You've got an itch to make a difference to more people, to get your expertise, your message, your story in front of more people, and you know that speaking is one of the best ways to make it happen. And, bonus, you love it. There's just one tiny problem: getting speaking opportunities. You can't make your impact if you don't get on stage, right? You've done exactly what the experts have told you to do. Why is it that you’re struggling to book speaking gigs? Marketing is tactics, pure and simple. You put a plan in place and you work the plan consistently, and you get results. Messaging, on the other hand, is the thought leadership. It's the positioning. It's a deep understanding of who you serve with your speech. We skip to marketing ourselves and pitching for speaking gigs because, frankly, it's a whole lot easier than getting messy with our message. There are three tell-tale signs that your message is not working for the people who would book you to speak. Find out on this episode of the Rebel Speaker Podcast.

To have a slide deck or to not have a slide deck? That is the question, or at least it is for many of the clients that I work with and many of the speakers in The Rebel Speaker Facebook group. Speakers write this great signature talk, and then they start wondering, "Should I have visuals?" Because they've been in that presentation where you're looking at the speaker and you're looking at the slides, and you think, "What version of eyeball hell is this?" For speakers, it's really important to have great slides with a great design if you choose to have visuals. It's what makes you a pro. Today my guest is Adam Tratt, and he knows all about great presentation design. He's the co-founder and CEO of Haiku Deck, an app for creating flawlessly beautiful presentations on iPad or the web. Haiku Deck has been ranked the number one productivity app in iTunes and 50 markets around the world. We discuss: The four design principles that every speaker should know about (and how #3 is the easiest to mess up) How Haiku Deck makes designing a presentation deck a breeze What Sir Mix A Lot has to do with designing a great an app (he likes big apps and he cannot lie)

Whether someone is looking to hire you as a speaker or to hire you to do work for them, one of the first places they'll go is your website. When they land on your website, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to hire you. I've seen far too many speaker websites that don't include enough information for people to make a decision about taking the next step and contacting you to speak. Then when there’s not enough information? The person who was interested in hiring your clicks away never to darken your door again. Let's make it easy for people to hire you to speak with these 5 website tweaks.

I'm not one for following the rules. In fact, if everyone is following a trend, if everyone is telling me I should do something I am more likely to say, "No way," and buck the trend. For instance everyone in business is saying courses and memberships sites are the way to scale your business. Screw that. I'm doubling down on one-on-one work. It's what I love to do and what gets the best results for clients. With speaking, I'm always throwing out the tried and true tips to experiment and to create a better experience for the audience. Except, there is this one rule that I particularly love and it doesn't even come from speaking. It’s one rule that produces great results. Results like your message getting remembered, audiences members turning into clients, booking more speaking, and creating the impact you want to create in the world. Tune in to the Rebel Speaker Podcast to find out what this rule is and how to use it in your speaking.

The promise is a big, fancy speaking career with your name in lights. You'll book gigs, paid speaking gigs, even if you don't have a clue who to contact or what to say. Buy this course, and you'll be on your way. And that all sounds amazing. It's the dream: Making a big difference in the world, being on stage, and getting paid to do it. But, there's one tiny problem. And a few weeks into the course, they find themselves stuck. So before you invest in that slick speaker marketing course that costs $1,000, $1,500, or even $3,000, you need to have one thing nailed before you can get the results that are promised.

Have you ever scored a big speaking opportunity and went from elation to “OMG, what did I get myself into?” in less than an hour? Don’t worry. You’re not alone. Writing a speech is a creative process. A process that is full of excitement, panic, and wondering if it will ever come together. In today's, episode of The Rebel Speaker Podcast, we are going to discuss the creative process behind how to write a speech. Buckle your seatbelt, it’s going to be a wild creative ride. We’ll cover: The five stages of writing your next speech The stage that is the most difficult to get through My favorite resources about creativity My best two tips for surviving even thriving during the creative process MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Seth Godin’s The Dip (book) Brene Brown’s Rising Strong (book) Sally Hogshead “Creativity and The Throne of Agony” (blog post) Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic (book) The Speak for Impact program for crafting a signature speech The Rebel Speaker Facebook Group

