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The Promise Blog

Announcements

The ETA on CEP from NSA is ASAP

  There are so many acronyms nowadays its tough to know which ones not to use. IYKYK Thankfully, an organization I have belonged to for over 20 years, the National Speakers Association, has put together a new designation that is yet another acronym worth knowing: CEP – Certified Emcee Professional     I am pleased to be recognized in the CEP Charter Group along with some of my outstanding Emcee peers: Quinn Conyers Tom Pesce Rob Ferre Dr. Genie Snyder     To earn this designation I documented: • 100+ events over five years, with client names, dates and fees • 10 client evaluations, scored by the people who hired me • Video from real stages, not a sizzle reel • Verified income from emcee work across multiple years Emceeing and hosting events is a discipline, and shouldn’t ever really be left to someone on your team (unless they’re incredible at it, which is ridiculously rare). Executives need to have their moment to shine, and not be seen so much handling hosting duties that it becomes a “no longer special moment” to the audience every time the Executive takes the stage. The more you give them their spots, as an

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Coaching

Father of the Bride

  Perhaps the most intimidating and important speech you’ll ever give is the Father of the Bride speech. At least that’s how it feels to the first timer, who is sweating through his corduroy trousers, not quite sure how to gather so many essential thoughts in front of all the most important people of his life. A few years ago I made a video that assists men in creating their speech. Luckily, I have never given that intimidating speech, as my daughter is not getting married anytime soon, but putting myself in the place of a soon to be father of the bride, I came up with some teachings that seemed to resonate. The GIRL acronym just appeared in my mind, and it seemed almost elementary, as I wondered if I should put it in the video… Turns out, that is the most essential part of this one, and memorable to all who have utilized it. Want to know what GIRL stands for in this instance? Watch the video to find out! (Actually, I am keenly aware of the amount of people who are willing to read my words but not interested in watching the videos, LOL, so here’s the

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Business

How FFA Kids Helped Me Refocus My Presentation

It had been years since I agreed to talk with a group of youth. Why? Because something shifted in those audiences a few years back for me, and I haven’t dared return. So, there I was, standing back stage as the arena filled in with over 11,000 FFA youth from across Ohio. I never feel nervous before an event. I feel excited, anxious, and generally confident in what I’m about to do. Of course, there are those feelings inside of imposter syndrome or being tired from a bad night’s sleep in a hotel, but this day was different. I felt sick to my stomach. There is always a moment before stepping on stage that most people don’t think about unless you’re the one waiting to be introduced. The room is set. The audience is waiting. The expectation is there. And in that moment, it’s easy for the focus to turn inward. You begin to have a conversation with yourself: How will this go? Will this connect? Will this be received the way I hope? Those are natural questions. But over time, I’ve found they aren’t the most helpful ones. Because they center everything on you, the performer/speaker/presenter. And the more

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Announcements

I Finally Made it to College

  If you’ve heard me speak you know my story about having a full-ride scholarship for basketball to a major university (BYU) when I was in high school and feeling good about my future in the NBA. Suddenly, I was discovered by Mrs. Hall, the choir teacher, who pointed me in the right direction for life, as I left my basketball career on the bench, and became a singing entertainer who speaks and writes books. Going to Las Vegas instead of college was a real big swing of a dream, and thankfully worked out. But I always wondered what it would have been like to get into college. I have spoken at many colleges, to thousands of students, leaders, university presidents, faculty, staff, award-winning teachers, and higher education establishments nationwide, but was never actually in college. Until a few months ago! Here’s what happened.   A few years back I began a venture of making a YouTube channel with a very successful Youtuber & Influencer. We did everything right, by the book, cranked out videos that were specific to certain topics, and recorded them monthly for a good long chunk of time. It was costly, challenging, rewarding, and pushed me

