In a special bonus episode of Mic Drop, we trade one guest for 20. Josh challenges some of the most influential and successful keynote speakers on the planet to share a single piece of wisdom in 60 seconds or less. Actionable insights, practical tips, and strategies for taking your speaking business to the next level— all here on this unique episode of Mic Drop.
20 Mic Drops in 20 Minutes
20 speakers. 60 seconds of advice. Infinite insight.
GUESTS + KEY INSIGHTS:
[2:41] - Suneel Gupta
Inner wellbeing & outer performance
“In order for people to feel something, you have to feel something. You have to be emotionally connected to your content. So don't just talk about topics that you know, talk about topics that truly make you come alive, and then let that aliveness, let that conviction shine through in every part of your speech.”
[3:25] - Alison Levine
Leading teams in extreme environments
“When you come off stage, where do you go? You go stand next to the most important person in the room on the client side so that they can hear all the audience members coming up to you telling you how much they enjoyed your speech.”
[4:22] Rich Diviney
High-performing teams from a Navy SEAL’s perspective
“Think about those stories— personal, professional— those things that have happened to you, and think about how to effectively describe them…because people will immediately pay attention. They'll put down their phones, they'll listen up, and they'll be really engaged.”
[5:23] - John Livesay
Tell stories, win sales
“When your client says they're going to record your upcoming keynote, ask them who else they like to work with and see if you can hire a second camera person to film closeups and audience reactions.”
[6:02] - Paul Epstein
The power of playing offense
“Does your head think it's a good idea? Does your heart feel it's a good idea? If both are on board, green light, proceed with action. If only one is on board, yellow light, solve for the gap. If neither is on board, red light, no action.”
[7:13] - Nina Sossamon-Pogue
Resilience speaker & performance expert
“When doing a virtual gig, you want to be able to have a tight enough shot where they can see your eyes and you can connect, but you want to also be able to bring the energy like you're standing on a stage. Instead of sitting down where you can lose some energy or standing up, where you may move around too much and lose that tight shot, plant one butt cheek on that stool and plant that opposite foot firmly on the ground.”
[8:12] - John “Gucci” Foley
Becoming the Blue Angels of your industry
“What is the key message? More importantly, what's the story and the connection back to the audience? And that's where I spend most of my time, making the connection back to every single audience.”
[9:07] - Urs Koenig
The five then-to-now leadership shifts
“The speaking business really is three distinct businesses. It's number one, being a promoter, number two, a thought leader, and number three, being a performer on stage. This very simple three-way framework helps me to structure my time and my energy. Everything I do, I ask myself, which one of these three businesses am I pushing?”
[10:06] - Erik Qualman
Digital leadership in focus
“My top tip is to end early. Sounds very simple, but it certainly is not easy. You always want to end early. Do not go over your time. And you have to plan for this. If you're given 45 minutes, there's going to be time that's cut. So plan on that being 35 minutes.”
[10:43] - Gabe Karp
Embracing healthy conflict to fuel success
“Nothing turns a client or potential client off like the word no. And sometimes we may be asked something we feel might be too much of an imposition, but building your brand as a speaker is more than just your topic. It's also about what it's like to do business with you. So if a client says, "Hey, can you modify your keynote to cover a current issue we're having in our organization?" The answer is, ‘Absolutely. What would you like me to cover?’”
[13:03] - April Hansen
Hypergrowth in business
“If you're navigating the same dance that I am, really breaking your personal brand away from your corporate brand, leverage the two together and define those synergies. Take advantage of as many stages as your corporate role or your day job gives you.”
[14:01] - Greg Scheinman
Personal transformation
“To be truly successful as a speaker, you must differentiate yourself through authenticity, so you need to break the framework and really develop your speech in your own voice. Then you've got to make the framework by putting your message back into the proven model so that it's received in a way that works for bureaus and clients, and so that you can get yourself hired, get on stage, generate fees, and live your message.”
