Unforgettable Presentations

One way to increase audience buy-in is to customize your presentation.  Today, Darren and Mark dive into the why and how of customization. Applying these ideas will help any presenter to be unforgettable.   SNIPPETS:   • Customizing isn't just using the company's logo and name on your slides   • Do some homework and conduct research on your client   • Get permission to speak with 10 significant audience members beforehand   • Learn all you can during your client pre-event call   • Two weeks in advance, find out what's top-of-mind for your audience   • Arrive at the event at least a day early   • Attend mixers and social gatherings at the event   • Pay attention to hallway conversations   • Connect your material to their world   • Be flexible enough to make adjustments in the moment   • Use the Fripp Speech Model; it is easily customizable   • Replace one of your stories/examples with one from your client   • Take photos and video at the event and insert them into your presentation   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

To truly win your audience, you must identify and address their pain points.  In this episode, Mark and Darren discuss the importance of understanding them and offer suggestions for uncovering them.   SNIPPETS: • Pain points are triggers   • Learn your audience's pet peeves, pain points, and frustrations   • Identify what's top-of-mind to your audience   • Our responsibility is to connect our content to their pain   • Understanding pain points shows that you care   • To connect, you must first understand   • Understanding pain points can help you build community   • Research and confirm their pain points   • ASK about their pain points   • Stories from your life will connect to your audience's experience   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University:

The business of speaking can bring myriad complications and stressors.  But in the midst of all that, Darren and Mark offer a reminder to enjoy the privilege of the speaking experience. Remaining joyful despite all that comes our way, will help those around us to see us as unforgettable.   SNIPPETS: • Choose to find the fun…and the funny   • Remember your WHY   • Accept the challenges that come in the industry   • Relax. Breathe. Focus   • Use your frustrations as speech material   • Never lose perspective   • Don't forget the privilege   • Be thankful for the opportunity

It's easy to present principles, practices, and procedures, but the value is diminished when the speaker lacks experience. Today, Mark and Darren talk about the significance of bringing the lessons learned from your own successes and failure…the lessons that give you credibility and help make you unforgettable.    SNIPPETS: • Bring YOU to every presentation   • No one pays for regurgitated wisdom   • Transfer value from your own experience   • Share lessons from the life you live   • Credibility has an impact on your reputation   • Get experience in the area of your focus   • Let your passion drive you to do research   • Use your personal stories   • Live it, then give it   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

Speakers often open a speech with a greeting, a story, a strong statement, or a question. However, comedians use a technique that many speakers haven't mastered. Humorist, Hollywood producer, and Stage Time faculty member Chris McGuire sits down with Darren and Mark to expand on this technique and shows how any presenter can find gold mines that can make you unforgettable.    SNIPPETS:   • Do what comedians do   • It's all about connecting first   • Use a 'warm open'; don't jump right in or use small talk.   • "Before we get started…"   • Establish Commonality through Incongruity   • Uncover the Gold Mines like the humble surroundings   • Address the elephants in the room   • Talk about what you have in common with the audience   • Respect and connect   • Your audience should feel that you wrote your speech just for them   • Use callbacks   • Sharpen your Humor Detector   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

Would you be willing to face an international audience of thousands with a clear message about personal faith?   Today, Mark and Darren talk with a man who did just that in the 2025 World Championship of Public Speaking. Taylor Candella shares his path to the final and the conviction that drove him to take a significant risk. Taking a risk can make you unforgettable.   SNIPPETS: • Don't listen to negative voices   • Commit to your promise   • Take a risk   • Push yourself to compete   • Select your test audience   • Feel the room in advance   • If speaking first in competition, set the tone   • Get ready with your 'race day ritual'   • The reward should outweigh the risk   • Deliver your risky message respectfully   • Speak with CONVICTION   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

Imagine a life-threatening tragedy, a miraculous fight for recovery, later speaking to more than 2,700 global audiences, and then the international release of a major motion picture about your life.   That's the story of today's guest as Mark and Darren have a heart-to-heart chat with John O'Leary, subject of the 2025 film SOUL ON FIRE. John shares his journey and offers firm yet loving advice on professional speaking. He also dispenses wisdom and encouragement on living a meaningful life, from a perspective that will help any presenter to become unforgettable.   SNIPPETS:   • Don't run from your scars   • Don't seek an average life   • Say "Yes!"   • Love your life even when it's ugly   • Your life: What  GIFT   • You're invited to become a hero   • Remind others what courage looks like amidst pain   • You must step through the process of building your presentation   • Become better at building your business   • Tell the truth   • Be wide open to feedback   • Seek bigger impact; bigger stages and bigger paychecks will follow   • Focus on your craft and be humble   Check it out: https://soulonfiremovie.com/  

