The Speaker Lab Podcast

"If we can remind ourselves that we're in service of our audience, we have value to bring as a professional speaker, somebody determined that you have something of value to say to this audience, and if you remind yourself of that, it will turn down all of that negative self talk and really help you focus in the moment." Matt Abrahams has made a life teaching people how to become great communicator...

"You need to believe in yourself and you need to understand that you are validated in what you're wanting to charge." In this edition of our Student Highlight series, Brittany Richmond sat down with TedX speaker and education thought leader Dr. India White to talk about what it takes to build a speaking business and the tangible, practical things Dr. White did to take hers to the next level. ...

“If something scares you, you should probably do it." Grant sits down with Dave Allred to talk about how speaking can help you expand your comfort zone, create opportunities, and unlock potential in your life to achieve your goals. If you have thought about using speaking as a means to magnify and expand the impact of your legacy, this episode is for you.  “My primary goal, Grant, when I get...

"I think it's important for speakers to be aware of it, to understand it, not be the type of speaker who's yelling at clouds like, no, I'm going to avoid this. When used in appropriate context, it can make so many things so much easier. But the challenge, like with any new technology, is really understanding what appropriate means and really understanding the boundaries of how it can help you, but...

"Speaking is a platform to share a message and a story that could transform somebody's life." This week, Grant is joined by Dan Martell to talk about how to create a nontraditional speaking career. For Dan, speaking isn’t about the money. It’s a way to spread his message and impact lives. Want to leverage your speaking to create long-term value and develop strong relationships? This is the episode...

“So I just cracked six figures in seven months? In seven months.” Grant is joined on the podcast this week by Dr Reggie Wright to talk about how he scaled his speaking business in 7 months. Reggie shares his background and his story, but more important digs into what really allowed him to step into this calling as a speaker with confidence. “Preparation breeds confidence. I just want to be prepare...

"History doesn't repeat itself. It's just that humans tend to do the same thing in patterns even if 20 or 40 or 50 years ago they did the exact same thing when faced with the same inputs." This week on the podcast, Grant sat down with Dominique Luster, a TSL alum and a professional speaker in the DEI space. Dominique’s speaking career started somewhat naturally as she was on a mission to share the...

"And it's interesting because our self talk starts at the very beginning of our day. So the minute you become conscious before, sometimes you even open your eyes, what's your first thought? Right? Is it something positive? Or is it like, oh, my back is killing me. Well, guess what? That is the underlying tone and theme for the rest of your day." Maryalice is back on the podcast with another one of...

"The key to a great demo video is showcasing your best work and highlighting your strengths. It should effectively demonstrate your skills, talent, and unique qualities in a concise and captivating manner." Demo videos are mission-critical to getting booked and paid as a professional speaker. Today, Grant sat down with Shawn Hanks. Shawn is the CEO of the Premiere Speakers Bureau, and he knows a f...

"There were two modules that were particularly helpful for me...The module about preparing your talk was really helpful...It helped me fill in stories where I needed to fill in a story and applications for real-life examples...And then the other part was the last module, Know When to Scale...That last module helped me really make sense of it all." Dr. Peggy DeLong joins Maryalice Goldsmith on the...

"AI enhances my creativity and helps me explore new ideas. From AI-generated music and artwork to machine learning algorithms that assist in brainstorming and content creation, it has become an invaluable tool in my creative process." Today, Grant sat down with Lauren Teague to chat about her speaking business and how she uses AI as a work partner to maximize her time, increase her creative output...

"It's kind of like setting up a table for dinner. You don't want to just be scrambling and hustle to the table and be sweating and be like, I don't even know where the forks are. So I think it's like, no, let's have a nice clean table. Lay it all out before yourself so you can kind of settle into it and know exactly where everything is and know you've set yourself up for success." We’re back with...

"I think speakers are being called to be even more dynamic, more impactful, and a greater return on investment if they're addressing someone or having the pleasure of addressing someone in person and live." Joey Coleman joined us on the podcast this week to chat with Grant Baldwin about his journey of building a speaking business, leveraging books to create credibility, and learning how to eb with...