[15:05] - Ben Nemtin
Making the impossible possible
“The most important tool as a speaker is to invest in your speaker reel. That is the ultimate sales tool for you. Anytime you get on a stage that is high production value, invest in a videographer that can capture it, get the footage from the client if you can, and just collect this footage as much as you can over time so that you can build up your reel, because the reel is the first thing that the clients are going to look at and it's the entry point into the conversation of booking you.”
[16:27] - Erin Stafford
How leaders prevent and overcome burnout
“Be radically transparent and vulnerable. I think we can all get embarrassed and feel ashamed and feel like imposters so we don't want to be totally transparent, but the more vulnerable and more transparent you are, the more people can really connect to your message and feel seen and heard and understood.”
[17:04] - Jim Davidson
Resilience speaker
“If your presentation includes using a laptop with video files or audio files, you need an AV emergency kit. Now we often have AV professionals that we can rely upon to make this work for us, but if you speak long enough, you'll wind up in a remote location, small hotel, or internal meeting where your laptop will just not connect to the house sound system. That's when you pull out your emergency kit.”
[17:59] - Shep Hyken
Customer service and customer experience
“The job isn't doing the speech, it's getting the speech. He told me that writing my speech, practicing my speech, researching for my speech, that can all be done in the evening and on weekends. And if I were to spend 40 hours a week working on marketing and sales, at getting business, then I would probably be very successful. That's 40 hours, not two hours or three hours a day, but that's a full-out investment, and the effort of getting the speech, not doing the speech.”
[18:47] - Trish Hunt
From stuck to unstoppable
“Make sure you do all the logistical pre-work that makes you feel as calm as you can prior to hitting the stage. Know your audience and engage them during your speech. And an easy way to remember this is through the acronym WIIFM, what's in it for me? So pay attention to that and you'll be sure to keep them coming back.”
[19:38] - Eric Termuende
The future of work
“Show and don't tell. Anytime you have a chance to tell a story, make sure that you're putting yourself in the story, telling that story in a present tense. So you're not telling somebody what happened, but you're almost making it live, sharing that story as if they're with you experiencing that story for the first time.”
[20:37] - Ann Sheu
Mindset shifts for a radically intentional life
“Do you want to be a $50K speaker with four engagements a month or a $25K speaker with one engagement a month? What does your target market client and audience look like? What is your ideal audience size? What types of events do you want to be speaking at? When you have clarity around your ideal life as a speaker and what it looks like, then you can grow your speaking business within your parameters, and that makes it easier to stay true to yourself and cultivate a life filled with time, purpose, and financial freedom.”
[21:32] - Bob Marsh
Simple shifts to maximize growth and stay relevant
“First, don't overthink the possibilities, because there are so many in this world of being an expert. You can do writing, you can do keynote speaking, you could do breakout sessions, you could be an MC, you could do training workshops. Pick one thing that really gets you excited and build something truly great. Second, find an expert and a coach who's going to have a process and a plan to walk you through.”
Follow Josh Linkner:
ABOUT MIC DROP:
Brought to you by eSpeakers, hear from the world’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing tipping point moments, strategies, and approaches that led to their speaking career success. Throughout each episode, host Josh Linkner, #1 Innovation keynote speaker in the world, deconstructs guests’ Mic Drop moments and provides tactical tools and takeaways that can be applied to any speaking business, no matter it’s starting point. You'll enjoy hearing from some of the top keynote speakers in the industry including: Ryan Estis, Alison Levine, Peter Sheahan, Seth Mattison, Cassandra Worthy, and many more. Mic Drop is produced and presented by eSpeakers; sponsored by 3 Ring Circus.
Learn more at: MicDropPodcast.com
ABOUT THE HOST:
Josh Linkner is a Creative Troublemaker. He believes passionately that all human beings have incredible creative capacity, and he’s on a mission to unlock inventive thinking and creative problem solving to help leaders, individuals, and communities soar.
