The Speaker Lab Podcast

"You can get rid of that limiting belief that you have to have a talk fully ready before you sell it."One of the hardest things for new and aspiring speakers is putting together a compelling talk. It's hard to move forward until you feel like everything is perfect — but what if you could sell your talk before it even exists?Your best marketing is a great talk — but you don't necessarily need to have that talk fully developed before you pitch it to event organizers.This week, Erick Rheam is back to break down the four main reasons developing your talk first can actually be problematic, along with advice on how to test the market, why prospecting is a superpower for successful speakers, and much, much more!If you're feeling stuck or you're not sure how to get things rolling as a new or aspiring speaker, this is the episode for you."When you're on the phone with an event planner and you're discussing what their needs are, if you're too rigid and you have this talk already developed, and you've got too much time invested in it and too much energy, it's harder to adjust and a little demotivating if you spent all this time building something that the event planner doesn't exactly want."Looking for the highlights?02:58 Four reasons why speakers shouldn't finalize talks before selling them03:54 How to adapt your presentation to meet the event planner's needs.07:00 How to draft a rough idea and adapt it based on feedback10:10 Why you should be flexible with your topic and develop assets around it later13:29 Why it's easier to pivot when you're already in the game18:47 Why you don't need a dramatic story to speak25:51 Why consistent daily prospecting beats sporadic efforts28:05 Why success in speaking requires aligning passion with demand33:01 How deadlines will force preparation and commitmentSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mo Bunnell, a relationship-building expert and author of "Give to Grow," shares insights on growing a speaking business through effective networking. He emphasizes the significance of genuine connections with event planners and industry leaders. Mo tackles common obstacles like busy schedules and self-promotion fears, urging speakers to prioritize value and face-to-face interactions. He introduces a four-step framework for engaging with event planners and encourages a mindset shift from selling to being genuinely helpful in fostering relationships.

This week, we’re giving you a behind-the-scenes look at what coaching can do for speakers. Erick Rheam is hosting live coaching sessions this week! These sessions feature TSL students and real problems that speakers face in their businesses.This episode features Molly Kennedy and Theresa Skaar. Molly focuses on shifting her demographics and finding new income sources, while Theresa focuses on overcoming impostor syndrome and selling herself with confidence. A few of their quotes that you might relate to: “I just turned 50 this summer, and I feel like, personally, I'm kind of evolving and growing. I feel like my reach can expand beyond education, although I love teachers. Again, it's kind of an easy space for me, but I also feel like I want to challenge myself to have a broader reach as well." - Molly Kennedy "I don't know if it feels audacious if it feels like so many people position themselves as an expert. And I'm like, you know, I don't know." - Theresa Skaar Want to skim the session? 04:56 Why Molly loves what she does currently08:09 Where she would like to transition into12:52 Erick’s ideas on getting into a new market 15:18 Molly’s final steps to make the shift 18:51 Where Theresa feels like she’s lacking confidence 22:27 How Theresa wishes people felt about aging25:11 What Theresa hopes to accomplish with her work 28:03 Erick advice on how to build confidence and show up as a proEpisode Resources:Connect with Molly on LinkedInFollow Molly on InstagramVisit Molly's WebsiteConnect with Theresa on LinkedInFollow Theresa on InstagramVisit Theresa's WebsiteGet Free Speaker ResourcesBook a Call with The Speaker LabCalculate Your Speaking FeeJoin The Speaker Lab Community on FacebookSubscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bryan Harris, an expert in launching high-ticket offers, shares invaluable insights on tapping into premium markets. He emphasizes the importance of targeting the top 2% of your audience to maximize sales. Harris details how personal passion fuels successful coaching and provides strategies for pricing high-ticket programs based on audience demographics. He also explains how to transition from speaking engagements to high-ticket sales, offering practical tips to enhance client engagement and develop effective offerings.

