You have a keynote presentation and it’s good. But how do you take it to the next level? Jane Atkinson, known throughout the speaking industry as The Speaker Launcher, opens up to Mark and Darren about the strategies and techniques that speakers must apply to create, deliver, and market their epic keynote. She also shares the necessary strategies for continuing to improve and excel, and to become unforgettable.  

Snippets:

• Immerse yourself in your industry
• Constantly craft and re-craft your stories
• Invest time and energy in being epic on the platform
• There is no better form of marketing than your epic keynote
• Be consistent in your outbound marketing
• Don’t think transactional; think transformational
• You cannot play small in your decision-making and expect to play big in your income

Today Darren and Mark address your presentation WALKTHROUGH. This isn’t a rehearsal; it’s a review of the structure of your presentation, like a storyboard in filmmaking. The walkthrough is a powerful way to ensure that your presentation is seamless…and unforgettable.

Snippets:

• The walkthrough ensures that your presentation flows properly
• Clarifies when information and other details are missing
• Guides with correcting sequence errors
• Helps with moving or removing paragraphs, stories, and entire sections that are out of sequence
• Avoids the introduction of new characters and ideas near the end of the your presentation.

Sometimes we fail to recognize powerful stories from our lives because they don’t appear to be significant on the surface. Today Mark and Darren discuss how life lessons that you learned through the years can be reverse engineered to uncover meaningful stories which you can then insert into your presentations and make them unforgettable.

Snippets:

• Mine the life lessons from every season of your life.
• Recall the characters to relive the experience
• Remember the emotions of the moment
• Rehearse the story that taught the lesson
• Figure out where the story will fit in your presentation

How can a presenter BECOME unforgettable? Today Darren and Mark talk with Mike Davis, Sara McGill, and Kathi Kulesza, three members of Darren’s Stage Time University (STU) Community, about their journey to becoming unforgettable. In this behind-the-scenes look at STU, Mike, Sara, and Kathi share their growth in various facets of presentations. These include preparing and presenting speeches, doing live video, serving as event emcee, and producing a podcast, all steps on their path to becoming unforgettable.

Snippets:

• When you don’t get paid your value, you finally understand your value
• To become unforgettable, don’t play the short game. Think long term.
• Use available resources to make your presentation better
• Qualified coaching will elevate your presentation
• This strong community promotes accountability

What’s a great career move when your children grow up and move out? Leave your corporate career and become a stand-up comedian! Stephanie McHugh explains her choice to Mark and Darren, and shares the lessons she learned about uncovering the humor in our painful experiences. Stephanie clarifies how the most sensitive situations can hold the seeds of humor…if we look for them. When we find the punch lines in our pain, our stories and our presentations can be unforgettable.

Snippets:

• If humor didn’t quite work, don’t abandon it, amend it
• Finding humor in pain is like a finding the right pieces to a puzzle
• Look for humor in EVERY situation…especially the painful ones
• Test every bit of humor three times
• Pain and humor are universal

“I never planned on a career in the world of public speaking”, says UK-based Simon Bucknall, speaker/author/trainer/consultant serving prestigious universities like Oxford and Cambridge as well as advising leaders of major corporations and private equity companies. Today he shares with Darren and Mark how an abysmal failure inspired him to master his craft and propelled him into the world of public speaking. He also expounds on the simple but successful techniques that have endeared him to his audiences, and which can make you unforgettable.

Snippets:

• Be vulnerable and dig deep to tell your stories
• All you need is one WOW moment to be unforgettable
• Create a circle of trust, people whose expertise you value
• Talk TO your audience; don’t present AT them
• Never confuse the written with the spoken
• Revisit memorable moments and you will find the unforgettable

How does one go from being a shy child to 3-time South Africa Skateboarding Champion to the only 5-time winner of the Southern African Championship for Public Speaking? In this heart-to-heart with Mark and Darren, professional speaker, author, talk-show host, and business consultant Douglas Kruger breaks down many of the life lessons that made that life journey possible…lessons he now shares with his global audiences, readers, and listeners. A fierce audience advocate, Douglas reveals how caring deeply for your audience can help you provide excellent value and make you unforgettable.

Snippets:

• Out-care the competition
• Write the speech YOU want to hear
• Don’t do to your audience that which you don’t want done to you
• Keep your mental feelers (antennae) switched on
• It’s about the audience and their benefit
• Find your audience’s struggle, and find their value

How can you inspire the best people to work with you and collaborate with you? There’s nothing wrong with promoting your track record of achievement. However, you may have an untapped resource sitting right in front of you…or in a virtual office space in a remote location. They are the individuals on your team. In this second episode in a 2-part series, Darren and Mark focus on ‘Lucy Lawyer’s legal team and the power of THEIR stories in the recruitment process. Learn how your team tell can provide the validation that will attract top talent just by telling THEIR story.

Snippets:

• Your team’s stories are powerful testimonials

• Promote your company culture with your team members’ stories

• Team member stories are excellent 3rd-party validation

Any business owner can list their credentials and unleash their CV to promote their products and services. Many do just that on their website and in their promotional materials. How can you stand out? Tell YOUR business story. Mark and Darren share nuggets from their experience teaching ‘Lucy Lawyer’ and the legal team of her growing law firm how to use HER unforgettable story to grow her client base and expand her business. These are lessons you can use to make your business unforgettable.

Snippets:

• Share the WHY behind your business

• Let your prospects learn about YOU

• Dig deep into your past to uncover and reveal your true motivation

• Use the MOMENTS in your story to connect with your audience

High-energy Las Vegas headliner Jeff Civillico is also a dynamic speaker and professional Master of Ceremonies (Emcee). He talks with Mark and Darren about the lessons he learned since he began performing at the age of 7. He also dispenses solid advice on confidence, industry and commitment…key ingredients in any formula for taking your performance to the NEXT LEVEL and becoming unforgettable.  

Snippets:
• Generate presence with energy shifts

• Presence and confidence come from repetition
• When you interact with your audience, slow down; don’t miss the moments
• To get next level performance, seek advice from other professionals
• Go all in; triple down on your commitment
• Confidence comes from knowing your stuff. KNOW YOUR STUFF!