Ep. 48 How To Use The Unforgettable Fun Factor

Hey there, Mark. I'm watching Garth Brooks documentary on Netflix. It's called the Road I'm on, and I found it so inspiring. But more importantly, it inspired this episode. He said something about what makes him different, and that made me realize that it's this secret strategy that a lot of presenters use. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. But a lot of Olympic athletes use, and we've heard the stories of that person who didn't have a shot, didn't have a chance. They used this secret strategy, and they got the gold.

Well, I can't wait to hear it. It's going to be fun.

Anyone can give a presentation. Few deliver unforgettable presentations. What's the difference? You're about to find out. Welcome to the unforgettable presentations podcasts with your hosts, world champion speakers and coaches, Mark Brown. Mark Brown.

Your life tells a story, and there's someone out there who needs to hear it.

And Darren Lacroix. And Darren Lacroix.

Stage time. Stage time. Stage time.

Ready for some powerful presentation, Ahas, let's dive right in.

So, Mark, I'm watching this documentary with Garth, and he said something, and I'm paraphrasing because I don't remember the exact line, but the paraphrase, if you will, is he said, look, there might be people who are more talented, sell more records, do this, do that. He said, but nobody, nobody has more fun than me when I'm on stage. And that was bam. And I saw him when he was in Vegas here playing at the Wind, and he was just. He had this at one with the audience connection. It was just magnificent. You felt like you were sitting right in front of him playing in your living room. But he has fun.

Oh, you know what, man? I think we should call this the fun factor, because so many of us as presenters, we really work hard to hone our craft and to get ourselves ready, but we try so hard, we forget to have fun with it. And it's so funny. You know, we had a podcast recently with David Henderson, and he was, you know, he thought, I can't have too much emotion in my presentations. But if we have fun, if we really enjoy what we do, then what we give to our audiences becomes that much more meaningful, that much more honest, that much more enjoyable. And we need to have fun so our audiences can have fun as well.

And this may sound like, oh, this is a silly little episode. Make no mistakes. This is critical. This is the difference between being good and being unforgettable. And I forget once in a While too that, hey, look, we worked hard. We've got to let go of everything and just be here with them. And they say, on whose line is it anyway? Come on down, let's have some fun. And that's on us. And Mark, if you remember part of my story, the two hour before the speech contest, Darren wrote a note to the five minute before the speech contest, Darren. And I was so stressed out. I was so intense. I was trying to make sure I did everything right. And I reached into my pocket and I pulled out a note. And if you're watching this on YouTube, you'll see my body language. But if not, I hope you hear it. I read the note, remember to have fun. And my whole body changed, my whole physiology changed. And it was different. I forgot. I was trying so hard. I forgot the one factor that matters, the fun factor. And it just, it released me and it's like, oh, yeah, I did the work. Now, it's one thing if you didn't do the work, if you didn't prepare, if you didn't get to know the audience, that's a different issue. By the way, you might Check out episode 12 Where We Go deeper in a different direction on this. And it's about mindset, but this is about the fun factor, that little magic factor that makes all the difference. It allowed me to just let go and be in the moment because I was too much in my head. And you know, I always say if you're in your head, your emotions are dead. And as presenters, there's so many stressors going on. We see the meeting planner freaked out, so that makes us freak out. The lunch is late, it's cold, the room's freezing. There's all these factors, but guess what? We gotta have fun anyway.

