The Speaker Lab Podcast

"Let me think about it is not an answer. It's a placeholder. And there's almost always something that's real underneath that." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this episode, Dan Irvin is flying solo — just you and Dan, one-on-one — to talk about one sentence that has probably cost you more bookings than you realize: "I need to think about it." You've heard it from event planners. Great discovery call, proposal sent the same afternoon, then: "This looks really great. Let me think about it and I'll get back to you." Weeks pass. Around week three, hope turns into "maybe I read it wrong." Dan says almost every speaker he coaches has a folder full of polite maybes. But here's the part most people miss — speakers say the exact same sentence to themselves. "I need to think about raising my fee." "I need to think about my niche." For months. Sometimes years. Dan breaks down what a planner actually means when they say those words (there are four things it could be, and each one calls for a different response), shares the one warm, curious question that gets to the real answer, and walks through his Friday rule — a simple framework for making the decisions you've been sitting on. He also talks about two types of speakers he sees all the time: one who walked into burning buildings for a living but couldn't bring themselves to send one email raising a fee, and another who'd been "thinking about" picking a niche for a couple of years. Two different problems, same sentence holding them back. Whether you're staring at a planner's "let me think about it" right now or you're the one who's been saying it to yourself, this episode gives you a concrete way forward. You'll learn: The one sentence that quietly costs speakers more money than anything else a planner can say What "let me think about it" actually means when a planner says it — four possibilities, four fixes The single question that turns a polite stall into a real conversation Three follow-up rules for keeping a "maybe" from dying in your inbox Why the same sentence shows up on both sides of the table, and what to do about your own version of it How to give a planner an easy way out (and why that makes them more likely to reply) Dan's Friday rule: a four-step process for making decisions you've been putting off The real cost of "thinking about it" when you already know your number is too low — with example math that might sting What it took for a speaker who ran into burning buildings to finally raise a fee How a speaker stuck on niching for two years made the call in fifteen minutes of looking at past gigs The difference between thinking and stalling, and how to tell which one you're doing And much, much more! "Your message does not help anyone while it sits in the drafts folder. There's no impact being had while you continue to stall and wait and not make a decision. The people who need your talk are not waiting on a perfect version of you. They're waiting on a decision." Been "thinking about it" for a while now? Book a free Speaker Business Assessment — a 15-minute session where somebody who does this every single day looks at your business, where it's at right now, and what decisions are actually in front of you. Episode Resources: Speaker Business Assessment Episode #609: Why Charging More Actually Gets You Booked More Episode #610: The 85% of Your Speaking Business Nobody Talks About MySpeakerFee Apple Podcasts Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"And oftentimes you might have read that silence as an answer. Nobody wants this. I'm not good enough. The market's too crowded. But listen to me. The silence was not an answer. The silence was just early." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this episode, Dan Irvin is back with another solo session — just you and Dan, one-on-one, notebooks out, working through the sentence he hears more than almost any other in coaching calls: "I have tried speaking before and it did not work." His thesis is direct: most speakers who say they tried didn't fail. They quit on email two. And that, Dan says, is actually good news. Dan shares the story of a student who spent 20 years in nursing — the last several as a nurse manager — with a talk on burnout: why good nurses leave and what leaders can do to keep them. She came in convinced she'd already tried and failed. Her old spreadsheet told a different story: 14 organizations — a women's luncheon, her church, a local business group, a couple of friends at clinics — and a response column that was mostly empty. Two free talks where the audience was visibly moved — one woman in the second row cried. Then silence, and she put it away. Dan's team didn't touch her stage skills or her stories. They changed three things: who she talked to (state nursing associations, hospital leadership retreats, health systems that already bring in speakers), how she described what she does (one sentence: "I help nurse leaders keep their best people from walking out the door"), and the timeline — four months on the calendar before she was allowed to judge anything. Around week five, the inbox was still quiet and she wanted to stop. A couple of weeks later, on her third follow-up to a regional nursing association, she got a reply. They were planning their spring conference. That became her first paid booking: a breakout session, a modest fee, about ten weeks after she started. The director then introduced her to a hospital system in the same region, which became a leadership workshop. Same nurse, same stories, same talent. The only thing that changed was the experiment. Whether you're staring at an old spreadsheet of unanswered emails or still telling yourself the story that speaking didn't work for you, this episode walks you through what actually happened — and what a real attempt looks like when there's a system behind it. You'll learn: Why most speakers who say "I tried" didn't fail — they quit on email two What "I tried" usually means when Dan asks people to walk him through it Why month one of outreach is supposed to look like nothing — and why silence is not an answer The three reasons first attempts stall (and why none of them have anything to do with talent) How pitching people you already know tests whether your neighbors have a budget — not whether speaking works Why "I speak on leadership, resilience, and personal growth" gets you ignored — and what to