Journey To Paid Speaking Gigs with Charles Clark · 2023-03-16 · 26 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
52 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Seth Godin, bestselling author and veteran paid speaker who has delivered over 1,000 speeches, sits down to map the speaking industry's hidden economics and psychology. He explains that paid speaking operates on a two-hump curve: people will speak for free in high volume, and famous people command premium fees because they bring status and prestige to events. The uncomfortable middle - highly skilled but non-famous speakers at $5,000-$10,000 rates - barely exists because organizers can hire equally good speakers for free. Godin argues that what event organizers actually pay for is interrupting someone's successful life and bringing them to their event; fame and external credibility matter far more than stage craft alone. He walks through his own journey from book packager to internet entrepreneur to bestselling author, revealing how he uses unconventional tactics like his milk-carton book (Purple Cow) and limited availability (capping himself at 25-30 speeches yearly) to increase demand. His core philosophy: become remarkable at something else first, then speaking invitations follow. On stage itself, Godin prioritizes creating ideas that stick - ones people repeat months or years later - over immediate applause. He illustrates this with Tony Robbins' firewalking strategy, which worked not because of transformational psychology but because attendees had a memorable story to tell others, making them natural evangelists.
Paid speakers operate on a two-hump curve: free speakers on one end, famous speakers earning five to ten times more on the other, with a hollow middle where skilled but non-famous speakers at $5,000-$10,000 rates struggle because event organizers can hire equally talented speakers for free.
Organizers pay for the speaker's fame and status - the ability to interrupt someone's busy, successful life and bring them to the event. They're not primarily paying for stage skill; they're paying because they can tell attendees 'we got Spike Lee to stop making a movie and come speak.'
Tony Robbins didn't rely on unique content; he created a memorable experience by having assistants light a 50-foot trench of burning charcoal during his speech, then leading audience members across it, giving them a story so compelling they became involuntary evangelists who told everyone about the experience.
Focus on becoming remarkable at something else first - write books, build companies, develop ideas worth talking about. Fame and credibility in other domains drive speaking invitations; speaking rarely builds fame on its own.
Create ideas people cannot unsee and will repeat in meetings months or years later; Seth aims for audience members to reference his concepts long after the speech, not just to receive applause in the moment.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
Seth Godin delivers a handful of genuinely useful structural insights - particularly the two-hump speaker market model and the counterintuitive pricing/scarcity dynamic - but these are surrounded by substantial filler, host rambling, and anecdote tangents that dilute the overall density.
There's a curve. With two humps in it. One hump is how many people are willing to speak for free and the answer is a lot... in between is a big through, and that through is $5000 speakers $10,000 because we're really, really good. They're not famous. And no one needs to hire those people
The less you want to speak and give, the more likely it is you'll get. #2, the more you charge, the more likely it is you'll get hired.
The two-hump speaker market structure is a crisp original framing, but most of the episode recycles established Godin IP - 'remarkable,' 'don't wait to get picked,' building a following before monetising - ideas his regular audience will have encountered many times before.
being a successful professional speaker is a symptom. It's not a cause. First, you gotta fly. What causes your ability to do that.
don't do a version of Sir Ken do a version of you
Godin is a legitimate practitioner - 1000+ paid speeches, built and sold an internet company, pioneered viral book marketing - with real operational experience rather than pure thought-leadership, though he has migrated significantly toward the 'career thought leader' archetype over time.
I've given more than 1000 speeches for money
I invented a a different way of using PowerPoint than it ever done before, which is my PowerPoint slides had hundreds of pictures and no words
The episode includes several concrete anchors - Tom Peters at 160 speeches per year, a 22,000-person audience, a 450-seat Linchpin launch, a $5k - $10k speaker price range - but lacks hard revenue figures, ROI data, or systematic evidence; it relies heavily on anecdote.
Tom Peters at his peak was giving 160... I have a note I'm not doing more than 25, maybe 30
I launched my book linchpin and again I organized my own event, 450 seats sold in New York City
The host asks generic, leading questions, frequently pivots to his own stories mid-conversation, and never pushes back on or probes deeper into Godin's claims; most of the substantive content is driven entirely by Seth's own initiative rather than any interrogative pressure.
So when did you know? Because I think that it happens like an aha moment that happens.
I want to hear about your your most memorable speaking experience. What was that moment like? And where were you?
