Our coaches at The Speaker Lab are equipped to guide you through your speaking journey, no matter what kind of speaker you want to be. Which means if you prefer a side room with a dozen or so people around a table to a massive auditorium, we’re here to help. Delivering motivational keynotes might look like the most glamorous choice, but many speakers build incredible careers and make huge impacts through other communication channels such as workshops. With that in mind, this week’s Coaches’ Corner on The Speaker Lab show is dedicated to everything workshops–how to create them, how to build a business around them, and how to actually make an impact. 

On Episode 442, our director of student success Maryalice Goldsmith is joined by Nanette Hitchcock from our TSL coaching team. Nanette loves nothing better than running a great workshop, and she knows how to create a collaborative atmosphere that helps her audience solve their problems. If you’ve ever wanted a heart to heart chat with our speaking coaches about “deep dive” rather than “big picture” speaking, this episode is for you. Nanette is really the expert when it comes to successful workshops–and she goes through some of her history as an executive leadership coach and how it informs her strategy. 

Whether you’re a skeptic who only likes big audiences or someone who loves speaking to smaller groups, understanding how to communicate through a workshop and how it differs from a keynote is a great asset to delivering your message. The best workshop speakers do more than teach skills–they empower attendees to take action and ownership with dynamic and interactive experiences. If you’re wondering how to do just that, Nanette breaks it down for you.

You’ll also learn all about: 

• Different format ideas for engaging workshops. 
• Why thinking like a child can help workshop attendees be more creative.
• How workshops can fit in with other streams of income within your speaking business.
• Why workshops are well-suited to repeat engagements with a client.
• How to assess your client’s needs and tailor your workshop to their situation.
• How to develop a workshop series that solves a variety of problems.
• Innovative ways your workshop can truly stand out and make a difference. 
• …and so much more!

Episode Resources:

• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Get Booked & Paid To Speak
• Get a FREE Copy of The Successful Speaker
• Speaker Fee Calculator

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

Speaking can be pretty intimidating for introverts. In fact, you might be under the impression that all successful professional speakers are extroverts. After all, isn’t getting up on a stage the ultimate example of being a “people person”? As a matter of fact, introverts can be great public speakers–and they often bring something unique to the stage. This week, the Speaker Lab founder Grant Baldwin (who is actually an introvert!) sat down with Dr. Mike Bechtle (another introvert!) for an episode dedicated entirely to introverts and public speaking.

Dr. Bechtle’s career spans many fields: ministry, teaching college, writing books, and decades of work for a renowned coaching company. Now retired, he’s focusing on growing his platform as an author and speaker. You’ve probably seen his name in the “inspirational books'' section, where his best-selling works on communication, and interpersonal relationships reside. In a few months, you’ll be able to read his upcoming book about how introverts can succeed in the workplace. If there’s an expert on empowering introverts to communicate confidently, it’s Dr. Bechtle. And if you’re an introvert hesitant to launch your speaking business because you think your personality is holding you back, what Dr. Bechtle has to say is sure to help you take the leap. 

Many introverts think that they need to change their personality or copy the flashy, theatrical extroverts to perform well on stage but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Introverts actually have a particular advantage as speakers, given their characteristic intentionality and drive to create impact. Your deep thinking and empathetic nature as an introvert enables you to effect real change for your audience. In Episode 441, Dr. Bechtle shares how to get comfortable in your own skin while succeeding as a speaker.

You’ll also learn all about:

• When to hire a professional coach to help you lean into your strengths.
• Why being introverted doesn’t affect your ability to match your energy to any size audience.
• How to mix and mingle with your audience and avoid burnout.
• How to engage emotionally with your listeners. 
• Strategies for blocking out time to recharge at your events.
• …and so much more!

Quotable Quote: “Introverts, they're not as loud and boisterous and flashy, but they impact people and give them hope that they can do something different that they didn't think they could change 20 minutes ago.”

