Keynote Speaker – Tips for a Great Demo Video

It is important to start by hiring a professional video company that has experience videotaping keynote speakers. They need to have several cameras to get the best lighting, the right angles and to capture the audience reactions to your presentation. One of the companies we recommend is Running Pony.

Have your presentation taped in front of a live audience. Meeting planners like to see how you present to an audience. Your style, your ability to convey your message, your use of humor, etc. is what they are evaluating and want to see how you relate to your audience.

Make sure you have the right sound and light. Low quality demo videos are hard to hear and it is distracting to the viewer. You want the sound to be clear so the meeting planner can hear exactly what you have to say. Make sure the video is light enough so you can view it on a computer. A good production company will ensure that there is quality lighting when taping. When I get a video that has poor sound or light I usually turn it off immediately. You do not want a meeting planner to do the same.

It is a good idea to have someone introduce you on the video who is also a good speaker. The introduction will give the viewer your background and set the stage for your presentation. This should get the audience excited about your presentation and look forward to it with anticipation.

Your video should be at least 15 – 20 minutes long. You need to have at least 3-5 minutes of consecutive speaking. This will give the meeting planner a good feel for what you address. It is OK to have clips from different speeches, and even helpful, but be sure that your area of expertise is clear so that when the meeting planner is finished watching they clearly know the scope of your message. I have watched countless video demos, never to fully understand what the speaker’s topic was! This is counterproductive for both the speaker and the viewer.

It is good to close your demo video with references. You can do this by interviewing clients on camera or having a rolling screen with comments from clients. Meeting planners like to see where you have spoken in the past. You can also highlight any books you have written.

Having a solid demo video is invaluable for meeting planners and speakers bureaus in evaluating and choosing their speakers. Those keynote speakers with the strongest demo videos are the speakers that get hired most frequently.

For additional information contact us at: Executive Speakers Bureau angela@executivespeakers.com 901-754-9404

7 Great Female Keynote Speakers

Check out 7 of our top Female Keynote Speakers

Christine Cashen:

Fasten your seatbelt and enjoy the ride. Christine Cashen delivers a fast–paced, hilarious program with useful content that makes her a sought after speaker worldwide. For more than 10 years, she has jazzed an amazing variety of audiences throughout the United States, Canada, South Africa and Australia. Christine is an authority on sparking innovative ideas to handle conflict, reduce stress and energize employees.

Before hitting the speaking scene, CC was a university admissions officer, corporate trainer and broadcaster. Hey—she even votes. Christine holds a Bachelors Degree in Communication and a Masters Degree in Adult Education. She is a member of the National Speakers Association and is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP). CSP is an earned designation awarded by the National Speakers Association and the International Federation for Professional Speakers to recognize demonstrated commitment to the speaking profession through proven speaking experience. Fewer than 10% of the speakers on the planet hold this designation.

What makes her unique is the “real” factor. Whether talking about her “hottie engineer” husband, pet peeves or growing up in an Italian/Irish household, audience members can relate to her experiences, struggles and lessons. She combines a down-to-earth attitude with a colorful artistic streak. Comments from audience members such as “I feel like I’ve known her forever,” “we must take her back to our workplace” and “it felt as if Christine was speaking directly to me,” are a testament to her effectiveness and style.

Christine has been featured as a creativity expert in HOW Designs at Work magazine and is a co-author of the book Mission Possible, Volume Eight. She has also developed the A Dynamic Speaker series of learning resources: Get What You Want With What You’ve Got DVD, Why Can’t Everybody Just Get Along CD and Got Humor Video. Christine resides in Dallas with her husband and their two children.

Victoria Labalme:

International Performing Artist and Communications Catalyst Victoria Labalme brings 20 years of professional acting, comedy, film, and television experience to the business community. Her specialty — applying the performing arts to the communications and relationship building industry — has led to groundbreaking work with companies around the world.

She has helped scores of individuals and organizations increase their impact; build meaningful and profitable relationships; and reconnect with the creativity and passion that ultimately inspires their best work.

