The Speaker Lab Podcast

Grant Baldwin

Want to learn how to get booked and paid to speak — consistently? The Speaker Lab podcast features business tactics, speaking tips, and insider strategies from Grant Baldwin, The Speaker Lab coaches, and some of the world's most successful speakers.

You'll learn how to find speaking gigs, build relationships in your industry, negotiate higher speaker fees, and grow your speaking business. Every week, this podcast will give you key insights and practical advice from speakers who have been there and done that and can help you take the next step in your speaking journey. Whether you’re just getting started as a paid speaker or you’re a veteran speaker looking to build and grow your business, The Speaker Lab Podcast is here for you!

#12 in the Top 100 public speaking All time chart

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Top 10 The Speaker Lab Podcast Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Speaker Lab Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Speaker Lab Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Speaker Lab Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Speaking As Your Side Hustle with Ryan Gottfredson

The Speaker Lab Podcast

12/08/20 • 39 min

The beauty of speaking is that you can do it full-time or you can make speaking as your side hustle. Our guest today has done just that. Ryan Gottfredson is a leadership professor at Cal State-Fullerton, and his speaking and consulting work on the topic of mindset is his side hustle.

Today on The Speaker Lab, he explains why the connection speaking offers is so fulfilling for him and how speaking feeds the other avenues of his business today.

Join us to hear his wisdom on these topics and even more on episode 319 of The Speaker Lab.

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:

Where's the most bang for the buck coming from in his prospecting?
Did his early free gigs help him gain momentum?
Why you want to focus small versus focusing on big.
How effective is speaking as a lead gen tool for his consulting biz?
What questions should you ask before choosing a speaking course?
How has he pivoted as a result of the pandemic?
What early steps does he recommend taking if you are starting out?
And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

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How to Speak On Cultural Diversity and Inclusion with J. Israel Greene

The Speaker Lab Podcast

12/01/20 • 36 min

How to speak on cultural diversity and inclusion is our topic for today's edition of The Speaker Lab. Joining us is speaker, consultant and corporate leader J. Israel Greene.

Israel speaks to tech companies on leadership development, diversity equity and inclusion. He works with them on cultural issues that often show up as low employee engagement, stalled sales and poor leadership. He helps them transform that culture through workshops and consulting.

On today's show, Israel tells us when he made the jump to a speaking career and how the Booked and Paid to Speak network has generated over $20k for him in his business. You can hear that and more when you listen in to episode 318 of The Speaker Lab.

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:

Which of his acting skills does he apply to speaking?
What personal stories does he include in his content?
How did he know he wanted to make speaking into a business?
What are "fuel up" moments?
Can you borrow other people's stories and still be a great speaker?
How to reconcile your interests with what the market needs.
What does he do when he gets frustrated?
How does he use "lunch and learns" to generate business?
And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

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How to Set Better Goals so You Can Grow Your Speaking Business with Jon Acuff

The Speaker Lab Podcast

09/05/23 • 37 min

“Just because you’ve had success in other fields doesn’t mean that you get to skip rungs on the ladder.”

Grant welcomes Jon Acuff back to the The Speaker Lab Podcast! Jon is a regular guest on our show, because he’s an active speaker, a well know New York Times bestselling author, and one of Grant’s good friends.

"I think you could climb the ladder faster when you're an expert at something else already. Like, you and I have seen that, like, former athletes climb the ladder faster. People that have done other things climb the ladder faster. But I think it's about setting your expectations. I think it's about setting the reality. I think it's about putting in the work, about thinking about the client, like, outperforming what their expectations are."

This week, they dig into Jon’s speaking journey what he’s learned through writing his latest book, All It Takes is a Goal, and how you apply these goal setting principles to your speaking business.

