Every Time You Explain Something- You’re Giving a Speech!

Peter Shankman
2 min readMay 31, 2021

--

I was talking to my scooter mechanic the other day. (What, you don’t have a scooter mechanic?) Seriously though, I brought my Hobbee scooter in for its 200 mile check up, and while the mechanic was going over it, we started talking, and he asked me what I did for a living. I told him I gave speeches and told stories to audiences around the world. He said, “man, I wish I could do that. It sounds fun!”

He then proceeded to show me how to check the chain of the scooter each week to remove any grime, sand, etc. from the links, which would keep it in better shape longer. As he was teaching me how to do this, he told me a story of a guy who never did it, and his chain broke as he was going up a hill, and of course, he was ten miles from home, and had to walk back. In the rain.

When my mechanic finished teaching me the fine art of scooter chain maintenance, I told him that whether he realized it or not, he was just telling me a story under the guise of teaching me something, and there was no reason he couldn’t turn that and other stories he had into a speech. He could find an audience, and get paid to tell those stories!

So I say the same thing to you — If you know something someone else doesn’t, you can teach it and speak about it. You can do it in public, to an audience, and get paid for it. There’s literally no reason not to.

It’s all about looking at things just a little differently. What you see as “basic knowledge” I see as a teachable moment to a huge audience.

Today, why don’t you shift your perspective a little bit?

Much love,

-Peter

PS: Did you know that famed storyteller Scott Monty (formerly of Ford Motor Company) and I have created a storytelling course, and for the next few weeks, we’re discounting the price? It’s true! Seven chapters, each with multiple lessons inside. Workbooks, special guests, even a free, fully functional speaking contract! All yours! Want to get paid to speak? Here’s your course! Get it today!

--

--

Peter Shankman

Host: Faster Than Normal #ADHD Podcast. Bestselling author, marketer, HARO Founder. Book for virtual keynote speaker: http://bit.ly/PSvirtualkeynote