“We have a lot of new leaders and I’m hoping you can inspire them to speak their minds.” my client said on the zoom call. I feel my chest tighten, pupils dilate - I’m suddenly alert (my body loves the promise of a paycheck). “This sounds great!” I reply, having...
My audience was financial planners. Not any financial planners - these were the gold star, top performers in their region. They walked on water. I had been invited to speak about goal setting at their upcoming conference. And I had a problem. How do you get a...
“People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic.” - Seth Godin Cruising garage sales one weekend, researchers Rob Walker and Joshua Glenn spent the morning collecting dozens of random items including a common office stapler, a box of...
The business of public speaking is a strange one. There’s no real “product” - not much to measure – and nothing you can put in a box or weigh in your hands. Just you talking. Your client wants to make the “perfect” decision and will often run you through a gauntlet of...
Sometimes the best solutions are also the simplest. Instead, we love, love, love to make life complicated. Take getting hired for example. I help content experts get hired. Consultants, coaches, trainers, and speakers all want one thing. More clients. And that’s where...
I have a beef. It started subtly - various phone calls. At first I wasn’t even aware it was happening... I would get questions like “I’ve been speaking for a couple of years. What do I need to do to get more speaking gigs?” Or, “I’m going to write my first book. I...
There’s lots of opinions about how to start a speech. Some say start with a joke. Some with a story. Some with a confession. Some even use video to break the ice. All of those can work, but in this post I’m more talking about what comes next—how do you hook your...