The Speakers Life

The speaking industry is going through huge changes at the moment. And in order to survive and thrive in this new age my guest today believes that you need to disrupt yourself. His name is Tom Sligting (AKA Tom Lightning) and he is a keynote speaker based in Amsterdam and a Professional Member of PSA Holland. In this episode of The Speakers Life we talk about how to add humour to your speeches.

 

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Artificial Intelligence Generated Transcript

Below is a machine-generated transcript and therefore the transcript may contain errors.

Hey, there is James Taylor and I’m delighted today to welcome my guest, the Tom Lightning. The speaking industry is going through massive changes at the moment. And if you want to survive and thrive in this new age, my next guest believes that you need to disrupt yourself. His name is Tom lightning. He’s a keynote speaker based in Amsterdam, and is also a professional member of PSA Holland. It’s my great pleasure to welcome Tom with us today. So welcome, Tom. Thank you very much, James, nice to see you again.

Thank you, it’s great to have you here. So share with everyone what’s happening in your world just now. Well, I, well, everybody, it’s summer now. So it’s July for if people watch this later, and everybody’s outside on the beach or having holidays. And I’m actually 10 or 12 or 15 hours a day you my studio, preparing because I’m so excited about a lot of new stuff. I I developed a lot of new stuff I think about and there is a lot of work to do, actually. And so I’m really into that I’m building your website, I’ve got my new weekly flocks. You know, I’ve been to Singapore for a couple of times. And every time you hear you need to to to to get out there. Well, I don’t have to tell you if you are out there every hour, I guess. So what I’m building on the whole speaker business perspective. So take it Take us back. I mean, how did you get into this very strange world of, of international speaking?

That’s very good question. Because international speaking, I haven’t been a speaker for the last 25 years. So that’s, that’s a strange angle to be a professional speaker. And I sometimes I’ve spoken in England or or important goal. So. But now my mindset is to be a global speaker, a global keynote speaker. And so I see that I see this way that I’m having my ship, and I’m just adjusting my ship, make it bigger, wider, and the range is going to be longer. So it’s not that I’m going to change something it’s not I’m going to be from a consultant to speaker or a doctor to Speaker, I have been a speaker for the last 25 years. But it is a big difference. If you work in the domestic market in Holland, to do company gigs, or you want to be an international global keynote speaker that is, but I really like to challenge. And that’s why I invested a lot in Well, the PSA Holland and the BCI international have been to Antwerp to Paris to Singapore. Tonight, I’ve got a meeting with a free for international speakers. So I’m really well last two, three years, do as much as possible to see what is that world about? and talk to the leaders who are who are in that market right now.

So tell us as you were you were starting to meet this, this transition from being a speaker in Holland primarily for the market there. I’m guessing you’re speaking mostly in Dutch, you’re speaking there having to make that transition to now speaking internationally. And I’m thinking you’re obviously going to speaking more in English there as well. Tell me, you know, as you were, first of all, what what was the key reasons that you decided you want to go international? Cuz I know a lot of speakers who do really well, and they just focus on their home territory, they don’t really travel outside? What was it about speaking internationally that, what made you want to do that? And then also, when you did make that decision, what were the first couple of steps that you took in order to start maybe researching or thinking about where you wanted to speaking?

Like, for the last 25 years, I am also a stand up comedian. And I do tailor made shows for companies. And I’m always booked as last speaker, because the last 2025 minutes, I just make everybody crazy. And that’s why people know me, that’s why people booked me. And that’s what, that’s what I’m good at, because I’ve got a lot of experience in that area. But I have also seen Well, I’ve done more than thousand companies show. So I’ve also seen thousands of keynote speakers. And to be quite honest, I mean, some of them are really good. And you can learn a lot from them. But I also have seen a lot of keynote speakers who were not that good. And then I and that’s actually I’m glad, because that’s actually why they booked me, they know there will be a speaker who will be having a good story, or a good message, but he will be a little bit low energy or a little bit dull or a little bit, you know, predictive. And that’s why they booked me because they said well, we have to end high, we have to end with a lot of energy and positive vibe. So I’m glad not all the keynote speakers have that well, because that’s why I made a living last 25 years. But your second question is why the transition? Then I thought, Okay, wait a minute, I’m getting a little bit older, I have seen the whole comedy scene in Holland and Belgium and, and then I thought, Wait a minute, what what if I was on that spot, and I combined all the years of experience and all the CEOs I’ve talked to the last 25 years or 20 years. That is a lot of content, a lot of information. And if I if I if I embrace that and make it some sort of bro, professionalize it, then I will be that keynote speaker. And that was just a decision I made three years ago. And then actually, the PSA Holland asked me, would you be a member, so I didn’t even approach they said, because we don’t have something, something someone like you in our group, you know, there are a lot of different speakers.

And I think that’s the best thing also, in companies, if you have a lot of different people from different angle, to do to be better and to learn from each other. So they didn’t had somebody with the background I have with a lot of speeches and the company. So I want you to be silent. And in the beginning, it was a little bit, I just said to Luke, and I thought it was hard that you have to go somewhere and pay for it. You know, I mean, if I open my mouth, I get paid. Now, of course, but you know, normally you know what I mean? If you do the performance, you get paid. But when you in the group of the P say Holland or UK or United States, thank you, we’re a group and you have to do it for each other. So it was a mindset thing. And then I said, Okay, I’m going to do it, and I want to learn as much as possible. And I just stood high. And and, and a lot of doors were opening for me when I made that decision was really, really nice.

I mean, you’d already obviously built up this, you were very comfortable on stage spoken a lot years, because you had that improv comedy background as well, you were very comfortable, but playing with audiences and the energy of audiences as well. Well, who the speakers are whether any speakers that you saw, who transitioned from being speakers, primarily in their home country, English wasn’t their first language, their mother tongue, to actually speaking in English, and really building an international speaking business.

That actually, to be quite honest, there were no real examples. For me, the only thing I knew that in the Dutch group where I am in, they’re all Dutch. And they’re all the first language is Dutch. And I think from the 12 people that I really work with 10 of them also speak in English. And that’s the second language. And for me, that was something, you know, to, it’s also a mindset thing, I’ve got to work on it and work on it every day. And I also acknowledge that I also see that I’m when I’m three days in Singapore, or I’ve been at a mastermind in London, and you talk to three days in English that is getting better and better. So it’s, you have to say to yourself, if you’re not native English, just go for it. And I know, I make a lot of mistakes. I know there’s some time I sent since I’m not that well, but it’s all about communication. So if you have the right energy, and you prepare, and you don’t care about the mistakes, I think a lot of people will will go for it. And if I say one more thing about that, I mean, Frederick Aaron told me once, because he’s easy. He’s He’s an example for me.

And I see all the other flocks he’s been named to. But that’s, that’s normal, because he is. He’s a really brilliant guy. And I asked him, because he’s from Sweden, and this is not English, too. And he said, Well, it’s only approximately 1% of all the English that he’s been spoken in the world. It’s a native Englishman, to a native Englishman, and the rest of the world is bad English. So he just said, welcome to the Welcome to the club. Okay, you’re in the 99%. I mean, the 99% bad English was welcome in the club, you know, it’s, you, you see it like that, you know, it’s, it’s just you have to do it. And some friends of mine said, well, it’s terrible, and you shouldn’t do it. And it only makes me stronger, to just go out there and, and don’t even think about it.

But I do think that people from Holland, you do have a, you have an advantage over a lot of maybe other non native countries vision non native English speakers, because I don’t know, when it goes back to the homes always have a strong trading country. And so most people I know, from Holland, they speak five languages, multiple languages, very good at languages. So I guess that puts you a little bit of an advantage because you don’t just know Dutch, you know, English of your French and German. Yeah, and maybe Flemish, you know, the other other languages as well. So you are in a bit of an advantage there. So you kind of started to launch yourself into the speaking industry, globally. And in this industry industry. I first saw you speak in Singapore, and I’ve never seen you before. And I didn’t know anything about you and you got up on stage. And you were you were really funny. And you were playing with the audience and you’re trying different things. And it was it was a great energy. And I just assumed you’d be an international speaker for you know, 20 years or something. So it came as an absolute surprise to me when you said that was like one of the first big speeches international speaker son, yeah, in English. So how did how did that feel? Because not only were you doing an international speech in Singapore in English, absolutely. Speaking to 300 or something professional speakers.

So that was a real hard gig. And it was the tailor made show. So it was not my standard keynote. All right. Frederick, Karen asked me because that’s why he, that’s why I met him.
He asked me can you make a real Taylor made show about humor in speeches, and you have half an hour? And that is pretty, you know, that’s a challenge. But I have, you know, that’s all I’ve got to do with with mindset. And as a professional speaker, you have to have the right mindset and have an insight how I look at it. I just focused myself, how would I be if I looked at myself? Would I would I like me, I would I like my own speech. And let us for a professional speaker or maybe any profession. That’s a wise thing, because then you step out yourself. And you’ve got to be honest. And you and I see myself working. So two days before the event started, I was sitting in that room. And you know, I see myself walking, I see the power, the energy, the the the be murder, everything I had on on stage.

And then you just imagined, do you want to be the normal guy or the regular keynote speaker that they are? Do you want to be outstanding? And you want to even love yourself when it’s finished? Well, I mean, the answer should be number two of costs. And that’s what you have to focus on. So never focused on what if people don’t listen? What if they don’t like it? What if I forget my lines, what if it’s all I don’t, I don’t even have one of those in my in my area. In my in my vision. My whole vision is I’m doing the utmost best speech. And, and that is because I’ve been in a lot of situations that I needed that technique. I’ve played for four or 5000 people I’ve played before Julio Iglesias, and people didn’t even know that I was on, I flew to Afghanistan, I had the most difficult performances ever. And that’s the only way to survive, to see yourself do vision shot you got your yourself and and see the best version of yourself. And that’s actually a phrase that I use in my speech right now, but I come up with that one that’s real, genuine, the best version of yourself. If you focus on that one, well, the possibility of the outcome that it will be the best version of yourself is much higher here. Then all the all the difficulties you see, and if you see well maybe I cannot do it because if that’s the vision, you will you will drop out.

I love seeing even great comedians on stage or great speakers you really a very comfortable using humor and and and so the jokes well in what they do. Because I know how much work goes into crafting those things. Everyone outside it looks like wow, this person just naturally funny. And they’re obviously love naturally going to get this huge amounts of thinking writing creating material. So for those speakers are watching this just now what what any kind of smooth, simple piece of advice, if they want to add more humor to the speech, if maybe they feel like that you just mentioned it earlier, that kind of speaker that goes up in their stages, it’s very good, but maybe a little bit better than boring. And what they can do just to lighten it and add humor to the speeches.

Well, if you if you see your speech as it your track, so let’s say it’s 3030 minutes, and you want people to laugh. If you have if you have audio track of a comedy show, it goes like like this. So why Mr. Yellow, red, yellow, red, yellow, red, yellow, red, that’s too much. But if you if you record your speech, and you see only a green, a green area, that you know, wait a minute, there’s not a lot of buzz, there’s not a lot of, you know, so then you just have to find it. So you look at your speech, you said, Wait a minute, after 10 minutes, I’ve got this story about my son, there’s gotta be something in it, then you just have to have to look for it. Because it doesn’t happen just because you asked for it, you have to look for it, it’s you have to work for it. But this is a way to look at it. Because people just want humor. And that’s, that’s, that’s a big balloon, you know, that’s, that’s nothing, you have to grab it. But if you say after nine minutes, because it’s called. And then I want about bias or an opening or at the half or then you know exactly where it is. And then you just try to try to find it. And it may not happen the first time. And then you work on it with the comedians do that to why a lot of comedians go to, to open mics. Because when they have a really, really good phrase or a really good one liner, it’s you know, it’s one out of 10 that they they instantly habit nine out of 10 they work on it and they shape it and they take a word off and they in between and and suddenly it’s a totally totally different angle. And there is the best one liner that ever had.

That is 123 months work. So when you wouldn’t when you’re let’s say you’ve got that nine minutes and you think I need to have something I need to lift it I need to add some humor or something to to that that piece. Where do you start? You are you are you think do you use like visual, again, mind maps to can a map map? And in some communities you can a main maps? Or are you just going on long walks and playing with the ideas? Or Where’s your inspiration coming from?

For me? It’s like like you said the mind map? So if I would be creative, never be creative behind a computer screen? Because then it’s then it’s analog, then it’s 12345. and creative process is something that yes, well it’s create creates while you’re working on it. So if you get a big sheet of paper, I even work on flip over papers, because then you have endless crossing and arrows and red and white and yellow. So in the middle, you just say well, I want to joke about this. You don’t even know why what what is all possible is that you’re you’re because you’re a father because you did because that that and then suddenly, something comes out of it. And that can take one or two hours, but can also take two weeks. But that’s the time you’ve got to invest. Yeah, if it’s not your profession, if you’re not trained to find the humor, it’s going to be kind of take longer, go even paper, if you even you also have to have the skill to do it on stage and multiple times. So that’s the biggest that’s the biggest challenge and be willing to fail and be willing for that to try that thing.

And it doesn’t work or you don’t get i was i was a work in progress show from a comedian recently a British me Ricky Jovi’s great, really funny guy. And he was he was doing a whole series of trying at new material, and it’s very small little club, and to see what was working. And even as he was because because everyone knew that is this is a work in progress. He would say things like, Okay, well, that was not going to make it Is it because you feel it in the room or like lovely, far too far. And that we actually bumped into him the next day. And then there was one particular line of jokes, which I’m not going to place it because they’re so rude. And so out there that it’s if you know, Ricky Jabez, you know that you can go out there by action. I said this, I said, I said to him, I said, I really liked what you will do it like that thing there. Were UN there. Yeah. And he said, Oh, no, I think I think I’ve got something there. But it’s not quite, it’s not quite there yet. So I could see it in his brain. He was like working through how I could How could develop it, how he could push a little bit further. And that’s once again, these are all the skills that comedians use all the time. The things that speakers are trying and need to add into the shows as well.