You know, it's funny you mentioned about that particular incident was a speech contest back in 2001. And having attended conventions from 1994 to 2019, I can appreciate what contestants go through. And I've seen them pacing the hallway back and forth. I've seen the contestants who don't want to hear anybody else because they're gonna get stressed out. I've seen Darren, I've seen speech contestants sucking on Pepto Bismol, which is an antacid, seriously, before they speak because they're so keyed up. We've worked so hard, we've planned. I really want to win this trophy. And in the back of it all, I'm like, hey, why can't we have fun with it? Similarly, I know the corporate world has the Pressure of being paid to deliver a product and a message. But at the same time, if you are so fully invested in your message, you insert your personality, who you are. They hired you because of your message, but they also hired you. Chances are there's 10 people who could do a similar talk and a similar topic, but they chose you for a reason. They need your personality, they need your person. And if you can't really enjoy what you do, that's going to come through, too. An audience knows when you're being pedantic and just giving them information and data. And they also know, hey, he or she's really glad to be here. You can begin to have fun before the program, sit with them at supper, hang out, and during the mix of the night before, as you always see Darren, get to know people, shake hands, have conversations. That's part of the fun process. So when you get to the platform, you aren't going on there cold. Who is that guy? Who's that girl? You've already developed the relationships. You go with a mindset. I can't wait to bless these people. I've got what they need. I'm going to help them, I'm going to serve them. And that's part of the fun factor. It's like a kid playing ball, basketball, my sports, soccer, or even baseball. They go to have fun, man. We should not lose the fun factor in the art of presenting to people who need to hear what we have to say. What do you think about that, buddy?

I think I gotta go look up pandectic or whatever.

I'm sorry, I get one word in there. Pedantic.

We'll look that up. We'll do an episode of words that Darren needs to look up from Mark Brown. And here's one of the other things. I love doing this podcast with you because together it's more fun. I could deliver facts alone, but having the conversation with you, working with one of your best friends, that's why all there are events that we have where there's at least two of us. Why? Because I want to do what I love to do and have fun doing it. And it's more fun when we do just that. Now, if you're listening to this, this is not about the speech contest. That's just one commonality Mark and I have. Every time you take the stage, there's some pressure. Every time you take the stage, you've got to have fun. You did the work. And, Mark, in my early days of working with Bose Corporation, I used to do this demonstration where I was selling the Bose lifestyle system. And there was a demo that we used that was the Garth Brooks documentary from decades ago. And I was always blown away by how much effort he puts into preparing and setting the stage up. Side note, but then hearing him say that today, it's like, okay, but once you get up there, we've got to have fun. And in my cube back in the day, I remember Sherwin Greenblatt, who was the first employee Dr. Bose ever brought on, and he was the CFO of the company at the time. I had this quote on my desk that says, if we're gonna have to work hard and be together for eight hours, we might as well have fun while we're doing it. And here's the boss, the big boss. So I don't know why we need that reminder, but let this podcast the fun factor be that reminder to you. You've got to take that, Sage. And Mark, I remember you got some advice from Morgan MacArthur early on.

Oh, yeah, and by the way, just so you know, a pedantic refers to being a pedant. I love this. It says a person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning, being very pedantic and being so. So have fun. Yeah. Morgan MacArthur Whip Mike Taylor in 94 in the Toastmasters World Championship. He deservedly won that contest. I was an also ran. I made the contest necessary. Okay. But Morgan became a great friend of mine and he gave me this gem of advice, this gem. He says, mark, write the speech you can't wait to give. Write the speech you can't wait to give. And in the context of the contest, I'll tell you, I found that speech late in the game, but I was so ready to give it. I remember being backstage at the Tonic Country Resort in San Diego, California, August 1994. Five and FECA number seven was on. I'm number eight getting miked. And they took my coat off to put the mic on. And I went back there, I was doing like 10 push ups, getting myself ready, getting loose. And they put the coat back on, looked in the mirror, you look good. Ready to speak. And the first speaker, number seven, was done. You get one minute of silence to get ready to make your entrance for your presentation. And I'm backstage and they have a little step with a railing on it, little, you know, four or five steps. And I had one foot on the step, I had my hands on the railing and I was like bouncing. I was like a cage the bull at a rodeo who can't wait to go Throw the rider. I didn't want to throw the rider, but it was, let me go out there. I can't wait to get out there. I'm going to have so much fun. I can't wait to give them this message. I've worked on. Let me at him. Let me at him. Let me at him. And it was that level of enthusiasm. If you watch the video of my presentation, you could tell I had fun. I got to sing a little bit, do the Gaston voice. I had so much fun sharing the message. And that's the key. When he says, write the speech you can't wait to give. It's. I can't wait to give. It's burning in my heart. But, man, I'm gonna have so much fun doing this, win, lose or draw. But you can't leave that on the contest stage. That should be our approach to every assignment. If it's a Toastmaster speech, enjoy it. If it's a corporate gig, enjoy that, too, because it's gonna come through and have an impact on the people you share your message with, the people you meet, people you hang out with. And so often in life, Darren, he's an old guy talking now. I'll be 60 years old next year. And I learned this. Many of us adults, or adults, if you're British, we get so caught up in the life's pressures, we forget to have fun. I think as adults or adults, once in a while. Have a Happy Meal, man. Have fun with what you do. Don't be all so serious. Have a Happy Meal. Be like those kids who like to play ball and hang out out in the sun and just have fun. We have lost that many of us. It's time to go back to the fun factor.

