 The Whole Damn Talk — Work with Magogodi Resources Mentioned:  📚 The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der Kolk  🌺 VidaAfroLatina — Lori Robinson → vidaafrolatina.org  Connect with Alicia  🔗 LinkedIn: Alicia DeLia  🏢 Buen Vivir Capital Institute: linkedin.com/company/buen-vivir-capital-institute Get Madame Speaker Says Coaching The Whole Damn Talk in 3 hours. Your hook, your spine, your one-liner, your business case. Built from scratch. Five spots a month. → madamespeakersays.com #ImpactInvesting #WomenInPhilanthropy #BlackWomenLeaders #BuenVivir #MadameSpeakerSays 📧 JOIN [https://lovekindcure.kit.com/9a6eb6b63e] -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs. Ready to turn your ideas into influence?  APPLY [https://madamespeakersays.com] for 1:1 coaching to transform your voice into your greatest asset.

Fundraising for Other People's Stories: Alicia DeLia on Taking Up Space in Impact Investing — Part 1

What does it cost to spend 20 years raising money for other people's stories — and then decide your story is worth funding? Alicia DeLia has been in the impact investing sector since before it had a name. She worked at FINCA International when microlending was a radical idea. She raised capital for movements. She built a consulting firm. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, she watched the sector she believed in get watered down — from bold, disruptive activism into "profit as usual with a sprinkle of impact." In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Alicia breaks down what it actually takes to take up space in impact investing when the sector wasn't designed to see you — not as a leader, not as a founder, not as someone whose story is fundable. Alicia breaks down : * Why following your curiosity is more reliable than following your purpose  * How to know when you've outgrown your plant pot — before you talk yourself into staying  * What the impact investing sector got wrong — and what taking up real estate in a broken space actually looks like  * How a woman singing in Spanish in a side room at a conference in Atlanta became one of the most important partnerships in Alicia's work  * Why the ancestors conspire — and how to train yourself to follow the signal In Part 2, Alicia breaks down the building of Buen Vivir Capital Institute — the philosophy, the Mexico City launch, and what relational infrastructure actually means for women moving capital in 2026. Subscribe now so Part 2 lands straight in your feed. Chapters 00:00 Introduction & What You'll Learn Today  03:30 Meet Alicia DeLia — 20 Years in the Money Game  07:00 The Belief You Have to Shed Over and Over to Take the Leap  11:30 Your Body Knows Before Your Brain Does  14:00 Follow Your Curiosity — Not Your Purpose  17:30 "I Never Feel Like the Boxes Are Checked. I Just Do It."  22:00 Where Does Audacity Actually Come From?  26:00 The Worst Case Scenario Is Lovely Most of the Time  30:00 What's Wrong With Impact Investing Right Now  35:30 "The Gatekeeping Is So 40 Years Ago"  38:00 The Woman Singing in Spanish — And What the Ancestors Knew  44:00 On Not Shedding What Is Sacred to Do This Work  48:00 Right Relationship — What Capital Can Actually Feel Like  51:00 The Whole Damn Talk — Work with Magogodi Resources Mentioned: 📚 The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der Kolk  🌺 VidaAfroLatina — Lori Robinson → vidaafrolatina.org Connect with Alicia 📸 Instagram: @adelia4peace  🔗 LinkedIn: Alicia DeLia  🏢 Buen Vivir Capital Institute: linkedin.com/company/buen-vivir-capital-institute Get Madame Speaker Says Coaching The Whole Damn Talk — 3 hours. Your hook, your spine, your one-liner, your business case. Built from scratch. Five spots a month. → madamespeakersays.com #ImpactInvesting #WomenInPhilanthropy #BlackWomenLeaders #BuenVivir #MadameSpeakerSays 📧 JOIN [https://lovekindcure.kit.com/9a6eb6b63e] -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs. Ready to turn your ideas into influence?  APPLY [https://madamespeakersays.com] for 1:1 coaching to transform your voice into your greatest asset.

How to Give a Keynote When You're an Expert — Not a Speaker

You said yes to the keynote. The panic slammed into you, right after. Because yes, you have the expertise. You have the receipts. What you don't have is a way to turn twenty years of knowledge into a keynote that lands. Because knowing your field and knowing how to give a keynote are two completely different skills — and nobody told you that until right now. Your expertise won't give the keynote for you. Clarity will. Structure will. The right story will. In this solo episode, host Magogodi gives you three concrete moves to build a keynote that sounds like you, commands the room, and travels long after you leave the stage. You will walk away knowing how to:  * Name what you actually stand for, not your title, your argument * Find the one story that makes your authority land and stick * Build the 90-second spine that becomes your keynote and rewrites your bio No speechwriter. No TED coach. Three public speaking moves. Doable before your keynote date. Ready to build your whole talk?  The Whole Damn Talk is a 3-hour one-on-one intensive. We build your keynote from scratch — hook, spine, one-liner, business case. Five spots a month. madamespeakersays.com. Chapters: 00:00 You're Not Being Rejected. You're Not Even on the List.  02:30 What You're Walking Away With — Stay for All Three Moves  04:00 Your Excellence Is Not Going to Save You. Here's What Will.  06:30 "I Don't Have a Talk Right Now" — And Why That Sentence Is the Problem 09:00 Lebo Mashile: She Built the Vision Before Anyone Co-Signed It 13:00 Wanuri Kahiu: She Named the Genre Before the Genre Existed  17:30 Dr. Kemi Doll: She Made Her Excellence Impossible to Ignore  21:30 Move 1 — Name It. Your Argument. Not Your Title.  25:00 Move 2 — Find the One Story That Proves You're Right  28:00 Move 3 — Build the 90-Second Talk That Gets You on the Shortlist  31:00 The Whole Damn Talk — What We Build Together in 3 Hours  34:30 Your Work Will Not Speak for Itself. That's Your Job. Episodes Mentioned 🎙️ Dr. Kemi Doll: Your Excellence Is Not Enough. On Black Women's Health, Authority & Building in Public → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/madame-speaker-says/id1814213243?i=1000767012758 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/madame-speaker-says/id1814213243?i=1000767012758] 🎙️ Fear, Faith & Afro Bubblegum: Wanuri Kahiu on Following the Idea That Won't Let Go → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/madame-speaker-says/id1814213243?i=1000763653315 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/madame-speaker-says/id1814213243?i=1000763653315] 🎙️ Fame, Shame & The Freak Show Part II: Lebo Mashile on Turning Pain Into Power → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/madame-speaker-says/id1814213243?i=1000762218836 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/madame-speaker-says/id1814213243?i=1000762218836] Work With Magogodi  The Whole Damn Talk — 3-hour private coaching intensives. Learn More → More madamespeakersays.com 📧 JOIN [https://lovekindcure.kit.com/9a6eb6b63e] -  Expect fresh newsletters every week or so, where I share bare truths, storytelling tips and plenty of F-bombs. Ready to turn your ideas into influence?  APPLY [https://madamespeakersays.com] for 1:1 coaching to transform your voice into your greatest asset.