How to Turn a Keynote into a Book Sales Machine

Old client emails are gold for coaches like me! Here is an email (reformatted for LinkedIn) that I sent years ago, offering guidance on how to lead engaging, insight-packed panel sessions for high-impact events. 🚀 🎯 Plan with Precision 🔹Define a compelling theme and align with panelists early. 🔹Partner with experts to craft questions that highlight unique experiences and actionable insights. 🔹Hold a rehearsal to refine flow and build panelist rapport. 🎤 Execute with Impact 🔹Open with clear context and outcomes to set the stage. 🔹Invite audience engagement from the start—questions spark connection. 🔹Keep intros brief, saving your expert for last to build momentum. 🔹Use a short (5-min) framing talk, if needed, to ground the discussion. 🔹Balance airtime, stay adaptable, and dive into successes, pitfalls, and open challenges (“Do’s, Don’ts, Don’t Knows”). 🔹Close on time with a sharp recap and heartfelt thanks. ❌ Avoid These Traps 🔹Don’t lecture—share insights as relatable wisdom. 🔹Don’t cut speakers off abruptly—pivot gracefully (e.g., “That’s key—how are others tackling this?”). 🔹Don’t force a rigid call to action—invite the audience on a call to adventure instead. 🔹Don’t overrun—plan a polished, personalized close. 💡 Pro Tip: Authenticity and adaptability turn good panels into unforgettable ones. Encourage raw insights and foster dialogue that resonates. I've built up an invaluable playbook from past coaching sessions and emails alike. How do you make your panels unforgettable? Share your tips below! 👇 #Leadership #PublicSpeaking #ThoughtLeadership #Consulting

Posting daily will NOT make you a thought leader. This might sting but if your posts aren’t built on clear positioning, daily posting just makes you a busier ghost. Most professionals and coaches have been told that consistency = clients. So they share generic tips anyone could Google. And wonder why nobody’s booking calls. Here’s why it doesn’t work: Posting daily without Authority Assets is like shouting into a crowded market. People hear you, but they don’t remember you. So what builds thought leadership? Packaging your ideas into signature frameworks. Turning your expertise into ebooks that people save, not scroll past. Building a simple nurture system so prospects come to you. Consistency is important but it should serve authority, not just activity. P.S. Follow me if you want to learn how to build your Authority Assets and convert more this week.

He was stuck at $70K a year despite crushing every keynote. "People love my talks, what am I missing?" 6 months later: $120K. No, not from more gigs. From what came AFTER the keynote. It's where most speakers screw up: Keynote’s not the goal. It’s the gateway. Most speakers build:  content → likes → keynotes The smart 1% build:  content → keynotes → scale Here’s the offer ladder I build with 6-figure speakers: ⤵ 1. Teach what you know on LinkedIn Here’s where you teach your audience. And make them hungry for more - Post 3x/week (80% for bookers / 20% peers) - Share slides and snapshots from keynotes - Use PAIS: Pain → Agitate → Ideal → Solution No content = no visibility = no pipeline. 2. Turn your keynote into the entry point A keynote isn’t the cash cow. It’s the trust-builder. The door to bigger work: - Add a “next step” slide (workshop, coaching…) - Follow up with the organizer/booker in 48h - Repurpose audience questions into posts 3. Build scalable products If the mic’s off, money shouldn’t be. - Turn slides into a mini-course or toolkit - Record your keynote once → sell the replay - Package frameworks into a license for teams Now THAT'S how you create offers that work without you in the room: Most of y'all stop at step 2. Booked? Cute. Building a business? Not even close. You’re chasing $10K keynotes. The smart ones are landing $100K engagements off the same stage. They know the keynote’s just the door. What matters is what comes after. So… what’s your ladder really selling?

"Myth: Visibility Is Optional for Success" Many professionals believe that if they just work hard enough, their results will speak for themselves. The truth? Hard work matters—but so does visibility. Here’s the myth: “If I keep my head down, people will recognize my value.” Here’s the reality: without presence, your voice, ideas, and impact go unnoticed. Public speaking coaching helps you step into visibility with confidence—whether in meetings, pitches, or keynotes. It’s not about spotlight-seeking; it’s about communicating so clearly and authentically that people can’t help but listen. Success isn’t just about doing the work—it’s about being seen doing it. #executivepresence #publicspeaking #leadershipdevelopment #pywtsuccess

"Myth: Visibility Is Optional for Success" Many professionals believe that if they just work hard enough, their results will speak for themselves. The truth? Hard work matters—but so does visibility. Here’s the myth: “If I keep my head down, people will recognize my value.” Here’s the reality: without presence, your voice, ideas, and impact go unnoticed. Public speaking coaching helps you step into visibility with confidence—whether in meetings, pitches, or keynotes. It’s not about spotlight-seeking; it’s about communicating so clearly and authentically that people can’t help but listen. Success isn’t just about doing the work—it’s about being seen doing it. #executivepresence #publicspeaking #leadershipdevelopment #pywtsuccess

