The Speaker Lab Podcast

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith has gone from physician to full-time speaker, and she joins us to tell us how she made the leap! After two decades in the medical world, today Dr. Saundra speaks about burn out and work-life integration. During episode 316 of The Speaker Lab, we talk more about her own experiences in this realm and how she made the transition from physician to full-time speaker, and h...

Do you have an interest in speaking in the tech space? Our guest is a premiere speaker in that industry and she's here to tell us about it. Ilana Golan helps executives grow in their careers from performing better to reinventing themselves. Prior to speaking she worked in engineering and tech working her way up the corporate ladder. On today's The Speaker Lab, hear why she moved over to running he...

One key to creating a thriving speaking business is knowing your identity and knowing what you bring to the table as a speaker. Our guest is an expert at helping others know themselves and what they have to offer. Rocky Garza is a speaker and coach whose focus is on how our identities play into the roles and positions we fill. On The Speaker Lab today, we dive into what his life was like before he...

Overcoming adversity is an experience almost everyone has at some point in their lives. Our guest today was faced with this challenge early on and today he shares how doing so led to his speaking career. Chris Ruden speaks to corporations and non-profits about overcoming adversity and diversity inclusion, especially regarding diabetes. Chris was born with a limb difference, he had most of his hand...

Have you ever doubted if your message matters? Our guest has literally written the book on this subject and today he is sharing some of his insights on the matter. Jonathan Milligan is an entrepreneur and speaker with over a decade of experience helping people hone and fine tune the messages they have to share with the world. We dive into his experience plus how to believe in your message and defi...

Today we are talking about building your speaking web site: how to create it, what mistakes to avoid and what you must include. We cover all the ins and outs of building your speaking web site with Rick because he's one of our coaches in our Booked and Paid to Speak program. He works with our Elite students to help them build their ideal speaking web sites. Join us to hear his insights straight fr...

How to shift to virtual speaking is something many speakers are exploring now, and our guest is sharing with us some of his best strategies for doing so. Brian Lord has been an agent at Premiere Speakers Bureau for over 25 years. His career began in college when he booked gigs for local talent, including a gospel singer and speaker. Fast forward two decades later and he's still going strong! On th...

Welcome back to our fifth and final episode in this series on The Power of The Pipeline! Once again Erick Rheam is joining us as our co-host. If you missed the first four parts of this series be sure to go here for part I , part II , part III and part IV . Then come back and listen in to this episode, the final piece of the speaking pipeline. Today we are wrapping things up with a discussion on th...

Welcome back to the fourth in a five-part series called The Power of The Pipeline! Joining us again is your friend and mine, Mr. Erick Rheam. If you missed last week's episode of The Speaker Lab (part III on episode 307), check it out here . You can also hear the first stage of the pipeline on episode 305 and the second stage on episode 306 . This week we are digging into the fourth stage: the pro...

Welcome to 307, the third episode in our five part series on The Power of The Pipeline. Joining us is my friend and co-host for this series, Erick Rheam. Last week we covered the second stage which is the contact made stage (you can find the second stage here and the first stage here ). This week on The Speaker Lab we are talking about the phone meeting stage; we will cover the two goals you shoul...

Welcome to the second episode in our 5-part series on The Power of The Pipeline. Joining me again as co-host is Erick Rheam, our Director of Student Success here at The Speaker Lab. Last week we covered the first stage, the lead in stage of your speaking pipeline. If you missed it you can listen here . This week we are diving into the second stage: making contact. In this stage, your primary goal...

Episode 305 is a brand new series focused on the power of the pipeline. Joining me as co-host for this series is Erick Rheam, our Director of Student Success here at The Speaker Lab. Today we are talking about the five stages of the pipeline, including an in-depth discussion on stage one from initiating contact with a lead, structuring your follow-ups and avoiding several common mistakes speakers...

Have you ever wondered how to work with a speaking agent? Our guest, Li Hayes, has all the info you need to decide if an agent is right for you! Li runs a boutique speaker agency and works with a dozen different speakers. On today's The Speaker Lab, she tells us what her role is as their agent and what you need to do if you are looking for an agent. She shares her advice for emerging speakers and...