Perhaps you've heard a speaker say something like, "Excuse my slide!" Today Darren and Mark talk frankly about why speakers make excuses for poor slides and offer firm suggestions for preparing and presenting effective, professional slides.   SNIPPETS: • One slide, one point   • If you have  a lot of detail, put it in a handout   • You must be able to defend your slides   • Think of what the audience sees   • What does the audience need to know?   • Simplify your slides   • Use fewer words on the slide, then explain as you present   • Magnify the point you wish to make   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com  

What does it take to win the National Speakers Association's LAST STORY STANDING competition?   Today, Mark and Darren get answers from the 2025 winner, Michelle Hutchings-Medina. She shares her journey, her process, and the lessons she learned along the way. Her wisdom will help any presenter on their path to delivering an unforgettable presentation.   SNIPPETS: • Rethink how you use your voice   • Marry your creativity to your desire to have an impactful message   • Spend an hour every day working on your speaking   • Do your best around your intention and let go of the outcome   • Sometimes your message isn't for a particular audience   • Much of the exposition in your stories is not relevant   • In rehearsals, ask for specific feedback   • Your story is like having a conversation with the audience   • Stay in touch with yourself, your values, and your why   • On contest day, get rest, do vocal exercises, pray/meditate   • For contests/timed talks, factor in beats for gasps and laughs   • Speak to let the audience feel something different Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com  

The use of AI has become prevalent, but how much should you use AI to develop and present your speech?   Today, Mark and Darren are joined by their fellow World Champion and Certified Speaking Professional, Ed Tate, as they discuss ways to ethically use AI as you create your unforgettable presentation.   SNIPPETS:   • AI can be relied on too heavily   • There always has to be a human in the middle   • Be committed to YOUR content   • Be connected to YOUR content   • Use AI as an intern   • Let AI help, but don't rely on it   • Use YOUR voice   • Own your speech   • Don't be lazy   • Bring your personality to every presentation   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com  

Darren freely admits that early in his career, he resisted writing out his presentations because he always spoke from the heart. In this brief episode, he and Mark discuss the value of speaking from the heart, and the additional benefit of doing so with the right preparation and structure.    SNIPPETS: • Speaking from the heart is good, but passion doesn't equal effectiveness   • The heart isn't the best editor   • You can't edit what isn't written   • What's in your mind doesn't always come out of your mouth   • Speak in a way that the audience can absorb the message   • Speak from your heart into a device/app that can transcribe it   • Edit your transcript, use a proper structure, and prepare to present   • Words prepared from the heart, spoken from the heart, will land on the heart   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

When is it too late to start a speaking career? Today Mark and Darren discuss this question with Julia Nicholson and Maria Garaitonandia, both mature presenters, at the beginning of their speaking careers. They talk about their concerns, their plans, and their process for achieving success later in life. Darren and Mark cite examples of well-known speakers who became professionals after the age of 40, and their guests also offer encouragement to anyone who wants to start their speaking journey during their later years.    SNIPPETS:   • Follow your purpose   • Use your experience to shorten your learning curve   • Investigate what it takes   • Join Toastmasters for the art   • Join NSA for the business   • An NSA Academy program is a good investment   • Avoid naysayers and keep the wind beneath your wings   • Connect with pros and build a network   • Have fun and enjoy the journey   • ** Greats like Zig Ziglar and Les Brown began their careers after 40 **     ** SOURCE: ChatGPT

"Can't I just add a couple of exercises to my keynote and create a killer training program?" Over the past two decades, Darren and Mark have heard that question numerous times, and the short answer is "No."   Today, they get comprehensive answers from their fellow World Champion and Certified Speaking Professional, Ed Tate...the trainer's trainer. Not only do they discuss the differences between speaking and training, but they also delve into the mindset and methods that will help you deliver unforgettable training.   SNIPPETS:   • Speaking and training are different   • Keynotes contain a higher level of abstraction   • Keynotes affect thinking, training affects behavior   • Audience engagement is key   • Make ideas actionable   • Instructions have various levels   • Provide content in digestible pieces   • Serve different learning styles   • Repetition is your friend   • Give content in different modalities   • Debrief activities   Check out Train-the-Trainer Workshop: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/workshops/train-the-trainer/

Well-chosen quotations, song lyrics, poetry and statistics can enhance any presentation. However, it's important to attribute the sources and let our audiences know the sources for validation. If we don't attribute, we might become unforgettable…for the wrong reason.   SNIPPETS:   • Provide the sources for polls, studies, statistics, and research findings   • "Studies show", "research proves," "a recent poll reveals" isn't enough   • Attribute lyrics, quotations poetry etc. to their source   • Quote accurately; someone always spots errors   • Misquoting can negatively affect your credibility   • Do your due diligence and verify quotations and sources   • Verify using more than one source   • Don't use too many quotations/lyrics/statistics, etc.   • Use AI wisely and verify the results that AI provides   • Never plagiarize; you will harm your reputation   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