"If you've got a working keynote that has structure that you've been honing for a while, you probably have the bones of a book." - Liz Morrow "If you are someone who is highly entrepreneurial and you feel like you really value having a lot of creative control over the end product and you don't mind doing the hard, you know, kind of manual work of putting all of those systems in place and really championing your book yourself, then self publishing could be a great choice for you." - Ariel Curry This week, Liz Morrow and Ariel Curry joined Grant to talk about the process of book writing for speakers. If you've ever thought about writing a book, this is the episode for you! Liz and Ariel have been at it as writers and editors for years, so they bring first-hand knowledge to the conversation about the process of writing and selling a book.In this episode, Grant, Liz, and Ariel cover: 05:31 What’s involved in building a platform to sell a book? 08:34 Pros and cons of self-publishing vs traditional publishing.12:53 How do you find angles to sell a lot of books? 14:19 Why are speakers positioned uniquely to write great books? 18:59 How does the book mapping process make a difference when it’s time to write? 20:42 What is the structure you recommend to writing a nonfiction book? 24:30 How do you use the book map to align your content as you write? 29:31 Are there ways to use AI to make the book-writing process easier? 32:41 Why should someone write a book? 35:14 Final advice for people still on the fence about writing a book. "And these are people who have multimillion dollar businesses. They have 4 million Instagram followers. They've got multiple six figures of email subscribers. I mean, these are people who think would have all the justification in the world that they have something worth sharing, and they still worry, am I good enough?" - Liz Morrow "The quality of the idea matters because people want something that is surprising. People want something that is new, and it's really hard to define." - Ariel Curry Episode Resources: Buy Liz and Ariel's Book - Hungry AuthorsFollow Hungry Authors on FacebookFollow Hungry Authors on InstagramGet Free Speaker ResourcesBook a Call with The Speaker LabCalculate Your Speaking FeeJoin The Speaker Lab Community on FacebookSubscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“I'm really passionate about solving the same problem that they're passionate about solving. I have a unique ability that I'm willing to share."How do you write your own story and become the speaker you've dreamed about being? This week, Brittany Richmond and Jake White are answering that question and talking about when to scale your business, how to find your niche, and so much more.“If you want to accelerate faster, then you need quality time with the people that buy what you offer. I need to partner with the perfect match, learn their language, how they're funded, what problems they have, whenever they book us, what are the hurdles they have to go through? And however it can make it so easy for them to bring us in, that's part of my learning curve."During this episode, you'll hear about: 00:00 Jake’s background and the road to speaking06:00 Jake’s story of founding Vive18 08:54 How Jake met his co-founder12:53 What it means to create your own story14:08 The power in living your message 18:05 Why you have to invest in your own career 20:32 How to find your people in your industry 24:34 Tips to accelerate your business and learning from the get-go 28:16 How to create value for your customers 32:55 What it looks like to support your decision-makers “If you build the community, then your people are going to continue using you because you are the hub and where to go."Episode Resources:Connect with Jake on LinkedInCheck out Vive18's WebsiteFollow Vive18 on InstagramSubscribe to Vive18 on YoutubeConnect with Vive18 on FacebookFollow Vive18 on TikTokGet Free Speaker ResourcesBook a Call with The Speaker LabCalculate Your Speaking FeeJoin The Speaker Lab Community on FacebookSubscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

 "Just show up and provide value and get to know us."If you’re like most speakers, you’re probably wondering about AI. How should you use it? Should you be using it at all? And how do you make sure your authentic brand and story doesn’t get lost in the process? This week, Pat Flynn is answering all of those questions and ALSO diving into what it's like being an event planner. How do event planners look for speakers? How do they make final decisions? Check out the full conversation! "Short form video is like handing out Halloween candy, right? You have people coming to your house, you hand out candy, they move on to the next one. That's just people swiping, and when they move on to the next house, they kind of forgot about you already."Grant and Pat also talked about:03:22 What does your speaking business look like to date?08:05 How does the format of content change the way it’s consumed?11:06 What kind of prompts get you the best results when you use AI?13:17 Why should someone consider using AI in their business?20:07 When did you get into hosting events and what did that first one look like?25:45 How do you think about finding speakers for an event?29:12 Why showing up the spaces you want to be in matters.31:26 Tips to get on event planners radars.34:43 From an event planner, what makes a great speaker?36:54 How do you build credibility with speakers before you make your selection. 40:20 Why it’s important to maintain quality relationships with other speakers.44:10 Why the story you tell yourself matters, and how to change the narrative. "When I first started, there were gatekeepers, there were people like, what are you doing here? Why are you trying to do this? And, like, who are, who are you to even do this? And I just, you know, just kept going and kept, you know, hitting that hammer across the value wall, and eventually, it broke, and people saw what I was actually here for, which is amazing."Episode Resources:Visit Pat's WebsiteConnect with Pat on LinkedInSubscribe to Pat's YouTube ChannelGet Free Speaker ResourcesBook a Call with The Speaker LabCalculate Your Speaking FeeJoin The Speaker Lab Community on FacebookSubscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“They used to be easy to spot, but they're getting better. They are getting more and more convincing at weaving their stories." This week, Grant sat down with Lauren Sergy to talk about a new (and very) convincing speaker scam and, more importantly, how to avoid falling for it! “No transactions are made, no contracts are signed. Unless you have a zoom, ideally a face to face Zoom call or a phone call. There must be a phone call. You have to make voice to voice contact."Ready to jump into this episode? Here’s the layout: 00:00 What does Lauren speak on.04:13 When did Lauren start speaking?09:06 What does Lauren’s business book like today?12:11 How did Lauren build her speaking business? 