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Verbatim text
Lee Matthew Jackson:
Welcome to the WP Innovator podcast, the podcast for web designers and design agencies, exploring the world of WordPress and online business.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
And now your host, Lee Jackson. Welcome to episode number 106 of the WP Innovator podcast. Now before this show kicks off, I wanna make an announcement. This announcement is an announcement of an announcement on the thirteenth. I’m sorry, on the December 13 at 4PM GMT, we will be making an announcement in the WP Innovator podcast group. That is on WPInnovator.com/group. That’s a redirect. WPInnovator.com/group.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
We’ll be doing a live stream. We are making a very important announcement only to people who are a member of that group. Otherwise, you’re probably gonna have to wait a little while to find out what the news is. Oh, I love doing this. You probably know I’ve been keeping a secret for quite a while. This is actually a secret we’ve been keeping for a few months. It’s been something that we’ve been planning on and off and I actually nearly shelved episode 100 I was thinking maybe I won’t do it but I I went to a summit kind of changed my life. I need to I need to tell you what we’re gonna do and we’re gonna tell you on the December 13 at 4PM GMT.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
Don’t worry you can actually watch the replay if you’re asleep at the time because I do understand we have listenership all around the world. Anyway, until then, today we have my really good friend Frank Candy. He’s back and he’s talking about speaking. Speaking as a profession, speaking for profit. He gives you a great idea on how to formulate your talks, you know, talk telling story from story, etcetera, how to plan them. We even talk about Rolodexes. That’s pretty damn cool. Basically, this is a phenomenally mind blowing episode.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
I was scribbling down the whole time he was talking and had a wonderful time chatting with Frank. He is definitely a dear friend who puts up with me and my busy hectic schedule and I just think he’s a legend. So Frank, if you’re listening, mate, you are a complete legend. Guys, sit back, relax, enjoy the show, and please, please, please keep your arms and legs in the vehicle at all times.
Frank Candy:
Well, thank you, Lee. To your listeners, consider this. Your time is very valuable. How many face to face meetings can you schedule and attend with potential clients in a week or a month. In that time, you might spend hours and even days traveling to clients’ offices and meeting rooms to get a few minutes of their time to discuss their challenges or issues and pitch your amazing talents, your products, and services. On the other hand, if you are speaking with a group of 50 or 100 business people, about half of them will have an interest in your product or service, and the other half will probably know a couple people that would have an interest. And you might have an opportunity for them to refer you if you are good and you ask for the referral. If you do a great job in the speech, if you demonstrate confidence and competency and differentiate yourself from the other designers and competitors in the marketplace, it’s possible to walk out of that room with solid deals and good leads for future business.
Frank Candy:
By solid deals, I mean them saying to you, I like you. I’ve seen what I need to see. When can we get started? I’m ready to go now.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
So, I mean, that’s strong and it makes sense. But, Frank, what’s your actual experience with public speaking?
Frank Candy:
Well, Lee, my first public speaking course was in high school in 1967. I picked the subject of how internal combustion engines work. I could explain it with great confidence and some humor. And two weeks later, I delivered a speech on real estate investing. I earned an a for both of them because I knew what I was talking about, And I had clarity and made it interesting and valuable for the class. In 1971, while in college, I was taking speaking courses. And as extracurricular stuff, I was booking speakers and music acts for the all campus programming board at our university. And while in college, I delivered free speeches and earned a job at the university teaching.
Frank Candy:
So I was getting paid to practice speaking to groups, my classes. In 1976, I earned my first paid speaking engagement. And in 1986, I became a professional speaker and have made a good living at it ever since. I’ve booked thousands of paid speeches all over the world. And as president of the American speakers bureau, our firm books athletes, authors, astronauts, experts, celebrities, and professional speakers all over the world for keynote speeches, seminars, and workshops. My career, I’ve worked with and coached many of the finest speakers and trainers in the world.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
Frank, I’ve got to admit you already had me at hello, but I was really grateful when you sent over all of the testimonials. And I wanna share a few of the testimonials with with everyone today. Some of these are super cool. First of all, we’ve got astronaut and space shuttle commander, Rick. Is that Sirfos? Rick Sirfos? Yes. He said, Frank is my best friend and booking partner in the speaking business. He is amazing. I wish I had an astronaut saying that about me.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
We’ve also got an NFL superstar and nine time pro bowler and Super Bowl twenty team captain, Brian Holloway, said Frank Candy’s industry knowledge is unmatched. He is in the front of speaking and consulting industry and has infinite new knowledge and secrets to generating new business winning clients and navigating the digital economy. Wow. Captain Mike Penn, the United States Navy fighter pilots, a POW in Vietnam, and chief pilot for Southwestern Airlines said, Frank, we’ll share the plans and strategies to be a great speaker and get booked. You’ll save a bunch of money and time in the process if you follow his advice. And then finally, we’ve got Nikki Stone, the Olympic gold medalist, professional speaker, and Amazon best selling author said, like any successful athlete, I knew I needed the right coach to get me to the stage. Many people were giving me suggestions on public speaking over the years, but none came close to the wisdom, tactics, and tools that Frank Candy shared with me. So, Frank, we get it.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
You are good at this. So how can our listeners deliver a speech properly and professionally? Go for it.
