I was recently in California at conference of the National Speakers Association when I had the chance to see a long-time pal, Steve Spangler speak for the entire group. I hate him.
Steve is one of my fellow Colorado speakers. He and I met in high school when we were both magicians… we have a long history. He speaks to all sorts of groups now, but his start came from the education market. (He has been a magician, scientist, teacher, TV news guy, and motivational speaker at
different points of his long career.)
What happened in California? He killed. He absolutely killed. They loved him — which shows the audience’s good taste; he did a great job.
What made him so terrific on that particular day? I could go on about his charisma, his preparation, and his right-on-target content. Or maybe it was because he was truly funny. Really funny.
But mostly, I think the reason Steve did so well is that he invested years — decades! — of effort in order to make that event rock. He has done everything from magic shows to class room demonstrations to science elementary school assemblies to huge education associations to his growing business of public seminars (where he teaches teachers how to rock their classrooms). Oh, by the way, he’s been on a Colorado news show for several hundred appearances, and has recently been featured on Ellen. Three times. Yes, that Ellen. (Sheesh.)
In other words, he spent twenty plus year preparing for that 30 minute keynote speech that shook up the National Speakers Association.
Do I hate him? Darn right! Who can like anybody with that much talent? I’m kidding! — I don’t hate him … I’m just too jealous and bitter to care.
Kidding! I love this guy. We’ve been pals for years, (he is part of my book, Humor Us) and it was a total pleasure to see him doing his thing at the top of his game. It’s fun to see a friend succeed. And it’s fun to see a genuinely nice guy get the credit he deserves from his peers.
I don’t hate him. He’s a great pal. I admire him. He rocked. He deserved every laugh and bit of applause he earned. And I was the one clapping the most.
What’s My Point?: When you hire a truly professional speaker you are not paying them for their 45 minute keynote, 90 minute motivational speech, or half-day seminar. You are paying the TRUE professional speakers for their lifetime of experience and practice.
The reason you can be so certain of your level of guarantee is that pro speakers have done so many things in so many different situations and had so many things go wrong — and right — that by the time they get to YOUR audience, they are ready to deliver. They are ready.
Steve Spangler was ready. And the audience loved him for it.
Way to go Steve! I’m proud of ya! Who could possibly hate such a nice guy who positively drips with talent? Not me brother… I’m a huge fan.
Care to comment? Does experience guarantee success? What do you think?
Technorati Tags: Steve Spangler, Colorado speakers, motivational speakers, California Speakers
Brad, I think experience only guarantees success if a speaker actually *learns* from that experience and uses that learning to keep improving.
Brad — You beat me to a post I was calling, “I Hate Brad Montgomery!” Thanks for your kind words about the NSA presentation. You really hit the nail on the head when you talked about a client hiring an experienced speaker. You’re right… a great speaker brings years and years of experience to every performance. Lisa’s comment about “learning from experiences” also rings true as professional speakers continue to grow and improve.
I have to get back to writing my “I Hate Brad Because…” blog post.