This week in the world’s #1 newsletter on leadership communication:
- How to teach ChatGPT about you
- My TEDx Talk: AI-Empowered Leadership
- Pitch Like a Pro: How to Captivate and Convince Any Audience
- How to Talk to Anyone
How to teach ChatGPT about you
Do you want to Influence What ChatGPT “Knows” About You?
I certainly do. Because we used to google people. Now we ask ChatGPT.
So my colleague Chelsea (who used to head an SEO agency in London) and I went on a deep dive.
It’s a new field that doesn’t even have an agreed name for it. Some call it LLM SEO, others GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), AEO (Agentic Engine Optimization) or GAIO (Generative AI Optimization).
Whatever you want to call it, it’s the art of influencing what large language models like ChatGPT “know” about you or your company.
There is lots of bad and uninformed advice out there. Like prioritizing backlinks as if it was SEO, believing ‘thumbs up’ is a satisfactory level of engagement and assuming all LLMs & Agents are looking at the same signals.
Here’s what ChatGPT knows about me:
(the last part is incorrect but I have a suspicion where it came from :)
“...leading expert in leadership communication …
… intersection of executive presence, strategic messaging, and AI-era influence, making him one of the most influential voices in modern communication.
…creator of the Speak Like a CEO framework, used by hundreds of executives …
… author of four books …
… sought-after keynote speaker, podcast host, and contributor to global outlets including Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and BBC News.”
WHAT?
While I have given hundreds of media and podcast interviews, I have never contributed to Forbes or HBR.
BUT: I have interviewed a number of Harvard academics and Forbes contributors on Speak Like a CEO, so I guess that’s where the association came from.
Here’s how you teach ChatGPT about you:
1 - Decide how you want to be known in GPT
Such as “leadership communications expert” or “med-tech innovator”. Use it everywhere.
2 - Create thought leadership content
Give people a reason to mention you.
↳ Publish poll findings
↳ Produce an industry report
↳ Appear as a podcast guest
3 - Engage on Reddit & Quora
↳ Participate in forums by sharing your expertise.
↳ Mention your thought leadership content when appropriate.
4 - Post original content on social media
Unsurprising yet crucial.
5 - Make videos on YouTube
Publish under your own name on your core theme.
6 - Add links in bios
Link your social profiles to build a strong digital ecosystem.
The upshot: LLM SEO is the new Google ranking.
And just like Google in the 2000s, those who master it early will win big.
TEDx TALK
AI-Empowered Leadership
Don’t Compete With the Machine. Use the Machine to Compete.
In my TEDx Talk, I share how the future belongs to "super communicators" who can bridge the gap between people and technology, turning AI from threat to competitive advantage.
PODCAST
Pitch Like a Pro: How to Captivate and Convince Any Audience
I do a podcast to help you become a 10 out of 10 communicator. Please subscribe.
Can you win every pitch? No, but The Pitch Guy’s blueprint gets you close.
Danny Fontaine is the author of “Pitch: How to Captivate and Convince Any Audience On The Planet” and host of the Pitch Masters podcast.
Danny has redefined what it means to pitch an idea, product or business – not as a PowerPoint deck (yawn), but as an emotionally charged, strategically choreographed experience.
He shares his TITAN and Storycoaster frameworks that turn your pitch into a moment they’ll never forget.
You’ll learn how to create “anomalies” that make people sit up, how to pitch even if you're introverted or nervous, and why the best presenters never rely on slides alone.
Listen to the full episode here:
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
How to Talk to Anyone
Last Saturday I was browsing my local bookstore and found a book that has been on the Amazon bestseller list in the communications category for years: “How to Talk to Anyone” by Leil Lowndes.
Curious, I handed over €10.50 to my dealer (books, not drugs) and went through it on Sunday sipping my beloved V60 filter coffee.
Normally I only present books here I really like, but since this has been a mega bestseller for decades I thought I'd share my views.
There's nothing actually wrong with the advice, however I do feel transported back to networking events in the 1990s, which is when this book was written.
Tips include “how to work a party like a politician works a room” and “make them feel like an all-time movie star.” You get the picture. Not wrong but pretty (out)dated.
If you want to improve your conversation skills there are better and much more recent books. You can find my six favourites here.
Have an inspired weekend,
Oliver
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