Yeah. Whether it's online especially, because now you're sitting behind a lens just like you and I are right now. We need that reminder because it just gives you that bam, that upgrade. I remember when I do my events. When you're being a speaker at an event, there's some pressure, but when you're running the event as well, you get caught up in, well, this person's upset and this person, they missed their flight or they're gonna be late, and then this person had a problem at the hotel with their room and has nothing to do literally with you. But it does have everything to do, because my brain is with them and trying to make it a great experience overall. So Mark, you know the guy himself, but the Rookie, the movie.

The Rookie, Yeah. Jim Morris. Yeah. I met him in Dallas about 15 years ago. Yeah. Yeah.

Nice. You have his phone number too, don't you?

Well, it was from last, a few years ago. I made it work. I don't know, but I did meet him. Yeah, the rookie.

There's a great scene in the Rookie that is what I go to. To remind me to have fun. So there's this scene where the rookie, Jim Morris, the character in the film, is just getting so caught up in the business side, and he's got the pressure of having to go back to take care of his family and his son and his w. Wife and his daughter. And he's just so caught up in it that he's waiting to be called up to the big leagues. But he's on a Triple A team and they're waiting to call him up, they're waiting to call him up. And he doesn't know if he'll ever get called up. And he's finally just like, I'm done, I'm done. The business, the decisions is too much. And he hangs up the phone from his wife and he walks outside behind the bar where him and his team were. And there's a little league baseball team going on, game going on. And he sees these kids who are just there playing because they love the game. And you can almost see it on his face. And I go back to that feeling. It gets me choked up. And the next day he goes back into the locker room and there's this other rookie, Brooks, who he is waiting to get called up to. And he walks over to Brooks and he goes, brooks, today we get to play baseball. And it's like today we get to have fun and we forget that. And I've got to remind that. And Ed Tate and I, when he lives here in Vegas, we drive together. And as we drive there, we always relive that story to help forget about all that stress and say, hey, I'm up here. I get this privilege. Let's have fun with it. Because if we want our audience to have fun, it starts with us.