And if you’ve ever been in frame because when you make up a joke, don’t bring it as a as a joke. That’s very important. Because if you if you say something like, you know, if you say this as a line in between, and people laugh, it’s great. If people don’t laugh, you just go on. So it’s not a big hustle. I mean, for a comedian, it’s like a dun dun dun da bomb, there’s got to be laughter because it’s you push the one liner into the room, but a lot of laughs into keynote speaking or because people don’t expect it because it’s a serious talk. And then don’t be bring it as like, because of that. No, oh, okay, it was.
But if you just say it, and five people are laughing and say, okay, there must be something in it. And then you work on it, change your work next time. 10 people laughing and before you know, you’ve got it fixed. And then you can bring you this job because you believe in it. But before the job is finished, don’t bring it as a job as a professional speaker. Just say yes. Just Just put it out there.

I think I think it’s exactly here. We said he tried to add him every seven minutes is a dog and seven minutes before adding something in otherwise, it’s just it’s too much. It can be too much for the audience. If you just said, you’re saying you know going into the red you don’t get near that level. Like what I said he just looking at speed seven minutes, it’s got to be something seven minutes, and then you record it to do it. And it’s beautifully, you know, and balanced for him. And for him is seven minutes. Okay, for an hour one is one good laugh, okay. For me, it’s like, you know, every two or three minutes, it got to be something interaction, but left. But it doesn’t have to be it just happens.
So that’s also important. I mean, you don’t you don’t need humor, it’s something you you just use to to feel better. And because it’s the sort of arrangement you make with the audience, and if they laugh, they love you a little bit more because there are some some empathy for you. And and the chance that they will listen to you even more focused is higher when they have laughed about you or something you sad because they respect you. And that’s all in that in that package.

Yeah. So and as you’re you’re making this transition from being a speaker in your own country to being an international speaker. I often think that humor is one of those challenging ones in terms of how to how humor travels. Yeah, I see some. There’s actually a great speaker. It’s called Tim Gods from America. Really, really funny, funny guy. And his humor is such a it’s so International, so humanistic, it would work, whether it wherever we give it in the world doesn’t matter, the face of America. And I saw another speaker the other day, Mike Walsh movies, a British British Hong Kong speaker. Yeah. Mike is a futurist. So it’s very kind of high tech stuff. But he because he has a little bit of the British thing that’s going on there. He uses a type of humor, which is almost like making fun of himself. And kind of downplay because it kind of takes the edge off the futurist part as well. When you’ve been, you know, either for yourself, when you see those speakers who are using humor that you really admire that are doing internationally, what what are they doing? Well, what those speakers are able to take humor and make it International. So watch any audience is any kind of things, patterns that you’ve noticed there?

Well, the main is a very simple answer, but the most thing is think globally. Because if you say, if you got an opening line, like, you know, at the bus station near my house, no, it’s I mean, even if you if you know, living near my house, you don’t even know what I’m talking about. And some comedians do that. I mean, I work a lot with comedians from the United States. And they come over to Amsterdam, and I said, You know, I live in the Bronx, and you’ve got this and that there will be no, you know, and they go totally flat out. But if you say something about relationship, if you say something about your economic system, if you say something about Nike, or or Apple or something, everybody knows that. So you know, so think think globally. I mean, if if they’ve got phones in India, and they’ve got cars in Guadalupe, or so, and relationship and hate and love, and and everything between it. So your topic is got to be something that if you are in a bar in Singapore, or a convention in South America, people would have to say, Yes, I know what you’re talking about. So that’s, that’s the most simple answer, globalizing.

And one of the things that I think what, regardless of which audience where you’re speaking in the world, is using props to do things because it’s, it’s a visual, it’s a visual way of doing now, I think you’re fantastic. You obviously love using props. I’ve seen you speak a couple of times. The last time we were both speaking at an event in Paris together, I think possibly is the only event I’ve ever spoken at where they had to lock the doors, because there was actual Riot going on outside. But anyway, that’s the story. But you you actually put a prop along and and had real fun with us. Yeah, yeah, two props on that one. So tell me about why you use props, why you like using props, any, any things you’ve learned along the way that other speakers can learn from?

Well, the first of all, is we’re not making it up, I just do it. I never think what might people think and it’s not real keynote thing. And, you know, it’s like, if you make it up, just do it. And maybe I’ve done a lot of things that I stopped after five or 10 times. But now I’ve got something this crazy, credible sizer and I’ve got some some trust in it, that is going to be a sort of flagship for me. And there’s, there’s two two main reasons why I do it is, you know, maybe see whatever. The first one is, because I just make it up. I didn’t, I didn’t said I hadn’t needed to Bro, I had a story about Angry Birds, because that’s a crazy company, you know, 70 million customers in three months. And now, after three months almost bankrupt, you know, it is a crazy business model. So if you talk about disruption, they are a great example. And then you think, Well, where’s How can I can I, you know, make this example more visible more and more engaged, mobile. And then it said, well, an angry bird is, you know, making stuff. They break stuff. And I want to interfere, I want to ask somebody in the audience, and then you have to say Angry Birds can be a microphone in it and wait a minute, then if you use a catapult, so it’s ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, you know, it’s just a creative process. I but I never, in a set of comedy, I never have used props and company gigs. I never use props, because you’re the last 20 minutes you walk on, and you kill the show, and you go, but now as a keynote speaker, there are no boundaries for me. And maybe it’s not normal. Maybe Booker’s won’t book me because they say well, magnificently, your Come on, it’s going to be serious business.

But that it gets to will be some Booker’s who say, Man, we’ve never seen something like this. And we needed something totally different and give it a try. So and well, to be quite honest, let’s say we’ve we’ve met in Paris, the 45 speakers, were there over there. And they’re always three or four, you remember, not 4590 35, not even 25. And I’ve learned that from all the festivals I’ve played, I’ve played a lot of theater festivals. And even when I’m a speaker at a big con convention, and there are five or six or seven keynote speakers, and the director and the marketing guide, or 1230 speakers, they only remember you because of something. And I don’t say it has to be abrupt, but it can be a beautiful image can be a beautiful sentence, it can be your stage performance, it can be your suit, it can be your interaction, or it can be a problem. And for me, it’s a couple of those things I just said, and I know. I mean, I only have this crazy catapult Iser for one or two months. I’m not sure yeah, but you are going to be the guy with the catapult.

Yeah, yeah. But you probably should own you should probably get a domain name, catapult. speaker.com. Well, look at it be because it’s funny because people are I know number of speakers this which they don’t almost used in their domain name, don’t use their name. They use what they’re kind of known for, like, exactly, Rob older woman is the wingman, your wing man calm. And we get to know them from that as well. But I think the other thing that that does having the visual prop. So now I’m sure everyone’s gonna have to go online and see your cat. Please do. The nice thing is certainly that the catapult Iser is it was not a word in Google. catapult Iser, 25 pictures. So you can go find that one. But it’s also that thing when people go into the office on the Monday morning, or the net, you know, a few days later, oh, you went to that conference?

What, you know, what was it like, okay, and it’s, it’s what I think Malcolm Gladwell he calls them the n equals the the popcorn or the sweets or the candy or something where you might be at an event for two days. But you you you want to be happy to have the idea of the thoughts that you give to the audience, or the thing or some action or some prop that you put into the mind, which is easy for them when they get in the elevator on a Monday morning with their colleague, going from elevate, you know, grand grand level up to the sixth floor ever floor there on the exit? Oh, yeah, I saw this guy, he did this really funny thing with the such and such. And then it’s then it goes from the well Tell me more. And then obviously, when you tell me what what he’s actually it was talking about disruption. That was that was really what I’m talking about.

And so it’s a big flag. Yeah, you put a flag in somebody’s head. And and you will, you will just be remembered by that. And that’s actually why they and it’s a lot of fun. And I was talking about I’m talking about disruption, disruption my audience. So if you if you ain’t a big catapult of two meters to an audience. Don’t do this, you know. I mean, it’s I mean, I didn’t even know that when I made it up. But I it’s you call it walk the talk. If you talk about disruption, I have to disrupt my own audience. So and that’s what I do. And I will do it even more than that will be even more things. Because I’m not thinking, is it possible? Or what would people think? Just do it, you know, I just wrote a beautiful song, a jazz song, and I just want to close off with a jazz number. And song and all the, all the highlights of my keynote about digging deeper and better version of yourself are in the lyrics of that song. And we sing it along and people, well, sort of guilty pleasure thing. They hate singing. But they also if you do within a group, you see the lyrics, they will have to sing along, especially when you’ve got the microphone, you just push it somebody under his mouth, that’s pretty disruptive.

So I’m working on a lot of other stuff. Yes, because it’s, it works. And for it’s also fun, it’s creates a lot of energy, it creates a lot of, you know, unique kind of, of keynote. And everybody should do that in her or his way. I mean, if you are a normal scientific speaker, be a normal scientific speaker, but I am this high energy, crazy creative guy on stage. So I have to be that it would be totally stupid. If I would talk for 45 minutes in a technical way, like a lot of blah, blah, blah. That is that that’s not me. So you’ve got to be honest to yourself, that’s the only only tip I can give.

So you sweeten the medicine a little bit, I guess in terms of this disruption, because disruption could feel like maybe a negative thing that’s going on, we’re being disrupted, and it feels like something is happening to us. We you flip it around with the audience. And so you’re known for his idea about disrupting yourself, you know, we can go as a huge area disruption, but I thought what might be useful to talk about just now, before we start to finish up is obviously your speakers you remember, you and I are working together? And what areas are you seeing the you finding is most disruptive just now in the speaking industry? And how can you trying to disrupt yourself as a speaker in order that you can build an international speaking career? Well, how can I disrupt myself, I think that it’s got to do with, with guts. And that’s, you know, I created all this content and and, and, and six staff to disrupt yourself and, and the chemical dyes are, and now I just have to go out there and shout of the roof that I do that. And that’s exactly what I do. For the last eight weeks, I make days my make those weekly flocks. Actually, I’m a performer, I’m a speaker for 25 years. And the last two months, I only posted in English, because a lot of people from Malaysia, to Hong Kong to to Singapore, but Paris, they react on my on my stuff. And so I focus on the global speaking and I I act like a global speaker. That’s that’s, I mean, that’s what you have to have to do. I mean, you you cannot wait that somebody calls you and asked what situation is, so I have to go out there. And I mean, we are in the mid summer. So that’s why I just finished all my website, and I’m finished all my content for my flock for the next two months.

So now I am just to catch up with you also, I hope is find some booking agencies who find to see my videos of that’s credible ties through CD energy. I’ve got more than 45 testimonials of people, you’ve seen my show. And I mean, if you if I ever feel bad, I never feel that I’ve ever feel bad. I’m going to look those testimonials because then you see 45 loving reactions of people who like you were surprised were blown away. So that’s also something you have to do. And last time in Paris, I said to two or three speakers, when they were finished. I mean, I mean, you’re sitting here get asked testimonials. No, no, no, no. And I was asked, you’ve got to do it. And they they really think me with two hands after that. Because you have to go over that rich is stupid. You go to somebody, here’s my iPhone, what do you think of me? What do you think of me? I mean, but you have to do it. It’s so much worth and I mean, you need that, especially when people are going to look you up. You need some testimonials. I mean, I can make beautiful websites. But I could make a website have a bakery tomorrow, but I can bake bread.

It’s funny, you know that there is a us talk about the bridge bridging from someone, you’re getting a testimony from the one I the one I’ve always used in the past is if I’m lucky enough that I’ll have someone with me. And what if someone comes up with you, when you come offstage? invariably, people come up to you, and they want to talk to you. And I love that thing you mentioned there, or this thing really means a lot to me there or I’m going to try this. And and they’ll say it to me. I said, That’s fantastic. Would you mind saying that on camera just now. And then I just I basically just cost me just as a as the camera. And I we you know, you get a lot of those really, really, really quickly as well. Absolutely. So you know, you’re you know, I love working with speakers like you as well, because, you know, every speaker is coming from a different place. And I think where someone like you is you’re like, like a, you know, a great car, you’ve got that, you know, great engine, the body work great. All the technologies really, really there as well. And my job then is to provide that field. It’s to provide that jet fuel in there. And you know, don’t directing a little bit as well, because you have so many the component pieces. Yes. And now not every speakers have come to this party.

It’s funny you say this? I thought about it, if you would ask this question for how do you how do you feel this this afternoon because you know, speakers lose a lot of metaphors. I would have said I feel a little bit like a sort of Elon Musk, creating this Tesla. And everybody loves it, and everybody likes it. But you know, they have to be sold. Me. So that’s exactly now you use this is metaphor. You are like this beautiful car, with engine with everything in it. And it’s it’s there behind a window. And everybody’s Oh, man, look, it’s great. I would like to ask one. Well, you know, there’s got to be somebody you said, Well, he’s out there, you know, you can drive from actually. So to be close to God, that’s a great metaphor. You guys actually had that before to close off? Yeah, you definitely you definitely want to be in the Tesla as opposed to what was the name of the car they used in Back to the Future I adore. DeLorean a DeLorean Loria actually made in Northern Ireland, I think you were made those cars. I know what really great, interesting cars, but they’re just like, it just did what Tesla, you know, it’s just, they’re really well made. They’re well constructed. The technology is great. And it’s just giving them the fuel. So So I mentioned to your speakers, your speakers, you members, well, what what, what things have you been finding, you know, being a speakers, you remember what you valued about your membership?

Well, you know, I’m always honest. And the point is, I see speaker speakers, you as a big database. And what I mean by that is that you’ve got to do 95% of the work you’ve got to do by yourself. So if you really see speaker us as a coach, that is sort of you know, I will will take you along and that is not speakers you. So actually, I’ve been a member for one I’ve years and maybe three weeks ago, I opened the website, and I saw some interesting stuff that I needed. But that’s okay. I say now into the mirror myself here. That’s my fault. Because I could do that a year ago. But nobody taught me. And you don’t have to tell tell me, maybe you could that’s okay. But it’s, you know, it’s. So my point is, there is a lot of information, and I just downloaded the PDF what to do to go out there and that there are some interesting things. But it’s not that you are going to mail me like Tom, I didn’t hear something from you last month. And I thought we agreed this or that. So speaking you is a sort of that is a sort of train and but you’ve got to be on the on the platform, and you’ve got to step into the train. Yeah. And then everything is their beverage, food content, everything is there.