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
Send a text Seth is an accomplished writer, entrepreneur, and speaker who is a pioneer in the ethical online direct marketing space. He has published 20 bestselling books mainly about marketing and innovation, and they have been translated into nearly 40 languages. Through his talks about effective marketing, leadership, the spread of ideas, and more, Seth has been able to motivate and inspire countless people around the world. His goals are to solve interesting problems, notice things that people don't notice, and lend a hand to others - all things that he is able to accomplish on stage. Seth's many achievements include being in the Guerrilla Marketing Hall of Fame, the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame, and the Marketing Hall of Fame. Key Takeaways Seth believes you are not necessarily predestined to do something but you can decide what you are called to do based on your analysis of the world. Learn about the easiest road to becoming a successful speaker. Hint: it is about the value you bring before getting on the stage. Giving people a story to take away from a product or experience - like a book or speaking engagement - is key to being memorable.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
00:00:02 Charles Clark Welcome to the journey paid speaking gigs podcast. 00:00:04 Charles Clark Here we bring on guests and the speaking world to uncover how to find your voice as a speaker, get paid speaking engagements, and develop your speaking skills. 00:00:13 Charles Clark I'm your host. 00:00:13 Charles Clark Charles Clark.
00:00:14 Charles Clark Mental health and resilient speaker. 00:00:16 Charles Clark And today I'm having a conversation with best selling author, Seth Godin. 00:00:20 Charles Clark If you like what you hear today, check out the journey to paid speaking gigs Academy on my website. 00:00:25 Charles Clark Thecharlesclark.
com/apply, where you're gonna learn everything that you need to know about how to create a successful speaking business. 00:00:34 Charles Clark It's time to rise and thrive. 00:00:35 Charles Clark Let's welcome Seth to the show. 00:00:38 Seth Godin Well, thank you.
00:00:38 Seth Godin Thanks for doing the show. 00:00:39 Seth Godin It's really generous for you to do it. 00:00:41 Seth Godin And I'm glad that people. 00:00:42 Seth Godin Are listening to what you have to say.
00:00:44 Charles Clark So before we get started, let the Thrive Tribe know. 00:00:47 Charles Clark Who is Seth Godin? 00:00:48 Charles Clark And I'm I'm referring to you as a person. 00:00:51 Charles Clark You as a speaker, as an expert.
00:00:53 Charles Clark And you know your. 00:00:56 Seth Godin So in 1977, when I was 17 years old, I heard that it was possible to make a living as a paid speaker. 00:01:02 Seth Godin I didn't think there. 00:01:03 Seth Godin Was such a thing, and when people asked, what did you want to be when you grow up, I wanted to be a teacher, which I.
00:01:09 Seth Godin Get to do and. 00:01:11 Seth Godin Oh, do you like to get paid to do that? 00:01:13 Seth Godin So I would. 00:01:14 Seth Godin Giving hundreds of speeches for.
00:01:16 Seth Godin And now I've given more than 1000 speeches for money. Uh, I've been really successful at it. And Super lucky, you know, I I came from a place of privilege, but I also worked really hard to figure out how to get. 00:01:28 Seth Godin Good at it.
00:01:29 Seth Godin And so on a good day. 00:01:32 Seth Godin What I try to do for a living is sound interesting problems. 00:01:35 Seth Godin Notice things that people don't notice. 00:01:37 Seth Godin Maybe in the hand, and sometimes I get to do well on stage, at least before COVID.
00:01:42 Seth Godin Now I'm mostly doing it sitting here in this room all by myself. 00:01:46 Charles Clark Alright, so let's take a little quick break cause I always like to know what's going on in the back of, you know, you got the books, it it it, it looks like it looks like creativity. 00:01:56 Charles Clark It looks like you so kind of. 00:01:58 Charles Clark Like tell me about that background before.
00:02:00 Charles Clark I go into the the next question. 00:02:02 Seth Godin Yeah, so this. 00:02:03 Seth Godin Whole thing started when you know I've been on zoom for five years, but the backgrounds of people on CNN and things careful. 00:02:09 Seth Godin And I was like, oh, it's nice that a lot of books by authors you like, but it's totally different to have books after.
00:02:15 Seth Godin The books you wrote. 00:02:17 Seth Godin And so I just thought it was fine. 00:02:19 Seth Godin My bookshelf has always been messy. 00:02:21 Seth Godin I prefer to organize it in the way my brain works as opposed to like a library.
00:02:26 Seth Godin And I discovered. 00:02:29 Seth Godin As a marketer, you don't change things because you're tired of them. 00:02:32 Seth Godin You change things cause your. 00:02:33 Seth Godin Audience gets tired of.
00:02:35 Seth Godin Them so like you shouldn't change their logo and I shouldn't change my background. 00:02:39 Charles Clark So I don't. 00:02:42 Charles Clark That's that's, that's that's. 00:02:43 Charles Clark Pretty amazing because I think you know what people tend to do, they they we want things to look all pretty.
00:02:49 Charles Clark We rather we tend to the outside rather than tend to what's on the inside of our heart and to perfect that and make those things better. 00:02:57 Charles Clark And yeah, man, yeah, I I definitely respect that because you know what? 00:02:57 Seth Godin What's that? 00:03:01 Charles Clark Let's just keep it real and I.