Frank Candy:
Well, Lee, there’s several ways to deliver an effective speech. So based on our audience today, what I believe is your purpose to deliver speeches to local business groups about your services. So here is the proven formula for the format that really works. Number one, know your audience. Ask questions about them. Do your research. No two audiences are the same. Remember, the speech is about them.
Frank Candy:
It’s not about you. I use topics, issues, logistics, and I do this with a pre programmed questionnaire. So I’m gonna ask them all kinds of questions about demographics, psychographics, and, who the important insiders and influencers in the group are. And I’ll call them up and talk to them. That’s how I do the research. You gotta ask and then be a great listener. Number two, after you’ve written the speech, you rehearse and rehearse and rehearse some more. Know your topic and speech in and out.
Frank Candy:
Think of this not as a speech, but as a performance. If you were going to sing five songs or play 10 songs on an instrument, how long would you practice to do this in public? You should know it so well that you do not require notes or even cheat sheets. Here’s a tip. Most speeches should be optimistic, entertaining, educational, informative, and inspirational. Let me repeat that. Speeches should be optimistic, entertaining, educational, informative, and inspirational.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
What about funny?
Frank Candy:
Well, well, only if you wanna get paid. Look. And and I I don’t say that jokingly. I’m serious. If you take a look at the, highest paid comedians in the world, they’re doing public speaking. They’re getting in front of an audience. And what are they doing? They’re telling stories. The funnier the story, the more you get paid.
Frank Candy:
I learned a long time ago that audiences who are having a good time and laughing are learning more and paying more attention. They liked it. They’ll keep listening. Now the only kind of humor I use is self deprecating humor. That means I’m making jokes about myself. If you go on the Internet, look me up, you’ll see I have a bald head. I shave my head. So I make jokes about having a bald head.
Frank Candy:
Sometimes if I see in the audience, and I like to greet people when they’re coming in to connect with them, shake their hands, say hello, talk to them, make some small talk with them. And and if I see a few of the members of the audience, men who shave their heads, I try to get their names. Bob, Jerry, Tom. And after I do my opening, I said, by the way, I’d I’d like to, compliment Bob, Jerry, and Tom on those fantastic haircuts they have. And and you look very handsome today, gentlemen. And everybody gets a good chuckle out of it and and and and sort of levels things out and lets everybody relax a little bit. No. Hey.
Frank Candy:
You know what? I’m human. I put my pants on the same way everybody else does. So let’s get to number, three here. Prepare a customized introduction for the group in advance and give it to the person introducing you in advance. I don’t mean an hour before. I mean, days or weeks or months before. Now plus bring an extra copy of the introduction to the event because half the time, they lose it, misfile it, forget it, or the person you were planning on introducing you has been called away, didn’t show up, or has been replaced. And in one one of my cases, the guy got fired the night before, and I didn’t know that.
Frank Candy:
And they said, well, this is, Tom that’s gonna be introducing you today. And I went, oh, what happened to John? Oh, he’s not here. And then tell me he was fired. He was the executive director for the association. Well, I got up on stage and started talking about where the great guy John is, and the night before, the board fired them. Oh, dear. And I’m looking at the audience and I’m going, these people look like I just let one rip in an audience with the pope. You know, I mean,
Frank Candy:
I don’t I don’t read the audience. It’s not good, and I can’t figure out why. And I kept saying nice things about John, and it wasn’t till I was off stage. They came and told me we fired John last night. Why’d you go on about him? I said, why didn’t you tell me? So so
Frank Candy:
that that’s why it’s so important to do your research and know what the heck you’re doing. I I can’t emphasize that enough. That was a very embarrassing situation for me, and and and and, you know, it worked out, but and and the good news is John was a friend, and we’ve remained friends to this day, and he gave me permission to tell the story. Or Sabat mentioned his last name. Okay. Number four, connect with the audience immediately so they like you. There are many ways and techniques to do this, but the introduction that you write is a great way to start. I do not recommend opening your talk with a joke.
