January 25, 2026 • 37 mins
In this uplifting episode of The Quiet Warrior Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Danny Brassell—international keynote speaker, coach, author of 19 books, and co-founder of The Well-Crafted Story Workshop. Known as the “Jim Carrey with a PhD” for his humour and energy, Danny has spoken to over 3,500 audiences worldwide and helps entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals transform their presentations into powerful business and life opportunities.
Danny shares how he pivoted from journalism to teaching, survived financial devastation, and built a thriving speaking career during one of the world’s toughest economic downturns. Most importantly, he shows us that speaking is a teachable skill—not an inborn talent—and anyone (even introverts and quiet achievers) can learn to tell a compelling story that moves both hearts and business outcomes.
Together, we explore why storytelling matters more than statistics, why humour wins over tragedy when telling a story, and why humour and vulnerability are essential tools for connection. Danny also walks us through his signature 5 C’s process for creating a well-crafted story that inspires audiences to take the next step with you.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- Danny’s journey from journalist to educator to international speaker and coach.
- Why laughter is more powerful than tragedy on stage.
- The 5 C’s of a well-crafted presentation: Clarity, Connection, Content, Call-to-Action, and Close.
- Why speaking is a teachable skill—even if you’re introverted or fearful of the stage.
- How to use self-deprecating humour and vulnerability to connect with any audience.
- The importance of having one clear call-to-action instead of confusing your audience.
- A simple exercise to uncover your own stories and connect them to universal themes like love, loyalty, and perseverance.
Resources and Links
Free Story Guide: Get your own Well-Crafted Story Blueprint at freestoryguide.com.
Learn more about Dr. Danny Brassell’s work: dannybrassell.com.
For more tips and resources for introverts and quiet achievers, subscribe to The Visible Introvert newsletter at serenalow.com.au.
If this episode inspired you, please leave a 5-star rating and review so it can reach more introverts and quiet achievers.
This episode was edited by Aura House Productions
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:01):
Hi, I'm Serena Lo.
If you're used to hearing thatintroverts are shy, anxious,
antisocial, and lack of goodcommunication and leadership
skills, then this podcast is foryou.
You're about to fall in lovewith a calm, introspective, and
profound person that you are.
Discover what's fun, unique, andpowerful about being an
(00:22):
introvert, and how to make theelegant transition from quiet
achiever to quiet warrior inyour life and work, anytime you
want, in more ways than youimagined possible.
Welcome.
Hello and welcome.
Today's guest of the QuietWarrior Podcast is Dr.
Danny Brizzell, a highlysought-after speaker, trainer,
(00:45):
and coach known as Jim Carreywith a PhD.
Danny has spoken to over 3,500audiences worldwide.
He has authored 19 books and isthe co-founder of the
well-crafted story workshop.
Danny helps entrepreneurs,individuals, and organizations
leverage speaking on stages as amajor client lead source that
(01:07):
converts.
Danny is on a mission to bringjoy back into education and the
workplace.
Welcome, Dr.
Danny Brazil to the QuietWarrior Podcast.
SPEAKER_01 (01:17):
Thanks so much for having me, Serena.
More importantly, thanks forspreading some joy around the
world.
We need a lot more of you.
SPEAKER_02 (01:23):
Thank you.
We would first like to find outmore about your professional
journey.
I know that you started ineducation.
And how did that becomeentrepreneurship along the way?
SPEAKER_01 (01:35):
Yeah, if I was going to write my autobiography,
Serena, it would probably becalled Pivots because I feel
like I've already lived ninelives.
30 years ago, I was ajournalist, uh, covered
President Bush Sr.
in the 1992 presidentialelection.
And I loved my job.
I got to meet every editor ofevery major daily.
And one editor offered me theCity Beat for$16,500 a year.
(01:56):
Meanwhile, a friend told me theywere hiring teachers in South
Central Los Angeles for$25,000 ayear.
So I became an educator for thenoblest of reasons, Serena, for
the high pay.
And uh it was ironic because Iactually fell in love with
teaching.
I've taught all age levels frompreschoolers all the way up to
rocket scientists.
I can make that claim because Iused to teach English as a
(02:19):
second language to engineeringstudents at the University of
Southern California.
And in 2005, my wife and Iattended a real estate seminar,
which turned out to be a scamand we lost everything.
And I could give you the woe isme story, but I'm a positive
person.
I learned a lot from theexperience.
First of all, my wife is mysoulmate.
I put her through the ringer andshe stood right by me.
(02:40):
She's an incredible human being.
Second of all, I learned moneyis not everything because you
can lose money just like that.
Third, I try not to judge otherpeople because if I was somebody
who saw what I had done, I wouldhave said, well, you deserve
that.
But now I realize unless youknow everything about a person,
you really don't know anythingabout a person.
Fourth, uh, I became aChristian, which I'm always
(03:00):
embarrassed to confess, it tooka catastrophe.
But the more I read the Bible,I'm not the first screw up to
find Jesus.
And fifth, my my accountant toldme I had to make this much more
money if I wanted to avoidfiling for bankruptcy.
And so I started speaking on theside and I hit that number right
on the number.
Well, the next year, Serena, hegave me a much higher number and
(03:23):
I hit that number right on thenumber.
So in year three, I thought,well, maybe I should set a
higher number.
And basically during one of theworst economic downturns in
world history, I was able tobuild up a highly lucrative
speaking business, whicheventually attracted the
attention of some pretty famouspeople and companies who wanted
me to coach them.
And I have to be honest aboutthis, Serena.
I resisted coaching for a longtime because I'm obsessive
(03:45):
compulsive.
You have to know this about me.
Uh, I have a very high standardfor my students.
I won't let you fail.
I will be on your back holdingyou accountable until you
succeed.
Well, now that I work primarilywith entrepreneurs and
executives and business owners,I find they're highly motivated.
They do the work, and it'sprobably been the most
gratifying thing I've ever done.
So uh uh that's that's ninelives in a in a nutshell for you
(04:08):
there, Serena.
Long answer to your shortquestion.
SPEAKER_02 (04:12):
Actually, in a sense, you've still stayed in
the education space.
It's all it's simply that youhave a bigger stage now.
SPEAKER_01 (04:20):
Indeed, absolutely.
And it was it's importantbecause I learned uh teaching
different age levels that whatworks with a 12th grader does
not necessarily work with akindergartner, but what works
with a kindergartner works withall age levels.
People always ask me uh uh whatwas the difference between
teaching kindergartners andadults?
I'm like, not that much.
I mean, kindergartners haveabout a seven-minute attention
(04:42):
span, which adults seem to begetting slowly we're we're we're
we we just don't have anyattention anymore.
And uh so I had to learn a lotof strategies to keep the kids
uh attentive, and it's served mevery well as a speaker.
SPEAKER_02 (04:56):
And how did you become known as Jim Carrey with
a PhD?
What's the connection?
SPEAKER_01 (05:02):
Well, I had a a very gracious audience member.
Uh she she said, You're like JimCarrey with a PhD, and that just
kind of stuck.
Uh I I have a creed.
I take my job seriously, I don'ttake myself too seriously
because I ain't all that, andneither are you.
And if you think you're allthat, just teach kindergarten
for a week because those littleones will set you straight.
(05:22):
I had one of my little girls oneday, Lashonda raised her hand.
I'm like, Lashonda, question.
She's like, Mr.
Salle, when are you going totrim your nose hair?
I'm like, this afternoon.
Thanks for bringing that to myattention.
Um, I'm not all that.
And so uh I I like to laugh alot.
I think the world would bebetter served if we laughed a
lot more.
SPEAKER_02 (05:40):
I agree with you, especially in these times.
SPEAKER_01 (05:43):
Yeah.
Well, I mean it's somethingthat's a little bit different
about the way I coach people,Serena.
A lot of the so-called speakingcoaches out there, I see that
they they teach people to sharetheir most traumatizing story.
And there's three reasons why Irefuse to do that.
First of all, the world justsurvived a global pandemic.
Everybody's had a lot of badstuff happen to them.
(06:04):
I don't we need, I don't thinkwe need to hear more sad
stories.
I think we need more stories ofhope.
Second of all, I train peoplehow to create what I call a
well-crafted story.
Um, politicians would call it astump speech, superhero movies
would call it your origin story.
You can call it peanut butterand jelly, it doesn't matter
what you call it.
What this is, is a speech thatyou're gonna deliver again and
(06:24):
again, and you're gonna you'regonna be able to just reel it
off uh with no problem.
Well, do you really want torepeat the worst event of your
life again and again?
I mean, I have a friend, hisdaughter was killed in a school
shooting.
He's told that story to over athousand audiences, and I'm
like, I have no idea how hedied.
There's no way I could talkabout the worst day of my life
(06:45):
again and again.
And then, third, and this iswhere people get angry with me.
I have one objective when I'm onstage.
I want you to leave feelingbetter than when you came in.
I want you laughing, smilinghappy.
I think there's somethingadmirable about that as a goal.
I believe these people that tellthe same sad story again and
again.
