Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training

Watch Full Video Episode

In our episode today:

We are tackling one of the most underappreciated skills in presenting: the ability to shorten your material without losing your mind in the process.

We open with a piece of history worth knowing.

The quote "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time" is most often attributed to Mark Twain or Benjamin Franklin, and over a dozen others but its earliest verified origin belongs to the French philosopher Blaise Pascal, who wrote a version of it in 1657.

The point is that some of the greatest minds in history have been making the same confession for four centuries. The struggle to be brief is real, it is universal, and you should plan on it.

From there we get into four strategies for shortening a presentation:

Get clear on your outcome. Your desired outcome is your editorial filter. Everything that does not serve it is a candidate for removal.

Leave them hungry and have a plan to sustain them. A free, genuinely valuable resource gives your audience somewhere to go after the session ends. Lead with real value, and the line between education and promotion takes care of itself.

Release the good for the essential. You may have heard the phrase "kill your darlings." The reframe here is gentler and more accurate. The content you cut is not bad, it is good. It is simply competing with something more important given your constraints. A simple fill-in-the-blank worksheet gives that content somewhere to live, and it tells your audience you thought about their experience before you walked in the room.

Design for dialogue. Do not eliminate engagement to make room for content. Eliminate content to make room for engagement. If a planned moment for dialogue is not built into your presentation, you will rush over it. And with an expert audience, that conversation is often the highest-value content in the room.

Word of the Day: Laconic — adjective. Using very few words to express something; brief and to the point. From the Greek Lakonikos, referring to Laconia, home of the Spartans, who were legendary for their direct, economical speech.

Sincerely,

Craig O'Neill

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training

Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during, and after the visit to a single thread. An end-to-end CRM for auto repair shops. https://autoflow.com/

Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings. https://shopdogmarketing.com/

Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound. https://callinbound.com/

Want a more profitable shop? Start with your service advisor. They are the face of your business, the voice on the phone, and the key to every approved repair. Download 'Words That Work - The Service Advisor's Complete Phone Scripts Playbook at https://serviceadvisortraining.com/

Contact Information

• Email Craig O'Neill: [email protected]
• Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters

The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/

Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/

Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/

The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training

Watch Full Video Episode

I share a story that didn't make it into my recent breakout session at a conference with one of our partners.

The session was on relational advising in the age of DVI, and by the time I had trimmed a four hour course down to fit a 45 minute window, this particular story simply had to go.

It was too long for the time I had, and the point it made deserved more room than I could give it.

That's one of the flexibilities I love about having a podcast!

It's a simple story about a walk along the Chicago Riverwalk after a wonderful dinner with my family. Half a mile. Fifteen minutes. And more context packed into that short distance than I could have anticipated.

The point it leads to is one I believe deeply as it relates to the work of slowing down and connecting with your clients.

Word of the Day: Gravitas

The quality of having serious, weighty importance or dignity; a sense of substance that commands attention and respect.

I hope you'll connect with my point from this short walk in the windy city and consider taking a little time to be present with people that you meet with daily.

Sincerely,

Craig O'Neill

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training

Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during, and after the visit to a single thread. An end-to-end CRM for auto repair shops. https://autoflow.com/

Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings. https://shopdogmarketing.com/

Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound. https://callinbound.com/

Want a more profitable shop? Start with your service advisor. They are the face of your business, the voice on the phone, and the key to every approved repair. Download 'Words That Work - The Service Advisor's Complete Phone Scripts Playbook at https://serviceadvisortraining.com/

Contact Information

• Email Craig O'Neill: [email protected]
• Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters

The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/

Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/

Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/

The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training

Watch Full Video Episode

In our episode today:

We tackle one of the most universally complained about experiences in professional life — the meeting. This is a reality not just in automotive service facilities, but in every organization where people gather to get things done.

Our word of the day:

Axiom (noun)— a statement regarded as self-evidently true.

Here is one worth treating as axiomatic: meetings are for making decisions. When they drift from that purpose, they stop being meetings and start being briefings, status reports, and blocks of time spent.

We explore why so many meetings fail, and why the meeting is often being asked to compensate for broken information infrastructure rather than do its actual job.

We look at David Marquet's principle from Turn the Ship Around: don't brief, certify. When team members arrive prepared and communicate their intent, the leader's role shifts from authority to assent. That is a meeting people leave with momentum.

