“ People get excited about different. How can you be explained & summed up in one sentence? How can you be the only in your industry? ” Finding what makes you unique in this industry is no easy journey, but our guest this week knows all too well why being different is your greatest asset. Jesse Cole is the proud owner of the Savannah Bananas, an exhibition baseball team that ESPN called "the greatest show in sports." Jesse is best known for his iconic yellow suit and the fun he brings across...
Dec 17, 2024•37 min•Ep. 529
“One of the easiest ways to demonstrate your value in the sales conversation is to not try to sell yourself, it’s to show them you understand the puzzle they’re trying to solve. If you can show somebody that you understand their puzzle, they'll trust you with a solution." One of the most challenging things that all speakers face — at all stages of their speaking career — is overcoming fear of rejection. If you're a new speaker, you might be surprised that even veteran speakers still struggle wit...
Dec 10, 2024•40 min•Ep. 528
“I might not be world class ever, ever, but I’m definitely gonna be way better than I was on my own, and without the reps.” Josh Shipp has had a brilliant career providing knowledge to thousands of people. Today, he joins us to talk about the hard work of making it as a speaker, how to find your strengths, and what you should know at the start of your journey. Josh has frequently worked in the education space with parents, teachers, and students. In fact, he even founded a company dedicated to t...
Dec 03, 2024•44 min•Ep. 527
“That type of belief is what carries you through when everybody else is dropping like flies. When you know for a fact this is what you’re made for, then there’s nothing else you can do.” The journey to professional speaking is not always a simple one, and our guest this week knows this all too well. Ken Hartley spent over 20 years serving as a worship pastor (and also worked as a magician!) on the way to becoming a full-time professional speaker. This week, Ken is here to break down how he found...
Nov 26, 2024•40 min•Ep. 526
“I think of the definition of a creator as someone who sets out to make original work, to educate, inspire, or entertain other people.” There are plenty of simple ways to grow as a speaker, but becoming a creator is one of the easiest ways to expand your speaking business and book more paid gigs! The term "creator" is used frequently (and sometimes negatively), but here's the reality: if you're a speaker, you are already creating content. The next step is to learn how to use and repurpose that c...
Nov 19, 2024•40 min•Ep. 525
“ It’s very important that the message bearer who’s up there selling that idea cares very, very deeply about it, and they would give it just as much energy if there were 5 people in the room, as if there were 5,000 people in the room. ” Running your own business is extremely challenging, but doing what you love can make it a bit easier. This week, Jack Galloway joined us on the show to talk about the importance of concentrating on what you care about. Jack got his start working with Dave Ramsey ...
Nov 12, 2024•43 min•Ep. 524
“Don’t conform to your environment. Everyone else does it, but you need to take that path, that uniqueness that is you, because there is no one like you.” As a former circus clown (yes, an actual circus clown), Dustin Portillo knows a thing or two about showtime. And now as a professional speaker, Dustin has taken that mindset and applied it to delivering value for audiences everywhere. This week, Dustin is here to share the lessons he learned from his wide-ranging career and give you some pract...
Nov 05, 2024•40 min•Ep. 523
“You just have to trust that it will work out if you do the right thing. Surround yourself with great people.” There’s no easy days when you’re an entrepreneur, but figuring out how you can divide and conquer for your business is really important. This week, Jay Papasan joins us to talk about how delegation is a powerful tool that frees you up to do what only you can do best. Jay walks through what it looks like to have a core focus and motivation for your speaking business and how that can help...
Oct 29, 2024•38 min•Ep. 522
"You have to think of it from a relational standpoint, first and foremost, before anything else. And just understand, sometimes things happen, but I never want a client to be upset about paying me. I always want them to pay me and think, man, we got way more than we paid." We talk a lot about the benefits of being a professional speaker, but there are always challenges in any business! This week, Jake Thompson is back on the show to talk about what to do when things don't go the way you planned....
Oct 22, 2024•41 min•Ep. 521
One of the coolest parts of TSL is watching our coaches work 1:1 with students and helping them find the clarity and confidence they need to take their speaking businesses to the next level. And today, you’re going to get to see that process in action. We're back with another live coaching episode with Erick Rheam! This week, Erick is helping two TSL students, Josie Ann Lee and Kenny Barnwell, work through real problems they're facing in their speaking businesses. Josie Ann is trying to introduc...
