How to Give the Best Presentations of Your Life, Onstage and Off

Performing Isn’t Just for Actors

Michael Port started his career as an actor after receiving an MFA in acting from NYU. He appeared in shows like “Sex and the City,” “Third Watch,” “All My Children,” and “Law & Order.” He did hundreds of voiceovers for companies like AT&T, Brawn, Pizza Hut, Coors, and Budweiser.
Acting was his passion, but he wanted more control over his career than acting was going to allow him. He turned his attention and considerable talent to business, where he found success.
Now Michael is a well-known speaker and marketing coach. His “Book Yourself Solid” small business coaching system is licensed to business coaches all over the world and his consulting business, Heroic Public Speaking, is flourishing. He has published five bestselling books and his sixth, “Steal the Show” will be released in October.
“Steal the Show” is a must-read for anyone who does public speaking professionally, but it is also applicable to anyone who needs to deliver a presentation or demonstration with confidence and panache. Today’s podcast episode gives us a glimpse into the key takeaways of the book.

In This Episode

• Wearing stilts onstage so no one can look down on you
• How to create stellar presentations following the steps in “Steal the Show”
• Effective frameworks to organize your content for optimized consumption
• The differences in technique between onstage and video presentations
• Using the Three-Act Structure to your advantage in storytelling of any kind
• Key tips to excel at Q&A

Quotes From This Episode

“Go for results, not approval.” —@michaelport
“Our big idea doesn’t have to be different to be different, meaning you don’t have to be different to make a difference.” —@michaelport

“If you have a big idea, a promise, and you can articulate the consequences and the rewards, then they know you understand the way the world looks to them. And if they know that you know the way the world looks to them, then they’ll listen to you.” —@michaelport

“To give presentations with clarity, you literally have to intentionally take things out that you know are good, but just get in the way of the things that are great.” —@jaybaer
“Anxiety is something that most professional performers get. It’s what they do with it that matters.” —@michaelport
“The way that an audience responds to a story is different than the way your friends would.” —@michaelport

“I don’t think you need to be an entertainer to be a performer. A performer is somebody who connects deeply with an audience, both intellectually and emotionally, and sometimes even physically. You feel a great performance in your body.” —@michaelport

“When you have Q&A at the end of a speech, you don’t control the end of that speech. You’ve now given over the control of the room to the audience to a certain extent.” —@michaelport

Resources

• Michael Port’s website
• “Steal the Show,” Michael’s new book, release date October 6, 2015
• Michael’s other bestselling books
• Book Yourself Solid, Michael’s small business coaching system
• Heroic Public Speaking, Michael’s consulting company
• Examples of content frameworks mentioned in the episode:
  • Stephen R. Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”
  • Glade B. Curtis & Judith Schuler’s “Your Pregnancy Week by Week”
  • Laurie Ashner & Mitch Meyerson’s “When Parents Love Too Much”
  • Jim Collins’ “Good to Great”