Tag: public speaking

Hey David!

My intention is to have monthly events to make money, do what I love and grow my community. I am flying high at and after my events, on top of the world — until the day after when my negativity comes in. I start thinking that people don't like me anymore; I question whether they'll come back. It gets weird in my head. This is clearly an issue. I have been doing my best to stop it when it happens, breathe and bring in new thoughts. It's almost torture at times. I hate that I do this to myself but also happy that I am conscious of it now. So what I wonder, are there any additional techniques on how to flip the switch on these thoughts and interrupt the pattern — as well as stay in that I’m-great-and-did-a-great-job energy??




Hi! Thanks for your question and your honesty.


It’s wonderful that you are conscious of this pattern in your life, but you must do more than breathe and bring in new thoughts… you must build your self-esteem.

You see, the reason you feel on top of the world after your event is because you are feeding off of the energy and appreciation of the audience. Once that acknowledgement and appreciation fade, your wound re-appears.

A person with a fully developed self-esteem would speak from stage because that is what they are meant to do. They wouldn’t care who liked them or appreciated them.

I always tell my audience, that my job is not to be their friend, and I don’t care if they like me or not.

I know that I have a message to speak, and the people who need to hear will, and those that aren’t ready, won’t. Either way, at the end of the day, I feel good about me and the fact that I’ve given my best to help whomever is willing to listen.

For you, I’d suggest taking a deep look at your need for appreciation and acknowledgement.

Why do you need this from the audience?

Why do you need them to like you, when whether or not they like you is actually none of your business.

Once you begin to take steps to build your self-esteem you’ll find yourself becoming less worried about what others think, and more powerful from stage.

PS: The Neagle Code: Directions for Life is a weekly no-cost program that is open to everyone! Each week, I'll select and personally respond to one question received via the above “The Neagle Code” page that I feel in my heart will help the most people. (You may choose to remain anonymous if you wish, with our full support.) It is my deep, heartfelt intention that ~ in answering your questions ~ I may provide you with the Universal Truths that in committed application, will set you free. Simply submit YOUR burning question at: www.DavidNeagle.com/ask-david to participate.

The quickest way to make sales and build your business is through public speaking — provided you craft your speech properly, that is.

And that’s what I’ve been showing you how to do in this series.

It’s time now for you to put these eight steps to work. To help you with that, here is a summary of all of them again. [To read the complete articles, revisit my blog.]

Step 1: The Grabber

Begin your presentation with a bold statement about the promise of your work that grabs the attention of the room and doesn’t let go.

For example, “How would you like to make five figures in sales from the stage, every time you speak?”

If you’re interested in speaking for the purpose of sales, your attention will be riveted on what I’m about to say.

Step 2: Lay Out the Game Plan

Orient the audience by briefly telling them what you’re about to do.

For example, “Over the next hour and a half, I’m going to share with you my eight-step formula for crafting presentations that will have your audience lined up in the back of the room.”

Step 3: Lay Down the Rules

In order to make sales, you have to control the room, and to do that you need to lay down the rules, the most important of which is no questions.

Step 4: Establish Your Credibility

Build your foundation for massive back-of-the-room sales by proving that you are worth your audience’s time, attention and investment.

Do this with a powerful introduction by your host (which you write), and by offering live or written case studies and/or testimonials of people who attest to the value of your work.

Weave your testimonials seamlessly throughout your talk as examples or stories.

Step 5: Transition Smoothly to Your Story

After you’ve begun to establish through case studies and testimonials that you’re worth your audience’s attention, you want to keep that attention by making a smooth transition to your story.

For instance, if I had just told the audience how my client Elaine made $96,000 in 18 days, I might say:

“I know that a lot of you may be thinking to yourself, ‘How can I do what Elaine did?’ The answer to that question eluded me for most of my life. In fact, when I first started out, I was sick, broke and had a terrible attitude.”

Then, I start telling my story.

Step 6: Tell Your Inspiring Story

When you’re speaking for the purpose of sales, your inspiring, rags-to-riches story of how you came to be where you are and know what you know, is central to your presentation.

People listen with their ears, but they hear with their emotions, so your story must come from your heart and be emotional.

Unless the audience is emotionally invested in what you’re doing, you’re not going to sell them a damn thing. But if they are emotionally involved, they’re very likely to buy.

Step 7: Transition to the Close

I don’t move into the close until I determine that the audience is ready to buy. And I test their interest and engagement throughout my speech and again right before I close.

I’ll ask, “Is this making sense?” while raising my own hand, and seeing how many audience members are raising their hands as well. This tells me how many people are with me.

Until the majority of the hands go up in response to that question, I keep transforming my talk.

But once there’s a sea of hands in that room, I transition smoothly to the close.

