Stage Time: “Forget Waldo! Where’s Humor?”
Kids around the world are trying to find Waldo while people around the world are trying to find humor! While Waldo, sometimes illusive, wearing a red and white stripe shirt is always found. Humor is often never found. It is there, people tend to be looking in the wrong place. So where do you look? Many people writing speeches tell me, “My speech is done, I just need to add some humor.”... [Read more]
Darren, I heard speech contest judges like…[VIDEO]
I get many questions about speech contests this time of year. This one was a good one CLICK TO PLAY: Read More →
Stage Time: “Charisma vs. Sincerity”
Want to leave a lasting impression on your audience? Ever wonder which is more important in communication — sincerity or charisma? If you were in Vegas, which would you put your money on? Last week I was speaking at a conference in Florida. When my schedule allows, I arrive a day early to immerse myself in the conference to gain insight in order to connect with that audience. Every connection... [Read more]
Stage Time: “What Do You Think?”
Do you know that when you give a speech, it’s much more than just a speech? Whenever my ego started getting in the way, my coach, Mark Brown, put me back on track in a powerful way. He simply reminded me, “Darren, you will get the privilege of seven minutes in 2000 lives, what will you do with it?” Sometimes we think of it as “our” presentation. It’s actually “their”... [Read more]
Stage Time: “How Good Are You? Two Questions…”
Hmmmm… have you ever wondered how good you really are when you present? I’m not talking about whether you win a speech contest or not — I’m talking about truly making a difference in the minds of your audience. Master Mentor, Alan Weiss, Ph.D. says that we’re never as bad as our worst critic and not as good as our raving fans. We’ve got to be careful not to beat ourselves... [Read more]
Stage Time: “Humor Me? Charlie Chaplin Says…”
“Darren, how do I write a funny speech?” I get this question constantly from speakers. Personally, I don’t believe it’s about writing a funny speech at all. If you want to write a funny speech, that’s writing fiction. Even the best fiction is based on some truth. Your starting point is crucial. Where do you get the idea? Where do you look? Are you looking in the right direction?... [Read more]
Stage Time: “Does Your Storytelling Need an Emotional Rescue?”
She grabbed me and I loved it. It was a very puffy speech. I say “puffy” as a compliment. As I listened I was so moved, I was eyeing the box of Puffs next to me, but instead chose to just wipe the tears from my eyes without moving an inch. I was caught up in the emotion of her story. As many people were evaluating their own speech a seemingly unrelated topic came up. A veteran speaker asked me,... [Read more]
Stage Time: “Steven Tyler Agrees with Darren, Seriously?”
“I went through four hours of hair and makeup to listen to this bull—t?” — complaining about the background noise at the USS Midway location for the San Diego auditions. He’s said some crazy things as a judge on American Idol. He also said something in an interview I saw last week that was so brilliant that it felt like he jumped out of the TV screen and shook me. First though,... [Read more]
Stage Time: “Are You Intimate?”
This is not an article about sexuality. It is an article about influence. Would you like to influence people more than you are now? This week I was listing to one of my favorite pastors, Vince. He gave a powerful message on influence through intimacy. As my mind often does, it shifted to my coaching brain to help presenters connect with their audience. Vince’s point and story reminded me of a powerful... [Read more]
Ask Darren: What was your ice breaker like? [VIDEO]
Are you a Toastmaster? Worried about your ice breaker speech? People wonder what mine was like. Here is my video answer. CLICK TO PLAY VIDEO [Read more] Read More →
