The Speaker Lab Podcast

"If you can get one paid gig, you can build an empire off that." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this episode, Dan Irvin (the newly minted TSL CEO and new host of the TSL podcast!) sits down with Erick Rheam — The Speaker Lab's own resident speaker and lead coach — to unpack one of the most remarkable client stories we've ever told: how Erick turned a single speaking relationship into...

"So you can speak to it from a very professional level of here's what I'm seeing right now, grassroots, I'm in it, I'm doing the thing. And that's what makes this transition of you taking over and leading TSL really, really exciting. Because again, you're on the front lines, you're doing the thing." WE'RE BACK. Welcome to a very special episode of The Speaker Lab podcast! Today, Grant Baldwin is h...

“Sometimes in today’s society, there’s a pressure to do entrepreneurship the right way. Others have the Instagram businesses that everybody makes look good, but I think everyone has their own particular situation and scenarios.” Welcome to another episode of The Speaker Lab Podcast ! In this episode, host Grant Baldwin welcomes speaker and author Velera Wilson, a remarkable leader who candidly sha...

“There’s a huge amount of progress that comes from pitching yourself and putting information out there and having discovery calls and doing events and speaking at events and fielding questions and posting on social media and seeing what people want.” Welcome to another episode of The Speaker Lab Podcast ! Today, host Grant Baldwin welcomes Shannon GaNun, a former communications professional, colle...

“If you’re consistent, you may miss the event with that event planner this round, but you’re going to get it the next round, and you’re going to get the next round too because you’re going to stay on top.” In this episode of The Speaker Lab Podcas t, Erick Rheam, professional speaker and author, opens the doors to a behind-the-scenes coaching session as Connor Wentling and Michael Hidalgo join him...

“One of the things that has helped me stay in ministry, and one of my keys that I share in my talk about burnout, is doing something new to refuel you. I’m still doing ministry thirty years later, but I find new ways to do it and that helps increase the fuel and the fire for me to do it.” Welcome back to The Speaker Lab podcast! On today’s episode, host Grant Baldwin is joined by Arthur James, a s...

“I’m a big believer in consuming what you sell and practicing what you preach…it’s a useful step on the path to understanding what’s possible and for growing in the skill set of standing on stage in front of any number of people that makes your body react and become nervous.” In this episode of The Speaker Lab Podcast , host Grant Baldwin sits down with Melanie Curtis, a world record-holding profe...

“Make sure you actually believe you can follow your plan. Because if you don’t feel hopeful, then you’re never going to feel motivated, you’re never going to feel committed, and you’re never going to follow through.” Welcome back to another episode of The Speaker Lab Podcast ! Today, Grant Baldwin is joined by Adam Gilbert, the mastermind behind MyBodyTutor.com and DoneDaily.com , to discuss insig...

“When you go to these associations’ websites, they don’t have robust staff…it’s not hard to find them. You can directly engage with them and talk to them about an event that’s coming up. You can identify, ‘You have a fall conference coming up. I’d love to chat with you and see how I can best support you on that.’”  This week on The Speaker Lab podcast, host Grant Baldwin sits down with indust...

“Everything [The Speaker Lab] does is very intentional drive, step driven, process driven, and it can fit whatever time that you can give it…So time is less relevant. Consistency is more relevant.” Welcome back to The Speaker Lab podcast! In this episode, we’re diving deep into the realities of building a thriving speaking business while balancing a busy professional life. Our host, Erick Rheam, b...

“I’ve been a caterpillar. You know, what do caterpillars do? They collect, they eat, they stock up, they build up until they get a calling that says build yourself a chrysalis. And that [chrysalis], for me, was leaving public service.” Welcome back to The Speaker Lab podcast! Today’s episode features Marcy Grossman, whose career path took her from criminal psychologist, working in federal prisons,...

“Within an in demand topic, how are you going to differentiate? There are only X number of categories of movies out there, right? And so it’s not like you’re suddenly going to invent a new category of movie, but you do want, within that well trenched category, to be distinct.” Welcome back to The Speaker Lab podcast! In today’s episode, host Grant Baldwin is joined once again by youth speaker and...