We also talk about the introductory prompt — a simple tool borrowed from Toastmasters that channels social connection at the start of a meeting and gets every voice in the room activated before business begins.

Good meetings reduce conflict. They close the gap between what was decided and what people understood. When your meetings work that way, everything downstream of them works better too.

Sincerely,

Craig O'Neill.

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training

Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during, and after the visit to a single thread. An end-to-end CRM for auto repair shops. https://autoflow.com/

Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings. https://shopdogmarketing.com/

Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound. https://callinbound.com/

Want a more profitable shop? Start with your service advisor. They are the face of your business, the voice on the phone, and the key to every approved repair. Download 'Words That Work - The Service Advisor's Complete Phone Scripts Playbook at https://serviceadvisortraining.com/

Contact Information

• Email Craig O'Neill: [email protected]
• Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters

The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/

Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/

Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/

The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training

Watch Full Video Episode

In our episode today, we close out the 10-part series on public speaking tips inspired by the Toastmasters tradition with Tip number ten: Gain Experience.

The word of the day is:

Nascent:

Nascent means just beginning to exist or develop.

Still in early formation. Not yet fully formed.

Every skilled communicator had a nascent season. This episode is for the people who are in theirs right now.

I frame experience around two key spaces:

1.) Being in the audience,

2.) Being in front of the audience.

….and an underlooked important piece…

the middle space where so much real development happens - being beside and supporting a speaker.

A few stories from my own nascent season illustrate four key concepts:

• The value of borrowed stage time from a mentor
• The middle space model in the wild — and how to cultivate it locally
• How small moments compound into big ones over time
• The road nobody talks about: saying yes to everything, no show too small

For the technically minded or anyone who wants to become a trainer: Being a subject matter expert does not make you an excellent presenter. You still need the reps and the feedback of real people in front of you.

By the time you reach a big room, if you have done the work in the small ones, you will not be new to having an audience. Only the content will be new. That is what all those small steps build toward.

Sincerely,

Craig O'Neill

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, InBound, and Service Advisor Training

Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during, and after the visit to a single thread. An end-to-end CRM for auto repair shops. https://autoflow.com/

Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings. https://shopdogmarketing.com/

Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound. https://callinbound.com/

Want a more profitable shop? Start with your service advisor. They are the face of your business, the voice on the phone, and the key to every approved repair. https://serviceadvisortraining.com/

Contact Information

• Email Craig O'Neill: [email protected]
• Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters

The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/

Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/

Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/

The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, In-Bound

Watch Full Video Episode

In our episode today:

We are on tip number nine of our 10 Tips for Public Speaking series.

The Toastmasters version of this tip is: concentrate on the message, not the medium.

We already addressed the medium back in episode 081 (You are the medium) so today, we take that as settled and turn our attention to the message itself.

Tip #9, in my framing, is this: structure your message. The heart of that tip is something most speakers never think about deliberately: the transitions between their points.

I talk through why the most common preparation approaches, like heavy notes, teleprompters, and full memorization, all share the same fundamental flaw. They prioritize the words over the connection with the audience. Then I walk through the simple framework I use in my speaking workshops: introduction, body, conclusion, with transitions planned at every step.

I also share a story about my son, who prepared a speech on drone laws in the car on the way to a Toastmasters meeting and delivered a genuinely strong talk with no prior speaking experience. The structure outline I shared with him worked!

Our word of the day is cohesion: noun

The quality of forming a unified, well-connected whole.

A cohesive talk is one where the audience always knows where you are taking them.

Sincerely,

Craig O'Neill

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, In-Bound

AutoFlow at AutoFlow.com. Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during and after the visit to a single thread. Learn more at Autoflow.com

Shop Dog Marketing at Shop Dog Marketing.com. "Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings.

In-Bound at CallInBound.com. Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound.

Contact Information

• Email Craig O'Neill: [email protected]
• Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters

The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/

Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/

Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/

The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, In-Bound

Watch Full Video Episode

In our episode today:

We are continuing our ten part series on ten tips for public speaking, and we have arrived at tip number eight — Mistakes Happen, Keep Going.

The original Toastmasters tip is listed as "Don't Apologize."

I find that worth challenging.

A brief, natural acknowledgment of a mistake is perfectly human. What we are really talking about is not dwelling. Not drawing attention. Not making the mistake bigger than it was.