But you you’ve got to have the initiative SS speaker, I think and I think, like you said, like the members they get most from it is those those who are they are self self motivated, in terms of doing the things and they can going line is it’s funny, you know, different speakers will, will get feedback at different times some, it’s almost every day, they’re sending in questions, because they’re working really intensely on something. And other times, I’ll go for a couple of weeks or even a couple of months, because they’re they’re on the road speaking, they’re actually out there doing the thing that the know they should be doing. And they come back as Oh, I’ve tried this, but this thing isn’t working. And now I want to move into this new territory. And now think I’m about I’m on the road all the time. And I need to add some back end revenue streams, because I want to be more critical of the kind of gigs I do as well. So that’s another level that you go to with them. So I’m good. I’m glad you’re finding new things all the time as well. And I let’s go to some other tools. What other tools or apps do you find very useful for yourself as a speaker tools or apps?

Well, I, I don’t use a lot of tools or apps, because I think it’s a it’s a pretty much a mind thing, you have to have everything in your head. And I’ve got this, this this little beautiful board over here and everything when I’ve got an idea I just write it on. And sometimes I look at it, and I just take something out of it and kind of work on it. Because that’s also what happens in the creative process. You, you you, you have this and this and that. But you have to focus on one area, make it make it good, and then go to the booth, put it aside. And then you can focus on another area, like website or content or customers or opportunities or whatever. If you do it all at the same time flocks and social media, then it’s going to be chaos. So I just have this this big board over here with a lot of words on it, I guess. Take one word one. Topic one pointed, I have to have to do. And I’m just work on it till it’s done, actually. So one word, finish finish website. That’s that’s where mean two words. But that can be two weeks work.

Yeah, a bit. But it’s good to know that you’re capturing those. A lot of people, I need to do this for them. They never capture it. And it never gets done. Because there’s not it’s not getting measured in any way. And what about a book, if there was one book you would recommend to speakers? It could be on speaking or could be on humor or on business description. What would that book be? I mean, I’m actually writing reading it down for the second time. And I think some other speakers said it to that it’s being a global speaker of Frederick Heron. I mean, that is a sort of very simple, you know, it’s like, yeah, sure, of course, yeah. I knew that are out there, don’t do this. But you know, it’s still it is something you know, if, like a small sentence, if you want to be a global speaker focus on global customers. That’s one sensor said, but that’s really powerful. You said in three minutes ago, sometimes you are in a sort of area of clients of schools, or or, you know, I mean, you won’t be a global speaker, if you perform for schools. That’s my opinion. So if you use that sentence, look for global companies, if you want to be global speaker that is very powerful. And that’s only one sentence out of the book. So, I mean, that is a sort of, I mean, it’s not a Bible, it’s just a sort of mini hand pocket book that you have to reach. And everybody’s got something different out of it.

Yeah, I guess what because where you’re based as well, there’s a lot a lot of global companies that have their headquarters in Amsterdam or New York and Brussels and because to you as well, and many of them have been your clients over the years so then it’s about using that relationship to be able to say you know, or go to Malaysia you know, as anyone I can speak you’re in your Malaysia office, and to build those relationships. What about what’s in your your speaker bag? You obviously have your capitalized? I don’t know. How do you say it again, cap? Get appetizer has to bow ties and your capital ties a good word. But what else are you carrying with you to your speaking gigs? keras I always try to film my shows. And I’ve got new a bag with five cameras. Five cameras. Well, yeah.

It’s one 4k cameras. I’ve got one expensive camera. And actually, I bought four cameras secondhand. And maybe that’s also good tip today’s I guess I just had a look. What were the best cameras eight years ago. So if you would go to you, Japan eight years ago, that’s not that that’s that long ago. And every Sony is something they would say this is our flagship, you know, the best camera. And they are out there the market now for 2530 euros for 2530 pounds, because it’s seven or eight years old. And people want the newest camera 4k. But actually, those cameras are pretty good. They have three CCD sensors in it so they can with different lights, they are really good. And I’ve got just 16 gigabyte memory card in it. And even if you lose one of somebody steals one, okay, whatever, you know, it’s 30 euros, and I’m always my 4k, big Sony camera, I put with the technician forward for the big angle. And you can zoom in because nobody uses 4k. So you can do. But the other four cameras, you just put bomb bomb bomb bombs. One one from the back is always really nice, because then you see the audience. And then you can make a sort of semi professional editing instead of one camera. Because one camera is never professional. That’s Yes, that’s a nice footage. But it’s never a movie. It’s never too. You can never engage with one point of view.

So these cameras that you’re getting, are they like, former camcorder style cameras, or are they regular? Like, I guess you can call camcorder style. Yeah, Panasonic, but it’s a three CCD, and they are 25 euros now. Second hand, but they had brilliant food. It’s because those cameras were $900, seven years ago $900. I actually have one of those cameras. And I think I bought it secondhand. It was about $200 I got in Canada. And I feel I’m pretty much all of my first lot of courses for one of my other businesses on that. And the other day, I walked out how much money I’d made. And it was insane. The ROI of this one simple, Carol, I just put up on a tripod, the courses under there. So as you see it doesn’t have to be overly technical. You have your cameras. I mean, did you have your tripods for the right part? Or?

I bought some, some, some cloth. Yeah. with with with a with a mountain it? You know, they they really they because the tripod is always a big hustle. You know, it’s like a big thing. Yeah, but if you’ve got a clot No, I have it right now. But it’s something like like this. And there’s a claw and you can just screw it somebody or somewhere like this and put it on. camera ready? Yeah, no, it’s that really works well, because then I mean, it’s not much based in my in my suitcase, also because it’s a small clock. And you can there’s always a pipe or or something that you can just screw it on. And you get four or five cameras, different angles, and you just, you know one hour that you can film 90 minutes with a full battery and a 60 gigabyte memory card. And you have the cameras as a visual. So what about the sound? Well, you doing to record the sound when you speaking?

Well, if I’ve got this on my 4k camera, I’ve got an external microphone. And so that actually works really well. And if I if it’s a real nice performance, I’ve got this zoom or or I can take it it’s an external audio record system. Yeah, you just go to the technician. And you say I’ve got an XLR here. Do you have an output and Kudo? Of course, they always work along and you just put it there and you can you can put it in six hours before that you can put it on record, because you know that audio is not that much data. So even if I’m at four o’clock in the afternoon, I install it at 12 o’clock, I put it record and even if there were some really good key speakers, keynote speakers before you have you’ve got one on tape, you can listen tell it but no telling you. I’m also guessing that many of the speakers are speaking the same events for you. They might be coming up you afterwards see any chance I could get that footage like that? Yes. I just sent a big movie to Bob OE and and Lloyd Luna is a 30 minute movie with four cameras, I we transfer to Lloyd Luna, he was really happy with that. Fantastic.

So I won’t even have questions we finish up here. Imagine you woke up tomorrow morning. And you had to start from scratch. So no one knew who you were, you’d never been booked, you don’t have any contacts anymore. You have to completely restart. What would you do? How would you restart your speaking business? research? I mean, you I mean, Fred Waring always says that you need to speak at least 100. People to to to to get your content. And actually, you know, I my content is actually like i said i did more than thousand company shows. And that is my, my big bucket of information. I talked to hundreds of people for two or three hours before I do a gig. And then you hear a lot of inside information. Sometimes you cannot even share this information about fusions or or or people who are getting fired, whatever. But then you also hear why and what we when we talk about disruption. Family, you know, little bit what is going on in this company and why is this division is doing well. And this division is doing so well. So that’s all the insights I have. And the last couple of years I just started to go five years ago, I didn’t even know I needed that information. But now I sort of remember all those kinds of conversations. And I make notes, of course. And when I look at those notes, I see a sort of pattern. And that’s what I can use. When I talk about disrupt yourself. I know what it is when you’re in that room. I know what it is to to work for a company and not everything goes well. And they ask a live too much. And so that’s my area of research. But if I were to start over again, you meet your bucket of content, not from the internet, not not because you see a TEDx. But but it’s got to be personal. It’s got to be from you.

Having those conversations, that’s great, great advice. And if people want to reach out to you maybe to recommend you for a speaking gig or to connect with you to learn more about what you’re doing, where’s the best place to go and do that? Well, I’ve got this website next global speaker calm and it’s working right now. It’s I hope this afternoon it will be ready. Please have a look. Next Level speaker calm and of course LinkedIn. Tom slick think slash Tom lightning. I think if you google Tom lightning, I will be there because when I do SEO, I always put my names on every picture that I put on my website, whatever. So I mean, if you do a little bit of research, you will you would have, you will have to find Fantastic. Well, Tom, thank you so much for coming on today, sharing all about all the incredible stuff you’ve been doing how you been building your speaking career is great to have you as a speaker, as you member as well. It’s always a delight working with you and seeing your speaking career go from strength to strength, and hopefully we’ll be sharing a stage again together in the near future. Maybe you know, maybe if you’re going there, Maybe yes, maybe yes. I’m telling you that too. So I mean, there’s this it’s a cool loud read right now. So we’ll just we’ll see you in the maybe anyway, February. You heard it here first. So you may see us in Namibia. Don, thank you so much. Take care. Thank you very much YouTube.

How would you like to get paid to travel the world to share your message and expertise? How did it feel to get paid 5000 10,000 $25,000 to travel first class and stay in five star hotels in exotic locations. What I’ve just described is the lifestyle of international keynote speakers. And you can join me and over 100 of the world’s best keynote speakers, and speaker trainers as they reveal their secrets to becoming a better speaker and getting booked to travel the world as a professional keynote speaker and Bestival. As it’s an online summit You don’t even have to leave home plus it’s not going to cost you a single dollar euro pound ruble peso or yen. If you sign up for the free pass at International Speakers Summit calm you’re going to receive access to never seen before video interviews over 40 of the world’s best keynote speakers. In addition to this, you’ll get access to archived interviews from some of last year’s summit guests. So in total, you’ll be able to watch in depth interviews with over 100 incredible speakers and speaker trainers. You’ll have to find a theme for your keynote presentation how to craft your talk how to get booked as a speaker, how much to charge and ways to get paid to speak on stages all over the world. So what are you waiting for? Head over to internationalspeakerssummit.com now

In today’s episode of The Speakers Life, filmed in Stockholm, I show you how to collaborate with other professional speakers to grow your speaking business.

 

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• Building a bigger pie
• Fredrik Haren
• Referrals
• Recommendations
• Content collaboration
• Co-authored books
• Online Summits
• To learn about more ways to sell your speaking programs join the SpeakersU waitlist at https://speakersu.com/s-sum/

Artificial Intelligence Generated Transcript

Below is a machine-generated transcript and therefore the transcript may contain errors.

Hey, there is James Taylor, founder of SpeakersU. Today I’m in Stockholm in Sweden talk to you about the power of collaboration. This week, I’ve been hanging out with my good friend Frederik Haren. And it was a global keynote speaker on creativity. And he also owns his own personal island not far from here. So we’re having a fun few days just hanging out, you know, food together, sharing speakers stories, and also talking about collaboration, different ways to collaborate. Now, where I am just now I’m actually speaking to you from the Grand Hotel. in Stockholm. It’s a really famous hotels where the Nobel Prize winners state when they receive a Nobel Prize, and lots of really famous people, you know, presidents and prime ministers and movie stars have stayed here, over the years wonderful hotel.

But yesterday, I was at the Nobel Prize Museum, as I was walking around, I noticed how many of these Prize winners were winning them, you know, maybe two people were winning them together, they were they were collaboration, they were winning them as collaborators together, I have something that’s an area that we don’t really do enough office speakers how we can collaborate. So we can together we can create something pretty amazing. So have a think about that just now as a speaker, ways you could potentially collaborate with people you may consider just now to be your competitors, who others other speakers are speaking the same topic as you that you could reach out and discuss ideas on how to collaborate. And there are a number of different ways you can collaborate together as speakers. And one of the simplest is, let’s say if you get inquiries that come in, and sometimes you can’t do an inquiry, because you’re not available to do that. What about just referring that to your competitor, the speaker, and they could do the same for you very simple. Another way you could do it is, let’s say you could you work out a deal where maybe the other speaker, two months after they give a speech at a particular conference, they can reach out to that conference organizers and say, Thanks so much, again, for having me speaking your event. up probably already starting to plan your next event, I’d like to suggest a speaker to you let me introduce such and such that that’s because especially if you’re a keynote speaker, it’s very rare that you’re going to get asked to come back to the same conference The next year, or even the year after that. So there’s an opportunity here for you to refer someone actually to help out that conference organizer.

Now, sometimes I know some speakers, what they’ll do is they’ll actually do commissions on that. And they’ll receive a commission for referring someone. In my case, the way I usually think about it is I’m happy to to refer someone and maybe they’ll come back and good karma. And they might refer me for something as well, doesn’t matter. You can have commissions, you don’t have to commissions, there’s no particular way that you have to do it. But nothing is a nice practice to do to be able to refer someone if you really truly believe in them that they would be the best person best speaker for that job. And another area is around content, about critical creating content together. So many of your competitors are speaking the same area, they might speaking the same topic as you but they come at it from a completely different perspective. So what about co authoring a book together? What about co creating an online summit together? What about producing a report of some sort together? What you’re doing there? as Robert Cabot said it from NSA is about you growing the pie? How you let’s see if your if your topic is on self leadership, if you get a number of self leadership leaders and the speakers together, to write and talk together and collaborate together in order to grow the topic of self leadership, it’s not self serving, it’s serving the group is growing that pie. And that’s what I was thinking as I watched, where trend this Nobel Prize museum and so all of these incredible inventions that have come up, these ideas have been generated because of collaboration. My name is James Taylor. Thanks for watching.

This episode of the Speakers Life is sponsored by Espeakers. The innovative platform that connects speakers will event organizers and associations. Espeakers provides cutting edge tools that will elevate your online presence. streamline your speaking business and maximize your exposure in the Speaking industry with over 15 years in the business 10,000 speakers in their community and over 20,000 events managed annually each Espeakers is the preferred choice for top speakers. You can create your own profile on a Espeakers today by going to speakersu.com/Espeakers.

In today’s episode of The Speakers Life I talk with Kevin Cottam, speaker on the nomadic lifestyle.

