Ep. 346 - THE TWO BIGGEST PROBLEMS?

Can you ever truly know the full impact of your presentations? Today, Mark and Darren provide the answer by sharing anecdotes, experiences, and insight gained from their combined 60 years on the platform.   SNIPPETS: • The vast majority of your audience will never tell us how we impacted them • You get only one shot at that audience   • Seek to grow continually   • When competing, focus more on your message than on the trophy   • Dollars follow impact   • Go all-in on your message   • Strive for more   • Have a meaningful 'heartset;' focus on serving your audience   • Think about how your audience will apply your message   • When you're told you had impact, ask HOW   • If helpful, revise your presentation based on the impact   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

Speakers must exude confidence to inform, inspire, and influence. However, EGO and SELF-DOUBT can have a significant impact on us and our audiences. Darren and Mark offer advice on how to effectively manage both and serve our audiences well.     SNIPPETS: • Don't undervalue your experiences   • "You are uniquely qualified to serve the person you once were." - Rory Vaden   • "One man's mundane is another man's magnificent.' – Mark Brown   • Your life story can inspire and give hope   • Someone in your audience will relate to your emotions and experience   • Check your ego at the door   • Be coachable   • Crave qualified feedback   • Don't let ego hinder future opportunities   • Look for value in every evaluation   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

Our messages must serve our audiences, and two words are most helpful in achieving that goal. Darren and Mark expound on the power and value of the words 'YOU' and 'YOUR,' as well as their unforgettable impact on our audiences.     SNIPPETS: • 'YOU' and 'YOUR' are enormously powerful words   • Examine your 'I/YOU Ratio'   • These words draw audiences in   • Usage makes our content relatable and relevant   • They engage people's brains   • Put your audience in your story   • Change 'I' to 'YOU' in stories with "IMAGINE:"   • Replace 'I' with 'YOU' with "PICTURE THIS:"   • Avoid "You guys"   • Replace "How many of you have…" with "Have you…"

The concept of relationship selling is not uncommon, but today, Mark and Darren go beyond selling to explore the greater value of building relationships.     SNIPPETS: • Build relationships beyond the booking   • Use relationships to recommend others   • Relationships provide opportunities to serve   • A relationship may not bear fruit immediately   • Seek to give before seeking to get   • Bring you and your personality to every assignment   • Ask yourself: What do others think of you   • A 'no' can be beneficial when you maintain a relationship   • Be the client's favorite   • Show genuine interest in your client beyond the business relationship   • Analyze your 'failures;' a lack of success may have led to success

There's a story behind every booking. Today Mark and Darren examine how  our 'booking stories' can reveal what is necessary to get more bookings now.   SNIPPETS: • Go back to the well   • Revisit the decisions that led to previous bookings   • Trace the full path of the booking   • Identify people who could help lead to your next booking   • Ask: "What was I doing back then, that I need to start doing again?"   • Recover abandoned tools, tips, and techniques   • Apply new technology to 'old school' principles   • Go back to the principle of relationship-building   • Reconnect with prospects who said 'No'   • A 'No' could be a 'Not now"   • Analyze your 'failures;' a lack of success may have led to success     Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

Feeling nervous before a presentation or feeling insecure when facing an intimidating audience can be positive. That may seem counterintuitive, but Mark and Darren clarify in today's episode. Drawing on their combined 60+ years of lessons learned, they provide advice and specific techniques for using nervousness to your advantage.     SNIPPETS: • Being a little nervous can be a good thing   • Use nervous energy to fuel additional preparation   • Let no one out-prepare you   • Research: get more than you need, to give what they need   • Get over yourself, and into your audience   • "Skillset without mindset leaves your audience upset" – Craig Valentine   • Before each presentation ask FOUR QUESTIONS:   • WHAT IS MY INTENT   • AM I PRESENT ("Don't be perfect; be PRESENT" – Darren)   • WILL I HAVE FUN   • HOW WOULD I GIVE THIS PRESENTATION IF I KNEW IT WAS MY LAST   • If the character doesn't change, there is no story   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

Stories can transform presentations, and when certain essentials are met, a story can be unforgettable. Today's episode is the second of a two-part conversation about five story essentials…tools which, when used effectively,  will make your story unforgettable. This is PART 2 of 2.     SNIPPETS: • Identify a GUIDE/GURU, a source of wisdom, insight, guidance, and help   • The guide need not be a human   • Letters, pets, or inanimate objects could be guides   • The guide may say very little but still be very effective   • You cannot be your own guide/guru   • The hero must undergo a TRANSFORMATION   • The audience must clearly see the hero BEFORE and AFTER   • The audience must witness the change take place   • If the character doesn't change, there is no story   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

Everyone enjoys a good story, and unforgettable stories contain certain essentials.  In this episode, Mark and Darren expound upon three of their five story essentials, showing not only how they work, but why. This is PART 1 of 2.     SNIPPETS:   • STORY is a FORCE MULTIPLIER   • Define the HERO/protagonist/main character   • Help your audience to SEE the character   • Give the audience a reason to identify with the character   • Give one physical and one emotional characteristic   • Consider giving a character name   • Be very clear on the hero's DESIRE; declare what they want   • Get to the depth of desire…WHY they have the desire   • Listeners lean in to the WHY   • Establish the CONFLICT, the challenge, the obstacle   • Escalate the conflict, and escalate it even more   • Show the INTERNAL and EXTERNAL conflict   • Use inner dialogue, the voice inside a character's head   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

How are writing and producing films connected to delivering presentations and storytelling? Mark and Darren get answers from award-winning filmmaker/director/producer/actress Susie Singer Carter as she shares her perspective on telling powerful stories. Her insight provides tools for telling memorable stories that resonate with any audience.     SNIPPETS:   • Avoid being preachy   • You can confront and entertain in a seamless manner   • Balance your message without being too heavy   • Resonate with as many people as possible   • Let your audience shift their perspective and see themselves in your story   • Find the memorable moments in your story   • Don't be married to any part of your story; editing is key   • Uncover organic humor   • Give your audience permission to laugh   • Your title should be like a book cover, and your content must support it   • Tell your story from the heart   • Leave a call to action that galvanizes   LINKS TO HER FILMS:   My Mom and the Girl   No Country For Old People; a Nursing Home Exposé   http://nocountryforoldpeople.com'   https://www.roar4ltc.org/   Susie's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Susiesingercarter   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

Every once in a while, speakers encounter circumstances that they didn't see coming. How can you handle them and make the best use of them in the future? Today, Darren and Mark share their experiences and offer meaningful suggestions for handling situations that you don't see coming.     SNIPPETS:   • Situations occur that will keep you in check   • You never know when your misfortune can serve others   • Anticipate the unanticipated   • Ask: What can go wrong   • Cover all your bases   • Leave a good buffer of time before you present   • Arrive a day early   • Contact event planner with challenges immediately   • If you get a gut feeling, follow it   • Have a back-pocket Plan B   • Don't be afraid to over-communicate   • Learn from experiences that you didn't see coming   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com