I open with a scene I have watched play out many times at my Toastmasters club — the ah-counter who begins narrating their own filler words in real time. It is a perfect illustration of our word of the day:

Perseveration. The tendency to repeat or dwell on something well past the point where it serves any useful purpose.

I walk through three stages most communicators move through — from unawareness, to hyper-awareness and the spiral, to the veteran ease that comes with time and practice.

The goal was never perfection.

The goal is reaching a place where mistakes no longer derail you.

There is a point where dwelling on a mistake causes it to become the focal point of the entire interaction — and the audience now has to manage your emotional state rather than receive your communication.

Self-criticism pulls you out of presence. And presence is the entire prerequisite for connection.

We close with a callback to tip number seven: people want you to succeed.

If that’s true, and mistakes happen… Keep going!

Sincerely,

Craig O'Neill

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, In-Bound

AutoFlow at AutoFlow.com. Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during and after the visit to a single thread. Learn more at Autoflow.com

Shop Dog Marketing at Shop Dog Marketing.com. "Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings.

In-Bound at CallInBound.com. Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound.

Contact Information

• Email Craig O'Neill: [email protected]
• Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters

The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/

Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/

Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/

The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, In-Bound

Watch Full Video Episode

In our episode today:

Tip #7 for public speaking: Realize the people want you to succeed.

This is a tip I totally agree with. As is, no change.

We looked at what that means for a nervous speaker standing in front of a room, for a service advisor presenting a repair recommendation, and for the relationships that make this industry worth being a part of.

We talked about what happens inside a strong weekly Toastmasters club, and why it's so much more than a place to practice speeches. It's a room where speakers have to do the hard work of believing they have something worth offering, and where audiences have to show up with genuine care, active listening, and structured feedback designed to lift people up.

The glow and the grow. Week after week.

This episode- I prove that goodwill by reading aloud a stack of handwritten “Grow and Glow” slips that I accrued during my speech earlier this week at my home club!

We also acknowledge that a speaker can squander the audience's desire to see you succeed depending on where your communication is coming from. Dale Carnegie's warning on the three C's: Criticism, complaining, and condemnation.

I’ve landed on this: Mutual success is the foundation of any real relationship.

Today's Word of the Day:

Reciprocity

A mutual exchange where the success of one genuinely contributes to the success of the other.

Thanks for listening!

I hope that the people in your life are continually demonstrating their desire to see you succeed.

If that isn’t the case… branch out and find your people.

Sincerely,

Craig O'Neill

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, In-Bound

AutoFlow at AutoFlow.com. Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during and after the visit to a single thread. Learn more at Autoflow.com

Shop Dog Marketing at Shop Dog Marketing.com. "Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings.

In-Bound at CallInBound.com. Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound.

Contact Information

• Email Craig O'Neill: [email protected]
• Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters

The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/

Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/

Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/

The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, In-Bound

Watch Full Video Episode

Visualization is Overrated

In our episode today, we take on Tip #6 from the classic Toastmasters framework: Visualize yourself giving your speech. It sounds reasonable. It's widely taught. And after sitting with it long enough, I think it's one of the weaker pieces of advice in the set.

Most of us have experienced the involuntary version of visualization — the 3 a.m. mental movie that doesn't always end with applause. Lost sleep is real, and it's horrible. And the mainstream advice — picture the smiling audience, hear the applause, feel the warm handshakes — actually contradicts itself.

One source I found put it plainly: the more you dwell on possible outcomes, the more likely you are to lead yourself into negative territory. And yet the same sources tell you to just picture it going well. The advice doesn't hold together.

What prepares you is knowing your material, understanding your audience, doing the reps, and showing up as yourself.

We also touch on the credential slide trap — another form of the same mistake, putting the focus on managing perception rather than delivering value. You're qualified. You're there because you are. Lead with value, not your résumé.

The reframe: instead of visualizing yourself giving your speech, be yourself and give the speech.

These tips scaffold on each other, and this one is only possible because of the work that came before it.

Our Word of the Day:

Rumination

Noun.

To ruminate means to think deeply and at length — often in circles, often at inconvenient hours. Keep that one in mind.