 

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• What speakers can learn from Harley Davidson branding
• Non-verbal communication
• Speaking in the round
• Understanding your performance space
• Expanding and contracting
• Entertainer vs Performer
• Fredrik Haren
• Signposts
• Finding your inner theme
• Writing ‘The Nomadic Mindset’ book
• Finding the stories
• What does being nomadic mean?
• The movement of the mind
• The power of the circle
• Freedom and flexibility
• Starving the body
• The Berber’s of Morrocco
• Three cups of tea
• From service to hospitality
• Simplicity and agility
• Nomadic, builder, settler
• Seeing the opportunities
• The gig economy
• Cognitive flexibility
• https://www.thenomadicmindset.com

Artificial Intelligence Generated Transcript

Below is a machine-generated transcript and therefore the transcript may contain errors.

Hey, there is James Taylor. I’m delighted today to have on the Speakers Life, Kevin Cottam. Kevin is a speaker, and author who writes and things and talks all about the idea of the nomadic mindset. We learn a lot more about that today and how that relates to us as speakers. But he didn’t start out as a speaker, he actually started out as a figure skater in his native Canada. And we’re going to learn about that how you go from being a figure skater into the world of professional speaking. But today, what he’s able to do is he travels all around the world, talking and talking to different types of nomads. And it’s my real pleasure to have him on our show today. So welcome, Kevin.

It’s always a great time to spend with James. Thank you very much. So share with us what’s going on in your life just now. Well, what’s going on in my life right now is is the book the nomadic mindset never settle for too long is having its live launch in Singapore tomorrow, which I’m very excited about in the in the group thing about it is a fun place. In actual fact, it’s going to be a partnership between the wise which is a relocation company, and Chapman CG, which is that executive search company for, for HR professionals only. And it’s going to be held at the Harley Davidson show. Wow, that’s a classic brand. I mean, amazing. I mean, and I even added I did some research, you know, who rides Harley’s? Why do they ride Harley’s What is it, and it’s really, they are truly nomadic, the ones that go out there. And I was very interested to see some of the qualities and understanding about the freedom and the carefree ness, the community, the ability to just travel and also but most of all, just, you know, the freedom of which is the end the independence, which I think is extremely important. And I think, for all of us as speakers, this is one thing that we may sometimes forget about is this Nomad ism, which is within us, and that we need to constantly bring that forth for our creativity. And I know that you do that an awful lot through all of the work you do. And you’ve got your tentacles in so many different places. And, and I love that about you because there’s like there’s no borders with you. And I think that that’s it’s such a refreshing space to be in. And that’s where we speak is without borders, maybe that needs to be a new nonprofit that we started to go. So take us way back. Wait, where did I think I mentioned that you’re from Canada, originally. And you started out in the world of figure skating? So how does a figure skater become a professional speaker Tell us about that journey?

Well, I mean, I was involved in Figure Skating at a very high level. And I used to choreograph basically with them, and I would coach them along the way to become better performers. Right. And that was really the important thing. And it was also about extracting, you know, like fighter does extract to their inner theme is that I was trying to extract this creativity within figure skaters to make them the best look that they could be at that time. And I think that, so going into speaking was a more of a natural transition, because I went from speaking to filmmaker as a, as a filmmaker, a short dance filmmaker, I was also a dancer. So there was all a variety of different aspects of entertainment. And, but it was all nonverbal, most of my life. So now it was like, Oh, my God, I got to use my voice. And I got to speak in a different way instead of just my physicality, which I think is a very, very different piece. So that’s how I sort of transitioned and I, I knew that there was more to life than simply figure skating and I left figure skating and around 2003 however, I did my last show for holiday a nice in 2008, eight. So I think of of a skating rink, you know, that’s a big canvas to be working on. You know, you love space, in terms of in terms of speakers, you know, we speak in different sizes of rooms, sometimes it’s really small and intimate. The time is a huge arena, that’s an arena the other day in Istanbul, and you have to use your your physical energy has to change in the room the way you project. And so what was what were some of the things that you learned from that kind of nonverbal side of being able to communicate on a, in a pretty big space, when you’re talking about often thousands of people. I mean, first of all, you have to recognize that if you’re in a big space, like a stadium, that generally it is it circling around, just like in the old historical days of the Coliseum, everything is in the circle in the round.

And when you are in the circle in the round, there is obviously a different audience all the time. And so you need to be able to pinpoint where certain people are, where the judges are, where the TV cameras are, you need to have this real focus. So you’re actually looking at a pretty low level a lot of the time, and instead of actually looking up and, and when you do end up looking up a lot of the time and expanding outwards, it becomes a real challenge for a lot of the skaters. And so it’s about, it’s about really understanding space. And I think that’s one of the things that is very difficult for speakers is they don’t understand space, they don’t know how to fill the body, the body fills the space. And how do I do that on a proscenium stage, which is most of the time, what speakers are on. And I think that that is you narrowing your focus, instead of expanding and narrowing expanding and expanding and narrowing. And I think that that is one of the things that I also learned from nomadic cultures, is this whole concept of being very expensive, but being able to narrow in and make decisions. And I think that this is also relates back to your space that you’re in, because no man is live a lot of the time in these very wide expansive places. So that, again, is something for us as speakers to relate to as to how to how to minimize and also to maximize, in very, very fast way. And I think that that’s what also entertainers are having to do on an ongoing basis is, you know, the play stadiums. And, and I, we’ve talked a lot, and you’ve talked a lot about presence in the past, and there’s a difference between an entertainer and a performer. Right. And I think that this is extremely important is that there are certain entertainers, like I would say that, for example, Tina Turner is a performer. And, and Madonna is an entertainer. And a lot of the entertainers, they need a lot of backup, they need a lot of other stuff around them to make the whole thing and entertainment. Whereas for if you ever experienced Tina Turner, is her presence is so powerful if you can sitting in a 60,000 seat to perform a stadium, and she can come on stage and you’re like blown away, and but you may be sitting in the back. And that’s that powerful energy. And that, as you have talked about also comes from that authenticity. Yeah, if I came from that real inner self, and as you talk about, I’m reminded of a concert I saw many years ago with with Tony Bennett, in the Royal Albert Hall in London, and came out on stage, you know, right before I came on was probably five and a half thousand 6000 people there.

You know, and it’s, you know, the come over the beginning, there’s an energy, but then one point. So that’s the kind of expanding part. And then some point in the set. It all went like this. And it was just him and the mic and the piano player. And it felt like you in a really small little jazz club. And it was just you and him. And he was he was speaking to you, I thought was an incredible skill as a performer to be able to create a connection and communicate in that type of way. So you can be big when you need to be. But then you can also bring people in and you can contract in that way. I love I love. I love the idea of that idea about the entertainer performer. Because I’ve seen I’ve seen Tony Bennett’s Raiders technical writer and it’s not very complex. bottles of water I think some towels and the pianos I think it’s actually very simple. So I think he’s in that probably that performer camp, you’re talking here?

Because I think you know, like today, I mean, a lot of the time, you know, we’re all asked to be okay, let’s if you gotta entertain. And you know, I feel sometimes when I say that, when I hear that it’s like, Okay, I’m a stand up comedian or something like that, or I’m a monkey or, you know, you’re asking the entertainer, I would prefer to move towards the idea of a performer. And I think that that I think we as speakers. That’s a hard transition. And I’m not really sure how it happens, because it really comes from the inside. Yeah. And I think that that is really one of the most challenging things. So for example, I mean, when you see people like Dame Maggie Smith, or you see the great, you know, some of the old great stars, you know, and you just think how do they do that? And the people that can play a game what we’re talking about here, people that can can move from theater to camera, so it’s like why to very narrow right is how do you do that? It’s a very different skill. Absolutely. say they’re able to do this based so you talk about this idea of nomadic mindset. So first of all, let’s Where did this idea of of being interested in nomads and nomadic lifestyle nomadic mindset, where did this originate from? Tell us that that that inception of the journey

is great. I love telling this part because you know, Frederick Heron very well. And, you know, so I think a lot of it is about signposts. And so what I share with you is this is about signposts. And it’s about looking at signposts and finding when they come into your life or appear in your life. And you think, you know, maybe that’s useful at some point, and maybe it’s not. However, what’s happened was, and I guess, 2017, I realized when I went home to Canada at one point, and winter, it was go back to Adam, November 28. And I know December 28. And it was cold this one year. And I thought, I live in Singapore part time and I thought, why am I coming back here at this time of year? There was no reason before there was a reason because of my mother. But she passed away for two years, but I can continue to do the same old same old bread. Anyway, I decided I’m a global nomads, so I don’t need to do this anymore. And that’s when I started to think about this is a brand. So then I had I got a mentorship with with Frederick. And when I go back to Singapore, Frederick said to me, and I had my first session with Frederick case, which was do the inner theme, right is to extract that anything from it. And he got curious, what is a global Nomad? And so he asked me a lot of questions. You know, what is it? How does it feel? What would you do if you’re a global Nomad, etc. And then he would do his entomology and, you know, to look at many ways about what is the word? What is no man? What does it mean? And through the conversation, and he said, Well, you know, you need to write a book if you’re going to be credible. And you need to if you’re going to be a great speaker, a successful speaker that you need to have a platform. So is it what’s the platform? It’s around the Nomad. Isn’t it? Nice. And yeah, it is. It’s called the nomadic mindset. And he went, Wow, that’s a great idea. I said, I’ve never heard of that. I’ve never really thought about it. I’ve never heard anybody speak. And he said, that’s your platform. That’s your theme. So I thought, Okay, so what’s that theme? And so then he said, Okay, now you need to research to write the book. Oh. And he said, Yeah, you need to talk to at least 100 executives and different sized companies. And then you need to spend time with at least three nomadic cultures around the world. And I went, oh. So now this has become a real problem in my mind into my heart, like, Oh, no, what about how I gonna do this? And so anyway, I said, Can I just do the Nomad stuff by just anthropologically going to the, you know, the online and just checking out? He said, No, no. You have to go and live with them, you have to go and eat with them, you have to go in and listen to them, you have to go and observe them, you have to spend time with them on their daily, you just have to be that why because this is the experience. And these are stories that will enrich not only the findings that you have when you combine executive, and also the qualities of nominates, but now you will have a body of work.

So that’s how it came about. So I set off the journey went off and practice one for what he does that a number of speakers he’s done in a theme, helping them pretty car and finding those themes. And the reason I’ve heard him talk a number of the speakers as well about why you should go and do what you’ve just done, which is going to interview all those people go and live that way really go you know, go deep, go deep. And and he said, if you don’t do that the danger is you become which is like talking about music, you become like a cover band. Yeah, you’re covering other people’s songs, your UK, many other people stories, instead of being an original last second, David Barry, or, you know, someone else telling these stories. I’m you know, I sat there one night with this tribe in Mongolia. And I asked him What does being romantic mean to you? And and then you tell that story or working with that co what is what does that mean to you? These are your stories. Now other people are going to now come and use your stories, and they’re going to repeat your stories. Originally, I think I think that’s when you know, you’ve you’ve kind of arrived when you hear third party, your story is getting repeated.

You know, okay, that’s why it says like, you know, they’re doing your cover story, right? So, I give the nomadic mindset. And, you know, you what, how does that relate to speakers, though? this audience? You know, speakers up here that we have to do we travel, obviously, as speakers. But is there a deeper sense of this, this link between magic and being a professional speaker? Well, first of all, I think that we have to look at what does nomadic mean. And I think that most people think that nomadic means to move from place to place to find new pastures. That’s a physical geographical movement. So here comes the stories, right, so I’m sitting in Mongolia lounge, and there’s a woman who Frederick is also there with me. And he says, You need to ask her a couple of questions. And so I asked her, What is the meaning of Nomad, and she is the head of the branding Council of Mongolia. And she said, Well, as I said, most people think of it as moving from place to place to find new pastures. And she said, no, no. She paused. And she looked, she said, No, it means the movement of the mind,

the movement of the mind, the movement of the mind. And so if this is the movement of the mind, then what it how does that? How What’s that got to do with speakers, speakers, as speakers, we have to keep our mind moving. We have to keep our ideas moving, we cannot stick with one story and just beat it to death. And change just a few words. And whichever we need to find new stories, as we’ve all talked about, but that’s being nomadic. And that’s been moving the mind around moving, how can I contextualize this in a different way? How can I see it from the audience’s point of view in a very different way? Who am I truly talking to? And how can I be one with them. And it’s about if you are a nomadic, in this feeling you are about community, community is very strong for nomads, and it’s about getting yourself into the community. And it’s also about embracing the circle. So like you said, about this circle here, on the painting, it’s nomads, as you know, will sit in circles, that is called in certain parts of the world, that’s called a modulus. And they sit in a circle on the ground, there’s nothing in between you, there’s no tables, there’s nothing. And this goes back historically, because that’s the power of the circle, the energy that goes around it. And that as a speaker, we need to see even if we’re on the proscenium is that we need to see this as a complete circle in front of us. So when we’re part of that embrace of the circle, it’s like people putting the arms around you, that’s what everybody’s doing, and you’re in it. So this is part of the nomadic thinking, as we come back to, as you said, about skating is about that circle in the room. It’s an embrace of the circle. So that’s a piece that I think that we can relate to, as it’s what we need for speakers for actual performance. And, but it’s there’s no madness, of being able to be flexible, the freedom to speak on different platforms to be freedom to speak in different with different people in subjects. And also, it is this adaptability and flexibility to be able to move. For example, within a speech, you know how sometimes we get lost. And we have to go, that’s a signpost for us to go there. It’s not like, but it’s a signpost is it? Ah, let’s go around that and see what we can discover.

