My father was one of the finest preachers the Lutheran Church has ever produced. He preached three times every Sunday. After service we would all sit down for dinner and my dad would ask for a critique of his sermon that day.
The next hour or so would be spent pulling the sermon apart, noting the good parts and the parts that might have been better. It was the best speaking education you could possibly get.
My dad didn't just seek criticism from us. He was also a student of speaking. I can still remember how he and my Uncle Pat (one of the very first corporate sales trainers) would go together to hear just about anyone they thought was good.
Sometimes my dad would take the train down to Philadelphia where my uncle lived and the two of them would drive to the event. Afterwards they'd drive back rehashing everything they'd learned. My dad would climb back on the train and use the ride up to New York to complete his notes. If he'd been to an especially good program and gotten some great ideas he'd share them when he got home, even if he had to wake us up to do it.
Dad and Uncle Pat weren't the only speakers in the family. There was also my Uncle Jack, another preacher and the first full time paid Police Chaplain in the US. They may have been the ones speaking in public but just about everyone was a storyteller.
Some of my best memories from childhood are of Thanksgiving down in Philadelphia where my grandmother lived. Dad and those two uncles would be supplemented by my Uncle John, a cop and great storyteller as well as my mom and my aunts. The stories would go on into the night.
From my family I learned about storytelling and about values and doing what was right. With that many cops and preachers around you sure paid attention to what the right thing was.
I'm not just a speaker and if you hire me you'll get the full benefit of everything else that I am and have been. I've run several businesses, making good and bad decisions. I'm a Marine vet. I'm a dad and a grandfather. I'm a reader. Through it all, though, I'm a storyteller.
You'll hear a lot of stories if you hire me as a speaker. You'll read them in my books. You'll listen to my use them as examples if you hire me as a consultant.
That's some stuff about me but there's more on this site. You'll find an official bio, just in case the short one above isn't enough. Since speakers are known by the company they keep you'll find a list of folks who've brought me in to speak, and you'll be able to check out what they've said about me.
If that's not enough, email me or call me at 910-343-8661 and we'll get you what you need.
