Mental Health. Suicide. Comedy. Those topics don’t seem to flow seamlessly together…unless you’re talking with 10-time TEDx speaker and comedian Frank King. Darren and Mark have a heart-to-heart with Frank, as he reveals his techniques for addressing such a tough topic, including vulnerability and humor. He also shares sage advice for securing, preparing and presenting TEDx talks. This powerful conversation delivers emotional and inspirational information that will help you to deliver an unforgettable presentation.   SNIPPETS: • Find your idea worth spreading   • Avoid bringing too many ideas   • Don’t say too much about too many ideas   • Sell your idea in 90 seconds or fewer                                             • Be passionate about your idea   • Your title and subtitle must contain a ‘hook’   • Stand in your truth   • You can’t be inspiring if you aren’t inspired   • Use funny, personal stories instead of jokes   • Making people laugh prepares them for your next serious point

Your presentation is over, you’ve delivered great content, and you’ve served your audience well. But is there a way to add value IMMEDIATELY? Darren and Mark discuss the concept of CORRIDOR CONVERSATIONS…how getting an audience to continue engaging and interacting with each other can provide added benefit.   SNIPPETS: • Ignite corridor conversations   • Use stories as conversation-starters   • Invite attendees to ask: What’s the problem, and what story has the solution?   • Create questions that spark conversation                                             • Hang around to gauge the impact   • Debrief corridor conversations in your post-event call   • Arrive a day early to learn what questions will spark conversation   • Add stimulating questions to a slide                                             • Follow up before the end of the event when you can

“To be unforgettable, you must have calluses on your head and your hands.” So says Dr. Jeff Magee, one of the world’s foremost leadership and marketing strategists. In a brutally honest conversation with Mark and Darren, Dr. Magee opens his treasure trove of wisdom and passionately reinforces the value of solid content.   SNIPPETS: • People pay for your wisdom   • Make sure your content stands up   • What are your calluses on your head and your hands?   • Play the student                                             • Ask: “How can I become better?”   • Knowledge isn’t enough; learn the craft of rhetoric and speaking   • Your presentations come from your history; search your mind’s archives   • How will your audience be different on Monday morning?                                             • Make time to think   • Provide content that meets people where they are mentally

How do you communicate a message of LOVE in a highly competitive, fast-paced, results-driven corporate world? Mark and Darren get the answer to this question…and many others…from Joel Manby, former CEO of SeaWorld who was also featured on an episode of ‘Undercover Boss.’ He shares lessons learned about customizing presentations, revealing failures and sharing a message of love. Applying his practical but powerful techniques will help any speaker to deliver an unforgettable presentation.   SNIPPETS: • Clearly identify your audience demographic   • Tell stories to which your specific audience will relate   • Truthfulness and authenticity are critical   • Opening with a ‘life turning point’ story is very effective                                             • Take your audience to your low point or nadir   • People connect more with failure than with success   • Be passionate and share the angst in your soul   • Select stories to connect, identify principles to teach, share an action to take                                             • Develop your personal style   • Make sure your core idea connects with your audience  

No two audiences are alike, so how can you ensure that you connect with every audience, especially when you deliver the same presentation frequently? Darren and Mark share personal experiences as they talk about ways to connect with every unique audience, keep your presentation fresh, and get glowing testimonials.   SNIPPETS: • Every audience is different   • We are 100% responsible for our connection with the audience   • Interview audience members in advance   • Identify  and honor the company’s ‘patriarch’ and ‘matriarch’   • Identify and edify NEW employees and team-members                                             • Invest extra effort to find out what resonates with each audience   • If you’re not connected your audience feels neglected   • Stay connected; you won’t be rejected

Did you know that there are world class techniques embedded in the structure of speeches and stories? Today Mark and Darren discuss several of these techniques, which, when applied, can make your next presentation unforgettable.   SNIPPETS: • Never devalue the power of a well-told story   • Assign names to your characters   • Provide at least one physical characteristic   • Give the audience a reason to emotionally connect with the main character   • Show characters’ ‘BEFORE’ condition (body language, emotion, demeanor)                                             • Make the main character ‘likeable’   • Apply the ’Rooting Principle’ – make the audience WANT to support them   • Show the character ‘AFTER the Disaster’   • You don’t need expert feedback to understand emotional impact

