What Your Speaker Demo Reel Is Actually For (and Why Most Get It Wrong)

John: 00:00:00

Most speakers know that they need a demo reel.

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Very few know what it's really for.

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If you think your demo reel is there to

impress people who stumble across your

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website, you've built the wrong thing.

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Bookers aren't looking for the

highlight reels of your best moments.

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They want to know what your audience

is going to get from you, and

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whether you can deliver it under

pressure in a room full of strangers.

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In this episode of Professional Speaking,

I'm talking with Bernadette Marciniak,

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a video producer who works specifically

with speakers and event organizers,

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she's been on both sides of the

camera and both sides of the

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booking conversation, which makes

her take on this unusually useful.

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We're covering what a demo reel is

actually for, what a sizzle reel is, and

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why most speakers get the two confused.

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How to start building footage when

you have no stages yet, and what

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bookers are actually watching for

when they press play on your demo.

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Welcome to Professional Speaking, the show

for people who are serious about speaking

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and becoming known, booked, and paid.

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My name's John Ball, professional

speaking coach, keynote speaker,

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stand-up comedian, and sci-fi nerd.

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I'm here as your guide on the journey

to a successful speaking career

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welcome to Professional Speaking

Podcast, Bernadette Marciniak.

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Welcome to the show

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Bernadette Marciniak: Thank

you so much for having me, John

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John: It's a delight to be speaking

to you, and I've wanted to come

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back to the topic of demo videos for

quite some time, and that's where

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we're gonna spend some time today.

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And I know that one of the things

what we talked about before recording

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was that there's these different

tracks for it, like whether you're

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speaking as a business, or whether

you're speaking to bring in business.

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And so before we get into all that,

which side do you fall on there?

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Are you speaking as a

business or for your business?

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Bernadette Marciniak: Yeah, so

I am somebody who is speaking to

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bring in business, who knows where

the winds may take me someday.

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the spotlight is tantalizing and

attractive, as I'm sure it is to many.

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but as of right now, I'm having a

really great time, having, speaking

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engagements put eyes on my business

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John: Great.

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And so g- just to give us a sense

of, like, your speaking career, like

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how long have you been speaking, and

roughly how many speaking engagements

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do you have, uh, roughly in a year?

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Bernadette Marciniak: within

a year I'd say I do probably

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a handful, three to four.

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And there, that, you know, there,

there's a variety of different ones

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from stages to leading workshops.

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I personally count podcast

interviews as speaking engagements.

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I know that some folks might not

agree with that, but it's all about

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visibility and, and PR at the end

of the day, especially in my case.

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So I count podcast interviews

as speaking engagements.

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I've been speaking for about a decade now.

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and, yeah

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John: what first got you

up on stage as a speaker?

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Bernadette Marciniak: ooh,

that's a good question.

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the one that's coming to mind right now

is when I actually won an award for a

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community that I was part of, and I knew

that it was a business community, so I

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was, receiving, an award within this,

business community, and we all gave,

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about 10-minute thank you speeches.

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But that was a moment to also put a

spotlight on your business and what you

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do, because there were a lot of people in

attendance that may not have heard of me.

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you know, it was also a

networking opportunity for folks

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who were not in the community.

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And so, that was the one that is, I think

the one that was most transformative

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and I caught the bug and I was like,

"Oh, I need to do more of this."

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I really loved the energy of being up on

stage and ha- like, uh, I rehearsed my

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talk a bunch of times, and I practiced

like the cadence and the pacing and

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everything, and I really enjoyed it

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John: Great.

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And that's definitely something you

would want to be practiced and rehearsed

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for, but also a, an ex- a really nice

reason to be up on stage as well.

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So, great.

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a good event, and I can de- definitely

associate with getting the bug for

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wanting to be up there and do more,

especially once you've been practicing

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and running through and coming off

thinking, "Oh, yeah, that went great."

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That's a really good experience.

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So it's great that speaking has been

a part of your business for quite

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some time now, and certainly some of

our listeners they may have similar

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length of time in the industry or

maybe much less, maybe just coming

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to this fresh and still fairly new.

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But it's good to know that we all start

from small things that give us a lead

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in into to doing this for the business.

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So was that where you also really

saw that there was an opportunity

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for you to use speaking as a lever,

a platform for your business more

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often or was it just actually more

fun that led to more business?

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Bernadette Marciniak: No, actually

it was, and I had already been

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learning about this, so I knew that

was kind of the goal with speaking.

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But I also had proof of concept after

getting up on stage and accepting

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the award because a lot of folks

actually reached out to me afterwards

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and were asking about my services.

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They said, "We loved your energy on stage.

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We love the way, you

know, you approach things.

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and I would love to, you

know, work with you."

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And so I actually ended up

getting a couple of clients out

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of that one speaking engagement

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John: Great.

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That's fantastic, and that's what

it's all about a lot of the time.

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Let me ask you this.

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for, for our listener, for our

professional speaker who's tuning

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into this, we've come here to talk

specifically about demo videos as well.

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So what is a demo video, and why

do they need to think about this?

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Bernadette Marciniak: Yeah, so demo

video or I, I know over here in

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the US we call them speaker reels.

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same thing.

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so it's a, kind of like a

culmination of the best of the

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best of your speaking moments.

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And listen, if you're starting out

and you might not have, uh, a huge

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library yet, uh, there's still gonna

be a thorough line between all of your

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talks, some-something that, that you

s- like say or hint to from talk to

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talk that's along the same message.

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And so it's about a two-minute video.

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I say you don't wanna go over much

longer, maybe three minutes at the most,

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but even I think at that point, you

know, attention spans start falling.

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but the reason you wanna have a speaker

reel is, y- A, you wanna be able to

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send it out to event organizers, so that

you, they can, you know, see what your

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speaking, presence is like, how you appear

on stage, and also what your message is.

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Now, of course, there's the

expectation that your message is

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probably going to evolve over time.

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But regardless, you know, y- that's

why you're gonna get it updated, you

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know, every few years or whenever,

you know, you feel like you're making

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a big pivot or something like that.

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but that, those are the two main

reasons why you need one, is to

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show your presence and to show

what your message is going to be.

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John: Yeah.

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I think that's important what you said

as well because I do f- I find that

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a lot of speakers get confused as to

what the purpose of the demo video is.

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a lot of them, a lot of people know

they need to have it, but they don't

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always seem to know what it's for and

think it's more for public awareness

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of them rather than being something

that's, kind of like a short ad or

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taster for the people who can book you

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Bernadette Marciniak: Yeah.

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Well, so there's a few things that

I'd love to say to that point.

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First of all, I've worked on

both sides of the coin here.

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I have been a speaker, and I have

also been capturing, video at

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events where there are speakers.