00:03:03 Charles Clark Think during COVID right like. 00:03:05 Charles Clark We've been exposed like some people, you know, you got, you got your wife coming in, the dog barking. 00:03:10 Charles Clark Sometimes you're in the middle of a speech. 00:03:12 Charles Clark I don't know.
00:03:12 Charles Clark A meeting like, let's just keep it real. 00:03:15 Charles Clark Because I think in authenticity it it creates connectivity. 00:03:18 Charles Clark So yeah, thanks for sharing that. 00:03:21 Charles Clark So I want to go into the in this in this part.
00:03:23 Charles Clark So you you've been in the marketing space and you have over 19 best selling books and that's incredible. 00:03:30 Charles Clark So kind of tell me about. 00:03:31 Charles Clark That journey of the the. 00:03:33 Charles Clark Story of how did you get into speaking and and when did you know that what you had to say it mattered?
00:03:40 Seth Godin Let's see the last part first. 00:03:42 Seth Godin Anyone who's listening to. 00:03:43 Seth Godin This what they have to say. 00:03:44 Seth Godin Matters do not beat yourself up about the disconnect between what the market is rewarding and the quality of.
00:03:52 Charles Clark You're saying? 00:03:53 Seth Godin So before I wasn't a best selling author, I was a book packager. 00:03:57 Seth Godin Book packagers do for a living is, we discover problems that are too hard to solve for single author like almanacs, test prep books, books on gardening or whatever. 00:04:07 Seth Godin And we bring that package to the publisher sometimes.
00:04:11 Seth Godin I was the quote author. 00:04:12 Seth Godin Sometimes I found authors. 00:04:14 Seth Godin My second book was about removing spots and stains and I found this guy who was the world expert on spot and staining. 00:04:21 Seth Godin Local, so I knew how to talk to public.
00:04:23 Seth Godin It was, and I taught myself how to write because writing isn't talent. 00:04:27 Seth Godin It's not a gift, as you've discovered. 00:04:29 Seth Godin It's a skill, yeah. 00:04:31 Seth Godin The same thing you learned how to run.
00:04:33 Seth Godin You learned how to write more, one more running. 00:04:36 Seth Godin No one's born writing. You just decide. And I realized a long time ago when a book.
00:04:43 Seth Godin Is a magical. 00:04:43 Seth Godin Totem that it's it, it stands for something it reminds people of something it. 00:04:48 Seth Godin Gives us status. 00:04:50 Seth Godin And so when I started one of the first Internet companies, we need to explain to a lot of people what we did.
00:04:58 Seth Godin And it was taking too many months to do it. 00:05:00 Seth Godin Every sales call. 00:05:01 Seth Godin So I read a book about what we were doing and we had to make a book. 00:05:05 Seth Godin That book ended up becoming a New York Times bestseller, and it opened the door for the kind of work.
00:05:09 Seth Godin We were doing with it. 00:05:10 Seth Godin Well, I'm an actor now. 00:05:12 Seth Godin I'm not a package. 00:05:12 Seth Godin I got something to say, so I've.
00:05:15 Seth Godin Been an author off and on ever since. 00:05:19 Charles Clark So when did you know? 00:05:20 Charles Clark Because I think that it happens like an aha moment that happens. 00:05:24 Charles Clark Like I'm on the cusp of doing something full time where I no longer have to do the secondary idea or the vision that I have for my life, but I can I can focus on what I'm truly called to do.
00:05:37 Seth Godin Well, I I hate to be disappointing, but first of all, I don't think anyone. 00:05:40 Seth Godin 's called to do anything. 00:05:41 Charles Clark OK. Yeah.
00:05:42 Seth Godin I didn't that we decide what Our Calling is based on our analysis of the world like you would see somebody who says my calling is to make desserts using mud, Sass, Parrilla and whipped cream. 00:05:55 Seth Godin Because yeah, that. 00:05:56 Seth Godin Look, that's not a. 00:05:57 Seth Godin Calling because you can't imagine it work.
00:06:01 Seth Godin What happens if people see this landscape where some folks are getting on planes and talking in front of audiences and etcetera? 00:06:08 Seth Godin Oh my calling is to be a speaker. 00:06:09 Seth Godin Well, you would like to be a speaker. 00:06:12 Seth Godin I get that.
00:06:13 Seth Godin So then the question is, you know, when you get a chance to do it and for me. 00:06:19 Seth Godin I paid to speak. 00:06:20 Seth Godin For years and years I had a publicist who got me on stage for free. 00:06:25 Seth Godin Yeah, and.
