The Speaker Lab With Grant Baldwin // Public Speaking / Motivational Speaking / Entrepreneurship

"Two things have to be true: one, you have to offer enough value so that they're paying attention. And two, you've got to communicate that value in a believable way, either through a third party or somebody they trust or you directly."It might be cliché, but it's still true: speaking is a relationships business. If you want to be a successful speaker, you have to invest in building relationships every single day — with event planners, with industry leaders, and with other speakers.This week, Grant is sitting down with Mo Bunnell to talk about how to overcome some of the most common obstacles that speakers face in making connections — being "too busy," fearing rejection, and more.Mo recently wrote a book called Give to Grow about how to invest in relationships to build your business and your career, and he has a lot of practical advice that will help you get out of your comfort zone and start building relationships like a pro.If you're struggling to get traction in your speaking business and you're looking for

This week, we’re giving you a behind-the-scenes look at what coaching can do for speakers. Erick Rheam is hosting live coaching sessions this week! These sessions feature TSL students and real problems that speakers face in their businesses.This episode features Molly Kennedy and Theresa Skaar. Molly focuses on shifting her demographics and finding new income sources, while Theresa focuses on overcoming impostor syndrome and selling herself with confidence. A few of their quotes that you might relate to: “I just turned 50 this summer, and I feel like, personally, I'm kind of evolving and growing. I feel like my reach can expand beyond education, although I love teachers. Again, it's kind of an easy space for me, but I also feel like I want to challenge myself to have a broader reach as well." - Molly Kennedy "I don't know if it feels audacious if it feels like so many people position themselves as an expert. And I'm like, you know, I don't know." - Theresa Skaar Want to skim the

“The key to any industry is not focusing or trying to sell to 98% of your market. You're only trying to sell to that very top percentage of people."If you're a speaker looking to scale your business and add new streams of revenue, you might want to consider launching a high ticket offer. This week, Grant sat down with Bryan Harris to chat about the value a high-ticket offering can bring to your business, how to get started, and some tips on developing these offerings in your own business.Thinking about what’s next for your business? A high-ticket offering just might be for you!“Our mission is to make it almost impossible to fail at getting customers."In this episode, they also cover: 00:00 What do Bryan and his team do?04:41 Why should people consider a high-ticket offering?08:22 How do you think about finding your target market for this offering?09:27 What can your business look like in practice?13:33 How does support vary in you business and other places in your life?19:11 What can you do to ensure you

"If you've got a working keynote that has structure that you've been honing for a while, you probably have the bones of a book." - Liz Morrow "If you are someone who is highly entrepreneurial and you feel like you really value having a lot of creative control over the end product and you don't mind doing the hard, you know, kind of manual work of putting all of those systems in place and really championing your book yourself, then self publishing could be a great choice for you." - Ariel Curry This week, Liz Morrow and Ariel Curry joined Grant to talk about the process of book writing for speakers. If you've ever thought about writing a book, this is the episode for you! Liz and Ariel have been at it as writers and editors for years, so they bring first-hand knowledge to the conversation about the process of writing and selling a book.In this episode, Grant, Liz, and Ariel cover: 05:31 What’s involved in building a platform to sell a book? 08:34 Pros and cons of self-publishing vs tra

“I'm really passionate about solving the same problem that they're passionate about solving. I have a unique ability that I'm willing to share."How do you write your own story and become the speaker you've dreamed about being? This week, Brittany Richmond and Jake White are answering that question and talking about when to scale your business, how to find your niche, and so much more.“If you want to accelerate faster, then you need quality time with the people that buy what you offer. I need to partner with the perfect match, learn their language, how they're funded, what problems they have, whenever they book us, what are the hurdles they have to go through? And however it can make it so easy for them to bring us in, that's part of my learning curve."During this episode, you'll hear about: 00:00 Jake’s background and the road to speaking06:00 Jake’s story of founding Vive18 08:54 How Jake met his co-founder12:53 What it means to create your own story14:08 The power in living your message 

