109: Stephen Scoggins | Master Life Strategist & Author

KEY5 Speaker Podcast

Stephen Scoggins began his public speaking telling his personal story, which led to sharing life lessons, and those life lessons morphed into transformational lessons and then into transformations for people. He's an entrepreneur, an author and founder of Journey Principles.

Practice to Connect

When asked about how we learn from mistakes, Stephen Scoggins recommends two points - practice and be "you".

First - Create a framework. Don't just get up on stage and start speaking. Practice and have many stories to pull from to make sure you connect with your audience. How do you know when you're connecting? You'll see head nods, smile, and even tears.

Secondly - Be you. You'll never be like someone else - know your own style and your strengths.

Take the stage to light and draw attention to what the audience needs to look at.

Preparation Precision

The points themselves might not bring transformation, but the points within the story will make the difference.

Tell the story of....

"Tell the story of...." is Stephen's only prompt. By describing the color, sound, smell and all the details to paint a picture, the audience will join him on the journey.

Paint a picture so, in the end, the points people need to hear are evident.

What about the audience?

Stephen Scoggins is creating his own audience. He feels those in his audience are seeking transformation. He began speaking on a regular basis for the USO (United Service Organization) on conflict. That led to TransformULive. And his audience has found him.

"No matter your story, you may need to start out speaking for free."

Tips & Take-Aways

Record yourself speaking, and then watch with the sound turned off. Next, turn on the sound and don't look at the picture.

On whether you are meant to be a speaker, Stephen says,

If you feel desperately, in your heart and soul, that you have a message this world needs, then don't stop at anything until you've shared it.

Connect

Connect with Stephen Scoggins on his website, Journey Principles - on Twitter - Facebook - LinkedIn - and watch him speak about Journey Principles in the KEY5 Speaker video.

Do you provide a lecture or interaction? Alan talks about the difference.

The KEY Podcast is produced by the Team at Your Local Studio