Professional Speaking: Known. Booked. Paid.

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the word influencer?  How would you feel about being described as an influencer? Is there a good side to being an influencer? My guest Whitney Lauritson could be described as an influencer but she won't thank you for saying it because it has come to have so many negative and often shallow connotations in the online world. When I think about th...

Could laughter be the thing that sets you free? It liberated my guest Bee Baumann when she discovered a gift for humorous speaking and found that it suddenly opened up a whole world of creativity for her. She's written a book called 'Gurrl, you ain't crazy', she's won humorous speaking contests (much like myself) and we both discuss how comedy is an amazing vehicle for truth and influence. In this...

Does your elevator pitch make your prospective customers and clients want to go up to the 6th floor with you? So many people are trying to speak like marketers instead of finding the genuine points of connection that will be music to the ears of your ideal clients and customers. My guest Mike Verret is an expert on making your pitch the right way, having years of experience with Hasbro Games where...

Does your light ever feel dimmed? Do you feel like there is no platform for voices like yours? My guest Vivian Acquah felt the same. Suffering years of sexism and racism in the workplace she felt the need to speak out and make things better, so she built her own platform and found ways to amplify her voice. Now, Vivian is known as a champion for diversity and she's on a mission. Don't miss her bra...

Should you really NEVER split the difference in a business negotiation? There are some things we all need to know how to do to succeed in life and negotiation is one of those things. Chris Voss famously says that everything is negotiation. My guest today is an expert business negotiator and negotiation trainer who has always been in the world of business negotiations and boy oh boy, does he have s...

Are you putting lipstick on a pig when it comes to marketing your brand and business?  Do you know the difference between brand and branding?  This is the episode where you'll find that out and a whole lot more. My guest Barnaby Wynter has deep experience and is very highly qualified to discuss brand and marketing. He developed a unique prospect acquisition strategy for Saab in the 1980s...

What does it really take to be a podcaster?  Should you start a podcast?  Should you be appearing as a guest on podcasts?  I will be answering these questions as well as my biggest challenges in podcasting, how I nearly quit the show several times and why, what made me keep going and what the future holds for Speaking Influence? I will also share with you my driving force, my missio...

What is your go-to persuasion tool?  Do you have one?  When it comes to the battlegrounds of persuasion are you a warrior, armed both to fight and defend yourself or will you be lion food in the coliseum?  BIG NEWS! Speaking Influence has now reached 100 episodes. After nearly 2 years of publishing shows, we've now hit our first big podcasting milestone. So, what does the future hol...

Are we living in a post-truth world? Do facts even matter anymore? In a world where people are so easily persuaded by emotions over facts, how can we turn the tide and make facts matter again? I first heard my guest Simon Raybould speak at a PSA (Public Speaking Association) online conference.  I then heard him on another podcast challenging some of the conventional wisdom around storytelling...

Have you ever had the experience of someone starting a conversation with you but they seem to be midway through a stream of consciousness and you don't really know what they are talking about or why they are talking to you about it? Whether you've experienced this as the giver or receiver, we know that more clarity is needed and our communication could be better. This episode is especially importa...

Does your online posting feel like shouting into the void? If you're anything like most people, you probably feel like most of what you post online gets ignored or at best a little response or engagement? So, when I was given the opportunity to speak to the queen of content creation on LinkedIn, I jumped at the opportunity. LinkedIn is my platform of choice for social media but how do you make the...

What do you think is one of the biggest fears people have in business?  It's one that sometimes causes businesses not to grow and to end up struggling. It's mostly an irrational fear. It's the fear of making sales calls, especially cold calls. I've said many times recently that the show is moving to a stronger focus on the influence and persuasion side of things, although we will still be com...

Always running, always busy, always so much more to do than there is time to do it! Such is the life of the self-employed business owner but it doesn't have to be that way. My guest today is Jeffrey Shaw, author of 'The Self-Employed LIfe´and ´Lingo´. Because I am self-employed and many of my listeners are self-employed or would like to be, it made so much sense to speak to a man who understands w...