00:06:27 Seth Godin There's a few ways to become a paid speaker the most. 00:06:35 Seth Godin Reliable way to do it for sure. 00:06:38 Seth Godin Is to be famous. 00:06:40 Seth Godin Get famous at something and then they call you up and they say.
00:06:44 Seth Godin Hey you want? 00:06:45 Seth Godin A little bit better is, hey, where did you lady? 00:06:47 Seth Godin Hey, whatever. 00:06:47 Seth Godin Come give a speech.
00:06:49 Seth Godin This is really important to understand. 00:06:51 Seth Godin So here's here's the heartbreaking moment in my arc. 00:06:55 Seth Godin I worked at it, I worked at. 00:06:57 Seth Godin I invented a a different way of using PowerPoint than it ever done before, which is my PowerPoint slides had hundreds of pictures and no words.
00:07:05 Seth Godin Never said you can't do that, and I did it anyway and I worked in my timing and I worked at how to be on stage and I show up at this conference and there's someone else speaking who's getting paid five times. 00:07:16 Seth Godin More than me. 00:07:17 Seth Godin And I watched their talk and they're terrible. 00:07:20 Seth Godin They're terrible.
00:07:22 Seth Godin But the question is, what does it mean to be good as a paid speaker? 00:07:26 Seth Godin Well, they are better than me. 00:07:29 Seth Godin Because they were famous, I gave a speech. 00:07:33 Seth Godin One of the.
00:07:34 Seth Godin Highlights of my career the Zigzagger who was just the the godfather of the whole thing. 00:07:40 Seth Godin And Gerald Ford, former president of the United States and the soccer player. So there are four of us there, and there are 22,000 people. 00:07:49 Seth Godin In the audience.
00:07:51 Seth Godin And I was paid the least. 00:07:53 Seth Godin And I will tell you, I couldn't compare to zig, but I could do a better speech than jail for it in my sleep. 00:08:02 Seth Godin To be frank and full respect, her couldn't string 7 sentences together and both of them were paid way more than me and got a standing ovation before they started to speak, because what were they paid for? 00:08:18 Seth Godin So this is the.
00:08:19 Seth Godin The key take away here? 00:08:21 Seth Godin There's a curve. 00:08:22 Seth Godin With two humps in it. 00:08:24 Seth Godin One hump is how many people are willing.
00:08:27 Seth Godin To speak for. 00:08:27 Seth Godin Free and the answer is a lot, right? 00:08:31 Seth Godin And then there is another curve which is speakers who are really famous, who will help me sell tickets to my event, or who, if I tell people I got this person will be impressed. 00:08:41 Seth Godin Right.
Those are the two humps. And in between is a big through, and that through is $5000 speakers $10,000 because we're really, really good. They're not famous. 00:08:54 Seth Godin Yeah, and no one needs to hire.
00:08:56 Seth Godin Those people, because they got really, really good, not famous people they can get. 00:09:01 Seth Godin For free. 00:09:02 Seth Godin So if you're showing up saying I'm really, really. 00:09:04 Seth Godin Good.
I'm not famous. 00:09:06 Seth Godin But I want you to pay me money that's really hard to pull off because what they pay for when they're higher speaker. 00:09:14 Seth Godin Is taking you out of your busy, successful life. 00:09:19 Seth Godin To get you to interrupt it, to show up in a place where you bring status.
00:09:24 Seth Godin Where people go. 00:09:25 Seth Godin I can't believe you got Spike Lee to stop making a movie and come to Santa Fe and give a speech. 00:09:32 Seth Godin That's what they're paying for. 00:09:34 Seth Godin And so if you want to make it as a paid speaker, it's a really good idea to get good.
00:09:38 Seth Godin At it, I would like to think. 00:09:40 Seth Godin I'm good at it, you know Bono. 00:09:42 Seth Godin Said my Ted talk was one of the 10. 00:09:43 Seth Godin Best ever.
00:09:44 Seth Godin Because I worked at it. 00:09:45 Seth Godin That's how people hire me. 00:09:47 Seth Godin They're hiring me because there's bugs in the room because other people say I can't believe you. 00:09:52 Seth Godin That stuff to come.
00:09:53 Seth Godin And so the way you do that is by doing other things in your life. 00:09:58 Seth Godin That make you that sort of unattainable get. 00:10:01 Charles Clark Yeah, it's it's the value you bring. 00:10:05 Charles Clark Before you get to the stage, rather than thinking that your value is you speaking on the stage, correct.
00:10:12 Charles Clark Yeah, I I love the way you frame that. 00:10:14 Charles Clark So so for you when when you, when you're on the stage, what do you feel is the the biggest goal that you want to to accomplish when you're on that stage? 00:10:26 Seth Godin Right. OK.
