“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.
