Speaking Influence

Many of us have had that feeling of being invisible, in life and in business, especially if we are on the introverted side of the scale. If that's you, you're going to love this episode with Stevie Dawn Carter where we discuss emotional intelligence, performance energy and how to be someone who is getting noticed for the right reasons. Most of us have heard about emotional intelligence but most people don't really know what it means. Stevie is going to explain all of that and how emotional intelligence is a key aspect of improving your communication and connection skills. I...

There are few things in this world that will make you as charismatic and captivating as having the ability to tell great stories. Whether that's stories from the imagination or stories of experience, being able to master great storytelling is an enviable gift. Personally, one of my favourite storytellers is the well-known raconteur Fran Lebowitz. If you haven't watched her Netflix documentary 'Pretend it's a city', please do yourself a favour and check it out but maybe not before you check out this conversation with my very esteemed guest and storytelling academic Leon Conrad who gives us a real masterclass...

What comes to your mind when you hear something like storytelling for business? Are you envisioning someone in professional attire reading bedtime fairy tales to C-suite executives dressed as babies being put down for their afternoon nap? Well... if you weren't, you probably are now. Of course, this is not what storytelling for business is about, as funny as that might be. My guest on this episode is Sophie Wadsworth. Sophie is an executive coach who is teaching people the power and value of stories in their professional lives. Sophie shares how you can weave stories into your communication without...

I do wonder how many business owners find themselves where I've been, feeling like they're working hard and doing all the things they see industry leaders doing but not experiencing even a fraction of their success? They're burning rubber with the wheels spinning and have barely crossed the start line, let alone the finish line. I first encountered my guest today through Pat Flynn's YouTube channel. Pat is someone I've been following for a long time and this guest said that you can't expect people to take you seriously in business if you don't have anything they can buy on...

In a focus on what really differentiates people in podcasting, training, public speaking and edutainment in general, there does seem to be a group of people who just seem to have something about them. That je ne sais quoi, the x-factor, a charisma that makes them much more appealing to listen to than 'average' people. In this episode, we get into some real talk about the elements of charisma and why it matters with coach, speaker, podcaster and personal development trainer Daniel Tolson. I had thought for the longest time that I was unique in the personal and professional development...

Is hypnosis a real thing? Is Neuro-Linguistic programming a scam? Are there important elements of influence and persuasion that just can not be taught? You will discover the answers to all these questions and more as we delve into the secret world of the mentalist. Mentalism is the performance art of demonstrating seemingly magical and mysterious powers of influence and persuasion, at times appearing to cross into the realms of magic, but as my guest Duncan Stevens tells us, mentalism and magic are very different worlds. If you have ever seen the amazing Derren Brown at work, you will know...

One thing I know from the majority of my coaching clients is that they want to build their profile and become a known voice and go-to figure in their industry. And why would they not? You start getting invited on more stages, you start selling more books and courses and you start generating way more lead flow for whatever business you have. With that in mind, we continue the recent series of shows with professional podcasters by talking with Adam Adams, host of The Podcast on Podcasting and the man behind Grow Your Show where Adam and his team help...

Long, long ago (last Tuesday), in a galaxy far far away (the North of England) I chatted to one of the hosts of the Spark of Rebellion, a podcast about all things Star Wars, Mr Mark Asquith. Mark's a bit more than a Star Wars stan podcaster, he's one of the founders of Rebel Base Media, Captivate.fm podcasting and the host of the Podcast Accelerator podcast and is kind of a big deal in UK podcasting, often referred to as "That British podcast guy". To me, he's Mr Captivate and a great guy to chat to as someone who...

Do you have a dirty mind? No, not those salacious thoughts about how nice that sexy guy/lady looked in those tight jeans earlier today. I'm talking about all the heuristics and unexamined beliefs that are hanging around in that lovely brain of yours and polluting your thinking. The truth is that we all fall prey to logical fallacies and cognitive biases more often than we realise and although we can't remove them all completely, there's a lot we can do to improve our thinking, do a bit of Feng shui on our beliefs and have a more beautiful mind...

The powers of music and movement have inspired and empowered us since the earliest days of humanity and so I have wanted to explore more of this side of the arts for a while now and took the opportunity of my 50th birthday celebration to share with you a fun and light-hearted episode of Speaking Influence with some powerful thoughts. My guest is dancer and dance teacher Joseph Corella. Joseph made a big professional pivot during the pandemic to set up virtual dance classes but not any old dance classes, he wanted to make something fun for him and other...

