Ep. 126 – The Pregnant Pause vs. the Poignant Pause The term ‘pregnant pause’ is widely used to describe a period of silence that keeps the audience in suspense, with a feeling of anticipation. In this episode, Mark and Darren introduce the ‘poignant pause’ and expound on the differences between the two. Understanding both, and…
Ep. 125 – Your Firsts There’s nothing like delivering your first paid speech or taking your first flight to deliver an ‘out-of-town’ presentation. Today Darren and Mark speak with fellow professional speaker Ed Tate about lessons they learned from their career ‘firsts’…both good and bad…that will guide you along your journey to becoming unforgettable. Snippets:…
Ep. 124 Think Like A Producer With Bill Stainton What can writing, producing, and performing a comedy television show teach us about being unforgettable presenters? 29-time Emmy Award winner and Hall Of Fame Speaker Bill Stainton provides the answers in this frank discussion with Darren and Mark. He shares the untapped power of your background,…
Ep. 121 Build A Better Bridge A strong audience connection is one of the keys to being unforgettable. How can you establish that connection, even BEFORE you take the platform? Today Darren and Mark expound on three ways to BUILD A BETTER BRIDGE to your audience, forge relationships, and create allies in the process. Snippets:…
Ep. 120 Your Epic Keynote With Jane Atkinson You have a keynote presentation and it’s good. But how do you take it to the next level? Jane Atkinson, known throughout the speaking industry as The Speaker Launcher, opens up to Mark and Darren about the strategies and techniques that speakers must apply to create, deliver,…
Sometimes we fail to recognize powerful stories from our lives because they don’t appear to be significant on the surface. Today Mark and Darren discuss how life lessons that you learned through the years can be reverse engineered to uncover meaningful stories which you can then insert into your presentations and make them unforgettable. Snippets:…
When you hear the word “Grace,” what goes through your mind? What images and feelings bubble up? To be fully transparent, for most of my life, it never really meant much to me. I didn’t fully understand it. In fact, the song Amazing Grace seemed to move people, but it did not really affect me.…
Ep. 117 Becoming Unforgettable? How can a presenter BECOME unforgettable? Today Darren and Mark talk with Mike Davis, Sara McGill, and Kathi Kulesza, three members of Darren’s Stage Time University (STU) Community, about their journey to becoming unforgettable. In this behind-the-scenes look at STU, Mike, Sara, and Kathi share their growth in various facets of…
Ep. 116 Finding The Punch Lines In Your Pain With Stephanie McHugh What’s a great career move when your children grow up and move out? Leave your corporate career and become a stand-up comedian! Stephanie McHugh explains her choice to Mark and Darren, and shares the lessons she learned about uncovering the humor in our…
Ep. 115 High-Impact Speaking With Simon Bucknall “I never planned on a career in the world of public speaking”, says UK-based Simon Bucknall, speaker/author/trainer/consultant serving prestigious universities like Oxford and Cambridge as well as advising leaders of major corporations and private equity companies. Today he shares with Darren and Mark how an abysmal failure inspired…