Step 8: The Close

Finally, start by talking about the specifics of your product or program, focusing on the results purchasers are going to get, and how easy and doable your program is.

Once you’ve sold them on the results, about 85% into your close, signal to your assistants that it’s time to pass out the order forms.

The Final Word

Listen, you don’t have to be perfect to make sales. Just do the best that you can, and be authentic.

If you are true to yourself, while following these eight steps to a tee, you will be successful.

There should be a clamor for the back of the room ~ and a very nice payday for you and your promoter ~ when you step off the stage.

Even if you’ve never done any public speaking before, you can get booked right away. Many smaller, community organizations are hungry for speakers.

You may not be able to sell in the back of the room, but if you follow the advice in my last article, you can still turn a healthy profit, by getting the contact information of the attendees and selling to them later.

Where to Get Booked NOW

Believe it or not, religious groups are often looking for people to speak. My mentor Bob Proctor and I frequently used to speak at Unity Church. Other groups that often need speakers include: children and family organizations, charities, colleges and universities, art associations, and business and professional associations such as Police Officer Association, Association of Retired Businessmen, etc. Also check with community centers, learning annexes, fraternal organizations, garden clubs, and health organizations. Corporations are also a source as they sometimes have special-interest groups or vendor days, where they bring people in to speak.

Your Topic May Have Broad Appeal

When you’re considering whether an organization might be a good fit, don’t sell yourself short. Your topic may have a broader appeal than you realize.

While you probably wouldn’t want to tell a corporation’s audience that they should leave their jobs, you could talk to many other groups about the benefits of being an entrepreneur. And any of the groups above could be interested in your talk on health, finances, family concerns, relationships, etc.

How to Get Booked

Once you find a group where you want to speak, call the event coordinator, ask if they need speakers, and then pitch your talk. If you’re splitting back-of-the-room sales with the host, be sure to tout your sales stats. Your personal relationship with the event coordinator or producer is your most important asset. And with smaller groups it might be all you need to get yourself booked.

What About Video?

Some venues, namely, the larger ones, will want to see you in action. So I recommend that you have a three-to-four-minute video of yourself, showing your ability to communicate an inspired concept to an audience. Ideally, this video would be shot at a live speaking gig, but if you’re trying to secure your first opportunity, it can be shot in front of a clean whiteboard (which you can also use to help demonstrate your concept). Having this video professionally produced, of course, is ideal; however, if you really can’t afford that, at least make sure that you have good lighting (bright enough, no shadows), a steady image, and super clear audio.

Remember, if you want to look like a professional, you have to present yourself that way.

What Really Counts

On the other hand, don’t be daunted by the video, because, as I said, your personal relationship with the coordinator trumps all. If you’ve got passion and enthusiasm for your topic; if you express yourself articulately; if you can sell, you can get yourself booked. It’s not difficult to do. You just need to do the legwork, show you’ve got the right stuff, and then you can start lining up the events.

PS: The Neagle Code: Directions for Life is a weekly no-cost
program that is open to everyone! Each week, I'll select and personally respond to one question received via the above “The Neagle Code” page that I feel in my heart will help the most people. (You may choose to remain anonymous if you wish, with our full support.) It is my deep, heartfelt intention that ~ in answering your questions ~ I may provide you with the Universal Truths that in committed application, will set you free. Simply submit YOUR burning question at: www.DavidNeagle.com/ask-david to participate.

If you’ve applied Steps 1-6 of my formula for a live presentation that sells, you’re rounding the bases and getting ready to slide into home.

You’re now ready for “the close” ~ the portion of your talk that is specifically devoted to selling the product or service that will be available in the back of the room after your presentation.

Many speakers get to this point and choke.

They’ve done a great job sharing their story and weaving it into their teaching (Step 6), but then when it’s time to transition to the close, they get awkward and lose momentum.

They seem to have forgotten that the purpose of their presentation is not to teach, but to sell.

Structure Your Teaching to Sell

To help avoid that problem make sure that the teaching portion of your talk is tightly related to the program you’re offering in the back of the room.

For instance, you’re teaching them two or three of your seven steps for doubling their income in 60 days, or one of the five ways to have the relationship they’ve always wanted.

Your teaching, then, is selling. It entices the audience, shows them what’s possible in their lives and businesses, and leaves them wanting more.

That way, the close becomes a natural extension of your teaching, and your program the answer to their desire.

Step 7: A Smooth Transition

When your teaching and close share the same goal of selling, transitioning from one to the other is easy. Just say something like this:

“For years we’ve been perfecting this information, doing everything that we possibly can to make it simple for you to implement it into your life right away. And we’re really excited to be able to offer that solution to you today.”

That’s all there is to it.