Oct 15, 2024•28 min•Ep. 520
"Every time we make a decision, it is the conclusion of a story that we have built in our minds unconsciously about why that decision does or doesn't make sense." One of the most rewarding parts of being a professional speaker is the feeling of making a difference — the idea that the message you have to share can create real change with your audience. But how do you actually make that happen? Tamsen Webster knows a thing or two about creating an effective message. As the Idea Strategist one of o...
Oct 08, 2024•40 min•Ep. 519
"I think often we confuse strategy with activity, and we can get stuck in this kind of flywheel of just like, well, I feel busy, I look busy. I did a lot of things today, but what did I actually accomplish?" If you really want to build a successful speaking business, you have to follow the right processes — and be consistent in doing the little things well. Everyone wants to book more paid speaking gigs, but what are the simple, practical things that most speakers miss? Dan Irvin knows a thing o...
Oct 01, 2024•41 min•Ep. 518
"You can get rid of that limiting belief that you have to have a talk fully ready before you sell it." One of the hardest things for new and aspiring speakers is putting together a compelling talk. It's hard to move forward until you feel like everything is perfect — but what if you could sell your talk before it even exists? Your best marketing is a great talk — but you don't necessarily need to have that talk fully developed before you pitch it to event organizers. This week, Erick Rheam is ba...
Sep 24, 2024•37 min•Ep. 517
"Two things have to be true: one, you have to offer enough value so that they're paying attention. And two, you've got to communicate that value in a believable way, either through a third party or somebody they trust or you directly." It might be cliché, but it's still true: speaking is a relationships business. If you want to be a successful speaker, you have to invest in building relationships every single day — with event planners, with industry leaders, and with other speakers. This week, G...
Sep 17, 2024•39 min•Ep. 516
This week, we’re giving you a behind-the-scenes look at what coaching can do for speakers. Erick Rheam is hosting live coaching sessions this week! These sessions feature TSL students and real problems that speakers face in their businesses. This episode features Molly Kennedy and Theresa Skaar. Molly focuses on shifting her demographics and finding new income sources, while Theresa focuses on overcoming impostor syndrome and selling herself with confidence. A few of their quotes that you might ...
Sep 10, 2024•31 min•Ep. 515
“The key to any industry is not focusing or trying to sell to 98% of your market. You're only trying to sell to that very top percentage of people." If you're a speaker looking to scale your business and add new streams of revenue, you might want to consider launching a high ticket offer. This week, Grant sat down with Bryan Harris to chat about the value a high-ticket offering can bring to your business, how to get started, and some tips on developing these offerings in your own business. Think...
Sep 03, 2024•35 min•Ep. 514
"If you've got a working keynote that has structure that you've been honing for a while, you probably have the bones of a book." - Liz Morrow "If you are someone who is highly entrepreneurial and you feel like you really value having a lot of creative control over the end product and you don't mind doing the hard, you know, kind of manual work of putting all of those systems in place and really championing your book yourself, then self publishing could be a great choice for you." - Ariel Curry T...
Aug 27, 2024•39 min•Ep. 513
“I'm really passionate about solving the same problem that they're passionate about solving. I have a unique ability that I'm willing to share." How do you write your own story and become the speaker you've dreamed about being? This week, Brittany Richmond and Jake White are answering that question and talking about when to scale your business, how to find your niche, and so much more. “If you want to accelerate faster, then you need quality time with the people that buy what you offer. I need t...
Aug 20, 2024•38 min•Ep. 512
"Just show up and provide value and get to know us." If you’re like most speakers, you’re probably wondering about AI. How should you use it? Should you be using it at all? And how do you make sure your authentic brand and story doesn’t get lost in the process? This week, Pat Flynn is answering all of those questions and ALSO diving into what it's like being an event planner. How do event planners look for speakers? How do they make final decisions? Check out the full conversation! "Short form v...
Aug 13, 2024•47 min•Ep. 511
“They used to be easy to spot, but they're getting better. They are getting more and more convincing at weaving their stories." This week, Grant sat down with Lauren Sergy to talk about a new (and very) convincing speaker scam and, more importantly, how to avoid falling for it! “No transactions are made, no contracts are signed. Unless you have a zoom, ideally a face to face Zoom call or a phone call. There must be a phone call. You have to make voice to voice contact." Ready to jump into this e...