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I work s- specifically with speakers

and with the event organizers.

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And I will say that there are-- like

the conversation in, in, like with

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the event organizers is that so many

folks are still not sending in videos.

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And so the immediate way to stand out

is to attach a speaker reel or some

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sort of evidence of you up on stage.

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That's not to say that you will

immediately get disqualified

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if you don't, but you will

immediately stand out if you do.

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John: I, I think that's, that's really

important for people to understand as

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well, and I hope it sinks in for people.

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'Cause I think it's good to know that you

absolutely can still get booked without a

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demo, but if you really want to stand out,

it's gonna make a big difference for you

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Bernadette Marciniak: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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and you mentioned, that some folks

see it as a form of public awareness.

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I think the, the reason that happens is

that a lot of speaker reels are not made

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or produced with this vision in mind of,

for lack of better terms, telling a story.

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what I really mean is, like, having

your message, having your through

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line displayed through the video.

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What I see a lot of speaker reels, demo

reels, demo videos, show is just some,

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like a compilation of mic drops and

sound bites that may not necessarily be

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reflective of what you wanna be known for.

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And, you know, the video might be great,

the audio might be great, whatever.

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But if that storyline isn't there,

then yeah, then it does become

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a, " Hey, look at what I do.

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Like, I'm really cool up on stage,"

not, "Hey, hire me because this is what

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I'm going to give to your audience."

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Event organizers are looking

specifically for what you're going

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to provide for their audience, and

there's no better way to show that

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than proof of concept in a video.

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John: Yeah.

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And, my take is this, that I think some

of the confusion with this comes from

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the fact that some speakers do have

what we call more of a sizzle reel,

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which is like some of their highlights

or, as you say, the mic drop moments,

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and that is meant for the public.

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That's not really meant for the bookers.

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That's just meant to like you,

you land on my website and maybe

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we have other services as well.

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You say, "Hey, wow,

that's, that looks great.

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That looks really, glossy and shiny."

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But that's not what the bookers

are looking for to book you.

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They're looking for a

demo a bit different.

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And I think I, I tend to think that's

where the confusion has come from,

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that there is that difference between

the sizzle reel that is for the public

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and sort of like, "Hey, look at me.

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Aren't I great?"

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And then there's the one for the bookers.

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It's like, are you actually gonna be

any good if we book you for our event?

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Bernadette Marciniak: Yeah.

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And, you know, there's a

place for both, honestly.

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It, like, even if you currently

have that version of a reel that's

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just the mic drops, that still lends

itself to really great content.

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Public awareness, brand awareness is

really important when you are-- especially

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if you are, uh, building a, a speaker

business as your main source of revenue,

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but also if you're using speaking as a way

to funnel more eyes onto your business.

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Um, you know, co-content is

content, and I know that we're,

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like, all overwhelmed with content,

but, you know, it, it exists.

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It's there, and there's a, there's,

uh, you know, the people who are going

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to resonate will resonate with it.

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So it, it does all have a place.

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It's not completely useless.

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But if you are looking to get on

more stages, then you need this demo

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reel that has that thorough line.

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John: Absolutely.

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Let me ask you this 'cause I've

asked this only to a handful of

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people ever on the show because it's

not always relevant to everybody.

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But when it comes to demo videos, do

you personally feel that it's better

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to have a demo re- demo video even

if it's not great, or that a bad demo

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reel should not go up on your website

as like, like better to have a bad

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demo reel than no demo reel at all?

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Bernadette Marciniak: I mean,

first of all, it doesn't

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need to live on your website.

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I would say it's better to have one and

be intentional on how you distribute

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it and where you distribute it.

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The reason I would say it's better to have

one than not at all, especially if you're

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trying to land more speaking engagements,

is that you are still giving a glimpse

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to event organizers about your presence

on stage, about how, you know, you're

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engaging with their audience, interacting

with their audience, what their audience

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is going to get from you, which is really

hard to describe otherwise in written word

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or, you know, to just try to explain it.

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So, my personal take is use what

you have with the intention of

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always aiming to make it better

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John: Yeah.

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No, I mean, that's a, a good suggestion.

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my experience has been working

with clients that, it's a good

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thing to have, but it's also have

to-- important to define what

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actually would be a bad demo reel.

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and I think it's really just gonna be

something that doesn't reflect you well.

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So you're thinking, oh, the maybe the

micro- maybe the sound isn't fantastic,

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maybe the lighting isn't fantastic,

or the camera was done on an…

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Maybe it filmed on an iPhone

or something like that.

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That doesn't necessarily

make it a bad demo.

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It…

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But something that won't

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be…

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But

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Bernadette Marciniak: I agree.

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Yeah.

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I would say, we want the best

quality, especially if we're

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gonna be going out and paying for

professional video, audio, whatever.

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Sometimes, you know, lighting, audio

is not in y- uh, your control because

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of the way the event is organized.

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That being said, even some sort of

snippet on an iPhone, as long as you

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can clearly hear what's being said, I…

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I'll say the examples of demo reels,

speaker reels that I have found

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underwhelming are the ones that, like,

lean in way too much on fancy B-roll.

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W- I-- Like, we don't care about that.

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It would-- It's great to have B-roll of

audience engaging and interacting, nodding

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along, laughing and whatnot, but, you

know, I've seen these, like, cinematic

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productions of the sweep of the whole…

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Like, that's unnecessary, and

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John: I've seen that too.

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Bernadette Marciniak: I see a lot of

speakers, like, that's, that's the, the

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one and only shot they keep reusing,

and I'm like, "I know nothing about

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what you're actually talking about,"

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John: I think, I was talking with, a

lady called Maria Franzoni recently.

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I don't know if you've heard

of Maria, but, sh- she's great

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on th-this subject as well.

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And, we had a little chat about demo

reels in a much bigger conversation.

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But one of the things that she was

saying s-specifically that she hates

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seeing in these demo reels, and I do

agree with her to a point, is the, video

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testimonials from people in the audience.

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That, whilst you want to include

your testimonials, it's far better

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to have some text on the screen

than have someone else coming up and

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speaking, because it's much quicker.

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And also remember, this

is for your bookers.

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They haven't come to hear people at

your events talking about you, but

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they want to see that, but they don't

wanna spend a lot of time with it.

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They want to watch you on the demo video.

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what would be your take on that?

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do you kind of agree with that?

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Bernadette Marciniak: I can see how

that makes sense if you're sending it

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out primarily to, to event organizers.

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My one pushback on it is if you are using

a speaker, reel, a demo video as a…

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Or I'm sorry, if you're using your

speaking engagements to get more business,

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it might not be the worst thing in the

world to have those testimonials in there

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as kind of like a hybrid of an intro video

to you and, and evidence of you, you know,

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sharing your expertise out in the wild.

