Quotations from famous speakers, authors, and celebrities can be very appealing and can support your message. The same can be said of oft-quoted statistics. Today Mark and Darren discuss the importance of accuracy when using quotes and statistics, share a few examples, and provide simple yet effective advice for ‘getting it right.’   SNIPPETS:   • Do due diligence   • Your reputation and credibility are at stake   • Verification sources abound…web searches, AI, etc. Use them   • “Stop quoting dead white men!” – Patricia Fripp   • Create your own quotes   • Qu ..read more

In this follow-up to Episode 253 (What Do You Ask An Event Planner) Mark and Darren talk about questions to ask participants ahead of your speaking engagement. This episode will help you to unearth critical material and help you to customize your unforgettable presentation.    SNIPPETS: • Discover the organization’s mentors, matriarchs, patriarchs, and legends   • Get permission to call event attendees   • Schedule a 10-minute call to weeks before the event   • Ask questions and listen carefully to answers   • Learn the organization’s language   • Find out wh ..read more

You’ve got the speaking engagement, now what? What can the event planner tell you to help you to deliver an unforgettable presentation? Darren and Mark discuss the pre-event questionnaire and offer insight into how you can set yourself up for presentation success.   SNIPPETS: • Prepare an Event Planners Questionnaire   • Have a call and connect casually first (video is ideal)   • Ask questions and listen carefully to answers   • Your client is the event planner   • Identify the economic buyer               ..read more

“Why would I need TWO coaches?” you may ask. To answer that question, Mark and Darren have a conversation with Stage Time University coaches Chris McGuire and Mike Davis. They have coached together, as have Mark and Darren, and in today’s discussion they explain the benefits of having a duo coaching team.   SNIPPETS: • Different coaching styles are complimentary   • Different perspectives create multiple options for clients   • Client gets twice the value in half the time   • Coaches learn from each other   • Coaches become better when they coach together    ..read more

Speakers make a common mistake when seeking audience participation. They ask “HOW MANY of you…” That question needs a NUMERICAL response. Today Darren and Mark explain how to ask BETTER questions, and how to use the audience’s non-verbal response to enhance their own experience.   SNIPPETS: • How would you say it over coffee to one person   • Use the language of a conversation   • Respect the versatility of the word YOU’   • Ask you-focused questions   • Put the audience into your story                ..read more

Speakers sometimes ask for help making tweaks, adding humor, or finding more powerful stories…a few days before their presentation. All too often, it’s just too late. Today, Darren and Mark share their experience with speakers who have waited too long, explain the benefits of getting help early, and offer advice on how to avoid waiting until it’s too late.   SNIPPETS: • Get a speaking coach sooner   • Speech contestants, don’t assume you will reach a certain level automatically   • Stop making changes several days before the presentation. Freeze the design   • Don’t expect ..read more

You can’t teach everything you know in an hour. (At least we hope not!) So, if you are a speaker, consultant or coach are you allowing people to take more of your wisdom home? Anyone can write a book, but do you have the right book? Do you offer it in your proposals? What if you could wave your speaking fee and still earn revenue. Darren sits down with his publisher, Henry Devires to get some insights from experience. Why other experience does Henry offer? "The Agency Owner Book Guy" | Author of Marketing With A Book For Agency Owners | Agency Owner News | Agency owner TV show host | Professio ..read more

Every time you introduce a character in your story, you have an opportunity for humor.  Quirky characters are familiar, engaging, and create memorable moments in presentations.  Darren is joined by Television Writer & Producer Chris McGuire to discuss the people in our stories and how to make them unforgettable.     SNIPPETS: • Use quirky characters to create memorable moments that enhance speaker relatability with the audience.   • Character traits are the qualities that make a character memorable.  (Brave, smart, loyal) Quirks are exaggerated, unusual o ..read more

How do four inexperienced presenters, who have never delivered a presentation to an audience of 1,000 people before, each get STANDING OVATIONS? Mark and Darren review their recent experience coaching four CEOs to deliver deeply personal 8-minute stories to their peers in the Young Presidents’ Organization. The lessons learned are invaluable and will help you to deliver your unforgettable presentation.   SNIPPETS: • Invest energy an effort   • Be coachable   • Practice, practice, practice   • Rehearse handling distractions   • Trust your instinct about what works well ..read more

Humor is necessary to make a presentation interesting and entertaining. Uncovering humor can be a challenge, and to learn more about how to get more laughs, Mark and Darren sit down with Hollywood comedy writer and humor expert Chris McGuire. Chris shares tips and techniques for uncovering humor and being unforgettably funny.   SNIPPETS: • Use levity at the beginning of your presentation   • Connection with the audience is critical; always connect first   • Find out what the event attendees have in common   • Use People, Places, Things, Events, Sayings, and the Weather &nbs ..read more