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Engagement

Two Standing Ovations… and a Silent Room

What Happens When the Promise Meets Your Worst Night? Last week, I had two of the best keynote presentations of my career. The kind of 9 AM keynote speeches where you walk off stage thinking, I was born to do this! Jason The Keynote Speaker was absolutely crushing it at a whole new level. They were two completely different audiences, and both were fully with me. I had done the work to understand who they were, customized the material, and it landed. Not just polite applause, but standing ovations that were strong, long, and meaningful. The kind that makes you feel like everything is clicking into place. I even had the thought, that might be as good as I’ve ever been! And then, 36 hours later, I walked into a completely different experience. It was a different city, a different crowd, and a 9:00 PM show—from Jason The Entertainer- the kind that has been my bread and butter for 25 years. If anything, the show has always been stronger than the keynote. Not this night. From the moment I started, people were talking. Not just a little here and there, but throughout the entire room. Conversations layered over each other

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Announcements

The New Preview Video – Please Help

Yes, it’s that time of year and I have amazing news! I have updated my preview video for shows and speeches. Here it is:     If you are willing, and want to be my new best friend, I would be so grateful if you would do any or all of the following: 1. Click on the Video and watch it on YouTube (every view counts!) One ask on that: Please watch it all the way through before clicking away, as that affects opportunities. So, if you can’t commit to that, please don’t click! It’s 3:16 long. 2. Sign into your YouTube account and leave a positive review If you have seen me perform and are willing to say something nice! Thank you, forever. 3. Forward it to friends, family, event planners, committees you may be on This could change my life. 4. Like, Comment, Share if and when you see it on social media This will save my life doing this!   I don’t like asking for too much of you, as I know how awesome it is that you have yet to unsubscribe. Truly, thank you for your help in getting my name and performance out there, as

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Business

Accountants Are a Tough Crowd

For 25 years I have done corporate events. I began all those years ago as the 9 PM performer. That is a hard spot to be in only because, if you have no name in that space, then you are competing with casinos and other show offerings outside of the ballroom door in Vegas, or something better they may want to go do with peers for the rest of the evening. My job was to always keep them in their seats long enough to realize I was a better choice than what was tempting them to leave. So I had to grab them fast, and keep their interest for an hour. And through the years, I noticed that I would get raucous laughs from every group, except for the ones that hired me the most: Accountants, IT Guys, and Engineers. They would just sit there, blankly watching me, and I felt like they didn’t like my show. Yet at the end, they would give me a rousing standing ovation. Every single time. It was baffling and frustrating, until I took the time to shake their hands afterward and ask their thoughts of the show… and realized what they were experiencing

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Business

The Secret to Motivating Teams

The secret to motivating your team? Sit down with them and go through the ICM Process. This is the opposite of the “let’s discuss what you can do better” conversation. It is a recognition of every employee’s talents, gifts, strengths, and empowering them to use these as often as possible. As I have taught this simple, yet profound, process to leaders for many years, it is not only transformative for the employee, but the leader gets quite a bit of insight as well. Imagine sitting with someone you have mostly only discussed improvement with, and instead, flip the script to dig in to what they see is the best of what they bring? Most employees are doing all they can to comply, conform, and not shake things up, in an attempt to stick to the rules and meet all goals. In turn, motivation for asserting oneself and even overall greatness can begin to wane. However, when we encourage those we lead to stand out in a sit down world, this empowers their ideas, creates ramped up performance, and allows everyone to feel they have a stake in the progression beyond simply being a part of the team: They are a

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The Final Retreat

For years, I had what was known in our home as Mentor Mondays. This was due to so many texts, emails, and phone calls from executives, hopeful speakers, and struggling entertainers to “pick my brain” over lunch. Eventually my brain had been picked, pecked, and prodded over enough soggy salads at lunches around Utah that we shifted things to say: Can you come to me and let’s talk? We funneled everyone to Mondays, into 2 hour time slots and a revolving door of mentoring that sometimes saw people from 8AM-8PM learning the craft of running a business, following their dreams, and keeping The Promise to their hopes in life. It was my best way of giving back, after I had the same experience to begin my career, where Chris Poulos had welcomed me into his home, free of charge, to sit on his couch and learn from the greatest philosopher and spiritual mentor I could have asked for outside of my own wonderful parents growing up.     For years, day and night, I came and went to the Poulos household in Orem, UT, with his lovely spouse Gail in the background doing genealogy work at the living room table,

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