Her dynamic theatrical keynotes, communications, and presentation skills training events incorporate extensive research about your company, the audience, and the goals of your event into a mesmerizing multi-media mix of comedy, acting, film, and insightful commentary — all focused on renewing the passion, performance, and productivity of your people.
Appearances & Performances

* HBO’s “Sex & the City”
* NBC News; PBS; ABC / Good Morning America
* Work with legendary French mime Marcel Marceau
* Film documentary directed by Academy Award nominees
* Performances of her original one-woman shows off-Broadway
* 27 television commercials including a 1998 Super Bowl spot

Susan Carnahan:

Susan Carnahan is a woman who inspires, motivates, and moves you to laughter like no other speaker you've heard. Before her professional speaking career, Susan spent 20 years in marketing, advertising, sales and banking. Her combination of book smarts, street smarts, and business savy give her a wealth of stories and examples that audiences relate to on a personal and professional level.

What makes Susan the right speaker for your event? She works behind the scenes to customize her message to your audience. She'll create a title for her talk that corresponds with your conference theme. Susan will interview your key people and customize her presentation to fit their needs. Whether it's a keynote address, a breakout session, or a full day training seminar, Susan can make your next conference or convention an experience that people talk about for years to come.

Susan has shared the platform with many familiar faces such as Colin Powell, Barbara Walters, fighter pilot Scott O'Grady, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Don Hutson, Jeffrey Gitomer, and Charlie 'Tremendous' Jones. Her latest book was released last summer, Motivational Leaders.

Karen McCullough:

Karen McCullough is an award-winning speaker, consultant and branding expert who inspires and empowers organizations and individuals to evolve, grow, and realize their true potential for excellence.

Karen delivers powerful presentations that feature a dynamic blend of humor and eye-opening content, generated from comprehensive research designed to help you get to the heart of what comes between you and your success.

Groups of all sizes – from emerging growth businesses to national associations to Fortune 500 companies – retain Karen to share personal anecdotes, practical tips, and secrets to success gleaned over her 30-year career spanning sales, marketing and executive leadership.

If your employees are your greatest asset, Karen’s presentations are for you. Karen believes that the key to any successful organization is the energy, talent, and happiness of its people. She thrives on sharing what she has learned with others to help them approach their work and their lives with a new attitude and a fresh approach. Her presentations are hysterically funny, thought-provoking, and energizing. But most importantly, Karen’s speeches are focused on impacting your bottom line.


Sue Hershkowitz:

Imagine that you have an important presentation to give in a few minutes. Why you ever agreed to be the one to introduce George Clooney is beyond you at this moment, but there's no way out now. Two thousand colleagues will be watching you and evaluating you. Oh, and the executive team is in the front row, and George will hear what you have to say. You're really feeling nervous, your palms are sweating and you wish you could escape! What if you forget what you're planning to say? What if you trip going up the steps to the lectern? What if your mouth goes dry? What if you make a fool of yourself?

If you've ever felt this way, you're in the right room today. Sue Hershkowitz-Coore, CSP, has worried about all of those things — and has even had most of them happen, oh, except she is still waiting to introduce Mr. Clooney! Fortunately, though, she's discovered the tricks to calming her nerves, even if she isn't always feeling that way! The lessons Sue's learned and the experiences she'll share will help you to present yourself with added confidence, and with an enhanced level of professionalism. She promises to provide strategies for connecting more powerfully and more persuasively with any audience. Sue says that giving a presentation - even if it's only presenting details of an upcoming event to your colleagues — should be fun for you — and them and she can show you how to do it with confidence.


Sarah Michel:

Sarah Michel is a networking expert who helps people increase their netWORTH™. She works with individuals, associations and organizations to strengthen their connections and communicate their value to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Her powerful Perfecting Connecting© strategies promote personal and professional success. Sarah works with companies and organizations to improve their internal network. By integrating her methods, people learn to develop successful relationships with customers, coworkers and colleagues. These improved connections result in a stronger internal and external network essential for career and organizational success. As a cancer survivor, Sarah’s network helped save her life. She shares her inspirational journey with insight and humor to motivate her audiences to connect not just for the moment, but for life. As a certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI™) and facilitator of the Self-Discovery Process™ Sarah has keynoted and presented for audiences and teams around the world on how to be a more effective connector. She is the author of Perfecting Connecting©, A Guide to Mastering Networking in the Workplace and the national audio program, Learning to Speak the Language of others. Her articles and inspirational stories have appeared in numerous books, newspapers and national journals. Sarah is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) awarded by the National Speakers Association for her ability to consistently deliver her message with high energy, humor and inspiration which motivates audiences to take action. She currently serves on the board of directors for the National Speakers Association (NSA) and as the 2008-2009 Meetings and Convention chair. She is the Past President for the NSA-Colorado Chapter. Sarah is an active volunteer in her community serving on several non-profit boards in Colorado Springs. She is a graduate of Central Michigan University and worked in healthcare for several major hospital systems and for international career management firms in Texas and Colorado. She is currently an adjunct faculty member of both the Eastern and Western Management Development Centers for the United States government in Colorado and West Virginia.