The key to being a successful speaker is running a successful business. That means you're not just a speaker on the stage. You are the CEO of your business. But what the heck does that mean? What does it look like to really step into that CEO role of your speaking business? I am super excited because we have Dana Corey on the podcast.  She takes business owners (and speakers) and transforms them into CEOs. Dana and I talk about: Why speakers must step into the role of CEO if they want their business to thrive The major mindset shifts you need to make to be a CEO How to start delegating like a boss so you’re not doing all the day-to-day hustle Why every Speaker CEO needs to know their numbers in their speaking business

Do you have a feedback system in your speaking business? When I first started speaking, like many of you, I was in high school and I joined the speech and debate team because I wasn't naturally good at speaking at all. I joined the team because I sucked, and I knew that the only way that I could get better at speaking is if I got help and feedback.   And, boy, did I get a lot of feedback from my coach and from my peers. This helped me grow exponentially as a speaker because I could figure out what I was doing well, what I was improving on, and what needed a lot of work. I have noticed a disturbing trend in the speaking industry. Speakers are not actively seeking out feedback on their speaking. They figure, "Oh, man, I got a standing ovation, the audience loves me, and that's good enough." If you want to succeed in the speaking industry, you've got to be the best, and to be the best, you're going to need feedback. In this episode we are going to setup a feedback system for your speaking business so you know that your keynote speech is working FOR your business.

Every day, I'm Googling to find out who is that actor on Twin Peaks and what have I seen him in before? Or, I want to find out how to prepare a spicy hot chili for dinner, or even to figure out what that thing is on my arm. We are always Googling, and information is at our fingertips, which means if you are an expert in your field and you're focused on the how to do something, then Google can easily replace you. So, what's a speaker to do? If you're focused too much on the "how to," you're not positioning your expertise in a way so that people want to hire you after they hear you speak, and if you're getting paid to speak, you want to position your expertise so your audience knows that there is more where that came from. At the end of the day, when your audience feels like they can DIY it, you've just talked yourself out of a job, so let's change that.

Do you have a plan for how to make money with your speaking? Or are you hoping that someone will hear you speak and want to hire you right out of the gate? Or that someone will hear you speaking and give you your big break as a paid professional speaker? If you don’t have a plan for generating revenue, then you need to make one, big time On today’s show, we’ll discuss the two paths to revenue for speaking and how to craft a speech for each path: Understand the two paths to create revenue with your speaking Why a client attracting speech is NOT about selling from the stage Know the difference between a “what” speech and a “how” speech The difference between creating a speech that attracts clients versus getting paid speaking gigs Mentioned in this Episode: Stop Dreaming About Landing Speaking Gigs and Do This Instead (TRSP 10) The Rebel Speaker Facebook Group

Many of you know that corporate speaking is the direction that you want to go in your speaking business, but you haven't quite cracked that nut yet. How do you break in? How do you know if your message is going to appeal to the corporate crowd? We are lucky today because we have Simon T. Bailey as our guest, and he is one of America's top 10 most-booked corporate and association speakers on change, leadership, and customer experience. He has worked with over 1,500 organizations, has impacted more than two million people through his presentations and seminars in 45 countries.  Some of his clients include AT&T, IBM, Mastercard, Seattle's own Microsoft, and Toyota. Simon reveals some rebel truths about corporate speaking including: Why motivational speaking won’t get you in the door and what to do instead Find out how to take an inspirational message and turn it into a speech that is marketable to corporations Discover why speaking about your passion is NOT the best idea for corporate speaking when you’re starting out Why you need a body of work so you can go deeper with organizations that hire you (and create more revenue) The four things you can start doing today to build relationships to book corporate gigs

The number one question I get in my inbox or that comes up in strategy sessions with potential clients is: How do I book more speaking gigs? How do I find them? How do I book them? I totally get why. You want to do what you love, speaking. You want to change lives, start a movement with your message, and get paid for doing it. It totally makes sense to me. Are you too hung up on trying to book speaking gigs when there's something else that you really need to focus on? Maybe.   But your focus should never be on booking the gig, landing the deal, getting that speaking opportunity. Why? Because getting booked to speak is outside of your control. Someone else makes the decision to hire you. As a speaker, it's important to invest your time in what you can control. The number one thing that you can control...you’ll find out in this episode of the rebel speaker.