Frank Candy:
If it falls flat, then it’s like you just let off a bomb in the room and you’re gonna try to crawl out of that hole. And I’ve seen some people never get out of that hole. And I’ve learned a long time ago, say something that’s going to connect you with the audience quickly and get them to start bonding with you. So that’s what I mean by connect with your audience immediately. The format I use is this, the MC introduces you. You connect with the group, then you tell them what you’re going to tell them. Here’s an example. This afternoon, we will discuss the five key points of good design, and I will give you four important questions you should ask any professional before you hire them.
Frank Candy:
Then you make your first point and tell a story to illustrate that point, and use the story to position you as the expert of choice, because your story is about a person like the people in the audience that had a problem, and you solve the problem and save the day or save their job or even save their company. This is done intelligently and with humility. So the formula is introduction. They introduce you. You connect with the audience. You tell your story, Make a point. Tell a story about it. State the point again, then transition to the next point.
Frank Candy:
The next point should build on the first one. Tell the next story, make the point transition, and keep going. Each story should build on the last story. So based on how much time you have, if you spend two minutes on an opening, six minutes on four stories, and a few minutes on your capabilities and close on a high note with a call to action, you’ll be at about thirty minutes. If you planned thirty minutes and upon arrival at the event, the person who hired you or invited you cut some time out of your speech, say, Hey, Frank, I know I promised you thirty minutes, but I can only give you twenty. So you can eliminate two stories. Do your opening, tell your stories, do your sales pitch and your close, and you’re out. So it’s a great formula for being able to adjust on the fly.
Frank Candy:
It’s also a great formula, and I’ve had this happen to me, Lee, where the speaker who was following me didn’t show up. And I’m getting ready to go into my clothes when I hear a noise stage left, and I look left like I’m making a dramatic point and raising my arm to the right and looking at the meeting planner who hired me, and she says and she’s giving me the stretch it signal. Keep talking. I told another story. I look over at her, and she’s still giving me the same signal. Keep talking. Keep talking. We didn’t know where the next speaker I knew what happened.
Frank Candy:
She didn’t know where the next speaker was, and she wanted me to keep going. So I just kept telling stories because I’m a professional. I have these stories. I have them in my head. For me, it was a bonus. I was prepared. I know my stories. I had more stories I could have told in this speech.
Frank Candy:
Finally, when I looked to the right at about half hour later, she’s given me the thumbs up. I did my close, end of the program, got a standing ovation. The audience loved it, and the the speaker that was following me was not only apologetic and nervous because they were late, but now they had to follow me. So look, number five is closed on a high note with a call to action. And closing on a high note is really important. If you listen to a Tony Bennett song, Tony Bennett’s a fantastic performer, wonderful singer. And if you go listen to some of his songs, you’ll hear how the ending keeps building and building and really ends on a high note. You wanna do the same thing with your speech.
Frank Candy:
You want it to be optimistic. You want it to be exciting. You want it to to leave everybody with a great feeling about this experience. So that’s what closing on a high note is. Now one of the secrets to customizing a speech like this is to find out if some or many people in the room have a nagging problem that is keeping them awake at night and tell stories of how you solved a problem like it for several of your valued clients. Lee, before we started doing this, I was just sharing with you about a client I have. We’re waiting to make a decision on this, and we learned they just went through a very large merger. So in my follow-up proposal for them, I explained how I had been involved with the merger, of the nation’s largest railroads, a, merger with Harley Davidson, a merger with with, Goodyear, a pharmaceutical company, and and more and more.
