A Tale Of Two Speeches About How To Make $1M A Year On Your Feet
“I am not here to inspire you. I am here to give you real shit.” ~World Class Public Speaking Athlete, Ralphie May
Do you have something to say that is so powerful, so important, or so funny, that people might be willing to actually put down real money and get out from behind their screens to spend an hour or a day in a room with you?
This is not a milquetoast post. This is for hardcore, slightly demented lunatics who spend all of their time trying to crack the code of how to become a highly paid public speaker.
We’re gonna’ crack it right here.
In 2010, the late, great, stand-up comic, Ralphie May, earned $1.2M.
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you are a Toastmaster. There’s an even better chance you have zero interest in becoming a stand-up comic.
Fine. You are still required to watch all 105 minutes of Ralphie’s 2010 stand-up comedy class. The audience is open-mic comics who want to be like Ralphie when they grow up. The venue is the Main Stage of the Hollywood Comedy Store, which, trust me, sounds way more glamorous than it actually is.
When you’re done watching Ralphie, watch my 2015 lecture at a Toastmaster event important enough that the Honorable Lark Doley, then-President of Toastmasters International, spent the entire hour nailed to the edge of her front row seat.
Running my mouth on the corporate circuit from 1996-1999, in boardrooms and ballrooms from coast-to-coast, I grossed more than $10M in speaking fees. I’m not being a dick. I’m making a point. The point?
It wasn’t even 1% me. It was 100% the mission critical, game-changing, competitive intelligence message that revolutionized technical recruiting.
Ralphie and I have never met. And, yet, somehow, Ralphie’s 2010 message and my 2015 message are identical in every aspect that matters.
Grab a legal pad. Draw a line down the middle. Title the left column May. Now title the right column Whitney. Print the transcripts associated with each post. Highlight the action items. It’s the same damn speech!
Spoiler alert — the three combined hours; the code you’ve been killing yourself trying to crack from the safety of your screen — comes down to six words:
Stage time.
Stage time.
Stage time.
There you have it. The magic words that have been eluding you.
Few days back at HiFi Speakers, I vomited out this seven minute, unscripted gem.
Back at my studio an hour later, I fed the MP3 into my AI, which perfectly summarizes the point of my speech.
Mark Whitney discusses Toastmasters as a path to personal growth, stressing self-discovery and resilience over public speaking skills, and that impactful messages outweigh delivery quality.
I am 65. My first paid public speaking gig was a radio job at 18. Been running my mouth for more than 45 years. Still get it wrong more than I get it right. If I could be on stage 24 hours a day, it would still not be close to enough.
People will pay a weak speaker with a great message. Nobody will pay a great speaker who has nothing to say.
With stage time you don’t have to choose. Stage time — and only stage time — incubates great speakers with great messages.
There are no important distinctions between what Chris Rock attempts in seven minutes on SNL and what you attempt in a meeting.
You stand alone. Doing your best. Running your mouth. Improving your skills. Becoming more resilient. On the path to discovering the impactful message organizations and individuals didn’t know they needed to hear; the one you, and you alone were put on this earth to confidently and hilariously articulate to your grateful audience.
Real shit.
YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH CONFIDENCE
You Are Invited To Audit A HiFi Speakers Toastmasters Meeting
If you live in San Diego, I would love to meet you at one of HiFi’s weekly meetings in Carmel Valley (92130). Meetings are open to all, and free to attend, with or without advance notice. Bring a friend!
Location: 12790 El Camino Real, 1st Floor, San Diego, 92130
Plenty of free parking.
Meeting Time: Every Thursday, 12:00-1:00
If this is your lunch hour, bring a sandwich. Please time your bites carefully, so when the laughs hit you do not pass Jersey Mike through your nose.
You have been warned.
~Mark Whitney, President, HiFi Speakers