Share your soul stirring story. Your story? It's your legacy. You must share it on the stage. You are doing your audience a huge disservice if you don't share your story. Heck, the whole world wants to hear your story. Or, do they? Telling your story is very popular public speaking advice. However a friend of mine did an informal poll on Facebook asking, "What breaks your trust with a speaker?" The number one answer was fascinating to me, because the number one thing that breaks the audience’s trust with you, the speaker, is talking about yourself too much. We have conflicting information right? On one hand we have all of these speaking gurus who are telling you to share your story, because that's what's important, and that's how you'll connect with your audience. On the other hand, you have people saying they don't want to hear it. What direction, as a speaker, should you go in so that telling your story isn't undermining your speaking credibility and hurting your speaking business? Find out in this week’s episode of the Rebel Speaker.

Pop quiz, what is my least favorite TED Talk ever? If you've been hanging around these Rebel parts, you probably know the answer. If not, the answer might surprise you. My least favorite TED Talk of all time is Tony Robbins. Why? Why do I hate Tony Robbins' TED Talk so much? Because it’s 8-steps to this, 7 level of that, 14 ways to this other thing...all in 18-minutes! His talk is too much, it was too overwhelming, and I couldn't process what he was saying or understand what he wanted me to get out of it. But I think there's something that you and I can learn here because as experts, we tend to overwhelm our audience with the information that we want to give during our signature talks. I see this over and over again with my clients where we're working on their keynote speech, the talk that they want to be known for, and they're like, "But I need to talk about this, and I need to talk about that because they're all really important to me." When we're writing a talk, it's not about what's important to you as the speaker, what's important to build your brand; it's about what's important to your audience. So today we are going to talk about why we overwhelm and what we can do about it to make for a more effective signature talk and a better audience experience.

You know that I talk about making money with speaking in two different ways. There's paid speaking and then there's client attraction speeches. Client attraction speeches have nothing to do with selling from the stage. Instead you create a speech that's aligned with your business, you do a bang up job delivering it, and then you offer something completely free, so that people give you their email addresses. I know one thing that people struggle with is, "Great, I've got their email, now what do I do?" This is where our guest expert Maggie Patterson comes in. Maggie has spent her entire career working in client-facing roles and marketing and as a copywriter. Today she works with service-based business owners to help them implement smart strategies for business growth, including today's topic, funnels. If you don't know what a funnel is, don't let the word scare you off. Maggie is going to explain what a funnel is and how to create one for your business.

You hear the roar of applause and receive your standing ovation. Audience members say, "You did an awesome job! That was great!" The vast majority of your evaluations say you did a good or excellent job in your session. That's awesome. I want you to receive and celebrate that. When you're done with the celebration, ask yourself this question: Is it translating? Is the applause and the standing ovation translating into more speaking opportunities? Are those enthusiastic audience members translating into people who hire you and become customers? Is that organization where you got those fabulous evaluations, is that translating into being asked back or being asked to provide additional training? The bottom line question is, is speaking exponentially growing your bottom line? If you look at your numbers and it's not producing the revenue that you would like to see, what should you do about it? Find out where you’re leaving money on the table in your speaking business

Every successful speaker that I've ever chatted with has had a secret weapon. The secret weapon won't be mentioned on stage or receive applause or accolades. But behind the scenes, this secret weapon has helped the speaker on their journey. It has helped the speaker go from an unknown to making $10K, $20K or $30K per speaking engagement. So what is that secret weapon and why should you have one? Find out on this week podcast episode.

How do you take your SFD speech, your shitty first draft, and transform it into something that audiences are persuaded by? That they are moved by? That they are moved so much that they stand up and applaud after you're done speaking? How do you transform that SFD into something that gets you referrals, and amazing testimonials, and more business from organizations? The key to that is in the editing. I know, it's super sexy but this is what marks a pro speaker from an amateur. The magic of speech writing happens in the editing. Editing  is where you can craft a better story, find better words, create more connection and build engagement with your audience. I'm going to walk you through how I begin to edit a speech so that you can go from pro to amatuer.