Over 70 years ago Dale Carnegie released the self-help classic called How to Win Friends & Influence People. Since then, it has gone on to be read and applied by many people, some of whom accredit their success to this book. I have been planning for a while to bring a series of book reviews back into my regular content. At first, I was planning a new show, then maybe just on YouTube and now I have decided to simply include it in the Speaking Influence catalogue. It's not so often you get to hear from me just by myself or that...

What's one of the best, cost-effective, time-effective ways to build a following these days? Podcasting. My guest Alex Sanfilippo is a podcaster with an entrepreneurial eye for opportunity. He's the founder of https://PodPros.com (PodPros.com) and https://PodMatch.com (PodMatch.com), both sites I enjoy using as a member and he is also a super nice guy. We chat about the opportunities in podcasting and what we see happening as it hits a huge growth spurt with YouTube, Facebook and now Twitter getting in on the podcast action. In this episode: Starting a podcast do's & don'ts Why podcast? ...

It's been said many times that it is important that people know, like and trust you. Likeability and reliability don't seem like the sexiest of success traits and yet, they are some of the most underrated ones, especially when we move away from the stereotypes of successful people being uncaring and lacking in empathy and we are awakening to the need to have a good relationship with our customers and the people whose products and services we buy. My guest Jackie Goddard has always had a passion for theatre and the dramatic arts and she saw a great opportunity to...

Even in these challenging times, we must think about the future. I hope you will consider checking out my weekly newsletter where I talk a little about this and about our need to be wanted and how we can fulfil it. http://rb.gy/1upba9 This episode is all about the future of Speaking Influence and my plans to bring new and different elements to the show that will hopefully benefit all of us and keep things interesting. Your guidance as to what you like and don't like will be paramount but without experimentation, we end up with stagnation. I'd...

He got to the part in his pitch where he asked for the investment and they just laughed. When he spoke to his team afterwards, one of them said did you go in dressed like that? Whether it's seeking investments, a date, respect, a job or something else, how we look affects how others see us and with a little awareness and effort, we can make sure we're putting our best Gucci loafer forward. My guest Joseph Rosenfeld is a style advisor with years of experience in image consulting and personal branding. Modern Luxury Silicon Valley named him 'Best Personal...

If you don't know how to effectively talk about what you do and who you help then how can you expect others to be able to talk about you? Brand Face is all about helping you build authority and influence through your brand and connect with and persuade your ideal clients and customers through having your professional brand dialled in. I'm happy to say they have become sponsors of Speaking Influence since the start of 2022. This conversation with Tonya Eberhart and Michael Carr is very helpful in understanding how much personal branding affects your results and can be the difference...

How do you deal with buttheads without becoming a butthead yourself? My guest Jeremy Sherman has been studying multiple disciplines in human sciences in several of the top US homes of academia. As a self-proclaimed psychoproctologist, he helps us explore the asshole mindset and how to counter the tactics they often employ in arguments and why not countering assholery could be the end of us all. This and much more in a fun but adult conversation. (You will notice in this episode the US/UK divide. In the UK we call people arseholes as a derogative and in the US...

Body size and body image are important to influence and persuasion, whether we like to admit it or not. As someone who has always struggled with my weight, I thought it would be fascinating to have a chat with someone who is using influence techniques to help her clients lose weight and keep it off. In this episode we will look at weight loss coaching from the inside and the outside. Renee Jones helps women (and a few men) get free of emotional eating so they can lose the extra weight and keep it off. In this episode: It's not...

Getting paid to speak may be easier than you think. I made getting paid to speak one of my top goals and I turned to some expert podcasts to help me achieve it. One of those shows was Speaker Lab, hosted by my guest for this episode, Grant Baldwin. It was a real treat for me last year to be a part of a special online class with Grant in Chris Ducker's Incubator program and have the opportunity to connect with someone who I had not only listened to many times but also read his book The Successful Speaker 3 times...

The curse of having a common name is that you can be mistaken for someone else but on the plus side it can be easy to remember. This is something I have in common with my guest Steve Smith. Our names may not be so distinctive but the knowledge and conversation really was. Steve is a business coach, keynote speaker and podcast host, so we had a few more things in common. In this episode: Why the right kind of clout matters How speaking in a professional capacity could harm your brand Why message matters What leaders need to possess ...

