Unforgettable Presentations

It's important to keep your audience engaged, and the key to doing so lies in a simple but powerful concept. Today Darren and Mark define and discuss PACE ELEMENTS, sharing how they can help you to deliver an unforgettable presentation.   SNIPPETS:   • Engagement is important • Keeping your audience engaged during a virtual presentation is critical   • Pace Elements engage the brain in different w...

You're in the audience, listening the speaker before you, and you hear them make a point, tell an anecdote, or use language that makes you think, "I was gonna say that!" How do you respond? Can you avoid this? In today's episode, Mark and Darren answer these questions and more as they share recent experiences and offer solutions.   SNIPPETS: • Don't panic • Be unique   • Avoid 'stock' material fro...

It's not unusual for presenters to 'move on' from past presentations. Toastmasters is a good example. Today, Darren and Mark encourage you to 'go back to the well' and revisit old presentations. They may hold new value today.   SNIPPETS: • Maintain a story folder; an old story may have new significance • Don't discard/delete 'old' material   • "Unearth the old, uncover the GOLD" – Mark Brown   • R...

Can you ever truly know the full impact of your presentations? Today, Mark and Darren provide the answer by sharing anecdotes, experiences, and insight gained from their combined 60 years on the platform.   SNIPPETS: • The vast majority of your audience will never tell us how we impacted them • You get only one shot at that audience   • Seek to grow continually   • When competing, focus more on yo...

Speakers must exude confidence to inform, inspire, and influence. However , EGO and SELF-DOUBT can have a significant impact on us and our audiences. Darren and Mark offer advice on how to effectively manage both and serve our audiences well.     SNIPPETS: • Don't undervalue your experiences   • "You are uniquely qualified to serve the person you once were." - Rory Vaden   • "One man's mundane is...

Our messages must serve our audiences, and two words are most helpful in achieving that goal. Darren and Mark expound on the power and value of the words 'YOU' and 'YOUR,' as well as their unforgettable impact on our audiences.     SNIPPETS: • 'YOU' and 'YOUR' are enormously powerful words   • Examine your 'I/YOU Ratio'   • These words draw audiences in   • Usage makes our content relatable and re...

The concept of relationship selling is not uncommon, but today , Mark and Darren go beyond selling to explore the greater value of building relationships.     SNIPPETS: • Build relationships beyond the booking   • Use relationships to recommend others   • Relationships provide opportunities to serve   • A relationship may not bear fruit immediately   • Seek to give before seeking to get   • Bring...

There's a story behind every booking. Today Mark and Darren examine how   our 'booking stories' can reveal what is necessary to get more bookings now.   SNIPPETS: • Go back to the well   • Revisit the decisions that led to previous bookings   • Trace the full path of the booking   • Identify people who could help lead to your next booking   • Ask: "What was I doing back then, that I need to start...

Feeling nervous before a presentation or feeling insecure when facing an intimidating audience can be positive. That may seem counterintuitive, but Mark and Darren clarify in today's episode. Drawing on their combined 60+ years of lessons learned, they provide advice and specific techniques for using nervousness to your advantage.     SNIPPETS: • Being a little nervous can be a good thing   • Use...

Stories can transform presentations, and when certain essentials are met, a story can be unforgettable. Today's episode is the second of a two-part conversation about five story essentials…tools which, when used effectively,   will make your story unforgettable. This is PART 2 of 2.     SNIPPETS: • Identify a GUIDE/GURU, a source of wisdom, insight, guidance, and help   • The guide need not be a h...

Everyone enjoys a good story, and unforgettable stories contain certain essentials.  In this episode, Mark and Darren expound upon three of their five story essentials, showing not only how they work, but why. This is PART 1 of 2.     SNIPPETS:   • STORY is a FORCE MULTIPLIER   • Define the HERO/protagonist/main character   • Help your audience to SEE the character   • Give the audience a reason t...

How are writing and producing films connected to delivering presentations and storytelling? Mark and Darren get answers from award-winning filmmaker/director/producer/actress Susie Singer Carter as she shares her perspective on telling powerful stories. Her insight provides tools for telling memorable stories that resonate with any audience.     SNIPPETS:   • Avoid being preachy   • You can confro...