And I actually sometimes I even make a point. If I feel I’m getting a little bit too complacent in speeches, I will actually put send myself down dark alleys on purpose. In order to just raised heart rate a little bit closer, I’m getting out of this, I have no idea. Because it feels it feels it feels more live, then the audience It feels like for them, it’s always going to feel Wow, this, you know, we didn’t we didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect that as a speaker. So you’re creating that, that sense of community, I guess, as well. And there’s a there’s an interplay there. So when we think about nomads, the thing I think about a lot of nomads is obviously a sense of freedom, freedom of the mind, you talk about this idea of agility, and I think it’s especially interesting just now, where you having a lot of millennials, who are deciding not to buy traditional houses, and they buy things like tiny houses, living, you know, living in a different way. I think this we’re starting to see this as a trend that’s going on. But there is that thing, whether you know, I know from my family background into more than that Gypsy side of things, Roman ships he’s in you have the boat caravans of Gypsy, so there’s something that travels around, or whether you have you Mongolia, imagine it’d be the 10th, or the Middle East, you’re gonna have to tense. So we do need a certain amount of things, which provide a holiness, a sense that will no matter where we’re traveling, there has that when it comes to speakers of using anything in terms of speakers that what is that tent that they’re carrying around for either physically or mentally those things which allow them to have some sense of comfort, and familiarity, even though everything else is very, very different.

I think that you know, I don’t know about yourself, but I often will take things that are familiar with me in my kit, or bag and like you have done, and so that I know, those are familiar pieces for me. But I also like to think I like to be able to explore and to take things which are not. So I love to be able to explore a hotel room, or a hotel and complete and define what, what is what is new, what is something that I can maybe put into my speech, if I’m in this hotel, what can I then think about as a new piece. Because you know what’s important, and with any entertainer or any performer is that you have to find something new in every performance so that it doesn’t become stagnant. So it’s about working on something new, it’s about maybe a new story, it’s maybe a new twist a new word, or whichever, but it’s about finding something new. So that feels fresh all the time. So I think that there’s things that you carry with you. And you don’t want a lot. So yes, the nomads carry things with them. Big, but they don’t carry a lot simply because they know they have to move. They don’t want a lot of possessions, they only want things that are useful and used. They don’t want to things instead of pretty things or whichever, you know, they don’t necessarily have that or if there is something which is a spiritual placing, for example, they are in most of the yurts, they because they’re Buddhist in Mongolia, they will have a section which is like their spiritual prayers and their their trinkets and there are everything that goes along with that. What they do, they’re able to pack up in 20 minutes, tear everything down in 20 minutes and build in 20 minutes. So there’s a lightness that come there’s

a light. And with that lightness, if we carry too many things with us, like a you know, like the our equipment and things like that that’s carrying heavy stuff. It’s carrying things, we need to be light as speakers like to be ready physically, mentally and spiritually, to be on stage as a complete lightness. If that is doing yoga is doing vocal, it’s doing exercises eating like it what is what is it, it’s about keeping that body like, for example, when I was a dancer, is that I had a hard time digesting meat. Now, I don’t know how this has got to do with speaking but it’s about the lightness that you want to have when you’re performing is it there’s no point in having a heavy meal before you go on. If I knew that I had a hard time digesting meat. And so I became a vegetarian. And through that I was able to then digest very quickly. And I believe that in fact, you want to as a body, you want to starve it a bit before you get on stage. Drink water, but starve your body. And I say starve it because you are then opening up to lightness and you’re opening up to more freedom. And you’re opening up to possibilities. And that’s very nomadic. Yes. Think, I think, what do you do?

Yeah, I’m exactly the same, I don’t eat before, before I speak. I usually am drinking quite a lot of water in advance of it. Because I know it also not so much in terms of inside the man’s bed in terms of the body and the body. I know it takes about two hours for that water to be fully you go into the cells and everything. So I’m drinking quite a lot of water. The only thing I’ll occasionally have before I go on stage is maybe a banana or something very, very late. But when I come offstage, you know, yeah, you because I think you’re you’ve been using all the energy on stage. And you might not have eaten, and you come offstage. And I think there is. And so actually, I’ve seen a number of conference organizers recently that really understood speakers. And I did one recently, where as soon as we came offstage, it was actually in, in Bogota, Colombia, coming off stage, and they actually had some massage therapists there as well. And that I mean, because you obviously you’re using your body, I find most people will hold tension somewhere in their body. Anyone speaking. So that could be in your hands, it could be your neck in the back and neck, legs, wherever it is. That is great. I love absolutely love that to be able to have something like that. And then I’ve seen another friend of mine was speaker. He worked with a client recently. And they said, they asked him in advance, but we can advance. What do you love? What’s your kind of food you really love? And we’re going to make sure that when you come off stage after you’ve done meeting people, we’re going to have that there for nothing. That’s awesome. That’s really nice. That’s that’s going from service to hospitality. This is it, which is I know is a big thing in a lot of nomadic cultures, this idea of hospitality, as well. So what can we be doing as speakers to be taking some of that idea of hospitality being welcoming and and how we work that with our clients and our audiences?

is a great question. And I think that it’s really leads very strongly into the the understanding of what the manga what the Berbers do in Morocco, is that you’ve all heard of mint tea, right? And the tea Sam and Moroccan tea seminar where they do this dance up and down to pour it into this little shot glass. But do people don’t know that there’s a real history behind that and the meaning. And it really is, you have to have three cups of tea. And the whole idea of three cups of tea there’s a sir horror and proverb which says the first cup is as bitter as death. The second is as mild as life. And the third is as light as loud as a beautiful proverb. And that can be anything in our lives. However, the first cup of tea is very important. And you start the conversations and you start to and it’s all about extracting information, sharing information. And then you go through the second cup of tea, and then you go through the third cup of tea, but you want to prolong the tea as much as possible, because you’re gaining for them. It’s about gaining safety for the road is gaining, who are your alliances? Who are what is the information that you’re gathering and sharing? And why are you here, and you do it completely in the round without tables so that you are there is nothing between you. And I think that the important thing about this is that it’s understandable when you move around from different in the in the Sahara to different homes, and to different places, which you might be a tent, or it might be concrete, one room, whatever it might be, is that their tradition is they must welcome you. And they don’t know who you are, but they must welcome you. And this whole thing of the three cups of tea is an extremely important and never is the same as British right is having their tea ceremony. It’s about the social aspect of habit, we are too much into the speed of transactional information, get that tea over with coffee over that drink over, you know, get on with the next part of business. No, this is about getting this is about developing relationships. This is all about relationship.

And there is there is different in terms of the cultures as well. And going on there I met the first when I first moved to America, to the US. And obviously things are much more transactional there is Get to the point. And and I know that they say in Asia, that that it’s not like that as much. But I think that’s not true. I think there’s parts of Asia, which are very quite transactional. And other parts which are a little bit little bit slower, as well. And for me, that was always a case of like just trying to figure out which Who am I am I interacting with here? Am I interacting with a very North American more transactional style of culture, clash in the UK is quite a lot like that now as well. Yeah, my working with him, for example, in Middle East or Japan will have long periods of just conversation warming, things up seeing building that trust before you even get into and I think we can fall foul of sometimes of not recognizing it. If you’re a nomad, moving into a new place and you field with a new culture you haven’t interact with not recognizing that difference and trying to figure out, you know, where do we where do we go with this?

Yeah, I think that, you know, your original question was really how do we deal with that with the, you know, clients or even I, you can actually look at it as an audience. And so when you’re performing in actual fact is, what are the three cups of tea that I’m having with my audience? And how am I not necessarily gaming or gathering information, but you are in a very sort of energetic way you’re gathering information as you feel the room? Because you’re that you have these pulsations. Right. And I think that from not only that, but how you are sharing the information, how is it that you’re giving it to them, and I think that it’s and that’s what’s going to hold the for the 45 minutes or the tour 30 minutes or 20 minutes, whatever you’re doing is remembering these common little nomadic traits is about we are sharing, we are gathering information we are serving, and we are there as one, not just as many people but as one. And how to translate the topic that you’re now known for this nomadic mindset into what we call a fundable speech or a fundable keynote, where a corporate client will say, actually, this is right, have you have you had to tweak the messaging and and think about how they relate to that CEO who has a billion dollar company and has all these stresses and the shareholders are giving them hassle and MMOs new product launch? How do you relate the nomadic mindset to that type of audience?

Yeah, I mean, I, you know, I not sure that I’ve hit it just yet. However, I suspect that because this is relatively new in the last year. So I’m playing around tweaking with it, I have so much content, and so many different directions that I can go with a nomadic mindset, that it’s about, you know, being simple like nomads, instead of putting way too much into it. And I would say that, you know, I’m playing still with what works and what doesn’t work. I’m mixing a variety of story and metaphor of the nomadic journeys, and with also with what is in the real world, and what needs to be done. So there’s a very practical piece in one of my speeches, because in the book, I actually don’t just talk about the nomadic mindset. But I talked about three mindsets that live within all of us, and one is nomadic one is builder, and when a settler. And I think that these are extremely important for executives to understand that in one way, we have all those winners, we have a dominance of one more than another, remembering that we have a variety of different individuals within our company, but they have different mindsets. And they have, and they may have the same men similar skills, but the mindset is what puts it into action, those skills. And so you need to have people in the right places at the right time for the right evolution of your organization. And then you can also look at mindset, these mindsets from a trend of evolutionary, of an organization where they in a mind nomadic women, they build their women, the settler, and they become dinosaur, because they did not transition back to becoming nomadic in their thinking pattern, and their strategies and visions. So I’m playing around with a lot of the different story. And so for example, tomorrow on Thursday, I’m starting to use start off with the desert. And, and I think that what is also very important here is is that I talked about the desert, and then I saw I transition from there into isn’t a beautiful place that I taught really, it can be people can see it from different forms. And this is about mindset. And then I talked about this fellow, say exactly, and I say exactly says that nomads see everything is an opportunity.

So consequently, then I say okay, everything is an opportunity, even the desert is an opportunity to them. And then I move it back to well, you know, it was an opportunity for you to come today but accept the invitation come to Harley, the Harley and try out a Harley. But also to learn something new. This is a this is about finding that nomadic ness in what is an opportunity. So I twist, I’m trying to twist things around. And I think I think the topic you speak on as well. There also is a lot of I can see a lot of correlations there around where we’re going in terms of few your work with agility. simplicity, you mentioned there as well, the use of tools. And we’re having a whole bunch of different types of tools. Now artificial intelligence, all these kind of different tools are still fundamentally there, their tools to allow us to do different things, obviously, we’re seeing a huge rise in the gig economy. teams. So all these things as you talk about some of these things in in this nomadic mindset, I actually there’s a lot of, there’s a lot of interesting commonalities of what’s going on just now in the in the broader world, what we can, we can apply. So you’ve got the book coming out.

It’s already out actually great. It’s, it’s online, it says, and it’s out in the bookstores in Singapore now, which is great. And tomorrow will be the live launch, I just want to talk a little bit, just go back to what you were just saying about the Giga home and the change in the data, you know, digital transformation, etc. In this particular form. And we talked about digital nomads today. And I think that there’s a very important factor that one of the people that I interviewed it is Carolyn Hendricks from sabbatical in, in Estonia. And she says, you know, we have to get rid of the old agreements that are created politically, and also, institutionally within organizations, there’s a lot of old agreements of how we see things, how we do things, how we say, No, this is in this channel, this is in this box, this is in this box. And that is what today is about. Because we’re moving fast. And we’re using the digital, we’re moving out of those old agreements. And we need to think that as speakers as well as we need to move out of the old agreements we have made with ourselves, and also how we see speaking, is it’s I think that we need to start looking at it from a much more broader perspective. And because you know, how we get channeled into, this is the way things are. And, you know, when we look at the younger speakers of today, they didn’t have those borders, and we need to get rid of the borders. And I don’t end the mental borders as well as the physical borders, which of course everybody hates, but then you know, you as a gypsy coming back from that.

Gypsies hate borders, everybody, you know, so if there is none. So I think that you know, what you’re talking about there as extremely valuable as today is this nomadic mindset, we need to we can look at it from a perspective of what’s happening in the gig economy, digital economy, everything, as you’re talking about. And but the other thing that I think that we need to think about James and and that is, I think those are long for speakers, but also, what I’ve been talking with digital transformation is and that is that is this concept of interconnectivity is that we talk an awful lot about Ave any connection, we need connection, yeah, we need connection with the people in whichever. But this is, this is only of small piece, when you see and spend time with nomads, and if you think back actually in your in, in your inner cellular DNA of your Gypsy knows is that there’s an interconnectedness with not only yourself, but others animals and universe, spirit, you name, it is all interconnected. And when you watch nomads in the world, in their own land, it’s just complete walking of interconnectivity, they know everything that’s going on, they can tap into it. Now, as I talked to people in the engineers, and whichever and digital transformation is that they’re not interconnected enough, it’s still siloed. And this is going to be a danger. And this is a danger. I believe, for all of us. When we move into these. It’s like, I see an app. Okay, but why isn’t that app completely? Why is it just this app? And why is it not interconnected with another, another and another of another? And so we need to have these interconnections? I think that’s where we need to go is thinking that way.

And I think that’s that’s maybe a wandering around that that optimism, Holly Davison’s perfect example. Where in terms of the values, values I would imagine of Harley Davidson is around freedom. That is gonna be around freedom. But at the same time, they have very strong community. And they I mean, they have their badges and, and even the partners of the Harley Davidson riders, they have their own language festivals. So I think that the idea of freedom, it doesn’t have to be an ego individualistic thing. And I think that’s really one of the things you have the nomadic side and how the game is, and actually, you can get an increasing level of freedom when you are actually part of a community. So is it isn’t is, what was that expression as the phrase that, you know, the ability to hold two contrasting ideas in the mind the same time. And I think a lot of time we’re talking about freedom is to have as an individualistic type of thing any of the can be that’s that’s one way of looking at it. But I think in a lot of those kind of communities is the balancing those two different things.

Yeah. And I think that’s what comes into today the skill of what’s called cognitive flexibility. And I think that that’s extremely important there. I could go on about a test study that was done with the him bu in Namibia, and also Westerners. And which was very interesting to study and to study kind of goes like this, that they were given equally the same questions. And what came out first of all, was the Himba were much more cognitively flexible than the Westerner. And so then they went back and they said, okay, but, you know, the the Westerners, you’re able to take sidesteps, you’re allowed to look around your life to expand your thinking pattern here. So only when they were told that they were allowed to do that, then they came up, pretty much equal. So what is that saying? You know, it saying a lot about our educational system is the way we think that we’re thinking, Okay, linear. Know, this is the wrong way, as far as I’m concerned, that is that circle is we need to think circular.

