Her slides looked oddly familiar.

Same table. Same column headers. Same…… wait a second.

That was my chart.

The one I created. The one I’d tested, shared, and improved over the course of countless keynotes.

And there it was, projected on the large screens bookending either edge of the stage, being presented by someone else just hours before I was scheduled to speak at the same event.

Now, it would be one thing if I was quoted or cited or referenced. But no, this speaker took my work as her very own.

Let’s call it what it was: a copycat.

This was not the first time some of my work, particularly on multi-generational researc,h had been knocked off. It certainly won’t be the last.

• A national magazine once ran an article with the exact same title as my book and then used my research almost word for word without credit. It was nothing shy of plagiarism.

• A publicly traded company invited me to pitch them on corporate training and a corporate keynote engagement… Shortly after beginning talks, they declined my services. I later found out they took large excerpts of my book (approximately 40 pages worth), word-for-word, to create their own internal training videos.

• And what most recently stung, people I respected, trusted, even collaborated with… cloned a project I had been working on for some time. They had early access to provide feedback on my private pre-release work. Later, in a bragadocious social media post, I learned that shortly after I had entrusted them with new material, several of those I trusted got together and knocked off my work and made their own version.

Alrighty, this is not a vent session for me. That’s not why you’re here reading. So let’s get to it.

This is an opportunity to talk about what do when copycats come, because they will.

There’s this colloquialism that imitation is flattering. And sure, it can be. But when you’re the one doing the thought-work, when it’s your ideas being borrowed without attribution, flattery feels a lot more like theft.

So what do you do when you’re copied?

Let me offer four hard-won truths:

1. Keep Running Forward

I tell a story in one of my keynotes about racing my son up the stairs. He had the lead until he kept looking over his shoulder to see where I was. That hesitation cost him the race.

It’s the same in life.

If you spend your time focused on who’s behind you (or who is copying your work), you’ll lose momentum. Worse, you’ll veer off course.

If a plane takes off from Los Angeles and is just two degrees off course, it could end up in New York instead of Florida.

Tiny distractions now can take you far from where you’re meant to go.

So stop watching the copycats. Keep your eyes on the prize. Keep creating new content, researching harder, innovating rapidly. Run your race. Produce the best quality work that you can produce.

2. Leaders Get Copied, Copycats Don’t

If no one’s mimicking your work, you probably haven’t made a dent yet.

It’s a hard truth.

Leadership, by definition, is follow-worthy. And if your content is worth repeating, you’ll likely get copied. It comes with the territory. If your message resonates, people will likely reshare it. It doesn’t mean it’s right. But it does mean you’ve made an impact.

Plato, Aristotle, Socrates…none of them trademarked their frameworks. But they shaped civilization. We have them to thank for much of the way we think in the Western world to this day.

So while the copycats keep copying, you stay focused on being copyable. Sometimes they will forget to credit you, but ultimately, if you keep leading, you will amass the followers.

3. Relevance Isn’t Static

Here’s the beautiful irony:

At that conference where my work was used without credit… I still got on stage and delivered newer research with more current data. You see, in fact, one of the key components of that previous chart has since been disproved and inaccurate. I’m not saying my work is perfect. I put out the best information available at the time. But the world changes. New insights are uncovered.

So the irony? They copied my past work. But I was already presenting the future.

When you’re doing the original, hard work, when you’re out there testing, speaking, and iterating, you will always be more relevant than the person who borrowed your slides or your content that you put out yesterday.

Copycats can mimic content. But they can’t replicate creativity. It is also hard for a copycat to have true domain knowledge and expertise. The individual who knocked off my article wrote a series for that magazine. And each article was worse than the last, misinterpreting data and even contradicting her own writing. She was relying on the crutch of my work…in many ways, people are leaning on the crutch of ChatGPT these days, but that’s a whole different conversation.

4. Let Them. Then Lead Anyway.

Mel Robbins calls it The Let Them Theory: when someone wrongs you, let them. When they copy you, let them. When they undervalue your contribution, let them.

And then? Keep going.

The truth is, some of the folks who copied me never gained traction. No real audience. No lasting voice. No following. Because there’s a difference between using ideas… and living them.

But others? They found success replicating my frameworks or processes.

And honestly? I hope they did some good in the process. I hope the message still mattered, even if it was mine first.