Yeah. And you know, the idea of fun, of a childlike attitude of kids having fun, as I said before, you know, we tend to lose that sometimes, but if we get the perspective right and maybe think about the fun we used to have and relive that. You know, I'm watching English soccer and they were on a three month break and they came back and the team I follow is called Manchester United. We got this young man from France named, you know, Anthony Martial, and he always has this serious look on his face and he's a good ball player, but he hadn't quite bound his rhythm. Well, they came back to play recently and he's smiling more. And people are saying, you can tell Martial is now enjoying his football. He's having a good time, he's scoring goals, he's enjoying it, and he's performing better. Wait a second. If I enjoy it, I perform better. But watch this. I confess being Jamaican and loving English football, I'm not really into Winter Olympics, but I gotta tell you, Darren, I read the story of Esther Ladeska from the Czech Republic. She's 22, back in 18, and she was in the Winter Olympics. She's known as a snowboarder, but she decided to compete as a downhill slalom skier as well. Two events. Slalom skiing is not her thing. Snowboarding, she could do well. And if she wins, that would not be unexpected. But Wonder of Wonders is underdog and funny. I watched a video of the race. They thought somebody had won. She won. She gets the title. And then Esther comes up and she surprises the whole world and she wins the race. And they tell her, you won. She goes, no, no. Yeah, you won. Oh, my gosh. What was her secret? Esther is a press conference. And she tells him her philosophy. And get this. I love what she says. She says, I don't know how to explain this, but having fun allowed me to do what I love without any great pressure. Get this, My biggest goal should be to enjoy the run, have the best run possible, not to win gold medals. Yeah, I do want to win gold. But first, get this. But first is to do what I have learned and to have fun with it. What? First is to do what I have learned and to have fun with it. And get this quote. I feel one of my biggest advantages is that I'm having fun with what I'm doing. As long as I have fun, it's very special. And not all the girls have this. She says, I can't say every day I wake up, yay on the hill, but as long as I'm on the hill, I feel like it's home and I feel very good. So her first priority is, I'm going to have fun. And wonder wonders. Unexpectedly, she shocks the world, wins gold in two different events, and says to the world, my priority is to enjoy what I do and to have fun with it. What a lesson for us as presenters. What a lesson for the world. We've got to have the fun factor because that made a difference for Esther Ladeska. But it can make a difference for you and for me. Not Only in speaking, but in every area of our lives, we got to go back to the fun factor. And as a bonus, if she can have that much fun and do that well and we do the same thing, the impact is not only on us, it impacts our audiences and the people who they get to bless when they walk out of the room knowing that what we've given them, besides the value of the information, is the attitude and the mindset to then go out and really make a difference where they are. We need the fun factor, man. And I'm having fun with you right now.

Well, think about it. When we walk off stage, you want the audience leaving thinking, wow, what a. What a boring speaker, or, wow, it looked like they were just not into it, as opposed to, man, they were having fun. I got to refocus myself often, and there's so many stories of countless Olympians who didn't necessarily have a shot at winning. No one expected them. In fact, they didn't expect it, so they took the pressure off. And I love that quote from her. That's amazing and genius. They just said, I might as well just have fun. If I'm not going to win, I might as well have fun. And then, lo and behold. So maybe fun is the path to unforgettable. Un. Fungettable. Unfungettable.

Unforgettable. We're gonna think about that. Maybe not, but it could be fun. Well, look, you know what, though? I'm gonna be bad, but I'll tell you this. I think fun is fundamental to our success. I'm serious. It's a bad pun, I know, but if you think it through, having fun can be fundamental to our success. I go back to Morgan's advice WR speech you can't wait to give, and I urge everyone who's watching or listening to this to think about your last or most recent presentation, either live in person or virtual online. Did you have fun delivering it? And did your audience respond to you within an evaluation? Did they come up and give it, you know, online wave? I've had the blessing, Darren, the last two months, to deliver online presentations in eight or nine different countries. One particular group was over 830 people on that zoom. And I had one group send me back maybe eight or nine screens of WhatsApp messages about how much fun they had, how much they enjoyed it. And I can guarantee you, if I wasn't gonna have fun, my audience wasn't gonna have fun. Especially now in the online virtual environment where we're not physically there. They need to feel that fun, you need to show that fun to your friends behind the lens. It's got to be genuine from your heart. And if you can have fun with it, that'll drive you to be the best that you can be in the moment. Because if I'm not at my best, I'm not going to enjoy it. Right. So use the fun factor and give your audience the best that you have to offer. And they'll use it, they'll refer back to it, they'll come back to it and they'll apply in every area of their lives.