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I actually did create a video like

that for a client where it was a hybrid

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of a video business card, where she

also spoke directly to the camera

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saying who she was and what she does.

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We included testimonials and,

and, and a whole bunch of clips

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from her speaking engagements.

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and she's…

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We made that video back in 2021,

and she's still using it to this

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day, and she's getting up on stages.

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So, I think it depends

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John: It depends.

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Yeah.

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Bernadette Marciniak: Yeah, it

depends on w- which stages I

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think you're gonna try to be on.

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John: That makes sense.

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Maria's much more focused on people

who are primarily speaking as their

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business than people who are using

speaking to grow their business.

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So that context does make sense.

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and she may well concede that

as well in certain cases.

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it's probably a good thing.

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I, I have to see if I can ask

her about that at some point.

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but yeah, fantastic.

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So let me ask you this.

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there may be some…

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Maybe even a listener hasn't, maybe

a listener hasn't yet done a demo

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video and is thinking, "Well, okay,

where do I even get started with this?

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what do I need to be thinking about

and how do I put this together?"

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How would you guide somebody to

getting started with a demo video?

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Bernadette Marciniak: Sure.

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: 00:17:25

So, if you're first starting out, I would

utilize any way you can to get video

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: 00:17:34

footage of your speaking engagements,

and no matter how small or big they are.

300

: 00:17:42

if you are speaking at an event

where there's going to be an in-house

301

: 00:17:46

media team, ask if you can…

302

: 00:17:49

if they're going-- First of all,

ask if they're going to re-be

303

: 00:17:51

recording all the full keynotes.

304

: 00:17:53

Some places aren't.

305

: 00:17:54

But I will say that what I offer to my

clients who are throwing the events,

306

: 00:18:00

who are organizing the events, is to let

their speakers know that I am on site,

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: 00:18:04

and even though I'm not hired to capture

all the speakers and keynotes for them, I

308

: 00:18:11

am available to capture, at an additional

cost, obviously, for individual speakers.

309

: 00:18:19

I actually just did that last week.

310

: 00:18:20

and, it…

311

: 00:18:21

And so that's how…

312

: 00:18:22

Like, if there's a media on team on…

313

: 00:18:24

if there's a media team on

site, definitely utilize them.

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: 00:18:28

If there's not, I would definitely start

out with finding a local videographer.

315

: 00:18:35

I would make sure that they

know how to do audio and video.

316

: 00:18:40

Not all videographers are created

equal, and so somebody might say,

317

: 00:18:43

"Oh, I know how to do video," and they

might think, "Oh, it's easy enough to

318

: 00:18:47

just get video of somebody speaking,"

but, you know, you need to either mic

319

: 00:18:51

somebody up or be able to plug into the

soundboard and capture audio that way.

320

: 00:18:56

and so start collec- start building

a little library for yourself of

321

: 00:19:02

your speaking engagements that way.

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: 00:19:04

I would say, like, if, if, if all else

fails, we're gonna l-lean on the iPhone,

323

: 00:19:11

but at the very least, make sure that

you have a microphone that you can plug

324

: 00:19:17

into your iPhone, those, like, little

microphones that content creators use.

325

: 00:19:22

you know, you can find

them easily on Amazon.

326

: 00:19:25

John: and

327

: 00:19:25

Bernadette Marciniak: at

328

: 00:19:25

John: not expensive.

329

: 00:19:26

Bernadette Marciniak: audio.

330

: 00:19:27

Yeah, they l- they work great.

331

: 00:19:28

I use them with my clients.

332

: 00:19:30

and so at least you have clean audio,

and ask a friend to stand and, you

333

: 00:19:36

know, monitor the video, make sure

that nobody just, like, stands in front

334

: 00:19:40

of the shot while, you know, while

you're recording it on the iPhone.

335

: 00:19:44

Um, we wanna make sure that it's

a flattering angle and not, you

336

: 00:19:47

know, like, from, from down above.

337

: 00:19:51

realistically, you wanna be hiring

somebody to take video of you

338

: 00:19:57

at your speaking engagements.

339

: 00:19:59

And Ultimately, I think the best move

would be finding somebody to partner

340

: 00:20:05

with for half a year, depending on,

you know, how many engagements you

341

: 00:20:09

have and in what timeframe, so that

everything looks consistent for the final

342

: 00:20:14

product of a demo reel, and for your

content and brand awareness in general.

343

: 00:20:19

and so it's not looking like it's

just, like, piecemeal from everywhere.

344

: 00:20:23

you w- you wanna have some, some brand

identity behind what you're capturing.

345

: 00:20:29

John: So, so let's say we've got

a bunch of events that we've done

346

: 00:20:32

that have been filmed, and now it's

time to put the demo video together.

347

: 00:20:38

Are we gonna leave that in the hands

of the videographer, or are we gonna

348

: 00:20:42

be actively involved in that process?

349

: 00:20:45

are we just gonna be using clips

from those, or are we gonna be using

350

: 00:20:48

other media and content in with that?

351

: 00:20:50

Or what would be your

recommendations there?

352

: 00:20:53

Bernadette Marciniak: So I would say,

again, it, again, not all videographers

353

: 00:20:58

are created equal, so just because

somebody can capture good quality audio

354

: 00:21:02

and video doesn't necessarily mean

that they know how to weave a story

355

: 00:21:08

that, you know, has that, that, that

storyline, that thorough line through it.

356

: 00:21:12

so I would see if the person that

you're-- if you're, if you are gonna

357

: 00:21:17

partner with somebody, you know, for

the year, ideally they can do both.

358

: 00:21:22

they know how to capture good quality, and

they know how to produce good quality in

359

: 00:21:26

that there is a, a story at the end of it.

360

: 00:21:30

If you're working with, a, you know,

a v-various videographers because

361

: 00:21:36

perhaps you're going, you know, to

a lot of different locations, you're

362

: 00:21:41

speaking all over the country or, or

the continent, then it's, you know,

363

: 00:21:47

y-you get the good quality video,

but then it's still important to have

364

: 00:21:51

somebody to produce it that has the

ability to do that, that, thorough line.

365

: 00:21:56

John: I like the point you're making

about making these things too flashy

366

: 00:22:00

as well, 'cause I certainly think

some people seem to think they have

367

: 00:22:03

to make a huge investment into having

the top flashiest demo video that they

368

: 00:22:09

can have that's gonna wow the bookers

and get them booked for every event.

369

: 00:22:13

And yet I've seen some of these, you know,

where people have spent, several thousand

370

: 00:22:17

bucks on a demo video, and it's come back

and it's like it, it's all just show.

371

: 00:22:22

It's more like, it's more

like that sizzle reel.