After your presentation, an audience member tells you that you said something that offended them. What should you do? What should you say? In a candid, vulnerable conversation, Mark and Darren hear first-hand from speaker, business leader, entrepreneur and grandma Margaret Page as she shares her faux pas, and her journey to redemption. Margaret offers sage advice to help any presenter avoid offending their audience, and to recover if they do.   SNIPPETS: • If you offend, don’t make excuses   • Listen to your audience   • Don’t place blame elsewhere   • Accept responsibility   • Learn from the experience   • Make amends. Ask “How can I make it right?”   • See through your audience’s eyes   • Learn taboo topics and be open to diverse life experiences   • Look for commonalities, but never disregard cultural differences   • What would a leader do? Be a role model

Unforgettable presentations have FOUR basic, core elements and today Darren and Mark drill down on CORE 3: HUMOR and CORE 4: DELIVERY. Learn how to use humor well and deliver with impact…to be unforgettable.   SNIPPETS:   • Humor is a key to engagement; they work together   • The problem is funny; the solution is serious   • Find the audience’s frustration                                             • Comedy cuts down; humor lifts up   • Use appropriate humor   • Intention is part of delivery   • If you’re in your head, your emotions are dead   • Take your time at key moments.   • Pause to let the audience reflect   • Bring your personality to every presentation

Unforgettable presentations have basic, core elements that help to make them unforgettable. Today Darren and Mark discuss CORE 1: CONTENT & STRUCTURE as well as CORE 2: STORIES. Their principles will set you on the path to delivering your unforgettable presentation.   SNIPPETS:   • The CORE 4 lay the foundation of your presentation   • Use a strong structure on which to hang your presentation   • Strong structure makes your presentation digestible and unforgettable                                             • Choose content that serves the audience best   • Visuals and stage use should reinforce your presentation’s structure   • Stories are the heartbeat of your presentation   • Stories should pique curiosity   • Stories must elicit emotion   • Stories should include emotional shifts   • Well-told stories deliver ‘moments’ in your presentation

There will likely be times when you must present, but you are not at your best. Perhaps you’re not feeling well, facing a personal challenge, or exhausted because of a lengthy flight delay. Mark and Darren prove that they know this all too well as they share their experience and advice about how to be unforgettable…even when you are ‘a little off.’   SNIPPETS: • Inform the event planner   • Remember that you’re there to serve the audience   • Acknowledge the ‘elephant in the room’ and ask for grace   • Focus on what you CAN do instead of what you cannot   • Commit to delivering the best that you can under the circumstances   • Consider herbal throat sprays to keep your voice healthy   • How you respond will affect your reputation   • If you must, pass the gig along to an associate   • Ask a seasoned pro for options to handle the situation

You will be on the platform in FIVE MINUTES. What goes through your head? How can you get ready to SHINE? Darren and Mark share how to maximize your last five minutes before stage time to be unforgettable.   SNIPPETS:   • Be prepared…and be PRESENT   • Ground yourself, and center yourself   • Apply any method that serves you best   • Prayer, meditation, silence, walking, vocal exercises, physical movement   • Speaking is a privilege…and a RESPONSIBILITY   • Prepare like a pilot…do a full ‘instrument cockpit check’   • Create a routine   • Prepare to deliver DEEPER

What can clown presence teach us about being unforgettable presenters? Darren and Mark find out from Don Colliver, comedian, improvisor, director, writer and clown. He shares his insights and experience on audience engagement and reveals how to make every presentation FUN…for you and your audience.   SNIPPETS: • Take IMPROV classes; improvised can be better than prepared   • Train yourself to lose your audience then get then back   • When you err, acknowledge your humanity and move on   • Wrap your error in a callback   • Find joy and pleasure, like having a meal with your audience and serve them   • Enjoy ‘le jeu’ – the game   • Keep curiosity and compassion for your audience   • We don’t need jokes; acknowledge the moments and find humor there   • Use engagement activities to reinforce your points

A speaker at an event you’re attending can’t make it and someone asks YOU to step in on very short notice. Are you READY? Today Mark and Darren share insights on how and why to be ready for any presentation opportunity. They also disclose the benefits, to you and others, of being ready.  SNIPPETS: • Don’t GET ready; KEEP ready   • Identify the opportunity, jump on it, own it   • Have a ‘front pocket’ speech ready to go at all times   • Attend events with a servant’s heart   • Introduce and offer yourself to meeting planner an event staff   • Ask yourself what presentation you would give if a speaker doesn’t show up   • Be willing to fill the void; you will make the meeting planner the hero   • New relationships; the speaker who couldn’t show, audience, event planner   • If you get stuck, refer another presenter; others will refer you, so BE READY