Frank Candy:
So what I did was add to that in in the proposal that not only can I address what you’ve asked me to address, but I can also talk about the human side of the merger, and and they were very impressed with that? So for a thirty minute speech, I’ll open up with a connecting story, transition to the points I wanna make, tell four or five speeches and detailed or short detailed stories about solving or fixing issues or problems, then transition to the final story about winning the Olympic gold medal and deliver a optimistic message and close the speech on a high note and the call to action. There are many things I offer people when I’m coaching them on delivering an effective speech. In the case of the designer, artist, or photographer, I would challenge each person in the audience with this call to action. Give me a call. Contact me with your biggest design or marketing challenge, and I will offer to give you two or three solutions for free. And if you don’t like the solutions, I’ll give you a full refund. Now, pea people kind of, if you deliver this right, people will laugh, and and it’s but but it’s an invitation to start a conversation. It’s nonthreatening.
Frank Candy:
Mhmm. You let them know that, look, I’m accessible. I understand your challenges. I know what keeps you awake at night. I can assist you. I can deliver the results you want. Now, if you wanna get good at speaking, I always tell the people I coach and and they hire me to consult with them. Try videotaping your speech in your home or office, then watch it and see what you can improve.
Frank Candy:
I would recommend that you hire a professional speech coach, and over time, probably more than one coach. I coach a lot of people, but they also coach me.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
So, Frank, you offer coaching. And do you do that over the Internet, say via Skype or Zoom?
Frank Candy:
I sure do, Lee, and and, it it works.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
But isn’t that like telling people how to drive a car over the Internet? I’m not quite sure how that works.
Frank Candy:
Well, it’s more like teaching them to ride a motorcycle online. I mean, when when you’re giving a speech to a hundred or 500 or 5,000 people, the adrenaline rush is the same as driving a motorcycle at high speed and traffic. But for over ten years, I’ve assisted many people online with their topic development, their storytelling skills, delivery, confidence building, proper ways to use props and music, and how to open and close a great presentation. To sum this up, public speaking is a skill anyone can learn. You have to want to do it. It’s like riding a bike. If you put in the time, energy, and resources and make the commitment to do it really well, you can build a reputation and a long, strong client list with public speaking. I mean, where else can you deliver a pitch about your products and services to 50 or a hundred people or many more at one time.
Frank Candy:
So but but this is important. Just don’t make it an obvious sales pitch. Be genuine. Explain how you solved issues or problems for clients and delivered results that matter. If I can be of service to any of you listening to this in the future, please get in touch. I’m Frank Candy. You can find me at frank candy dot com. You can email me at frank frank candy dot com.
Frank Candy:
I’m on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. You can also check out from my book, the website, publicspeakingformoney.com. That’s all spelled out, no numbers, publicspeakingformoney.com. Lee, do you have any questions for me?
Lee Matthew Jackson:
I’ve got quite a few, but let’s start with the first one. And perhaps the most obvious to many people listening is how do you actually get the confidence to be good at public speaking?
Frank Candy:
Great question, Lee. The first thing I tell people is know your subject. The second one is know your audience and learn how to connect with them. And the third thing is practice, practice, practice. Actually, I do not call it a speech. I call it a performance. Remember, the speaker’s purpose is to engage, inform, and inspire the group to take action. My confidence comes from my broad and deep knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject.
Frank Candy:
Enthusiasm is very contagious. Don’t leave home without it. My enthusiasm for the subject, my highly polished speaking skills that engage and inspire people, and looking good, I mean well dressed, sharp, professional, and successful, like I just stepped off a TV set or a video or photo shoot for a fashion magazine. I invest time in looking very good and resources in my wardrobe. My clothes match. My suit is tailored. The shirt is starched and pressed, I have minimal jewelry and comfortable shoes, but they’re good looking shoes, and I make sure my clothing choices allow me to move around because I like to not only use my voice in the performance, I also use my whole body in the performance.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
I I love that. The aspect of looking good and feeling good is also going to really help your confidence. Now, I kinda wanna rewind a little bit. Further back, you’re talking about stories. And, stories are so powerful. I’m thinking even in the Bible, Jesus talks in stories and they’re easy to remember and people listen to stories, they engage with them. But, I mean, you you have all these stories. How do you find your own stories in life? How can you build up a repertoire of your own story? Because I’m thinking of my agency life.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
I sure. I’ve got maybe a few things that have happened, but how do you even go about recording them and and utilizing those stories?
Frank Candy:
Every time I wake up in the morning, stuff happens. I mean, like when you and I met what happened, we connected, we made a nice connection. We started talking. Next thing you know, there’s a hurricane coming.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
I remember that.