372

: 00:22:24

There's no depth to it.

373

: 00:22:25

There's no through line, as you say.

374

: 00:22:27

There's no clarity about, you

know, beginning, middle, or end.

375

: 00:22:30

I can't see really what you're like

on stage other than a few clips

376

: 00:22:33

or where you've got your audience

maybe going, "Yay," or clapping,

377

: 00:22:36

whatever, and we wanna see more.

378

: 00:22:38

we need to see more than that.

379

: 00:22:40

So what kind of content, is it just the

talks that go into the demo reel, or would

380

: 00:22:45

you put other content in there as well?

381

: 00:22:47

Bernadette Marciniak: So I

would say it, it all depends on

382

: 00:22:49

what your ultimate goals are.

383

: 00:22:51

I have clients who are just set on

wanting to get on more stages, and at

384

: 00:22:59

that point, you want to show just stages.

385

: 00:23:02

If you are-- If your goal is to use

your speaking engagements, whether that

386

: 00:23:07

is podcasts, TV interviews, workshops,

stages, i- if you're trying to get

387

: 00:23:14

more of all of the above, then I would

say having evidence of everything, you

388

: 00:23:20

know, one, one clip from each of those

avenues in, in, in your demo video.

389

: 00:23:28

Yeah.

390

: 00:23:29

So it, it ultimately comes down

to your goals of, you know, where

391

: 00:23:32

you want to be appearing more.

392

: 00:23:34

And I've done, examples of, I've done

videos for clients, both ways, where

393

: 00:23:41

we're pulling in TV interviews and podcast

interviews and, and appearances on stages.

394

: 00:23:47

But this also means that you have to be

really diligent about keeping everything

395

: 00:23:54

organized, downloading it as soon as

you get it, essentially creating and

396

: 00:23:58

building a media library that is very

easy to navigate around for both you

397

: 00:24:03

and whoever is producing your reel later

398

: 00:24:06

John: Right.

399

: 00:24:07

that, that would be my downfall.

400

: 00:24:09

Excuse the church bell,

bells in the background here.

401

: 00:24:12

This is Spain, life in Spain.

402

: 00:24:14

but yeah, it's character.

403

: 00:24:16

It's character.

404

: 00:24:17

so this is all super important,

so it definitely depends on what

405

: 00:24:20

your objectives are with the demo

video, as to what kind of content

406

: 00:24:25

you should probably put in there.

407

: 00:24:26

We have a bit of an idea of the

timeframe and things like that.

408

: 00:24:30

What are the touches for you that make

it that bit more professional without

409

: 00:24:35

it having to become some big production?

410

: 00:24:38

Bernadette Marciniak: you know, I'll

say that like I, m- my personal belief

411

: 00:24:43

is that we don't need to make it fancy.

412

: 00:24:46

we're, we're using what we have.

413

: 00:24:48

we've like, you know, we're working

with what we've got and with the

414

: 00:24:53

ultimate goal in mind, and with

the ultimate message in mind.

415

: 00:24:57

And that, I think time and time again,

is going to be what beats out, you

416

: 00:25:03

know, any- anything flashy or any-

anything else, is to have that story.

417

: 00:25:11

I know it's a buzzword now.

418

: 00:25:12

I hate saying it but it, it still matters.

419

: 00:25:17

And, and that is like, it, it's, it's

the thing that people hate to hear

420

: 00:25:22

about, but the thing that matters most.

421

: 00:25:25

and that's the special

touch is something so basic.

422

: 00:25:28

Yeah

423

: 00:25:28

John: if someone is thinking, "Oh, it's

all good and well, but I don't have any

424

: 00:25:32

opportunities to get on stage just yet.

425

: 00:25:34

I'm just getting started, and don't

have access to a stage that I could

426

: 00:25:39

record on just at the moment anyway.

427

: 00:25:41

Certainly not to an audience right now."

428

: 00:25:43

are there any other things that

they could do that would still

429

: 00:25:47

be helpful for them for a demo?

430

: 00:25:49

Bernadette Marciniak: Absolutely.

431

: 00:25:50

So I would say that, first of all, you

can always hire a videographer to come

432

: 00:25:57

and, like, rent out a room that looks

like it's n- not like a room in a house.

433

: 00:26:01

Although it could still be, depending

on, you know, what kind of speaking

434

: 00:26:04

engagements you're getting after,

because there's a lot of opportunity

435

: 00:26:08

for like, to speak at smaller retreats

and workshops and stuff like that.

436

: 00:26:13

So hire a videographer, and even if it's

just you, or what I've done with some

437

: 00:26:19

of my clients is somebody organizes it,

obviously with my help, where w- they

438

: 00:26:26

get a bunch of their friends together

and, 'cause everybody has the same common

439

: 00:26:31

goal of having evidence of them speaking.

440

: 00:26:34

And so everybody goes

around for five minutes.

441

: 00:26:37

They speak to their audience, quote,

unquote, and it's all captured on video.

442

: 00:26:44

We also take photographs, because

photographs should also be captured.

443

: 00:26:48

It's not just about the video.

444

: 00:26:49

We need all of these

media, pieces of media.

445

: 00:26:53

and so you could just start by

creating the opportunity yourself,

446

: 00:26:58

with something like this.

447

: 00:26:59

Now, don't discredit also, like what

I was saying earlier, the workshops,

448

: 00:27:03

the little retreats, the smaller,

like, local things that you can do,

449

: 00:27:08

where you can speak to an audience

and again, hire somebody to capture

450

: 00:27:14

the video that way un- unless there's

going to be somebody, there on site.

451

: 00:27:19

And then lastly, I'd say n- again, let's

not forget about podcast interviews.

452

: 00:27:25

Like, if you really don't have the

budget to start out with hiring somebody

453

: 00:27:30

or, you know, or, uh, like haven't

quite gotten the ability to present

454

: 00:27:36

at, you know, these local workshops

or, or retreats, podcast interviews are

455

: 00:27:41

a really great way to get, you know,

your feet wet, to just test out the

456

: 00:27:46

waters and get evidence of you speaking.

457

: 00:27:48

This is still a speaking engagement.

458

: 00:27:50

Th- there's still an audience.

459

: 00:27:52

Right now at this current moment, my

audience is you, and then after this

460

: 00:27:55

goes live, the audience will be however

many people listen to this episode.

461

: 00:28:00

So it, you know, it still counts.

462

: 00:28:03

John: Yeah, absolutely

463

: 00:28:04

Bernadette Marciniak: you can do all

the- all of these little things, while

464

: 00:28:06

you're starting out and building.

465

: 00:28:09

We all start somewhere, right?