Josh has been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which sold for a combined value of over $200 million and is the author of four books including the New York Times Bestsellers, Disciplined Dreaming and The Road to Reinvention. He has invested in and/or mentored over 100 startups and is the Founding Partner of Detroit Venture Partners.
Today, Josh serves as Chairman and Co-founder of Platypus Labs, an innovation research, training, and consulting firm. He has twice been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is the recipient of the United States Presidential Champion of Change Award.
Josh is also a passionate Detroiter, the father of four, is a professional-level jazz guitarist, and has a slightly odd obsession with greasy pizza.
Learn more about Josh: JoshLinkner.com
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eSpeakers is where the speaking industry does business on the web. Speakers, speaker managers, associations, and bureaus use our tools to organize, promote and grow successful businesses. Event organizers think of eSpeakers first when they want to hire speakers for their meetings or events.
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Thousands of successful speakers, trainers, and coaches use eSpeakers to build their businesses and manage their calendars. Thousands of event organizers use our directories every day to find and hire speakers. Our tools are built for speakers, by speakers, to do things that only purpose-built systems can.
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Learn more at: 3RingCircus.com
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As a nod to the past, Detroit Podcast Studios leverages modern versions of Motown’s processes to launch today’s most compelling podcasts. What Motown was to musical artists, Detroit Podcast Studios is to podcast artists today. With over 75 combined years of experience in content development, audio production, music scoring, storytelling, and digital marketing, Detroit Podcast Studios provides full-service development, training, and production capabilities to take podcasts from messy ideas to finely tuned hits.
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SHOW CREDITS:
Josh Linkner:
Welcome to Mic Drop, podcast for professional speakers. We cover the ins and outs of the business, helping you deliver more impact on bigger stages at higher fees. You'll gain an inside edge through intimate conversations with the world's most successful keynote speakers. Mic Drop is brought to you by eSpeakers. I'm your host, Josh Linkner. Get ready for some inspiring Mic Drop moments together.
Josh Linkner:
Today's show is sponsored by Three Ring Circus, the industry's top training and development program for professional speakers. They've helped hundreds of speakers launch or scale their speaking business, earning tens of millions in speaking fees, landing bureau representation, securing book deals, and rising to the top of the field. If you are looking to take your speaking business to the next level, they'll simply help you get there faster. To learn more and schedule a free 30 minute consultation, visit threeringcircus.com/micdrop. That's three, the number three, ringcircus.com/micdrop. Mic Drop is produced and presented by eSpeakers. If you want more audiences and organizations to be moved and changed by your message, you owe it to yourself to find out why thousands of top experts use eSpeakers to manage and grow their business. When you use eSpeakers, you'll feel confident about your business. Package yourself up for success and be able to focus on what matters most to you and your business. For more information and a free 30 day trial, visit eSpeakers.com/micdrop. That's eSpeakers.com/mic drop.
Josh Linkner:
Today, you're in for a real treat, a special bonus episode that's packed tighter than a Chicago freeway during rush hour. Instead of going deep with one guest, we lined up a baker's dozen. Well, 20 to be exact. I challenged some of the most influential and successful keynote speakers to share a single piece of wisdom in 60 seconds or less. We're talking industry heroes, like John Foley, Ben Nepton, and Allison Levine. You'll hear a wide range of actionable insights, practical tips, and strategies to take your speaking business to the next level. Get ready to be carpet bombed with wisdom bombs. Here's 20 big ideas in 20 minutes.
Suneel Gupta:
Hi, this is Sunil Gupta. I am based in outer Detroit, and I speak about the connection between inner wellbeing and outer performance. I've been a professional speaker now for about four years. And my advice is rooted in a quote from Maya Angelou, who said that, "People might forget what you did, they might forget what you said, but they will never forget the way that you made them feel." And in order for people to feel something, you have to feel something. You have to be emotionally connected to your content. So don't just talk about topics that you know, talk about topics that truly make you come alive, and then let that aliveness, let that conviction shine through in every part of your speech. I wish you the best of luck.