Aug 06, 2024•35 min•Ep. 510
"We always recommend that people do not memorize their presentations verbatim. That results in just acting a little bit too robotic. Your audience can tell, and that's just not the best way to go." - Eric Silverberg This week, Grant sat down with Eli and Eric, some of our friends from Speaker Labs (not to be confused with The Speaker Lab). Eli and Eric help speakers master the four pillars of becoming a world class speaker — content, delivery, visuals, and mindset — so that they can become excep...
Jul 30, 2024•47 min•Ep. 509
"There is so much value in saying no because not every event is the right event for you." This week, Brittany Richmond sat down with Nathan Wray, an inspirational speaker who speaks on teen mental health and substance misuse prevention. Together, Brittany and Nathan dig into dozens of practical topics including recovering from rough feedback, showing up for and supporting event planners, finding direction in your career as a speaker, and more! "So I'm going to go as far as I can go to help an ev...
Jul 23, 2024•52 min•Ep. 508
“I feel like I've always been Reggie's administrative assistant with our life. So it was kind of a natural transition just to slide into that.” - Patrice Wright This week, Grant sat down with not 1, but 2 lovely guests to chat about building a speaking business with your spouse! You may remember Dr. Reggie Wright from Episode 471 last fall, but this week, we’re hearing from him AND his better half, Patrice. “My first year as a full time speaker, I wanted her to resign. I wanted her to retire the...
Jul 16, 2024•38 min•Ep. 507
"If you can align your expertise with a specific industry and then really bring tremendous value with a clear ROI, you're always going to win the game." This week, Grant’s on the show with TSL legend Erick Rheam. We’re a little late to this year’s state of the speaking industry, but better late than never, right? "It's not necessarily that budgets are cut, but what I would tell you is that event planners, they tend to be intentional with the money that they're spending. Instead of saying "I've g...
Jul 09, 2024•41 min•Ep. 506
"The hardest part is just getting started, actually, because a lot of people say, well, yeah, I've got to make it perfect. I've got to do all these slides and presentations, curriculum, all this documentation. The best thing to do is just get started." This week, Grant sat down with Michael Patellis, the cofounder of Copecart, to talk about developing a course as a speaker. “A lot of people, they require that discipline of being able to follow a script and follow a syllabus of, okay, I have to d...
Jul 02, 2024•27 min•Ep. 505
"People buy from you when they feel understood, not when they understand you." This week, Grant’s sitting down with TSL alumna Missy West to talk about her unlikely journey to public speaking and how her speaking career has taken off over the last few years. If you're wondering if you can overcome your fear of being on stage and be successful as a brand new speaker, this episode is for you! “I made six figures in my first full year of speaking” In this episode, Grant and Missy get into: 03:18 Ho...
Jun 25, 2024•45 min•Ep. 504
“Reframing my approach to public speaking was a game-changer once I recognized I was my own worst critic.” This week, Maryalice sat down with TSL coach Katherine Johnson to chat about all things authenticity on stage. If you think you’re being authentic on stage, this may be the wake-up call you didn’t know you needed! When it comes to presenting ourselves to an audience, we tend to think about the logistics, what we’re wearing, what we’re saying, etc., but we can forget about the intention and ...
Jun 18, 2024•37 min•Ep. 503
“In some ways, my story is a detriment. There's a pro and a con to having overcoming extreme adversity, because people feel disconnected from it. I've had people tell me multiple times after speeches, man, if I went through what you went through, I'd be as happy as you are. And I'm like, no, man, you're missing the point. The principles I just taught you are what you need to pay attention to.” Grant’s sitting down with the creator of The Miracle Morning, Hal Elrod to talk about how he got into s...
Jun 11, 2024•38 min•Ep. 502
"The biggest mistake that I repeatedly see speakers make is procrastination, just waiting too long to actually start developing the content and too long to practice the delivery." This week, Grant sat down with Eva Daniel to talk about one of the most important parts of being an effective speaker — creating and delivering an engaging speech. Eva is a speaker, storytelling expert, and communications professional, and the founder of the Speak Shop, where she helps speakers produce better content. ...
Jun 04, 2024•40 min•Ep. 501
We're so excited to announce the launch of our new podcast, Talk Speaker To Me! Talk Speaker to Me will bring you 10-15 minute episodes every Thursday filled to the brim with super practical, actionable advice. If this sounds like what you're looking for, search for Talk Speaker To Me on Apple, Spotify, and subscribe for weekly updates! P.S. Have no fear, The Speaker Lab Podcast isn't going anywhere. This is just a new way to bring you more content to help you book more gigs and grow your speaki...
May 30, 2024•11 min