Your speech is not a speech. It's your next best-selling product. That's the strategy that I outlined in my book Speak For Impact. It's one of the core pillars of building a successful, thriving speaking business. It's one of the things that you should be focusing on whether you're just starting out as a speaker or you're an old pro. But here is what I see happen all the time in the speaking industry. You create a speech and it's good enough. It's good enough to get you applause. It's good enough to get you booked a couple of times. It might even be good enough to get you a standing ovation and that feels really, really amazing. It's definitely good enough to get you good enough evaluations. But what if it could be remarkable? What if you're leaving money on the table, you're leaving speaking opportunities on the table, you're leaving clients on the table because you're not upgrading your speech to make it truly remarkable? .   Here are the five stages of writing a speech that gets you booked to speak and paid.

If you have ever been on the verge of pushing the send button on an important email pitch - the one for the gig on a stage you have always dreamed of being and suddenly you hear a voice. "Who do you think you are to be pitching for that speaking gig? You don't have enough experience, maybe if you had a Ph.D. then you could pitch for that speaking gig. And what if you get it? What if you get it? They're all going to find out you don't know what you're talking about." If you've had that experience or you're thinking right now, "Michelle, get out of my head." You have experienced the imposter complex. And in my work I see it all the time with speakers. Today, we are so fortunate to be talking to Tanya Geisler. Tanya is my coach and an expert in helping high achievers like you and me deal with the imposter complex so we can own the stage and make the difference in the world we were born to make.

As a speaker, you've got a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. Especially if you're running your speaking business like a lone wolf. You are in charge of finding speaking opportunities, pitching those speaking opportunities, and tracking those pitches when they go out the door.  Then, the sales conversations, negotiating your speaking fees, booking your travel, marketing your speaking. Plus, you have to create the speech, customize the speech for that specific audience, and become a master of the speaking craft, on top of following up with the people who gave you the opportunity to speak in order to stay top of mind, so that you get amazing referrals and testimonials. And, maybe, just maybe, you’re running another business, as well. One of the questions I've heard in the Rebel Speaker Facebook group is, "What the heck can I outsource to focus on what really matters in my speaking business?" Here are 5 Tasks to outsource to a virtual assistant

You listen to this podcast because you're interested in speaking. You want to be booking more speaking gigs. You want to become a better speaker and improve the  experience the audience has with you.   Yet there might be this little niggling feeling that you're not 100% committed to adding speaking into your business mix. You're just not sure if it's the best move for your business. This month we are featuring listener questions on the Rebel Speaker Podcast and Shawn Fink of the Abundant Mama asks “why should I add speaking to my business?” Here are five reasons why you should consider adding speaking to your business mix.

A terrible fight with your wife. Your kid just got suspended for the eighteenth time from school. And maybe your business, well, that's not so hot either. Any one of those things are enough to throw us off our game. But what happens when you feel like the world is crashing down around you and you have to get on stage to speak? One of my private clients emailed me recently to say that she was a mess. She'd been crying all day and was in no shape for the speaking gig she had that night. What advice did I have for her? Find out on this episode of The Rebel Speaker.

How do I find more speaking gigs? This is the number one question that I get all the time for speakers. Speakers are looking for the magic bullet to find those gigs and to find them without doing the ONE thing that makes the biggest difference to your speaking business: building relationships. On the Rebel speaker, we are very fortunate because we have David Fisher here. He is a speaker but he is also an expert on building relationships and how we do leverage our relationships to book more speaking gigs or get more sales. In this interview David and I talk about: How to find speaking gigs when you’re just starting out A LinkedIN strategy for networking and finding speaking opportunities How to start building relationships with an organization where you would like to speak Should you hire a speakers bureau to help you get the gig Why once you’ve landed the speaking gig and delivered the goods, you’re relationship has only just begun

The best way to book more speaking gigs? Easy, ask. Then ask some more, and ask again, and then follow-up. Sounds simple right? You know that you need to be pitching if you want to be speaking, but it's not as easy as it sounds because a lot of the times we don't feel ready to pitch. We think, oh, my website's not good enough. Or I don't have a speaker sizzle reel yet, I don't have action shots, I don't have a speaker's one sheet. We get so wrapped up in all of the marketing, that we don't do the very thing that gets speaking gigs, which is pitching. Today I’m sharing five keys to start pitching before you think you’re ready.