And even if it's a tough environment, make it fun, even if it's a tough situation, if you can bring more fun to it, it's just gonna up it. I love our friend Rich Hopkins line, he says win anyway. We're saying have fun anyway. Have fun anyway. You know, when we were thinking about this last minute, I did some research and quotes on other stories of other Olympics. There's one by Christian Taylor, two time Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump. And he you win some and you lose some. You know what you are working towards and that you're not perfect, but you focus on having fun. And regardless of what you know, you give it your best and there's room for improvement.

That's awesome. When you focus on having fun, you give it your best, knowing there's always room for improvement. Now I get that sometimes as a presenter you're placed in a situation where it is a bit stressful, where things go wrong. Mr. Murphy is always behind you or in front of you trying to make life difficult. But if you can go with it, find a way to adjust with and have fun with it anyway is a bonus there. Because the meeting planner sees your resilience, they see your attitude, they see your approach to it and say, you know what, he or she is also professional. They overcome the obstacle, they work within the limitations, they still enjoy what they do and they still give my people value. I'm happy to refer them to ask them to come back. So the fun factor is not just about feel good, it's also about impact. So the fun factor can create a positive impact as well.

Yeah. And when you start realizing that your message has an impact, it becomes more fun as well. So feedback is critical. So Mark, you know the story in one of my practice speeches when I was at MIT at a Toastmaster Club and I was delivering my message now I was delivering a speech, speech for the speech contest. Like I wanted to make it better. And having there was a foreign exchange student There who didn't speak very good English. And she came up to me after the speech and she said, and I quote, she said, I'm failing mit. My family said I should quit and go home. I heard your speech. I stay.

Bam.

And that just changed. This isn't a speech. This is serving the audience. So when my belief, belief went up, my belief in my message, my realization that I can make an impact and have fun doing became more fun when I realized the impact it was having. So you building your own belief allows you to have more fun too. And Mark, I think we need to address the other thing. When you're in front of a tough audience, who do you focus on in the audience? Sometimes we want to focus on that person with their arms crossed. And we think, how I've done this before, I will get you. And meanwhile, the person right next to them is with us, connected, laughing. We've got to change our focus because that person is giving us energy, giving us good vibes. We've got to focus on the one or two people that are connected to us, that are having fun, because that's going to help us serve everyone. And we don't know what's going on in that person's life. The one with their arms crossed as opposed to the ones with their arms wide open and smiling and laughing. Let's focus on them. At least the two of us had fun.

That's right. You know, I guess there. You're so right. Early in my career, I was tempted to try to win over that one person with the scar on their face. But I was doing a disservice to everyone else who was engaged, who wanted to enjoy the experience as well. And I will say this with all seriousness, in all solemnity, I'm being very solemn here, but I'm very serious. If you find you are no longer enjoying what you do, it's time to take a step back and to reassess your motivation. What may have changed over time to have you feel this way? Because sometimes you need a break. But if you lose that fun factor, and I'll give example. Okay, I took my Toastmasters winning speech from 95, which was seven minutes long. Well, 6, 48. And I created a middle, junior high school, senior high school or secondary school keynote program to do an assemblies across North America. My audiences range from 100 to 1700. Auditoriums, gymnasiums, added 3000 kids in a Tennessee walking horse arena. And also at the Cintas center at Xavier University, over 3,000 kids. I would do a series of programs there Over a number of years. But I was giving that speech 150 times a year. People say how can you give the same speech 150 times a year, three times a day, four days a week, for weeks on end. And my answer was simple. Number one, it's a different audience every time. Okay, number two, I believe in my message 100%. And number three, I enjoy giving it. If at some point I didn't believe in the message, I didn't see the value for a new audience, and most importantly, if I didn't enjoy sharing it, I could never be as successful as I have been. And Darren, this is not a brag, but the program got nominated for an Emmy award back in 1999 and I've given that program to over 1.3 million young people over a 20 year period. And if I didn't enjoy doing that, seeing kids lives touched and changed, if I didn't enjoy getting the emails, the letters, the notes from parents and teachers, if I didn't see the value and enjoy being with that audience, I couldn't have done it. Now granted, I know you aren't going to run out. Now let me find some 13 year olds to talk to. That's not what you want to do, that's fine. But if I had ceased to enjoy that interaction, I could never have been as successful and have had the impact I've had. Again, not a brag, but evidence that enjoying what I have done was really a blessing to me and to those myriad young people who gained the benefit of what I had worked so hard to deliver. And it all began with a Disney cartoon in 1993 and a seven minute speech. But I have enjoyed every minute of sharing that message.