Frank Candy:
Now, How many stories do I have from hurricane Irma? A lot now, how can I, everything that happens to you in life has some stories behind it? I rescue the dog. I found the dog’s owner. The dog and the owner were so happy. I did a good deed. You put on your super cape. You come in. You save the day. Now I only like to look for clients who are serious and are functional, and I’m going to share with them stories that sound like people like them are my clients, and I’m able to assist them with their challenges.
Frank Candy:
All kinds of things happen to you in life. This weekend, I’m planning on going to an art festival. I’ll probably run into several old friends. They’re gonna say what’s happening. I’ll say I survived hurricane Irma. We’ll have some stories about the hurricane. We might even go to one of the sidewalk cafes and enjoy a sandwich and a beverage and get caught up. Life is filled with experiences.
Frank Candy:
The experiences turn into stories. The stories turn into a message. The greatest speakers you ever heard are the ones who tell stories. You mentioned preachers before, the Bible. Look, the Bible is full of stories. Matthew Matthew said, Matthew chapter seven verse seven, Knock and the door will be opened. Seek and you shall seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened. You know, I mean, there there’s all kinds of stories, and everywhere you look, there’s stories.
Frank Candy:
So you have to make record of the stories. Now how do I do that? Lee, you’ve been in my office and my home. You know, I use storyboarding and three by five cards. Mhmm. When I leave the house, I make sure I have my cell phone, the charger, the wire, the spare battery, my wallet, my keys, cash, credit cards, a pen, and blank three by five cards. Now while I realize it’s hip to be able to record all the stuff in your phone, sometimes, when you’re sitting with a client or you’re sitting with a friend, they sometimes push back or pull back if you get out the phone and say, hey. I’m gonna record this. Instead if you just pull out your your cards and say, I’m just gonna take a couple notes because that’s that’s wonderful.
Frank Candy:
I just wanna remember this. They’re they’re far less intimidated. Nobody likes getting a microphone shoved in their face. So there are stories all around us, Lee, and and all of us have had them. You’ve got great stories. I mean, think about stories you have when you were growing up. Think about think about the people that you’ve helped. Think about the animals you’ve saved.
Frank Candy:
The think about when your daughter was born. Mhmm. Think about when you met your wife. Think think about, you know, there’s everything’s got stories. It it’s how you tell the story, how you spin the story. That’s what matters.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
The the story I can currently remember being at your house is when when that frog was on the door and Ella freaked out.
Frank Candy:
Oh, poor Ella. You know, the for for our listening audience, that that frog was about the size of a thumbnail. And and they’re very common in Florida here. They’re all over the place. We also have lizards. And we came in the and there was a frog stuck on the door. And and, you would think it was a seven foot alligator, which reacted. Poor thing.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
Poor thing. Following that, she actually ended up finding minute frogs in her bedroom for, like, three or four days afterwards. So I I I think over time, she she kind of got used to the frogs. There you go, though. That’s an example of a story, isn’t it? Just that that alone and being able to take that then onto a point, I feel like I’ve learned something just now, mate. On stories as well, you have highlighted because I was thinking I don’t have stories, but you have totally highlighted totally have stories. I was thinking stories in business and there’s quite a few. Some of them aren’t really very interesting.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
But when you make them more personal about myself, and things that have happened in life, then they kind of get more humorous as well as can still be relevant. I guess the only other question then I do have, because you actually said quite a lot, which kinda covered off a few other questions I had, including things like how you would report and all that sort of stuff. But I guess the last question is, can you can you borrow other people’s stories, or do they need to be your experiences?
Frank Candy:
Yes. I use other people’s stories, but I always always give them credit for it. Yeah. My friend you know, I I knew a speaker who used to the first three times, he would use a quote from somebody famous. He would say something like, and Napoleon Hill said and the second time, he would say, you know, I heard Napoleon Hill say and then the third time, he’d say, I was in an audience when Napoleon Hill said and then the poor time would say, you know, I’ve always said.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
Well, it’s true because he said it three times.
Frank Candy:
Yeah. And I don’t go for that. You know? I I I think it’s really important to give credit where credit is due. Mhmm. One more thing on on stories. Every obstacle is an advantage to turn into great steps towards victory. And what you wanna be able to do is is figure out the obstacles that you’ve overcome, the challenges you fix, the the problems that you’ve had, and and how you rose above them. You know, when I tell my Olympic story, you know, I I was ten years past my prime.