Episode Resources:

• Mike's Website
• bechtle.ck.page/9f103c23d2">14 Success Hacks for Introverted Speakers
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Get Booked & Paid To Speak
• Get a FREE Copy of The Successful Speaker
• Speaker Fee Calculator

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

Balancing your work with your personal and family life is a challenge for any ambitious professional, but it can be especially taxing for speakers. Scaling your speaker business to the point where you can make a living takes time, and in those early “lean years” you might be traveling to every gig you can land at the expense of time with your family. Before you know it, you find yourself burnt out in all areas, adrift in the chaos, and not sure what to prioritize. 

Fortunately, speaker and coach Cory Carlson has some solutions for you. Cory is the author of Win at Home First, an inspirational book that teaches you how to prioritize your personal life so you can then succeed in your professional life. He joined our founder Grant Baldwin for Episode 440 of The Speaker Lab podcast to share lessons from his own experience with a perfect storm of professional and personal burnout, overwhelm, and exhaustion. Cory had an incredibly successful rise to the C-suite in his first career, but he was constantly stressed trying to be “super-employee, super-dad, and super-husband” at the same time. Worst of all, he had no close friends. With the help of an executive coach, he was able to re-prioritize his personal life and build a close circle of supportive friends who could support him to be his best self at home and on the job.

As part of his journey toward winning at home, Cory left corporate work in March 2020. Coincidentally, the entire world shut down at the same time. Despite the bleak atmosphere in which he started out on his journey as a full-time speaker and coach, he made things work and found himself less stressed overall. If you feel that speaking will afford you greater flexibility to make time for your loved ones but feel trapped by the stability of your 9-5 job, Cory’s story is sure to inspire. And for those of you trying to come up for air during a season of overwhelm, he also shares important warning signs that mean you might be about to hit a breaking point.

You’ll also learn all about:

• How a coach’s outside perspective and accountability can lead you to breakthrough.
• The framework that helped Cory reach his “aha” moment 
• How to organize your calendar effectively without letting it control you.  
• Why it’s so common for business leaders to have no friends (and how to fix that).
• How to curb the temptation to never stop working as a solopreneur.
• Why you should always “date your spouse” even during incredibly busy seasons.
• …and so much more!

Episode resources:

• Cory's Website
• Win at Home First Podcast
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Get Booked & Paid To Speak
• Get a FREE Copy of The Successful Speaker
• Speaker Fee Calculator

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

Today’s guest on Episode 439 of The Speaker Lab podcast, part of our Student Highlight series, is proof that you can become a speaker at any stage in your career, even if you’ve spent your life doing something different. William Quigg is one of those speakers – after a decades-long career in broadcasting, he found his way via sales and corporate training into the speaking industry with the help of our Virtual VIP program with Erick Rheam. In this conversation with director of student success Maryalice Goldsmith, William shares his story along with unique insights about everything from how many emails you have to send to get an answer to nailing a sales call.

William, like many of our students, came to TSL after he realized there was a missing link between where he was as a speaker and where he wanted to be. COVID gave him the opportunity to massively expand his speaking business virtually, and he continues to speak both virtually and in person. If you’re looking for an easy answer for how to scale quickly, you’re not going to find one. But if you want hard truths about how to hone your sales pitch by prioritizing the needs of the customer – William dishes out those hard truths and more. As William focuses on corporate clients, you will also learn a lot in this episode about the massive opportunities hiding behind smaller speaking gigs like HR workshops.

Often, speakers think their networking potential is limited to speaking-specific organizations. William joined the National Speakers Association even before he took his speaking career seriously, so he can speak to that experience. But perhaps more importantly, William is great at networking within non-speaking organizations. He is on several boards in a wide variety of industries and has been a member of many professional organizations which led to fruitful speaking opportunities. You’ll want to take notes on his strategy for finding referrals in these spaces!

