A Punch in the Face, Wrapped in a Warm Hug (ft. Laura Gassner Otting)

Mic Drop

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A Punch in the Face, Wrapped in a Warm Hug (ft. Laura Gassner Otting)

Laura Gassner Otting on getting through fear and getting more with less

OPENING QUOTE:

“I gave that talk holding on to the lectern. Like if I let go, I would fly into space and die. It was so scary but at the end of it, they handed me a check.”

-Laura Gassner Otting

GUEST BIO:

Laura Gassner Otting, known worldwide as LGO, has been described as a punch in the face wrapped in a warm hug. After selling her extremely successful executive search firm, she entered the speaking industry and promptly blasted off. Applying extreme levels of curiosity, intensity, creative problem solving, and drive, she hit escape velocity in record time and continues to scale fast. She's the bestselling author of two books, and her extensive body of work is helping her deliver meaningful value to audiences around the globe.

Links:

CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:

[3:08] - Lessons from Taylor Swift

Keynote speaking advice from an unexpected source

We start the episode in an unexpected place — a Taylor Swift concert. Laura shares how impressed she was with the way that Swift left plenty of space for the audience to be part of the show simply by cheering and showing appreciation. She goes on to say that this is something all keynote speakers could apply to their own approach. The more the audience feels like they’re having a conversation rather than receiving information, the more engaged they’ll be.

[5:49] - The First Ovation

A small tweak to delivery that paid massive dividends

How did Laura get more out of her speaking career? By giving less. “The first standing ovation I ever got was when I decided to…give 48 minutes of content during a 60-minute keynote.”

She goes on to share how allowing moments for the audience to laugh, cry, cheer, and respond turned her speeches into conversations — and that made all the difference. It didn’t just lead to her first standing ovation. It also led to major upward momentum in her career as she became an in-demand voice on stages everywhere.

[9:10] - Laura’s Identity Crisis

It’s not all smooth sailing — even for LGO

After feeling on top of the world having just sold her company amidst huge success, Laura had to face a moment of transformation. Who was she now that she wasn’t “LGO, CEO”?

Then, a contact encouraged her to get onstage. She gave her first talk ever at TEDx Cambridge in front of 2,600 people — and was terrified the entire time. But she got through it, delivered her message, and discovered something about herself. She had a passion for speaking. That discovery was waiting just on the other side of her terror. What discoveries do we miss because we’re afraid?

[13:48] - The Creative Hack

A video reel and a shot of career rocket fuel

Early in the development of her speaking career, Laura had a problem. She needed a video reel, but had only been onstage once. How could she put together a reel of multiple successful performances when she didn’t have multiple successful performances.

Simple. She rented an auditorium, brought an audio-visual setup, and ran through multiple pitch-perfect lines in multiple outfits. Boom. All of a sudden she had a professional-looking reel with what appeared to be multiple killer performances — even though most of them had come from the same day.

The rest is history.

[37:19] - From the Today Show to the Top of the Bestseller List

Uncommon results require uncommon methods

How did Laura get a book blurb from a huge name — one she didn’t even know — that landed her spots on the Today Show and the bestseller list?

Well, she asked. She relentlessly reached out to Amy Cuddy, until finally she had the chance to bug her in person. To her shock, Amy agreed to let Laura write a blurb on her behalf for approval. Laura didn’t stop there. She wrote an audacious, intensely positive blurb. And it worked!

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ABOUT MIC DROP:

Hear from the world’s top thought leaders and experts, sharing tipping point moments, strategies, and approaches that led to their speaking career success. Throughout each episode, host Josh Linkner, #1 Innovation keynote speaker in the world, deconstructs guests’ Mic Drop moments and provides tactical tools and takeaways that can be applied to any speaking business, no matter it’s starting point. You'll enjoy hearing from some of the top keynote speakers in the industry including: Ryan Estis, Alison Levine, Peter Sheahan, Seth Mattison, Cassandra Worthy, and many more. Mic Drop is sponsored by ImpactEleven.

Learn more at: MicDropPodcast.com

ABOUT THE HOST:

Josh Linkner is a Creative Troublemaker. He believes passionately that all human beings have incredible creative capacity, and he’s on a mission to unlock inventive thinking and creative problem solving to help leaders, individuals, and communities soar.

Josh has been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which sold for a combined value of over $200 million and is the author of four books including the New York Times Bestsellers, Disciplined Dreaming and The Road to Reinvention. He has invested in and/or mentored over 100 startups and is the Founding Partner of Detroit Venture Partners.

Today, Josh serves as Chairman and Co-founder of Platypus Labs, an innovation research, training, and consulting firm. He has twice been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is the recipient of the United States Presidential Champion of Change Award.

Josh is also a passionate Detroiter, the father of four, is a professional-level jazz guitarist, and has a slightly odd obsession with greasy pizza.

Learn more about Josh: JoshLinkner.com