 "Just show up and provide value and get to know us."If you’re like most speakers, you’re probably wondering about AI. How should you use it? Should you be using it at all? And how do you make sure your authentic brand and story doesn’t get lost in the process? This week, Pat Flynn is answering all of those questions and ALSO diving into what it's like being an event planner. How do event planners look for speakers? How do they make final decisions? Check out the full conversation! "Short form video is like handing out Halloween candy, right? You have people coming to your house, you hand out candy, they move on to the next one. That's just people swiping, and when they move on to the next house, they kind of forgot about you already."Grant and Pat also talked about:03:22 What does your speaking business look like to date?08:05 How does the format of content change the way it’s consumed?11:06 What kind of prompts get you the best results when you use AI?13:17 Why should someone consider using A

“They used to be easy to spot, but they're getting better. They are getting more and more convincing at weaving their stories." This week, Grant sat down with Lauren Sergy to talk about a new (and very) convincing speaker scam and, more importantly, how to avoid falling for it! “No transactions are made, no contracts are signed. Unless you have a zoom, ideally a face to face Zoom call or a phone call. There must be a phone call. You have to make voice to voice contact."Ready to jump into this episode? Here’s the layout: 00:00 What does Lauren speak on.04:13 When did Lauren start speaking?09:06 What does Lauren’s business book like today?12:11 How did Lauren build her speaking business? 12:52 The mindset Lauren brings to fluctuating seasons.16:09 Let’s get into this speaker scam… how did it come to your door? 20:31 Beware of weird or unconventional payment methods. 23:37 What has changed with modern-day scammers?25:49 How to logically think about gigs at the moment.30:56 Don’t for

"We always recommend that people do not memorize their presentations verbatim. That results in just acting a little bit too robotic. Your audience can tell, and that's just not the best way to go." - Eric SilverbergThis week, Grant sat down with Eli and Eric, some of our friends from Speaker Labs (not to be confused with The Speaker Lab). Eli and Eric help speakers master the four pillars of becoming a world class speaker — content, delivery, visuals, and mindset — so that they can become exceptional communicators."When you share your idea, even if it's a known idea in the world, but you share it your way through your stories, your experiences, your unique creative analogies and metaphors, and interesting ways to package that idea, the audience may not have heard it your way, and that allows you to feel confident, to show up and say, I may tell you something you already know, but I'm certainly going to tell it to you in a way that you haven't heard it before, because I'm telling it to you my unique way." - El

"There is so much value in saying no because not every event is the right event for you." This week, Brittany Richmond sat down with Nathan Wray, an inspirational speaker who speaks on teen mental health and substance misuse prevention. Together, Brittany and Nathan dig into dozens of practical topics including recovering from rough feedback, showing up for and supporting event planners, finding direction in your career as a speaker, and more!"So I'm going to go as far as I can go to help an event organizer to make sure that they're successful. And if that includes setting up 300 chairs at 01:00 in the morning, then I'm gonna do it."In this episode, Brittany and Nathan get into: 04:49 Who does Nathan serve and what’s his message? 08:00 How do you take feedback on your message and build something better?10:58 Nathan’s turning point for storytelling.15:41 The importance of community in the speaking world. 16:58 Why you should say no to some events20:05 What to focus on as a speaker?24:3

“I feel like I've always been Reggie's administrative assistant with our life. So it was kind of a natural transition just to slide into that.” - Patrice Wright This week, Grant sat down with not 1, but 2 lovely guests to chat about building a speaking business with your spouse! You may remember Dr. Reggie Wright from Episode 471 last fall, but this week, we’re hearing from him AND his better half, Patrice.“My first year as a full time speaker, I wanted her to resign. I wanted her to retire the first year and come on board as my COO. And that was a little bit of some tension there, because she wanted to kind of wait and see how things would play out, and that kind of put some stress and strain on things." - Reggie Wright Grant, Reggie, and Patrice get into: 00:00 Where does the story of Reggie and Patrice start?04:31 What’s your history of supporting each other in your marriage?06:24 When did you start using help to scale your business?10:56 What point made sense to put more time and energy int