You’ll also hear all about:

• The importance of an abstract that fully captures your speaking business (and how TSL can help with that).
• How to adjust your sales pitch to address clients’ pain points.
• When it’s better to use phone, email, or both to reach out to leads.
• Which situations make it worthwhile to offer your speaking services for free.
• What kinds of conventions and conferences are a worthy investment into your business.
• How to turn keynotes into workshops.
• …and so much more!

Episode resources:

• Connect with William
• William's Success Story
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Get Booked & Paid To Speak
• Get a FREE Copy of The Successful Speaker
• Speaker Fee Calculator

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

Often, one of the hardest parts of the learning curve of launching a speaking business is being self employed. Many would-be entrepreneurs have longed for a textbook that explains how working for yourself actually works. Fortunately, Jeffrey Shaw, speaker, author, and expert in the unconventional art of being self-employed, has written a book about just that. For Episode 438 of The Speaker Lab podcast, he spoke with TSL founder Grant Baldwin about honing in on your expertise and managing your own business. He also shares his time-tested strategies for mastering the art of storytelling, one of the most important skills in any speaker’s toolkit.

Many speakers overextend themselves trying to reach too many audiences. Getting in front of the group who values what you have to offer can be a long process. Jeffrey has done the hard work for you–he cycled through a variety of audiences before finding the place where his expertise could deliver the most value. While it’s not bad to try different things with different people, narrowing your audience helps you focus on your very best content, delivery, and presentation for the people who appreciate it most.

Jeffrey’s very first successful business venture was in portrait photography, which as you can imagine lent itself to a great talent for storytelling. His secret? He actually catalogs the stories he thinks will be useful for speaking as they happen to him. We’re big fans of creating and establishing systems within your speaking business, so this is a really important part of the conversation!

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Jeffrey has a lot to say about the good, the bad, and the ugly of working for yourself specifically as a speaker. Constantly traveling, managing the ebb and flow of engagements, and running all the logistical aspects of a business is no joke! Fortunately, Jeffrey really is the expert–he’s never worked for anybody but himself–-and he offers constructive encouragement to those in the trenches.

You’ll also hear all about:

• Why it’s normal for the iterations of your entrepreneurial career to be nonlinear.
• Which people in your life are well-positioned to help you find your expertise.
• How to decide if expanding to a particular audience is financially wise.
• How to deal with feeling like your business barely survives day-to-day.
• The “trust mantra” that can help you remain resilient in moments of self-doubt.
• How using stories can make the same talk appealing to wildly different audiences.
• …and so much more!

Episode Resources:

• Jeffrey's Website
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Get Booked & Paid To Speak
• Get a FREE Copy of The Successful Speaker
• Speaker Fee Calculator

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

Our amazing TSL coaches do a lot of great work helping our students accelerate their speaking careers through our programs. 

But beyond their great work at TSL, our coaches are people with their own amazing journeys inside and outside of the speaking industry. 

This week on the Coaches Corner, our director of student success Maryalice Goldsmith interviewed coach Michelle Onuorah about her mission, her speaking career, and how she ended up at The Speaker Lab. Michelle is a faith-filled go-getter with so much passion for life, and Episode 437 gives you just a taste of what you might learn from her if you enroll in one of our programs. 

Michelle started out as a TSL student before she started coaching for us (a story shared by many of our coaches, like Erick Rheam). Her mission had already fired her up to run a life coaching business and publish a book when she decided to dig deeper into the opportunities afforded by speaking. Michelle is an ideator and innovator with a professional story marked by constantly trying new things. Her experience as a TSL Booked & Paid to Speak student helped her to hone in on her audience, focus on her core mission, and come to terms with not being able to do everything for everyone. 

Michelle’s story will inspire anybody struggling to stay on top of all their entrepreneurial visions. Prioritizing the most important initiatives in alignment with your goals is no small task when you have a dozen ideas percolating at once! Michelle and Maryalice also offer some much-needed insight into how to develop and pitch services (like coaching) and educational resources (like books and courses) that help your audience follow the solutions you speak about all the way through. This episode offers some great lessons in how a business based on a powerful mission can evolve over time, especially if you want to expand your impact.