say instead The difference between hearing silence and hearing a real "no" How one nurse went from a stalled first attempt to a paid booking by changing three things The five steps to designing a real experiment: one target, one sentence, a set window, real tracking, and one adjustment at a time Why "I tried and it didn't work" might feel safer than trying again — and why Dan wants that door open And much, much more! "You did not fail at speaking. You ran an experiment too short to read, too short to make real determinations, too short to make career-altering, life-changing decisions." Still telling yourself that speaking didn't work the first time? Book a free Speaker Business Assessment — a 15-minute session where the team looks at what you tried last time, who you targeted, how you described your talk, and what a real system would look like this time around. Dan takes some of the calls himself. Episode Resources: Speaker Business Assessment MySpeakerFee Apple Podcasts Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"So want to know what too late really looks like? It's not starting at 55 or 60 or 65. It is still saying someday, five years from now, about the same idea you have today." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this episode, Dan Irvin grabs his coffee and pulls up a chair for a solo session — just you and Dan, notebooks out, working through the question that fills his inbox more than almost any other: is it too late for me to start speaking? If you've spent 25 years getting really good at something — and now you've retired, finished the book, or watched your role vanish in a restructuring — that question has probably followed you around. You see speakers who started young with the website, the reel, the following, and you wonder whether the window closed while you were busy doing the actual work. Dan's answer is blunt: there is no window. No age where planners stop booking people. Planners aren't shopping for youth or follower counts — they're shopping for proof that whoever walks on that stage has done the work, been in the room, made the hard call, and lived with it. Decades are that proof. Dan shares the story of a speaker The Speaker Lab worked with — a career educator, teacher turned principal for the better part of 20 years. When he retired, he felt invisible. His website said "leadership and education" with his experience tucked at the bottom like he was embarrassed by it. They put the years up front, wrote one sentence — "I help new principals make it past their first two years" — and he reached out to people who already knew his work. Someone he'd mentored now helped plan a gathering for school leaders. That became his first paid talk. The career that ended turned into inventory. Whether you're 55, 65, or somewhere in between wondering if you missed your shot, this episode delivers the honest answer, the practical filter, and the five steps to stop waiting and start building. You'll learn: Why "too late" is the wrong story to be telling yourself — and what the real deadline actually is The disguises the "too late" story hides behind, and the belief underneath them that does the most damage Why nobody is coming with a permission slip, and why Dan finds that freeing What event planners are actually looking for when they put their budget on a speaker Why a room of nurses trusts the speaker who spent a career in healthcare — and what that means for your old industry The three-part filter (problem, audience, transformation) that turns 25 years of material into one bookable talk How to write your problem-solution sentence in a single line The quiet networking advantage second-act speakers already have and how to activate it Dan's five practical steps from "I should be speaking" to a date on the calendar How to handle the energy, following, and technology objections head-on And much, much more! "That became his first paid talk. Not a big fee, but a real one. And afterwards, he said, I didn't feel old up there. I felt useful again. I didn't feel old. I felt useful. Nothing about him was new. He just stopped apologizing for it." Think your career might be the foundation of a speaking business — but not sure where to start? Book a free Speaker Business Assessment — a 15-minute session where our team looks at your career, the problem you're best positioned to solve, the audience most likely ready to book you, and what your first steps should look like. Dan's on some of the calls himself. Episode Resources: Speaker Business Assessment MySpeakerFee #609: Why Charging More Actually Gets You Booked More #610: The 85% of Your Speaking Business Nobody Talks About Apple Podcasts Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"Because a plan that you make alone on the last night of the year is a wish. And a plan you build in a room with coaches looking at your numbers and speakers holding you to it. Now that is a commitment and commitments are what get you booked and paid to speak." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this episode, Dan Irvin is flying solo with a big announcement — and a lesson that holds up long after the announcement does. The Speaker Lab Live, the first-ever Speaker Lab live event, is coming to Plywood Place in Atlanta's West End on Thursday, December 10, 2026. Dan and Lead Coach Erick Rheam are leading a full day of live coaching, breakout sessions, and 2027 planning — a "momentum day" designed to close out the year with energy and a real plan. But if you're hearing this after December 10, stick around. The reason behind the event is the episode. Dan starts with the part of speaking nobody puts on a highlight reel: the drive home. The room was with you. People lined up afterward. And then you shut the car door and it's quiet — no team high fives, no one to debrief with. The next morning you're back at your desk writing outreach emails alone. Dan has talked with thousands of speakers, and that alone feeling comes up more than fees, more than niche. The speakers who grow fastest, he says, are typically the most connected — people who refer them, tell them the truth, and pass along gigs that fit. The ones who stall are often smart and hardworking, but they're doing it all by themselves, guessing at their fees, second-guessing every proposal at 11 at night. The Speaker Lab has lived on video calls and community threads, and that works. But some things only happen in a room: the