Unthinkable Media

I help my clients turn their expertise into a clear, repeatable message and speeches & stories to inspire action. Driving real revenue and having a greater impact are NOT mutually exclusive. Instead of peddling in the grimy tactics and sensationalism found online today, I help you dig down to the root of your thinking, articulate your perspective as a Big Idea others remember, then embody your message through your public speaking and thought leadership.

Go from constantly chasing business to being highly sought.

Messaging & Speaking Consultant | Author & Speaker

How Stories Happen

Business leaders and world-class creatives dissect signature stories. A refreshing and inspiring look at the storytelling mastery of guests like Seth Godin (marketing legend with 22 bestselling business books), Ann Handley (WSJ bestselling author of Everybody Writes), Chase Jarvis (one of the most influential advocates for creativity in work and life), Laura Gassner Otting (2x WSJ bestseller; Good Morning America correspondent on work and career), Andrew Davis (globally touring keynote speaker), Rand Fishkin (CEO of SparkToro), and bestselling author Simone Stolzoff, who worked out a draft of his entire TED Talk!

You’ll walk away ready to compete on the impact of your ideas, not the volume of your marketing.

Creator & Show Host

NextView Ventures

NextView is a top-tier VC firm investing in early-stage tech startups.

Vice President of Content & Community

Boston Content

New England's largest community of content creators and marketers.

Community Co-Founder

HubSpot

Head of Content

Dailybreak Media

Director of Content

Google, Inc

Digital Media Strategist

ESPN

Communications & PR

The Hartford Courant

Sports Writer

Don’t market more. Matter more. When you matter more, you need to shout less. 

I help you package and communicate your expertise to differentiate & resonate, so it’s easier to attract more and better clients. Build your business on the power of your ideas, not the volume of your marketing, and grow from yet-another option into their favorite voice in your field. 

With my clients, I help clarify + differentiate their message, craft their thinking and expertise into a distinct premise and IP they own, and develop signature speeches and stories to influence, inspire, and drive results.

After starting at brands like Google and HubSpot, I’ve helped organizations like Mailchimp, Salesforce, Wistia, and GoDaddy, plus dozens of individual authors, founders, execs, consultants, and creators with their storytelling and public speaking.

I live in the Boston area with my family as a proud Yankees and Knicks fan (yes, I’m in enemy territory). In the 60 seconds per week I’m not creating stuff for work or making my kids laugh, I like to shoot hoops, sip nice bourbons, cook with my wife, and daydream about telling stories like my storytelling hero, Anthony Bourdain. Say hi via jayacunzo.com

A freelancer, a podcaster, a newsletter writer, a demand-gen marketer, a copywriter, and a social media manager walk into a bar.

“Just a beer,” she says.

Jay Acunzo

I help experts become stronger public voices: speaking, storytelling, messaging. Believer in resonance over reach. Author, speaker, Bourdain fan.

“How do I pitch myself as a keynote?”

You don’t.

Breakouts pitch. Keynotes get invited.

But that doesn’t mean you can‘t be proactive. 

Here’s what I would suggest and what I help my clients do more effectively…

I’m on a mission to help others make what matters to their careers, companies, and communities.

After starting my career working in marketing for brands like ESPN, Google, and HubSpot, I realized something simple but powerful about this work: It’s about resonance, not reach. 

I also realized something about myself: I don’t want to make people like stuff. I want to make stuff people like! 

Today, I help others do just that. I run a membership for writers, podcasters, speakers, and other creators to continually push themselves creatively, and I deliver one-on-one coaching for owners and entrepreneurs who want to become the most trusted storytellers in their space. 

When I’m not working behind-the-scenes with others, I write books, give speeches, and host the popular podcast, Unthinkable. 

My grandest aspiration (and probably delusion) is to become the Anthony Bourdain of the online creator space.

Thanks for stopping by. Keep making what matters.

Go from competent to resonant. I help experts become stronger public voices: idea clarity, speaking, storytelling. Believer in resonance over reach. Author, speaker, Bourdain fan.

The reason your content isn't working is you're treating it too much like content and not enough like art.

Need your examples! 

I've moved to a new house and am finally ready to set up my new home office and studio.

I have all the gear I need (microphones, cameras, lights, curtains/shades) courtesy of Wistia who featured me in their series, Fix My Setup—the result of which you can see pictured from my last home office).

I AM seeking:
✅ examples of how you or someone else transformed a very bland, very echoey room into a beautiful home office and studio

✅ your favorite purchases under $200 for your home office (things affecting your recording/broadcasting)

✅ YouTubers and other experts who offer virtual consultations on home office/studio setup (I am aware of Kevin Shen thanks to my friends Jay Clouse and Jessica Lackey)

If you are building a business, know that with every passing day...

With every AI update & mini-hype cycle and every business charlatan posting their hacks and organization being forced to share the most watered-down ideas that blend in with the rest

...your public speaking + storytelling skills become more and more valuable.

Mastering those 2 things is how you win more + better clients at higher prices and with less friction, especially in a world where everybody chases the shiny object.

I got a question in my comments and wanted to respond.

This is a quick "oner" aka one-take video, off the cuff, to answer a question from David Kochanek which I actually think about a lot and receive fairly often too.

This is in response to a strong opinion I posted.

First, here was my opinion:

"If you are building a business, know that with every passing day, with every AI update & mini-hype cycle and every business charlatan posting their hacks and organization being forced to share the most watered-down ideas that blend in with the rest ... your public speaking + storytelling skills become more and more valuable. Mastering those 2 things is how you win more + better clients at higher prices and with less friction, especially in a world where everybody chases the shiny object."