Because here’s the reality: there is nothing new under the sun. So even when I get excited about something so-called “original,” chances are I am just reinventing the wheel or looking at things from a slightly different perspective. I am not really coming up with anything so revolutionary or groundbreaking. So in reality, we all are standing on the shoulders of thought leaders and thinkers who have come before us.

I create content, speak, and write, to help inspire positive change. And hopefully, in someone else using my work, whether properly cited or not, that’s exactly what is happening. The world is a little bit better because of that insight.

After all, that’s leadership. Giving to make the world a better place, regardless of credit.

And that’s what real thought leaders do too.

The Drop

If you’ve ever been copied, knocked off, or had your ideas lifted, you’re in good company. And you have a choice:

Obsess over who’s watching you…
Or stay focused on where you’re going.

The speakers, writers, and thinkers who last aren’t always the ones who shout the loudest.

They’re the ones who keep walking toward purpose,
one original step at a time.

And that’s worth remembering.

Until Next Time…Speak Goodr or Forever Hold Your Speech,

Have you read my USA TODAY bestselling book, Speak Goodr? If not, check it out today!

Once the crown jewel of any major event, the traditional keynote speech is starting to feel… outdated.

Don’t get me wrong, keynotes are still around.

However, what audiences expect from a keynote today bears little resemblance to what they expected twenty, even ten, years ago.

Let’s walk through the evolution together and see what it means for event professionals and speakers.

Over the last 25 years, our collective attention spans, content habits, and event preferences have shifted.

Gone are the 90-minute monologues. In their place? Short and sweet 20-minute talks, interactive panels, and dynamic, curated experiences. And if you ask me, that’s a good thing.

From Marathons to Micro-Moments

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was common for events to book keynote speakers for 60–90 minutes. I still remember being asked to deliver 3–4 hour workshops early in my career. I hated them. Not because I didn’t have content to share, but because I knew attendees couldn’t retain it all. Today, I’m regularly asked to deliver 20–30 minute keynotes, and I love it.

This trend isn’t anecdotal. TED’s 18-minute model redefined what makes a presentation effective, showing that big ideas don’t need big time slots. And the industry has followed. A 2024 survey found that nearly half of event organizers consider 45 minutes to be the upper limit for in-person presentations, with a growing preference for talks under 30 minutes (Professional Convention Management Association [PCMA], 2024).

Why It’s Happening

Yes, attention spans play a role. But it’s not that we can’t focus, it’s that we’ve been trained to consume differently. We listen to podcasts at 2x speed (or at least I do), scroll past videos that don’t grab us in three seconds, and digest panel discussions through Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts. The idea of sitting passively for a full hour feels increasingly foreign, especially for younger generations.

The TED Talk, the podcast interview, and the highlight reel have shaped modern expectations. Today, people want experiences, not lectures. They don’t want to travel across the country to watch someone deliver content they can access for free online in bite-sized form (EventGroove, 2023).

Formats Are Shifting…Fast

Keynotes aren’t disappearing, but they’re being reframed. Main stages now often feature back-to-back short talks instead of one long one. Panels and fireside chats (once secondary) have become highlights. They’re unscripted, conversational, and dynamic. You get multiple viewpoints in one sitting, often including debate, which encourages open thinking and audience participation.

Breakouts and workshops still exist, but they’ve also evolved. Rather than academic-style lectures, modern breakouts focus on peer interaction, roundtables, and real-time application. People don’t just want to be informed; they want to engage.

Generations Are Driving the Shift

There’s a reason this shift is accelerating. Millennials and Gen Z have grown up with frictionless access to information. They don’t need gatekeepers or gurus to tell them what to think. They want facilitation, not just information. They value diverse opinions, concise takeaways, and flexible formats. They expect speakers to involve them (PCMA, 2023).

Older generations still value the gravitas of a keynote, but even they are reaping the benefits of shorter sessions. A recent study found that the “sweet spot” for information retention during live presentations is about 10 minutes before attention begins to wane unless the speaker re-engages with something new (GoGather, 2024). This isn’t a generational flaw. It’s brain science.