You've decided to be a speaker and build your speaking business. Now the universe is going to test you on how badly you want it. You send out a pitch and get a "thanks but no thanks", or you send out a pitch and you hear crickets. You're in the middle of a negotiation for your speaking fee and they say "Sorry, we don't have any budget to pay you". They're going to be times where you need to have the cojones to walk away and say no to speaking gigs. It takes tenacity and fortitude to make your speaking goals a reality. How are you going to do this? The best way is to go through this exercise that I make all of my clients do before they start pitching, setting their fee or even get on a call to negotiate their fee. It's even a great exercise to have in the back of your mind right before you're going to step on stage and nail it. Find out what that exercise is in this episode of The Rebel Speaker.

To speak for free or to not speak for free that is the question. It seems to be the question that members of the Rebel Speaker Facebook group come up against. It's the question my clients have for me all of the time in our sessions. It's wild to me how many organizations from non-profits to Fortune 500 companies and everywhere in between, expect speakers to speak for free or as they like to say it, exposure. Well the only things exposure has ever gotten me was the flu. Today on the Rebel Speaker Podcast, we are going to talk about when you should speak for free, when you should start charging and saying NO to free speaking, and how to turn down free speaking gigs without burning bridges.

Do you ever feel like you’re the best kept secret in the speaking industry? If only more people knew about you and your message, you could easily book speaking gigs. As a speaker, you want to be known for what you do both onstage and off. One of the best ways to boost your speaking credibility, get the edge of your speaking competition, and even get paid more to speak is with PR.   Today on the show and blog, my guest is Brigitte Lyons, the the founder of B, a Boutique Marketing and PR agency that helps thought leaders and small businesses hone their message and reach more of the right audience. She’s going to give you the lowdown of how and why you should be using PR to help build your speaking business including: How PR can give you a competitive advantage when booking a speaking gig Why you don’t need to be famous to get the media’s attention How much time you need to spend on PR efforts to get noticed by the media (it’s surprisingly little) The four steps Brigitte uses with her clients to get them media placements  

There's a lot of advice, courses, and information about how to grow your speaking business. From how to market yourself as a speaker to how to land paid speaking gigs. And everything in between. There's a lot of information and it can be overwhelming. In fact, you can feel like you're drinking out of a fire hose.                                       What should you work on first? Marketing your speech? Your video reel? All of it? How do you know what to focus on and when?   On the show, I am going to walk you through the three stages of growing a successful speaking business and what you should focus on in each stage.  

The speaking industry is competitive. There are so many keynote speakers, breakout speakers, trainers and more. How do you stand out from all of the competition? How do you get hired over other speakers who speak on a similar topic? In fact, why you’ll get hired has NOTHING to do with you! It has EVERYTHING to do with how you answers these two questions. Discover the two questions to that get you booked to speak.

Your speech is the keystone of your speaking business. It showcases your expertise. It's the vehicle that produces results for your audience. It highlights your story and your passion. It also does something else for you. It's what gets you booked to speak. Because you’re about to listen to this podcast I know you want  to be speaking more. You want to build your speaking business. It's important, then, to treat your speech like any other product in your business. In fact, I want you to start thinking about your speech like it is your next best selling product. There are  three important reasons why you should shift from thinking about your speech as an art or  performance piece and start thinking about it as a product for your business and that’s what we tackled on this episode of the show.  