"If you can align your expertise with a specific industry and then really bring tremendous value with a clear ROI, you're always going to win the game."This week, Grant’s on the show with TSL legend Erick Rheam. We’re a little late to this year’s state of the speaking industry, but better late than never, right?"It's not necessarily that budgets are cut, but what I would tell you is that event planners, they tend to be intentional with the money that they're spending. Instead of saying "I've got a $100,000 budget for this event," it's "Yeah, I've got $100,000, but I need to see a return on that $100,000."In this episode, Grant and Erick get into:00:00 Current trends in the speaking industry06:06 Why do relationships matter more now than ever before?07:32 How do you focus on building relationships?11:20 The importance of offering a virtual service as part of your speaking business15:51 The key to growth right now, even in a tough economy 19:44 Why you should focus on relationships and providing long-term

"The hardest part is just getting started, actually, because a lot of people say, well, yeah, I've got to make it perfect. I've got to do all these slides and presentations, curriculum, all this documentation. The best thing to do is just get started."This week, Grant sat down with Michael Patellis, the cofounder of Copecart, to talk about developing a course as a speaker.“A lot of people, they require that discipline of being able to follow a script and follow a syllabus of, okay, I have to do this thing this week, next week, etc. And then there's others that their courses are almost independent study. So a lot of it depends on the market segment that you're in and how detailed your course is and what the skill set is.”This week, Grant and Michael get into:00:00 Why should speakers consider courses as part of their business?05:19 How to think about ROI on your course?08:29 What kind of structure should you put for your course? 10:40 What do you recommend in terms of how your course is laid out? 16:

"People buy from you when they feel understood, not when they understand you."This week, Grant’s sitting down with TSL alumna Missy West to talk about her unlikely journey to public speaking and how her speaking career has taken off over the last few years.If you're wondering if you can overcome your fear of being on stage and be successful as a brand new speaker, this episode is for you! “I made six figures in my first full year of speaking”In this episode, Grant and Missy get into: 03:18 How Missy overcame fear and seized opportunities through resilience.06:20 Why encouragement matters as you chase goals.12:01 Missy didn’t want to become a speaker, here’s why13:54 How to overcome self-doubt and criticism18:18 Why you need a resilience team19:54 What a resilience team does22:25 What happened once you started speaking27:35 How did you transition from hobby to potential career30:09 What came next in terms of pursuing this as a career34:13 What do you think is the difference between successful and uns

“Reframing my approach to public speaking was a game-changer once I recognized I was my own worst critic.”This week, Maryalice sat down with TSL coach Katherine Johnson to chat about all things authenticity on stage. If you think you’re being authentic on stage, this may be the wake-up call you didn’t know you needed! When it comes to presenting ourselves to an audience, we tend to think about the logistics, what we’re wearing, what we’re saying, etc., but we can forget about the intention and the science behind building trust and credibility with our audience. "If you think you have to prove you are, you're making it all about yourself, and that cuts connection. Like, if I could just say that you can feel that in your body, you have to find some ways to shift to connection."In this episode, Maryalice and Katherine get into: 03:50 Why actually connecting with the audience matters more than the words you say 08:49 Why aiming for connection will change the success you experience 12:19 H

“In some ways, my story is a detriment. There's a pro and a con to having overcoming extreme adversity, because people feel disconnected from it. I've had people tell me multiple times after speeches, man, if I went through what you went through, I'd be as happy as you are. And I'm like, no, man, you're missing the point. The principles I just taught you are what you need to pay attention to.”Grant’s sitting down with the creator of The Miracle Morning, Hal Elrod to talk about how he got into speaking, if and when you need a book to complement your speaking efforts, and how to know if you’re living into your true passions. “During that time, I was really thoughtful and strategic of, like, what do I want this book to do? And one thing I wanted it to do was to get me corporate speaking gigs. I wanted to raise my fee."In this episode, Grant and Hal get into: 00:00 Hal’s early experiences with overcoming hardships.05:33 Facing doubt early on as a speaker.07:06 Do you have to have a massive overcoming st