New Speaker Reel! Excited to be unveiling my new speaker reel today! Watch the Video

What This Means for Speakers

As a speaker, I’ve had to tighten my narrative, clarify my core message, and stop relying on filler. In a 20-minute slot, you have no choice but to deliver one idea clearly. And that’s what audiences remember anyway. Research shows that people retain only about 10% of a presentation, and that number jumps to about 30% if they write it down (Heath & Heath, 2007). As an aside, the book these stats comes from, Made to Stick, is one of my favorite books ;)

That’s why I encourage speakers to stop aiming for information density and start aiming for clarity. What’s your through line? What’s the one message people should walk away with? That’s your real job as a speaker, not to fill a time slot.

Is the Keynote Dead?

Not quite. But it’s being reborn.

If anything, we’re seeing a renaissance in the role of the speaker, driven not by tradition, but by experience. The best events today don’t just book a name for a slot. They design moments: immersive, diverse, high-energy formats that leave people talking. The speakers that thrive in this new world aren’t just talented, they’re intentional. They understand storytelling. They know how to engage. And they’re not afraid to do less, better.

When I design events now, I try to mix formats: short keynotes, interactive panels, dynamic hosts, and entertainment sometimes even magicians or musicians between speakers. It’s not about gimmicks. It’s about giving the brain a break so the message can land.

We’re not living in the age of attention deficit. We’re living in the age of intentional engagement. And the sooner we design conferences—and presentations—with that in mind, the more powerful they’ll become.

Thanks for reading!

If your audience walks away unsure of what your talk was about, it doesn’t matter how many times they laughed, applauded, or complimented your delivery.

They might remember your stories. They might remember your beautifully designed slide deck. They may remember you made them laugh or even cry. But if they can’t remember your point? You missed the mark. So let’s talk about the through line, your talk’s backbone.

What Is a Through Line?

Your through line is your main point, distilled down into one clear, actionable, memorable sentence. And this sentence is for YOU, not necessarily for your audience.

It’s the reason your stories matter. It’s the glue that holds your points together. It’s what gives your audience a sense of direction, whether they’re with you for five minutes or a full hour.

The Risk of Overload in Speaking

Most speakers don’t start with a bad idea.
They start with a big one. A good one. A clear one.
They write their title. Maybe even jot down their main point.

And then, they start adding.

A great stat. A meaningful story. An extra takeaway the audience might love.
Before long, that one “big idea” has friends. Too many friends. The stats and stories aren’t inherently bad. However, they are just far enough removed from the main point or the through line that they become distracting rather than helpful.

What started as a focused message becomes a content buffet:
Here’s a story.
And another.
And another.

Each has a slightly different angle, and instead of supporting your big idea, they have now cloned your big idea with little mutations, causing complete confusion.

Now the audience walks away remembering a great talk… but not the point of it. And soon, the talk will be forgotten.

In a world where people only remember about 10% of what you say two days after hearing it (Medina, 2014), your job isn’t to entertain them with variety.
It’s to move them with focus.

Identifying a Through Line

Your through line is your talk’s backbone.
It’s not your topic—that’s too broad. It’s not your title—that’s usually made to be catchy. It’s not your outline—that’s too complex.

It’s your one, singular message, distilled to a single sentence.

So, when I prepare a talk, I start with this sentence at the top of my page as my through line:

That’s it.
One sentence. One destination.
Everything else is either helping me get there or it’s dead weight.

Think about it like a plane ticket. When I look at my boarding pass, my destination airport is clear. It is where I am going.

Regardless of delays, turbulence, or even diversions, ultimately, that plane ticket is getting me to my final destination. The pilot has clarity on where we are headed, so do the crew and the passengers.

The same is true for speakers. We must have a clear through line or that one singular destination. Within the first few minutes through the end, the audience will know exactly where you are headed.

But Here’s the Trap...

We confuse content with clarity.
And let me be clear: not everything good belongs. And quite frankly, that’s the hardest part for me personally.

A few years ago, I delivered a custom keynote that had an overall theme or topic. It was clear. But I could not honestly answer the question of where I wanted my audience to be when I finished. What did I want them to feel or do as a result of sitting through the keynote?

As I researched and prepared, I found numerous incredible illustrations, compelling statistics, and a few stories that I just had to include. Categorically, they all fell under my topic, but just because they were topically aligned does not mean they had a clear, unified destination.

Before I knew it, I had not one, but three major points. Each point had its own structure, story, and supporting stats. They were solid. They were adjacent to my main point, but they stepped beyond my main point and confused the destination.

They didn’t support one takeaway.

The result?

People said nice things. They remembered a few funny or powerful stories.
But when I asked, “What was your biggest takeaway?”, I got blank stares.