LaDonna Gatlin:

LaDonna Gatlin believes one defining moment can redefine our lives. She knows firsthand that we can’t live someone else’s dream—that in order to be our personal best, we must find our own voice and “sing our own song.” LaDonna literally grew up on stage singing with her brothers--the legendary Gatlin Brothers. In the early 1970’s the Gatlins took their family harmony to Nashville. But a detour appeared on the road to stardom-- LaDonna got married. At this defining moment, she realized that success for her could be measured in a different way. So she took a giant leap of faith, chose to follow her heart, and “sing a different song” apart from her brothers. She has spent her entire career empowering people to “sing their own song” as well…to live life from the inside out…through their words, their deeds, and their actions. Her keynotes and concerts put her on the road more than one hundred days a year. She’s shared her message everywhere--from corporate powerhouses to the prison cells of death row. LaDonna truly speaks from the heart with stories that are the stuff of life. Her presentations drive home common sense wisdom for everyday living. Add her outstanding vocal ability to the mix, and you get a winning combination that educates, inspires and entertains! An attendee at one of LaDonna’s recent presentations summed it up this way: “You made us laugh…you made us cry…you made us sing…you made us THINK!” LaDonna is an active member of the National Speakers Association, and has earned its highest professional designation, the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP). In July of this year, LaDonna was one of 5 inductees into the Speakers Hall of Fame, a lifetime award for speaking excellence and professionalism. She’s recorded 4 solo CD’s and is a contributing author to the best-selling book series Chicken Soup for the Soul.


For Additional Information on any of these outstanding female keynote speakers or for a more comprehensive list of female speakers please click here: Executive Speakers Bureau

Never Give Up!

Do you ever feel like a situation prevented you from being successful (no matter what you did)?

My advice is that if you find yourself in that predicament, don’t ever give up. Mark Jeffries, “soft skills” communications expert and motivational speaker, proved that persistence makes the difference in a speech he did last week. Speaking for an association in San Francisco last Friday, Mark was delayed from beginning his speech, had his speech time shortened, and had an extremely stoic audience. However, he didn’t stop trying. Finally, after 20 minutes of motivating, he captured the audience’s attention, and they were involved in his presentation.

Just then, the most amazingly horrible thing occurred. A person, who appeared to have importance and influence, blasted into the room, and screamed, “C’mon people we are trying to start another meeting and we are waiting for this group, what’s going on!?” Within minutes much of the room was scattering, leaving poor Mark Jeffries standing in the middle of the room, with 5 minutes still left of his shortened presentation.

This couldn’t have turned out good, could it?

Believe it or not, it did. The audience members, who were still left, came up to Mark and apologized for the outburst and said that not only was his speech a great one, but they wanted him to come back and do it again. In fact, he will probably get a number of spinoff bookings from this speech. Most surprising though was the comment that Mark was the best speaker at the event by far, which included author extraordanaire Marcus Buckingham.

Just remember. No situation is hopeless.

Motivational Keynote Speaker of the Week - Mark Jeffries

Our Motivational Keynote Speaker of the Week is Mark Jeffries.

Former Merrill Lynch stockbroker Mark Jeffries has become a trusted adviser and communications consultant to some of the world’s largest and most successful corporations, agencies, accounting and law firms. He regularly appears as an image and communications expert on network television news, finance and lifestyle programmes.