By the 20th time they're tellingthat story, now those are
(07:05):
crocodile tears and now they'rebeing manipulative.
And I'm not saying it's not aneffective sales strategy, it's
actually a very effective salesstrategy.
But I personally don't want tohave to take a shower after I
get off stage because I justmanipulated my audience.
There are actual ethical ways toget people to want to do
business with you.
And so uh I have a littledifferent tactic on, and plus, I
(07:26):
guess number four, I just wantyou having fun.
I mean, most of the people Iwork with are very much like
we've had this discussionbefore, Serena.
I work with mostly people thathave no interest in being on
stage or they're terrified ofstages.
They're introverts.
And I want them to have fun.
I want this to be a fun, I knowit's painful for them.
Uh, so I want to make it as funas possible.
So I don't need them talkingabout traumatic stories and
(07:49):
experiences.
SPEAKER_02 (07:51):
You bring up a very good point, Danny.
And I think from a therapist'spoint of view, also it's
important for listeners tounderstand that when someone
keeps talking about that thingthat feels like a wound for them
emotionally, it has a potentialof re-traumatizing them.
So it's immense that storiesimmense those beliefs.
(08:12):
And what they actually should bedoing is speaking with someone
who can hold that space safelyfor them and to process those
emotions and not just keeprecycling the story because then
you know words are so powerfulthat we have the ability to
shape our reality on ourexperiences.
And if we keep reinforcing thatwe have had this experience, and
(08:34):
as a result of it, we've been abit of him for this and that, it
it alters, I think, the thetrajectory of what is possible.
So I think we need to be verycareful with that.
So that's a slightly differentum perspective on what you were
just sharing about what happenswhen we tell that traumatic
story too many times.
And what you did say was theother point is that it is also
(08:56):
possibly manipulative becauseyou know people are in general,
people are people of good will,and people are sensitive,
they're emotional, but we alsodon't know where they are in
life and how raw they could be,what what kind of a time they
could be having as they listento that speech, and it affects
them in different ways.
So I think we also need to be,as you say, you know, ethical
and responsible in the sorts ofstories that we tell and how we
(09:20):
tell them.
So tell me what makes awell-crafted story.
SPEAKER_01 (09:26):
Well, so you're gonna have to bear with me,
Serena.
I'm a former teacher, soeverything I do either rhymes or
it's alliterative.
And so I have a company calledthe Well Crafted Story Workshop
with my two uh co-founders, uhCoach Jimmy Hayes Coach Jimmy
Hayes Nelson and Dave Ward.
Uh I call us the professor, theperformer, and the producer,
because my background isacademia.
(09:48):
Coach Jimmy was a Broadwayactor, and Dave was an attorney.
And so what we guide our clientsthrough is what we call our five
C's process.
And so before we put togetherany part of your presentation,
we start with the first C, whichis clarity.
There are two questions I alwaysask clients that uh are
(10:08):
essential before we put togetheryour presentation.
Those two questions are who isyour audience and what is the
problem that you solve?
And you'd be amazed.
95% of the people I work withcannot answer one or both of
those questions in a succinctmanner.
And so that's the first thing wework on is working on those
clarity questions.
(10:29):
Once we have clarity, then weget into the presentation, which
is to connect with youraudience, have meaningful
content that serves them, helpsthem solve some immediate
problems.
Uh, and then finally wrapping upwith one clear call to action
and an emotional close that getspeople stampeding to want to do
business with you.
And if we can do all five ofthose things, I think that we're
(10:52):
gonna have what I call awell-crafted uh presentation.
Now, the way we evaluate that, Ihave clients that will say, Hey,
Danny, I got a standing ovation.
I'm like, that's fantastic.
Or they'll say, Danny, peoplethink I'm a really good speaker.
I'm like, wonderful.
But the only way I evaluate yourpresentation is one way and one
way only.
We want your presentation tomove hearts, but most
(11:16):
importantly, we want it to movethe needle.
How many people in your audienceare deciding to take the next
step with you?
Now, it can be an unpaid nextstep like subscribe to my
podcast or vote for me.
It can be a paid uh offer likebuy my product or invest in my
coaching program.
But it's very important to methat everybody I work with, they
(11:38):
know their numbers.
How many people were in theaudience?
How many people decided to takethat next step?
How can we get that number at ahigher level?
What do we have to do to getthere?
Um, and this is what I'mcalling, I mean, I watch 10
speakers a day, so I'mconstantly evaluating people and
and trying to figure out well,what can we do to tweak it so
that they have that uh thatextra um just that extra will,
(12:01):
the the extra in theirpresentation to get people to
take that action.
SPEAKER_02 (12:10):
I saw on your website that you say that story
is the most powerful tool forentrepreneurs, for business
leaders, for marketers, and thatwhen done right, it has the
potential to generate sevenfigures in revenue among those
other benefits.
So you were just talking aboutyour five S, your connect
(12:31):
content, call to action,emotional claws.
But before that it was a therewas a clarity as well.
So when you say the call toaction and the emotional close
and the thing that moves theneedle, I suppose that it
depends very much on what thethe needle represents to the
person that's making that callto action.
And you didn't say it could bepaid, it could be unpaid, but
the question is how many peopleor what proportion of the
(12:53):
audience is actually ready totake the next step with you?
So when you put it in terms ofseven figures in revenue, tell
us about some some storiesaround that.
SPEAKER_01 (13:05):
I have a client this week.
I I've only been working withhim for a month, and he's like,
I've I mean he's gone up to hewent from uh 400,000 to 2
million in in under 30 days justby doing a couple of tweaks to
his presentation.
I mean, that's the power ofconnecting.
I mean, uh, I'm a huge fan ofSteve Jobs.
(13:27):
Uh Steve Jobs was a verypowerful communicator.
He used to say the most powerfulperson in the world is the
storyteller.
And if you ever watch hispresentations, he's just an
expert at crafting apresentation that moves the
audience and puts them on anemotional roller coaster.
When we get to the, and this iswhy you need to have clarity,
you have to understand what'sthe point of your talk.
(13:49):
Some people talk, and that'sgreat, but they have no point.
Um, here, here's a here's anaction item.
Everybody, including you andyour audience, can do right now.
Later on, I want you to sit in acomfortable chair with a pen and
paper, libation of choice.
And for an hour, I want you towrite down every story that's
(14:09):
ever happened to you.
And I don't mean the entirestory, I just mean triggers,
like the time I locked myselfout of the car in front of the
grocery store, the time dadspilt mustard on his tie when we
were at that fancy restaurant.
You'll find in an hour you cancome up with hundreds of little
triggers like this.
So that's the first part of theexercise.
The second part of the exerciseis then I want you to figure out
(14:31):
well, what's this story reallyabout?
Oh, this is a story about nevergiving up.
Oh, this is a story aboutloyalty.
Oh, this is a story about love.
And on my computer, I havehundreds of files with tens of
thousands of stories like this.
So when I'm putting together apresentation, whatever I
emotions I want my audience tohave, I know exactly what
(14:54):
stories to use to evoke thoseemotions.
So I'll give you an example.
Uh by the way, whenever I talkabout clients, I never give the
real names of the people or thecompanies.
So I'm working with a uh anutrition expert named Kathy,
and she has a wonderfulpresentation.
Um, she she grew up with thisintestinal problem that that
caused her all kinds of issues,and no doctors understood how to
(15:17):
figure it out.
But she's come up with a she wasable to treat herself with the
with diet and exercise and uh uhuh natural herbs and things like
that.
And so now her offer is she hasa 90-day program for uh uh 1997,
$2,000.
And that's when she ended herpresentation.
(15:39):
I'm like, oh, Kathy, bigmistake.
She's like, what do you mean?
I'm like, well, there's twotypes of people in your
audience.
I'm gonna be I'm gonna be verystereotypical.
I'm gonna say it's the marriedcouple.
Now, the guy, the guy I call JoeFriday.
Joe Friday, he's sitting therein the audience with his arms
crossed and he wants just thefacts.
(15:59):
How much is this gonna cost?
How long does it take?
What do I got to do?
It's very important that whenyou're making a presentation,
you answer all of thosequestions to satisfy Joe Friday.
But if you end with Joe Friday,you're ignoring the wife.
The wife is who I call JuliaRoberts.
Julia Roberts doesn't call shedoesn't care at all how much it
(16:21):
costs or how long it takes.
She just wants to feel good.
Oh, I I always listen toSerena's podcast because it
makes me feel good.
I love she's like my long-lostsister.
And if you can accommodate bothof those types of people, you're
doing a good job.
So, Kathy, she was only hittingJoe Friday.
And so I asked her, I said,Well, what do you want your
(16:42):
audience to do?
And she first thing she said wasbuy my buy my coach.
I'm like, Yeah, I know that youwant them to buy a coaching.
What do you want them?
What's the underlying themethough?
What's the point?
And she said, Well, I want themto understand they can't do this
on their own.
I'm like, ah, ah, you need tohire an expert story.
And she looked confused to me.
