Derek De Vette is Co-Founder and Head of Strategic Communications at Halo Communications, where his team has spent three decades building visibility for brands ranging from enterprise tech to Harley-Davidson. In this Expert Insight Interview, Derek joins John Golden to explain why the old PR playbook — chase cover stories, rack up impressions, measure vanity metrics — no longer moves the sales growth needle. AI answer engines now decide which brands get surfaced, and they reward the most trusted source, not the loudest one. Derek walks through fresh data on how ChatGPT and Claude cite publications, why niche trade outlets now outperform marquee placements, and how founders can compress the runway from first PR mention to closed revenue.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The “vanity trap” in PR and why chasing fame kills the pipeline
• Why 94% of AI-cited links come from non-paid media
• How ChatGPT leans on mainstream outlets while Claude favors niche publications
• The shift from “competing for clicks” to “competing to be the answer.”
• A practical audit for mapping the AI engines your buyers actually use
• Using AI as a collaborator, not a replacement, for PR and sales strategy

Listen in for an actionable conversation on how to make your brand the cited source inside AI answers, then visit Halo Communications Agency to book a free consultation with Derek’s team.

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Antoniette Roze is the CEO of WPC Global and the host of Speak Pact, a done-for-you booking agency that helps six- and seven-figure experts stop chasing speaking gigs and start filling their calendars with consistent, high-value opportunities. In this Expert Insight Interview, she joins John Golden to explain why most speakers treat the stage like a lottery — and what it actually takes to build a serious, scalable speaking business that produces predictable revenue.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why a real speaking practice demands a business-grade strategy, not guesswork
• How to position as the go-to expert (the “purple cow” principle)
• Realistic timelines: why a three-year runway beats quitting at six months
• Marketing to the check-signer, not just the audience
• One talk, ten audiences — the language rule that wins corporate gigs
• Healed scars vs. open wounds — storytelling that converts

If you are ready to move from lottery to leverage, take Antoniette’s free Speaker Fit assessment at speakpact.com and see what your speaking career could look like with a real system behind it.

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Carmen Sederino is the founder and Performance Master at Illuminated Story and a former corporate leader who managed a $300 million portfolio across 18 years before turning her professional-arts training into an executive coaching practice. In this Expert Insight Interview, she argues that the live keynote is a competitive advantage no AI tool can replicate — and that most leaders and sellers rehearse nowhere near enough to claim it.

Carmen unpacks the skills she teaches CEOs, founders, and subject-matter experts preparing for industry stages, and shows why the same principles lift boardroom presentations, sales pitches, and client meetings.

Topics covered:

• Why human connection remains the last durable moat in an AI-driven market
• Scaling presence, voice, and gesture from the boardroom to the main stage
• Authenticity as a range, not a single register of yourself
• Emotional choreography: moving a room without losing composure
• Flipping the sales deck from “us-first” to buyer-first storytelling
• Why is pause the most underused tool in business delivery

Ready to turn your next keynote into a show your audience actually remembers? Book a free consultation with Carmen at illuminatedstory.com.

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Kevin C. Roy is the founder and CEO of Green Banana SEO, a full-stack agency based in Boston that has been guiding clients through search evolutions since 2009. In this Expert Insight Interview, Kevin joins John Golden to unpack how AI has rewritten the rules of search — and what companies need to do now to stay visible.

Kevin cuts through the hype around Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), showing why roughly 80% of AI-driven ranking still depends on solid SEO fundamentals. He walks through practical frameworks that small and mid-sized businesses can use immediately, from his three-block page blueprint to the author-authority signals that tell AI who deserves to be cited.

In this episode, Kevin and John cover:

• Why organic traffic is dipping across industries — and why that isn’t a catastrophe
• The three-block blueprint every key page should follow: answer, proof, pathway
• Why schema markup went from useful to mission-critical overnight
• How to build author authority that AI actually trusts
• The pruning and citations work that helps local and service businesses rank
• What Kevin would do differently if he were starting a site from scratch today

Ready to put AI search to work for your business? Connect with Kevin and his team at greenbananaseo.com.

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Irwin Hau is the founder of Chromatix, an award-winning Melbourne-based conversion design agency, and the creator of Conversion Cow, a SaaS platform that turns ordinary websites into high-performing sales assets. Over 16 years, he has analyzed more than 60,000 websites and developed the Trust and Authority framework that fuses behavioral psychology, conversion strategy, and UX design. In this Expert Insight Interview with John Golden, Irwin challenges the “website as brochure” mindset and explains why clarity in the first three seconds matters more than fonts, colors, or clever copy.

Topics covered include:

• Why your website should be your best salesperson, not a digital brochure
• The four questions every visitor asks: Who are you? What do you do? Why choose you? How do I get in touch?
• Proof density and layered trust signals in the AI era
• The hidden cost of trying to serve every audience at once
• How to run the “pie slice” exercise to identify your most profitable segment
• Why AI search makes your website more important, not less

Book a free consultation with Irwin’s team at chromatix.com.au.

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Most executives don’t have a time problem. They have a design problem.

In this episode, Claire Giovino, CEO of Inbox Done, breaks down the framework high performers use to stop reacting to their day and start owning it. We cover energy mapping, the delegation trap most leaders fall into, and why your phone sitting on your desk is quietly tanking your output — even on silent.

If your calendar is full but your priorities aren’t moving, this one’s for you.

Listen now and build the workday you actually want.

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Marketing Strategy Director Anique Mautner shared her brand storytelling framework that actually connects with audiences during her appearance on the Expert Inside Interview podcast.

Her three-pillar approach is deceptively simple: ensure your message is relevant to real customer needs, distinctive in ways that showcase your unique perspective, and clear enough for anyone to understand.

Mautner’s unconventional background—learning to read through biblical parables and observing cross-cultural missionary work—taught her that empathy drives every successful brand connection.

Her warning about AI content? Tools can streamline work, but they can’t replace genuine human emotion. “Even younger generations sense when content lacks authenticity,” she notes.

The takeaway: In an oversaturated market, brands that listen first and embrace their human imperfections will always outperform those chasing AI-powered perfection.

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Remote work killed traditional recognition. Office shoutouts and bulletin boards don’t reach your distributed team, and that isolation is costing you talent.

The fix? Meet employees where they are. Integrate recognition into Slack and Teams—make appreciation visible everywhere. Use gamification strategically: badges for values-driven behaviors, leaderboards for team achievements, and frequent small wins that keep motivation high.

But here’s what most companies miss: personalization matters more than the system itself. Your introverted engineer hates public praise. Your sales team burns out on commission-only motivation. Ask people what makes them feel valued, then deliver that consistently.

Start small. Monthly recognition emails. Quick meeting shoutouts. Tie appreciation into existing rituals. Consistency beats perfection every time, and top talent stays where they feel genuinely valued—not just well-paid.

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