So this is where it gets really cool #1. 00:10:30 Seth Godin The less you want to speak and give, the more likely it is you'll get. 00:10:34 Seth Godin #2, the more you charge, the more likely it. 00:10:37 Seth Godin Is you'll get hired.
00:10:39 Seth Godin So I once I started getting paid to speak, I had already sold my Internet company, so I just getting paid to speak as a paying less because I don't like doing on airplanes. 00:10:50 Seth Godin I don't like leaving home. Yeah, so I limited the number of speeches I give every year. Some of the people I work with, you know, my hair, Tom Peters at his peak was giving 160.
00:10:59 Seth Godin Which is here. I have a note I'm not doing more than 25, maybe 30, no matter where they are and if it's far from New York, I'm probably going to say no as soon as I said that more people wanted me to speak. 00:11:14 Seth Godin Right once, but once I get on stage, I am no longer there for the organizer, the organizer and I are even the. 00:11:14 Seth Godin Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:11:23 Seth Godin Minute I walk. 00:11:24 Seth Godin On stage, the minute I walk on stage, I'm there for those. 00:11:26 Seth Godin People in the seats. 00:11:28 Seth Godin And then everything changes, it changes to.
00:11:32 Seth Godin What I want is simple. 00:11:34 Seth Godin I want to help people see something they cannot Unsee. 00:11:37 Seth Godin I want to put words on the table that are months from now and two months from now they come up in a meeting. 00:11:44 Seth Godin I want to.
00:11:46 Seth Godin Get a note from people, not the day after I give a speech. 00:11:48 Seth Godin I want to get a note from people six years after. 00:11:50 Seth Godin I give a speech and that note six years later is you may not remember what you said in Akron. 00:11:57 Seth Godin OH that day.
00:11:58 Seth Godin But I want to. 00:11:59 Seth Godin Tell you what happened. 00:11:59 Seth Godin After that, yeah. 00:12:01 Seth Godin Well, well.
00:12:03 Seth Godin And I still stand by it. 00:12:07 Charles Clark Thanks for sharing. 00:12:09 Charles Clark I watched a interview with you where where you talked about we're in this revolution and this is where where we don't have to wait on other people to validate our ideas, our inventions, our creations. 00:12:24 Charles Clark Rather we can create those things ourselves.
00:12:28 Charles Clark In the speaking industry, let let's kind of address that within new speakers within the industry, what is kind of like your your mindset and and mantra when it comes to that. 00:12:38 Seth Godin OK, so I don't believe in gimmicks and I don't believe in hustle. 00:12:42 Seth Godin I do believe in things being remarkable, so I'm sort of well known for. 00:12:46 Seth Godin Writing this book.
00:12:48 Seth Godin And when I wrote it, no, but nothing. 00:12:51 Seth Godin Would publish me. 00:12:51 Seth Godin I was a failure. 00:12:52 Seth Godin I had been kicked out.
00:12:53 Seth Godin Of the industry. 00:12:55 Seth Godin So punishing myself, I made 5000 copies and I only offered. 00:12:59 Seth Godin It to people who got. 00:13:00 Seth Godin The joke, the reason the milk carton worked.
00:13:03 Seth Godin Is cause people who got it in the mail left it. 00:13:06 Seth Godin On their desk. 00:13:08 Seth Godin If you have a book on your desk, no one says anything, then you have no card on your desk. 00:13:11 Seth Godin You say what's.
00:13:12 Seth Godin And people didn't talk about it because they liked me. 00:13:15 Seth Godin They didn't talk about because they wanted me to succeed. 00:13:17 Seth Godin They talked about it because they wanted to tell the other person about the idea they're about them. 00:13:23 Seth Godin So in the speaking world, nobody came up faster than Tony Robbins.
00:13:29 Seth Godin And the question is, how did Tony? 00:13:31 Seth Godin Do it. 00:13:31 Seth Godin Yeah, because Tony lifted a lot of his early material from. 00:13:34 Seth Godin Zig and other.
00:13:35 Seth Godin So it wasn't. 00:13:36 Seth Godin He had a breakthrough content. 00:13:38 Seth Godin It was he showed up at a Holiday Inn, the cheapest place you could book a room for 100. 00:13:45 Seth Godin And we'll be doing a speech.
00:13:47 Seth Godin On a Sunday and while he was talking, his assistant took 3-4 bags of Kingsford charcoal outside and made a 50 foot long trench and little on fire. So now you've got a 50 foot long trench of burning charcoal outside, and Tony's. 00:14:07 Seth Godin Finishing up his speech, he takes off his shoes and socks. 00:14:10 Seth Godin He wears up his pants and he says follow me.