(17:04):
I said, Okay, I'll demonstratefor you.
Many years ago, my wife and I uhwe had theater tickets.
We were dressed to the nines, wewere driving to the theater when
we got a flat tire.
My wife said, Well, I'll call uhthe triple A tow truck.
I'm like, You don't need to calltriple A tow truck.
I'm a man, I can fix a flattire.
(17:24):
So I got out of the car, Iopened up the trunk, I got out
the spare tire, I got the uh thepumper thing, and then I got the
the big jack thing that you youtake out the the nuts with, and
basically 27 minutes later, Ihad grease all over me.
I had not fixed the flat tire.
My wife standing beside the car,shaking her head, like I could
(17:48):
have done so much better thanthis guy.
Well, unbeknownst to me, she hadcalled the AAA guy.
And this tow truck shows up andthis 17-year-old punk hops out
of the tow truck and he proceedsto fix my flat tire in just
under three minutes.
You know, I think there aretimes in life when all of us
(18:10):
think we can do it on our own,but if you want to save time,
you want to save money, and youwant to save a whole lot of
headache and embarrassment, youhire an expert.
And so what I've done then,Serena, is now I've taken a
metaphorical story that's in theminds of the audience.
And rather than just speedingover the head, buy my program
(18:30):
for$2,000.
I'm basically alluding to, youknow, can you remember a time
when you tried to do somethingon your own and it didn't work
out so well?
Well, maybe you need to justhire Kathy as your nutritionist.
And that's the power of awell-crafted story.
SPEAKER_02 (18:48):
Do you think it makes a difference as who is
making that call?
As in the person themselves, thethe person who has created the
program saying it about theirown product, as opposed to
somebody else who's hyping uptheir product, or you know, even
the the master of ceremonies whosays, you know, you know that
effect is quite different whensomeone is introducing you
(19:09):
professionally as when you aresaying it about yourself.
SPEAKER_01 (19:13):
Absolutely, Serena.
I mean, I'm a big fan of BreneBrown talks about the importance
of vulnerability, and Icompletely agree with her.
So one of the first strategies Ishare with people, I say, stop
sharing your successes, startsharing your failures, because
not everybody in your audiencehas succeeded, but they've all
failed.
And the more you share your ownfailures, the more your audience
(19:35):
is going to start seeingthemselves in you.
And that's how you build trustwith people.
And that's what we're trying todo is to connect with our
audience.
So when we're starting ourpresentation, the first five
minutes are by far the mostimportant part of any
presentation because youraudience is making a decision.
Am I going to be present forthis presentation or am I going
(19:56):
to be engaged?
And so, in the first fiveminutes of your presentation,
Presentation, you got to, andI'm I'm sorry, former teacher,
everything rhymes, you gottarap.
So rap stands for you got toshow you're relatable, you have
to demonstrate your authority,and you have to tell the
audience your purpose.
So relatable.
Oh I am just like you.
(20:16):
I've had the problem that you'vehad, authority, and I solve that
problem, purpose.
And now I'm on a mission to helppeople just like you so you
don't suffer the way I suffered.
If you can do that, that's howyou're going to get your
audience.
Now, another little strategy Ishare with people for me, you
(20:39):
know, I don't like it when aperson uh I I don't like
speakers that are bragging atall.
I really don't like that at all.
And so what there's one of mylittle ninja strategies is I've
personally written anintroduction that another person
reads aloud.
You know, it's kind of like youyou gave me a very nice
(21:00):
introduction for this podcast.
And, you know, and so I I makethe introduction make me sound
like Jesus Christ.
And so then when I get on stage,I'm like, yeah, Jesus Christ
forgot to wear his dress socks.
Well, what's what's going tohappen is the audience, they're
gonna smirk, oh, he doesn't takehimself too seriously because
everybody likes a person thatdoesn't take themselves
(21:20):
seriously.
I'll give you another example.
So um I'm working with a a groupof engineers at a uh a company
in Silicon Valley.
And let's just say engineers arepretty introverted people.
And uh I'm working with anIndian gentleman uh who's who
was terrified.
He's like, Oh Danny, please,please, you have to make me
interesting.
(21:41):
Nobody will listen to meotherwise.
And so he has a very difficultname to pronounce.
And so what we did with hispresentation is he starts off,
he says, uh hello, my name isShubonakar Maja Hardin.
SPEAKER_00 (21:58):
Gee, I sure hope I'm pronouncing that correctly.
SPEAKER_01 (22:00):
I'm not trying to get him to be a stand-up
comedian, but I am trying to gethim to connect with the audience
through humor.
You know, uh again, I I justthink humor is so much more
powerful than uh tragedy.
I I go to the movie MonstersInc.
At the end of the movie MonstersInc., they they figure out that
uh laughter is more powerfulthan sadness.
(22:24):
Uh and I I just think that uh weneed a lot more laughter
nowadays, more than ever.
SPEAKER_02 (22:31):
Especially the self-deprecating kind.
I think that ties back to yourpoint about being vulnerable,
not taking yourself tooseriously.
SPEAKER_01 (22:39):
Well, and that's a very important point that you
just made there, Serene.
It's gotta be, it's gotta bedirected towards yourself.
If you look at, and that's why Ilove watching speakers, if you
watch, I mean, I watch everytype of spike.
I watch politicians, I watch uhuh comedians, I watch
televangelists, I watch them infront of big groups, in front of
small groups, uh, in front ofmen, in front of women.
I'm I'm constantly trying toevaluate what is it that they
(23:01):
they do really well.
Um one of the things I loveabout comedians that they do
really well is um Kevin Hart isa short black guy.
And so he tells a lot of jokesabout being a short black guy.
Jim Gaffigan is a big fat whiteguy.
So he tells a lot of jokes aboutbeing a big fat white guy.
By taking their perceivedweakness and making fun of
(23:24):
themselves, they've actuallyturned it into a strength.
Nobody can make fun of them forthat.
And that's um it's really apowerful Jimmy tells the story
of you've ever seen the movieEight Mile uh with Eminem.
Uh, I'm gonna prove how white Iam right now.
At the end of the movie, Eminem,he's in like a wrap-off with
this black guy.
And uh Eminem's buddies arelike, oh man, he's gonna diss
(23:47):
you.
He's gonna say that you live ina trailer, that your mom's a
craco, that he slept with yourgirl.
And so he doesn't know what tosay.
So he he gets up there and he hehas to rap against the black
guy.
And he goes, You're gonna saythat I live in a trailer, that
my mom's a craco, that you thatthat you slept with my girl.
And the black guy doesn't knowwhat to say now because he he
(24:09):
just took away all theammunition.
I mean, I work with a lot ofpoliticians, and that's what I
always tell politicians.
I'm like, anything that peopleperceive as a weakness for you,
just turn it into your strength.
I mean, uh I and I did not workwith President Biden or
President Trump on theirpresidential election.
But if somebody asked me to workwith them, with President Biden,
(24:32):
I would have said, make lots ofjokes about your age.
I can't remember anythingbecause if he did that, now age
is no longer an issue.
With President Trump, I'd say,make lots of jokes about your
humility.
SPEAKER_00 (24:46):
Nobody's humbler than me.
SPEAKER_01 (24:48):
I'm the most humble person on the it's gonna make
people laugh because it's socrazy and they're not gonna be
able to use it against you.
And so I'm working with a womanright now who's terrified about
being on stage.
And I said, okay, when you geton stage, I want you to tell
everybody, look at my hands, I'mfreaking out.
I can't, I'm so scared.
(25:08):
Because this is an interestingpoint.
I I bet you you've observedthis, Serena.
People actually want you tosucceed because there's nothing
worse than sitting through apresentation where a person is
bombing.
It's very uncomfortable.
And so when you see a personthat's like, I'm nervous, you
you'd be amazed how audienceslike, you can do it, you can do
that.
I mean, human beings, contraryto popular belief, are actually
(25:31):
a lot cooler than you you thinkthey are.
And so uh I just always tellpeople take what you perceive as
your weakness and just turn itinto your strength.
SPEAKER_02 (25:41):
I think that's brilliant, Danny.
I think the introverts and thequiet achievers listening to
this, thinking about their nextpresentation, the next time they
have the speaker in the meeting,uh, will take a lot of comfort
from that.
So would you say that your whatyou've shared so far applies not
only to entrepreneurs, butactually to anyone who needs to
tell a good story to get ahead?
And so that would include, youknow, professionals, people
(26:03):
working in the corporate space.
SPEAKER_01 (26:06):
Absolutely.
I mean, my youngest daughter,she's uh at school.
I I just helped her with herpresentation and she just killed
it.
And I said, you know, she wasshe was trying to be impressive
with all these numbers andstatistics that to begin with.
And um I always share withpeople of all people, it was
Stalin who said a million deadis a statistic, one dead is a
(26:28):
tragedy.
Translation, facts tell, butstories sell.
You know, facts inform, storiestransform.
