Perform Your Best on Any Stage: How Public Speakers Boost Energy and Minimize Stress

Host Jenn SpinGo frames speaking as a performance that requires intentional energy management so speakers can deliver their message effectively. Drawing on her health coaching background and over a decade on stages, she asks listeners to identify when they gain energy (during content creation, travel, entering the room, the first minutes on stage, after applause, or post-event connections) and what drains it (travel logistics, dietary needs, tech and AV issues, inconsistent communication, attire decisions, missing props or books, difficult audience members, and family guilt from travel).

She offers two speaker profiles—“Nervous Nellie,” who benefits from grounding practices and “Slow Samuel,” who needs activation through movement. She also emphasizes post-talk decompression and clarifying event expectations, plus planning around seasonal speaking cycles and personal energy rhythms to build a sustainable speaking business.

Which speaker profile are you? Email me at jenn@jennspingo.com with your response.

00:00 Speaking Is a Performance- Boost Energy On and Off Stage

01:34 Why Energy Matters

02:14 Speaker Life Reality Check

03:14 Where You Get Energy

06:59 What Drains You

07:36 Logistics And People Stressors

13:07 Pre Talk Energy Types

13:28 Nervous Nellie Grounding

14:36 Slow Samuel Warm Up

15:59 After Stage Decompress

17:05 Speaking Season Planning

18:37 Personal Energy Cycles

21:01 Sustainable Speaker Wrap Up

Liked this episode? Please submit a review on your favorite listening platform. All reviewers have a chance to be coached in the studio with me in Minneapolis (virtual option also available).

Email jenn@jennspingo.com to be considered for coaching with subject line "podcast review".

Have a question or suggestion for a future episode topic? Email me jenn@jennspingo.com.

Ready to deliver mic drop moments in your next presentation? Schedule a call to learn more about coaching www.calendly.com/jennchat

Looking to book a speaker for your corporate or association event on topics including leadership and communication? View my programs at www.jennspingo.com

Tailor, Don’t Customize: How to Adapt Your Signature Talk for Any Client

Host Jenn explains how speakers can tailor a signature talk to each client without creating entirely custom content. She distinguishes customizing (exclusive new material that can be time-consuming and risky) from tailoring (tweaking specific elements while keeping the core speech consistent), recommending an 80/20 approach: memorize and keep consistent the opening, closing, and “call to adventure”/signature bit, while tailoring stories, examples, case studies, and audience-specific language.

She outlines how to tailor through pre-event calls or research by learning audience needs, venue and seating considerations, event themes, key attendees’ perspectives, timing/seasonality, local references, and sensitive circumstances.

Day-of tailoring includes understanding agenda placement, calling back to other speakers, managing tech checks and timing, and doing meet-and-greets to boost interaction and relevance.

Resources Mentioned:

Speaking Opportunities beyond the Keynote Speech https://www.buzzsprout.com/2593278/episodes/19632806

Jim Cathcart on the Payoffs of Speech Customization https://nsaspeaker.org/the-payoffs-of-speech-customization/

Jon Acuff posts regular helpful content on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonacuff/

02:23 Why Custom Hurts

03:13 Core Speech Framework

04:23 Signature Bit Example

05:43 80 20 Reliability

07:32 Pre Event Tailoring

10:18 Tailor Time Place

14:20 Sensitive Topics Boundaries

15:34 Tailoring Day Of

18:12 Wrap Up And Subscribe

Liked this episode? Please submit a review on your favorite listening platform. All reviewers have a chance to be coached in the studio with me in Minneapolis (virtual option also available).

Email jenn@jennspingo.com to be considered for coaching with subject line "podcast review".

Have a question or suggestion for a future episode topic? Email me jenn@jennspingo.com.

Ready to deliver mic drop moments in your next presentation? Schedule a call to learn more about coaching www.calendly.com/jennchat

Looking to book a speaker for your corporate or association event on topics including leadership and communication? View my programs at www.jennspingo.com

Why Speakers Quit: Behind the Scenes of a Speaker Business Episode 23

Jenn shares what happens behind the scenes in her speaking business, inspired by speakers Fredrik Haren and John Coyle, and notes the less glamorous realities of being “always on,” frequent rejection, and socially exhausting meet-and-greets.

“It is socially exhausting. You have to work in every room from the moment you arrive until you leave. You have to be “on” the whole time. And rejection abounds.” - quote from Coyle.

She outlines practical activities required to stay consistent, including continually seeking opportunities, posting on LinkedIn for visibility, podcasting and guesting, weekly email marketing, scheduling discovery and pre-event planning calls, networking, and reviewing analytics.

On a monthly basis she batch-records content, maintains a “hot list” pipeline of short- and long-term speaking leads, and rehearses customized talks.

Quarterly, she plans a promotional calendar and follows up on leads that may reopen later. She also describes delivery logistics (contracts, slides, payment, coordination), balancing speaking volume with family capacity, and the seasonal nature of speaking.

00:00 Why This Episode

01:15 Speaker Life Reality

03:48 Less Glamorous Work

05:11 Weekly Visibility Tasks

08:53 Calls Networking Data

11:29 Monthly Pipeline Rehearsal

14:13 Quarterly Planning Follow Up

16:59 Capacity Systems Seasons

19:53 Final Takeaways

Further reading:

Fredrik Haren https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/speaker-you-just-speak-right-well-yes-fredrik-haren/

John Coyle https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/What-its-really-like-to-be-a-public-speaker

Jason Connell https://jasonconnell.co/prospeaking/

Previous episodes mentioned:

Coaching with Michelle von Ruden https://www.buzzsprout.com/2593278/episodes/19424512

Rehearse like a $10K Speaker https://www.buzzsprout.com/2593278/episodes/18925127

Liked this episode? Please submit a review on your favorite listening platform. All reviewers have a chance to be coached in the studio with me in Minneapolis (virtual option also available).

Email jenn@jennspingo.com to be considered for coaching with subject line "podcast review".

Have a question or suggestion for a future episode topic? Email me jenn@jennspingo.com.

Ready to deliver mic drop moments in your next presentation? Schedule a call to learn more about coaching www.calendly.com/jennchat

Looking to book a speaker for your corporate or association event on topics including leadership and communication? View my programs at www.jennspingo.com