Episode #556

Self Awareness and Forming Lasting Relationships in Speaking

With Brad Lomenick

“Content is still important, but content is much more of a commodity. So the premise has to be that we’ve got to create something…It has to include conversation, it has to include community, it has to include the idea that there’s going to be something that’s analog that happens.”

In this week’s episode of The Speaker Lab, Grant Baldwin chats with Brad Lomenick about what truly makes speakers memorable. Brad’s big takeaway is that being great to work with matters even more than being the most dynamic person on stage.

Brad shares that self-awareness is key: know your strengths, get feedback, and focus on the type of events where you shine. He also highlights the importance of personal touches like connecting with organizers, knowing your audience, and showing genuine kindness.

Ultimately, it’s the offstage moments and relationships you build that lead to lasting success. Want to get booked again and again? Prioritize being a good human, not just a good speaker!

You’ll learn:

  • The value of feedback in improving as a communicator
  • Pursuing growth without losing sight of strengths
  • How to elicit helpful criticism
  • The difference between different types of feedback
  • Navigating the challenge of competing with digital content
  • Building community and trust as a speaker
  • Tips for making big rooms feel “smaller”
  • The long-term effect of how speakers treat people off-stage
  • And much, much more!

“Sometimes our own personal emotions are not the best indicator because we look at [our talk] and go, oh, I crushed it, and the audience looks at it and goes, good intentions.” 

Want to know exactly how to find and book more paid speaking gigs?

Download our 18-page guide to the 6 proven steps you can use to book more paid speaking gigs in 2024!

About Brad Lomenick

Brad Lomenick is passionate about raising up great leaders around the globe. A renowned leadership advisor, author, speaker, podcaster and founder of BLINC, a leadership advisory agency, Lomenick has built a reputation over the last two decades as a strategic connector and convener of America’s most respected and sought after leaders. For more than a decade, he served as lead visionary and president of Catalyst, one of America’s largest and most influential conference movements of young leaders, convening hundreds of thousands of leaders through high energy and experiential conferences across the United States.

He has more than two decades of experience working alongside thought-leaders, CEO’s and start up entrepreneurs. Prior to and during his time running Catalyst, Brad spent several years working for legendary leadership author John C. Maxwell.

He is the host of the H3 Leadership Podcast, where he weekly curates the best for high-capacity leaders to stay in the know and up to date, and interviews world class thinkers, authors, and icons. And for 12 years was the co-host of the Catalyst Podcast.

Brad is author of the groundbreaking book, The Catalyst Leader: Eight Essentials for Becoming a Change Maker, as well as his most recent best-seller entitled H3 Leadership: Be Humble, Stay Hungry, Always Hustle, both from Harper Leadership.

Lomenick more recently is the founder and curator of LEAD CON, an invite only community of high capacity thought leaders and influential emerging young leaders across America, which includes multiple gatherings through brands like Young Guns, Change Agents, and other strategic experiences.

He currently serves in a Strategic Advisor role for a number of organizations and key leaders, while also speaking, writing, traveling, serving on boards, gathering leaders, and playing a broader role within the larger global leadership conversation.

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