And so I just helped my daughtertotally change her presentation
where she talked about anincident, and her teacher gave
her the highest score in theclass because everybody was
laughing and uh she was veryrelatable to her audience.
(26:50):
Um, you know, and I understandthat.
I I work, it's one of the thingsthat draws me to you, Serena.
You're very cerebral.
Um, I I admire you for doingthis podcast.
I bet you that may have been oneof the most difficult things
ever in your life.
Would you agree with that?
SPEAKER_02 (27:05):
Definitely.
It took me a good six months todecide to do it.
SPEAKER_01 (27:09):
I think it's wonderful.
I mean, you did something mostpeople don't do.
You did it.
Like I hear people talk all thetime.
You know, there's something toadmire about any person that's
willing to get comfortable withbeing uncomfortable.
And this is what people have tounderstand with speaking.
Speaking is a teachable skill.
You know, uh, people think I'm anatural speaker.
(27:32):
Well, I was in India in 2018speaking to some elementary
schools, and uh at the end ofone of my presentations, kids
are coming up to me afterwards,like, oh, you're great, you're
great.
And all of a sudden I see alittle boy, he's maybe six years
old, and he's got tears in hiseyes looking up at me.
And I notice he's missing hisleft arm.
(27:52):
And he he I was motivating thekids.
He's like, How can I succeed?
And so I I crouched down, I gotto his eye level.
I'm like, you know, when I wasyour age, I went to 18 different
schools before I was 12 yearsold.
Everybody called me stupidbecause I stuttered.
(28:16):
Uh and eventually I went to aschool where a teacher, she
worked with me one-on-one andshe would sing things to me.
And I found that I could singwithout my stutter, kind of like
the uh the movie The King'sSpeech.
And eventually I lost my stutterand I became a swan.
But I looked at, I looked atthat boy in the eyes.
I'm like, isn't it interesting?
The little boy that everybodyused to make fun of and call him
(28:37):
stupid because he doesn't talkright, now gets paid a lot of
money to go around the world todo what?
And he gets the biggest grin onhis face.
He's like, speak.
I'm like, don't ever let anybodytell you what you can't do.
Anything is possible.
And I work with so many peoplethat are terrified of speaking,
and I say, that's fine.
That's exactly you're in goodcompany.
(28:58):
You are in great company.
Barbara Streisand, she vomitsbefore every time she performs
on stage.
President Reagan vomited beforehe gave every single speech of
his career.
Bill Russell, NBA uh basketballplayer, vomited before every
basketball game.
They were nervous.
Nervous means it's important toyou.
That's not a bad thing.
(29:19):
And the more we practice things,it's the same thing with you
with this podcast.
That's the point I'm getting to,Serena.
Is the first time you did thispodcast, it stunk.
And the second time you did thispodcast, it stunk.
But it didn't stink as bad asthe first time.
And now you've been doing it fora while, and you're a finely
oiled machine and you're gettingmuch more comfortable, and this
(29:40):
is becoming a lot more natural.
It's probably never going to benatural to you, but you you're
better at it.
And most of the people I workwith, they get a lot better,
significantly better.
SPEAKER_04 (29:50):
Uh, and that's that's where I'm fulfilled as a
coach.
SPEAKER_02 (29:58):
That is probably the most encouraging thing anyone
who's listening right now couldtake away from it that speaking
is a teachable skill, speakingis learnable.
It doesn't matter whether you'reborn with it, not born with it,
it's what you make of it andwhether you have a real purpose
in in speaking, which I thinkgoes back to the clarity that
you talked about in your fiveC's.
(30:19):
So, my question to you is assomeone who gives a hundred
keynotes a year, how do you keepyour content fresh?
And how do you maintain yourenergy and your enthusiasm about
delivering the content?
SPEAKER_01 (30:30):
Well, I love audiences.
Uh, you know, uh I was justactually watching an interview
with uh Bruce Springsteen andhis manager of 50 years, and his
manager just retired.
Uh Bruce had given a concert inRome.
80,000 people were going, Bruce,Bruce, Bruce.
And Bruce couldn't believe thathis manager was retiring.
(30:51):
And I can't remember hismanager's name, but his manager
said, I wouldn't retire if theywere yelling, Steve, Steve,
Steve.
You know, uh, when you're onstage, I mean, it's just uh it's
wonderful.
And I I enjoy because I again Ilike humor, and so I'll try and
insert little things throughoutthe presentation.
(31:12):
Uh uh, I'm I I get kind ofcrabby, I get judgmental of
audiences where if they're notlaughing enough, I'm like, well,
I'm not gonna tell you thisother funny story because you
haven't earned it.
Uh and other it's just a sillything.
But I love it.
I I I love watching how can Iturn around different audiences.
I mean, a game I play everysingle day is every single day I
(31:34):
have a goal to get at least oneperson to laugh.
And it's very easy because I'min a lot of airports and there's
a lot of miserable people inairports.
And so I find a grumpy person, Ijust try and get them laughing.
And if I can get them laughing,it's it's also, again, another
good strategy for a personthat's a little bit nervous on
stage.
I say, well, stop looking at theentire audience.
(31:55):
It's just you and me, Serena.
I'm just gonna talk to youbecause it's it's kind of like a
painting.
Even though I'm looking at you,your eyes, everybody thinks that
you're looking at them.
It's like the Mona Lisa, doesn'tmatter where you go, her eyes
are following you.
Um, and just speak to that oneperson because, again, that's an
effective presentation, too.
(32:16):
I mean, uh, that's the reason Ibecame a teacher was I realized
that Oprah had a teacher thatinspired her.
And, you know, I might be theperson that inspires this person
to cure cancer or to run a verysuccessful company or to be a
really good parent and humanbeing.
I mean, that's that's where Ithat's that's all my jazz.
(32:37):
I I get very excited.
Uh so keeping it fresh is veryeasy because every audience is a
brand new experience.
And plus, the audience doesn'tknow me from anybody.
And so I got to prove my worthevery single time I go on stage.
SPEAKER_02 (32:51):
What is the one thing you want our listeners to
take away from our conversationtoday?
SPEAKER_01 (32:56):
You already hit it, Serena, is that speaking is a
teachable skill.
Most people think this is rocketscience.
It's not rock.
I mean, actually, it is kind ofrocket science.
There's a science to it.
I have a little way of doing it.
And if you follow the formula,uh, you might not be an
overnight success, but you'lldefinitely be a much more
effective and better speaker.
(33:18):
Um, so uh that's important tome.
I'll tell you a quick littlething, a big mistake I see in a
lot of presentations.
Uh here's just one more thingfor your audience is that uh uh
many people have multiple callsto action in their
presentations.
And I'm like, you're you'regonna you're gonna screw up your
(33:38):
conversion rate by doing that.
You're confusing your audience.
Again, teacher, choices confuseand cause you to lose.
In the United States, there'sall kinds of different
supermarkets, uh, but the numberone supermarket in terms of
sales volume is Trader Joe's.
And the reason is if you go intoany of these mega supermarkets
and you you want to buy mustard,there's 36 different types of
(34:01):
mustard.
Well, when you go to TraderJoe's, there's one.
It's called mustard.
They made the choice for you.
I was on a podcast with thishostess, and at the end of her
podcast, she said, I hope youenjoyed today's episode.
Make sure you like, subscribe,and give us a five-star review.
We got off the air and I said,You just told your audience to
do three things.
(34:22):
They're not going to do any ofthem because you just confused
them.
And so, if you really want toincrease your influence, make it
one very clear call to action.
This is again why those clarityquestions are so important.
I want to know, and so myaudience might be different.
I speak to lots of differentaudiences.
So, speaking to kids is verydifferent to than speaking to
(34:43):
adults.
Speaking to teachers isdifferent than speaking to
corporate executives.
Speaking to men is verydifferent than speaking to
women.
I have to be very clear about myaudience.
I have to figure out what's theproblem that I'm solving for
that audience and what's theaction I want them to take.
When I'm clear on those things,I'm going to be much more
effective as a speaker.
SPEAKER_02 (35:05):
What's the best way for people to connect with you
and work with you?
SPEAKER_01 (35:10):
Well, as a thank you to you, Serena, and your
audience for having to listen tome today.
I wanted to give everybody afreebie.
So if you go tofreestoreguide.com, guide like a
tour guide, freestoreguide.com,I'm going to give everybody
their own well-crafted story uhblueprint.
What this is, is the exactprocess that Coach Jimmy and I
(35:32):
take our clients through to helpour clients and you now create
your own well-crafted story.
What this does for you is itshows you why you're putting
this here and what's theeffectiveness of putting it
here.
And what this means for you isthe peace of mind that you have
a proven formula that's going tohelp you create a lot more
impact and hopefully income.
(35:54):
You can get that atfreestoryguide.com.
And Serena, I am so appreciativeto you for all that you do.
I I actually just love listeningto you.
I I wish I wasn't talking somuch because every time you
talk, I'm just captivated.
So thank you for all you do.
I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_02 (36:10):
Thank you so much, Danny.
