My ONE SPEECH THAT BOMBED

Over the last five years, I’ve really dialed in my speaking.

Not just because I’ve been on hundreds of stages—but because of what I see behind the scenes.

I’ve coached beginners and top earners.

Run 30+ masterminds.

Built teams in 40+ countries.

And through all of that, the message keeps getting sharper.

When companies bring me in to speak, I ask questions.

I want to know their culture.

Their pain points.

What they feel their people need most.

Usually, when I know the company well, it’s easy to deliver.

But recently, I spoke at an event where I didn’t know the culture at all.

Corporate gave me a full page of notes—more detail than most.

I followed it to a T.

People were crying in the audience.

The feedback online was fire.

I walked off stage knowing I nailed it.

But here’s what happened …

Turns out the leaders wanted a recruiting-focused training.

And what’s ironic?

Recruiting is the easiest topic in the world for me.

I was the #1 recruiter out of a million distributors.

So that was a big lesson.

Even though my client is corporate, the heartbeat of the company is often the leaders.

Now, whenever possible, I make sure to reach out to leaders ahead of time.

I ask what they’re seeing. What their team needs.

And if it’s cool with corporate, I make sure to include that insight too.

Because you can’t speak with impact if you don’t know what your audience actually needs.

Here’s the point:

Even after speaking in 23 countries…

Even after all the wins…

I’ve still had one speech that flopped.

It’s not about perfection.

It’s about feedback.

It’s about adjusting.

It’s about staying hungry enough to keep learning—even when you think you’ve already got it.

That’s how real growth happens.

And if you’re a speaker or a leader of any kind—

Never assume.

Ask.

Adapt.

Deliver.

That’s how you lead with excellence.

How Consistency In Business Is The Only CHEAT CODE? - David Shands