Absolutely. So the book is now where’s the best place people to go to learn more about the book? And also that you you’re speaking to what you’re doing just now? Yeah, I mean, the best place is at my website, which is www dot the nomadic mindset.com. And then as close as you know, there’s the hash tag, the nomadic mindset. And then it most of the stuff is there online and on the website at this point in time, and it’s growing as we go along. And I think that, you know, just following me on LinkedIn, and or Facebook, I have a fake nomadic mindset, facebook, facebook page, as well. And I think that, you know, just following in that particular, and I’m really open to chat chatting with people in as much as possible about this, because I have to say that I believe this is a movement. And this is the movement that I want to share. Because I think that is I think the world and we have speakers and a lot of people have become very narrow in our thinking, even though think we think we’re very expansive. But I think we need to be able to much more expensive. And so we need to have that flow back and forth. And so that’s why I want to create this as a movement of expansion.

Well, it’s been a joy seeing obviously, your speakers you member as well as the joy seeing how your career starting to flourish with the book. And you’ve really you found your, your thing, your founder, amazing. And so now it’s just a case of like building now you can be on stage, I’m sure. All over the world traveling all over the world sharing this message is a great message. So Kevin, thank you so much for coming on today. For all the links here on the show notes. If we will go and check out Kevin, check out the book, get a copy of the book as well. I wish you all the best wherever you are in the world. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to share stage together at some point in the future. I want to share a stage with you so we can talk about Nomadism. And thank you very much, James, this has been a brilliant time. I mean, you’re a great host, and you’re a great guy. So I mean, thank you very much for your wisdom because you really have you have helped me in a considerable amount. And I think that you know, it’s going to happen in the future that I can learn a lot more from you. And so I like that trade in the new year. Thank you very much.

How would you like to get paid to travel the world to share your message and expertise? How did it feel to get paid 5000 10,000 $25,000 to travel first class and stay in five star hotels in exotic locations. What I’ve just described is the lifestyle of international keynote speakers. And you can join me and over 100 of the world’s best keynote speakers, and speaker trainers as they reveal their secrets to becoming a better speaker and getting booked to travel the world as a professional keynote speaker and Bestival. As it’s an online summit You don’t even have to leave home plus it’s not going to cost you a single dollar euro pound ruble peso or yen. If you sign up for the free pass at International Speakers Summit calm you’re going to receive access to never seen before video interviews over 40 of the world’s best keynote speakers. In addition to this, you’ll get access to archived interviews from some of last year’s summit guests. So in total, you’ll be able to watch in depth interviews with over 100 incredible speakers and speaker trainers. You’ll have to find a theme for your keynote presentation how to craft your talk how to get booked as a speaker, how much to charge and ways to get paid to speak on stages all over the world. So what are you waiting for? Head over to internationalspeakerssummit.com now

In today’s episode of The Speakers Life I talk with Cyriel Kortleven CSP, a keynote speaker on change.

 

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Artificial Intelligence Generated Transcript

Below is a machine-generated transcript and therefore the transcript may contain errors.

Hey there is James Taylor here and I’m delighted today to have a different Cyriel Kortleven with us. Cyriel is a global speaker and author on creativity and change. A digital nomad who believes inspiring others changing mindsets. And the idea that less is beautiful. He is the author of five books, and we’re not speaking on stage as you might find him at the Burning Man festival, or climbing up the ladder, this will discover in a minute. So first of all, welcome to the show, Sarah,
thank you very happy to be here.

So share with everyone what’s happening in your world just now what you’re up to the moment. At this moment, I’m preparing some new trips. So in September, I’m planning to go to Singapore again. So I’m reaching out to some people and see if I can do some stuff. And probably I got a request to do something in Australia next year. So they’re also slowly reaching out to some people build up a small network there some activating those people.

And I’m obviously your your speakers, you member. So you and I were going to work together a lot on that. And I’m always really impressed with you because you’re one of the speakers who you you you take an idea, you learn some Mary Smith training I’ve done or something we’ve spoken about coaching piece, and then you go and act, you’re very good at actually making stuff happen and doing it pretty quickly as well. Is that because the creativity bit in you is it’s about adapting to change being be flexible in that way.

Yes, absolutely. And that, I think, even as a speaker, because to be honest, at this moment, mind, my business is a little bit slower, which is quite weird, because of the previous years it was really going up. But if spend a lot of time last year on working on a new book, and then still do you notice that that in terms of acquisition and marketing, you have to stay on top of it. So for that reason, I’m really open to floor new things. But you see that more and more speak, speakers get booked fire, social media, those kind of things. So I like to experiment and not least do it. Do it for a moment, see if it is something for me. If not, if it cost me too much energy, or it’s not my style, or try to let it go and try something else. So yeah, I think it has something to do with creativity. Experiment, try new things.

I think that’s what you mentioned there about doing that. But I see this, I see this a lot with speakers, I coach, when they go into that book writing thing, because it’s such a huge, most because I know when they go into things, they go in like all in a really goal and you like to get dive and you’re you’re learning about your story, then you’re thinking about it, and you get the marketing and the launch. And as a result, there’s that period of you know, the however many months you’re working on that book where you got your focus, and you’re not focused too much on the marketing and the creative, but you’ve been speaking professionally now for about five years. But one of the that you very much position yourself is as an international speaker. speakers, I tell us about that. Because we’re both from pretty small countries, I’m here in Scotland, you’re over there in Belgium, and, and so there’s not lots of opportunities in our own home countries. So So tell tell me about your thinking when you decide to be a professional speaker, what the international piece was, yeah.

And immediately when I started immediately wanted to go international. So my website was mainly in English. And my focus was indeed, a global focus. And that’s, it sounds really big, but like you said, you know, like Scotland, Belgium, quite small speaking countries, not a lot of speaking opportunities. So if you want to make a living of it, you merely have to think in a different mindset or framework. So that was for me, you know, my my English is not perfect, but you know, I’m happy to go on stage and what I’ve learned from there’s also an interesting thing for non native English speakers. At the last event was in Singapore, somebody was sharing a story that apparently, most if you think about how many people speak native to native English, that’s only four or 5%. Now, I was quite amazed. But if you think about it, it’s quite logical, because you have a lot of times you have a native speaker talking to no native people, and you have a lot of non native speakers speaking to non native English. So I don’t think it’s, it’s a disadvantage, probably it’s even more an advantage because they use quite simple language. I speak a little bit slower. So I don’t see this as a negative thing.

No, I actually, I definitely think it’s an advantage. Because I think that was Heather Hansen. Remember how she did that? reshare 95% of all business conversations are happening between people. The English isn’t their their mother tongue. And a friend of mine Sylvie de justo, based in New York, she’s a German, German lives in New York. And she was getting booked all the time on these TV shows. And she finally asked the producer one day why, you know, have this funny accent? Why are you looking me?

And she said, Well, the producer, well, the thing is we love about you, is because English isn’t new your first language, you say things with a certain type of efficiency in a simplicity that works for the for the audience, and native English speakers, we tend to make things a little bit too flowery at times. And you can go directly. So you know whether anyone’s watching this just now you’re in India or wherever you are in the world. And you’re not a native English speaker. And you want to break into the listen to what Cyril saying there’s there’s actually an advantage here.

Yeah, absolutely. And then once, but what’s quite interesting is what I’ve done at the start, because how do you get international gig? So what I’ve done with the start was looking, okay, what’s the most direct way to learn something about a country? And one thing is, of course, visit that country. But then how do you start make connections, and I was already a member of or I think it was the same time that I started my speaking business, I followed an international PSA event. So professional speaking, Association. And that’s, that really helped my business because what what you notice is a lot of our professional speaker stay getter, and most of the associations the f1 international event once a year, that’s a great opportunity to visit that country at that moment, because then you meet a lot of fears. Since then, you’ve already got a lot of new friends speaking friends, you know, we got to know each other and, and that’s a very good start to learn something, okay, how speaking business work in this country, if you can make a connection, you know, some speakers can see you in action. And immediately, they can recommend you because they they already have a business in that country. So that’s also a very good way to start an international business. But you have to invest some time and money. You have to go

there and buy that plane ticket, get on that plane, go go there and spend time Exactly. You’re absolutely right. Now you and I both speak on very similar topic, mostly on creativity. You come in obviously from the change side as well. We have other people like Frederick Heron, example, Duncan, Wardell and then the US, like Josh Linkner, for examples. So there’s, there’s this grouping of probably 10, Dennis Jacobs in Miami to speak on on creativity. And I thought it was interesting to point this out to people that are just coming to this the speaking industry coming in at first it’s a it’s a special strange industry, and that we all know each other, if you speak on your topic, and what is maybe unusual for certain industries do this. I cover the music industry and is definitely isn’t like this and music industry. We refer work to each other. Yeah. So Talk Talk to us about that, about this idea of, of having this grouping of people all speak on pretty similar topics, and how you how you connect with them, how you work alongside them, and how you share ideas. Without was it competitive? Some project competitors?

Yeah, yeah, it looks like the first thing you might think, hey, competitors, and don’t go to work or talk to that guy. But but it’s almost the opposite. Because everybody has his or her own style, there’s already one thing I love to work in a very interactive way. My story is very simple, where you, you know, you make links with more water, new technologies, a different perspective to the business, same topic. But it was also quite interesting, you know, sometimes I get a request for a gig, and one of the biggest challenges is always the date, you know, am I still free because that’s in our business, you are the product. So if there is a conference, organize on that date, and you’re not free, okay, I want to make that client also happy. So at that moment, their team or topic is on creativity or change. So that’s perfect. You know, I know you, I’ve seen you at one of those conferences, I totally trust your, your, your content and your style. So I recommend you and and you do the same for me. So instead of seeing and it’s true, it’s I think it’s quite a bizarre thing in certain industries, because most competitors, they’re afraid to refer each other. And I think it’s even the opposite. And the topic is also so brought in our creativity change, you can approach the topic probably from 10, or 20, or even more different angles. So it’s easy to kind of add on, you know, once you’ve seen you, Hey, wait a minute, we can both have this, Cyril look from this perspective to it and, and it works.

Well. And I think as well, there’s also that I haven’t seen this go in many topic areas yet. But I think it’s actually I see a little bit in the social media, people, friends of mine to speak on social media influencers. And for example, what they do is they essentially crowd round, and their voice because they’re all competitors. But they’re all speaking of different things. They’re making such a noise together about promoting and sharing each other’s content and talking about each other’s work all the time, either formally or informally, we have this net, this network, that the whole topic of the end of influencer marketing is going up. And more conferences than a booking people are talking in homes and marketing, because it’s just being taught. So I think this is actually the opportunity that we have as speakers, if we think of ourselves less as just as individuals to actually to work together and to collaborate. And yeah.

And I think that a lot of countries, you know, the speaking industry isn’t that big thing in the US, it’s quite a big speaking industry. To be honest, I don’t do a lot of work there. I spoke there a few times, three, four times, but not know a lot. Because you think the speaking business is already quite, it’s quite busy there. But as compared to it to the other continents, like in Europe, it’s it’s okay. But countries like Asia or Australia, you know, they’re looking for speakers and the nice thing, and that’s, again, vaulted, if you are an international speaker, if you’re coming from a different country, most of the time, you think wow, you know, we have an international guests, and then immediately, you know, you go up in the ranking instead of being a local speaker. So it’s quite funny that I think at one moment, I had a request for the same company, one wasn’t Belgium. One was an Asia and in Asia, they were really talking while we can get the speaker it’s really nice. And and they are in Belgium plus, oh, no. Okay, we have we have a Belgian speaker and I didn’t get the Belgian gig. But it did something in Singapore, which is quite crazy. But I think the international aspect probably played a role in that will absolutely, yeah, Minaj best suited any cause of the alien advantage that you you have this foreign thing.

And I don’t think I know a big part of your strategy has been, obviously speaking globally, but also pushing into Asia along we I know you’re spending you spend a lot of time in Asia developing in some of those new new countries in Thailand a lot, for example. So tell me what you’re thinking about as Asia, there a particular countries in Asia that you find particularly exciting at the moment.

For me at this moment, yeah, I’m still building up my business in Asia, and then my strategy is to go least two or three times to the same spot. So now I’m even thinking about starting a business up in, in Singapore, why Singapore, it’s so easy. A lot of headquarters of Asia are based there. So if you can do something there, it’s a lot easier than to travel around, go to Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, those countries around it. So at this moment, I’m mainly focusing on Singapore, Hong Kong, what I’m noticing is that there is still quite a lot of focus on the training master classes. But that could be a good start and noticing that you are more and more open to have a kind of a keynote for logic group, and then do a master class to do a training of half a day or day for a smaller group of people. But I have a feeling that that that it’s really booming, I think, five years ago, it was the first time that I went there. And then also the Asia professional speakers, it was still a small group within five years, they boomed there, they are really doing Wow. And you have a feeling that you’re more and more open for also the speaking business. So that’s one of the reasons why Yeah, I want to be there. I mean, like it I like the people we love Thailand to make combine it with a holiday. So that’s also really interesting. Once you’re based in a place like that, or you have a good network. It’s so easy to travel and explore that part of the world. You know, talk talk about the lifestyle piece, because I speak 50 times a year. That’s my limit. I don’t wanna speak any more than that.

I’ve told a friend of mine the other day, he’s 163 keynotes last year. And I that for me, that would just I just can’t imagine wanting to speak that much and do that much for you. How do you Is there a certain number of gigs you want to be doing every year? How do you ensure that you have a lifestyle and also you’re doing the kind of speaking that you want to do? Yeah, for me at this moment, I would say that still, probably 50% is still in the Benelux because, you know, my my big network is here, a lot of people know me. But then 50% is a bit bit all over the place. 20% Europe, 20% Asia and 10%. Other places, I think, yeah, it would be somewhere between 40 5060 speeches, 60 will be off for me to maximum, what I tried to do is money half a gig internationally, I always try to stay as good as possible if you don’t have other things going on. But to stay at least one or two days longer. for a few reasons. One, at least have a half day to walk around, feel the energy of the city, talk to some people, but also have an opportunity to speak to some other potential clients.