It's I'm I'm just soappreciative of you sharing your
time, your wisdom, your energywith us today to tell the good
story to help us, you know, forthose of us that love the
structure, particularly thatfive C's that you've uh shared
at length about and also theimportance of being vulnerable,
using humor, particularlyself-deprecating humor.
(36:32):
And just I think reflecting onthe kinds of stories that are
already present in our lives andhow do we use those stories in a
way that helps us establish thatrapport that we trusted with
you, the people that arelistening to us and the people
we work with.
So you know, thank you so muchfor coming on the Quiet Warrior
podcast today.
Thank you.com.au see you on thenext episode.
(37:07):
I'm so grateful that you're heretoday.
If you found this contentvaluable, please share it on
your social media channels andsubscribe to the show on your
favorite listening platform.
Together we can help moreintroverts thrive.
To receive more upliftingcontent like this, connect with
me on Instagram at Serenalo,Quiet Warrior Coach.
(37:28):
Thank you for sharing your timeand your energy with me.
See you on the next episode.
Hi, I'm Serena Lo.
If you're used to hearing thatintroverts are shy, anxious,
antisocial, and lack of goodcommunication and leadership
skills, then this podcast is foryou.
You're about to fall in lovewith a calm, introspective, and
profound person that you are.
Discover what's fun, unique, andpowerful about being an
(00:22):
introvert, and how to make theelegant transition from quiet
achiever to quiet warrior inyour life and work, anytime you
want, in more ways than youimagined possible.
Welcome.
Hello and welcome.
Today's guest of the QuietWarrior Podcast is Dr.
Danny Brizzell, a highlysought-after speaker, trainer,
(00:45):
and coach known as Jim Carreywith a PhD.
Danny has spoken to over 3,500audiences worldwide.
He has authored 19 books and isthe co-founder of the
well-crafted story workshop.
Danny helps entrepreneurs,individuals, and organizations
leverage speaking on stages as amajor client lead source that
(01:07):
converts.
Danny is on a mission to bringjoy back into education and the
workplace.
Welcome, Dr.
Danny Brazil to the QuietWarrior Podcast.
SPEAKER_01 (01:17):
Thanks so much for having me, Serena.
More importantly, thanks forspreading some joy around the
world.
We need a lot more of you.
SPEAKER_02 (01:23):
Thank you.
We would first like to find outmore about your professional
journey.
I know that you started ineducation.
And how did that becomeentrepreneurship along the way?
SPEAKER_01 (01:35):
Yeah, if I was going to write my autobiography,
Serena, it would probably becalled Pivots because I feel
like I've already lived ninelives.
30 years ago, I was ajournalist, uh, covered
President Bush Sr.
in the 1992 presidentialelection.
And I loved my job.
I got to meet every editor ofevery major daily.
And one editor offered me theCity Beat for$16,500 a year.
(01:56):
Meanwhile, a friend told me theywere hiring teachers in South
Central Los Angeles for$25,000 ayear.
So I became an educator for thenoblest of reasons, Serena, for
the high pay.
And uh it was ironic because Iactually fell in love with
teaching.
I've taught all age levels frompreschoolers all the way up to
rocket scientists.
I can make that claim because Iused to teach English as a
(02:19):
second language to engineeringstudents at the University of
Southern California.
And in 2005, my wife and Iattended a real estate seminar,
which turned out to be a scamand we lost everything.
And I could give you the woe isme story, but I'm a positive
person.
I learned a lot from theexperience.
First of all, my wife is mysoulmate.
I put her through the ringer andshe stood right by me.
(02:40):
She's an incredible human being.
Second of all, I learned moneyis not everything because you
can lose money just like that.
Third, I try not to judge otherpeople because if I was somebody
who saw what I had done, I wouldhave said, well, you deserve
that.
But now I realize unless youknow everything about a person,
you really don't know anythingabout a person.
Fourth, uh, I became aChristian, which I'm always
(03:00):
embarrassed to confess, it tooka catastrophe.
But the more I read the Bible,I'm not the first screw up to
find Jesus.
And fifth, my my accountant toldme I had to make this much more
money if I wanted to avoidfiling for bankruptcy.
And so I started speaking on theside and I hit that number right
on the number.
Well, the next year, Serena, hegave me a much higher number and
(03:23):
I hit that number right on thenumber.
So in year three, I thought,well, maybe I should set a
higher number.
And basically during one of theworst economic downturns in
world history, I was able tobuild up a highly lucrative
speaking business, whicheventually attracted the
attention of some pretty famouspeople and companies who wanted
me to coach them.
And I have to be honest aboutthis, Serena.
I resisted coaching for a longtime because I'm obsessive
(03:45):
compulsive.
You have to know this about me.
Uh, I have a very high standardfor my students.
I won't let you fail.
I will be on your back holdingyou accountable until you
succeed.
Well, now that I work primarilywith entrepreneurs and
executives and business owners,I find they're highly motivated.
They do the work, and it'sprobably been the most
gratifying thing I've ever done.
So uh uh that's that's ninelives in a in a nutshell for you
(04:08):
there, Serena.
Long answer to your shortquestion.
SPEAKER_02 (04:12):
Actually, in a sense, you've still stayed in
the education space.
It's all it's simply that youhave a bigger stage now.
SPEAKER_01 (04:20):
Indeed, absolutely.
And it was it's importantbecause I learned uh teaching
different age levels that whatworks with a 12th grader does
not necessarily work with akindergartner, but what works
with a kindergartner works withall age levels.
People always ask me uh uh whatwas the difference between
teaching kindergartners andadults?
I'm like, not that much.
I mean, kindergartners haveabout a seven-minute attention
(04:42):
span, which adults seem to begetting slowly we're we're we're
we we just don't have anyattention anymore.
And uh so I had to learn a lotof strategies to keep the kids
uh attentive, and it's served mevery well as a speaker.
SPEAKER_02 (04:56):
And how did you become known as Jim Carrey with
a PhD?
What's the connection?
SPEAKER_01 (05:02):
Well, I had a a very gracious audience member.
Uh she she said, You're like JimCarrey with a PhD, and that just
kind of stuck.
Uh I I have a creed.
I take my job seriously, I don'ttake myself too seriously
because I ain't all that, andneither are you.
And if you think you're allthat, just teach kindergarten
for a week because those littleones will set you straight.
(05:22):
I had one of my little girls oneday, Lashonda raised her hand.
I'm like, Lashonda, question.
She's like, Mr.
Salle, when are you going totrim your nose hair?
I'm like, this afternoon.
Thanks for bringing that to myattention.
Um, I'm not all that.
And so uh I I like to laugh alot.
I think the world would bebetter served if we laughed a
lot more.
SPEAKER_02 (05:40):
I agree with you, especially in these times.
SPEAKER_01 (05:43):
Yeah.
Well, I mean it's somethingthat's a little bit different
about the way I coach people,Serena.
A lot of the so-called speakingcoaches out there, I see that
they they teach people to sharetheir most traumatizing story.
And there's three reasons why Irefuse to do that.
First of all, the world justsurvived a global pandemic.
Everybody's had a lot of badstuff happen to them.
(06:04):
I don't we need, I don't thinkwe need to hear more sad
stories.
I think we need more stories ofhope.
Second of all, I train peoplehow to create what I call a
well-crafted story.
Um, politicians would call it astump speech, superhero movies
would call it your origin story.
You can call it peanut butterand jelly, it doesn't matter
what you call it.
What this is, is a speech thatyou're gonna deliver again and
(06:24):
again, and you're gonna you'regonna be able to just reel it
off uh with no problem.
Well, do you really want torepeat the worst event of your
life again and again?
I mean, I have a friend, hisdaughter was killed in a school
shooting.
He's told that story to over athousand audiences, and I'm
like, I have no idea how hedied.
There's no way I could talkabout the worst day of my life
(06:45):
again and again.
And then, third, and this iswhere people get angry with me.
I have one objective when I'm onstage.
I want you to leave feelingbetter than when you came in.
I want you laughing, smilinghappy.
I think there's somethingadmirable about that as a goal.
I believe these people that tellthe same sad story again and
again.
By the 20th time they're tellingthat story, now those are
(07:05):
crocodile tears and now they'rebeing manipulative.
And I'm not saying it's not aneffective sales strategy, it's
actually a very effective salesstrategy.
But I personally don't want tohave to take a shower after I
get off stage because I justmanipulated my audience.
There are actual ethical ways toget people to want to do
business with you.
And so uh I have a littledifferent tactic on, and plus, I
(07:26):
guess number four, I just wantyou having fun.
I mean, most of the people Iwork with are very much like
we've had this discussionbefore, Serena.
I work with mostly people thathave no interest in being on
stage or they're terrified ofstages.
They're introverts.
And I want them to have fun.
I want this to be a fun, I knowit's painful for them.
Uh, so I want to make it as funas possible.
So I don't need them talkingabout traumatic stories and
(07:49):
experiences.
SPEAKER_02 (07:51):
You bring up a very good point, Danny.