00:14:14 Seth Godin And the people in the room are so hopped up, they walk across these burning coals, 50 feet of burning coals. 00:14:20 Seth Godin Yeah, and come back. 00:14:21 Seth Godin Into it. 00:14:21 Seth Godin Well, here's the thing if.
00:14:22 Seth Godin You know, physics. 00:14:23 Seth Godin And and Physiology. 00:14:25 Seth Godin You can't bring yourself. 00:14:26 Seth Godin It's not about your mental state, it's about physics.
00:14:29 Seth Godin You're not gonna burn yourself, but you have to trust yourself enough to walk on the coals. 00:14:33 Seth Godin All right, fine. 00:14:34 Seth Godin So what happens on Monday? 00:14:37 Seth Godin On Monday, you go back to work.
00:14:40 Seth Godin And your friend says, what'd you do this weekend? 00:14:42 Seth Godin Thinking you're going to say, I don't know, I went to a BBQ and you say I walked on burning coals cause Tony gave you a story, right? 00:14:52 Seth Godin And every person you love them because every single person total least five people. 00:14:58 Seth Godin That's good speaking because they didn't tell people because they thought Tony was a.
00:15:03 Seth Godin Good guy, right? 00:15:04 Seth Godin They blow people because they thought they were brave. 00:15:07 Seth Godin And they became evangelist for the shift and then the next time someone books Tony Robbins and he goes, oh, I can't leave you going. 00:15:14 Seth Godin To come.
Yeah, yeah. 00:15:16 Charles Clark I think I think a lot of times. 00:15:18 Charles Clark People forget the name of the book or you know the the, the the message. 00:15:23 Charles Clark Well, not the message itself, but they forget the person who's carrying the message.
00:15:26 Charles Clark But they will remember the message. 00:15:27 Charles Clark So so it shows us as speakers what needs to take precedence. 00:15:32 Charles Clark It's it's not about us. 00:15:33 Charles Clark When we get on the stage, as you as you mentioned before.
00:15:36 Charles Clark But what is the thing that people going to take away with them? 00:15:40 Charles Clark I want to hear about your your most memorable speaking experience. 00:15:44 Charles Clark What was that moment like? 00:15:46 Charles Clark And where were you?
00:15:50 Seth Godin I've got so many, you know, I. 00:15:52 Charles Clark That was a. 00:15:54 Charles Clark Sign right there. 00:15:57 Seth Godin I'm thinking really hard about not doing it ever again about not getting on a plane.
00:16:02 Seth Godin And I had a really good run and it's exhausting and thrilling at the same time. 00:16:08 Seth Godin There was that trip I took to Australia and my friend Bernadette. 00:16:11 Seth Godin He's lived in Perth. 00:16:12 Seth Godin The time when uh, we organized all the events ourselves, rented our own theater, put together the whole day.
We had a a reception at the the Art Museum in Sydney and everything was more beautiful than the next. And I'm up there. I'm in a 7 hour Q&A session. 00:16:29 Seth Godin On stage.
00:16:31 Seth Godin And it's working. 00:16:32 Seth Godin I I remember when I launched my book linchpin and again I organized my own event, 450 seats sold in New York City. 00:16:42 Seth Godin And just before I walk on stage backstage, my dear friend sunny, Lisa and Jacqueline are waiting for me. 00:16:49 Seth Godin And I didn't even know.
00:16:50 Seth Godin Where we're going to come. 00:16:51 Seth Godin And uh, I remember doing a gig virtually in Australia where they put that little earpiece in your head. 00:17:00 Seth Godin You know, this is long before. 00:17:02 Seth Godin This thing and.
00:17:04 Seth Godin 5 minutes into it, I'm going on about shrimp on the Barbie and how glad I am to be. 00:17:09 Seth Godin In Australia and. 00:17:10 Seth Godin The voice comes on and says I'll set this isn't your Australia gear gets your San Francisco give you Australia weeks tomorrow. 00:17:21 Seth Godin And I remember well, you know, you just smile and apologize.
00:17:21 Charles Clark How'd you recover from it? 00:17:28 Seth Godin My second Ted talk mainstage the first Ted talk. 00:17:31 Seth Godin No one knew about Ted Video. 00:17:33 Seth Godin Hadn't been invented yet, so.
00:17:34 Seth Godin The only time that three. 00:17:35 Seth Godin 100 people is easy, right? 00:17:36 Seth Godin Like it it? 00:17:37 Seth Godin There's some cool people there.
00:17:39 Seth Godin But there's only 300 of them. 00:17:41 Seth Godin Second time, it's the big. 00:17:43 Seth Godin And I go on stage and Herbie Hancock's piano was in the middle stage, they forgotten. 00:17:47 Seth Godin The music, like 18 minutes, is just the piano.