So once I ever get, for example, in Hong Kong, but I tried to do is see if I can invite my network that I already have there if there is a speaking bureau or or potential client to invite that person to the speaking gig, because that’s still the best promotion. Yeah, no, I would say that. Yeah, probably 90% of my speaking gigs come via somebody who saw me. So I’m also happy if I’m going to a new country to do some free speeches or marketing speeches, do something for a chamber of commerce, do something for a Hey, HR leaders network. And then I’m really happy to play with my feed, because that was a good opportunity for me do that more people can see me. So I always try to stay one or two days longer. What I’ve also done certainly when he went, I’ve been several times to Australia, and that’s such a big trip from Europe, just going off one gig, it’s true. It’s really hard. So normally I plant two or three weeks, my wife came with me and we combine it with a holiday. So that’s that’s what we do still at this moment, probably twice a year that we combine it with a holiday of a week.

And, and you have a preference in terms of let’s say you’re going to speaking, I’m gonna say Bangkok as an example. You’re speaking engagement in Bangkok, giving preference whether you have those extra days, whether you have them before the event, or after the event was what’s your preference? Yeah.

But if you have a free agenda would book it afterwards Why then you’re done with the speech, and then you can really enjoy. Enjoy the holiday. In some cases a little bit harder, you know, if your way of speaking gigs meet the officer it. But then, yeah, the day before with notices that the client also live sets to know that you’re already in the country. A lot of times you want to have an extra meeting with you. So I wouldn’t book a holiday just just before the speech always have one day open for some business. Yes,

I’m the same as you. And I like having it if I have actually having it after the event, so I can, like, the only exception to that is if it’s an industry that I’ve never spoken up before. And it’s a three day conference, maybe I’m speaking on the last day. I actually like like what actually did this week? I went in the day before, because industry I’ve never spoken to before. And I was a little bit worried that you know, I don’t understand this industry do was it challenges. And I frankly, I just needed the day to go and talk to some of the exhibitors that were there to have a dinner the night before with some their clients. So I could really internalize and I mentioned that in the keynotes, I’ll use some stories and things so so yeah, so that I could talk that lifestyle piece, which it sounds like it’s very important for you. As you’ve been building your speaking career, was there a time when you maybe worked on something, it could have been a particular speech, or you did a marketing thing that you don’t, you’re speaking, and you gave it your heart and your soul? But for whatever reason, it didn’t work out like you’d hoped? And more importantly, what was the lesson that you took from that experience?

Well, maybe if one nice story is not really marketing or business wise, but it was more more conference wise, I think is a nice story also to share with the people who are not so experienced. I could. It wasn’t Australia, I think it was in Melbourne. And I could do the opening speech for the professional speaking Association in Australia. So which was really cool yet, hundred De Beers. So also quite exciting. Uber with work summary really developed my speech on it wasn’t a change mindset, but really adapted for the speakers. But they had a small event the evening before, before the real conference would start. What happened they had was was also speaker there was doing a bit more of some networking exercises. But at one moment, that person did an exercise and maybe you know, did I get sighs an exercise with Yes, but yes, it’s one of my main parts of my speech to suspend judgment. And suddenly, I had no clue what they were going to do. But then we’re doing all kind of networking exercise. So let’s do it. Yes, but yes, and exercise tomorrow, and that’s quite an important part of my presentation. But the exercise, what am I going to do it tomorrow, you know, I can’t I can’t do the same thing. Tomorrow and before. So that night was quite or the evening, even I didn’t join that working dream because it was really, but stressed, what’s going to happen, but at one moment, the lesson that I took a circle, you know, they invited you here to give this speech, you You are an experienced speaker, just relax. So what he did to the cold shower that really helped. And then it was things Cyriel, you know, they stay close to yourself this happened. Why don’t you use it, you know, when be be vulnerable and say what’s happening to you at this moment? Because it was quite stressed. I was thinking Oh, how would they go to react and after a allowed myself to get into that? That’s the mindset or more open minds interesting. Several you talk about the open mindset, so don’t be so stressed. What came up to me is Hey, so maybe you have to do something funny. And and and explain what is happening to you right now in you know, in your thoughts and what I’ve done and that was it was really a switch study made. The next day explain Hey, people normally I was planning to do an anxiety Yes, but yes, and but you know what happened yesterday? And then everybody was already think I here who what would happen if that would happen to me, you know, such a thing. And that’s what I’ve done have used a created a new slides with my thoughts are like a typewriter. You know, my, my my words are my thoughts came up into the slides on Oh, he’s using the same exercise. And that worked out brilliantly. So I explained what happened. And then he said, I made a switch. Now I’m going to do the exercise anyway. But I do it in my style from a different perspective. And it’s worked out brilliantly, but needed to do bring them in the right context. Yeah. So my advice of my learning would be as you know, stick to yourself, what’s happening to you and bring that story. Know your audience. They’re also human being. So if you explain your process, and I did it with humor that worked for me, people will appreciate it. And yeah, it was really work. But sometimes yet things go differently.

But I mean, we think about it. It’s interesting, you shared that story, because I think I said that, if you become more experienced, that is going to happen to you. It’s going to happen, it’s going to happen if someone the other day, it says there’s one speaker that doesn’t speak to him. Because he he gave a speech and he gave his speech in the morning that say, he didn’t know this other speaker speaking in the afternoon, what their speech was about. And when the key stories us was when the key story they used in the afternoon. And they came up to him and said, You’ve come you did you do this on purpose as he hadn’t done it on purpose. It was just it was genuine mistake, but it’s gonna it’s gonna happen to you. Yep. It also leads me to believe that there’s actually a little bit of power in that. Well, first of all, there’s the reinforcement thing. I’m guessing that by the end of the left that event, every know everyone knows that. Yes, and yes. But the other thing is, is more of a personality and a tone piece, where if we think let’s say I have a lot of books on marketing or leadership, and I might like that book, you might like this book, because that also speaks to me, this also speaks to you and it’s not and it’s just these those different voices. But this happened to me what you just said there almost happened to me this week, I was speaking at an event. And I was I was due to speak at 930. In the morning, there was another speaker who’s speaking at nine in the morning, he was one of the sponsors when the big sponsors of the event. And I always ask if someone’s just speaking a little bit before me in the morning when I asked this, and can you tell me what, what this The topic is what they’re speaking about. And they were kind enough, that speaker was kind enough to actually send me his slides, and actually saw what he was doing. And he actually mentioned something that I hope I do an opening with him. And, and I was like, oh, How’s this? how’s this gonna work? It was great. And and because the person that was speaking first was he comes from the industry, and is an engineer. So he spoke had spoke like, not a professional speaker would speak you spoke in terms of stats. Yes, we I speaking like you and I speak we speak more stories and principles. And so actually, it worked out quite well. But lately, it was it was a bit a little bit.

Yeah. Based on your experience, you know, to make a switch, or it’s the same for me, if I if I, I always try if there’s a full day event, and I’m the last speaker, I try to be there the whole day. Absolutely. Just to you know, you can make an exercise but also for these kind of things that I hadn’t before the people were using a different exercise the director exercise, so when I did I switch my slides, you know, if you have a backup totally fine, even though it but sometimes, yeah, you share it, you know, it’s elephant in the room, do something with it, making make make it click or bring it a look from this from this perspective. And that is fine, then most people are okay with it.

Can you talk to about a speech that you’ve given me doing a question for five years, but one way you felt like something changed? Maybe it was intended, you just felt like your topic you really clicking on your topic, what you wanted to speak about or where you would go You were going at it or maybe something in terms of your craft your presentation, but you just went It was one of those ones? You remember, you look back and think that was important for good or for bad. Can you maybe talk to one of those key speeches in your life? Yeah.

Yeah, there was absolutely one I did. It did a speech for the European communication summit, which was really cool. I think there were 700 communication directors from all of Europe. What I don’t involves was, I think, a week in advance of send out to five or six people, from participants who would be attending that conference. And they had a short chat with them. But a few I had a goal with three of them, he had a goal with three of them add an email conversation. And what I did is also what’s what’s the biggest challenge that you have in your industry and the communication, your role as a communication director, I want to dominate didn’t know it would work or not, but they created a kind of a word clouds might have all of the answers the game. And it could make a nice link with the topic that he had. What if no decision really resonated with the audience even I just thought about it for one minutes. But just the fact that I could say, hey, I’ve been talking to several of you in the audience, I created a workflow. What he felt was immediately a connection and better connection. So since then, for all the little bit bigger events, I tried to do it all the time to at least speak to several people in advance and create a small word cloud, it’s not that much work for you, I learned something about industry, I can make some better connections. I could use their words, it was also quite interesting. I wish I would have use a different word but they’re always talking about this. Know what that was quite quite interesting insight.

That’s that’s a great technique. There’s I know there’s a not really to the speaking but there’s a related to more on marketing, book marketing there is. And I forgotten his name. Now, a guy who really teaches about marketing. And he said, What he does is, before you ever writes a book, he goes into Amazon. And he reviews goes, gets all the tests, the testimonials and Amazon for book. And he just loaded them all into some spreadsheet and it creates a word cloud. And then he see if it works. The biggest is the words that he ends up you. So it’s not the words that he would maybe even use as an author. Was that your audience? So you that’s what you’ve done, your views the audience has was how they, how they relate to their problems, the words that they would use it, I think it’s a really smart thing. And I can imagine, there’s 500 people in the audience, as soon as they see that. They’re going to go, john asked me that he understands me as well. So that great, that’s a great little to might use up on my word clouds. Very good suggestion. What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve ever received? In terms of how to build a speaking business? You’ve obviously interacted, you mentioned going to all these speakers associations, obviously, you and I work together as well. And speakers you but from your all these events? You’ve been to what’s the best piece of advice you’ve heard?

Yeah. By the way, and it’s not that they know you. But the speakers you Wow, what a great source of inspiration. Because Yeah, I joined beginning of this year, and I’ve been watching a lot of videos. Yeah. So if you want to start out that’s absolutely a good base. Also, probably vote maybe already recommended before. But Frederick Frederick Aaron, I think he’s really generous with his blog building up an international speaking businesses. So that’s really good. And I think, yeah, one of the pieces of advice that the he shares, all of the diamond, and it works, and probably people already have heard it many times, but but it works. So yeah, let’s keep on repeating it, is that the best way to get new speeches is deliver brilliant speech. And that’s noticing more, because I think my speeches is good, I would give myself an eighth, I always get eight 910 on revelation scores, and I would give myself eight. But still, I keep on investing and getting better and storytelling, stage draw. And sometimes people say but so his things already very good. Why? Because you think if I can go from eight to eight and a half, or two and nine, I’m quite sure instead of three people line up after my speech, it will be five people. And so keep on working on the speech and, and even my speeches, it’s quite simple. I think it’s really good. But every minute, what can be better, what how can I interact better?

Well, now on the speech that you did, the one I saw, it was so insightful. And you do something, which I think is a really bold idea, I probably wouldn’t do it, which is which also speaks to the difference about we both speak on the same topic, we come at it from completely different standpoints, you do something you do something which is called using a physical product. And it’s extremely memorable. So I don’t know whether you want to explain what it is because I think it’s whether you use something like the thing you do or have some type of physical Prop, I do think a physical prop is a very powerful thing to do that we can learn from the theater, for example.

Yeah, absolutely. So when indeed, in one of my speeches to do the most change mindset, I use a ladder and a banana. And it’s a little metaphor that came from a tonight, which is quite quite funny, actually, because I saw cartoon with a banana peel lying on the floor, there was the ladder was over it. And a lot of people will walk over the ladder, and which is really bizarre. I almost think this is this is exactly the essence, what I want to talk about because they want to, for me a ladder, or the metaphor of a ladder, our old inefficient rules, systems, guidelines, ways of working, that we’ve built up and a lot of companies, you know, a lot of those those rules are coming from the past, you know, they’ve worked in the past, but are they still relevant? That was thing this metaphor is so simple. So at one moment, I did an experiment again, let’s let’s try it on stage. And the audience say they love them. Because this very visual, you know, you see a guy climbing a ladder and, and to be honest, since then, I already collected a lot of stories, real ladder stories, because when I’m traveling, I’m not taking my own ladder, I’ve been thinking about it, you know, really go the suitcase with a ladder, which would be in terms of branding, quite interesting. But a lot of times at a conference, I couldn’t get a ladder or it could get a ladder, but it couldn’t climb it because they were afraid for safety and what have you fought. So I could even use those kind of examples. They are exactly the point that he wants to talk about. So it gave me a lot of new stories. But indeed, sometimes is a little bit challenging to do to find a physical To be honest, maybe I will recommend different speaker not to use a ladder but to something a little bit more simple.

I saw a speaker Tom lightning who both both know he has a great one he actually had a lot of places now you have these microphones inside of boxes and he actually got some type of Gremlin soft toy and he’s put a microphone inside and he is able to throw around using which is using a kind of catapult cetera is the Catholic I’m not sure how much longer the catapult will be making us we have a problem Taylor, but the little thing he takes around him as a great prop so I think there’s a lot of things that we can learn from that world. But using visual props because it does make you remember I remember you know you other for me myself my head the ladder and I can remember that that you that yellow ladder as well. It’s

interesting because a lot of proper use just quickly I used to the coaster, I don’t know if you still remember this one in Belgium, us. You have heard side and a green side. But what’s so interesting, James is that I’ve seen people three or four years after my speech, I come back to see me Hey, wait a minute, are you Cyril, I’m still you know, the ghosts are still on my desk. This is brilliant material, you know and you have to do something you know, it has to be part of your presentation. But I think sometimes you can be smart because we’re doing a lot of marketing outside of what some marketing tool that you can use inside out. So what a small thing what’s an easy thing that you can give the audience to

and then the one I’m about to do which I learned from a comedian recently having seen a show is very low tech because it was on my physical products but he can also be on the factory props as well. So what she has a she has these flyers which going all the seats but before she speaks about mindfulness, she she screens them all with 11% and a part of speech she says something along the lines of so keep that bit of paper that is there is spelled out their papers. Now, you notice I put laughing that’s a smell of relaxation. So put that by your desk and anytime you’re feeling stress, just pick that up and smell that and just think about it. wonderful little prop wonderful probably is going to you’re going to remember you’re going to keep it buying your purse at desk. So let’s talk about the speaker kit. you’re traveling all around the world. I’m guessing you have to be really efficient in what you travel with. What’s in your speaker bag? What do you what’s in that bag of tricks Do you take on the road with you?