You want to get paid to speak, right? Yet the thought of pricing and negotiating your speaking fees makes you feel uneasy. You’re not sure what to charge. You don’t know how to negotiate or what to negotiate for. You think “we don’t have a budget” means that you’re not going to get paid at all. If this is you, you’re going to love our first guest expert interview on The Rebel Speaker. Our guest expert is Jen Gresham who  runs a blog called Everyday Bright, and Jen is truly remarkable. She has a PhD in biochemistry. She spent years in the Air Force, and now she's an executive coach and business strategist. One of her areas of specialty is money mindset. When I first met Jen, what I loved most about her, was that I could tell she had a very healthy money mindset. She lit up when she talked about money, and that really attracted me to her and her message, and I thought people needed to hear from you. In this episode (and the transcript below) we are going to dive deep into money mindset issues including: Why money mindset is so important for speakers? How to set your speaking fee How to talk to meeting planners so you understand the value your speech creates for them. A strategy for negotiating a win-win outcome for you and the person who wants to hire you.

You want your speaking business to take off like a rocket. You want speaking inquiries to land in your inbox. You want to be making a difference to the people who need your message most, and get paid for it. How do you make that all happen? Good news! You don’t have to wander around in the dark to figure out how to build your speaking business. There’s actually a fairly predictable process (not formula) to building a successful speaking business. In this episode of The Rebel Speaker podcast will discuss the three pillars that you need make your speaking business thrive

Speaking more isn't a goal. It's a hope. When I hear somebody tell me, "Oh, I want to be speaking more in 2017," I know one thing: if they're going to make that goal of speaking happen, they have to define their vision and get a lot more specific about that goal. Research shows that the more specific you are when setting a goal, the more likely you will accomplish that goal. In this episode of the Rebel Speaker podcast, I'm going to take you through my two-part system that I use with my clients to define their speaking vision and set their goals for speaking in 2017 and beyond. You can grab a copy of the goal setting workbook at: www.drmichellemazur.com/goal

I have that little ’80s ditty “I Wanna be Rich” from one-hit-wonder Calloway playing in my head, “I want money; lots and lots of money,” because today we’re talking about money—one of my all-time favorite topics. If you want to make money by being a speaker, you will have to talk about it sooner or later even though most people would rather have a root canal. Before getting caught off guard by the question, “What is your fee,” you need to learn how to set your speaking fee, when to consider speaking for free and how to avoid common scams. In this episode, we explore: Why you must determine a fee in your mind, even though it is always negotiable, before someone asks you what your speaking fee is How you should negotiate your fee including the questions you should ask and the research you should do When to determine that it makes sense for you to speak for free Why you should never pay to speak Mentioned in this Episode:    The Unfair Speaking Advantage    Rebel Speaker Facebook group    Episode 13:Two Paths to Revenue in your Speaking Business    Turn your Audience into Clients with a Client Attracting Speech (Selling from the Stage not Included)

Believe me. A speaker who has great delivery on stage can be mesmerizing (just ask me about my days in grad school judging debate tournaments). But if you rely on just your delivery as a speaker, you will fall flat on your face. Content and delivery are both important. If you want to get paid to speak, the first step is to develop a solid message to share with your audience. In this episode, we discuss: Why I believe content counts just as much as your delivery How content never has a bad day on stage if your presentation’s big idea, the central message of your speech, has the audience at its center and is very clear about the result that you’re going to get Why having a remarkable message is the key to getting people to pay to hear you speak Mentioned in this Episode: 1.     The Unfair Speaking Advantage

Do you ever get déjà vu when listening to a presentation? When that happens, it’s because you’re listening to a me-too speaker who never heard the advice of Sally Hogshead when she says, “Stand out or don’t bother.” The speaker is only regurgitating thoughts shared by others previously without adding any original substance or spin. Being a me-too speaker is a public speaking pet peeve of mine. I implore you: Do not become a me-too speaker! Stand out from other speakers by sharing your original thoughts. In today’s Rebel Speaker podcast, we explore: Why you lose your audience and opportunity for paid speaking gigs if you don’t add your own ideas to the conversation What we can learn from the improve how-to manual, and how adding “yes and” to the ideas of the great thinkers who came before you can set you apart While there are no entirely original thoughts, there are ways to create different connections and combinations from the information that has been shared before Mentioned in this Episode:    The Unfair Speaking Advantage    Starfish Story