Allison Levine:
Hi everybody. Allison Levine coming to you from tiny Morrison, Colorado. My speaking topic is how to lead teams in extreme environments, how to survive and thrive when everything around you is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. I've been a professional speaker for about 15 years, and my tip for all of you out there is after you've killed it on stage, and I know you're killing it, when you come off stage, where do you go? You go stand next to the most important person in the room on the client side so that they can hear all the audience members coming up to you telling you how much they enjoyed your speech, because you're going to get that great feedback from the audience once you get off stage. You might as well make sure that somebody in an important position is overhearing that as well. Okay, good luck out there, everybody.
Rich Diviney:
Hey, I'm Rich DeVinny. I'm from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and I'm a retired Navy Seal and I speak about high performing teams. I've been speaking for about five or six years now. And I think one of the biggest lessons I learned was to really try to encapsulate everything you talk about into stories, stories from your experience, because when we do that, we become much more natural when we're up there on stage. And it doesn't matter if there's 10 people in the crowd or 10,000 people in the ground, we're telling one of our stories with nice, rich, full detail. We become very natural. People get immediately engaged and we can bring our points out in a very effective manner. And it's just fun. It's fun to listen to and it's fun to experience for the audience. So think about those stories, personal, professional, those things that have happened to you, and think about how to effectively describe them talking about them, because people will immediately pay attention. They'll put down their phones, they'll listen up, and they'll be really engaged. And then the lessons you give them just seep in very easily. That would be my tip.
John Livesay:
My name is John Livesay, also known as the pitch whisperer. My hometown is in a suburb of Chicago called Elk Grove Village. My speaking topic is tell stories, win sales. I've been a professional speaker for over 15 years. My one tip for you today is when your client says they're going to record your upcoming keynote, ask them who else they like to work with and see if you can hire a second camera person to film closeups and audience reactions. When you have that footage, it'll make your sizzle real really pop.
Paul Epstein:
Hey, you all. This is Paul Epstein from LA. After a 15 year run in the NFL and NBA on the business side, I speak in the leadership and sales lane on the power of playing offense. My tip for today is tied to my latest message in Next book. I call it the head, heart, hands equation, which solves for this paralyzing dilemma of what decisions to make and actions to take with peace of mind, knowing that we made the right call. So as a speaker, we're all dealing with decisions and actions all day long: next breakthrough topic, picking a lane, assets to invest in, the list goes on. So how do we know with clarity, confidence, conviction what the right call is? And that's where the head, heart, hands equation comes in. So here's how it works. If hands are the action, there's two check-ins to know what to do. Does your head think it's a good idea? Does your heart feel it's a good idea? If both are on board, green light, proceed with action. If only one is on board, yellow light, solve for the gap. If neither is on board, red light, no action. So for your biggest decisions going forward, check in with your head, check in with your heart, and go attack that green light.
Nina Sossamon-Pogue:
I'm Nina Sossamon-Pogue. I'm coming to you from Charleston, South Carolina. I speak on resilience, and I've been professionally speaking full time for a little more than two years. In an earlier career though, I was a news anchor. So here's a quick tip to up your virtual game: buy a cheap wooden stool, no back to it, keep it in your space. I have one that I painted black. When doing a virtual gig, you want to be able to have a tight enough shot where they can see your eyes and you can connect, but you want to also be able to bring the energy like you're standing on a stage. So try this TV hack, we would do this during really long hours of hurricane coverage or political coverage, use the stool. Instead of sitting down where you can lose some energy or standing up, where you may move around too much and lose that tight shot, plant one butt cheek on that stool and plant that opposite foot firmly on the ground. Half sitting on the stool will ground you and it'll allow you to still deliver with really great energy. Give it a try.
