Posts Tagged ‘Gene Kranz’

Ten Motion Pictures That Have Influenced the Speaking Circuit – And One To Watch

Posted: November 12, 2014 in Speaker Ideas
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Hollywood loves an underdog – but not as much as the speaking circuit! Every once in a while a movie comes along that captures the imagination of the country. These very films remind us that anything is possible, and that extraordinary accomplishments can be achieved by ordinary people. These ordinary people have been on the speaking circuit for years, delivering inspirational lessons of overcoming obstacles and achieving impossible dreams. Fredi Lajvardi is one of those speakers, and Spare Parts, starring George Lopez, is on a trajectory that could push Fredi into the spotlight. With a January 16, 2015 release date, Spare Parts is the story of veteran teacher Fredi Lajvardi (played by George Lopez) and a group of deserving high school students from Phoenix who end up defeating the reigning champion MIT robotics team in a national competition. Think Rocky meets Stand and Deliver! To get a better idea of the movie, check out this recently released trailer:

It would be a Hail Mary to suggest that “Spare Parts” will crack the following top ten film list that have influenced the speaking circuit, but the speaker experts feel it is possible:

Miracle (2004)
miraclePlayers Mike Eruzione and Jim Craig are two of
the most in-demand sports speakers of all time.
Sadly, Coach Herb Brooks passed away before the film’s release.

Apollo 13 (1995)
apollo13Jim Lovell, Gene Kranz, and Fred Haise bring
“Failure is Not an Option” culture to corporate America.

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
pursuithappynessChris Gardner breaks the cycle of poverty.

Catch Me if You Can (2002)
catchmeNow FBI consultant, Frank Abagnale is the nation’s
number one fraud and values speaker.

The Blindside (2009)
The Blind Side movie posterNFL plus Oscar equals speaking
success for the Touhy Family.

Stand and Deliver (1988)
standdeliverJamie Escalate and Edward James Olmos were two
of the educational circuit’s most popular
speakers in the 1990s.

127 Hours (2010)
Aron Ralston makes 127 hours fly by on stage.

The Rookie (2002)
rookieA physics teacher turned left-handed MLB pitcher
with a 98 MPH fast ball, Jim Morris is still
bringing the heat to the speaking stage.

Moneyball (2011)
Billy Beane, Paul DePodesta and Michael Lewis bring
baseball sabermetrics from the field to the board room.

Remember the Titans (2000)
rememberthetitansThe Speaker Experts live in Northern Virginia
and do not remember the story going the way of this
Hollywood portrayal, but Coaches Herman Boone
and Ed Yost were powerhouse speakers.

Note:  We received an overwhelming amount of suggestions and questions regarding our post on the ten top military speakers of the past 30 years and three to keep an eye on.  With the news events of the past week, the answer is “yes” – Navy Seal Robert O’Neil is one to keep an eye on!

Disclosure notice: The Speaker Experts represent Fredji Lajvardi. We have a horse in this race but we feel it is a winner!

Gary McManis & Jay Conklin

The Top Ten Most Popular Military Speakers of the Past 30 Years

Posted: October 28, 2014 in Speaker Ideas
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With Veteran’s Day right around the corner, the Speaker Experts have developed their list of the 10 most Popular Military speakers of the past 30 years. This list is only applicable to the commercial speaking circuit and it does not account for the dozens of highly sought after military speakers favored by military institutions and war colleges.

We input the following criteria into the Commodore 64 and, using a complex algorithm, gave weight to the following areas:

  • Longevity on the speaking circuit
  • Number of engagements booked throughout the speaker’s career
  • Speaking fee
  • Level of demand for the speaker
  • Historical significance in the military genre of speakers

 

THE SPEAKER EXPERTS TEN MOST POPULAR MILITARY SPEAKERS
Note of disclosure: Speakers outlined in red are represented by the Speaker Experts

General Colin Powell
Consistently one of the most in-demand speakers on the circuit

Captain Jim Lovell
Spoiler alert: Apollo 13 makes it back!

General Norman Schwarzkopf
Took the speaking circuit by storm at ground-breaking fee levels

Jim Murphy and Afterburner Seminars
Turned “Flawless Execution” into a brand

Captain Gerald Coffee
His reprisal of “Tap Code” will keep you riveted

Mike Abrashoff
100 + presentations a year, for over 10 years puts him on this list

General Tommy Franks
Led American coalitions to victory in both Afghanistan and Iraq

General Tom Kelly
Brought the Gulf War into our living rooms

Gene Kranz
“Failure is not an option”
Air Force Aviator and Apollo lead flight director

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Highest Ranking Military Officer translates
to popularity on the speaking circuit

Some of these heroes are no longer with us, and others are not as active on the speaking circuit as they once were. Nevertheless, the stories and lessons are timeless, and their relevance never wavers. There is no statute of limitations when it comes to the ideas and lessons of great military leaders.

Note to the reader: There are many speakers left off this list who merit consideration; they will probably be on this list five years from now. A few examples are General Stanley McChrystal, Marcus Luttrell and Captain Mark Kelly. All are highly demanded as military speakers but have not been on the speaking circuit long enough to rate as the most popular of all time.

