The Speaker Lab Podcast

Want to know how to pull off the riskiest move as a speaker? Then you'll want to know how to interact with your speaking audience! And here to help us break this topic down is our returning co-host Melanie Deziel.

Today on The Speaker Lab, we are talking about audience interaction: how to engage and interact with your audience, the pros and the cons plus the different ways to go about connecting and when to use which approach.

We'll also cover how to manage your audience interactions so you don't lose control of the room. It's important to connect with your audience, but it can go sideways quickly so join us to hear how to handle it on episode 186 of The Speaker Lab. 

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:  

• When does it make sense to engage with your audience, and when does it not?
• What are the downsides of doing this?
• What are pattern interrupts, and why do you want to use them?
• Where should you try out your interactions first?
• How to "feel the room" and adjust accordingly.
• Do you have to call on someone if they raise their hand while you're speaking?
• What should you do if someone "goes off the rails"?
• Your interaction with your audience should be in proportion to what?
• And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

• Melanie Deziel's website
• Episode 91 of The Speaker Lab
• Melanie Deziel on Twitter
• Melanie Deziel on Instagram
• Melanie Deziel on LinkedIn
• Find and contact potential gigs
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Part of living the speaker life is travel, so today you'll find out how to be a true road warrior! Joining us to give her expert insights and wisdom is our co-host, Melanie Diezel. If you've been listening to The Speaker Lab for awhile you'll remember Melanie from some recent episodes: she is an outstanding speaker, coach and consultant on her own - and she also does a phenomenal job of coaching our Speaker Lab students.

And we had such terrific feedback from her recent appearances we decided to bring her back to the show. She's joining us for the next 3 episodes and we'll be talking about a few different topics.

Today we're covering how to be a road warrior, booking travel, packing essentials, travel perks and rewards. It's all things travel today as a speaker and road warrior! Join us for that and more on today's The Speaker Lab.   

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:  

• Should you book your hotel or ask the client to do it for you?
• How far out should you book your travel?
• What is a tech tackle box?
• Why you should travel in clothes you could speak in.
• What is a travel one sheet and should you have your own?
• Why and how to choose one particular airline and its rewards program.
• Should you pay for TSA Pre-check and how can you get reimbursed for it?
• And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

• Melanie Deziel's website
• Episode 73 of The Speaker Lab
• Episode 74 of The Speaker Lab
• AwardWallet app
• Episode 83 of The Speaker Lab
• TripIt
• FlightAware
• GateGuru
• Melanie Deziel on Twitter
• Melanie Deziel on Instagram
• Melanie Deziel on LinkedIn
• Find and contact potential gigs
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Do you know how to provide value offstage for more success? It's true - what you provide offstage can do just as much (if not more) to help grow your onstage business. Our guest today is proof positive and he's here to tell us all about it!

If you recognize his name from a previous episode of the show you would be right - Brian Fanzo was here for episode 116. And he's back for today's edition of The Speaker Lab to share the simple ways he promotes his events to his audiences and how he connects with event planners before he speaks.

Also on today's show he breaks down strategic tactics that help him stand out among the competition, especially his offstage tactics. Join us to hear all of that and more on today's episode of The Speaker Lab!

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:  

• What is a fly-in, fly-out speaker and do you want to be one?
• Why does he promise six hours of his time on every contract?
• Can you offer this type of speaking package if you are an introvert?
• How do you "prime the pump" before you speak?
• Why audience members often care more about off-stage connections than onstage performance.
• Who are the three groups of people he focuses on when he does an event?
• How does he use video to promote the events he is speaking at?
• Why you should think of yourself as being in partnership with the events that hire you.
• And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

• Brian Fanzo's web site
• Brian Fanzo's Fomo podcast
• 7 Ways I Increase My Speaker Value for Event Organizers, Brian's blog post
• Brian Fanzo on Twitter
• Brian Fanzo on YouTube
• 7 Proven Steps to Finding And Booking Paid Speaking Engagements
• Episode 116 of The Speaker Lab
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When you think of speakers do you normally think of extroverted people? Does that have you wondering if you can be an introvert and a great speaker?

That's a question I answer today with Jonathan Fields. Jonathan is a best-selling author, entrepreneur and international speaker who is known for his brand, Good Life Project.