12:52 The mindset Lauren brings to fluctuating seasons.16:09 Let’s get into this speaker scam… how did it come to your door? 20:31 Beware of weird or unconventional payment methods. 23:37 What has changed with modern-day scammers?25:49 How to logically think about gigs at the moment.30:56 Don’t forget to trust your gut and ask others if they have experienced something similar! “If you are in doubt, get a hold of the venue and double check with them and then understand how your payments work. If you want to be really safe with your payments, you could say, I will only accept payment by credit card."Episode Resources:Visit Lauren's Website Connect with Lauren on LinkedInFollow Lauren on YoutubeGet Free Speaker ResourcesBook a Call with The Speaker LabCalculate Your Speaking FeeJoin The Speaker Lab Community on FacebookSubscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"We always recommend that people do not memorize their presentations verbatim. That results in just acting a little bit too robotic. Your audience can tell, and that's just not the best way to go." - Eric SilverbergThis week, Grant sat down with Eli and Eric, some of our friends from Speaker Labs (not to be confused with The Speaker Lab). Eli and Eric help speakers master the four pillars of becoming a world class speaker — content, delivery, visuals, and mindset — so that they can become exceptional communicators."When you share your idea, even if it's a known idea in the world, but you share it your way through your stories, your experiences, your unique creative analogies and metaphors, and interesting ways to package that idea, the audience may not have heard it your way, and that allows you to feel confident, to show up and say, I may tell you something you already know, but I'm certainly going to tell it to you in a way that you haven't heard it before, because I'm telling it to you my unique way." - Eli GladstoneIn this episode we cover: 05:12 How Eli and Eric built this business06:21 What Speaker Labs does 10:28 The difference in good and great speakers 15:02 What makes a great presentation18:41 How to improve confidence as a speaker 21:53 Understanding the E’s of engagement23:52 How to read the audience and develop a knack for making last minute tweaks 26:59 Let’s talk about slides and visual aids28:51 How to think about slides + some tips and tricks 34:06 The importance of mindset in public speaking 38:05 How to confront and overcome fears39:11 Tips to overcome impostor syndrome as a speaker 42:32 The most important question to ask yourself about your message"Eli came up with an amazing analogy once that has to do with the GPS systems. You know, when you're in your car and you're using waze or Google Maps or whatever, and then there's a voice that speaks to you, and they tell you what to do. They tell you, in 400, you know, or in 4 miles, turn left, and in 3 miles, turn right. But here's what the GPS doesn't do. The GPS does not say, turn left, go straight, go straight, go straight, go straight, go straight, go straight, go straight, go straight, go straight, turn right, go straight, go straight, go straight, go straight. That's way too much, right?" - Eric Silverberg "I try to get them to think about playing with the levels of altitude of that idea. You may not change your message, this is your message. But once you understand the most abstracted version of that idea, you now understand the language that could speak to the most people." - Eli Gladstone Episode Resources:Connect with the Speaker LabsFollow Speaker Labs on InstagramFollow Speaker Labs on LinkedInGet Free Speaker ResourcesBook a Call with The Speaker LabCalculate Your Speaking FeeJoin The Speaker Lab Community on FacebookSubscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"There is so much value in saying no because not every event is the right event for you." This week, Brittany Richmond sat down with Nathan Wray, an inspirational speaker who speaks on teen mental health and substance misuse prevention. Together, Brittany and Nathan dig into dozens of practical topics including recovering from rough feedback, showing up for and supporting event planners, finding direction in your career as a speaker, and more!"So I'm going to go as far as I can go to help an event organizer to make sure that they're successful. And if that includes setting up 300 chairs at 01:00 in the morning, then I'm gonna do it."In this episode, Brittany and Nathan get into: 04:49 Who does Nathan serve and what’s his message? 08:00 How do you take feedback on your message and build something better?10:58 Nathan’s turning point for storytelling.15:41 The importance of community in the speaking world. 16:58 Why you should say no to some events20:05 What to focus on as a speaker?24:32 Why your superpower matters and will shape the way you show up.26:59 The importance of pre-event meetings.30:20 Why making the whole event a success matters.35:09 How to support decision makers and event planners. 37:01 Why showing support and value changes things. 42:53 What the speaking community is like. 44:10 How the audience impacts us as speakers. 49:52 Where to find Nathan and our hope for every aspiring speaker out there! “I reshaped the whole thing, and then I went and delivered it at a school, and it was the first time that kids came up to me afterwards and were like, can I take a picture with you? Can I tell you what happened to me? Can I tell you my story? Can I ask you a question? And that's when I knew, like, okay, I don't have it where I want it, but I'm on the right path."Episode Resources: Connect with Nathan on FacebookConnect with Nathan on LinkedInFollow Nathan on TikTokGet Free Speaker ResourcesBook a Call with The Speaker LabCalculate Your Speaking FeeJoin The Speaker Lab Community on FacebookSubscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.