Step 8: The Close: Make It Doable

Now, just start talking about the specifics of your program, focusing on the results they’re going to get, what they’re going to learn, and how it will impact their lives.

Convey the strong impression that you have laid it all out for them as much as possible.

Without being deceptive, emphasize how easy and doable your program is.

Don’t overwhelm or confuse them with extraneous detail they don’t need in order to make the decision to buy.

For instance, if you’ve got a program on relationships, the people in your program are going to have to do internal work to get to the point where they’re having great relationships.

But, during the close, don’t talk about all of that internal work. They know they’re going to have to do some work, so you don’t have to highlight that fact.

If you make your program sound complicated or difficult, your audience will tune out and you will lose sales.

For the 15 or 20 minutes of the close, focus on how they’re going to benefit, and how easily your program will guide them to those results.

By the way, you’re delivering this information before you pass out your order form. I’ll pick it up here next time.

PS: The Neagle Code: Directions for Life is a weekly no-cost
program that is open to everyone! Each week, I'll select and personally respond to one question received via the above “The Neagle Code” page that I feel in my heart will help the most people. (You may choose to remain anonymous if you wish, with our full support.) It is my deep, heartfelt intention that ~ in answering your questions ~ I may provide you with the Universal Truths that in committed application, will set you free. Simply submit YOUR burning question at: www.DavidNeagle.com/ask-david to participate.

PS: The Neagle Code: Directions for Life is a weekly no-cost
program that is open to everyone! Each week, I'll select and personally respond to one question received via the above “The Neagle Code” page that I feel in my heart will help the most people. (You may choose to remain anonymous if you wish, with our full support.) It is my deep, heartfelt intention that ~ in answering your questions ~ I may provide you with the Universal Truths that in committed application, will set you free. Simply submit YOUR burning question at: www.DavidNeagle.com/ask-david to participate.

When you take the stage, your audience is likely wondering, Who is this guy or gal? They want to know if you have the potential to make a difference in their lives or businesses.

With Step 4, you’re anticipating those questions, telling them why they should listen to you.

In some environments, the simple fact that you’re onstage conveys credibility to you as an expert, but that’s not always the case.

You may be presenting at a multi-speaker event with more established people in your field. Or you could have a lot of seasoned (or jaded) industry veterans in the audience. Or maybe you’re in an industry, such as real estate or insurance, where people listen to a lot of speakers.

In those situations, especially, you need to provide proof that you are worth their time, attention and investment.

How to Establish Your Credibility

You can establish your credibility in two main ways:

1. Present Your Qualifications
Presenting your qualifications is usually done before you take the stage. First, you want to make sure that they’re listed in the speaker’s agenda, so the audience has access to them ahead of time. Then you want to give to the person who’s introducing you a paragraph to read that includes your qualifications.

The paragraph should lead with a powerful statement, like in the example below, and then include your relevant accomplishments, experience, education, awards, certification and training ~ whatever will make you look like an expert.

Your introduction should be typed in large print and written like a script, so the person can read it word-for-word. For instance, “I’m so pleased to welcome to the stage the person who showed us the goldmine in social media.”

Ideally, you want the person introducing you to be the promoter. He or she knows you best, and would be happy to do it, since anything that makes you look better can boost his or her bottom line. (Typically, the promoter gets 50% of your sales.)

Before you hand over your introduction, be sure to read it first out loud. Many introductions are flubbed because they look okay on the page, but don’t translate well when heard.

2. The Testimonial
In your presentation, after you’ve delivered your grabber, told the audience what you’re going to do and laid down the ground rules (Steps 1-3), you want to begin to deliver case studies or testimonials of people who attest to the power of your work.

In fact, on an ongoing basis, you should be building an arsenal of positive comments from newspaper and magazine articles, television and radio interviews, awards, emails from clients and customers, even posts to your Facebook page. Any time someone says something complimentary about you, your company, product or program, keep a copy of it for possible use as a testimonial.

Before you actually use the private posts and emails, you need to ask permission (and make sure they’re FTC compliant*), but once you have permission, you can include them along with your other testimonials in your PowerPoint or overhead slides.

Live testimonials are also very powerful. These are clients or customers in your audience who have agreed ahead of time to give you an unpaid endorsement.

Whatever their form, you don’t want to dump all of your testimonials into the audience’s lap at once. You can start with a few, include at least one on your order form, and weave the rest of them in seamlessly throughout your talk. Or you can begin with an extended case study.

Whether long or short, you want your testimonials to feel like an organic part of your presentation.

I’ll show you how to accomplish that next time.

*FTC compliance is beyond the scope of these articles, but do check the latest guidelines to be sure you meet the requirements.

How would you like to make five figures in sales from the stage, every time you speak?