466

: 00:28:11

John: Yeah, and as you say, probably

in a few years' time you'll want to

467

: 00:28:14

re-record and improve it and, you

know, so I think it is a good thing

468

: 00:28:18

to come back and upgrade your demos

if n- if only because in two or three

469

: 00:28:24

years' time you might look a little bit

different yourself and you might be,

470

: 00:28:28

your talks might be a little different.

471

: 00:28:29

You're going to have developed

and evolved and, it is something

472

: 00:28:32

that should develop with you

473

: 00:28:34

Bernadette Marciniak: I would also say

though, 'cause I think there's this

474

: 00:28:38

mindset that, you know, y- you do, like

you do your first beginner reel or, or

475

: 00:28:45

demo video now, and that in two to three

years' time to burn it all down and,

476

: 00:28:51

and create something completely new.

477

: 00:28:53

The idea is not to do that.

478

: 00:28:55

It's to continue building

on what you've created.

479

: 00:28:59

and you know, at some point some

parts of your demo of, you know,

480

: 00:29:03

some clips of you speaking are

not gonna be relevant anymore.

481

: 00:29:08

Sometimes you might use stuff

from a decade ago because it still

482

: 00:29:12

stands the test of time and it's,

you know, it's still relevant

483

: 00:29:16

to what you're talking about.

484

: 00:29:18

So it's not about completely

reinventing the wheel every few years.

485

: 00:29:23

It's about building upon

what you already have

486

: 00:29:26

John: Yeah.

487

: 00:29:27

And gosh, if you've got a bit of your demo

or bi- bit of video that you absolutely

488

: 00:29:30

love or that people really respond well

to, why would you want to pull that out?

489

: 00:29:35

absolutely keep it in there.

490

: 00:29:36

Yeah.

491

: 00:29:37

No, that ma- that makes

a lot of sense to me.

492

: 00:29:38

We don't have, we don't have

to, burn the house down to

493

: 00:29:41

start building it all up again.

494

: 00:29:43

a- and that's probably useful for a lot

of people to know because, as you said,

495

: 00:29:47

we have-- we all have to start somewhere.

496

: 00:29:49

Again, I was just thinking, even if

what you have is, like, not from one of

497

: 00:29:53

your keynote talks, you've got footage

of you, I don't know, in a, doing

498

: 00:29:57

storytelling or, from your Toastmasters

clubs and that, it's still gonna be

499

: 00:30:01

helpful for somebody to see what you

sound like, what your energy is like.

500

: 00:30:06

Bookers are looking to have confidence

that they can put you on a stage,

501

: 00:30:11

and they're gonna have some sense of

what you're gonna be able to deliver

502

: 00:30:14

or do in front of an audience.

503

: 00:30:16

As-- Which is one of the reasons why I

do think it is, if you can, it is good

504

: 00:30:20

to actually be filmed with an audience

there so they can see, all right,

505

: 00:30:24

you're not just there, you are actually

in front of people delivering this,

506

: 00:30:28

because some people obviously do have

fear and panic attacks when they get

507

: 00:30:33

put up on stage in front of audiences

508

: 00:30:36

Bernadette Marciniak: Yeah.

509

: 00:30:37

So e- exactly.

510

: 00:30:38

That's why I, you know, I m- mentioned

earlier gathering a, you know, your small

511

: 00:30:43

community to, to show that there's, butts

in the seats, for lack of a better term.

512

: 00:30:50

But that's ul- the ultimate goal

for the event organizers too.

513

: 00:30:52

That's why, you know, they're

hiring you is to attract people

514

: 00:30:55

to, to come to their event.

515

: 00:30:58

I…

516

: 00:30:58

You know, that's a very interesting idea.

517

: 00:31:00

I wonder if Toastmasters, li- like

if you're going to Toastmasters

518

: 00:31:04

and, and you've been practicing or

something, if they'd allow you to bring

519

: 00:31:07

a videographer, especially if you're

just, if the videographer is only gonna

520

: 00:31:11

get like the backs of heads of people.

521

: 00:31:12

And you can also, you know, offer

that to the other people there

522

: 00:31:17

saying like, "Hey, I'm bringing in a

videographer, and they're available

523

: 00:31:20

to you," you know, probably at,

you know, at, at an extra cost.

524

: 00:31:25

But you know, like, it, it

like, it, it's about a, a rising

525

: 00:31:29

tide lift, lifts all boats.

526

: 00:31:31

So if you have to be the one to

create that opportunity, um, for,

527

: 00:31:36

for a community, then, uh, y-

I, I personally, uh, don't think

528

: 00:31:42

there's anything better than that

529

: 00:31:44

John: I do think as a, as someone who

trains and coaches speakers that I w- I

530

: 00:31:50

generally advise people to film everything

because they need to watch it back,

531

: 00:31:54

and they probably need to watch it back

with, someone else with them as well.

532

: 00:31:57

But you're never really gonna see or

sense what you're doing on stage unless

533

: 00:32:01

you watch yourself back, and I think some

people just get a little antsy about that.

534

: 00:32:05

They're like, "Oh, I

don't like hearing myself.

535

: 00:32:07

I don't like seeing myself."

536

: 00:32:08

It's like,

537

: 00:32:08

Bernadette Marciniak: Yeah

538

: 00:32:09

John: just have to get

over it, unfortunately

539

: 00:32:12

Bernadette Marciniak: do.

540

: 00:32:12

You know, I can completely resonate

with folks who don't wanna watch

541

: 00:32:20

the, you know, the Monday video

as we call it here in the United

542

: 00:32:23

States, uh, you know, with football.

543

: 00:32:25

You know, to watch yourself do it

again to give yourself, you know,

544

: 00:32:30

feedback and see what you're…

545

: 00:32:31

Like, it is, as the

millennials call it, so cringe.

546

: 00:32:36

but the sooner, like, l- like, let's just

accept, yes it sucks, yes it's cringe, yes

547

: 00:32:43

it's awful, and we're gonna do it anyway,

'cause there's no other way around it.

548

: 00:32:47

it has to be done.

549

: 00:32:49

Whether, you know, you're giving

yourself notes or you're trying to,

550

: 00:32:53

you know, get clips together for a,

a speaker reel, a demo video, then

551

: 00:32:59

it, like, it, you're gonna need to

watch yourself at one point or another

552

: 00:33:03

John: Yeah.

553

: 00:33:04

So if

554

: 00:33:04

Bernadette Marciniak: I will

555

: 00:33:05

John: if it's not if not for

the demo video, at least for

556

: 00:33:08

your own development, right?

557

: 00:33:10

Bernadette Marciniak: I'm sorry?

558

: 00:33:11

John: if the video is not for

your demo reel, it's at least

559

: 00:33:13

helping with your development

560

: 00:33:15

Bernadette Marciniak: 100%.

