The Speaker Lab Podcast

"We're always going a hundred miles an hour. So we never even realize that we're driving through fog all that time."

Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! This week's Alumni Spotlight features Scott Hacker — thirty-plus years in corporate sales, now a certified high performance coach who goes by the clarity coach. His signature talk is called Navigating the Fog of Life, and the premise is simple: when you drive into actual fog, you slow down, turn off the radio, and pay attention. In our lives, we just keep going a hundred miles an hour and never notice the fog is there at all.

Scott's recent run is a case study in the long game. He found a whole new market for his workshops in chambers of commerce and nonprofit boards, and none of it happened in one meeting. He joined the chamber. He spoke at a breakfast for free. That turned into a longer workshop, which turned into a chamber president asking him to facilitate a board retreat he had never facilitated before — so he said yes, built it out, and walked away with a board member offering to personally fund an ongoing engagement. Then there's the story Dan wanted the room to sit with: a free two-hour workshop for a women's council of realtors in January of last year, which came back around eighteen months later as a four-month multi-series mastermind. Dan also puts on his coaching hat for a stalled deal, digging into what happens when a chamber executive tells you his members want "real tools," not the soft, touchy feely stuff — and why Scott held his ground instead of building a talk that wasn't his.

Whether you're weighing whether the next free gig is worth your time or trying to decide how hard to hold your positioning when a buyer pushes back, this conversation is a clear-eyed look at how patient, aligned work compounds into paid opportunity.

You'll learn:

How a free talk for a local realtors' association came back as a four-month paid engagement

Why chambers of commerce and nonprofit boards are an overlooked market for workshops

The long game that turns one free breakfast talk into a multi-workshop contract

How saying yes to a board retreat he'd never run led to a funded, ongoing program

Why Scott starts with the business owner's mindset instead of the nuts and bolts

The criteria that decide whether a free stage is worth your effort

What to do when a decision maker says your message is too soft for his members

Why building the talk they asked for would have shown up on stage as incongruent

How alignment with your own message keeps you calm when a room pushes back

The once-a-month touch-base system that keeps a stalled opportunity warm

The daily habit that keeps a clarity coach clear

And much, much more!

"As soon as you get clarity on what it is you truly want, your actions will become a lot easier, the priorities will become easier."

Wondering whether that next free stage is worth your time — or how to turn the ones you're already doing into paid engagements? Grab a free 15-minute Speaker Business Assessment and find out exactly where you are in your speaking journey and what to do next.

Episode Resources:

Get Your 15 Minute Speaker Business Assessment

Scott Hacker's Website

Calculate Your Speaking Fee

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe on Spotify

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“The better the foundation is, the more opportunities I'm getting to do exactly that.”
Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! This week's episode is another alumni spotlight, and it might be Dan's favorite combination yet: Matthew Sharpe is a licensed therapist — and a stand-up comedian. He put the two together in Standup Therapy Live, where the laughs do the heavy lifting for the mental health lessons. Matt works with high-stress, high-stakes professions — healthcare workers, law enforcement, corrections officers — teaching resilience through humor, complete with a “humor lab” where he makes rooms full of uniformed officers sweat bullets by writing jokes on a 15-minute deadline.
But the real story of this episode isn't the comedy — it's the business. Matt just booked out a full week of paid speaking for the first week of October, and every gig in it traces back to a different lesson from The Speaker Lab playbook: cold outreach to people he'd never met, follow-up that turned one law enforcement gig into a repeat booking, and a Department of Corrections client bringing him back to train staff from around their state. He's even had a gig land completely cold — the National Conference of State Legislatures found him through SEO he didn't set up. And then there's the lesson most speakers never learn: Matt genuinely loves the process. The prospecting, the pipeline, even the rejections. Dan also coaches Matt through a proposal that died on price, unpacking budget questions, decision makers, add-on gigs, and the “menu” of offerings that can save a stalled deal.
Whether you're still chasing your first paid gig or trying to figure out why your calendar isn't as full as your talent deserves, this conversation is a masterclass in falling in love with the 95% of the work that gets you the 5% on stage.
You'll learn:
How Matt booked a full week of paid speaking by following the process step by step
The simple cold email (“quick question — who books your talks?”) that keeps turning into gigs
How follow-up after a gig — the harvest — creates repeat bookings
Why an inbound gig from SEO is the bonus you earn for doing the work
The mindset shift that separates speakers who burn out from speakers who build
How to reframe the business side as your foundation, not the tax you pay to perform
The 85/15 rule of speaking — and why Dan thinks it's really 95/5
How Matt learned to price himself with confidence (and who convinced him to raise his fee)
Where a proposal to a doctors' organization stalled — and the budget questions that could have saved it
How add-on gigs and geographic prospecting give you room to get creative with your fee
Why offering a menu — keynote, workshop, reception comedy set — adds value for event planners
And much, much more!