John 'Gucci' Foley:
John 'Gucci' Foley from Sun Valley, Idaho. The speaking topic I want to talk to you about is how to become the blue angels of your industry. Having flown in the movie Top Gun, I've got a lot to say about that. I've been speaking now for two decades, over 1700 clients. Let me give you one tip, and that is the first thing we got to do, of course, is connect with our audience. The way I do that is with an opening video. Now I've got some cool video of me flying with Top Gun and the blue angels and that kind of stuff, but somehow get that opening connection quickly with them. And then what is the key message? But more importantly, what's the story and the connection back to the audience? And that's where I spend most of my time, making the connection back to every single audience. Okay, I hope that was a good tactical tool for you. Continue on in the journey. It's a great profession we're in. Glad to be here. Gucci out.
Urs Koenig:
My name is Urs Koenig. I live in Seattle in Washington. I speak on leadership, specifically on the five then to now leadership shifts. One thing I learned over the last few years was that the speaking business really is three distinct businesses. It's number one, being a promoter, number two, a thought leader, and number three, being a performer on stage. This little framework, very simple three way framework helps me to structure my time and my energy. So everything I do, I ask myself, which one of these three businesses am I pushing? So that's pretty high level. I have one concrete tip for all of us. Replace the you in your keynote with the we. Don't say, "What can you do?" Say, "What can we do all together?" Because as we all know, it's about the audience, all of us together.
Erik Qualman:
Hey, this is Erik Qualman, and a lot of you know me as Equalman. My hometown is Detroit, Michigan, but I currently live in Austin, Texas. My speaking topics include digital leadership in focus. I've been a professional speaker now for 14 years. My top tip is end early. Sounds very simple, but it certainly is not easy. You always want to end early. Do not go over your time. And you have to plan for this. If you're given 45 minutes, there's going to be time that's cut. So plan on that being 35 minutes. If you're given an hour, it's probably going to be 45 minutes. So plan accordingly and end early.
Gabe Karp:
My name is Gabe Karp. I'm from Detroit, Michigan. And my speaking topic is embracing healthy conflict to fuel professional and personal success and happiness. I've been a professional speaker for a little over a year. And one tip I have, especially when starting out, is never saying no. And nothing turns a client or potential client off like the word no. And sometimes we may be asked something we feel might be too much of an imposition, but building your brand as a speaker is more than just your topic. It's also about what it's like to do business with you. So if a client says, "Hey, can you modify your keynote to cover a current issue we're having in our organization?" The answer is, "Absolutely. What would you like me to cover?" Or if a client asks, "I know we said we wanted a 60 minute keynote, but can you shorten it to 40 minutes and do 20 minutes of Q&A?" The answer is, "Of course. And is there anything you'd like me to focus on or bring my answers back to during the Q&A?" Never say no.
Josh Linkner:
Becoming a keynote speaker is an amazing profession. The top performers earn millions in annual income while driving massive impact on audiences around the world, but the quest to speaking glory can be a slow route, with many obstacles that can knock even the best speakers out of the game. If you are serious about growing your speaking business, the seasoned pros at Three Ring Circus, they can help. From optimizing your marketing and business efforts, to crafting your ideal positioning, to perfecting your expertise and stage skills, Three Ring Circus is the only speaker training and development program run by current high level speakers at the top of their field. That's why the major bureaus, like Washington Speakers Bureau, Premier Speakers, Speak Inc., Executive Speakers, Harry Walker Agency, Kepler, Gotham Artists, and GDA all endorse and participate in Three Ring Circus. From interactive boot camps to one-on-one coaching, Three Ring Circus will help you reach your full potential in the speaking biz, and they'll get there faster. For a free 30 minute consultation, visit threeringcircus.com/micdrop. That's threeringcircus.com/micdrop.
