Everyone speaks to groups, either by choice or necessity. Make Your Point is a blend of preparation, logistics, demeanor, and mindset to help you speak effectively to groups. By the end of the session, participants will understand these points and know how to act on them:

• Grasp the importance of speaking well to groups;

• Know the commonalities between remote presentations, in-person presentations, planned speaking, and spontaneous speaking;

• Know the unique characteristics of each of these, how to prepare, and how to handle in real time;

• Learn how persuasive speaking has helped shape our world.

About the Speaker

Matt Judge has been in the business world in many capacities since 1985. Matt is a graduate of Indiana University and the La Jolla Academy of Advertising Arts. His career includes being a comedy writer and morning show personality, owning an import-export business, and finally ending up where he belongs, providing software to help professionals do their work more profitably and efficiently. He has a long list of clients, including the Formula One race, major corporations in the US and overseas, Super Bowls, and much more. He is a history geek, a truly average musician, and a language nerd, and has been to more than 30 countries. Matt is a frequent speaker to professionals in many fields and has at least two books coming out in 2025.

Local marketers will gain valuable insights into the creation of impactful campaigns, the role community events play, and how fans engage with IMS through digital and social platforms. This is your chance to discover the strategies behind the world’s largest single-day sporting event, offering a unique perspective on what makes the Indy 500 an iconic event that captivates millions.

People talk. At kitchen tables. Over happy hours. In group chats. Your brand is in those conversations — whether you’re hearing them or not. The question is: are they saying what you want them to?

In this high-energy session, we’ll dive into the simple formula where brand, culture, and reputation align to create experiences your customers and team can’t help but rave about — for all the right reasons.

You’ll walk away with:

• Brand strategies to tell your story authentically, borrowing ideas from outside industries rather than just your competitors

• Culture lessons to turn your employees and executives into loud, proud brand advocates

• Reputation awareness to understand the impact of how your brand and culture come to life in the real world

About the Speaker

Jake Engel is the AVP of Brand Communications & Strategy at Financial Center, where he leads efforts to create powerful brand experiences for the fast-growing credit union’s members. With nearly a decade of experience, Jake has partnered with talented teams to reimagine branding by aligning messaging, design, and culture to tell a cohesive story. Outside the office, Jake channels his passion for connection as a fitness coach at Orangetheory and serves on the Board of Directors of Home Repairs for Good, where he helps grow their story and brand.

Even without AI, social media is changing. Whether you’re leveraging organic or paid social media to promote your organization, there are SO many different nuances to take into account as the algorithms—and how people are engaging on social—change. 

In this session, Jenn will share key takeaways on:

• Where you can grow organically on social and which platforms offer the friendliest algorithm

• Where paid social campaigns can make an impact and how to optimize them

• How the way people are engaging with social media is changing and how that will impact marketers

Let’s talk about changing social dynamics and how you can get ahead.

About the Speaker

Jenn Lisak Golding is Founder and CEO of Sapphire Strategy, a digital marketing agency that blends rich data with experience-backed intuition to optimize marketing performance for professional services businesses and nonprofits. As a business and civic leader, Jenn is passionate about giving back to the central Indiana community through mentorship, board service, and active engagement. Sapphire is Jenn’s birthstone and, at times, her hair color. The gem represents wisdom and intuition—the same values driving the evidence-meets-creativity and striking transparency you can expect from Jenn.