“Find something new and exciting that makes you laugh every day. It just opens your eyes to new possibilities.”
Ready to build a speaking business that books itself — and actually enjoy the work that gets you on stage? Take the free Speaker Business Assessment at thespeakerlab.com/SBA and find out exactly where you are in your speaking journey and what to do next.
Episode Resources:
Get Your 15 Minute Speaker Business Assessment
Matthew Sharpe's Website
Calculate Your Speaking Fee
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
Subscribe on Spotify
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"What if I didn't let it stop me? What if I just push past it?"
Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this Alumni Spotlight episode, Dan Irvin sits down with Speaker Lab alumni Jennifer Ryan — a speaker who just hit a real turning point. She finished her book, Be the Donkey, Not the Jackass, she's ready to take it on the road, and she's built a talk that is unmistakably her own.
Jennifer's message starts with fear — the greatest motivator and the greatest deterrent to everything. It began with a movie, sparked a "year of yes" where she said yes to literally everything, and led her to a horse and dog rescue where two donkeys handed her the metaphor that became her book. Along the way she learned what it takes to write something deeply vulnerable, rebuild a talk after rereading her own book exposed the gaps, and differentiate herself in a world where "a million people speak about yes."
But this conversation doesn't stay in theory. Jennifer and Dan get honest about the hard stuff: the conference that suddenly had no space for her (and no explanation why), the self-doubt train that follows silence, and the moment she realized her talks were entertaining people without actually moving them to act. Her fix — be prescriptive, give your audience exactly what to do next Monday — is a masterclass in building talks that create change instead of just applause.
You'll learn:
Why fear is both the greatest motivator and the greatest deterrent
How a "year of yes" can completely change your trajectory
How to find your signature story in unexpected places
Why writing a book is a "humbling" exercise in vulnerability
How rereading your own book reveals the gaps in your talk
How to differentiate yourself when your topic is "already taken"
What to do when a reliable speaking avenue suddenly closes
How to handle negative feedback (and why the 2% matters)
The difference between entertaining an audience and moving them to act
Why prescriptive next steps are what turn talks into transformation
And much, much more!

"A talk has done its job the moment one person decides to try something new."
What's the question that flips the switch on your fear? Grab a free 15-minute Speaker Business Assessment at thespeakerlab.com/SBA and turn "what if" into your next step.
Episode Resources:
Get Your 15 Minute Speaker Business Assessment
Jennifer Ryan's Website
Calculate Your Speaking Fee
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
Subscribe on Spotify
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"When you're late, you tell people you don't care. I didn't agree with it at the moment. But then I started really just disciplining myself. And it is hard work for me every single day to be early."
Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this Alumni Spotlight episode, host Dan Irvin brings on Michael Hidalgo — a keynote speaker who helps teams actually talk to each other. His core idea is deceptively simple: words are vehicles, and what the receiver unpacks may not be what you loaded them up with. But what makes this episode fire is the business side of Michael's story — and the habits that are fueling a serious run right now.
Start with the headline: Michael just landed his highest-paid gig yet off a single email. Except it wasn't really a single email. He did the homework — researched the organization, understood the need, sent a tailored pitch — and then heard nothing for two months. Instead of chasing with "did you get my email?", he followed up twice by adding value: an article relevant to their challenge, a lesson he learned from a client. Seventy-three days later, the planner wrote back with four words: "Are you still available?" Booked on the spot — and now they want his consulting, too.
Then there's the keynote that produced six hot leads. Michael put a Calendly QR code on his final slide with a $50-value team assessment offer. By the time he walked off stage, four CEOs had already booked calls. He stayed for dinner with another contact who introduced him to two more executives. Two proposals went out that week. And every one of those consulting opportunities came from the speaking — the keynote was the tip of the spear.
Whether you're figuring out how to follow up without being annoying or wondering what separates speakers who get rebooked from speakers who get forgotten, this one is a masterclass in the business behind the business!
You'll learn:
Why Michael's biggest booking came 73 days after his initial pitch — and what he did in the silence that made it happen
How to follow up with event planners by adding value instead of asking "did you get my email?"
The QR code + free assessment strategy that generated six hot leads from a single keynote
Why speaking is the tip of the spear for consulting revenue — and how to build that pipeline from stage
What "be fun and easy to work with" actually looks like in practice (hint: show up early and set up chairs)
The pre-talk ritual Michael never skips: handwriting an abbreviated outline, connecting with the tech team, checking in with the planner, and glide-handing the room
How to pivot mid-call when an event planner says "this isn't what we want" — without getting defensive or losing the gig
Why the two magic phrases "tell me more about that" and "help me understand" buy you time and keep conversations alive
The difference between value addition and value extraction — and why givers get remembered
Why the gig is actually won before you ever send the first email
And much, much more!

