The special Guest Speaker 1
Maria N. Papacosta is the co-founder of MSC Marketing Bureau, a Leadership Presence Coach and Researcher, and an acclaimed Personal Branding Strategist. She specializes in supporting leaders and professional speakers to enhance their presence, develop authentic personal brands, and communicate with impact. With a track record of collaborating with major companies around the world, Maria has specialized in areas such as Leadership Presence & Influence programs and Vision & Values design and implementation processes. She has also led initiatives focused on building trust and enhancing communication within organizations. In recent years, Maria has provided coaching to numerous TED and TEDx speakers and serves as a TEDx speaker curator and coach
Maria holds an MSc in Strategic Marketing from Aston University, a BSc in Social Policy and Marketing from London Metropolitan University, and a Specialization in Inspired Leadership from Case Western Reserve University. Maria’s personal branding workshop has been recognized in the World’s Top3 Brand Development Programs by Global Gurus for four consecutive years (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024). In 2023, Thinkers360 ranked Maria in the Top10 Global Thought Leaders on Personal Branding.
Speech description: Maya Angelou once said, “I don’t trust people who don’t love themselves and tell me, ‘I love you.’.. There is an African saying which is: Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt.” This thinking underscores the essential principle that trust starts from within ourselves. It’s about believing in our abilities, honoring our commitments, and staying true to our values. When we trust ourselves, we radiate authenticity and confidence, setting the stage for meaningful connections and collaborations. But trust doesn’t end with self; it extends outward, shaping the dynamics of our relationships, teams and organizations. It begins with intentional effort and a commitment to fostering environments where trust thrives. Trust is about building bridges, not barriers; bridges that connect us, inspire us, and empower us and others to reach new heights.
Additional Q&A
Having clear, achievable goals gives you something concrete to work towards. If your work doesn’t offer you the opportunities you need to achieve your goals, then this is something that you need to discuss with your organization and set expectations. It is very difficult to become engaged in something that doesn’t offer us any value. This ‘value’ is different for each of us, but the truth is that it’s rarely just a great remuneration package. We’re looking for opportunities to learn and develop ourselves, to gain more responsibilities and acknowledgment, to collaborate with interesting people, and to challenge ourselves. If our work is not offering such opportunities, we need to communicate transparently and try to create these opportunities for ourselves. Otherwise, it’s very difficult to become or stay engaged.
AI can be more trustworthy than humans in certain contexts due to its consistency, lack of bias, and ability to process large amounts of data objectively, such as in data analysis, repetitive tasks, and pattern recognition. However, its trustworthiness depends on factors such as the quality of data it’s trained on, the design of the algorithms, and the context in which it’s deployed. There are many aspects of human judgment that AI cannot replicate, such as empathy and moral reasoning. To me, it’s not about AI versus humans when it comes to trust, but how we can use AI tools to augment our capabilities rather than substitute them.