Frank Candy:
Ten years past my prime, but I was in the right place at the right time. And what happened? The coach said, there’s only one person that I believe could win this in the last leg force because you have the experience and you have the confidence. I went, me? He goes, yeah. Do you wanna do it? And I didn’t hesitate. I said, yes, coach. Put me in. I was an assistant coach on the team, but guys were getting hurt. You know the story, so I’m not gonna go into it here, but but I ended up winning an Olympic gold medal.
Frank Candy:
I was in the right place at the right time. I was ready. I was prepared, and I was confident, and I was fearless. And, really, that’s what it takes to be a good public speaker. You have to be fearless. You have to be confident. You have to be ready, and you have to be prepared. Now let’s take this concept of the three by five cards a little bit further because I didn’t show you my system, and I I probably should have when you were here.
Frank Candy:
When you come back, I’ll show it to you. I have these vinyl eight and a half by 11 pages that hold and properly organize three by five cards, and they fit into a three ring binder. And I have hundreds and hundreds of them. Cards, not binders. And each story is on a three by five card. The title is at the top, and then I start writing, and sometimes it goes to the back of it. So something happens for me here being based in Orlando, Florida. We have meeting and event planners who discover, for some reason, the speaker is unable to make their event at the last moment, and they need a backup.
Frank Candy:
They need someone to come in. They need someone to save the day, and and I will get a call. Can you be here at 05:00? It’s 01:00. It’s an hour away. I said, okay. Tell me about the group. They’re they’re they’re a bunch of software engineers. Okay.
Frank Candy:
Great. I can I can do that one? And what was the topic gonna be about? Well, it’s about personal growth and leadership. Perfect. I’m an expert on that. I have written books on it. Oh, you’re great. Can you come? Yes. Can you be here two hours early? I said, that gives me two hours to get cleaned up, put on a suit, and drive there.
Frank Candy:
So okay. I’ll do my best. I always always try to exceed their expectations and get there before they expect me to. Oftentimes, I can. And, Lee, you’re gonna laugh at this. Years ago, after I saved a client, she went out and bought me a Superman cape. Brilliant. And and she put it in the box, and she mailed it to me with a beautiful thank you letter for saving the day.
Frank Candy:
And I thought it was so funny. And, a few times ago when this happened, the client called me up and said, you know, three hours. We’re desperate. Please help us. I’ll be there. It was a group of aviation professionals, and they wanted to talk on innovation. I said, great. I’m an expert on creativity and innovation.
Frank Candy:
They said, what’s your take on it? I said, everybody’s got creativity in them. You have to use the process of innovation in order to organize and extract and compartmentalize and make that creativity into something that will work that is profitable. She goes, that’s perfect. Just come in and do that. I came walking in in my suit, my best clothes looking like a million bucks with five three by five cards in my pocket and my Superman cape. She just cracked up. I mean, she, she was howling, laughing, and she goes, don’t take it off. I said, what? No, I I’m not going on stage.
Frank Candy:
And she goes, no, no, no, you gotta wear it. I started, I’ll walk out with it, but then I’m taking it off. She said, fine. So she did this big thing in the introduction that that the sound guys found some Superman music. She talked about how she found me. I came out there. I did a fantastic job on the speech, got a standing ovation, and and and a nice check with, you know, a comma to the left of the numbers out. You know, I was very happy.
Frank Candy:
So a number to the left of the commas, I mean, I said that backwards. Yes. I am a speaker. So there are many ways that you can organize your stories. It doesn’t matter to me how you choose to organize them. I started using three by five cards back when the only thing we had to put ink on paper was a typewriter. So it’s an old system, and it’s simple, and it works. So I had those five cards, and your audience may like this because here’s how I memorize that.
Frank Candy:
The first story, I attach mentally to my first finger, my index finger. Mhmm. My second story is my middle finger. My third story is my ring finger, and my fourth story is my little finger. So as I’m talking, and I know I’m gonna be going into the next one, I have linked up in my head the first story’s index, second story’s the next one. So all I have to do is touch my finger, and I remember what my next story is.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
That’s clever.
Frank Candy:
So I I don’t use notes when I go on stage. And and I I really I I’m not a happy camper when I go to these technology events like the one you and I met at, and the person doing the program doesn’t look at the audience, reads from a PowerPoint, or worse, reads from some notes, or reads the PowerPoint program that we’re looking at while he’s reading it off his computer and we’re looking at it on the screen. That that’s not a speech. That’s not a presentation. That’s bore you to tears.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
Death by PowerPoint.