You’ll also learn all about: 

• How to form a mission statement connected to the impact you want to create
• The relationship between heritage, spirituality, and your mission
• What Prophetic Listening is and how Michelle built a business around it
• Why TSL is such a powerful community when you’re facing rejection
• How to make it as easy as possible for your audience to buy your products after a talk
• How keeping your website up-to-date affects your lead generation
• Strategies for pivoting your business when you’re suffering from burnout
• …and so much more!

Episode resources:

• Michelle's Website
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Get Booked & Paid To Speak
• Get a FREE Copy of The Successful Speaker
• Speaker Fee Calculator

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

Every year, The Speaker Lab founder Grant Baldwin and coach Erick Rheam come onto the TSL show for an episode we call “The State of the Speaking Industry.” Grant and Erick use this time to zoom out and examine shifts in the last year and trends for the next year that affect speakers working on building their business this year. This is a chance to really dig deep into what’s going on in a variety of different industries and how that changes things up for all speakers, from aspiring to advanced. In episode 436 of The Speaker Lab podcast, we’re looking at the state of the speaking industry for 2023. 

Exciting things are happening as the world emerges from the COVID-impacted era of virtual events into a new hybrid era. Some organizations are eager to get back to classic conferences with lots of personal interactions and face-to-face communication, while others are enjoying the efficiency afforded by shifting everything to zoom. At the same time, many sectors are hurting due to the economy, and speakers in those industries are hurting as a result. More than ever, it’s vital to get clear on some of the core tenets of our SPEAK framework: solving one specific problem for one specific audience. 

Whether you’re a beginner, emerging, or experienced speaker, 2023 is bound to bring changes. With all this in mind, Grant and Erick share advice in this episode for every stage of launching and growing a speaking business. Let this episode put your fears at rest and energize your business plan for the upcoming year!

You’ll learn about…

• Which audiences are showing potential for growth in 2023. 
• What virtual speaking can offer industries with continuing education requirements.
• How to leverage gigs into partnerships that get you regular engagements.
• How to manage and maintain momentum so it doesn’t overwhelm you.
• How pivoting audiences can help you weather the economic storm.
• Why the solutions you offer are more important than the story you tell.
• Why clarity, consistency, and mentorship are must-haves for every speaker in 2023.
• …and so much more!

Episode resources:

• The Master Speaker Program
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Get Booked & Paid To Speak
• Get a FREE Copy of The Successful Speaker
• Speaker Fee Calculator

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

Our Student Highlight series continues with a student who came to us after years of success as a therapist and academic. Dr. David Palmiter knew how to fill in the gaps between scientific research and common knowledge, specifically on the topic of achieving happiness. He had three decades of speaking experience and regularly trained other therapists. He was a hit with his audience every time he went onstage. He had a good handle on content, delivery, and performance. But something was missing. He hadn’t turned speaking into a real business. Fortunately, the Virtual VIP program with Erick Rheam helped him do just that and find the magic key (literally!) to differentiate himself from his competition. 

David does indeed do magic tricks to illustrate his points, but the magic he works for his audience goes much further. In this episode, he shares how Erick opened the world of possibilities available once he streamlined his prospecting process by utilizing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. This conversation with Maryalice Goldsmith, our director of student success, is full of information about how our virtual VIP course provides the foundational tools for taking your business to the next level and refining your message. 

Because of his background in therapy, David takes connecting with his audience members very seriously. He and Maryalice discuss some of the important steps to finding your audience’s pain points and providing them with solutions. Directly addressing your audience’s needs and pivoting when the market shifts is a challenge for every speaker, but you’ll learn some important strategies from this episode.

You’ll also hear all about:

• How The Speaker Lab can help you discover your top strengths
• How prospecting leads can be meaningful instead of miserable.
• How to use your CRM to automate tasks for your speaking business.
• The transformation that comes when you add value in your lead outreach. 
• The advantages of integrating magic into your talk (no experience necessary)!
• Why spirituality is the key to happiness, regardless of your religious beliefs.
• …and so much more!