: obsessive thinking about an idea, situation, or choice, especially when it interferes with normal mental functioning

Sincerely,

Craig O'Neill

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, In-Bound

AutoFlow at AutoFlow.com. Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during and after the visit to a single thread. Learn more at Autoflow.com

Shop Dog Marketing at Shop Dog Marketing.com. "Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings.

In-Bound at CallInBound.com. Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound.

Contact Information

• Email Craig O'Neill: [email protected]
• Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters

The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/

Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/

Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/

The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, In-Bound

Watch Full Video Episode

In our episode today:

I tackle Toastmasters' tip number five: "relax." Spoiler alert - that's not actually helpful advice. You can't just relax on command any more than you can tell an angry customer to "calm down" and expect it to work.

Instead, I'm reframing this tip entirely:

Nerves are normal. Expect them. Understand them. Don't fight them.

I walk you through why nervousness happens - it's your body's fight-or-flight response doing exactly what it's designed to do, even though you're facing a room full of colleagues, not a predator. Your heart races, your mouth goes dry, your voice shakes, and sometimes your mind goes completely blank on material you know cold. I've experienced it myself, even after six and a half years of Toastmasters.

I tweaked the, now familiar, APAC framework to be…. (Acknowledge, Probe, Answer, Continue) … the C is usually ‘Confirm’, I explain what's actually happening physiologically and why about 74% of people experience speech anxiety.

While nerve effects diminish over time with practice, you can also take heart that most of what you feel internally isn't nearly as visible to your audience as you think.

So you have nerves.

Good.

Speak up with NERVE!

Word of the Day: Equanimity - Mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in difficult or stressful situations. You can feel your heart racing before a presentation and still speak with equanimity - the nerves don't have to shake your composure.

Sincerely,

Craig O'Neill

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, In-Bound

AutoFlow at AutoFlow.com. Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during and after the visit to a single thread. Learn more at Autoflow.com

Shop Dog Marketing at Shop Dog Marketing.com. "Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings.

In-Bound at CallInBound.com. Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound.

Contact Information

• Email Craig O'Neill: [email protected]
• Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters

The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/

Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/

Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/

The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, Shop Dog Marketing, In-Bound

Watch Full Video Episode

In our episode today,

I reframe the classic Toastmasters principle "Know the Room" into "Own the Room." I explore what it means to take complete responsibility not just for your presence in a space, but for what the space itself communicates to the people who enter it.

Whether you're a service advisor showing up to your desk every morning or presenting at an industry event, the space you occupy testifies to the quality of your work before you even speak. This episode will help you understand why owning your workspace builds the trust that makes all communication possible.

In this episode, I cover:

1. Why arriving early isn't about knowing the layout—it's about solving inevitable problems before anyone's watching you scramble
2. The contrast between speakers who lose composure when room problems arise and those who remain unflappable through disasters
3. How John Thornton's deliberate preparation for his training spaces communicated extreme respect for hard working speacilaists time
4. Why your facility is a liminal space—a threshold between your customer's world and your shop's work—and what that threshold communicates
5. How a physical workspace setup (counter barriers vs. shoulder-to-shoulder positioning) changes the relational dynamic with customers

Word of the Day: Liminal - relating to a transitional or in-between space; occupying a threshold between two different states or realities.

As I prepared this episode, it occurred to me that Bob Greenwood's words that impacted me were: "You dress nice out of respect for the people you are meeting with.” ALSO apply to why we should own the space we communicate in… the people we are there to connect with. They are worth it!

Sincerely,

Craig O'Neill

https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/episode/john-thornton-part-1-e181

https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/episode/john-thornton-part-2-e182

Thank You To Our Partners AutoFlow, AutoLeap, Shop Dog Marketing, In-Bound

AutoFlow at AutoFlow.com. Your partner in technology, Autoflow consolidates your client interactions - before, during and after the visit to a single thread. Learn more at Autoflow.com

Shop Dog Marketing at Shop Dog Marketing.com. "Want to see your auto repair shop thrive? Let Shop Dog Marketing be your guide. Our customer-first approach, combined with AI-driven creative content, ensures top rankings.

In-Bound at CallInBound.com. Cover your communication needs and revolutionize your auto repair business with AI-driven call analytics from InBound.

Contact Information

1. Email Craig O'Neill: [email protected]
2. Join Our Virtual Toastmasters Club: https://remarkableresults.biz/toastmasters

The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/

Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/

Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/

The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/