lunch conversation where a speaker you just met knows the planner you've been trying to reach for a year; honest feedback that a comment thread keeps polite; and energy from people who don't look at you funny when you say you want to get paid to speak. Dan shares the story of a speaker inside The Speaker Lab who spent 20 years in banking with a talk on leading teams through big change. She was smart, prepared, did every assignment — and told Dan, "I feel like I'm doing this on an island." She worked from her kitchen table, sent emails, got silence, and started to wonder if it was her. The team nudged her to connect with other speakers in the community. She was nervous and almost didn't, but she reached out to one. They traded outreach emails and pointed out what wasn't landing. Then that speaker messaged her: a planner was looking for someone on change, and she'd given the planner her name. A few weeks later, it turned into a paid booking. Her line: "The gig was great… but the best part was realizing I was not alone." Whether you're planning to be in Atlanta on December 10, building your speaking business from your kitchen table, or just tired of doing this whole thing alone, this episode makes the case for the thing most speakers skip: finding your people. You'll learn: Why the speakers who grow fastest are typically the most connected — not always the most talented or the most polished The part of speaking nobody talks about: the drive home, the quiet car, and the alone feeling that comes up more than fees or niche Three things that happen in a room that almost never happen on Zoom: referrals, honest feedback, and real energy How one lunch conversation can connect you to the planner you've been trying to reach for a year Why Dan chose December — and why a plan you make alone on the last night of the year is a wish What The Speaker Lab Live actually looks like: live coaching on real businesses, breakouts for newer and advanced speakers, and a 2027 plan built in the room Who The Speaker Lab Live is for (you don't have to be a Speaker Lab student — if you're building a speaking business, you belong in the room) The story of a speaker who went from working alone at her kitchen table to a paid booking after reaching out to one fellow speaker Dan's homework, whether you come to Atlanta or not: write down the names of three speakers, reach out to one this week, and bring something real to the conversation Why "My spouse is supportive, but they don't really get it" is a call Dan hears again and again — and what to do about it And much, much more! "In this business, one booking can pay for the trip many times over. I cannot promise you that booking. Nobody honestly can, but I can tell you where those bookings tend to start. They start with people. They start with people every single time." The Speaker Lab Live — Thursday, December 10, 2026 — Plywood Place, Atlanta. One full day of live coaching, breakouts, and building your 2027 plan in the room with Dan Irvin and Lead Coach Erick Rheam. The date, venue, nearby hotels, and how to grab your seat are all at thespeakerlab.com/live-event. Pricing goes up as seats fill. Building your speaking business and doing most of it alone? Book a free Speaker Business Assessment — a 15-minute session where the team looks at where you are, where you want to go, and what a real system looks like from here. Episode Resources: The Speaker Lab Live (Atlanta, Dec 10) Speaker Business Assessment MySpeakerFee Apple Podcasts Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"The audience first plan is not really a strategy. It's a hiding place. Because posting into the void is safe. Nobody tells you no." Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! This is one of Dan's solo episodes — just you and him, coffee-shop style — and he's tackling a belief that keeps a lot of speakers stuck: the idea that you need to build a big audience before you can get booked and paid to speak. Here's the truth about planners: they're not checking your follower count. They're asking one question — can I put this person in front of my people and will it go well? Dan breaks down who actually hires speakers (associations, companies, conferences, schools), what those buyers look for when they find your name, and why the four trust-building assets every planner checks have nothing to do with how many people follow you online. He also shares the story of a speaker inside TSL's coaching program — a manufacturing operations expert with just over 200 LinkedIn followers — who landed her first paid booking about six weeks after one phone call to someone already in her network. Her line afterward says it all: "I spent a year trying to get strangers to notice me when the person who could book me was in my phone the whole time." Whether you're a new speaker wondering when you'll have "enough" of a following to start reaching out, or an experienced one still defaulting to content as your main growth strategy, this episode lays out a clearer, faster path. You'll learn: The one question every event planner is really asking when they find your name Why "build an audience first" looks like a strategy but often functions as a hiding place The four kinds of buyers that hire paid speakers — and the two things every one of them is hiring for Why a clear talk title beats a clever one (and the three-second test to know the difference) What your one-sheet is actually for (hint: it's not about impressing the planner) What a demo video needs to show — and why a break room with 40 people works Where content actually fits in the booking process (it's the second impression, not the first) How one speaker with 200 followers turned a single warm phone call into her first paid gig The forward test: the one exercise that tells you if a planner can sell you internally Why more stages — not more posts — is the fastest path to building real trust And much, much more! "Every month you spend waiting for an audience is a month that room goes without you." What would a planner see if they looked you up right now? Find out with TSL's free Speaker Business Assessment — in just 15 minutes, the team evaluates your talk title, abstract, video, and testimonials and shows you exactly what to fix so planners trust you enough to book you. Episode Resources: Speaker Business Assessment MySpeakerFee Apple Podcasts Spotify See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.