561

: 00:33:16

I will say a lot of the time when we're

looking at the video and like, 'cause

562

: 00:33:22

I, you know, I also know that there's an

element of like perhaps not loving the

563

: 00:33:26

way we look on video, and that is just

also a crapshoot because you never know

564

: 00:33:34

what the lighting situation is gonna be.

565

: 00:33:36

You never know like how it's

gonna come out on video.

566

: 00:33:38

Again, we're all our

own worst enemies here.

567

: 00:33:42

we're our own worst critics,

and so literally nobody else is

568

: 00:33:45

going to be looking at it with

the same critical lens you are.

569

: 00:33:49

but it's only going to

benefit you in the end

570

: 00:33:53

John: Yeah.

571

: 00:33:54

Have you-- I don't know if

you've come across this.

572

: 00:33:56

I haven't, but I'm suspecting it

might come up, of people perhaps

573

: 00:34:01

being tempted to use AI-generated

videos in their demo reels

574

: 00:34:05

Bernadette Marciniak: have

not come across that yet.

575

: 00:34:09

If I did, it would be like, are you--

do you mean that they would have

576

: 00:34:15

AI-generated examples of them speaking?

577

: 00:34:19

John: You could potentially, couldn't a,

an AI video generated of you on the stage

578

: 00:34:23

with an audience and they're all, and

they're giving you a standing ovation.

579

: 00:34:26

You could do it.

580

: 00:34:28

I don't know how good it would

be, but I suspect that these

581

: 00:34:30

things are gonna start appearing

582

: 00:34:32

Bernadette Marciniak: I obviously,

I, again, I a-agree with you.

583

: 00:34:35

I wouldn't be surprised

if they started appearing.

584

: 00:34:39

I would say could see the

benefit to doing it w- like once.

585

: 00:34:47

If you are, again, at like, at the

beginning, I think you would still

586

: 00:34:51

have to feed it some sort of audio

to, to, you know, have it create

587

: 00:34:57

John: Yeah.

588

: 00:34:58

I've never tried to create

something like that, so I d- I

589

: 00:35:00

don't know exactly, but, yeah,

590

: 00:35:02

Bernadette Marciniak: I would like

if, but if you're looking to be

591

: 00:35:05

on stage in front of real people,

then it would be a disservice to

592

: 00:35:12

offer footage that is inauthentic.

593

: 00:35:15

but I'm sure that's something event

organizers are going to start dealing

594

: 00:35:20

with, sooner or later, but I think

that's also a really quick way to earn

595

: 00:35:25

a reputation for not getting hired.

596

: 00:35:28

you know, you'll quickly become

a one-and-done deal and people

597

: 00:35:31

won't wanna have you back

598

: 00:35:33

John: Yeah.

599

: 00:35:34

I think it's more of a credibility

burner than anything else.

600

: 00:35:37

probably something to steer clear of.

601

: 00:35:38

But, you know, often if you are

actually out there doing some

602

: 00:35:40

speaking, there's no reason to do

an AI video o- of yourself anyway.

603

: 00:35:46

I think it's more for like the people who

are perhaps trying to look like they're

604

: 00:35:50

further ahead than they are, the sort of

fake it till they make it kind of people.

605

: 00:35:54

but yeah, like, like you,

I, I wouldn't recommend it

606

: 00:35:57

Bernadette Marciniak: The-- And that

being said, I'm-- There are some

607

: 00:36:01

AI tools that could be helpful in

producing a demo reel or a speaker

608

: 00:36:06

John: Sure

609

: 00:36:07

Bernadette Marciniak: I would say I

know that we are trying really hard not

610

: 00:36:12

to, like, as a speaker, to have filler

words, say "um" and "uh" too much.

611

: 00:36:18

But if you get, the idea is yes, try

to not say those as much as possible,

612

: 00:36:24

but if they are in the, the speech or

in, in a talk or in the way that you

613

: 00:36:30

talk, getting rid of them is also going

to be a quick way to have a disconnect

614

: 00:36:36

in authenticity when you show up on

stage versus it being not in the video.

615

: 00:36:43

John: Yeah

616

: 00:36:44

Bernadette Marciniak: But I do know that,

there's also tools that now, like, might

617

: 00:36:52

help, uh, like if, if there's like a

word missing at the end of a sentence or

618

: 00:36:58

something, and like having that one word

there and being able to put like B-roll

619

: 00:37:02

over, that I could see being useful.

620

: 00:37:04

I don't see that as inauthentic.

621

: 00:37:06

I see that as like thought completion.

622

: 00:37:09

and I would also, again, use it

sparingly, not as, you know, a, a crutch

623

: 00:37:14

that you go to lean on all the time.

624

: 00:37:16

John: No, 100%.

625

: 00:37:17

No, I think that there are things that can

help clean up your audio, that might even

626

: 00:37:21

help be able to enhance video images and

things like that without changing things

627

: 00:37:25

too dramatically, but would improve that.

628

: 00:37:27

So I think there are AI tools that are

potentially helpful to having a more

629

: 00:37:33

polished demo video that you could

certainly use and undoubtedly the ones

630

: 00:37:37

that can help you, you know, even with

Canva tools and stuff, you can put

631

: 00:37:40

some, text on the screen and, and have,

like, little bits of B-roll or even

632

: 00:37:45

just links between each of the sections

or, so it blends more, more naturally

633

: 00:37:51

between the segments of your video.

634

: 00:37:53

So I think there, there is a lot of

tools that potentially could help

635

: 00:37:56

you to deliver a decent demo video.

636

: 00:37:59

But let me ask you this.

637

: 00:38:00

I, probably, closer to some- one of the

final questions of this, but what sort of

638

: 00:38:05

budget would you recommend somebody have

or invest into creating a demo video?

639

: 00:38:13

Bernadette Marciniak: Well, so this all

is going to come down to whether you're…

640

: 00:38:18

it, it's a whole cost because it's not

just about creating the, the video at

641

: 00:38:23

the end, but about capturing it at the,

you know, through the year, getting

642

: 00:38:29

the footage and the media that you

need throughout a certain timeframe.

643

: 00:38:34

now you're going to find, uh, as with

anything, a wide variety of price ranges

644

: 00:38:39

from videographer to videographer, you

know, video editor to video editor.

645

: 00:38:45

and I'll say there's some of the, the

cheapest folks might do a great job.

646

: 00:38:51

They might be diamonds in the rough.

647

: 00:38:53

But more often than not, you're

going to find that there's some

648

: 00:38:58

place that they fall short, whether

it's the way they frame, the, the

649

: 00:39:03

speaking in, your video of you on

stage, or the audio sounds horrible.

650

: 00:39:09

I think, you know, those are the two

big ones to watch out for, no matter

651

: 00:39:13

the price, whether they're, you

know, on the high end or the low end.