On this episode of The Speaker Lab, we take an introspective look at being speaker. Jonathan shares how he handles being an introvert during his speaking engagements, and how to be comfortable in your own skin while you're on stage. Join us to hear all about it and more on the 183rd edition of The Speaker Lab. 

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:  

• Is being an introvert an advantage as a speaker?
• What are the two ways he helps maintain his energy levels during longer speaking engagements?
• How does being on stage pull out a different aspect of his personality?
• How do you learn to be comfortable with silence when you're speaking?
• Why he's pushed himself to tell more personal stories on stage.
• Does it always lot of time and work before you know if you are great speaker?
• How do you share enough to create a connection but not so much to create discomfort in your audience?
• And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

• Jonathan Fields' personal web site
• Good Life Project web site
• Good Life Project podcast
• Jonathan Fields' books
• Camp GLP
• Jonathan Fields on Twitter
• Find and contact potential gigs
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you are wanting to learn how to speak effectively in two different markets our guest today is your source! Typically I tell people not to speak to two markets but John Michael Morgan has done it quite successfully.

On this episode of The Speaker Lab, John tells us how he speaks in the business and faith-based markets, how he does it effectively and how he uses speaking in different markets as a way to stand out from the crowd.

While I'm typically not a fan of having a foot in more than one market, John is a master at doing this. He started out focusing on speaking to leaders which led to his initial start in the business world. Originally he was focused on staying in that lane. But over time he realized he wanted to touch people in the faith market, and take his message to a more global audience. Today you'll hear how he did it and much more on episode 182 of The Speaker Lab! 

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:  

• How did he approach his first speaking gigs in the faith world?
• What role does emotion play in business speaking settings versus in church/faith settings?
• What is a mistake he often sees speakers make?
• Why can he afford to pick and choose gigs or miss out on some all together?
• What does he say when potential clients ask if he is right for their event?
• Why does he put his "marketer hat" on when speaking in some faith situations?
• What does he suggest if you are in one market and want to start speaking in another?
• Did the faith world come to him, or did he go to them?
• And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

• John Michael Morgan's website
• John Michael Morgan on Twitter
• John Michael Morgan on Facebook
• Episode 169 of The Speaker Lab
• Find and contact potential gigs
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How to use systems to build your business is one of the keys to creating a lasting speaking career. No one is better at this then my friend Andrew "Drew" Davis.

Drew is a master at implementing processes and procedures to ensure he makes the most out of every lead.

Today on the Speaker Lab we'll cover each and every step of his system along with why you should track certain metrics in your business, how to use that data and why a quality system is important to becoming a high-paid successful speaker.

There's so much good stuff on today's show so get ready to take notes when you join us for episode 181 of The Speaker Lab. 

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:  

• What are the three types of stage-side leads?
• Why you should have a loss rate of 50%, not higher nor lower.
• Why does he always start with a phone call for any inbound lead?
• When does he turn down events?
• Why responsiveness always trumps overthinking.
• What does he include in his initial email and how often does he follow up after?
• How does he approach gigs in which committees choose the speaker?
• What one thing increases your likelihood of getting a gig?
• And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

• Andrew Davis' speaking website
• Andrew Davis on Twitter
• Andrew Davis on LinkedIn
• Episode 168 of The Speaker Lab with Andrew Davis
• FullContact app
• Find and contact potential gigs
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The true key to your speaking business is knowing how to expand your business beyond the stage, and applying what you know. David Loy is going to share that knowledge with you on today's show so you can apply it after you listen!

David has been involved in speaking industry in many capacities for over a decade. Today much of his time is devoted to managing the career of Andy Andrews, the author of The Traveler's Gift.

In fact, that book is what propelled David into the speaking industry. After reading it David was so moved he reached out to Andy's team. That email would lead David to his first job as an agent with Premiere Speakers Bureau and eventually to his role today managing Andy's career.

On this episode of The Speaker Lab, we talk more about that story, and also how David has helped Andy expand his business from speaking and consulting to online memberships. David gives us a breakdown of Andy's revenue from speaking, coaching, books, online memberships, etc.

You'll also hear him give his advice on the next steps to create additional services and products beyond speaking.

Join us for that and more on the 180th edition of The Speaker Lab.