Dividing his time between The United States, Canada and Europe, Mark is invited to speak at major corporate conventions, conferences and meetings. He is also retained to coach many senior executives, CEOs, MDs, partners and sales teams, from clients across diverse industries and organizations including: Ernst & Young, Motorola, Microsoft, Cognos, KPMG, PWC, Freshfields, IBM, Bank of America, Royal Bank of Canada, United States Congress, Royal Bank of Canada, GSK, Astra Zeneca, BAE Systems and HSBC.

Programs:
Smart Communication in Tough Times: How to Harness Today’s Profit Opportunities

Communicating with Your Team in Tough Times

Hosted, Emceed or Moderated by Mark Jeffries

For additional information on Mark Jeffries and to view his video click here: Mark Jeffries

Keynote Speaker of the Week - Connie Podesta

Keynote Speaker of the Week is Connie Podesta!

While Connie Podesta is a professional speaker and an expert in improving overall performance, she’s really so much more…

• TV and Radio Personality
• Organizational Therapist
• Board Certified, Licensed Professional Counselor
• Actress
• Prolific Author
• Human Behavior Expert
• Comedienne
• Career Life/Executive Coach

With a background like that, just imagine how she can put these specialties to work for you.

Each year, Connie Podesta teaches and motivates thousands of people. She shows them how to turn obstacles into meaningful and productive opportunities. And in a way that only Connie Podesta can, audiences are encouraged to make the necessary changes to improve performance and achieve the success they desire. Connie Podesta definitely has that special spark your organization needs to move BEYOND THE NEXT LEVEL and stand out from the crowd.

Simply put, audiences, meeting planners and senior leaders around the globe enjoy partnering with Connie Podesta. They like her message and no-nonsense approach. They like her humor and interactive style. And they like the potential that she uncovers in people at all levels in the organization.

With Connie Podesta, you always get what you pay for. Event after event, audiences say they walk away with tangible insights about themselves and skills they can use to handle change and optimize performance in their business and personal relationships. Additionally, senior leaders always feel she’s a terrific use of company time and money. How often does that happen?

To see Connie's video, topics and detailed information click here: CONNIE PODESTA

Keynote Speaker of the Week - Jason Jennings

Keynote Speaker Jason Jennings has been selected as our speaker of the week:

Each year more than 1000 inquiries (an average of twenty weekly) are received for a speech by Jason Jennings. Eighty companies and dates are approved and selected. Based on the vast research completed for his books and his two decades of helping propel companies to their full economic potential each speech by Jason Jennings is custom designed for the group being addressed.

Jason Jennings is one of the most successful and prolific business and leadership authors in the world. He has spent twenty years founding and leading successful businesses and teaching other companies how to achieve their full economic potential.

Jason was the youngest radio station group owner in the world and his legendary programming and sales strategies are credited with revolutionizing many parts of the broadcasting industry. Later, he founded Jennings-McGlothlin & Company, a consulting firm that became the nation's largest media consultancy.

He traveled the globe in search of the world's fastest companies for his landmark book, It's Not The Big That Eat The Small - It's The Fast That Eat The Slow. Within weeks of its release it hit the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and New York Times Bestsellers Lists. Now published in 32 languages, USA TODAY named it one of the top 25 books of the year!

His last book, Think BIG - Act Small, profiled the leadership of the only ten companies in the world to have grown both revenues and profits by double digits every year for ten consecutive years. Like his previous books it debuted on all the bestseller charts.

His new book, Hit the Ground Running, A Manual for New Leaders was released in April 2009. The book reveals the tactics and strategies of the ten American CEO's who've created the greatest amount of economic value since the year 2000 and builds a case for a new kind of leader. The Street.com calls it, "an excellent book for leaders who are trying to gain respect and develop relationships." Leading Blog.com calls it, "insightful and crisply written." BizEd, the magazine of business schools says that, "Hit The Ground Running offers an intriguing behind the scenes look at America's best CEOs," while Publisher's Weekly says, "the book makes a smart appeal to the new generation of leaders."

When not traveling the world on research and adventure travel, Jennings delivers 80 keynotes annually with USA TODAY naming him one of the three most in-demand business speakers on the planet alongside the authors of Good to Great and In Search of Excellence. Jason Jennings is an outstanding Keynote Speaker.

