The Evolution of My Speaking Video

Me on stage

In a post last week, I shared with you my most recent demo video. Over the years, I’ve had several different versions. In this post, I share my four primary demo videos from over the years. Although I’ve had other videos for specific purposes (e.g., a Personality Poker demo video), they aren’t included here. I’m […]

My New Speaking Video – 3 Minutes of Pure Content

Steve Thumbail copy

I am thrilled to share with you my new demo video. The team at Video Narrative did an incredible job of pulling this together. We had one design principle: Don’t sell; educate. We didn’t want this to be a sales pitch. Rather we wanted a video that was content-driven. Therefore, this 3-minute video is pure content […]

Don’t Compare Me to a Bagel!

bagel with words blog

Professional speakers are always trying to justify their fees. Admittedly, it can be a substantial investment for a one-hour keynote. With that being said, for larger events, the cost of breakfast is often times more than the cost of the speech. While that may be true, some professional speakers have the crazy idea that it […]

To Fee or Not To Fee…That is the Question

Money

Should you ever give away your services (or products) for free? This has been an on-going discussion in the speaking community. And recently I found that the same debate is taking place in the magic community. There are some of my speaking colleagues who are adamant that no one should ever give a speech where […]

Speaker Hall of Fame

cpae

I am thrilled to announce that on July 21, 2015, I was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame. That evening, I received the National Speakers Association’s Council of Peers Award of Excellence (CPAE) award in front of 1,500 people at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington DC.

Mastery is Not Enough

Think about the last time you went to your favorite restaurant. Was the quality of the food the only reason you enjoyed it so much? Or were there other factors? Décor? Service? Overall atmosphere? Other intangibles? If you can, recall a time you needed technical support and were 100% pleased with the service. Was your […]

Voices of Experience Transcription

Voices of Experience

Last week, I posted the audio of an interview where I shared some thoughts about innovation in the speaking industry – and in general. You can listen to the audio, or read the transcription below. Michael: With this month’s emphasis on innovation, I can’t think of a better person to speak to than leading edge keynote […]

Differentiation, Expertise and Opposites

Voices of Experience

I was recently interviewed for the National Speakers Association’s “Voices of Experience” CD. Each month, experts are interviewed about topics relevant to the speaking industry. For the September 2014 issue, I was asked to talk about innovation and professional speaking. In this 6 minute minute interview, I discuss why: we need to differentiate ourselves as […]

My New Demo Video

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For those of you who have not had a chance to see me on stage, now you can see some highlights from several speeches in this 6 minute sizzle reel. Enjoy!  

How to Fool Penn & Teller

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One of my favorite TV shows is Penn & Teller’s “Fool Us.” Each week, aspiring magicians perform their best trick, hoping to fool P&T. Anyone who succeeds wins the right to perform with famed duo in their Las Vegas show. As an amateur magician, I see if I can figure out how each trick was […]