Episode resources:

• Dr. David Palmiter's Website
• The Master Speaker Program
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Get Booked & Paid To Speak
• Get a FREE Copy of The Successful Speaker
• Speaker Fee Calculator

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

On The Speaker Lab podcast, we feature guests who find their way to the speaking industry via myriad paths. Sometimes their path is linear, and sometimes the story of how they got to speaking is just as interesting as what they speak about. In Episode 434, you’ll get to hear from one of those speakers–someone who has really done it all! Lou Diamond has worked in marketing, technology, finance, and professional services. He’s a speaker, author, consultant, and expert podcaster, and he has a lot to share.

Lou’s journey to speaking involves a lot of the lessons we love to emphasize at The Speaker Lab. Discovering his unique ability for connecting with people allowed him to find an organic niche that suited his message and his experience–one of the most important steps to launching your speaking business. As demand for his speaking services increased, he had to make a lot of tough decisions about where to put his time and energy to further his career. These days, he splits his time three ways, between sales and leadership consulting, speaking, and podcasting. His story is full of tips for taking your speaking material and turning it into a new product, like a book, course, or podcast. 

Not only does he run his own podcast, Thrive LouD, which recently featured our very own Grant Baldwin as a guest, but he teaches others how to maximize business opportunities through podcasting. In this episode, Lou will walk you through how to make podcasting work for your speaking business, as both a guest and a host. Speakers have a lot of unique traits that are well-suited to podcasting, so if this isn’t a marketing avenue you’ve considered, today’s show is well worth the listen.

You’ll also learn all about:

• When it’s time to write a book.
• How to pick the right lane for your podcast.
• How to leverage social media toward getting invited onto podcasts.
• Why you should prepare for podcast appearances like you would for a keynote.
• How to deliver your message in a way that resonates the most.
• What monetization techniques can turn podcasting into passive income.
• Why it’s ok if people don’t listen to your podcast. 
• …and so much more!

Episode resources:

• Lou Diamond's Website
• The Master Speaker Program
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Get Booked & Paid To Speak
• Get a FREE Copy of The Successful Speaker
• Speaker Fee Calculator

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

Do you have executive presence? It’s not just for CEOs. 

According to TSL coaches Maryalice Goldsmith and Katherine Johnson, executive presence actually refers to the constellation of cues that people use to evaluate whether we have credibility, whether they see us as a leader, and how they perceive our capabilities. Most people default to trusting nonverbal messaging when there’s a cognitive dissonance–even if your words are telling the truth. You can have all the expertise and authority in the world, but it won’t help if your clothes, your body language, and your branding send the wrong message.

Executive presence solves that dissonance. It helps you create a clear and intentional first impression that communicates your message and your business with warmth and confidence. The last thing you want to do is scare people off, but the many speakers who struggle with executive presence are doing just that!

In today’s episode, Maryalice and Katherine go through strategies for elevating trust with your clients and audience, from cold-calls with strangers to performance on stage. You’ll come away with new confidence in your personal brand–and the ability to give other people confidence in you. Let’s be real, after three years of virtual interactions, a lot of us are getting rusty at our “people skills”! But as today’s Coaches Corner episode reveals, elevating your presence to the executive level will help you win over clients without feeling like a salesperson.

You’ll also learn:

• How executive presence combats imposter syndrome.
• How to set up your “virtual stage” so people get the right first impression. 
• Tricks for updating your visual presence to get more sales.
• Why your clothing should “frame” you–and how to find out if it isn’t!
• How to ask for feedback in a way that gets you constructive results.
• How to coordinate your online brand with the persona you bring to networking events.
• …and so much more!

Episode resources:

• The Master Speaker Program
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Get Booked & Paid To Speak
• Get a FREE Copy of The Successful Speaker
• Speaker Fee Calculator

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