00:17:51 Seth Godin The wait. 00:17:53 Seth Godin You know, and I prefer to leave how slow the clock is ticking and how fast the clock is ticking at the same. 00:18:00 Seth Godin Time you're doing, you're doing, you're doing stuff, and the clicker doesn't work. 00:18:00 Charles Clark Right, right.
00:18:05 Seth Godin Or I mean, one other time where I I. 00:18:10 Seth Godin Two things that make it really hard simultaneous translation, which is when you've got everyone has got headphones on and there's someone in the back reading as fast as they can. 00:18:18 Seth Godin What you're saying translating on the flag and you can hear the buzzing, but the problem simultaneous translation is everyone laughs 30 seconds after you say something funny because they have. 00:18:28 Seth Godin To translate it.
00:18:28 Charles Clark Yeah, yeah. 00:18:29 Seth Godin The other people. 00:18:30 Seth Godin There are people who speak English, but so it's. 00:18:32 Seth Godin All just a mess and.
00:18:36 Right. 00:18:37 Seth Godin The other problem, of course, is that it's a in a Convention Center and Convention Center is a horrible. 00:18:42 Seth Godin Place to do. 00:18:43 Seth Godin Your work right?
00:18:44 Seth Godin So I'm up there and that's really Convention Center. There's 3000 people there. There's a woman in the 3rd row. 00:18:50 Seth Godin I'm not making this up trust she is on her cell phone the whole time, but she's not listening.
00:18:57 Seth Godin Talking baby the whole time I'm on stage giving my heart out, right. 00:19:03 Seth Godin Yeah, yeah. 00:19:04 Seth Godin And for the 1st 12 minutes, I give this speech just. 00:19:08 Seth Godin To her.
00:19:09 Seth Godin I because I didn't memorize my speech. 00:19:11 Seth Godin Is different every time. 00:19:12 Seth Godin Yeah, yeah. 00:19:13 Seth Godin All my lines are about, you know, I used to hang up the phone, and I just like, it's nothing.
00:19:21 Seth Godin It's just bouncing off her. 00:19:23 Seth Godin And then after 10 minutes, I said to myself, cause you gotta again, time speeds up time so. 00:19:28 Seth Godin Hello we got 30 minutes left. 00:19:31 Seth Godin I say this if.
00:19:32 Seth Godin You know. 00:19:32 Seth Godin That there are 2999 people here are here from me. 00:19:37 Seth Godin And she's here for her. 00:19:39 Seth Godin How dare I steal from those people?
00:19:41 Seth Godin Right, when in fact, I could deliver to everybody else. 00:19:46 Seth Godin And that changed my life right then. 00:19:48 Seth Godin Because I was like, that's from now on. 00:19:49 Seth Godin That's where I'm going to learn a little blog.
00:19:51 Seth Godin It's gonna write my book. 00:19:53 Seth Godin If you're here from. 00:19:54 Seth Godin I'm here for you and. 00:19:55 Seth Godin If not, somebody else deserves my attention.
00:19:57 Charles Clark Hmm yeah, I I I think what you said is spot on. You know making sure to me my my motto is no low level energy around me, right and and and that means including myself right and and I can't accept other people's energy who are who aren't trying to get on that same wavelength. 00:20:14 Charles Clark And so I I definitely resonate with that. 00:20:17 Charles Clark I think one of my.
00:20:20 Charles Clark The the the most challenging speech I ever gave had to happen during COVID, and this is this is this is what a a high school and I'm giving. 00:20:33 Charles Clark I'm getting ready to do my speech and the teacher introduces me and he's saying alright guys, I want you to watch this video. 00:20:40 Charles Clark Of the speaker that we're getting ready to bring going and I'm like, oh, it's about to show my the the video of me. 00:20:46 Charles Clark And he ends up playing the almost like a whole 6-7 minute speech that I delivered the very speech that I was getting ready to give them.
00:20:58 Charles Clark And I'm like, oh man, how am I going to recover from this? 00:21:01 Charles Clark And then I that's. 00:21:02 Charles Clark When I was just like, you know what? 00:21:04 Charles Clark I I gotta.
00:21:05 Charles Clark I gotta make up something. 00:21:06 Charles Clark I gotta flow. 00:21:06 Charles Clark I gotta do with what I sneakily do. 00:21:09 Charles Clark You know, like and that's what you.
00:21:10 Charles Clark Gotta talk about. 00:21:11 Charles Clark Like the creative? 00:21:12 Charles Clark The the space of to be innovative, right? 00:21:15 Charles Clark And and I was.
00:21:16 Charles Clark So I was troubled by that moment. 00:21:18 Charles Clark I was like, OK, I can't give what I just what he just released. 00:21:23 Charles Clark What am I going to do now? 00:21:24 Charles Clark And it was a perfect moment to be innovative and I think it was one of the best speeches.
