In our zeal to share our knowledge with our audience, we sometimes offer too much content. Mark and Darren discuss this phenomenon and offer both perspective and practices for giving your audience your most appropriate content. SNIPPETS: • Vast content is a blessing • You can’t share everything you know in one presentation…
Presentations can often be boring. Why? In this episode, Darren and Mark examine three reasons and provide solutions to help any presenter move from boring to unforgettable. SNIPPETS: • You need a proven world-class structure • Structure gives you confidence and gives your audience clarity • Invest time to properly structure your…
2024 World Champion of Public Speaking Luisa Montalvo sits down with Darren and Mark to discuss her journey from First Runner-Up in 2019 to World Champion in 2024…and her life-changing experience in between. Luisa also shares her perspective on mentors, contests, taking risks, and serving your audience, providing tips that will help any presenter to…
Ping: (verb) to send a signal to (a device) in order to determine its status or location. As presenters, we must be sure that our audiences receive our message. We ‘ping’ in order to determine our audience’s status (engagement/understanding) and location (presence.) Today Darren and Mark drill down on ‘pinging’ and share how pinging,…
Imagine being on stage for the FIRST TIME, telling a deeply personal and emotional story that you’ve NEVER told before, to an audience of executives. How would you navigate ? Today Darren and Mark get answers form Monika, a coaching client from Australia who faced that exact situation recently. She openly shares her fears and…
Do your clients and prospects know how much you have to offer? Mark and Darren discuss more than a dozen additional ways that you can serve your clients, and techniques for making meeting planners aware. SNIPPETS: • Add value • Let them know during your pitch • Reinforce during pre-event call…
Change is constant and as presenters, we must stay relevant. Today Darren and Mark explore ways for us to stay current, stay relevant and become unforgettable. SNIPPETS: • Seek to serve your audience • Update websites, slide decks, and demo videos regularly • Stay aware of industry changes • Be…
Jeff Rogers, a fairly new member of the National Speakers Association, is the winner of NSA’s LAST STORY STANDING storytelling competition. He and Mike Davis…one of his coaches…chat with Mark and Darren about his intent, his process, and the lessons he learned on his journey to the first-place trophy. SNIPPETS: • Seek to build…
Rotary Speech Contest, Story SLAM, MOTH, Last Story Standing, World Championship of Public Speaking, and more. Speech competitions abound, and today Darren and Mark are joined by Stage Time University faculty member Mike Davis as they face the question: “Why compete?” Their answers provide the myriad benefits of competing. SNIPPETS: • Get better faster,…
Imagine being asked to deliver new material, on a subject you have never addressed, on short notice, under pressure, three times in 24 hours. Today, Mark and Darren talk with professional speaker and coach Sheree Cain-Jones, who found herself in that situation recently. Her insight from the lessons learned, and the principles she applied along…
We ALL speak with an accent, and at times it’s easy to believe that we must ‘lose’ our accent to be accepted. Today, Mark and Darren have a frank conversation with speech and accent expert Dr. Leslie Gordon, as she gives advice on using your accent as an asset. SNIPPETS: • Honor the skill…
Script writing takes work and the practical, time-saving methods that Darren and Mark discuss today will make the process easier. Listen as they examine how to create your first script, edit with impact, and use your script as a presentation roadmap. SNIPPETS: • You can’t edit what you don’t create • In Microsoft…