I have your attention, right? If you’re interested in speaking for the purpose of sales, you’re going to keep reading, right?

The first step in crafting your 90-minute presentation is constructing your grabber.

The grabber is the first thing you say when you get up on stage. It’s a bold statement about the promise of your work. And it’s designed to grab the attention of your audience right off the bat.

Knock Their Socks Off
You may have been taught that you should begin your speech with, “I would like to thank everybody for being here today, the promoter, Joan Smith, for having me here, and everybody who made this possible….”

While there’s nothing wrong with a little appreciation, when you’re speaking for the purpose of sales, it’s not what you lead with.

You’ll sound like an amateur to your promoter. But worse than that, you’ve bored the audience right out of the gate. They’re shutting down before you’ve even had a chance to open them up.

Instead, you want to get up there on the stage with energy, power and promise, and knock their socks off with a strong and true statement about what your program can do. You want to say something like:

“How would you like to learn five steps that will help you double your income in the next four months?”

The audience is thinking, “Wow, really? This person is going to help me double my income in four months. Yeah, I’m listening to this.”

Step 2: Lay Out the Game Plan
After you’ve grabbed the audience’s attention, briefly lay out the game plan, tell them what you’re about to do. Here are a few examples, using the Step 1 illustrations from above:

Step 1, the grabber: “How would you like to make five figures in sales from the stage, every time you speak?”

Step 2, the game plan: “Over the next hour and a half, I’m going to share with you my eight-step formula for crafting presentations that will have your audience lined up in the back of the room.”

Step 1: “How would like to be debt-free ~ and I mean you don’t owe a dime to anybody ~ in six months?”

Step 2: “Over the next 90 minutes, I’m going to teach you the five secrets that credit card companies don’t want you to know.”

And here’s an example of how it all could flow:

“Would you like to throw away your insulin syringes and get your life back? [pause] Of course, you would. Over the next 90 minutes, I’m going to teach you my five-step plan that has helped thousands of people get off insulin and lead productive and healthy lives.”

If your audience has diabetes or debt that’s strangling them or they want to make a bundle from the stage, they’re listening to you with rapt attention. They’re hanging on your every word, just waiting for what comes next.

What comes next is arguably the most critical and ignored step of all. I’ll tell you all about it next time.

As I said last time, even if you’ve never spoken publicly before, you can start making sales with speaking right off the bat.

Before I get into the steps for crafting your speech to make those sales, I want to give you five things you need to consider in order to set yourself up for success.

5 Ways to Set the Stage for Prosperous Presentations

1. Consider Speaking for Free
If you don’t have an established speaking career, I definitely encourage you to consider speaking for free. Your real money is not going to come from a speaking fee anyway. It’s going to come from back-of-the-room sales.

In fact, many speakers I know make a lot more from sales than they’d ever make in speaking fees or keynotes alone.

Yes, it is sometimes possible to both get paid to speak and make sales. However, there are a lot more opportunities to speak if you’re willing to do so for free. Numerous organizations in your own community would be happy to have you.

2. Is Your Objective Leads or Sales?
Sometimes, even when you’re speaking for free, a particular venue will not let you sell. That’s not necessarily a reason to turn down the opportunity, because you can still make the event very profitable by getting leads. Leads are the names and contact information for attendees that you can contact later to offer your products and services.

You just have to make sure that you collect those leads in a way that doesn’t upset your promoter. I’ll tell you all about that later in the series.

3. Build Your Talk Around Your Product or Service
You want the subject of your talk to be directly related to what you’re selling. This may sound obvious, but some people miss that point.

For instance, if you’re offering financial consulting packages, you might do a talk on what to invest in during a down (or up) economy or how to save a bundle on your taxes.

That way, your package or program expands upon what you teach the audience during your talk.

4. Learn About the Room
You have to know something about the people you’re speaking to so that you can tailor your content or delivery somewhat. You don’t have to know everything, but you should know their background, the promoter’s background and the primary reason they’re in the room.

I’ll get into this more next time and tell you how I learned this lesson myself—painfully.

5. Get the Ratio Right
Your speech can be as long or short as you like, but ideally it’s about 90 minutes. That gives you time to follow all of the eight steps, create value and sell your product.

80% of that time should be devoted to teaching them something that they can apply in their life or business, and 20% should be devoted to the close, to overtly selling your product or service.

If you devote more than 80% to providing value, you won’t have time to do an effective close. If you close for more than 20% of the time you’re onstage, your audience might feel gypped or misled.

You’re actually selling the whole way through, but during the value portion, the selling is subtle and embedded in what you’re teaching.

The goal is that by the end of your speech, your audience wants what you have.

You don’t have to sell them anything.

They’ve already sold themselves.