Blog

If you only remember one thing about the building blocks for keynote speakers, I hope it’s this: every speech is a relationship before it’s a message. You can preach at people, you can lecture to people, or you can build meaning with people. And the more you choose with, the more your ideas stop sounding like something you said and start becoming something they can carry.

Rhetoric is the history and practice of non-fiction storytelling. Storytelling is about creating a narrative where you take the audience from point a to point z. And rhetoric is how you get them there. Most people think that Aristotle’s definition of rhetoric is “persuasion.” But that’s only partly true. Rhetoric is “the ability to find the available means of persuasion in any given situation.” Rhetoric isn’t focused on the result … because you can’t control what the result w

Most people assume the purpose of speaking is to convince and persuade. We hear it all around us that the purpose of speaking is to land the point, win the room, and leave with agreement neatly in hand. But the longer I’ve worked with speakers as a speechwriter and speaker coach, the more I’ve watched smart audiences quietly resist well-crafted arguments. This is why the more I write for big stages and seen my clients success, the more I’ve come to believe something radically

TEDx talks aren’t about your story. They’re about the listener’s shift. And the sooner you start shaping your talk with them in mind, not just your experience, the more powerful and memorable your message becomes.

You’ve spent weeks crafting your talk. You’ve got an opening story that makes people tear up (or at least blink slower). Your slides are sleek. Your closer hits hard. And yet, something’s off. People say, “That was great!” but they can’t quite tell you what they got out of it. Your stories are landing, but your message is drifting. You’re getting applause, not impact. That’s the red flag. That’s the moment to ask: Does this talk have a throughline? Or just a highlight reel?

Emotion guides the audience from where they are to where you want them to go.  If you try to start with inspiration but haven’t earned their trust or curiosity, it won’t land. If you push too hard too early, they shut down.

I’ve had the privilege of helping a lot of people, especially mid-career professionals, rediscover something they didn’t even realize they’d misplaced: Their voice.

Why we need to move beyond storytelling to story shaping if we want to create resonance and impact.

Interested in learning more about speechwriting and public speaking courses? Find my courses here . Conference season is here again! With the end of summer vacations and the holiday reprieve, conference season is just getting started. Are you a conference speaker or delivering a keynote? Read on for a few tips to get you started. I’ve written and coached countless keynotes across industries. From the financial and medical fields to science and NGOs, I’ve helped thought-le

Interested in learning more about speechwriting and public speaking courses? Find my courses here .    As a #TEDx curator and #speakercoach I get asked this a lot. A LOT. How do I give a #TEDxTalk? And how do I get selected? As our event’s YouTube and TED.com views catapulted to over 20 million views (with an average of 8 speakers a year and a total of 70 speakers), we began asking precisely that. What would you tell someone interested in giving a TEDx Talk? Well, this is the

Interested in learning more about speechwriting and public speaking courses? Find my courses here .    Storytelling genres are, most generally, the shape or form the story takes. Different genres allow you to accomplish different things. This brings me to a central principle of communication: if you don't know where you want to go, you will never get there. First, know where you want to go. Genre will be how you get there. Second, what is your relationship to your audience?

Interested in learning more about speechwriting and public speaking courses? Find my courses here .    What are storytelling genres? Storytelling genres are, most generally, the shape or form the story takes. Each genre emphasizes some things over others. For example, some genres emphasize the present, while others emphasize our optimism/pessimism about the future. So, a genre is only useful when you know what you hope to accomplish (reflection, action, or awareness). Genres