Does a speaker need more than one coach? Can a speaker have too many coaches? What if I know several equally qualified coaches; should I use them all? In this episode, Darren and Mark tackle this thorny issue and offer specific guidance on coach selection…to help you deliver your unforgettable presentation. SNIPPETS: • Pick ONE coach   • Choose a coach who understands your backstory   • Choose a coach who appreciates your style   • Be careful who you listen to   • Equally qualified coaches can give conflicting advice     • Each coach has their own ninja skill   • If you select a team of coaches, decide on your head coach   • You are the CEO of your speech   • Bring suggestions to your head coach and trust them to guide you

What makes a pro SHINE? Today Mark and Darren identify three techniques that true pros use to be unforgettable.   SNIPPETS:   • Engage the audience instantly   • Stand out before you even say a word   • Be fully present   • The first second and a half is critical   • Note cards are not a liability     • Don’t be concerned about perfection   • Love the audience, love the moment   • Work the room in your style   • Do what you must to hit your points and serve your audience   • Sit in audience seats beforehand to get their perspective

Stories can greatly enhance any presentation but they can be confusing if characters aren’t clearly identified. In today’s discussion, Darren and Mark explore the value of naming characters and they offer ideas for making your characters unforgettable.   SNIPPETS: • Name every character for clarity   • Allow the audience to see the characters   • Avoid giving two characters similar names (Jane, Jean, Joan)   • Give a physical and characteristic and a personal trait   • Amalgamate characters for simplicity     • Tell the emotional truth   • Use adjective names to describe characters (Patty Party Pooper)   • In conversation, let the characters address each other by name

Imagine hearing a presenter and thinking, “They remind me of Tony Robbins and Les Brown. The perfect Motivational Speaker!” Then you meet them in the hallway and they sound ‘normal’…as if they turned off their ‘speaker voice.’ In this episode, Mark and Darren discuss authenticity and pose the challenging question: Are YOU ‘Super Speaker?’   SNIPPETS: • Be yourself. Bring your personality to every presentation   • If your assignment warrants a dramatic voice, then use it.   • No need to try being the ULTIMATE EXPERT   • Your audience is already there and they want to hear YOU   • Record and watch yourself on video   • Do a gut check and assess yourself   • Avoid the risk of seeming disingenuous   • Authenticity + Vulnerability = Credibility

“But it’s some of my FAVORITE MATERIAL!”   We want to give our audiences ALL our wisdom and experiences. But that’s not always the best decision. Today Darren and Mark expound on three reasons why our favorite material must sometimes end up on ‘THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR.’   SNIPPETS: • Your stories, anecdotes and references must serve your ‘PREMISE PURPOSE’   • The WEIGHT of your story may be heavier than your message   • Your content shouldn’t overshadow your premise   • Consider the RELEVANCE to your audience   • Your liking a story doesn’t mean the audience will   • If a story is too long for the allotted time, you may need to cut it   • Store Cutting Room Floor material in your Story Folder for later   • You can use Cutting Room Floor material to create handouts   • Test your content

Poor corporate presentations can cost you money. Today Mark and Darren will discuss NINE corporate presentation mistakes and offer tips on how to avoid them, helping you to become an unforgettable presenter.   SNIPPETS:   • Be clear on what you want your audience to Think, Feel & Do   • Clarity, Clarity, Clarity!   • Include a clear Call To Action (CTA)   • Be aware of what your audience is thinking   • Ping the audience, check in, engage   • What does your audience NEED   • Are you overwhelming your audience with data   • Respect your audience’s time; you might be the only obstacle to LUNCH   • Don’t let anyone ‘out-prepare’ you

Should we tell our most painful stories…the ones that take us to The Dark Place? Today Darren and Mark have a serious conversation about this touchy subject and offer solid advice about when to go to your Dark Place. SNIPPETS: • Your message is a MESS with AGE   • You must be able to laugh about your struggle before you can talk about it.   • Don’t abuse the privilege of the platform   • Your Dark Place story shouldn’t overtake your speech   • Go to your dark place when it’s appropriate and effective   • There may be value in going to your Dark Place   • Cushion the setup of your Dark Place story   • Be sure you can find your way back   • Be sure you have healed before going to your Dark Place