And I think from a therapist'spoint of view, also it's
important for listeners tounderstand that when someone
keeps talking about that thingthat feels like a wound for them
emotionally, it has a potentialof re-traumatizing them.
So it's immense that storiesimmense those beliefs.
(08:12):
And what they actually should bedoing is speaking with someone
who can hold that space safelyfor them and to process those
emotions and not just keeprecycling the story because then
you know words are so powerfulthat we have the ability to
shape our reality on ourexperiences.
And if we keep reinforcing thatwe have had this experience, and
(08:34):
as a result of it, we've been abit of him for this and that, it
it alters, I think, the thetrajectory of what is possible.
So I think we need to be verycareful with that.
So that's a slightly differentum perspective on what you were
just sharing about what happenswhen we tell that traumatic
story too many times.
And what you did say was theother point is that it is also
(08:56):
possibly manipulative becauseyou know people are in general,
people are people of good will,and people are sensitive,
they're emotional, but we alsodon't know where they are in
life and how raw they could be,what what kind of a time they
could be having as they listento that speech, and it affects
them in different ways.
So I think we also need to be,as you say, you know, ethical
and responsible in the sorts ofstories that we tell and how we
(09:20):
tell them.
So tell me what makes awell-crafted story.
SPEAKER_01 (09:26):
Well, so you're gonna have to bear with me,
Serena.
I'm a former teacher, soeverything I do either rhymes or
it's alliterative.
And so I have a company calledthe Well Crafted Story Workshop
with my two uh co-founders, uhCoach Jimmy Hayes Coach Jimmy
Hayes Nelson and Dave Ward.
Uh I call us the professor, theperformer, and the producer,
because my background isacademia.
(09:48):
Coach Jimmy was a Broadwayactor, and Dave was an attorney.
And so what we guide our clientsthrough is what we call our five
C's process.
And so before we put togetherany part of your presentation,
we start with the first C, whichis clarity.
There are two questions I alwaysask clients that uh are
(10:08):
essential before we put togetheryour presentation.
Those two questions are who isyour audience and what is the
problem that you solve?
And you'd be amazed.
95% of the people I work withcannot answer one or both of
those questions in a succinctmanner.
And so that's the first thing wework on is working on those
clarity questions.
(10:29):
Once we have clarity, then weget into the presentation, which
is to connect with youraudience, have meaningful
content that serves them, helpsthem solve some immediate
problems.
Uh, and then finally wrapping upwith one clear call to action
and an emotional close that getspeople stampeding to want to do
business with you.
And if we can do all five ofthose things, I think that we're
(10:52):
gonna have what I call awell-crafted uh presentation.
Now, the way we evaluate that, Ihave clients that will say, Hey,
Danny, I got a standing ovation.
I'm like, that's fantastic.
Or they'll say, Danny, peoplethink I'm a really good speaker.
I'm like, wonderful.
But the only way I evaluate yourpresentation is one way and one
way only.
We want your presentation tomove hearts, but most
(11:16):
importantly, we want it to movethe needle.
How many people in your audienceare deciding to take the next
step with you?
Now, it can be an unpaid nextstep like subscribe to my
podcast or vote for me.
It can be a paid uh offer likebuy my product or invest in my
coaching program.
But it's very important to methat everybody I work with, they
(11:38):
know their numbers.
How many people were in theaudience?
How many people decided to takethat next step?
How can we get that number at ahigher level?
What do we have to do to getthere?
Um, and this is what I'mcalling, I mean, I watch 10
speakers a day, so I'mconstantly evaluating people and
and trying to figure out well,what can we do to tweak it so
that they have that uh thatextra um just that extra will,
(12:01):
the the extra in theirpresentation to get people to
take that action.
SPEAKER_02 (12:10):
I saw on your website that you say that story
is the most powerful tool forentrepreneurs, for business
leaders, for marketers, and thatwhen done right, it has the
potential to generate sevenfigures in revenue among those
other benefits.
So you were just talking aboutyour five S, your connect
(12:31):
content, call to action,emotional claws.
But before that it was a therewas a clarity as well.
So when you say the call toaction and the emotional close
and the thing that moves theneedle, I suppose that it
depends very much on what thethe needle represents to the
person that's making that callto action.
And you didn't say it could bepaid, it could be unpaid, but
the question is how many peopleor what proportion of the
(12:53):
audience is actually ready totake the next step with you?
So when you put it in terms ofseven figures in revenue, tell
us about some some storiesaround that.
SPEAKER_01 (13:05):
I have a client this week.
I I've only been working withhim for a month, and he's like,
I've I mean he's gone up to hewent from uh 400,000 to 2
million in in under 30 days justby doing a couple of tweaks to
his presentation.
I mean, that's the power ofconnecting.
I mean, uh, I'm a huge fan ofSteve Jobs.
(13:27):
Uh Steve Jobs was a verypowerful communicator.
He used to say the most powerfulperson in the world is the
storyteller.
And if you ever watch hispresentations, he's just an
expert at crafting apresentation that moves the
audience and puts them on anemotional roller coaster.
When we get to the, and this iswhy you need to have clarity,
you have to understand what'sthe point of your talk.
(13:49):
Some people talk, and that'sgreat, but they have no point.
Um, here, here's a here's anaction item.
Everybody, including you andyour audience, can do right now.
Later on, I want you to sit in acomfortable chair with a pen and
paper, libation of choice.
And for an hour, I want you towrite down every story that's
(14:09):
ever happened to you.
And I don't mean the entirestory, I just mean triggers,
like the time I locked myselfout of the car in front of the
grocery store, the time dadspilt mustard on his tie when we
were at that fancy restaurant.
You'll find in an hour you cancome up with hundreds of little
triggers like this.
So that's the first part of theexercise.
The second part of the exerciseis then I want you to figure out
(14:31):
well, what's this story reallyabout?
Oh, this is a story about nevergiving up.
Oh, this is a story aboutloyalty.
Oh, this is a story about love.
And on my computer, I havehundreds of files with tens of
thousands of stories like this.
So when I'm putting together apresentation, whatever I
emotions I want my audience tohave, I know exactly what
(14:54):
stories to use to evoke thoseemotions.
So I'll give you an example.
Uh by the way, whenever I talkabout clients, I never give the
real names of the people or thecompanies.
So I'm working with a uh anutrition expert named Kathy,
and she has a wonderfulpresentation.
Um, she she grew up with thisintestinal problem that that
caused her all kinds of issues,and no doctors understood how to
(15:17):
figure it out.
But she's come up with a she wasable to treat herself with the
with diet and exercise and uh uhuh natural herbs and things like
that.
And so now her offer is she hasa 90-day program for uh uh 1997,
$2,000.
And that's when she ended herpresentation.
(15:39):
I'm like, oh, Kathy, bigmistake.
She's like, what do you mean?
I'm like, well, there's twotypes of people in your
audience.
I'm gonna be I'm gonna be verystereotypical.
I'm gonna say it's the marriedcouple.
Now, the guy, the guy I call JoeFriday.
Joe Friday, he's sitting therein the audience with his arms
crossed and he wants just thefacts.
(15:59):
How much is this gonna cost?
How long does it take?
What do I got to do?
It's very important that whenyou're making a presentation,
you answer all of thosequestions to satisfy Joe Friday.
But if you end with Joe Friday,you're ignoring the wife.
The wife is who I call JuliaRoberts.
Julia Roberts doesn't call shedoesn't care at all how much it
(16:21):
costs or how long it takes.
She just wants to feel good.
Oh, I I always listen toSerena's podcast because it
makes me feel good.
I love she's like my long-lostsister.
And if you can accommodate bothof those types of people, you're
doing a good job.
So, Kathy, she was only hittingJoe Friday.
And so I asked her, I said,Well, what do you want your
(16:42):
audience to do?
And she first thing she said wasbuy my buy my coach.
I'm like, Yeah, I know that youwant them to buy a coaching.
What do you want them?
What's the underlying themethough?
What's the point?
And she said, Well, I want themto understand they can't do this
on their own.
I'm like, ah, ah, you need tohire an expert story.
And she looked confused to me.
(17:04):
I said, Okay, I'll demonstratefor you.
Many years ago, my wife and I uhwe had theater tickets.
We were dressed to the nines, wewere driving to the theater when
we got a flat tire.
My wife said, Well, I'll call uhthe triple A tow truck.
I'm like, You don't need to calltriple A tow truck.
I'm a man, I can fix a flattire.
(17:24):
So I got out of the car, Iopened up the trunk, I got out
the spare tire, I got the uh thepumper thing, and then I got the
the big jack thing that you youtake out the the nuts with, and
basically 27 minutes later, Ihad grease all over me.
I had not fixed the flat tire.
My wife standing beside the car,shaking her head, like I could
(17:48):
have done so much better thanthis guy.
Well, unbeknownst to me, she hadcalled the AAA guy.
And this tow truck shows up andthis 17-year-old punk hops out
of the tow truck and he proceedsto fix my flat tire in just
under three minutes.