April Hansen:
Hey everyone. This is April Hansen, coming to you live from Northeast Wisconsin. I am a hypergrowth business leader and workforce expert, and my sixth grade science teacher likes to remind me that I started public speaking in sixth grade when I won a state contest on oil spills. However, I think I actually really started to hone in my craft in my executive sales leadership roles in corporate America. My pro tip to other speakers is if you're navigating the same dance that I am, really breaking your personal brand away from your corporate brand, it's to leverage the two together and define those synergies. Take advantage of as many stages as your corporate role or your day job gives you. Take advantage of those media hits. To your audiences, the New York Times is the New York Times. They don't care, and you shouldn't either. And really, define those ethical boundaries between the day job and your professional speaking so that the two can continue to blend together, if that's your continued desire.
Greg Scheinman:
Hey guys, my name is Greg Scheinman and I'm from Houston, Texas, and I speak on personal transformation. And my topic is from mediocre to maximized, and how to live better, longer, happier, healthier, wealthier, eliminate regret, and have more fun in middle age. After 30 years as an entrepreneur, I'm just getting started on my speaking journey and I've been working with the team at 3RC for almost a year now. My one tactical tool that I think will help speakers is to take the framework, break the framework, and then make the framework. What I mean by this is that 3RC has a proven framework for success. So take that framework. However, to be truly successful as a speaker, you must differentiate yourself through authenticity, so you need to break the framework and really develop your speech in your own voice. Then you've got to make the framework by putting your message back into the proven model so that it's received in a way that works for bureaus and clients, and so that you can get yourself hired, get on stage, generate fees ,and live your message.
Ben Nemtin:
Hey there, my name is Ben Nemtin. I'm from Victoria, BC in Canada. I speak about how to make the impossible possible, as well as mental health. And I've been a professional speaker for about five years. And the one tip that I think is the most important as a speaker is to invest in your speaker reel. That is the ultimate sales tool for you. For me, it has been the most important piece of driving my success. So what that means is anytime you get on a stage that is high production value, invest in a videographer, a good videographer if you can, that can capture it, get the footage from the client if you can, and just collect this footage as much as you can over time so that you can build up your reel, because the reel is the first thing that the clients are going to look at and it's the entry point into the conversation of booking you. So for me, that has been the most important piece. And you also want to collect logos, as in when you speak to someone, ask if you can use their logo in your reel, ask if you can use a testimonial in your reel. So you're collecting footage, you're collecting logos, you're collecting testimonials. And all of these things will slowly, over time, allow you to build a real that will be meaningful and represent the content that you speak about.
Erin Stafford:
Hi, my name's Erin Stafford, and I am from San Diego. I speak on helping leaders prevent and overcome burnout. I've been speaking on and off for about 10 years, but really got serious about making this a full-time thing about a year ago. One of my biggest tips is to be radically transparent and vulnerable. I think we can all get embarrassed and feel ashamed and feel like imposters so we don't want to be totally transparent, but the more vulnerable and more transparent you are, the more people can really connect to your message and feel seen and heard and understood.
Jim Davidson:
Hello fellow speakers. Jim Davidson here in Fort Collins, Colorado. I've been a professional speaker for 16 years, and I speak about the topic of resilience. If your presentation includes using a laptop with video files or audio files, you need an AV emergency kit. Now we often have AV professionals that we can rely upon to make this work for us, but if you speak long enough, you'll wind up in a remote location, small hotel, or internal meeting where your laptop will just not connect to the house sound system. That's when you pull out your emergency kit. Go buy converters to and from all of the popular formats: mini plugs, RCA, three pin. Buy two to one converters, one to two converters, and extension cords for all of these. Someday when you have a problem, you'll pull your kit out. It'll be worth its weight and gold. It only costs you a couple hundred bucks, and by having it with you, someday you'll save your presentation, save the event, and make yourself look and sound like the true professional that you are.
Shep Hyken:
Hi, this is Shep Hyken from St. Louis, Missouri. I speak on customer service and customer experience, and I've been doing that for almost 40 years. And the one tip or idea that I'd like to share is something that my mentor, Bud Dietrich, taught me when I first started my business. The job isn't doing the speech, it's getting the speech. He told me that writing my speech, practicing my speech, researching for my speech, that can all be done in the evening and on weekends. And if I were to spend 40 hours a week working on marketing and sales, at getting business, then I would probably be very successful. That's 40 hours, not two hours or three hours a day, but that's a full out in investment, and the effort of getting the speech, not doing the speech.