Following are just a few of the outstanding testimonials Jason has received:

"The feedback received from our dealers and our employees has been overwhelming. They connected with Jason from the moment he set foot on the stage and were totally inspired at the end of his keynote. As one of our dealers told us, Jason was a home run"

"I wanted to thank you for an outstanding presentation at our User Conference. I won't take up too much time other than to say you received a 4.98 rating (out of 5), which is the highest we have ever received at any previous User Conferences for Keynote speeches."

"Jason’s presentation was riveting! He built a personal relationship with the audience that made for a tremendous exchange of learning. The time Jason puts into understanding the audience and their business shows up in the quality of the presentation and positive reaction. The most frequent comment, "when can we have him again?"

To view additional information on Jason click here: Jason Jennings

Our Keynote Speaker of the Week is Ross Shafer

Ross Shafer is a true gem in the speaker world. We work with thousands of speakers and when we run across someone who is a great speaker and is also entertaining, funny, and easy to work with it makes for a winning combination. I can’t tell you how many clients have come back and said “He was one of the best speakers we have ever had!” and ”How can we top this next year?”

You need to check him out for yourself -

Ross Shafer grew up in the Pacific Northwest and graduated from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington where he studied business management and played varsity football (linebacker). After college, he took a job as a training manager for a department store (Yard Birds) and was able to save $10,000. He took that money and launched his life as an entrepreneur. His first venture was as the owner/manager of America’s only Stereo and Pet Shop in the small town of Puyallup, Washington (population 5,000 at the time).

Cleaning pet cages wasn’t as appealing as it sounded to Ross, so after 3 years he closed the store and took a job as an advertising manager for the 28 store Squire Shops retail clothing chain in Seattle, Washington. Writing ad copy and concocting campaigns paid the bills, but at night Ross haunted local comedy clubs in search of a career in joke telling. After years of slogging around the comedy circuit, he won the Seattle International Comedy Competition and immediately became an opening act for performers like Crystal Gayle, Eddie Rabbitt, Nel Carter, Neil Sedaka, and Dionne Warwick.

In l985, Ross pitched a TV show idea to the NBC affiliate in Seattle (KING). It was a risky idea to emulate a local Letterman-like comedy talk show. Regardless, ALMOST LIVE was born and for the next 5 seasons Ross hosted the show while he and his team collected 36 Emmys. They won the Esquire Magazine dubious Achievement Award one year for attempting to change the Washington State song to Louie, Louie. During those years Ross also hosted an afternoon drive radio show on the 50,000 watt KJR-AM.

In l988, Ross was wooed by the Fox network to take over The Late Show. The Late Show was a nightly talk show that competed with The Tonight Show and David Letterman. The show lasted a year and Ross next found himself in New York co-hosting Days End on the ABC network. It was here that he sat beside Matt Lauer and Spencer Christian as they interviewed the movers and shakers of New York and the world. Dick Clark told Ross, Always have a back up plan, my boy, TV is terminal and predictably Days End was cancelled. Ross always wondered what happened to Matt Lauer? Ha!

The next stop for Ross was hosting the revised Match Game on the ABC network. Love Me, Love Me Not followed and numerous TV pilot projects.

By this time, Ross was headling all of the leading night clubs and casinos. He produced a highly acclaimed comedy album about the Clinton administration titled Inside The First Family. He also wrote a comedy cookbook that became a best seller; Cook Like A Stud – 38 recipes men can prepare in the garage with their own tools.

By l994, Ross heard Bill Gates give a speech where he said, Someday you will all be watching television on your telephones. Ross took that message to heart and he made the decision to leave TV and get back to his corporate training roots. Human nature and the human condition were always fascinating to him because that’s what comedians do. They study the laughter and tears business. To date Ross has produced (14) Human Resource training films on Customer Service, Motivation, Leadership, and Peer Pressure. He has authored the business books, Nobody Moved Your Cheese, Customer Empathy, The Customer Shouts Back, and his newly released Are You Relevant? 12 Reasons Smart Organizations Thrive in Any Economy.

Today, Ross is one of the most sought after Keynote speakers and seminar leaders on the subjects of Customer Empathy, Personal Motivation, and Business Relevance. The father of two grown sons, Adam and Ryan, he lives in southern California with his wife Leah and their daughter Lauren.

You can also view his video at http://www.executivespeakers.com/speakerDetails.asp?theSpeaker=857