On Veteran’s Day, the Speaker Experts are grateful to those who have served and therefore make it possible for guys like us to sit around and input information into an old computer to come up with a list like this.

Gary McManis & Jay Conklin

Three Degrees of Speech-Tailoring

Posted: September 9, 2014 in Meeting Planner
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One question The Speaker Experts hear on a daily basis from clients is “Will the speaker tailor their presentation for our group?” A direct and seemingly simple question, the answer in most cases is “yes”. However, when you have a candid conversation with professional speakers about presentations that did not go well, the common denominator is often the concept of speech customization.

The Speaker Experts feel there are three degrees of speech customization. Understanding where your speaker falls in this continuum of tailoring is the key to minimizing the risk of disappointment when it comes to the speaker’s customized content for your organization. Let’s examine these Levels:

No Speech Customization: These speakers are master storytellers, and their speech is an emotional roller coaster of a tale that tends to be synonymous to a one man play. Examples of speakers at this level are Gene Kranz, Flight Director of Apollo 13, and Dr. Beck Weathers, whose story is chronicled in the best-selling book “Into Thin Air” (the film adaptation is slated for release next year, starring Jake Gyllenhal and James Brolin as Dr. Beck Weathers). When these speakers tell their stories, it is up to each member of the audience to pull out content relevant to their personal life and career.
A breakdown in communication can occur if a speaker bureau sends a standard event questionnaire to the sponsor asking for detailed information and implying that the speaker will customize their presentation.

Standard Speech Customization:Most professional speakers will fall into this category. Clients receive an event questionnaire and participate in pre-event conference calls with the speaker to discuss the meeting and desired outcome for the presentation. Clients can expect the speaker to have an understanding of the following:

  • Who is in the audience and why they are there
  • The meeting theme and challenges facing the audience
  • Acronyms to use/not use
  • Where the speech fits into the meeting scheme, and the desired outcome for the presentation
  • Politically-sensitive areas to avoid during the presentation
  • Who else is speaking at the event and how said speaker’s content compares


Deep Speech Customization: This process combines the aforementioned components of standard speech customization, but can also include the following tools to help the speaker get a deeper understanding of the organization:

  • Multiple meetings with the organization’s leadership at various levels
  • Meetings with the organization’s clients, and in some cases, competitors
  • “Mystery” visits to franchises or places of business
  • Post event de-brief papers and follow-up
  • Social media pre- and post-event presence


The tailoring of a presentation by a professional speaker is an important element of the speaker bureau-speaker-client tripartite, and all three parties must be on the same page for the process to work effectively. If executed properly, a tailored speech is a work of art that will have a long-term impact on your audience.

The one trap to avoid is pushing the speaker into changing or customizing the presentation past their capabilities or comfort zone. You would not walk into a 5 star restaurant and tell the chef de cuisine, “I’ll have the Malaysian Beef Curry but replace the beef with fish, leave out the red shallots and double the ginger peel”. The dish-and the dining experience-would be ruined, as would being overly-enthusiastic about altering a speaker’s presentation. Show the speaker which a la carte options you would like and leave the recipe for success to the speaker. They have cooked this dish a thousand times and know what works!

Gary McManis & Jay Conklin

“Buy Low, Sell High”:  3 Speakers Going Up In Value

Posted: July 3, 2014 in Be In The Know
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“Buy Low, Sell High” is a term you often hear in the investment world.    In looking over my stock portfolio last week, I have come to the realization that it is a very tricky and risky outcome to achieve.

While past performance is never a guarantee of future performance in the speaker world either, there are certain indicators that that will signal a speaker fee increase.  One key indicator is an announcement and release of a major motion picture about a speaker’s life.  Over the years we have seen speakers’ fees go up dramatically when such a film is made.  A few examples are as follows:

Captain Jim Lovell and Former Flight Director Gene Kranz – Apollo 13

Captain Richard Phillips – Captain Phillips

Aron Ralston – 127 Hours

Leigh Anne Tuohy – The Blind Side

Marcus Lutrell – Lone Survivor

JB Bernstein – Million Dollar Arm

Chris Gardner – The Pursuit of Happyness

Jim Morris – The Rookie

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The key to buying low in the speaker world is to book these speakers before the film is released.  Here are three speakers who will be going up in fee in 2015:

Jeannette Walls – The Glass Castle (starring Jennifer Lawrence), based on Jeannette Walls’s memoir published in 2005 that lived for a resounding 261 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, is being brought to life by Lionsgate after seven years of practically stagnant development at Paramount.

Mark Schultz – Foxcatcher (starring Channing Tatum) is based on Mark Schultz’s autobiography detailing his and his brother’s lives as Olympic Wrestling Champions, all of which came to a grinding halt when one commits a harrowing murder. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, its set release is in November 2014.

Dr. Beck Weathers – Into Thin Air, a book written by Jon Krakauer and currently being adapted into a major motion picture, stars Josh Brolin as Dr. Beck Weathers and retells the harrowing story of one team’s ill-fated attempt at scaling Mount Everest. Backed by the production company Working Title, the film has no set release date.

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Keep an eye on these three speakers. Today’s “unknowns” are speaker superstars of tomorrow!