652

: 00:39:18

but for the production of the video at

the end, the demo, video at the end, you

653

: 00:39:25

do want to work with somebody who is more

experienced in weaving together stories.

654

: 00:39:34

Again, I'm going to use that word again.

655

: 00:39:36

not somebody who can just,

you know, say, "Oh, I can put

656

: 00:39:40

together a speaker reel for you."

657

: 00:39:41

Because then you will end up with that

sizzle reel of mic drops and sound bites.

658

: 00:39:46

It has to be somebody who is familiar

with marketing, familiar with

659

: 00:39:50

branding, familiar with your brand

and your goals to be able to produce

660

: 00:39:56

the video at the end that's going

to be reflective of all of that.

661

: 00:40:00

And those folks are going to be on the

higher end of the pricing spectrum.

662

: 00:40:06

John: Yeah.

663

: 00:40:07

do you think there's also value to

having longer versions or longer

664

: 00:40:13

clips of your talks available for,

potential bookers to check out as well?

665

: 00:40:20

Bernadette Marciniak: Sure.

666

: 00:40:20

I think that it's actually super important

to do that because first of all, like

667

: 00:40:26

any video that you get of you, speaking,

it, it-- That, that media library that

668

: 00:40:32

I've been talking about throughout the

course of this episode should not just

669

: 00:40:36

live in the depths of your Dropbox.

670

: 00:40:38

It should also be on your YouTube.

671

: 00:40:41

it, you know, you don't have to

post it on your website, but, like,

672

: 00:40:44

have a YouTube channel and start,

like, having a little library there.

673

: 00:40:47

The idea is not to grow a YouTube channel.

674

: 00:40:50

It is to have a place to send folks,

event organizers or whoever needs

675

: 00:40:57

examples of you speaking, where everything

is, you know, in, in one, one space.

676

: 00:41:03

And so once they watch that demo video

of you speaking, I know that a lot of

677

: 00:41:08

event organizers will also want to see

a longer example, because a demo video,

678

: 00:41:14

again, is still only two minutes long.

679

: 00:41:16

We are, along with the story, m-picking

the best moments, the best delivery,

680

: 00:41:22

especially if you're saying similar

versions of everything the same, you

681

: 00:41:26

know, through-throughout multiple talks.

682

: 00:41:29

but a full keynote recording is going

to give an event organizer evidence

683

: 00:41:35

of how you appear on stage and how you

interact with the audience throughout an

684

: 00:41:39

entire keynote or speaking engagement,

not just how you appear for 30 seconds.

685

: 00:41:47

and so th-that's why I'll, like, I like to

have everything, whether you're using your

686

: 00:41:52

YouTube for other thing, you know, have

a playlist of your speaking engagements.

687

: 00:41:57

You don't have to share the link, you

know, far and wide unless you want to.

688

: 00:42:02

and unless you're doing some serious SEO

work or something about your description

689

: 00:42:09

or caption pops off and for whatever

reason becomes viral, nobody's gonna

690

: 00:42:13

go searching for it, but you still have

this really great library of content

691

: 00:42:19

that you can show to event organizers or,

like I said, whoever else might need it.

692

: 00:42:24

John: Yeah.

693

: 00:42:25

And you can keep that stuff unlisted

so it's not just show- you know,

694

: 00:42:28

gonna be showing up in search as well.

695

: 00:42:30

I think that's re- really important,

bookers as well, they're probably not

696

: 00:42:33

gonna watch the whole 45-minute keynote,

but they are gonna sk- skip through

697

: 00:42:38

it and try and catch different bits.

698

: 00:42:39

They maybe want to see, see if you're

doing anything interactive with the

699

: 00:42:43

crowd, or maybe listen to you telling

a story, or see how you open and

700

: 00:42:46

close, or how you handle transitions.

701

: 00:42:49

all those kinds of things they might

wanna skip through and get a sense of it.

702

: 00:42:52

but having the whole thing available to

them definitely seems to make sense to me.

703

: 00:42:56

it's not something you wanna have up

on your website for obvious reasons

704

: 00:42:59

perhaps, but, but something that

bookers, might well be, may well find

705

: 00:43:03

valuable to helping to make the decision

about whether they book you or not

706

: 00:43:07

Bernadette Marciniak: Yeah.

707

: 00:43:08

And I mean, you can have

it on your website, you can

708

: 00:43:10

not have it on your website.

709

: 00:43:11

You can embed the playlist onto your

website, you know, at, you know,

710

: 00:43:14

as a form of credibility of like,

"Here's all the stuff that I've done."

711

: 00:43:20

Um, I know that there's a lot of folks

who on their About pages have links

712

: 00:43:24

to all of their speaking engagements,

podcast interviews, everything like that.

713

: 00:43:29

one thing that I did wanna touch on

is, you know, we've been talking about

714

: 00:43:33

audience engagement and interaction, and

if you are a speaker who is going to get

715

: 00:43:38

very interactive and engaged with your

audience, perhaps like going out into the

716

: 00:43:44

floor and, you know, giving the mic to,

you know, somebody to answer a question.

717

: 00:43:49

I would say give your videographer a

heads-up that that's going to happen

718

: 00:43:53

so that they can prepare for it.

719

: 00:43:55

Otherwise, your footage might

not come out the way you want.

720

: 00:43:59

I always have a two-camera setup when

I'm capturing, uh, footage for my

721

: 00:44:03

speakers, just, you know, in case of that.

722

: 00:44:06

But also, I always ask them ahead

of time, "Hey, listen, if you're

723

: 00:44:10

gonna go out there, I need to

know so that I can prepare one of

724

: 00:44:14

the cameras to get that angle."

725

: 00:44:17

John: Yeah.

726

: 00:44:17

this has been good.

727

: 00:44:18

I think you've given a pretty

comprehensive overview of, what's

728

: 00:44:22

needed to create your demo video

if already got one, or maybe to,

729

: 00:44:26

pull this together or maybe upgrade

the one that you have currently.

730

: 00:44:31

So thank you for that.

731

: 00:44:32

it's really valuable and hopefully our

listener does understand very clearly

732

: 00:44:36

why this is such an important media

asset for them to have for their future

733

: 00:44:41

bookings as they go forward as well.

734

: 00:44:44

and one thing I would sort of say as

well, just to add to this is I often

735

: 00:44:48

hear people talking about the sort of the

costing and the resources that they have

736

: 00:44:51

available and things like that, and it…

737

: 00:44:54

This is one of those things that doesn't

really have to rely on what resources

738

: 00:44:57

you currently have available to you,

but this is where you can get creative

739

: 00:45:01

and get resourceful and maybe even find

other speakers who are looking to do

740

: 00:45:06

similar objectives and work together if

you can do that, because there's always

741

: 00:45:11

a way to make things happen with this.

