Behind the scenes with a motivational speaker.

There’s always a LOT going on behind the scenes here!   So, what does a funny guy like me have to do in order to keep it all together?   Here’s a Bright Idea:   hire a Virtual Assistant.   So that’s just what I did – I reached out into the “V.A.” world and found a great one.

Introducing Renee Blanchard!  Renee is the newest member of my team and will head up my office without even working there.  (Though we both live in Colorado.)  We work in perfect harmony from miles apart by using internet-based tools and the phone to keep the business running smoothly.

So far our favorite tools are DropBox, GoogleDocs and Filemaker Pro & FreshBooks (free).

Renee brings her experience from the corporate world — including her last stint at Hewlett Packard — as well as her business ownership experience to the table.  She will assist current clients, and manage those all-important, behind-the-scenes details that make everything run smoothly.   In other words, she’ll help organize the office to free me up to do the motivational speaker thing — writing, researching, (Continue Reading…)

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What?!  A Free Motivational Speaker? No Way!

If you want funny motivational speaker Brad Montgomery to speak free for one of your charity organizations it’s easy—  just book Brad at full fee for your organization,  then Brad will work with one of your favorite charitable or pet organizations for free.    Maybe your kid goes to school that needs Brad’s special blend of motivation and comedy?  Or maybe you’re affiliated with a survivors group?  The local food bank?  Or a  home for special needs kids? A support group?  Or your church, synagogue or mosque?   No sweat.. Brad will work with that organization for free.

Here’s how it works. Brad will speak for your organization as usual.  Then, during that same trip, Brad will speak to your charitable organization. If  you’re looking for a top notch funny motivational speaker for your Rotary event, the staff at your local school, or any special group or organization  that deserves something special but doesn’t have the budget for it, here’s your chance to make a splash.

It’s Brad — two for one!   Book Brad

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I had a very bright high school student call me recently.  She kindly asked if she could interview me about my job as a motivational speaker for a paper she wrote.  She was a great kid on the phone, and as you can see by her email (and paper) below you’ll see that her teacher agreed.  

Emily:   you’re  a rock star!  Keep it up girl and let me know if I may be of further service.

Here’s her email

Dear Brad,

I am writing to you both, as you requested, to let you know about the outcome of my senior project about motivational speaking.  I wrote and presented a speech about technology to a retired men’s group, which went really well.  I wrote a paper about my research, and I mentioned both of you.  An attachment of the paper is included in this email.

The most nerve-wracking part of this entire experience was presenting my topic to my panel of judges.  I had to speak to them about more than the material included in my research paper, because they read my paper prior to my presentation.  After a recap of what I learned in my research for my paper, I talked to them

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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 the speech to emphasize the theme or core message of the speech. When the stakes are high, a speaker needs to ensure that his or her audience takes home the message that they intend to convey. Branding an idea, concept or phrase into the listener’s mind is accomplished by (Continue Reading…)

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