00:21:29 Charles Clark I ever gave. 00:21:32 Seth Godin The thing that's magic about this business other than. 00:21:34 Seth Godin We get. 00:21:35 Seth Godin Unreasonable amounts of positive feedback and.
00:21:37 Seth Godin Paid well is the crises only feel like crises to. 00:21:41 Seth Godin Us, yeah. 00:21:42 Seth Godin Right. 00:21:42 Seth Godin So I was given it.
00:21:44 Seth Godin I almost never go to see the speakers who are on before me, but for whatever reason I went to. 00:21:48 Seth Godin See this guy I'd heard. 00:21:49 Seth Godin Something and The thing is. 00:21:53 Seth Godin He was using nine of my slides.
00:21:57 Seth Godin And if people steal my sites, that's that's cool. 00:22:03 Seth Godin I use those same slides. 00:22:05 Seth Godin People think I'm slaving from him. 00:22:08 Seth Godin So I like race backstage open with keynote file, delete this, delete this, delete this way to use that and it just makes it fresh, makes it real.
00:22:17 Charles Clark Man, that that's real like the the behind the scenes things people don't know about speakers there it is right there. 00:22:23 So So what? What? 00:22:24 Charles Clark Do you feel are the top three things that are are broken with new and upcoming speakers?
00:22:31 Seth Godin The first one for sure is thinking you can hustle your loaded gigs and on the outside it feels so unfair because you know you're a better speaker than that person or you know you this person is getting better for that and you deserve it. 00:22:46 Seth Godin But it's important to remember the person who's booking you doesn't own the company. 00:22:51 Seth Godin They're not spending their own money and they gotta be able to go back to their boss and say good news.
00:22:56 Seth Godin They said yes, yeah. 00:22:58 Seth Godin And if they can't say that about you, you gotta do work outside of speaking until they do. 00:23:03 Seth Godin Right. 00:23:03 Seth Godin So that's the biggest one.
00:23:05 Seth Godin And then the second one is all of the ways. 00:23:09 Seth Godin People are pushed to deal with their stage fright by memorizing their speech super polishing it, doing that thing where they say that put your hands up here like this and all that. 00:23:19 Seth Godin Dale Carnegie stuff. 00:23:21 Seth Godin If that works for you, please do it, but a lot of people can tell when you're doing it.
00:23:26 Seth Godin It's like the difference between being an old fashioned. 00:23:29 Seth Godin Age magician with a hat and a rabbit versus someone who actually performs miracles. 00:23:34 Seth Godin If you're actually going to perform miracles, don't show up in a magicians tuxedo because you give it all away when you do that. 00:23:39 Seth Godin Yeah, right.
00:23:40 Seth Godin And So what in the post Ted World? 00:23:43 Seth Godin When people can watch the greatest speakers who ever spoke anytime they want for free. 00:23:49 Seth Godin We're not going to outdo it. 00:23:50 Seth Godin You cannot be better than Sir Ken Robinson, my late friend Sir Ken.
00:23:54 Seth Godin You can't, Sir. 00:23:55 Seth Godin Don't do a version of Sir Ken do a version of you and do it on behalf of the person in the 3rd row who's not on the phone. 00:24:03 Seth Godin Those are not people. 00:24:05 Charles Clark Bringing back their third row, I love it.
00:24:08 Charles Clark Before we go set like any, any final thoughts? 00:24:11 Charles Clark To the audience. 00:24:16 Seth Godin I think one thing that is worth thinking about is we all get choices about how to spend our day. 00:24:22 Seth Godin And some of the things in our culture are symptoms and some of the.
00:24:25 Seth Godin Things in our cultural causes. 00:24:28 Seth Godin And I would say being a well. 00:24:34 Seth Godin Being a successful professional speaker is a symptom. 00:24:37 Seth Godin It's not a cause.
00:24:38 Seth Godin First, you gotta fly. 00:24:39 Seth Godin What causes your. 00:24:40 Seth Godin Ability to do that. 00:24:42 Seth Godin And one thing that causes 250 species for free, but the main thing is the Internet is giving this platform for free where you can build the following go build the following.
00:24:54 Seth Godin And don't wait to get picked. 00:24:59 Charles Clark If you enjoyed today's episode, click the follow. 00:25:02 Charles Clark And to be notified for more episodes. 00:25:04 Charles Clark And if you're interested in learning how to overcome the struggle of stage fright, write that life story in speech or how to become that paid speaker.
00:25:11 Charles Clark Enrollment is now open to the journey to pay, so we can games Academy head to the Charles clark.com/apply. It's time that you speak, even if your voice shakes. I'll catch you.
00:25:23 Charles Clark Guys on the next episode.
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