“Once you have your go-to framework, your go-to model, and then as you innovate, few come up with new ideas, and instead of just doing away with the old one, it becomes a tool in your pocket. And you can keep building that toolbox as you go.” This week, host Grant Baldwin reconnects with his good friend, renowned speaker, author, and content strategist Melanie Deziel. If you've ever struggled to o...

“I started pursuing meaning instead of money. And I made way more money focusing on meaning and not thinking about money as much as I did when I was laser focused on making more money but living a life that was absent of meaning.” Welcome back to The Speaker Lab podcast! In today’s episode, host Grant Baldwin sits down with Harris III, an award-winning illusionist, speaker, author, and entrepreneu...

"All those little intangibles that are so nuanced, the great storytellers can put themselves physically and emotionally back in the story and bring you with them, and then somehow bring it back to you.”  If you’ve ever felt like your life isn’t interesting enough for the stage, Katie Quesada is here to change your mind. On this episode of The Speaker Lab, Katie and Grant Baldwin unpack what r...

“When downselling, it’s really good to say, ‘Who is above me, and who is below me?’ And then also find out, looking laterally, who do you compete against? Who is within a similar fee range?...Who can I refer that might fit along that axis.” In this episode, Grant Baldwin teams up with industry insider Brian Lord of Premier Speakers Bureau for a conversation about what it takes to succeed as a spea...

“You have to make sure you don’t lose the vision of what you started, because the team could begin and can take on a personality of its own. And if you don’t manage it, you can get off the vision of what brought you here.” What does it really take to build a thriving speaking business? In this week’s thought-provoking episode, Grant Baldwin sits down with Erick Rheam to explore the practical strat...

“My job is to make [event planners] look like a rock star when I get off stage…I stand beside them so I can also have them hear the lovely things people are saying in line when people want to hug you and take their photo with you. And so what they need to see is [that I] was a good investment.” In this episode, Grant Baldwin connects with Neen James for an honest, energetic conversation on what it...

“[I’m trying] to use stories so the audience can find themselves in the story as it relates to their life, but then extract the lessons learned, the principles to help, to overcome, to move through the process that’s executed, to use adversity as fuel for purpose.” This week, Grant Baldwin sits down with Lance Cibik, peeling back the curtain on what it really takes to build momentum and establish...

“The whole purpose of the Speaker Lab is we’re here to help speakers, to give them confidence, to get them out there and to translate their experiences, their stories into something that they can take out and get booked and paid to speak.” Building a thriving speaking business comes down to strategy, momentum, and the discipline to keep moving forward. In this episode of The Speaker Lab, Erick Rhe...

“I have a friend who used to call it putting the cookies on a lower shelf. And you want to say to the audience things that they can absolutely understand and they can take action on and that are not confusing.” What really sets the best speakers apart? This week on The Speaker Lab, host Grant Baldwin chats with Donald Miller, author, entrepreneur, and creator of the StoryBrand framework, about how...

“When speakers communicate directly with the clients and leave me out of the communication, it can get fuzzy. And there have been times when that’s happened and logistical details have not occurred and it has cost somebody money.” Behind every outstanding speaking event is a world of logistics, relationships, and attention to detail that most audiences never see. On this week’s episode of The Spea...

“Content is still important, but content is much more of a commodity. So the premise has to be that we’ve got to create something…It has to include conversation, it has to include community, it has to include the idea that there’s going to be something that’s analog that happens.” In this week’s episode of The Speaker Lab, Grant Baldwin chats with Brad Lomenick about what truly makes speakers memo...

“...hustle and hard work might get you past a certain project or deadline, but then habits will help you last over the long haul, right? So build a business that doesn’t ultimately break you over time.” What does it take to build a speaking business and a life that lasts? In this week’s episode of The Speaker Lab, host Grant Baldwin sits down with his longtime friend Chris Ducker, who just release...

“A photo in general is not going to win you business, but bad photos are going to lose you your business all the time because it absolutely crushes.” Ever dread getting new headshots or wonder if your photos help your speaking business? On this episode of The Speaker Lab, Grant Baldwin chats with photographer John DeMato about what matters when it comes to imagery and visual storytelling for speak...