"If you go through adversity and you don't learn anything from it, that it's a lost opportunity" This episode of the Speaker Lab Podcast is another excellent episode of our Student Highlight Series. Maryalice Goldsmith, Director of Student Success, sat down with Bruce Wawrzyniak to talk about his speaking business, the career he’s building, and his experience here at the Speaker Lab.  "So whi...

“Just because you’ve had success in other fields doesn’t mean that you get to skip rungs on the ladder.”  Grant welcomes Jon Acuff back to the The Speaker Lab Podcast! Jon is a regular guest on our show, because he’s an active speaker, a well know New York Times bestselling author, and one of Grant’s good friends.  "I think you could climb the ladder faster when you're an expert at somet...

"We absolutely have the ability to cultivate a growth mindset, which will put us it makes us more resilient. It gives us the ability to see opportunities and connect more easily with people. We move through the world very differently, and it gives you a different energy to go about the task of building a business." The Speaker Lab Coach, Katherine Johnson is back on the podcast this week sharing h...

"So there are definitely two main chapters to my life, and they both happened before age 22. So when I was very young, and they both involved aviation, and one was ultimately amazing, and one was obviously terrible.” Until age 22, Ryan’s life revolved around flying and aviation. Unfortunately, after an unexpected trip, he was put in a place where flying couldn’t be his #1 priority anymore. After s...

Many speakers lean gradually into speaking. Still others stumble upon it unexpectedly. And still others find their passion and talent early on in life with the help of formative family members–like Shailesh Ghimire. Shailesh is our latest Student Highlight guest on The Speaker Lab podcast, and he shares his story on episode 459 with Maryalice Goldsmith, our director of student success. Today, Shai...

As a speaker, it’s often hard to find the balance between telling your story, building your personal brand, and serving your audience. No matter what your story is, you have to connect it to solving your audience’s problems. Otherwise, you’re just talking about yourself–and that’s a surefire strategy for failure if your goal is making an impact. On Episode 458 of The Speaker Lab podcast, Grant Bal...

Establishing your niche is one of the most important tasks of building your speaking business. Like all important tasks, this isn’t a one-step process–it is a long journey of discovery and refinement. Because this is such a hot topic among our TSL students, our latest coaches’ corner podcast naturally focuses on finding your niche. In Episode 457 of The Speaker Lab Podcast, TSL coaches Maryal...

It’s not every day that a game show host comes onto The Speaker Lab podcast. But this is your lucky day! For this episode, Mike Montague joins Grant for an exciting conversation about how he balances podcasting, speaking, game show hosting, and his job for a prominent sales and leadership training company. While some might have a specific vision of what it means to be a speaker, for Mike it means...

A lot of coaches become speakers, and a lot of speakers become coaches. It’s not a simple 2+2=4 formula, but there’s a few reasons why these professions complement each other so well! One of our recent program alumni, Kyle Cofer, came onto episode 455 of The Speaker Lab podcast to discuss her path from life coaching to speaking. In this student highlight, Kyla shares how our program helped her amp...

Dan Irvin was laid off of his C-suite position just as COVID started taking off. He took it as a sign to start the speaking career he had long been considering. Between pandemic-induced chaos and his own inexperience with the speaking industry, his first efforts were, in his own words, “dismal.” Fortunately, he discovered The Speaker Lab, which helped him systematize his business to the point wher...

Brittany Richmond is an experienced volleyball coach and counselor. She’s also an uplifting speaker and influencer who inspires teens to manage their anxiety and overcome stigma around mental illness. Our favorite part? She’s a coach for us here at The Speaker Lab. This week on Episode 453 of The Speaker Lab podcast, she shares how she speaks about incredibly vulnerable topics in a relatable and s...

Our system here at The Speaker Lab includes establishing non-negotiable elements of a successful speaking business early. Once you establish these fundamentals, you get to move on to the “fun” stuff like preparing your talk and creating snazzy marketing materials. While our coaches can only personally guide you through creating these steps in our coaching programs, they also come on the podcast to...