Trish Hunt:
Hey everybody. My name is Trish Hunt and I live in San Diego, California. My speaking topic is around going from feeling stuck to becoming unstoppable, and how making changes, even small changes, can lead to triumph and transformation. I would tenure my speaking career back to when I was a paid professional at Disney over 25 years ago and hired to speak to and train cast members internally. The one tip I have for new speakers would be to make sure you do all the logistical pre-work that makes you feel as calm as you can prior to hitting the stage. Know your audience and engage them during your speech. And an easy way to remember this is through the acronym WIIFM, what's in it for me? So pay attention to that and you'll be sure to keep them coming back. Good luck.
Eric Termuende:
Hi there. My name is Eric Termuende. I am from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. My topic is around the future of work and helping leaders build teams that thrive. I've been professionally speaking now for just over eight years, and my number one tip, of course a tip that was shared to me, is to show and don't tell. Anytime you have a chance to tell a story, make sure that you're putting yourself in the story, telling that story in a present tense. So you're not telling somebody what happened, but you're almost making it live, sharing that story as if they're with you experiencing that story for the first time. This trick has improved my engagement, my testimonials, my spin rate, and truthfully leveled up my speaking game altogether. So from Eric Termuende in Vancouver, British Columbia, make sure that you're showing your story, not telling them, speak in the present tense, and have fun while you're telling it. Take care.
Ann Sheu:
Hi everyone. My name is Ann Sheu, and I'm from Dallas, Texas. I've been a speaker for about three years, and my keynote topic is 2000 free days, three mindset shifts to live a radically intentional life. If I could share one piece of advice with other speakers, I would stress the importance of having clarity around what your ideal life as a speaker looks like when you're making the kind of impact you want to make. Do you want to be a $50K speaker with four engagements a month or a $25K speaker with one engagement a month? What does your target market client and audience look like? What is your ideal audience size? What types of events do you want to be speaking at? When you have clarity around your ideal life as a speaker and what it looks like, then you can grow your speaking business within your parameters, and that makes it easier to stay true to yourself and cultivate a life filled with time, purpose, and financial freedom.
Bob Marsh:
Hi, my name is Bob Marsh. I live in metro Detroit, and my topic is the sales growth mindset, five simple shifts to maximize growth and stay relevant in today's sales landscape. I am just beginning my journey into the world of professional speaking, so for those of you in a similar place, I'd give two suggestions. First, don't overthink the possibilities, because there are so many in this world of being an expert. You can do writing, you can do keynote speaking, you could do breakout sessions, you could be an MC, you could do training workshops. Pick one thing that really gets you excited and build something truly great. Second is find an expert and a coach who's going to have a process and a plan to walk you through. I've been working with our friends here at Three Ring Circus, and I've been shocked at what we have done, because it is honestly the opposite of what I would've expected. An expert and a coach is going to help course correct you along the way to make sure that you can maximize the odds that when you come to market, you're going to come to market strong.
Josh Linkner:
I don't know about you, but I'm both energized, and also I think I need a nap. Pretty sure that was the most densely packed episode in podcast history. Let us know if you like this format. We'll definitely consider doing it again once we're fully recovered. In the meantime, look for fresh episodes coming soon, as I sit down with the world's most successful keynote speakers to discover exactly what they did to reach the top. Until then, wishing you continued success out there, one mic drop moment at a time.
Josh Linkner:
Thanks for joining me on another episode of Mic Drop. Don't forget to subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. If you love the show, please share with your friends and don't forget to give us a five star review. For show transcripts and show notes, visit micdroppodcast.com. Mic Drop is produced and presented by eSpeakers, and a big thanks to our sponsor, Three Ring Circus. I'm your host, Josh Linkner. Thanks for listening, and here's to your mic drop moment.