115: Tim Toterhi | Coach and Consultant

KEY5 Speaker Podcast

Tim Toterhi provides executive coaching, HR consulting and message management services to help individuals and companies shape their success stories. Check out his business website, Plotline Leadership to see videos. Tim has a valuable way he looks at being a professional speaker...

A speech is like a high-wire act with no net - you're out there and need to make it happen in one take!

Learning From Mistakes

As a speaker be confident enough to ask for exactly what you need from the event coordinator. Listen to the podcast to hear the story behind how Tim Toterhi came to this learning!

Preparation Precision

Tim says he focuses on these three things

1. Have the first minutes of the presentation/speech down cold.
2. Know your stories and then work the transitions.
3. Use "burst into flames" preparation. (Brilliant - listen to the podcast to understand!)

Once he's on the stage, Tim Toterhi develops the relationship with the audience and it's OK if he goes off script at that point.

Learning

Tim refers to himself as a student, so he chooses at least one thing to learn from every speaker. His favorite group of speakers to learn from are comedians. They bring their ability to tell a story, their timing and their emotional connection to the audience to the table. Tim says, as a business guy, it's helpful to look to comedians for inspiration.

Building a Business

To build your speaking opportunities, Tim suggests leveraging your professional contacts and associations you've worked with and speak in front of them as much as possible. Those who hire speakers need to see your work live or on video for you to make the sale.

Tips

Spend the time to learn the basics of speaking, but don't become enslaved by them. You must be yourself on stage, and being relaxed on stage helps you become this way. Speaking as an introvert, Tim says you need to take a breath and realize it's not about you - it's about your audience you're serving.

Connect

Connect with Tim Toterhi on his website, Plotline Leadership, on LinkedIn and Twitter.

MillsWyck Minute

So you want to be relaxed? Alan discusses how to appear relaxed and confident.

The KEY5Podcast is produced by the team at Your Local Studio