This episode also covers:

How to climb the speaking ladder
What it looks like to set big goals that don’t set you up for failure
Jon’s favorite goal setting framework
How to embrace challenges and connect with the audience
What it’s like always playing away games
How to use books to grow your business
What ghostwriting is and how to tell if it’s a good fit for you
A little bit more about Jon’s new book

“It's kind of like, an NFL player who sucks at announcing. They do it for like, three games and you never hear from them again. And you're like, But I thought he played in the NFL for ten years. He's a hall of famer. Yeah, it turns out performing in a game or commenting on a game are very different crafts. And he thought, Nah, dude, I throw touchdowns. I know how to break down a game and do color comment like, no, you don't. You have a chance to engage in that with humility and work on it and put in the reps and the effort, or it just falls apart. And so I remember so many times where I would go and again, it would be low fee, small audience, maybe new content, and I'd put together my own slides, and it was me learning how to do it. And you really have to look at, like, if there's five people in there or 500, I have to give my best.”

Episode Chapters:

[00:02:34] Start small, build up to guaranteed goals.

[00:06:52] Frustration and joy in pursuing new ventures.

[00:09:58] Always serve well.

[00:14:54] Content creators need to accept the limitations of their celebrity status.

[00:19:08] To become a keynote speaker you have to cater and serve corporate audiences, books are a great tool for that.

[00:24:26] Test your content live before creating a book.

[00:25:36] Continuing to use older content as it fits the audiences is a great way to use your books after you publish them.

[00:31:22] Is ghostwriting the solution?

[00:33:30] All about Jon’s Book: "All it Takes is a Goal" The author reflects on his college regrets, realizing his potential, and helping others. Study shows most people feel untapped potential. Book offers practical ways to reach goals

Episode Resources:

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How to Transform Your Passion Into a Speaking Career with Amy Burton

The Speaker Lab Podcast

04/22/25 • 36 min

“When we’re intentional about pursuing our dreams, that’s when we can see things more clearly. Because most of the time we get so busy in the everyday that we don’t take time for those things. And those things are not just going to happen, right?”

Amy Burton, a once-high school Spanish and theater teacher turned powerhouse speaker, is redefining the classroom experience for educators everywhere. Broadcasting from the chilly terrains of Alaska, Amy is here to offer her inspirational journey from the classroom to the stage.

Having successfully transitioned from homeschooling her neurodivergent children to running not one, but two impactful businesses, Amy shares how her inherent love for those "aha moments" in teaching guided her to a career in speaking. In this episode, Amy dives into the nitty-gritty of translating her passion into practical impact, highlighting how she uses her expertise to coach educators on reducing stress and conflict in classrooms through understanding the brain's workings.

Join us as Amy talks about the challenges and triumphs of embracing one's gifts, the raw truth about pursuing something bigger than yourself despite the fears, and why starting small can be powerful. Whether you're curious about breaking into the speaking world or looking for inspiration to take the next step in your own journey, Amy’s story is a testament to the power of perseverance, intentional growth, and the courage to follow your passion. Tune in for practical insights, empowering moments, and a few chuckles as Amy shines a light on the path to pursuing your true calling!

You’ll learn:

Coaching techniques to improve classroom environments
Overcoming personal hurdles
How to diversify speaking opportunities
Utilizing virtual platforms due to geographic limitations
The importance of mentorship and guidance
About recognizing effort as a key driver of success
And much, much more!

“Where I am now isn’t where I’m going to be, but where I am now is a benefit to where I want to be.”

Episode Resources

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Our Best Practical Advice for Speakers from The Speaker Lab Team

The Speaker Lab Podcast

05/14/24 • 38 min

This week on the podcast, we’re excited to share our best tips, tricks, and amazing speaking advice from our coaching/support team and our resident speakers here at The Speaker Lab. Our team has decades of combined experience both as speakers themselves and as coaches helping other speakers like you take things to the next level.

This episode is full of quick, practical advice that you can apply in your speaking business RIGHT NOW and start finding more paid gigs and growing your business.

As we count down to Episode #500 in just TWO WEEKS, we're excited to bring you this special episode that will help you level up your speaking business in a big way.