What's your vocal brand? How is your voice best suited to make money for you or anyone else? How can you become an authority with the power of your voice? If you're interested in the answers, you've landed on the right episode. My guest Jodi Krangle is a voice artist and she has one of the nicest sounding voices, warm, soothing and comforting. She understands her own vocal quality and where her voice fits best for her market, including ASMR. In this episode: Should you hire a voice coach? How to identify your vocal brand Are you breathing the right...

Oh boy! Do I have a treat for you this week! Get Known, Get Paid Mentor Nancy Juetten transforms speakers, experts and authors into sought-after podcast guests who speak their way to 6-figures and beyond. Nancy combines her years of public relations agency success, proven online marketing strategies honed since 2009, and velvet boot of accountability to kick clients into an empowering and sustainable gear of performance and profits. In this episode: Why appearing on podcasts is one of the best ways to build your professional profile Common mistakes people make with their bios How to craft a bio that will...

What's the most important to your customers and clients? My guest Greg Kihlstrom is an expert on applying agile principles to things like customer experience and we have a great chat about why we should all consider customer experience and also a good chat about which professional assets make the biggest difference to your industry status and clout? In this episode: Bootstrapping a business How introverts can build success Why customer experience matters Becoming a known brand Why start a podcast? Leveraging your online content and more. Greg's book recommendations are https://amzn.to/3nQoe1n (The Hard Thing About...

She walked up to him on the street and said, "Hey you! You were that trainer at the event I went to last year. Because of you I left my job and left my husband!" He gulped audibly and said sheepishlly, "Yeah, probably." "Becuase of you I am now doing the work I love and with my soulmate. Thank you, thank you, thank you." There is a lot of power and empowering influence to delivering events and personal growth trainings and few people know more about this kind of thing than Robert Raymond Riopel. Robert was spotted and mentored by...

How can someone go from making people's eyes glaze over when they start a presentation to having the wrapt attention of an audience and a rush for referrals with just a few hours of work? It's all about finding the silver bullet. My guest Neil Gordon helps speakers and authors become the face of their movement. With years of experience in publishing and a flare for performing arts, he realised that he was able to make a powerful impact with speakers in much less time than it took him to achieve similar results with writers. And so began his professional...

What's the worst thing that has ever happened to you in your professional life? Would you change it? If you did, would you be the person you are now? In this episode, we take a look at conflict in our own lives and conflict situations as a means for growth and also as an opportunity to persuade. My guest is a former weather presenter and has been the host of some home renovation shows in Canada. Her name is Elissa Lansdell and she's left her TV career behind now to teach authentic communication skills, and she really is very good...

Here's a missing word quiz. When you have __________ in yourself, others will have __________ in you.  You can use trust or confidence to fill the gap and that is one of the main themes of this episode. Today's professional needs to be able to communicate effectively, whether it's in the boardroom, on Zoom or from the platform. My guest is a professor of communication, the founder and lead trainer of Professional Presentation Strategies and the author of the brand new book 'The Effective Presenter'. His name is Ryan Warriner and I'm delighted to bring you our fascinating conversation. In this episode: W...

Q. What has always been the best form of promotion and probably always will be? A. Word of mouth marketing, ie. getting people talking about you, your product or your service. Happy new year to you! Would you like some good PR? Let's get 2022 off to a flying start with one of the best ways to help you build influence and become known, without having to compete for keywords. Welcome to the world of Press Releases. My guest today is Mickie Kennedy and he's the founder of eReleases, a company that specialises in press releases and helping get other people...

How do you go from public speaking to professional speaking? What does the life of a professional speaker look like? How important is it to have a book or two published? As an author of multiple non-fiction books, an experienced speaker and a former president of the Professional Speaking Association in the UK, Lee Jackson knows a few things about what it takes to become a paid public speaker and how you go about building a business in on the back of public speaking work. In this episode: What you really need to start as a professional speaker What does...

Is there a way of holding yourself that displays influence? What are the covert signals of power? We know about Aristotle's rhetoric but was there a school of movement that went with it? Can you tell if someone is lying just from their body language? All this and more will be answered in this special Xmas edition of Speaking Influence, and believe me, there's a lot to unwrap in this episode. Mark Bowden is an internationally renowned author, speaker and expert on body language and I'm delighted that he agreed to come on Speaking Influence and discuss the importance of...