🎤 Keynote Speakers—Want to Stay Relevant with Corporate Audiences? If you’re speaking to a corporate audience, remember they’re not just there for a feel-good story. They want something they can use. Something that moves the needle tomorrow morning. From what I’ve seen from my years’ operating within and on the edge of the corporate space, here’s what they really value in a keynote: • Real value – not just entertainment • Fresh thinking – an idea they haven’t heard before • Insights they can apply straight away • A clear link to their business goals • Polish and emotional intelligence • Return on investment – your talk has to make a difference ⭐ And if you want to make your talk “Corporate-Ready” 🎤 Quality scoping is key. Asking such questions as: What keeps them up at night? What outcomes matter most? What specific skills, or behavioural changes are you looking to develop? May I ask why? 🎤Speak their language. Make it obvious you understand their world. This can only be achieved if you have done a really good job on your scoping and understood their world/their lexicon/their business. 🎤Land one strong message. One clear, memorable idea beats a scatter of half-formed ones every time. 🎤Balance inspiration with practicality. Yes, you want to move hearts—but always land the “so what?” and ensure you are relevant to their world- their job, their role within their organisation and their business priorities  🎤Offer something they can use tomorrow. A framework, a phrase, a model, a simple action step they can embed right away. Bottom line? A corporate keynote isn’t just a talk—it’s a business solution. Clients look for experts who speak. Experts who can offer solutions and fresh thinking for challenges they are facing or aspirations they want to achieve. If you can help people work smarter, lead better and feel more capable the very next day, and feel less stressed, you’ll always be in demand. Provided you smash the delivery of your keynote out of the park! If you are a corporate, what would you add to my thoughts?

Yikes! Please don't get psyched out by someone else's success. One of my Spoken with Authority clients had a big presentation yesterday. He emailed me that it went really well and said he received a "weird compliment." It seems that the team of the speaker who was following him on the stage told him they had to usher their speaker out of the room during his presentation because he was doing so well that it made their speaker nervous. Yikes! WHY you shouldn't let someone else's performance affect you: ➡️ The success of the speaker before you puts the audience in a great mindset! If they are already paying attention and enjoying themselves, you can swoop in and capitalize on that good will. ➡️ No one expects each speaker to be the same. It would be really boring if a series of conference speakers looked and sounded the same. You can both be great speakers and have different styles and purposes. HOW to follow a great speaker: ➡️ Take the stage with a big smile, pause, and give your attention-grabbing opening line. Don't mention the previous speaker....yet.... ➡️ Note one element of the previous speaker's content that connects to your message. Work in a quick reference to that during your presentation. For instance, "Leadership is about connecting with others. I loved Sue's story about how she met her mentor. Here's how you can make your next connection meaningful..." ➡️ Nothing beats preparation. Rehearse. Rehearse. Rehearse. Rehearse in the weeks leading up to the presentation, and rehearse in the space the day before (if at all possible). If you KNOW you are ready, you'll be able to cheer for that great speaker ahead of you instead of comparing yourself to them. That's what my client did, and it paid off. In speaking and in life, let's not focus so much on ourselves that we forget to simply cheer for the good! #publicspeaking #conferences #communicationskills

⏳Your First 60 Seconds Can Decide Everything Those first words define your credibility. Let’s make them unforgettable. We’ve got one minute (sometimes less!) before people decide if they’ll really listen to us. Whether it’s a client pitch, a leadership meeting, or a conference room in London or Berlin, our first 60 seconds signal everything: Confidence. Clarity. Competence. But here’s the trap most fluent professionals fall into: They start informing, instead of impressing. They lead with data, instead of direction. And in that tiny window, the room decides:  “interesting” or “forgettable.” 🎯Here’s what powerful speakers do differently in their first 60 seconds: 1) They claim the room. Walk in, pause. Make eye contact. Then begin. Silence builds authority. 2) They open with direction, not details. “Today, I want to show you how we can reduce costs by 15%, and without cutting a single team member.” That line frames the conversation before it starts. 3) They speak more slowly than they think. Speed signals stress. Precision signals power. If you’re fluent in English but still feel your introductions don’t land, it’s probably not your grammar. It’s your strategy. Let’s change that. I’ll break down how to do this step-by-step in my upcoming free webinar: “Nail Your First 60 Seconds:  How to Win the Room in One Minute.” 📌 Thursday, October 23, 2025,  2pm CEST 🎤 For international professionals who want to sound as sharp in English as they do in their own language. 🔗Link in comment below & in bio to save your seat.

The biggest mistake new speakers make: Trying to be a "keynote speaker" right away. It makes no sense. It'd be like: - starting at a new company ➞ asking to be CEO immediately - being a rookie athlete ➞ demanding the highest salary on the team - getting into acting ➞ telling your agent "only submit me for lead roles" (And some other analogies, you get it by now.) But, unless you're: 1. (Semi-)famous 2. A big cheese at a big company 3. Or you have a crazy personal story You likely won't even be considered as a keynote speaker when you first start out. Keynote speakers help SELL the event, so they have to be super-impressive on a flyer. So, what should you do instead? Just, like, eat Doritos or something? NO. GO IN FOR WORKSHOPS. (sorry for yelling) Workshops are easier to book because you're not competing with quasi-celebrities, they have way less pressure, and you can actually TEACH your expertise to an audience of your ideal client and generate absolutely SCORCHING hot leads for your business. Leads you could fry an egg off, LITERALLY, like in REAL LIFE. THEN, when you've established yourself as a speaker over a couple years, built up relationships and trust with event bookers, done some really cool shit that the speaking world cares about, and sharpened your skills & message: You can be a keynote speaker. Make sense? OK cool. (P.S. Obviously I was building to something self-serving here): If you're a coach or consultant who wants to start speaking (more), then consider joining my FREE "Signature Workshop" Workshop (A Webinar). Out of 169 attendees from the last 2 webinars, one of them said it was: "Great!" So... I think that speaks for itself: https://lnkd.in/gW2efbBk