Through this episode, you'll learn:

How to find your confidence as a speaker
How to find your speaking community,
Actionable steps to get booked & paid to speak®
How to show up in a way that honors who you are
How to think about your branding as whole
And much, much more

In this episode, you’ll hear from:

Angie Besignano - Angie Besignano is a TSL Coach and is a Certified High-Performance Coach with 35 years of experience in Human Development. She's built her coaching practice with the help of her speaking career, and she works with our students to gain clarity and confidence to build a speaking business of their own.

Dan Irvin - Dan Irvin is an Enrollment Advisor here at the Speaker Lab and also one of our Resident Speakers. Dan’s speaking business is centered around helping leaders remove distractions to lead better.

Emily Arnold - Emily Arnold is our Elite Concierge & Community Manager here at TSL. She’s a curious, creative, color-loving extrovert who aims to cultivate delight in the everyday.

Eve DeVault Gilmore - Eve DeVault Gilmore is our Elite Concierge and Lead Manager at TSL. Her love for customer service has brought her to TSL, where she gets to provide one-on-one care to students every day.

Jeremy Rochford - Jeremy Rochford is a TSL Coach and has a BA in Public Relations and over 20 years of stage experience, so he is no stranger to the art of performance-based communication.

John Ball - John Ball is a TSL Coach and a familiar face/voice in the podcasting world and has been delivering virtual talks and workshops for over 12 years. John works internationally with coaches & speakers on personal presentation and performance skills.

Katherine Johnson - Katherine Johnson is a TSL Coach and has helped speakers for over 8 years amplify their message and stand out for the right reasons. She teaches speakers how to effectively use their authentic presence and personal brand to position themselves and go from ordinary to outstanding.

Katie Cambell - Katie Campbell is a certified coach and our Lead Concierge. Prior to her own speaking and coaching practice, she worked in the corporate marketing world.

Nanette Hitchcock - Nanette Hitchcock is a Coach here at The Speaker Lab and has been an Executive Leadership Coach across multiple industries for 10+ years. She’s also been a leadership speaker for many more.

Reggie Wright - Reggie Wright is an Enrollment Advisor here at TSL and a youth speaker. Reggie focuses his time on investing in future generations to cultivate a life that breeds intention and fulfilment.

Rick Clemons - Rick Clemons is the Lead Coach here at the Speaker Lab and is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) specializing in marketing/branding, story creation, stagecraft, web design, biz strategy, copywriting, and systems design.

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How to Become a Leader People Will Follow with Jenni Field

The Speaker Lab Podcast

12/31/24 • 35 min

“You can’t need to be liked if you’re in a leadership position, and I’d say the same if you’re in a speaking position, cause you will say things that people don’t agree with, and that’s okay.”

As a speaker, very few things matter more than establishing your credibility and expertise. This week, communication expert Jenni Field joins us to talk about how to build your credibility and become a leader that people will follow. Jenni is a firm believer in the importance of establishing your expertise and building your credibility, and she's here with some practical tips on how to make that happen.

Jenni found a void in the industry she knows best and figured out how to fill it. During this episode, she'll detail the expertise, research, and likability needed to make you genuinely needed for gigs. Jenni talks about how audiences can sense you care or not and how to work with your viewers so that your effort can be seen on stage.

Jenni has been through hard moments of her own, like in the end of 2022 when her business was failing, and she no longer loved what she was doing. She will share some lessons she learned from the heavy moments, including how she pulled herself out of that rut and pushed herself into a better space mentally and financially. Jenni took the time to know herself and what works for her, and she'll talk about how you can do that for yourself as well.

You’ll learn:

How to channel your passion effectively
The most important steps to build your speaking career
What likability means for you
Why finding your purpose is key
How to grow by trying new things
And so much more!

“People won’t ask you to speak unless you’ve got something to say.”