You know, I think there aretimes in life when all of us
(18:10):
think we can do it on our own,but if you want to save time,
you want to save money, and youwant to save a whole lot of
headache and embarrassment, youhire an expert.
And so what I've done then,Serena, is now I've taken a
metaphorical story that's in theminds of the audience.
And rather than just speedingover the head, buy my program
(18:30):
for$2,000.
I'm basically alluding to, youknow, can you remember a time
when you tried to do somethingon your own and it didn't work
out so well?
Well, maybe you need to justhire Kathy as your nutritionist.
And that's the power of awell-crafted story.
SPEAKER_02 (18:48):
Do you think it makes a difference as who is
making that call?
As in the person themselves, thethe person who has created the
program saying it about theirown product, as opposed to
somebody else who's hyping uptheir product, or you know, even
the the master of ceremonies whosays, you know, you know that
effect is quite different whensomeone is introducing you
(19:09):
professionally as when you aresaying it about yourself.
SPEAKER_01 (19:13):
Absolutely, Serena.
I mean, I'm a big fan of BreneBrown talks about the importance
of vulnerability, and Icompletely agree with her.
So one of the first strategies Ishare with people, I say, stop
sharing your successes, startsharing your failures, because
not everybody in your audiencehas succeeded, but they've all
failed.
And the more you share your ownfailures, the more your audience
(19:35):
is going to start seeingthemselves in you.
And that's how you build trustwith people.
And that's what we're trying todo is to connect with our
audience.
So when we're starting ourpresentation, the first five
minutes are by far the mostimportant part of any
presentation because youraudience is making a decision.
Am I going to be present forthis presentation or am I going
(19:56):
to be engaged?
And so, in the first fiveminutes of your presentation,
Presentation, you got to, andI'm I'm sorry, former teacher,
everything rhymes, you gottarap.
So rap stands for you got toshow you're relatable, you have
to demonstrate your authority,and you have to tell the
audience your purpose.
So relatable.
Oh I am just like you.
(20:16):
I've had the problem that you'vehad, authority, and I solve that
problem, purpose.
And now I'm on a mission to helppeople just like you so you
don't suffer the way I suffered.
If you can do that, that's howyou're going to get your
audience.
Now, another little strategy Ishare with people for me, you
(20:39):
know, I don't like it when aperson uh I I don't like
speakers that are bragging atall.
I really don't like that at all.
And so what there's one of mylittle ninja strategies is I've
personally written anintroduction that another person
reads aloud.
You know, it's kind of like youyou gave me a very nice
(21:00):
introduction for this podcast.
And, you know, and so I I makethe introduction make me sound
like Jesus Christ.
And so then when I get on stage,I'm like, yeah, Jesus Christ
forgot to wear his dress socks.
Well, what's what's going tohappen is the audience, they're
gonna smirk, oh, he doesn't takehimself too seriously because
everybody likes a person thatdoesn't take themselves
(21:20):
seriously.
I'll give you another example.
So um I'm working with a a groupof engineers at a uh a company
in Silicon Valley.
And let's just say engineers arepretty introverted people.
And uh I'm working with anIndian gentleman uh who's who
was terrified.
He's like, Oh Danny, please,please, you have to make me
interesting.
(21:41):
Nobody will listen to meotherwise.
And so he has a very difficultname to pronounce.
And so what we did with hispresentation is he starts off,
he says, uh hello, my name isShubonakar Maja Hardin.
SPEAKER_00 (21:58):
Gee, I sure hope I'm pronouncing that correctly.
SPEAKER_01 (22:00):
I'm not trying to get him to be a stand-up
comedian, but I am trying to gethim to connect with the audience
through humor.
You know, uh again, I I justthink humor is so much more
powerful than uh tragedy.
I I go to the movie MonstersInc.
At the end of the movie MonstersInc., they they figure out that
uh laughter is more powerfulthan sadness.
(22:24):
Uh and I I just think that uh weneed a lot more laughter
nowadays, more than ever.
SPEAKER_02 (22:31):
Especially the self-deprecating kind.
I think that ties back to yourpoint about being vulnerable,
not taking yourself tooseriously.
SPEAKER_01 (22:39):
Well, and that's a very important point that you
just made there, Serene.
It's gotta be, it's gotta bedirected towards yourself.
If you look at, and that's why Ilove watching speakers, if you
watch, I mean, I watch everytype of spike.
I watch politicians, I watch uhuh comedians, I watch
televangelists, I watch them infront of big groups, in front of
small groups, uh, in front ofmen, in front of women.
I'm I'm constantly trying toevaluate what is it that they
(23:01):
they do really well.
Um one of the things I loveabout comedians that they do
really well is um Kevin Hart isa short black guy.
And so he tells a lot of jokesabout being a short black guy.
Jim Gaffigan is a big fat whiteguy.
So he tells a lot of jokes aboutbeing a big fat white guy.
By taking their perceivedweakness and making fun of
(23:24):
themselves, they've actuallyturned it into a strength.
Nobody can make fun of them forthat.
And that's um it's really apowerful Jimmy tells the story
of you've ever seen the movieEight Mile uh with Eminem.
Uh, I'm gonna prove how white Iam right now.
At the end of the movie, Eminem,he's in like a wrap-off with
this black guy.
And uh Eminem's buddies arelike, oh man, he's gonna diss
(23:47):
you.
He's gonna say that you live ina trailer, that your mom's a
craco, that he slept with yourgirl.
And so he doesn't know what tosay.
So he he gets up there and he hehas to rap against the black
guy.
And he goes, You're gonna saythat I live in a trailer, that
my mom's a craco, that you thatthat you slept with my girl.
And the black guy doesn't knowwhat to say now because he he
(24:09):
just took away all theammunition.
I mean, I work with a lot ofpoliticians, and that's what I
always tell politicians.
I'm like, anything that peopleperceive as a weakness for you,
just turn it into your strength.
I mean, uh I and I did not workwith President Biden or
President Trump on theirpresidential election.
But if somebody asked me to workwith them, with President Biden,
(24:32):
I would have said, make lots ofjokes about your age.
I can't remember anythingbecause if he did that, now age
is no longer an issue.
With President Trump, I'd say,make lots of jokes about your
humility.
SPEAKER_00 (24:46):
Nobody's humbler than me.
SPEAKER_01 (24:48):
I'm the most humble person on the it's gonna make
people laugh because it's socrazy and they're not gonna be
able to use it against you.
And so I'm working with a womanright now who's terrified about
being on stage.
And I said, okay, when you geton stage, I want you to tell
everybody, look at my hands, I'mfreaking out.
I can't, I'm so scared.
(25:08):
Because this is an interestingpoint.
I I bet you you've observedthis, Serena.
People actually want you tosucceed because there's nothing
worse than sitting through apresentation where a person is
bombing.
It's very uncomfortable.
And so when you see a personthat's like, I'm nervous, you
you'd be amazed how audienceslike, you can do it, you can do
that.
I mean, human beings, contraryto popular belief, are actually
(25:31):
a lot cooler than you you thinkthey are.
And so uh I just always tellpeople take what you perceive as
your weakness and just turn itinto your strength.
SPEAKER_02 (25:41):
I think that's brilliant, Danny.
I think the introverts and thequiet achievers listening to
this, thinking about their nextpresentation, the next time they
have the speaker in the meeting,uh, will take a lot of comfort
from that.
So would you say that your whatyou've shared so far applies not
only to entrepreneurs, butactually to anyone who needs to
tell a good story to get ahead?
And so that would include, youknow, professionals, people
(26:03):
working in the corporate space.
SPEAKER_01 (26:06):
Absolutely.
I mean, my youngest daughter,she's uh at school.
I I just helped her with herpresentation and she just killed
it.
And I said, you know, she wasshe was trying to be impressive
with all these numbers andstatistics that to begin with.
And um I always share withpeople of all people, it was
Stalin who said a million deadis a statistic, one dead is a
(26:28):
tragedy.
Translation, facts tell, butstories sell.
You know, facts inform, storiestransform.
And so I just helped my daughtertotally change her presentation
where she talked about anincident, and her teacher gave
her the highest score in theclass because everybody was
laughing and uh she was veryrelatable to her audience.
(26:50):
Um, you know, and I understandthat.
I I work, it's one of the thingsthat draws me to you, Serena.
You're very cerebral.
Um, I I admire you for doingthis podcast.
I bet you that may have been oneof the most difficult things
ever in your life.
Would you agree with that?
SPEAKER_02 (27:05):
Definitely.
It took me a good six months todecide to do it.
SPEAKER_01 (27:09):
I think it's wonderful.
I mean, you did something mostpeople don't do.
You did it.
Like I hear people talk all thetime.
You know, there's something toadmire about any person that's
willing to get comfortable withbeing uncomfortable.
And this is what people have tounderstand with speaking.
Speaking is a teachable skill.
You know, uh, people think I'm anatural speaker.
(27:32):
Well, I was in India in 2018speaking to some elementary
schools, and uh at the end ofone of my presentations, kids
are coming up to me afterwards,like, oh, you're great, you're
great.