David said he agreed, then asked: 

"When you work with leaders, where do you see them struggle more: finding their story or learning how to tell it?"

This is my response, but also, why I feel passionately about this question actually mattering…

Attention founders, CEOs, investors, agency owners. This is a rare and special opportunity to level up your leadership and marketing teams. 

Mel is one of the most exceptional content marketing and B2B leaders in the world, quite literally (experiences as VP marketing for startups + award-winning work done at the NY Times and TIME Inc in content marketing roles).

More so, Mel is the kind of person the marketing people you admire ... admire. She's an incredible human and talent magnet. 

Contact her or ask me for an intro.

Creative Systems Architect | Content Strategy & Creative Leadership | VP of Content | Innovation Lead | International Keynote Speaker | 2x Author | Award-Winning Brand Content Creator

Over the last few months, I've been quietly exploring the possibility of returning to an in-house role, seeking a values-aligned company that's eager to create high-quality content that delivers a compelling message to its audience. 

The truth is, as much as I've loved doing my own thing, I also miss working with a team of passionate fellow creatives! 💜 

Right now, I'm still speaking at conferences around the country and helping thought leaders to develop their proprietary IP into frameworks, but I'm open to conversations with organizations looking for a seasoned marketing and content leader like me!

Maybe that's your organization? If so, let's chat!
#OpenToWork.

A major pet peeve of mine at events. 

It’s understandable, but we need to fix it. The audience deserves better. 

If you want to see how I fix it, just go to jayacunzo(dot)com/intro

Everybody who sells services and wants more speaking opportunities should just watch what Brian Piper does. 

It doesn't take months. It takes years. But invest now in supporting people you admire, joining communities of peers and mentors, and contributing comments and content to the thinkers in your space.

Brian is a newly-independent consultant who is also speaking more and more and now eyeing the keynote stage and paid opportunities.

He didn't do it by being more famous than you. He did it by being more generous, more supportive, more kind.

I've seen him show up in support of Joe Pulizzi (then they co-authored a freaking book together!). He's shown up in support of Mark Schaefer (he joined Mark's community). He's shown up for Ann Handley and Melanie D. and many others I know and love. He's championed me and my work too, with ideas privately and support publicly.

My friend Andy Crestodina sums it up well. He likes to say that if you're not making friends through your marketing, you're doing it wrong. 

Andy embodies this. He regularly features people he cares about and admires in his content. He speaks at events. He says "yes" to things even when he's so far beyond NEEDING to say yes to them. He supports and champions others. Yet he doesn't have to.

Maybe Brian felt like he "had to." Maybe not. The point is, he did.

More people should too.

You know that warm, ebullient feeling found at some conferences? You can replicate that 1:1 and 1:few, online. It won't happen on social media. It won't be like posting stuff as a "magnet" to attract. You have to go out and do it, proactively.

If you want connections, if you want opportunities, if you want an easier time of things—hell, if you just want to FEEL GOOD about the work you do and FEEL SUPPORTED by people through thick and thin, some of whom you maybe even admire—then I only have 3 words for you.

Be like Brian.

Your public speaking should resonate with decision-makers, not just practitioners. Think of it this way:

Would you rather get 100 people to attend your next webinar or 10? What if those 10 were all CEOs? What if they were influential voices in your industry? Forget the size of your audience. What about the value?

On Nov 13, join me virtually for a free session with my friends at Wistia about the 5 types of talks you ought to consider to grow your audience and, more importantly, increase its value. 

It's wonderful to teach practitioners, but we need a more diverse array of webinars and presentations in our arsenal so we can resonate with different kinds of people and resonate with them at different stages of their buyer's journey with us.

Register here and bring your questions for me about more strategic public speaking! https://lnkd.in/eNFET_Bm

I really wish more people understood this about using public speaking to grow your business! (Oh, btw: webinars ARE public speaking, and we need to approach them accordingly to drive better results.) Can't wait to lead this session.

Tired of the same old webinars? Join our new webinar series with Jay Acunzo. In episode one, you'll learn the 5 kinds of talks that actually connect with your audience and drive real results. https://wi.st/47BIbzf

The best thinkers, communicators, and indeed experts understand that you can't find clarity on an idea in your head. You have to articulate it. Often.

One of the foremost experts on the business of expertise in the world is David C. Baker, and I had the chance to take my listeners inside his thought process on his own creative practice.

Plus, we dissect a story he wrote which wasn't his usual fare.

David is a 7-time author which the New York Times once called "the expert's expert." His business, Punctuation, and his books like The Business of Expertise and Selling Your Professional Service Firm help marketing services firms and their owners achieve their next milestones with clarity and confidence. 

This is a great one with the great David C. Baker!

Find the show wherever you listen to podcasts.

If you are on the journey from competent to resonant, you're ready to work with me 1:1. I'm taking on 2 more clients to end my year.

I help experts and entrepreneurs win better clients and more opportunities by going from competent to resonant. Together, we turn your thinking into clear, captivating ideas, speeches, and IP. When you matter more, you need to hustle for attention less.

I've spent 20 years communicating the same way I teach my clients—I'm your practitioner-peer, not a coach with templates.

Most experts are trapped on the content hamster wheel—creating more, posting more, speaking more—but they’re still perceived as just another voice in their field.

The problem is, merely sharing expertise makes you a commodity. Expert advice is foundational but found everywhere.

I work 1:1 with established experts—consultants, authors, keynote speakers, coaches, agency owners—who are ready to escape the Commodity Cage and compete on the impact of their ideas, not the volume of their marketing.

Learn more at jayacunzo.com

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