Fed up of friend requests from marketers who just want to sell you something? Yeah... me too. My guest today is Natalie Klun and she's here to talk about relationship marketing, which is marketing done right. By the time you have listened to this show you'll be wishing everyone was doing marketing like this and not using cheap and sometimes sleazy feeling methods and programs to try and get money...

She worked hard all the time. In fact, there were few employees as conscientious as her. Always early to work, one of the first in and one of the last out. Always hit her targets and nice to everyone but not very talkative. Always lost out on promotions to the more extroverted employees. A valued employee who didn't feel valued. She had aspirations, but she felt ignored and taken for granted. So w...

What really goes on in the boardroom? Is it like in 'Succession' where it's all subterfuge, tests of loyalty, big personalities ruling the roost? Or is it much less dramatic but still an interesting place to be? My guest for this show is Julie Garland McLellan and she has served on 18 different boards and written several books about influence in the boardroom, so believe me when I say that she kno...

Does being funny come at a price? If it does, then my guest Jordan Power has undoubtedly paid it. He's a professional comedian, author and podcaster. His first show Shame On You was all about overcoming the shame and stigma related to LGBT+ people and confronting those issues head-on with uncompromising honesty and guttural humour, discussing his own life, his father coming out, his relationships,...

Are you one of many millions of people who say they'd like to write a book but never get it started or worse, never get it finished? Be honest. If you're a speaker or would like to be a paid speaker, having a book that relates to your speaking topics can make all the difference and might even enable you to demand higher fees for your speeches and events. It regularly gets said that having a book i...

The vast majority of people doing sales and marketing for their businesses don't understand what gets people to buy or worse, are still operating on outdated sales modalities. Are you one of them? Moeed shared the 8 keys to persuasion, which I will put in my weekly roundup if you want the recap. To make sure you're on the list for my weekly updates on episodes and events, visit PresentInfluence.co...

Do you use your voice in your work? Whether you're a speaker, singer, actor, receptionist, CEO, store manager, or required to speak in any kind of work-related situation, your voice is essential to your success.  Knowing what to say is certainly a part of the equation but the way you say it... that can be all the difference. Dielle Hannah is not only an exceptional voice coach, but she is als...

Have you ever listened to yourself on a recording? Did you like what you heard? I think most of us know that we sound quite different to others than we do to ourselves and at first it is usually a little jarring. Your voice can be smoother, more resonant and open up qualities you don't even know you have. How? With some vocal exercises and expert guidance. My guest is the incredible Ambika Devi. T...

How do you sell without selling? So many business owners and entrepreneurs fall apart in their presentations when it comes time to make the sale, but why? My guest Rael Bricker has the answer to this and many other questions, such as how to present technical or detailed information to a group and how to improve and manage your energy as a coach or presenter. With over 30 years as a serial entrepre...

How many times a day do you laugh? Probably not nearly enough. My guest on this show is on a mission to help the world laugh, think and play more. Emma Stroud is a well-known speaker, entertainer and coach. She's become very well known for her humorous podcast 'Clowning Around', where she interviews guests on interesting topics with a light-hearted twist and an inevitable interruption from the hil...

Can you effectively pitch yourself or your business in 7 seconds? My guest Åsa Rydhard says yes and she's going to share with us some of the secrets and insights she has learned and now teaches for creating powerful and effective brand stories. We discussed how this particularly applies to speakers, coaches and consultants as well as anyone who has a complex job or position which they sometimes st...

Can you communicate with a Gen Z person the same way you communicate with a millennial? Research says not and my guest Dr Lori Baker-Schena is an expert on communication skills and helping organisations and individuals become better and more effective communicators. Dr Lori Baker-Schena delivers solid, practical leadership advice in an entertaining and fun way – leaving listeners/viewers laughing...