Authenticity! We keep hearing it. Authenticity! What does it really mean? Authenticity! It's become so overused as to become almost meaningless. My guest today believed that what we're looking for is not really authenticity but more self-awareness and vulnerability that lets people in and lets them know who we are. He is an actor, professional speaker, speaker trainer and veteran podcast guest, Tyler Foley. He was also in the Tru Calling TV show with the amazing Eliza Dushku, although only briefly...  In this episode: Self-aware > Authentic Is it OK to swear on stage? Lessons from acting that carry into speaking T...

The skills of influence and persuasion have always been important in leadership. So much so that elites have often tried to keep them secret and out of the hands of those they seek to maintain power over and keep them in the hands of their own chosen future leaders.  Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a public figure, the ability to not only be seen and heard but to do so in a way that builds trust and relationships is more vital than ever. Tools like rhetoric and understanding the psychology of persuasion are no longer only for political leaders and...

Few of us could imagine ending up with full custody of a younger sibling and becoming the primary caregiver for them and then discovering they had a terminal condition as they turned 15 years old but that is the story of my guest Andrea Wilson Woods who has gone on to become an advocate for better cancer healthcare and treatments in the US, especially for sufferers of liver cancer, the disease that she sadly lost her sister Adrienne to.  In this episode: The challenges of becoming a health advocate Channelling grief into something good How one person really can make a d...

Imagine being on your commute to London, the usual crowded train, thinking about what the day ahead holds, wondering if you'll get a chance for a cuppa before you get to the office and then, you hear a crash, get thrown from your seat and wake up about 3 weeks later in hospital with 3rd-degree burns and your loved ones around you, not having known if you would make it. Finding out that 31 people on your train died and you should have been the 32nd.  I'm not sure that's exactly how my guest's experience played out, but as you'll hear in t...

In the middle of delivering the report, he noticed that not only was she not really paying attention, but she was also playing Yahtzee on her phone. How did he know she was playing Yahtzee? The phone screen was reflected in her glasses.  There could not be a surer sign that the data was not connecting and was less interesting than a phone game of Yahtzee. Hear the full version of this story and a few more in this new episode of Speaking Influence which is about influencing with data stories with professional data storyteller Sam Knowles. In this episode: H...

There was only one thing I knew for sure when I first connected with Brandon Eastman about him being a guest on Speaking Influence, which was that we were going to have an interesting conversation. In fact, I would say this episode is probably THE most conversational episode I've ever published and I felt like I was getting interviewed as much as I was interviewing, which is perhaps a testament to Brandon's natural skills as a podcast host himself. Brandon helps leaders and driven achievers break through their limitations, perform at their peak and achieve their biggest goals. He is...

This was their moment of truth. They needed to face the biggest challenge their company had ever faced and it was going to take powerful leadership to bring them through it. As they entered the room for the emergency meeting, the CEO took to the platform, over 30 expectant and stress filled faces stared up at him, hungry for a morsel of hope and inspiration that they could get through this and win. He opened his mouth to speak and in a clunky monotonous voice said "Ummm.... erm... this is all quite challenging, isn't it? You're all doing a jolly decent...

What does making people laugh have to do with influence and persuasion? Quite a lot really. Comedy and humour can be very useful tools in your influence and persuasion toolkit when employed well and sadly, it's an area that is often overlooked in studies on influence and persuasion. It can be a powerful rapport tool. We tend to like people who can make us laugh and we are more likely to remember things when we find them funny. Being able to vary the emotional experience of your audience is one of the hallmarks of a confident and experienced speaker. Humour...

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the word influencer?  How would you feel about being described as an influencer? Is there a good side to being an influencer? My guest Whitney Lauritson could be described as an influencer but she won't thank you for saying it because it has come to have so many negative and often shallow connotations in the online world. When I think about the people who tend to describe themselves as influencers, they are people who have large online followings in places like Instagram and YouTube and are often putting out vacuous c...

Could laughter be the thing that sets you free? It liberated my guest Bee Baumann when she discovered a gift for humorous speaking and found that it suddenly opened up a whole world of creativity for her. She's written a book called 'Gurrl, you ain't crazy', she's won humorous speaking contests (much like myself) and we both discuss how comedy is an amazing vehicle for truth and influence. In this episode: an exclusive excerpt from Bee's book read by the author herself how humour is a form of rebellion how humour helps with communication the difference between humorous speaking and...