Sit down with Darren and Ford as they talk prospecting. How to remain timely, topical and relevant. What does an ideal prospect look like for you? What are some of the tangible tactics that you can use to get in front of the audiences you can serve.

To get booked you have to be found first!

SNIPPETS:

• What are some to the mistakes speakers make?

• Are you bookable?

• What is your digital footprint?

• Fish where the fish are and have bait!

• Deliver and create content on a consistent basis

• Do you have lead magnets?

• Are your lead magnets in a form they want to consume it?

• Build trust and social proof

• How to reach out to add value without selling

Check out Game Changers:

https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/workshops/game-changers/

Use Ford's Discount Code: Ford25

Can you influence without authority? Yes!

Do you know how to truly influence with integrity? You already do every day. Maybe you didn't realize it. We do this naturally, but maybe you need to take a closer look at what you already do at home, at work and with your family.

It is happening all around you. Take note and influence with purpose.

Discover 7 Ways to Influence

In addition to being part of speaking communities, we, as presenters belong to professional, social, charitable, faith-based, and other communities. Today Mark and Darren discuss the power of community, examining the ways that communities make us grow…and change. They offer advice on collaborating with your community, growing your community, and even leaving your community. Using Stage Time University, Toastmasters International, and the National Speakers Association as examples, they show benefits and blessings of being in community with like-minded people and reveal how community has helped them to prepare unforgettable presentations.

SNIPPETS:

• Community helps change perspective

• Choose your community

• Use your community

• Serve your community

• Build your community

• Don't be abused by your community, if you must leave, do so with grace

• Protect your community

• Don't think NETWORKING; think NETSERVING

• Is your community helping or harming you

• Take inventory of your communities

Thorough research is an invaluable part of preparing unforgettable presentations. There are myriad ways to access information, and so much information from which to glean. Where do I look? How much should I use? How can I verify? Darren and Mark discuss these questions with…and get answer from…researcher/author/speaker Vince Antonucci and comedy writer/TV producer Chris McGuire. Their perspective on effective research will help you to prepare your unforgettable presentation.

SNIPPETS:

• Dig deeper into your subject

• Look for compelling and unique information

• Put in the extra work

• Use AI tools

• Use 'old-fashioned' tools; search and read.

• The more you learn, the better your chances of finding critical content

• Ask: "What generates an emotional response?"

• Test research results on small audiences to gauge emotional reactions

• Research for customization; learn from The Barenaked Ladies

• Use the 'Registration Desk Principle;' find what bugs everyone

Virtual presentations are now commonplace and it's easy to assume, "I've done quite a few of these and I'm good!" Today Darren and Mark share reminders of how FLOW, FOCUS and PACE ELEMENTS can make a significant difference in your virtual presentation…especially since distractions can be continuous and abundant.

SNIPPETS:

• Check your studio setup…especially what's behind you

• Re-evaluate every aspect of your virtual presentation

• To maintain FLOW, it's wise to have a producer, co-host, or co-presenter

• Be aware of the difference between a co-host, and a co-presenter

• Establish key toles up front

• Create smooth handoffs

• To maintain audience FOCUS, make slides simple and clear, 1 slide, 1 point

• Use PACE ELEMENTS to keep your audience engaged

• Use client's language to solidify your connection

The story is arguably a presenter's most potent tool. While it's important to tell stories well, it is equally…if not significantly more important to transport your audience into the story. As Mark and Darren explain today, the key is to have CONGRUENT CHARACTERS, whose emotions are congruent with the emotion that they feel in the story. They share why many presenters fall short in this area and offer solid suggestions for using body language for greater emotional impact.

SNIPPETS:

• Let your audience feel the emotion of the characters

• Don't elicit confusion

• In your script add 'before' and 'after' emotions in parentheses

• Your eyes should change when the emotion changes

• Emotional shifts are unclear without a character's baseline emotion

• Leave your emotional baseline when you embody a character

• Record video, playback muted, ask a friend to identify the emotion

• Be congruent to connect

Holograms? Hula hoops? What do they have to do with delivering an unforgettable presentation? Mark and Darren explain how and why holograms help you to vividly create scenes in the minds of your audiences. This simple but potent technique will allow you to transform your speech into an experience.

SNIPPETS:

• Holograms appear in the audience's mind whether you're aware or not

• Holograms establish characters and scenes

• You can point to a hologram and the audience will recall the scene/story

• Holograms have experiential value

• Holograms have emotional impact

• Use the depth and width of the platform to make holograms more vivid

• Use hula hoops – INSIDE is dialogue; OUTSIDE, speak to your audience

• BLOCK spots on stage. Use them to show MOMENTS of TRANSFORMATION

• Time progresses audience left to right

• Decide what scene/character/story each hologram represents

Avoiding mistakes and adopting the right practices are keys to successfully growing your business. Today Darren and Mark talk with business growth expert and Hall of Fame speaker Mark LeBlanc as he shares four decades worth of wisdom on finding your niche, developing your content, connecting with your audience, and much more.

SNIPPETS:

• If you quit 1,000 times, start again 1,001 times

• You must earn the right to speak

• Avoid thinking that you're better than you are

• Raise your hand and get help

• Engage minds, touch hearts, stir souls, and make them laugh

• Focus on a singular idea and build your speech around it

• Frame your content

• Build an 'accordion' presentation

• Create a great defining statement

• Find your sliver of the market

A new year often brings New Year resolutions. Today Mark and Darren offer four unforgettable habits to help you take your presentations…and your business…to a new level in 2024 and beyond.

SNIPPETS:

• Take a TOP 5 Inventory

• Disconnect to reconnect

• Marketing has changed; find a way that works today

• It is our job to reach out to clients and stay TOP of mind

• Share fresh ideas

• Reach out, and reach back

• Get TOP Level professional feedback on your marketing and presentation

• Change sales calls into RAPPORT calls

• Go ALL IN to TOP it off

• Attend GAME CHANGERS in April 2024 using discount code EVENT25

Go to: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/workshops/game-changers/

As presenters, our words are our most important tools. Preparing an unforgettable presentation requires some wordsmithing. Darren joins Mark…our resident wordsmith…to discuss this critical aspect of the script editing process. They offer several wordsmithing techniques, explain how to use them, and reveal why they are extremely effective.

SNIPPETS:

• Say it in a more VIVID and VIBRANT way

• Edit for impact by asking, "How can I say it better in fewer words?"

• Monosyllabic words are easier for the audience to remember

• Use rhythm and rhyme have more impact in less time

• Use impingement words

• Choose, use and lose words as necessary

• Use rhetorical devices

• Find funny words, and words ending with a 'K' sound

• Craft your Foundational Phrase, Elevator Pitch and Value Proposition

• Use tools like https://wordhippo.com