Have you ever noticed how many people talk about the finale of a television series, but rarely give two hoots about the pilot episode? The Sopranos. Six Feet Under. Mad Men. People are still talking about these series finales even years after they aired. Just like on television, how you end your speech matters. Don't let the final thought of your speech by an afterthought. Today is all about how to create a conclusion for your speech that your audience will remember. We discuss: How The Recency Theory from social psychology supports the rationale to craft the end of your speech with care. The key to turn your audience members into advocates of your message by finding the battle cry of your speech. How to tap your power to create a powerful last thought that is well-crafted and tweetable. Mentioned in this Episode:    The Unfair Speaking Advantage    The Audience Journey

Want to know how to make your audience hang on your every word? You must capture their attention immediately with a powerful introduction. And nope, telling them your name or what you did last night is not powerful. Thanks to the 30-second Head and Shoulders commercial from the 80s, I know you never get a second chance to make a first impression, but as a professional speech coach, I see far too many people blowing it. As Sally Hogshead states in her book, How the World Sees You, you only have 9 seconds (NINE SECONDS) to fascinate your audience. I beg you: Don’t waste ’em.  Our episode today explores: The variety of ways speakers waste their precious few moments after walking on stage with meaningless conversation that doesn’t tie into their speech. The brain science that guarantees you audience will tune you out if you waste your intro. How to craft a powerful first line and a wow-worthy opening. Mentioned in this Episode:    The Unfair Speaking Advantage    Speak for Impact Program     Rebel Speaker Facebook group

Since coaches can help with your fitness goals, your golf swing and your kid’s baseball team, doesn’t it make sense to hire a speech coach to help you achieve the next level of speaking success? Yes, of course, but before you let your fingers Google “speech coach,” you need to get clarity on few things to know for sure if hiring a speech coach is the right thing for you and your business. The first step is to determine your ultimate speaking stage and then how you wish to make money from your speaking. Do you plan to attract new clients from your speaking or get paid to deliver a speech? Once you have a solid goal and a plan for how you will get a return on the investment of hiring a speech coach, the next step is find the right one for you. In this episode, we discuss: The different versions of speech coach—content, delivery and speaker marketing coaches—and who should hire which one. How you determine who you will work including the questions you should be prepared to ask prospective coaches Why your success in working with the coach depends on your dedication and commitment to the systems the coach has set up Mentioned in this Episode:    The Unfair Speaking Advantage    How to Get Paid to Speak by Writing a Remarkable Speech    Michael Port, Steal the Show    Lois Creamer    Speak for Impact Program  

Is vulnerability the silver bullet to speaking success? Not necessarily. A presentation infused with personal anecdotes can be powerful, but when you’re in the midst of a vulnerability hangover you’re just exposing yourself and giving your audience too much information, rather than leaving them changed. Every time you step on the stage, you must ask yourself if there is a lesson for your audience by the story you share with them. Today, we explore how you can check in with yourself to know if you are about to share too much information in your presentation and we discuss: Brene Brown’s research on vulnerability and her sage advice about being selective about who you are vulnerable with The three questions you need to ask yourself if you’re wondering if you should share your story or if it’s just TMI Vulnerability is a choice. It’s not mandatory to share your darkest secrets with the audience to become a phenomenal speaker or deliver a successful presentation Mentioned in this Episode: Rebel Speaker Bootcamp Rebel Speaker Facebook group  

Just like the Force that pulls Luke to the good side and Vader to the dark, persuasion is inherently neutral. It’s how a speaker uses a persuasive technique that makes it ethical (good) or manipulative (bad). When persuasion is used ethically, it is an amazing tool! Persuasion can create incredible results for your speaking and for your audience. It’s powerful, changes lives and truly serves. In today’s episode, we will get to the bottom of how you can avoid the persuasion dark side so you can communicate in a way that feels good to you and your audience: Learn the two questions you should ask yourself so that you stay on the good side of persuasion Discover why some persuasive tactics make you feel “icky” Consider how to select a persuasive lever that works for you and your audience Mentioned in this Episode: Rebel Speaker Bootcamp Triple Your Speaking Income? Don’t Believe the Hype! Rebel Speaker Facebook group  