Episode Resources:

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There's a 95% Chance You Won't Be Hired by an Event Planner and Here's Why with Eve Gilmore

The Speaker Lab Podcast

02/13/24 • 33 min

“Think about: Who is the person that I want to impact? Not so much how many people do I want to impact? Or what area of my area of expertise do I want to impact? But who is the exact person that I want to leave my message with and know that they're going to go and step out and make an impact with it?"

This week, Maryalice Goldsmith and Eve Gilmore are on the podcast talking about how to find better leads! Sure, Rick’s episode from a couple of weeks ago was great, but you can’t work leads well if you aren’t even trying to get to know the right people!

"When I am creating a lead list for a student, I can really tell the difference between a student who knows their audience and knows their voice versus a student that doesn't, because everyone wants to get booked by an event planner or a conference manager."

We brought in our Lead Manager, Eve, to talk about how she helps students dig into their expert positioning statements to find the best leads possible.

“In particular, we ask our students, hey, provide your expert positioning statement when they submit for leads, and the difference it makes when a student really has a clear vision and a really clarified voice in their expert positioning statement...It's the difference between someone saying, I cultivate leaders in the corporate world. That's a great expert positioning statement. But what a great expert positioning statement would look like to pull leads for is I cultivate leadership in HR directors at marketing firms in order to cultivate a greater work environment that gives you way more information because anyone can speak in leadership but what kind of leadership and who are you wanting to influence with that leadership? So I would say it makes such a huge difference. The more specific the better, especially when it comes to something as broad as leadership or confidence or resilience.”

Eve and Maryalice dig into:

03:22 Why you have to understand the nuance in your target marketing and the importance of having specific audience examples before you start finding contacts and trying to book gigs.
07:40 Reframing your focus from how many people you want to impact to thinking about WHO the specific person is that your story/message will resonate with to solve a problem or create a transformation.
10:30 How to walk through the mindset exercise of understanding the clarity that comes with a defined audience verses using broad terms to describe your people.
13:05 People often want leads across all industries, but here’s why that doesn’t work.
16:17 Expanding your ideas and options past event planners and yearly conferences can help you book steady gigs in other industries that have more money to spend on bringing in speakers. Let’s get creative!
20:07 Getting scrappy with Google to find unique titles for people booking speakers in unconventional places, ie, business retreats, schools, etc.
24:50 How to embrace the “no”s so you can find a yes. Tips and tricks for being approachable and sticking with the process when it’s discouraging.
28:25 Practical questions you can reflect on to find clarity in who your leads are and what kind of impact you’re making before you go out there and start spamming inboxes!
29:50 A pep talk for consistency and approaching your prospecting with tenacity.

Episode Resources:

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How to Build a Recession Proof Speaking Business

The Speaker Lab Podcast

08/02/22 • 47 min

Are we facing a recession? What does that mean for your speaking business? We’re answering these questions and more during Episode 405 of The Speaker Lab Podcast. The one and only Erick Rheam is guiding our conversation with strategies you can use in these uncertain times to recession-proof your speaking business. During this episode, we’ll talk about how to lead your business through a recession with confidence rather than fear, why you must invest in marketing and yourself, and why you have to take the leap and go virtual. Speakers have had to pivot on a moment’s notice over the last two years, and uncertain economic times are no different. Erick will talk about where you need to flex and when standing firm is okay. Whether you are just beginning to build your business or you’ve been at this for a while, this episode will equip you for what’s next. Erick’s experience, expertise, and transparency will provide practical steps to recession-proof your speaking business — no matter what happens. Here’s what you’ll learn from this episode:

What is a recession?
Organizational response to a recession
Impact on travel, workshops, and training budgets
When to update your demo video, website and other marketing tools
How to write and publish a book to elevate credibility
Why to keep investing in yourself and building skills
Why you need to go virtual and why it’s so beneficial
How to ask for referrals
Four questions you have to ask yourself
And much more!

Tweetable: "Now is not the time to be vague."

How to Use Geographical Prospecting to Get More Paid Speaking Gigs with Erick Rheam

The Speaker Lab Podcast

12/26/23 • 30 min

"Just because you land a gig, it doesn't stop there. How can you parlay that into more gigs?"