Jim Rohn is often quoted as saying, "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." Today Mark and Darren speak with Julia Nicholson, a former executive who finds value in Jim's words. She is passionate about spending time with world-class communicators, and she shares lessons that she is learning along her journey to becoming unforgettable   SNIPPETS: • Find your purpose and LIVE your purpose   • Success fills your schedule, significance fills your soul   • Know where you are in your speaker process   • Develop your craft   • Lean in and learn   • There's no substitute for getting on stage   • Find the coach who is the right fit for you   • You're more effective when you're DRIVEN, not COMPELLED   • Don't just create a speech, create an unforgettable speech

In this second and final conversation about RHETORICAL DEVICES, Mark and Darren once again review Mark's winning Toastmasters speech, identifying ways that RHETORICAL DEVICES enhanced his presentation. THIS IS PART TWO OF TWO.   SNIPPETS: • Rhetorical devices multiply your message   • A rhetorical device can help to personify inanimate objects   • Rhythmic rhetorical devices make your message more sticky   • Rhetorical questions provide moments of introspection   • Rhetorical devices can provide a frame of reference   • Employ these devices to help your audience to 'see' characters and situations   How to Write Your Own Introduction: https://markbrownspeaks.com/set-up-your-success-with-your-introduction/   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

RHETORICAL DEVICES are language tools that help presenters to be more compelling and memorable…and there are more than forty such devices.   Darren examines Mark's Toastmasters World Championship-winning speech, and together they discuss how Mark used some of them effectively. By applying rhetorical techniques, you can elevate the impact of your presentation.   SNIPPETS: • Use rhetorical devices to connect emotionally   • Elevate your audience's experience   • Tools like HYERBOLE can elicit humor when used well   • Rhetorical devices add rhythm to a story and make it memorable   • Couple rhetorical devices with body language   • Combine delivery and rhetorical devices to bring your audience into the scene   How to Write Your Own Introduction: https://markbrownspeaks.com/set-up-your-success-with-your-introduction/   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com  

You've worked hard on your presentation and it's time to rehearse for readiness. In this episode in the series on their book DELIVER UNFORGETTABBLE PRESENTATIONS, Mark & Darren share tips for adding the final touches before taking the stage. This episode covers Step #7: OWN YOUR STAGE.   SNIPPETS: • Use your script to indicate emotions, stage movement, pauses, and more   • Create a stage plan   • How you use your stage will enhance your audience's experience   • Don't memorize your talk; internalize it   • Your audience wants you to be present, not perfect   • Walk through your presentation   • Rehearse for a live audience and CRAVE FEEDBACK   • Use slides as guides   • Well-chosen props and illustrations clarify, solidify, and edify your message   • Get a qualified coach   How to Write Your Own Introduction: https://markbrownspeaks.com/set-up-your-success-with-your-introduction/   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

Impactful presentations are memorable, and today Darren and Mark share techniques for adding this final touch to your presentation before taking it to the platform. This episode covers Step #6: MAKE IT UNFORGETTABLE.   SNIPPETS:   • The more complex your topic, the more you need a simple structure   • Make your points digestible   • Use a proven story structure   • The 'THEN/NOW' model is a powerful option   • Show a day in the life of the main character   • Introduce a challenge   • You must have a guru, guide, source of wisdom   • The character must experience a change   • Your Foundational Phrase will make your message memorable   • Cater to different learning styles (See podcast episodes 70, 71 & 72)   How to Write Your Own Introduction: https://markbrownspeaks.com/set-up-your-success-with-your-introduction/   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com

A weak presentation closing can dilute your message and at worst, nullify your impact. In Part 4 of this series, Mark and Darren explore both principles for a solid closing, and mistakes that inexperienced presenters tend to make. This episode covers Step #5: CREATE YOUR COMPELLING CLOSE.   SNIPPETS:   • Your close should reinforce your premise   • There are several closing options   • Select the most appropriate closing for your specific presentation   • The DIALOG CLOSE is a flexible and easy option   • A compelling close is an opportunity to repeat and reinforce a guru's wisdom   • Internalize your closing; know it cold   • Prepare your closing and opening like choosing slices of bread for a sandwich   • Avoid the common mistake of delivering multiple closings   • Use Q & A to set up your closing   • NEVER end on Q & A; leave one final point that inspires your audience   How to Write Your Own Introduction: https://markbrownspeaks.com/set-up-your-success-with-your-introduction/   Work with Mark and Darren: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/get-a-speaking-coach/   Check Out Stage Time University: https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com