"How can I leave someone with something that is going to make them either personally or professionally better? How can I give something to them? I promise you that will pay dividends."
Give more than you take? That's the whole business plan. Grab a free 15-minute Speaker Business Assessment at thespeakerlab.com/SBA and build a system that turns generosity into bookings.
Episode Resources:
Get Your 15 Minute Speaker Business Assessment
Michael Hidalgo's Website
Calculate Your Speaking Fee
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
Subscribe on Spotify
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"I didn't get paid to go to Seattle, but I made a good connection there that I will be paid for."
Welcome back to The Speaker Lab Podcast! In this Alumni Spotlight episode, host Dan Irvin sits down with Dr. David Chastain, a speaker who works at an intersection most people are afraid to even name out loud: grief and addiction, and the way the two are wound together. Grief can delay recovery, and it can trigger relapse years into sobriety — and David speaks on it from both professional expertise and lived experience.
David has been quietly stacking wins, and almost every one of them traces back to the same source: relationships. A paid webinar that came through a former colleague. A talk for an addiction professionals association in North Carolina where one conversation with the executive director — and one leader who happened to be in the room — turned a "our keynotes are full" into a three-hour pre-conference workshop. An unpaid conference in Seattle where he worked the empty expo hall and walked away with three or four potential webinars in the pipeline. He didn't chase the money. He tended the relationships, and the money followed.
Dan also puts on his coaching hat for a candid working session: how to handle the conference that passed on your proposal (spoiler: "apply again next year" is an invitation, not a brush-off), why you should retitle your talk to match a conference theme without rebuilding it, and the insight from a local speakers association that unlocked a whole new pitch — framing grief and addiction as the employee-retention problem businesses are already paying to solve.
Whether you're waiting on your first paid gig or wondering whether the free rooms are worth it, this episode will change how you measure a room!
You'll learn:
Why grief and addiction intersect — delaying recovery and triggering relapse even years into sobriety
What landing a paid webinar meant after years of speaking for free ("it's okay for me to ask for money")
Why your existing network beats cold outreach — and how to actually use it
David's "tiny book" strategy: 40 portable pages designed to sell at conference tables
How seeking out one executive director turned a filled keynote slate into a three-hour workshop
The empty expo hall trick: working vendor rooms while everyone else is in sessions
How to respond when a conference passes on your proposal — and why you should always reapply
Retitling your talk to fit a conference theme without changing the talk itself
The reframe that opened a corporate lane: grief and addiction as a turnover and retention problem
Why David stopped saying "I'm not good at networking" — and what changed when he did
And much, much more!

"I've stopped saying I'm not good at networking, because the evidence says I am. It's not only the process of the events happening again — it's the process of believing that I can make this work."
Measuring every room by what it pays you today? The unpaid room might be the seed. Grab a free 15-minute Speaker Business Assessment at thespeakerlab.com/SBA and build a system that turns connections into bookings.
Episode Resources:
Get Your 15 Minute Speaker Business Assessment
Dr. Chastain's Website
Calculate Your Speaking Fee
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
Subscribe on Spotify
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.