 "The biggest mistake that I repeatedly see speakers make is procrastination, just waiting too long to actually start developing the content and too long to practice the delivery."This week, Grant sat down with Eva Daniel to talk about one of the most important parts of being an effective speaker — creating and delivering an engaging speech. Eva is a speaker, storytelling expert, and communications professional, and the founder of the Speak Shop, where she helps speakers produce better content. "I believe that every speech is alive in breathing and a work in progress. And so we're just always making sure that, like, is it in the best order? And do I enjoy giving it the way that it is? And is the audience responding well to it in the way that I would envision them to be responding?"This episode covers:00:00 Eva’s background04:40 How do you know when your speech is polished and done?06:24 What does it look like to iterate on your content? 11:46 How do you create a successful delivery of your spee

We're so excited to announce the launch of our new podcast, Talk Speaker To Me! Talk Speaker to Me will bring you 10-15 minute episodes every Thursday filled to the brim with super practical, actionable advice. If this sounds like what you're looking for, search for Talk Speaker To Me on Apple, Spotify, and subscribe for weekly updates!P.S. Have no fear, The Speaker Lab Podcast isn't going anywhere. This is just a new way to bring you more content to help you book more gigs and grow your speaking business. --Welcome to our first episode of Talk Speaker To Me! In this episode, TSL facilitator and Speaker Erick Rheam walks you through exactly what his daily power hour looks like to build a long-term sustainable speaking business."I didn't have anything but a dream and a desire to be a speaker. I just went out and started prospecting on a consistent basis, and I made over $36,000 with no assets whatsoever."Erick's covering: What is a prospectHow often should your prospectWhat does a "power hour" look likeHow sho

"I remember you kind of making this decision to turn The Speaker Lab into what it is today. You wanted to scale it, you wanted to grow it, make a bigger impact on people, and you really did, man." - Shane SamsToday we’re celebrating a massive milestone on The Speaker Lab Podcast, so, here’s the deal! We invited Grant's good friend Shane Sams to interview Grant about his speaking journey, how The Speaker Lab came into existence, and what it’s been like to podcast for oh, you know, almost a decade.As we celebrate this episode, we want to thank each and every one of you who have subscribed, listened to the show, and shared it with others over the years. We couldn't have published 500 episodes without your support. We're not going anywhere, either — stayed tuned for more exciting news ahead! In this conversation, you’ll get a peek behind the scenes as they discuss:00:00 What was your dream for this podcast when you started it? 05:36 Grant’s intro to podcasting and the start of the Speaker Lab dream.08:4

We're just one episode away from the big one — #500! As we wrap up this series, we're bringing in the best speakers we know to share their #1 piece of advice for speakers who want to get to the next level. These speakers are the best of the best — combined, they've booked thousands of gigs and made tens of millions of dollars in speaking fees. If you're serious about growing your speaking business, this is an episode you don't want to miss. In just 25 minutes, you'll learn:How to serve the people who hired you wellWhy you can make more money off the stage than on itWhy consistency matters more than you might thinkWhy you need to commit to coaching How to consistently over-communicateHow to harness the power of authenticityAnd much, much more!Get your notes app ready because this episode is full of advice you'll want to remember!In this episode, you’ll hear from: Chris Ducker - Chris Ducker is a serial entrepreneur and author of the bestselling books, Virtual Freedom and more recently, Rise of the Youpren

This week on the podcast, we’re excited to share our best tips, tricks, and amazing speaking advice from our coaching/support team and our resident speakers here at The Speaker Lab. Our team has decades of combined experience both as speakers themselves and as coaches helping other speakers like you take things to the next level.This episode is full of quick, practical advice that you can apply in your speaking business RIGHT NOW and start finding more paid gigs and growing your business.As we count down to Episode #500 in just TWO WEEKS, we're excited to bring you this special episode that will help you level up your speaking business in a big way.Through this episode, you'll learn:How to find your confidence as a speakerHow to find your speaking community,Actionable steps to get booked & paid to speak®How to show up in a way that honors who you areHow to think about your branding as wholeAnd much, much moreIn this episode, you’ll hear from: Angie Besignano - Angie Besignano is a TSL Coach and