And all of a sudden I see alittle boy, he's maybe six years
old, and he's got tears in hiseyes looking up at me.
And I notice he's missing hisleft arm.
(27:52):
And he he I was motivating thekids.
He's like, How can I succeed?
And so I I crouched down, I gotto his eye level.
I'm like, you know, when I wasyour age, I went to 18 different
schools before I was 12 yearsold.
Everybody called me stupidbecause I stuttered.
(28:16):
Uh and eventually I went to aschool where a teacher, she
worked with me one-on-one andshe would sing things to me.
And I found that I could singwithout my stutter, kind of like
the uh the movie The King'sSpeech.
And eventually I lost my stutterand I became a swan.
But I looked at, I looked atthat boy in the eyes.
I'm like, isn't it interesting?
The little boy that everybodyused to make fun of and call him
(28:37):
stupid because he doesn't talkright, now gets paid a lot of
money to go around the world todo what?
And he gets the biggest grin onhis face.
He's like, speak.
I'm like, don't ever let anybodytell you what you can't do.
Anything is possible.
And I work with so many peoplethat are terrified of speaking,
and I say, that's fine.
That's exactly you're in goodcompany.
(28:58):
You are in great company.
Barbara Streisand, she vomitsbefore every time she performs
on stage.
President Reagan vomited beforehe gave every single speech of
his career.
Bill Russell, NBA uh basketballplayer, vomited before every
basketball game.
They were nervous.
Nervous means it's important toyou.
That's not a bad thing.
(29:19):
And the more we practice things,it's the same thing with you
with this podcast.
That's the point I'm getting to,Serena.
Is the first time you did thispodcast, it stunk.
And the second time you did thispodcast, it stunk.
But it didn't stink as bad asthe first time.
And now you've been doing it fora while, and you're a finely
oiled machine and you're gettingmuch more comfortable, and this
(29:40):
is becoming a lot more natural.
It's probably never going to benatural to you, but you you're
better at it.
And most of the people I workwith, they get a lot better,
significantly better.
SPEAKER_04 (29:50):
Uh, and that's that's where I'm fulfilled as a
coach.
SPEAKER_02 (29:58):
That is probably the most encouraging thing anyone
who's listening right now couldtake away from it that speaking
is a teachable skill, speakingis learnable.
It doesn't matter whether you'reborn with it, not born with it,
it's what you make of it andwhether you have a real purpose
in in speaking, which I thinkgoes back to the clarity that
you talked about in your fiveC's.
(30:19):
So, my question to you is assomeone who gives a hundred
keynotes a year, how do you keepyour content fresh?
And how do you maintain yourenergy and your enthusiasm about
delivering the content?
SPEAKER_01 (30:30):
Well, I love audiences.
Uh, you know, uh I was justactually watching an interview
with uh Bruce Springsteen andhis manager of 50 years, and his
manager just retired.
Uh Bruce had given a concert inRome.
80,000 people were going, Bruce,Bruce, Bruce.
And Bruce couldn't believe thathis manager was retiring.
(30:51):
And I can't remember hismanager's name, but his manager
said, I wouldn't retire if theywere yelling, Steve, Steve,
Steve.
You know, uh, when you're onstage, I mean, it's just uh it's
wonderful.
And I I enjoy because I again Ilike humor, and so I'll try and
insert little things throughoutthe presentation.
(31:12):
Uh uh, I'm I I get kind ofcrabby, I get judgmental of
audiences where if they're notlaughing enough, I'm like, well,
I'm not gonna tell you thisother funny story because you
haven't earned it.
Uh and other it's just a sillything.
But I love it.
I I I love watching how can Iturn around different audiences.
I mean, a game I play everysingle day is every single day I
(31:34):
have a goal to get at least oneperson to laugh.
And it's very easy because I'min a lot of airports and there's
a lot of miserable people inairports.
And so I find a grumpy person, Ijust try and get them laughing.
And if I can get them laughing,it's it's also, again, another
good strategy for a personthat's a little bit nervous on
stage.
I say, well, stop looking at theentire audience.
(31:55):
It's just you and me, Serena.
I'm just gonna talk to youbecause it's it's kind of like a
painting.
Even though I'm looking at you,your eyes, everybody thinks that
you're looking at them.
It's like the Mona Lisa, doesn'tmatter where you go, her eyes
are following you.
Um, and just speak to that oneperson because, again, that's an
effective presentation, too.
(32:16):
I mean, uh, that's the reason Ibecame a teacher was I realized
that Oprah had a teacher thatinspired her.
And, you know, I might be theperson that inspires this person
to cure cancer or to run a verysuccessful company or to be a
really good parent and humanbeing.
I mean, that's that's where Ithat's that's all my jazz.
(32:37):
I I get very excited.
Uh so keeping it fresh is veryeasy because every audience is a
brand new experience.
And plus, the audience doesn'tknow me from anybody.
And so I got to prove my worthevery single time I go on stage.
SPEAKER_02 (32:51):
What is the one thing you want our listeners to
take away from our conversationtoday?
SPEAKER_01 (32:56):
You already hit it, Serena, is that speaking is a
teachable skill.
Most people think this is rocketscience.
It's not rock.
I mean, actually, it is kind ofrocket science.
There's a science to it.
I have a little way of doing it.
And if you follow the formula,uh, you might not be an
overnight success, but you'lldefinitely be a much more
effective and better speaker.
(33:18):
Um, so uh that's important tome.
I'll tell you a quick littlething, a big mistake I see in a
lot of presentations.
Uh here's just one more thingfor your audience is that uh uh
many people have multiple callsto action in their
presentations.
And I'm like, you're you'regonna you're gonna screw up your
(33:38):
conversion rate by doing that.
You're confusing your audience.
Again, teacher, choices confuseand cause you to lose.
In the United States, there'sall kinds of different
supermarkets, uh, but the numberone supermarket in terms of
sales volume is Trader Joe's.
And the reason is if you go intoany of these mega supermarkets
and you you want to buy mustard,there's 36 different types of
(34:01):
mustard.
Well, when you go to TraderJoe's, there's one.
It's called mustard.
They made the choice for you.
I was on a podcast with thishostess, and at the end of her
podcast, she said, I hope youenjoyed today's episode.
Make sure you like, subscribe,and give us a five-star review.
We got off the air and I said,You just told your audience to
do three things.
(34:22):
They're not going to do any ofthem because you just confused
them.
And so, if you really want toincrease your influence, make it
one very clear call to action.
This is again why those clarityquestions are so important.
I want to know, and so myaudience might be different.
I speak to lots of differentaudiences.
So, speaking to kids is verydifferent to than speaking to
(34:43):
adults.
Speaking to teachers isdifferent than speaking to
corporate executives.
Speaking to men is verydifferent than speaking to
women.
I have to be very clear about myaudience.
I have to figure out what's theproblem that I'm solving for
that audience and what's theaction I want them to take.
When I'm clear on those things,I'm going to be much more
effective as a speaker.
SPEAKER_02 (35:05):
What's the best way for people to connect with you
and work with you?
SPEAKER_01 (35:10):
Well, as a thank you to you, Serena, and your
audience for having to listen tome today.
I wanted to give everybody afreebie.
So if you go tofreestoreguide.com, guide like a
tour guide, freestoreguide.com,I'm going to give everybody
their own well-crafted story uhblueprint.
What this is, is the exactprocess that Coach Jimmy and I
(35:32):
take our clients through to helpour clients and you now create
your own well-crafted story.
What this does for you is itshows you why you're putting
this here and what's theeffectiveness of putting it
here.
And what this means for you isthe peace of mind that you have
a proven formula that's going tohelp you create a lot more
impact and hopefully income.
(35:54):
You can get that atfreestoryguide.com.
And Serena, I am so appreciativeto you for all that you do.
I I actually just love listeningto you.
I I wish I wasn't talking somuch because every time you
talk, I'm just captivated.
So thank you for all you do.
I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_02 (36:10):
Thank you so much, Danny.
It's I'm I'm just soappreciative of you sharing your
time, your wisdom, your energywith us today to tell the good
story to help us, you know, forthose of us that love the
structure, particularly thatfive C's that you've uh shared
at length about and also theimportance of being vulnerable,
using humor, particularlyself-deprecating humor.
(36:32):
And just I think reflecting onthe kinds of stories that are
already present in our lives andhow do we use those stories in a
way that helps us establish thatrapport that we trusted with
you, the people that arelistening to us and the people
we work with.
So you know, thank you so muchfor coming on the Quiet Warrior
podcast today.
Thank you.com.au see you on thenext episode.
(37:07):
I'm so grateful that you're heretoday.
If you found this contentvaluable, please share it on
your social media channels andsubscribe to the show on your
favorite listening platform.
Together we can help moreintroverts thrive.
To receive more upliftingcontent like this, connect with
me on Instagram at Serenalo,Quiet Warrior Coach.
(37:28):
Thank you for sharing your timeand your energy with me.
See you on the next episode.
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