Speaking part-time to grow your full-time business can be a surefire way to expand your reach, maximize your impact and your bottom line. Our guest is a living example of this and she joins us to share her journey. Liz Bohannon is a very successful keynote speaker but speaking itself is secondary to her full-time gig. Primarily, she is the founder and CEO of a lifestyle jewelry company called Ssek...

Stories are one of the most important tools for any speaker. So how do you tell stories that stick long after you've finished speaking? Our guest has the answer. Kindra Hall is a renowned speaker and author who is here to talk all things storytelling. On today's episode of The Speaker Lab, Kindra and I talk about storytelling for speakers, whether to use first person or third person and how to ens...

Ryan Giffen is an agent at Premiere Speakers Bureau and he's here to give us an update on the current state of the speaking industry. He's been an agent for over a decade. While he's joined us in the past to talk about education and working in a speakers bureau, on today's show he's going to tell us what he's seeing on the front lines right now in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ryan works wit...

Don't quit your day job to start a speaking career. Begin building your speaking business on the side. During this Speaking Workshop, We Cover: The 7 things you must clarify from the outset Where to spend your time and money as you get started (and where not to) The one thing you CANNOT do while trying to grow your speaking business Why not all full-time jobs are created equal Why your plan should...

Three amazing students join us for this very special 300th episode of The Speaker Lab! All three of our guests today are students of The Speaker Lab and they crushing it. They are here to share their insights, wisdom and secrets to success. Going forward we're going to be sharing more students' stories on bonus episodes so be sure to join us for their stories. And we've got a huge giveaway in hono...

One area we haven't touched on is how to be a corporate trainer, my friend Michael Bungay Stanier is here to change that! Michael is a well-established keynote speaker and corporate trainer. On today's The Speaker Lab, we talk about what topics work in this industry, positioning yourself versus positioning a product/program, and who hires corporate trainers. We have a lot of fun during this inform...

We talk about relationships but what about building relationships through giving gifts? What are the dos and don'ts of successful gift-giving? Here to tell us is gifting expert, best-selling author and keynote speaker John Ruhlin. On today's episode of The Speaker Lab, John tells us who to give gifts to, when to give gifts, and how to reframe gift-giving as an investment versus just another line i...

How to speak to the medical field is a question I get asked a lot, and today our guest is answering it. Nisha Mehta is a practicing physician, specifically a radiologist. She also speaks around the country to medical professionals on the topic of burnout. Today we talk about how she got started speaking, the different speaking opportunities in the medical industry, whether or not you need a backgr...

Today's conversation is a discussion on race and the speaking industry with my friend Nicole Walters. Nicole is an incredible speaker, amazing entrepreneur and phenomenal human being. On this episode of The Speaker Lab, we talk about the heavy but important topic of racism in the speaking world. We talk about what exists in the marketplace for her as a Black woman, how she sees things that I don't...

How to embrace your fears is the subject that helped our guest today jumpstart a whole new career as an international speaker and author. Michelle Poler is here on The Speaker Lab to talk about how she embraced her fears through 100 fears in 100 days challenge, how that challenge culminated in a TEDx talk and how some of those fears even became things she now loves to do. We explore those topics p...

How to pivot to speaking virtually may not have been something you thought of before the pandemic, but our guest today explains why he and a lot of other speakers are embracing it now. Jon Acuff is an entrepreneur and author. He is also one of the best speakers I've seen live: he takes this craft seriously and it shows. In our conversation on The Speaker Lab today, Jon explains the pivots he's mad...

Knowing what meeting planners want from a speaker can be the difference between booking some gigs and being a full-time speaker. Our guest today has the inside scoop on this very topic and he's telling us the answers on episode 293 of The Speaker Lab! Jay Baer is an exceptionally successful speaker who has been in the industry for a long time and has accrued a wealth of knowledge along the way. To...