Every once in a while, speakers encounter circumstances that they didn't see coming. How can you handle them and make the best use of them in the future? Today, Darren and Mark share their experiences and offer meaningful suggestions for handling situations that you don't see coming.     SNIPPETS:   • Situations occur that will keep you in check   • You never know when your misfortune can serve ot...

  Emerging presenters and professional speakers want to know best practices and proven processes for running a successful speaking business. You would be hard-pressed to find a more reliable source than business growth innovator and Hall of Fame speaker, Ford Saeks, co-founder of the Million Dollar Speakers Group. In today's conversation with co-hosts Mark and Darren, he reveals five insider secre...

What does it take to create maximum impact while serving your audience? To find out, Mark and Darren chat with business growth innovator and Hall of Fame speaker, Ford Saeks. Ford clearly lays out principles, practices, and perspectives that presenters must embrace to create maximum impact and become unforgettable.     SNIPPETS:   • Your impact depends on your intent and your audience's reception...

Anyone can give a presentation, but what does it take to truly OWN the stage? Calling back to a recent OWN THE STAGE 3-day workshop, Darren and Mark provide some key insights and principles that will help any presenter to own the stage and deliver an unforgettable presentation.     SNIPPETS: • Care more about being world class that delivering one good presentation   • Structure is important; the o...

To meet customer demand, organizations take inventory, then replenish and upgrade their offerings. As a presenter, it's wise to take inventory of your speech…and everything that surrounds it.   Today, Mark and Darren focus on your Speech Skills Inventory and offer suggestions for upgrading your speech over the next 12 months     SNIPPETS: • Upgrade your speech   • Decide how you want to improve ea...

Audience members can have different experiences depending on where they sit in a meeting venue. Darren and Mark explain and give some sage advice on how the meeting space can maximize your audience's experience.     SNIPPETS: • Arrive at the venue at least a day early if possible   • Sit in the four 'worst' seats in the house   • See what the audience sees   • If necessary, reset the angle of larg...

Last week Darren and Mark shared effective ways to embody characters physically. Today, they share the impact that we can have when we do the same with vocal techniques.     SNIPPETS: • Selectively use dialogue instead of narration   • Vary your vocal volume   • Volume variances depict emotion   • Energy and intensity do not have to be loud   • Modify vocal pitch appropriately   • Different speaki...

Our stories are more vivid when we embody the characters, and today, Mark and Darren explore simple yet effective ways to embody characters physically. With these techniques, characters are easily identifiable without a word.      SNIPPETS:   • Use their gait and walk as the character would walk   • Identify and portray mannerisms   • Observe family members to show character quirks – 'QUIRKOLOGY'...

It's always helpful to know your audience's pain points. However, your pain points can be an avenue to building a relationship with them. Today, Darren and Mark share how to do just that, with ideas that can help you be unforgettable.     SNIPPETS:   • Explore your pain points   • Pain points are connectors   • Give your audience the gift of your story   • Capture your pain points and the lessons...

Once in a while, an audience is less emotive than most, leaving a speaker to wonder, "Are they listening?" Mark and Darren discuss that question today while providing perspective, context, and solid suggestions for presenting well in those circumstances.     SNIPPETS:   • Always be present   • Bring your 'A GAME'   • Don't let a stoic audience affect your mission   • External factors may affect au...

"I just need…" is a phrase that eager speakers often use when asking for advice. Oftentimes it's followed by "a few tweaks," "a punch-up," "to add humor," "a little polish," or something similar.   Today, Darren and Mark analyze this simple phrase and offer a perspective that will inspire you to examine it more closely. This episode will help you identify what you REALLY need, to be unforgettable....

There is a popular adage that says, "If you don't ask, the answer is always 'No'." In this episode, Mark and Darren talk about the benefits of asking for guidance, and how to respond, regardless of the answer. Asking can be your game-changer.   SNIPPETS:   • The answer is in the asking   • When you ask, you can become a mentor magnet   • Ask humbly, sincerely, honestly, and respectfully   • Learn...

One way to increase audience buy-in is to customize your presentation.  Today, Darren and Mark dive into the why and how of customization. Applying these ideas will help any presenter to be unforgettable.   SNIPPETS:   • Customizing isn't just using the company's logo and name on your slides   • Do some homework and conduct research on your client   • Get permission to speak with 10 significant au...