Frank Candy:
Yeah. Exactly.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
I I like I like I like the old systems. And people on the podcast know that although I use technology in this agency to manage our tasks and that, we actually all adopt a paper things to do today booklet, where we mark all of our tasks down or we put them we give them an order of importance between one and four using the technique of urgent, not important, and all that sort of stuff. Sorry, urgent and important or, important but not urgent and all those sorts of things. And, we still adopt that paper method. And when I’m writing notes as well, I will always write notes down on paper because there’s something powerful, I think, that connection between the hand, the pen, and the brain, And it helps you to keep things in your mind. But also, I love the idea of your your cards and going through the cards to find different stories and taking those cards out because that’s a a physical activity. You’re going through these stories. There’s something far less magical, far less exciting, far less engaging looking through, I don’t know, Evernote on your computer and trying to find a few tiles in Evernote versus doing something physical with paper.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
So I’m really attracted to that idea. And personally, I’m gonna go ahead and go and buy myself some cards and start recording some stories that I’ve got that I’ve been thinking of once you’ve been talking. So really appreciate your time. This, I would call an epic sode, my friend. This is Wow. One of those episodes that is just filled with meat and absolutely love it. No room for veg. This was a meaty episode and I’ve loved every second of it.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
So Frank, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for spending the time and sharing your many years of experience even though clearly you still like, you’re 35. So everybody, if you wanna connect with Frank, head on over to frankcandie.com. If you wanna have a look at his book, it’s publicspeakingformoney.com. That’s publicspeakingformoney.com. I will put links to all of this, ways to connect with Frank, etcetera, in the show notes. Frank, thank you again. You are a legend.
Frank Candy:
Lee, thanks so much. Hey. Let’s give your people a special bonus.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
Go for it.
Frank Candy:
I I wrote a special report called the pen is mightier than the keyboard. I like it. And I’d like to give it to anybody who just sends me an email and just put in the subject line, please send, the special report, the pen is mightier than the keyboard, and I’ll be glad to send that to you for free.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
Brilliant. And that’s frank@frankcandy.com. Yep. Get your free gift. Thanks, Frank.
Frank Candy:
Thank you, Lee. I wish you well, and everybody out there, I wish you well and and much happiness, health, wealth, and success.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
And that wraps up episode number 106. If you don’t want to be a speaker now, you probably didn’t listen to the show and you just fast forwarded to the end. Seriously, this is a brilliant episode. Remember, we have a Facebook group. It’s a great place for us to share and support each other. So why not head on over to wpinnovate.com/group and share your dreams. What are your dreams for getting more exposure to your business? Is it starting a podcast? Is it becoming a speaker? What do you think? Wpinnovator.com/group. And don’t forget, we are making that all exciting announcement on the December 13, ‘4 PM GMT.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
Why the thirteenth? Because I’ve got an attitude problem, and I’m not superstitious. And I like to pick dates that people would normally go. In fact yesterday my daughter was saying, oh dad, is it true that when you go under a ladder, that it’s bad luck? And there was a ladder right next to us, hence she was asking the question. So you know what I went and did? I went and walked under that ladder and said look I’m absolutely fine. Mic drop. And actually nothing bad has happened yet so far. Touch wood. Do you see what I did there? Okay.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
I’m sorry. I’m really sorry but you know, I’m I’m 35, soon to be 36 next year, and I’m a dad. So it’s actually guaranteed or or required, I think, at this point in life that you just you crack jokes like this. But anyway, yeah. I walked her a letter. No problem. I’m gonna make an announcement on the thirteenth. It’s not Friday, but it’s still the number thirteenth.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
No problem. We launched the What Business Show on a Friday the thirteenth. Hey. I even booked a root canal on a Friday the thirteenth. That went alright. I suppose the downside is I have to go for another one now on the same freaking tooth. Anyway, you don’t need to know my problems. This, you know, I’m if if you wanna give me a hug or reach out, just head on over to the Facebook group.
Lee Matthew Jackson:
That’d be really nice. I really don’t like dentists. I mean, this kinda goes back from a a long history of having loads of operations on my mouth, and they never managed to shut me up. Just another one straight out. Just I’m here all day if you want. I’m here all day, but I should probably go because the rest is gonna have to mix this up and get the podcast live. So I’ll love you and leave you, and we will see you in the next show.