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:  

• Why is speaking a high-paying manual labor job?
• What are the two ways to maintain or grow your revenue without adding more speaking gigs?
• How can you capitalize on the people in your audience?
• How best to position yourself as both a speaker and a consultant.
• What questions should you be asking prior to your keynote?
• What is a "noticer" and why should you want to be one?
• How have Andy's books opened doors for him that otherwise would have been closed?
• How to avoid being a speaker who speaks only to sell your own products.
• And much more! 

EPISODE RESOURCES

• Leverage Creative Group website
• Email David
• Andy Andrews' website
• The Travelers Guide, by Andy Andrews
• Find and contact potential gigs
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As a speaker you want to leave a good impression, but do you know how to craft an experience for your audience during your speech? Our guest, Stephen Shapiro, is a master at doing this and he's here to tell us how on today's episode of The Speaker Lab.

Stephen began his career with Accenture where he spent 15 years and created a 20,000 person practice around process and innovation. As a result he was charged with speaking to this group and soon found himself giving over 100 speeches a year. He realized he loved it, and he wanted to do it as his own full-time business.

Also on this episode, Stephen explains how he got his start, how he has built momentum and how he differentiates himself as a speaker through experiential keynotes and two specific ways he uses technology. You'll hear what those ways are and much more when you join us on episode 179 of The Speaker Lab.

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:  

• Does it really take 10 years to build a solid speaking business?
• What does he do today to get bookings that is different from when he started out?
• Should you pursue a relationship with a speaking bureau - why or why not?
• What is personality poker and how can you use it in your presentations?
• How to experiment with different experiential techniques while speaking.
• What does a brick have to do with his keynotes?
• How can you help your audience retain your information 10% better?
• How does he use technology to keep his participants engaged after his speech?
• And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

• Stephen Shapiro's website
• 30 Day Innovation Challenge website
• Stephen Shapiro on Twitter
• Find and contact potential gigs
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Publicity isn't just for actors and celebrities! Learning how to grow your speaking career with publicity can be one of the fastest ways to grow your brand and your speaking platform. And to explain how is none other than publicity and media ninja, Selena Soo.

Selena is the resident expert on public relations, having worked with notable names such as Ramit Sethi, Derek Halpern and Kimra Luna. She's also helped her clients secure coverage in media outlets like Forbes, Inc., and O, The Oprah Magazine.

Today on The Speaker Lab, Selena stops by to explain why public relations and publicity matter so much to your speaking career, along with a step-by-step breakdown of the pitch process. She also shares how to leverage the media coverage you get from those pitches.

We always strive to bring you the best of the best here on The Speaker Lab, and Selena is no exception! Get your notepad ready and tune in for my conversation with Selena Soo on this edition of The Speaker Lab. 

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:  

• How did she build relationships with thought leaders early in her career?
• What is the secret to getting people interested in you?
• Do you have to have something "big" to give your favorite influencers?
• How are different types of media good for different types of goals you have?
• What is the publicity pyramid, and how do you use it?
• Why the right audience is more important than a large audience.
• Why a little bit of homework can go a long way when sending out media pitches.
• What should you do after you've received media coverage?
• And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

• Selena Soo's web site
• Selena Soo's gift for you
• Selena Soo on Twitter
• Find and contact potential gigs
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"How can I speak to the military?" is a question I am asked on a regular basis, and you will uncover the answer on today's episode!

Our guest is Mike Domitrz, international speaker and founder of the Date Safe Project. In his role as founder and leader, Mike travels the world working with universities, military installations, corporations and organizations to create a culture of consent and respect.

On episode 177, Mike tells us how his sister's experience led him to become a speaker which in turn led him to found the Date Safe Project. He also goes into detail on how to speak to the military, what you need to know about this unique niche, and also how he has kept his topic fresh and relevant both for himself and his audience for over 25 years! 

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:  

• Why was timing a critical factor when he first started speaking?
• What is the key to finding the ideal conferences for your topic?
• What kept him going when times were really tough?
• How do you know you have a good business?
• What serving your audience looks like after your speech.
• How has he kept his topic fresh and relevant for 25+ years?
• The question to ask yourself if you want to speak to corporations or to the military.
• The military is hiring speakers for which topics?
• And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

• Date Safe Project website
• Date Safe Project on Twitter
• Date Safe Project on Facebook
• The Aha Center speakers page
• Find and contact potential gigs
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.