One of the biggest mistakes I see aspiring speakers make is believing their job is to inspire everyone in the room. It sounds like a strange thing to say, especially coming from someone who has built a career as a keynote speaker, but hear me out. When we first step onto a stage, we often carry an enormous amount of pressure. We want every person in the audience to laugh at our jokes, connect with our story, write pages of notes, and leave believing it was the best presentati

There is a big difference between performing on stage and actually speaking. Most people do not realise they are performing. They focus on how they look. How they sound. Whether they are saying it “right.” They try to deliver something polished, controlled, impressive. And in doing that, they disconnect from the one thing that actually matters. The truth. Performing keeps you safe When you perform, you stay in control. You stick to the script. You avoid the messy parts. You d