Brad Montgomery, Motivational Speaker

You’ve reviewed all the promotional materials, you’ve watched all the videos, and you’re confident that you’ve picked the perfect speaker for your upcoming meeting. But you’re not quite ready to sit back and relax. There are still a few things you need to do to ensure that your speaker provides the kind of event that attendees will rave about for a long time to come!

8 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Speaker

Once you’ve selected that perfect speaker, follow up with these eight tips for getting the most out of your investment:

1. Send your speaker lots of information about your meeting

Send your speaker lots of information about your organization and upcoming meeting.

Most professional speakers today provide pre-program questionnaires for you to complete. And while completing a lengthy questionnaire might seem like one more hassle in your day, it will pay (Continue Reading…)

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Few things create a more vivid perception of an executive than his speaking ability. The higher execs rise in an organization, the more frequently they are called upon to address others. Ironically, little or no training is given hapless executives to develop this skill. If they become good at public speaking, it is either a gift of genetics, they get lucky, or a combination of both.

A disregard for time | Unclear purpose | Inadequate preparation | Failure to capture attention | Pomposity | Boredom | False endings

Increasingly leaders are realizing their need for skills development that falls outside of what is typically offered by their organizations. That is one reason why executive coaching has become so popular. Often one of the primary areas coaches focus on is communication, both interpersonal and public.

As a professional who makes his living giving speeches and seminars, I’ve sat through hundreds if not thousands of (Continue Reading…)

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Everybody’s a comedian | Entertainers Go Corporate

By Courtny Lingle, Denver Business Journal

“I was always sort of goofy,” said Brad Montgomery with a genuine smile and a giggle straight from the gut. In his profession, being goofy is an asset.

Montgomery is one of a growing number of people around the country using humor to spice up conventions and the workplace and relay important messages to corporations via jokes, stand-up and improvisational comedy, humorous anecdotes and even magic.

Montgomery, a Denver local and self-proclaimed “funny motivational speaker and humorist,” says these days people seem to need humor more than ever.

“People need to be coached into remembering that life rocks,” said Montgomery, who has been speaking to audiences in Denver, Colorado and across the country for about 15 years.

With a bad economy, massive layoffs and the anniversary of Sept. 11 hanging like a thundercloud over people’s heads, a joker (Continue Reading…)

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

A few days ago, I was watching a video of one of my private coaching clients. Bill is a new speaker just getting into the business. As I watched the video, I followed along with the script he had emailed to me.

Discipline Pays Off

What strikes me about this beginner is his discipline. Although he is new to the speaking business, he’s an old pro in the insurance field. In his keynote, he talks about how his success in business is a result of simple disciplines that he had established early on in his career. Now, in this new field of endeavor, he has already written and nearly memorized a 45-minute keynote. Watching him speak, it is evident that his discipline will pay off.

I teach my students that the script shall set you free. I know it’s true from my experience in theater. I played George in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice (Continue Reading…)

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

It’s political convention time in America. The horse race is on. The bets are rolling in. Every word counts. We are witnessing the equivalent of the Academy Awards contest for the best speech. “And the Ronnie goes to…” The two dominant American political parties are having their nominating conventions in Boston and New York. Political speeches are everywhere.

Politicians Know Speeches

If you listen to the main political keynote speeches, you will hear two techniques being utilized extensively: The Phrase That Pays and Theme Weaving. A Phrase That Pays is a short phrase such as Walk Your Talk or Cast Your Ballot that calls the listener to action. It is short and sweet, musical and rhythmic and generally begins with a verb or action word. There is generally one predominant Phrase That Pays in an important speech. Theme Weaving is the repetition of a theme that is woven throughout (Continue Reading…)

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

by Doug Stevenson 2002

This is the SYNERGY issue

“We never become truly spiritual by sitting down and wishing to become so.

You must undertake something so great that you cannot accomplish it unaided.”

Phillips Brooks

SYNERGY

————————————————————————

Synergy is defined as combined action or operation. It simply means working together. Mastermind groups are about synergy. Working with a mentor or coach is a synergistic relationship. I like the above quote for this month because it eloquently speaks to where I am in my career and in my life, and to the need for synergy.

Story Theater is an outgrowth of tremendous synergy. As a result of this synergy, Story Theater has taken me all over the United States and now to England and back.

If you are trying to build your business alone – you are going to suffer from one of the most debilitating diseases known to man or woman – singular ignorance. You won’t know what (Continue Reading…)

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

by Doug Stevenson 2000

Story Theater tip of the month: Stop trying to please your audience!

The time to think about pleasing your audience is not when you are in front of them. By then it’s too late. The time to focus on pleasing your audience is at home, in preparation. That is where you can customize your material, consider their specific needs and add or subtract stories, quotes and content points. My philosophy is this; rehearse at home, not on stage. As an actor I am used to rehearsing prior to opening night. Actors would never consider stepping in front of an audience unprepared. Although speaking is uniquely different, one thing is the same. The best in the business are the best because they spend more time preparing what they are going to do and say and less time winging it. The concept of winging it brings to mind an unrehearsed (Continue Reading…)

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

by Doug Stevenson 2001

STORY THEATER Tip of the Month: Speak From Your Heart

==========================================================

I’ve had a revelation and it has changed my keynote delivery forever. The change was so subtle and powerful that it amazes me that I didn’t get it sooner.

It happened in Philadelphia at the Liberty Bell Chapter of the National Speakers Association. At least that’s where the revelation hit me with full force. I had just presented Story Theater to the

chapter members and…once again…it was an amazing experience. I say once again because I’ve presented Story Theater at fifteen chapters over the past four years and it’s always been a huge hit.

There’s something about speaking to speakers that touches me deeply. I feel like I’m talking to “us” rather than “them”.

Here is my revelation. Although I talk about speaking from the heart alot, I realized that I was doing it with a deeper conviction at NSA chapters than (Continue Reading…)

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

by Doug Stevenson 2004

This is the “Signature Stories” Issue – Part Two

————————————————————————

“It is far better to cover three points that people remember and implement, than twenty- seven points that no one can remember. Speaking success is measured not by the volume of material disseminated, but rather by the velocity of change that results from the presentation.”
Doug Stevenson – Story Theater International Founder

————————————————————————

Signature Stories: Part Two – What's the Point?

————————————————————————

Last article I asked you to pick three stories that had the potential to become signature stories – stories that you wanted to develop and use time and again. The criteria for choosing your stories are as follows:

* You learned a life lesson

* It was a memorable experience

* It was powerful and made a lasting impression on you

* It was a turning point for you

* There was a clear and present danger or obstacle

* You'll enjoy telling the story for years to (Continue Reading…)

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

by Doug Stevenson 2004

This is the “Signature Stories” Issue – Part One

————————————————————————

“There are two ways to persuade people. The first is by using conventional rhetoric, which is what most executives are trained in. That's not good enough, because people are not inspired to act by reason alone. The other way to persuade people – and ultimately a much more powerful way – is by uniting an idea with an emotion. The best way to do that is by telling a compelling story.”

Bronwyn Fryer, Senior Editor at Harvard Business Review

————————————————————————

SIGNATURE STORIES: Part One – Choosing Your Million-Dollar Story

————————————————————————

My definition of a signature story is a story that you become known for, maybe even famous for. Over time, you become so good at performing this story that people ask for it again and again. I know speakers that have made over a million dollars with one good story. Check that…one great story. (Continue Reading…)

Be Sociable, Share!

•