Probably the usual stuff always my my my MacBook and all the connectors. What I definitely love when I’m traveling is the headphones. The side that’s that’s certainly the plane but also when I’m when I’m traveling, what I’m noticing is set. For me it’s a little bit easier to you know a lot of my home office to really think about some some bigger projects that he wants to do. And then the headphones definitely work. What I’m doing more and more is making some blocks. So some videos I’m experimenting with it, but with my social media. So now I’m also bringing what we call it the tripods. I have a nice tripod that I’m using. Yeah, I’m not bringing the ladder. But that’s something that I have to keep in mind is in advance try to arrange a ladder. Moment even bought one
with the camera. Are you just using your iPhone or your iPhone?

Yeah, so you’re really low, low, high tech, but very low weight. It’s very easy to travel around. Using hurts. Let me see if I can find after a little Yeah, I like these. You don’t know she knows him the loss. Hey, Mark, I make Yes. Actually I met with Julie Julie who is inventor of this and the other week. Some people are not very, really fun with it. But I have to say I’m very happy with it. It’s worked for the social media. So bring these are very small. Yeah, that’s that’s probably the most important things that I bring. And if you can recommend one book to our listeners that you found very useful as a speaker, maybe it could be on the craft side or business more generally, or the industry, what would that book be?

I still loved the book from Dan and chip. He’d been by the stick, made a mistake, he made a mistake. I think that’s a very a book with free. It’s really helped me to simplify my message. So in they they talk about how you can Why are some messages do they stick another slot? And they give a very easy framework. And then that really helped me to develop my message. And I still use it as a kind of a checklist is as simple as or something unexpected as concrete. Is it? some emotion there and the story? Yeah, that’s a book marketing wise, it also worked for me. And I like the book of Frederick. Certainly if you want to work in a more global level, I think his book is very practical. But I think 27 steps to become a global Speaker I think if rather than two hours. It’s a great book lots of fantastic ideas and putting there and they all very actionable as well. What about your traveling all the time? Is there an online is a mobile app or online tool that you find very useful for being a nomadic speaker?

Yeah, I have probably the Evernote but most people are using it. That’s that’s really handy. Well, I use things things as my to do list. I find it quite quite easy one that they update every day. So those are the two biggest one that of us. Not Not Not really one that really sticks out or the new one. Yeah, I’m experimenting with a few now with the videos to get some subtitles yet. rafa.com I’m exploring that one. And he I lost use of work with some freelancers. So you have a few freelancers who helped me in that one. So yeah, unless imagine you woke up tomorrow morning. You can choose any city in the world. So that might be Singapore next night. And wake up in Singapore. And you have to start from scratch though no one knows you. You know no one. What would you do? How would you restart to get your get your your speaking business started?

Yeah, absolutely. First thing that I would do is pick up my tripod, my iPhone and create a little video, create a video mean action talking about my my stuff that they do. Second thing that what I would do probably combination is get a friend get as soon as possible. And again, try to film it, get some recommendations. I think having a good show reel is one of the first thing that that I would start with, and then do a lot of free speeches, you know, even as an experienced speaker, I think Yeah, I call them free. It’s not really free because I don’t like free but getting business cards, getting recommendations, Oscar referral, those kind of things that would be my marketing thing to start up and build up your network. So those are the two things that that I would do. Definitely. If it would start again. Fantastic. And if people want to connect with you, I mean be to refer you for speaking of Jeanette they know the speak on creativity and change. where’s the best place for them to go and do that to learn more about you?

Yeah, that’s probably my website which would be civil court leavin.com and by the way, if you translate court leavin court means short living rooms live. So Elsa claimed URL as a little bit easier. Cyril, just with see why are i l? civil, short life.com. also find me. And that’s probably the easiest way to find me. You can find a blog. You can find my books and stuff. And feel free to reach out and I’m happy to send you some other stuff how I started my speaking business. Yep. Well, fantastic. So thanks so much for coming on today sharing all about your speakers life and all the journey that you’ve been on fantastic story, and I’m looking forward to continue to work together and, and we’ll be hopefully sharing a stage together at some point in the future. That would be cool. Likewise, thank James.

How would you like to get paid to travel the world to share your message and expertise? How did it feel to get paid 5000 10,000 $25,000 to travel first class and stay in five star hotels in exotic locations. What I’ve just described is the lifestyle of international keynote speakers. And you can join me and over 100 of the world’s best keynote speakers, and speaker trainers as they reveal their secrets to becoming a better speaker and getting booked to travel the world as a professional keynote speaker and Bestival. As it’s an online summit You don’t even have to leave home plus it’s not going to cost you a single dollar euro pound ruble peso or yen. If you sign up for the free pass at International Speakers Summit calm you’re going to receive access to never seen before video interviews over 40 of the world’s best keynote speakers. In addition to this, you’ll get access to archived interviews from some of last year’s summit guests. So in total, you’ll be able to watch in depth interviews with over 100 incredible speakers and speaker trainers. You’ll have to find a theme for your keynote presentation how to craft your talk how to get booked as a speaker, how much to charge and ways to get paid to speak on stages all over the world. So what are you waiting for? Head over to internationalspeakerssummit.com now

In today’s episode of The Speakers Life I talk about how to achieve mastery in your professional speaking by using the ancient Japanese concept of Takumi.

 

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• How to go from good to great as a professional speaker
• The concept of Takumi (60,000hrs)
• Learning your craft
• Finding your purpose
• Leaving your mark
• In harmony with the future
• Why you should get a coach or mentor
• SpeakersU membership

Artificial Intelligence Generated Transcript

Below is a machine-generated transcript and therefore the transcript may contain errors.

This is James Taylor here keynote speaker and founder of SpeakersU. How do you go from good to great as a professional speaker? How do you achieve mastery in your professional speaking, there’s a wonderful phrase that they have in Japan is called tech Kumi. Now you’ve probably already heard of Malcolm Gladwell, his concept of the 10,000 hour rule to become skilled and expert in something you need to do 10,000 hours. Well, in Japan, they go a step further, they have this concept of tech who me people who achieved 60,000 hours in their chosen profession, or their craft 10,000 to 60,000.

Once you get the 60,000 you have achieved real mastery, whether that’s as a chef or as a professional speaker. So let’s talk about what happened has to happen. Each of those big milestones within that 60,000 the first 10,000 hours in what you do, is about learning your craft. So in the case of professional speaking, is about developing your stage skills is about how to use your voice how to use your body on stage is about how to create that almost perfect speech is about learning your craft. You know, sometimes people come to me on my own coaching when I coach with them and they asked James What should I be should be trying to find my my big idea first or should I be just going to get out the starting to develop my skills I always say start with the craft first. As you go through developing your craft the ideas about what you really want to speak about what your core topic what your niches your USP will start to develop because that’s the next 20,000 hours or 20,000 hours you find your purpose. So craft and then discovering your purpose at 20,000 hours.

A 20,000 hours you’ll have done enough speaking to have you know the basics have been very good on the stage. And also to find what you like and what you don’t like what topics you enjoy speaking about what reverberates with you and also an audience, what kind of audience sizes you like speaking to what type of audiences he likes been wearing the world you like speaking all this helps you discover your purpose, so 10,000 hours learning your craft 20,000 hours is finding your purpose than a 40,000 hours, it’s really about leaving your mark. So really, you’ve learned your craft, you found the purpose, what you want to speak about. But then you need to leave your mark.

It’s about creating something which is uniquely you, you’re going to lead to the world you could argue is your legacy. For example, you know, I think about some of the great speakers in the world, people that have left their mark, people like Ziegler, for example, or who like Sally hawks are talking about fascination. They’ve done all those thousands 10s of thousands of hours, and then now left their mark on the world of professional speaking, but other people to learn from them and leaving their mark on the world. So you got 10,000 20,000 40,000 and then we go to our 60,000 hours, 60,000 hours in speaking imagine how long how many hours and the level of commitment and mastery you have a 65 Average, when you get the 60,000 hours, but academies is all about having harmony with the future is about really understanding what your place is being in the world. So you’ve left your legacy. And it’s about being open. It’s almost like having that beginner’s mind be open to new ways, new ideas, new ways of taking things. In my case, I speak about creativity and artificial intelligence, very ancient concept of creativity and a very new concept of artificial intelligence, I look to bring those things together and an idea I called Super creativity. So for me, I’m always thinking of how to get harmony with the future, how my ideas can work 50 years ahead, hundred years ahead. So that’s the concept of being at the Academy. Now, the other thing that’s very important without the roomies is having this master and apprentice type of relationship, someone that you can look to a mentor that you can look to that can help take you through

These different thousands of hours as you develop your craft and your your skills as a speaker and find your purpose, you know, there was a great movie I remember watching as a kid, The Karate Kid, with Mr. Miyagi, you know, wash on, wash off a year, watch that movie. And I often think about that. And I think how important is to have a mentor someone who is not just saying, this is the way to go, you know, this is how to do it. There’s also someone that can say, actually, don’t go down this path just now. Someone who has the scars of having done it themselves. And this is what I do in my speakers. You program. I work with speakers all around the world, who are different levels of their speaking someone just getting started. They haven’t done their first thousand hours and speaking others who are really developing the craft, the 10,000 others who announced are finding their purpose what they want to speak about the USP there. Then there’s a mother who and now they’ve got very experienced speakers, it’s about leaving their mark. Maybe they’re transitioning the changing what they think speak about. And then there’s a few number of speakers I work with, who are at that 60,000 hours they are the keys of the professional speaking world. And for them, it’s about this idea of bringing harmony with the future. So I hope you find that useful. This idea of mastery going from good to excellent. My name is James Taylor. Thanks for watching.

This episode of the Speakers Life is sponsored by Espeakers. The innovative platform that connects speakers will event organizers and associations. Espeakers provides cutting edge tools that will elevate your online presence. streamline your speaking business and maximize your exposure in the Speaking industry with over 15 years in the business 10,000 speakers in their community and over 20,000 events managed annually each Espeakers is the preferred choice for top speakers. You can create your own profile on a Espeakers today by going to speakersu.com/Espeakers.

In today’s episode, filmed on my way to speak in Singapore, I talk about just one powerful reason to become a professional speaker.

 

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• The privilege of speaking
• Inside track
• Multiple industries, multiple perspectives

Artificial Intelligence Generated Transcript

Below is a machine-generated transcript and therefore the transcript may contain errors.

Hey there James Taylor here keynote speaker and founder of SpeakersU. Today I’m on my way to Singapore to Asia professional speakers convention. Before I go, I thought I would share with you something I’ve found really impactful for myself as a speaker, my learning and growth. And I think it’s, we don’t talk enough about this, this is as a privilege that we get to do as a speakers. And that’s the ability when we go and speak in organizations, we kind of get a bit of an inside track on how that organization works, we also get to learn a lot about an industry in a pretty short period of time. So for example, I do about 50 keynotes a year to all different types of conferences, all types of different organizations. And and so normally what happens is I arrive in the before. And I’ll be sitting in the room for a lot of internal meetings, that organizations having maps, listening to some of the other speakers or the guest speakers that they bring in talk about the specific topics of that conference, not always related to what I speak on innovation and creativity and AI, but they may be speaking about political changes are going on how that affects finance.

And we’ll be talking about technological things, big geopolitical, economic changes are going on. So imagine that every year, if you speak 50 times a year, you get to go in and, and learn from 50 completely different types of organizations and associations and conferences. So you know, this week alone, I’ve just been in Bogota, Colombia. And I had a fantastic time with the team there from invest in Bogota, learning all about BP, oh, outsourcing and Nia sourcing, and how that’s all developing in Latin America, just before that I was in Beirut, Lebanon, speaking there. After that I was learning all around the challenges that Chief Information Officers have talked about some of the political things that are going on in that part of the region as well. And then before that, I was in Istanbul, talking with HR professionals and sitting in sessions, learning from some of the best HR people in the world. And then before that I was in Dubai, with some incredible lawyers learning about some big economic changes are going and going on technological changes how that’s affecting the law. And then before I was in Brazil, and Ecuador, was because metrics companies and banks, I got a chance to sit down with the chairman of Qatar National Bank, finance bank in Istanbul. And we talk about 30 minutes. And we talk about some really big things I can have going on in the world of big trends.

So I think this is a hugely undervalued part of what we get to do as speakers and also the insights that we get to bring in to organizations because we’re having all these conversations all the time, we’re learning across multiple industries, usually from very senior people in those organizations. So we’re always at the front of what’s going on. So I think this is hugely valuable in terms of your own learning and personal development and growth, as a speaker, as a person as a human. But it also, it gives you this great thing to be able to go into when you work with organizers, you have this ability to see things from multiple perspectives to see how the work you do making speaking creativity, innovation, how it’s affecting multiple different industries. So you can speak to multiple industries about it. And you can also see what some of the connections are, and the patterns are. So I thought I’d just kind of film this little quick video today. Just to say, this is one of the benefits of speaking if you’re thinking about becoming a professional speaker, is one of the fantastic things you get to do as a speaker, you get to learn every single week from some of the best people in the businesses at events that you’re very privileged to be able to kind of sit in the room and hear some of these top experts. So from me James Taylor Have a wonderful week and all the best we’re speaking.

How would you like to get paid to travel the world to share your message and expertise? How did it feel to get paid 5000 10,000 $25,000 to travel first class and stay in five star hotels in exotic locations. What I’ve just described is the lifestyle of international keynote speakers. And you can join me and over 100 of the world’s best keynote speakers, and speaker trainers as they reveal their secrets to becoming a better speaker and getting booked to travel the world as a professional keynote speaker and Bestival. As it’s an online summit You don’t even have to leave home plus it’s not going to cost you a single dollar euro pound ruble peso or yen. If you sign up for the free pass at International Speakers Summit calm you’re going to receive access to never seen before video interviews over 40 of the world’s best keynote speakers. In addition to this, you’ll get access to archived interviews from some of last year’s summit guests. So in total, you’ll be able to watch in depth interviews with over 100 incredible speakers and speaker trainers. You’ll have to find a theme for your keynote presentation how to craft your

Talk how to get booked as a speaker, how much to charge and ways to get paid to speak on stages all over the world. So what are you waiting for? Head over to internationalspeakerssummit.com now