Have you heard it? All the hype that you, yes YOU, can triple your income with public speaking in just weeks, “just like I did”? Yeah, right! This marketing message implies that speaking is a quick and easy fix to make all your revenue goals come true. When it doesn’t happen for you, and believe me it won’t happen that quick or at all for most of us, it positions you as a failure. Today, our episode will outline what you can and should do to set reasonable income goals for your speaking: The first step is to define where you are in your speaking journey Then, we will discuss how to set a reasonable goal for yourself based on the reality of where you are Learn how an audit allows you to zoom out to ensure that the goal you just created aligns with your overall vision for how you see yourself as a speaker Mentioned in this Episode: Rebel Speaker Bootcamp Two Paths to Revenue in Your Speaking Business (TRSP 13)

Priority No. 1 is to be known for what you do and how your business serves. Your Signature Talk is the key to how you talk about your business and how to crystallize your message for the people who need it the most. And, as an entrepreneur, it’s something that cannot be outsourced—no one can replace you when you need to talk about your business.   The focus of today’s episode is your Signature Talk, and we chat about: The reason entrepreneurs need a Signature Talk to talk about their business All the places a Signature Talk can be used on or off the speaking stage from webinars to sales calls to videos The elements of a Signature Talk and how you can nail it by answering three questions Mentioned in this Episode:    Your Unfair Speaking Advantage    Speak for Impact Program     Get a Speech, Get a Gig    Guest blog post on entrepreneur.com: 3 Steps to Your 'Unfair Speaking Advantage'    

I loved playing Mad Libs as a kid. All you needed to do was fill in the blanks with different parts of speech to create a hysterical story. While this was great fun for me and my mom many moons ago, if you want to book more speaking gigs, you should never use a formula to create your presentation.   Today, we explore: Why Mad Libbing your presentation hurts you as a speaker How originality and positivity in your presentation help your audience feel good, solve a problem and serve a purpose, and why speaking formulas are bad for your audience The importance of adapting your presentation to your specific audience, while maintaining the message of your Signature Talk   Why it’s your job as a speaker to become an expert at presentations Mentioned in this Episode:     Your Unfair Speaking Advantage    Speak for Impact Program     The Rebel Speaker Facebook Group  

Speakers get obsessed about solving the wackiest things. What should I do with my hands? How do I stop saying “so”? Blue or black suit? (Neither, you want color!) Answers to these questions can help you get better, but none of them are the most important thing to raise the bar on your presentations. To create an epic experience for your audience you need to create a remarkable presentation. We get down to business in today’s episode and discuss: What remarkable presentations look like (Hint: It’s a presentation only YOU can give!) How to develop a remarkable presentation that converts well, gets you more speaking gigs and gets you paid what you’re worth How to be bold, audacious and a risk-taker to get your audience to take action Mentioned in this Episode:  Your Unfair Speaking Advantage The Rebel Speaker Facebook Group

While we might think variety is the spice of life, it turns out that too much variety can paralyze your audience into no action at all. Many speakers make the same mistake with their calls to action. In the excitement to be all things to everybody, they speak about the oodles of things they can do for their clients and audiences. While there is no doubt about their talent and skill-set, they are not effectively moving their audience to “yes.” In today’s episode, we will delve into: Why you need to streamline your call to action for each presentation and not tell your audience ALL the things you can do for them Why too many options leaves your audience confused and they default to doing nothing at all How to determine the one natural next step that you can take with your audience to make a deeper connection Mentioned in this Episode:   The Rebel Speaker Facebook Group   Your Unfair Speaking Advantage    Get to Yes

There are many people who could make a huge difference in the world. They have the talent and the message to share. But these talented people remain invisible to the audiences that need them most, because they keep making a critical mistake that continues to cost them speaking opportunities. They haven’t developed their signature speech. In today’s episode, we will explore: The three reasons why you need to have a signature speech Why marketing yourself to land a speaking gig should happen only after you develop a signature speech Why re-creating the wheel for each speaking invitation dilutes your message Mentioned in this Episode:   The Rebel Speaker Facebook Group   Nilofer Merchant, “How Can I Be a Speaker, Like You?”