Ep. 153 How To Be An Unforgettable Panelist

You have just presented at an event and after all your hard work planning, preparing, and presenting, what should you do? Today Mark and Darren offer solid suggestions to help you stay on top of your game after every speaking event.   SNIPPETS:   • Schedule a day off   • Block time for your family, even if they are at the event with you   • Don’t ruin your “speaker’s high”   • Debrief with the client within a week   • Treat the debrief as a sales call   • Connect with fellow speakers and attendees on LinkedIn                                             • Ask for other opportunities to serve

So, you want to travel the world and share your message. Perhaps you’ve wondered what it’s like to be a ‘road warrior.’ Mark and Darren pull back the curtain on their experiences of a combined 50+ years of traveling to speak, and share their time-tested tips for being a successful road warrior.   SNIPPETS: • You are not alone   • It’s not always glamorous   • Give yourself grace   • Going international hire an agent/bureau to manage proposals & negotiations   • Examine the systems you set up to function while you’re on the road   • Arrive a day early to prepare yourself   • Tack on an extra road day to refill yourself; self-care is critical   • Decide what’s best for your stress   • Join frequent air/hotel/rental car programs   • Take photos of room numbers and parking spaces   • Use airport security programs like TSA Pre-check, CLEAR and Digital ID   • Maintain balance

Imagine, your largest audience so far has been fewer than ninety people, and you now get to tell your most emotional personal story on a BIG STAGE to more than 1,300 CEOs! What thoughts swirl through your head, and how will you pull it off?   Today Darren and Mark get answers from Management Consultant and Executive Coach Jody LaVoie. Mark and Darren helped to prepare Jody for her first time on the big stage…a global conference for CEOs. Jody’s lessons learned and wisdom gained will help you to get ready for your first (or next) time on the big stage!   SNIPPETS: • Be open to your coaches’ point of view   • Start preparing your presentation with the end in mind   • Build your story in scenes   • Invest time refining your message   • Use  Foundational Phrase to make your message more meaningful   • “Don’t over-Darren” - Bring YOURSELF to the platform                                             • Focus less on delivering your next line, and more on your audience   • Make sure your message lands with the audience   • Serve your audience   • After your first time on the big stage, take time to do nothing tomorrow

Have you ever received advice that changed the game in your business, career, or relationships? Today Darren and Mark discuss some of the nuggets of wisdom that they’ve received…and successfully applied…throughout their careers.   SNIPPETS: • Let no one out-prepare you   • Strive to be the client’s favorite   • Your money should make more money than you do   • A true champion overcomes all adversities   • Write a speech you can’t wait to deliver   • Humanize data          • Invest in your success   • Don’t be informative; be transformative

Don’t memorize, internalize! Do you have a stage plan? Had you considered using the stage with purpose? A stage plan can help you internalize your speech while giving your audience clarity.   It helped me and four CEOs that Mark and I coached over this past month. It was a game changer.   SNIPPETS: • Why are you moving?   • Are you clarifying or diluting your message?   • Do you move on your key lines? Don’t!   • Do you know stage left vs. stage right?   • Do you use the depth of the stage?   • What is your plan? Do you have one?

Sit down with Darren and Michael Davis as they cover what it really takes to make an event flow, the MC. Michael is not only a speaker and a TEDx Coach, he has been MCing Lady and the Champs and Game Changers for over a decade.  Unforgettable events have unforgettable MCs. World-class MCs have skillsets that many do not even think about. Whether you want to be an MC, speaking at a large event or running one, get a deeper understanding of the role they play. It is critical to the success of the event.   SNIPPETS:  • The critical skills of listening and improv?   • Transition from one speaker to the next   • MCs can get paid really well   • It’s a true team effort   • Two-way communication is critical   • The greatest compliment for Ford Saeks   • What did Patricia Fripp say about Michael Davis?   • Confidence comes from experience   • Virtual MC?   • The virtual proximity effect   Check out Game Changers: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/workshops/game-changers/ Use Ford’s Discount Code: Michael25

Sit down with Darren and Ford as they talk prospecting. How to remain timely, topical and relevant. What does an ideal prospect look like for you? What are some of the tangible tactics that you can use to get in front of the audiences you can serve. To get booked you have to be found first!  SNIPPETS: • What are some to the mistakes speakers make?    • Are you bookable?   • What is your digital footprint?   • Fish where the fish are and have bait!   • Deliver and create content on a consistent basis   • Do you have lead magnets?   • Are your lead magnets in a form they want to consume it?   • Build trust and social proof   • How to reach out to add value without selling   Check out Game Changers: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/workshops/game-changers/ Use Ford’s Discount Code: Ford25

Can you influence without authority? Yes! Do you know how to truly influence with integrity? You already do every day. Maybe you didn’t realize it. We do this naturally, but maybe you need to take a closer look at what you already do at home, at work and with your family. It is happening all around you. Take note and influence with purpose. Discover 7 Ways to Influence

In addition to being part of speaking communities, we, as presenters belong to professional, social, charitable, faith-based, and other communities. Today Mark and Darren discuss the power of community, examining the ways that communities make us grow…and change. They offer advice on collaborating with your community, growing your community, and even leaving your community. Using Stage Time University, Toastmasters International, and the National Speakers Association as examples, they show benefits and blessings of being in community with like-minded people and reveal how community has helped them to prepare unforgettable presentations.   SNIPPETS: • Community helps change perspective   • Choose your community   • Use your community   • Serve your community   • Build your community   • Don’t be abused by your community, if you must leave, do so with grace                                             • Protect your community   • Don’t think NETWORKING; think NETSERVING   • Is your community helping or harming you   • Take inventory of your communities

Thorough research is an invaluable part of preparing unforgettable presentations. There are myriad ways to access information, and so much information from which to glean. Where do I look? How much should I use? How can I verify? Darren and Mark discuss these questions with…and get answer from…researcher/author/speaker Vince Antonucci and comedy writer/TV producer Chris McGuire. Their perspective on effective research will help you to prepare your unforgettable presentation.   SNIPPETS: • Dig deeper into your subject   • Look for compelling and unique information   • Put in the extra work   • Use AI tools   • Use ‘old-fashioned’ tools; search and read.   • The more you learn, the better your chances of finding critical content                                             • Ask: “What generates an emotional response?”   • Test research results on small audiences to gauge emotional reactions   • Research for customization; learn from The Barenaked Ladies   • Use the ‘Registration Desk Principle;’ find what bugs everyone