Yeah, and I think I just want to be honest here and transparent that sometimes I forget, forget and sometimes my ego gets in the way and that's not good. But I'm saying that because if sometimes you forget, it's okay. But this episode is designed to like re bring you back, to bring you out behind the bar to watch the little kids playing baseball. And remember, look, if you don't want to go up on stage and it's too much work, there's a line of presenters who would dream of having that spot. So if you get the privilege of that spot, have fun to help your audience, please. Like, there's the fun factor. I need the reminder too. That's why Ed and I joke about that line from the Rookie. That's why all these Olympians let go. And I just, I love that brilliance, Mark. I Hope you can give us that quote again at the end. Cause that just kind of says it all. But we've got to remember to have fun. Cause it's.

Yeah, I totally agree. Yeah. And again, this is the shorter episode. It's a simpler episode. But I'm going to urge everyone watching and listening to think about your most recent presentation and also think about the one you're going to give next. And if you are in the habit of recording yourself, which we encourage you, watch one of your most recent presentations and ask yourself, was I having fun delivering that presentation? And ask yourself this. Will I have fun delivering my next presentation? And does the audience have enough evidence? Has their response confirmed to you that they received value, but they also enjoyed the experience of sharing time with you because you had fun and you were able to translate that to them? Never discount the fundamental value of the fun factor.

Yeah. Please go back, watch a video, because I think you might realize you weren't really having fun or you were trying too hard and you didn't let go. I think that's part of it. I think it's. Mark. When we hold on too tight, when we try to be too intense, that is the problem. And that's what these Olympians, these gold medalists who weren't expected, the people who won, they were good. They had the talent, they had the skills, but they also were holding on. So this one person who let go and just had fun with it, they surpass them. We got to remember to have fun.

I love it. And note to yourself, remember to have fun. And remember what Esther Ledeska said. Do a double gold medalist. She said, first. First she wants to have fun. Having fun allows me to do what I love without any great pressure. My biggest goal should always be to enjoy the run, have the best run possible, and first to do what I have learned and have fun with it. So I urge you to have fun doing what you do. Serving your audiences, honing your skills, sharing your messages, and indeed, changing lives.

You might as well have fun.

Ain't nothing like the fun factor. They'll laugh with you, and maybe they'll laugh at you. You. But at the end of the day, they'll know, one, you gave value, and two, you had fun while doing this. While doing it. Darren, have you had fun today?

I always have fun with you, my friend. And I think that's another thing. Who are you hanging around with? You know, you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. And I think, think of the fun factor. Who are the top five you have. And maybe there's somebody you need to bring into the top five. And that's why I have so much fun with you, with Ed, with Ford, because we have fun. So the fun factor. Have fun and it will be un fun. Forgettable.

Make sure you subscribe to our show.

Remember to subscribe because if you miss a week, you miss a lot.

If you like this episode, please leave us a review. If you want to get more from Mark and Darrell, check out stagetime University, where they provide experienced presenters a proven path and world class feedback. To become the speaker everyone is talking about, go to stagetimeuniversity.com join us next week if you're going to take the time to prepare a presentation. Make it unforgettable.