Erick Rheam is back on the podcast today to educate us on the power of geographical prospecting. If you’ve listened to the podcast for any time, you’ve heard us talk about daily prospecting and the growth that goes into building momentum for your speaking business. Today, we will dig into what it looks like to take that effort and work smarter, not harder.

"You got to look at this as opportunities to create more business. So we don't want to be so focused that when you go do a gig, Grant, that you're going there. You're there to do the gig, you're going to knock it out of the park, you're going to collect your paycheck, you're going to move on. You got to think bigger than that, and you got to start thinking about, well, maybe this is an area where I can expand my message and do it with folks that are in the proximity of where I'm going to be."

In this episode, Grant and Erick cover:

What is geographical prospecting?
The 4 pillars of geographical prospecting
What you need to know about putting this into practice in your business
Case studies of this actually working (From Grant & Erick!)
Practical tips to help you get started
Best practices on investing in these relationships

"Once you land a gig, look for prospects within a 50 miles radius. The key is just get the process started, and then once you get them on the phone, just explore opportunities with them."

Episode Chapters:

04:47 What is geographical prospecting?
07:10 Why should you focus on building great relationships?
10:18 Who do you reach out to?
15:12 What does it mean to be easy to work with?
18:40 How did Grant use Geographical Prospecting?
22:09 What does it look like to turn an event into a networking event?
23:07 How do you mitigate risk for the event planners?
26:51 What creative ways can you leverage geographical prospecting?

Episode Resources:

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How to Stay Top of Mind With Potential Clients with Brandon Edmonson

The Speaker Lab Podcast

12/12/17 • 42 min

The key to repeat business and staying booked solid is learning how to stay top of mind with potential clients. And one man who knows exactly how to do this is Brandon Edmonson of Premiere Speakers Bureau.

Brandon is an agent with the bureau and in his role he books hundreds of gigs each year. He's gained a lot of insight in the process, all of which he shares today.

On this episode of The Speaker Lab, we talk about how he finds and books engagements, how he stays top of mind with his potential clients as well as what common topics associations and companies are booking for and how you can position your material on those topics.

We wrap up with a chat about what it's like working with celebrities, including a really great story of working with a late night talk show host! This is a fun and informative session with Brandon you won't want to miss so listen in to episode 163 of The Speaker Lab now.

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:

Why you need to have 3 actionable items for your audience.
What is the #1 marketing asset all speakers need to have?
How do you narrow down a broad topic to pursue a specific market?
What will always be a requested topic for speakers?
What do the bureaus do during "dead" months?
How does he balance staying top of mind without being a bother?
Why you should create a documentary-style video as part of your marketing effort.
How important are your website and your one sheet?
And so much more!

EPISODE RESOURCES

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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FAQ

How many episodes does The Speaker Lab Podcast have?

The Speaker Lab Podcast currently has 589 episodes available.

What topics does The Speaker Lab Podcast cover?

The podcast is about Marketing, Speaking, Entrepreneurship, Podcasts, Business, Public Speaking, Coaching, Authors and Smallbusiness.

What is the most popular episode on The Speaker Lab Podcast?

The episode title 'How to Speak On Cultural Diversity and Inclusion with J. Israel Greene' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Speaker Lab Podcast?

The average episode length on The Speaker Lab Podcast is 36 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Speaker Lab Podcast released?

Episodes of The Speaker Lab Podcast are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of The Speaker Lab Podcast?

The first episode of The Speaker Lab Podcast was released on Jan 11, 2016.

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The Speaker Lab Podcast

Grant Baldwin

Top 10 The Speaker Lab Podcast Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does The Speaker Lab Podcast have?

What topics does The Speaker Lab Podcast cover?

What is the most popular episode on The Speaker Lab Podcast?

What is the average episode length on The Speaker Lab Podcast?

How often are episodes of The Speaker Lab Podcast released?

When was the first episode of The Speaker Lab Podcast?

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