742

: 00:45:13

Don't, as I said, don't be limited.

743

: 00:45:15

Don't be limited by your current

lack of resources or like, "Oh,

744

: 00:45:19

I don't know how to do this."

745

: 00:45:20

There, there will be a way

forward if you're determined and

746

: 00:45:23

resourceful with it as well, I think

747

: 00:45:26

Bernadette Marciniak: Yeah, and I think

it all comes down to how determined you

748

: 00:45:29

are and what your ultimate goals are.

749

: 00:45:31

As with anything, th- there are

gonna need to be resources used,

750

: 00:45:37

time, energy, money, to create these

pieces of content, to create the,

751

: 00:45:44

the demo video, the speaker reel.

752

: 00:45:46

But if your ultimate goal is to get up

on stages that, where you're getting

753

: 00:45:53

paid, you know, five figures or

more, then at the end of the day, the

754

: 00:45:58

investment to make it happen is going

to be a huge return on investment,

755

: 00:46:04

John: It's almost insignificant

by comparison really.

756

: 00:46:07

So yeah, very good point.

757

: 00:46:09

Bernadette, thank you so much.

758

: 00:46:10

This has been a valuable conversation.

759

: 00:46:13

I think we've covered pretty much

every aspect of demo videos that

760

: 00:46:16

people would need to be able to get

started and make their demo video.

761

: 00:46:20

We look forward to hearing back from

you, our listener, when you've got your

762

: 00:46:24

demo video made, come share it with us.

763

: 00:46:26

How did it go?

764

: 00:46:27

How do you make it?

765

: 00:46:27

Where did you get started?

766

: 00:46:28

What bits did you, of advice

did you find most useful?

767

: 00:46:32

for our listener, Bernadette, if, if

they would like to get in touch with you,

768

: 00:46:37

and find out more about you, what would

be the best way for them to do that?

769

: 00:46:40

Bernadette Marciniak: So I am on

LinkedIn, Bernadette Marciniak.

770

: 00:46:44

I also hang out a lot on Instagram because

I am a millennial, you know, that's

771

: 00:46:48

kind of what I was brought up with.

772

: 00:46:51

also Bernadette Marciniak, and if

you'd like to check out my website

773

: 00:46:56

specifically for speakers, you can

go to solhausmedia.com/speakers.

774

: 00:47:02

And, Solhaus is spelled S-O-L-H-A-U-S

775

: 00:47:07

John: But all those links will be

in the show notes for anyone who

776

: 00:47:09

would like to come and connect

with you and find out more.

777

: 00:47:12

Thank you so much for sharing

your knowledge and expertise

778

: 00:47:15

with us today on the show.

779

: 00:47:16

Really appreciate it.

780

: 00:47:18

And, and thank you for being my

guest on Professional Speaking

781

: 00:47:23

Bernadette Marciniak: Thank

you so much for having me.

782

: 00:47:24

I had a great time

783

: 00:47:26

John: one thing that's really important

to remember, I think, at the end of

784

: 00:47:28

this conversation is that you can

still get booked without a demo reel.

785

: 00:47:33

But having the demo reel is

gonna be a huge advantage to you.

786

: 00:47:37

Very often when prospective clients

come to me and I take a look at their

787

: 00:47:39

websites and they say, "Oh yeah, I've

got a demo video," they send me a

788

: 00:47:42

link to their demo, and I watch it and

think, "It's not really a demo video."

789

: 00:47:47

The reality is bookers aren't gonna

bother letting you know that your

790

: 00:47:50

demo video isn't actually a demo video

and isn't what they're looking for.

791

: 00:47:56

Th- they want to see what you can do

on stage, they want it to be somewhat

792

: 00:47:59

cohesive, and they want to know what

you can deliver and what the experience

793

: 00:48:03

of booking you as a speaker is.

794

: 00:48:04

Now, there's a, there's a degree

to which some of that can be

795

: 00:48:09

conveyed through a good abstract or

talk description and through your

796

: 00:48:14

conversation and communication with

the bookers that you connect with.

797

: 00:48:17

But having a demo reel that highlights

those things for you, even if you

798

: 00:48:22

have to hire a stage for an hour

or so to record some elements, if

799

: 00:48:26

you can, Splice it in with show

footage or podcasts you've been on.

800

: 00:48:30

Splice it in with any other

gig, any other gigs you've done.

801

: 00:48:34

If you've done some storytelling or

some stand-up or anything like that.

802

: 00:48:37

So long as it's suitable, you can

put some of that in, or at least

803

: 00:48:40

put some of the clips in maybe

with music rather than with audio.

804

: 00:48:44

I think there's a lot you can do

here, but it is gonna be better for

805

: 00:48:47

you to show that you can deliver on

stage than to not have that at all.

806

: 00:48:53

So whilst I say you can absolutely

get booked without a demo video, it is

807

: 00:48:58

a huge advantage for you to have it.

808

: 00:49:00

I hope this episode has inspired

you to go and make your own demo

809

: 00:49:03

video if you don't have one.

810

: 00:49:04

Or maybe you do have one and you're

thinking that it's looking a bit

811

: 00:49:06

old now, and it's time to update it.

812

: 00:49:09

Well, that would be a great

thing to get onto as well.

813

: 00:49:11

I'd love to see your demo videos too.

814

: 00:49:14

If you want a quick review of your demo

video, by all means send it through to me.

815

: 00:49:18

You'll find the contact links in

the show notes for this episode

816

: 00:49:22

or in the YouTube description.

817

: 00:49:23

Coming up very soon, I have an episode

with Brian Miller, who's recently

818

: 00:49:27

released a book called The One Page

Keynote, It's all about how to make sure

819

: 00:49:31

that your keynote has all the elements

in it That are going to be compelling

820

: 00:49:35

and engaging for your audiences.

821

: 00:49:37

And that's really critical for anyone who

is speaking professionally or otherwise.

822

: 00:49:44

He specifically talks in his

book about the lack of a need

823

: 00:49:48

for charisma, that you don't need

to have this g- highly developed

824

: 00:49:51

charisma to have a successful talk.

825

: 00:49:54

Well, I had some thoughts about

that that we got to discussing,

826

: 00:49:57

and

827

: 00:49:57

that's all gonna be coming

up pretty soon on the show.

828

: 00:49:59

If you're not already subscribed,

please make sure you do.

829

: 00:50:01

Otherwise, you might just miss some

of those great episodes coming up.

830

: 00:50:05

And wherever you're going, whatever you're

doing, have an amazing rest of your day.

831

: 00:50:09

Go and do something worth talking about.

832

: 00:50:12

See you next time.