If they can’t remember your point, your talk was forgettable.

Let’s Call This What It Is

This is the difference between a good speaker and a memorable one.

Good speakers have great content.
Great speakers have a through line that ties everything together.

That through line is ultimately what helps the audience remember the point.

If your audience remembers you, but not your message, you missed out.

Try This: The Through Line Test

Once your talk is drafted, ask yourself:

• Can I summarize my talk’s message in one sentence?

• Does every story, stat, and slide tie back to that one sentence?

• If I removed the slides or lost my place, would the core message still land?

• Could someone else explain my talk in 10 seconds?

If the answer is no to any of those, you may be taking your audience on a roundabout tour of a general topic, but not delivering a compelling and actionable talk.

Until Next Time,

Bottom Line

Your talk doesn’t need more content, it needs more clarity.

Say less. Say it better. Say it so clearly that they can repeat it to someone else.

That’s how messages move.

Quite often, someone will approach me to speak at their event, for free.

This sparks the opportunity for me to discuss the value I can provide, and at some point we come to the question of “the speaker fee.” This allows me to share my cup of coffee philosophy. Now, a few weeks ago, I wrote about whether you should ever speak for free or even pay to speak. (TL;DR: You can speak for free strategically, or pay to speak if you’re selling something on the back end—but if you’re building a speaking business, you should be getting paid.)

So, let’s flip it now and talk about fees:
What exactly are they paying for when they pay you to speak?

Let’s Talk Coffee.

Speaker fees are a lot like ordering coffee.

You can grab a cup of drip for $2.50. It’s mass-brewed, hot, and ready. No frills.

Or you can order a pour-over for $11. Same caffeine. Totally different experience.

The difference?

The $2.50 drip is predictable. Functional. It’s made for the masses.

The $11 pour-over is curated. Thoughtful. It’s hand-selected beans, with filtered water, precise measurements, and a barista who was trained for this moment. It’s not just a drink—it’s a craft.

But beyond the style of coffee and the level of nuance, there are some fixed and constant costs that are so often missed by speakers. They are also missed by coffee shops which is why so many fail in the first year of business.

So let’s dive into what really goes into a speaker fee.

So What Are They Really Paying For?

Here’s what a lot of people don’t see behind the fee:

A 45-minute keynote takes way more than 45 minutes. For me, if it’s new, it can take 45 hours of prep. (That’s my rule of thumb: 1 hour of prep for every 1 minute on stage.)

And the stage time is just the beginning. Your fee includes:

• Extensive research and writing

• Editing, slide design, and revision

• Travel time and logistics

• Admin, contracts, and tech

• Time away from other revenue

• Your team, if you have one

Because you’re not just showing up to speak. You’re bringing credibility to their event. And if you’ve done it right, your story will echo in their hallways long after you leave the stage.

I Undervalued Myself.

My first paid gig was $1,000 for three 45-minute sessions. I thought I’d won the lottery.

What I didn’t factor in:

• Prep time (which took weeks)

• Several days in the wilderness with this event unable to do other work (no internet and limited cell connectivity)

• Oh, and the fact that I had to share a cabin with middle schoolers with no A/C (true story, you can read the whole story in the book, Speak Goodr.)

Was it worth it? Maybe at the time, yes the cash was worth it. But in the longrun, absolutely worth it, the lessons taught were invaluable.

Now, my rate is anchored in something more durable than excitement: value, time, and strategy.

And that’s what I want to walk you through.

A Cup of Coffee is Like a Speaker Fee

Let’s go back to the coffee.

When someone walks into a coffee shop and pays $2.50 for a cup of black drip, it seems simple. Hot water, beans, done. But here’s what they’re not thinking about:

• The $0.52 in beans, filters, and labor.

• The $0.18 cup and lid. Oh and another $0.14 for the branded coffee sleeve.

• The POS system. Credit card fees. Wi-Fi. Monthly rent.

• And don’t forget the spill rate—every cup that’s remade because it’s too cold, too sweet, too late.

• Plus wear-and-tear on the machine, the water line maintenance, the marketing to get the customer in the door.

Now apply that same logic to your speaker fee.

A 💰 keynote doesn’t just cover 45 minutes on stage. It covers:

• Hours of preparation, research, and revision.

  • For a brand-new talk, I estimate about one hour of prep for every minute on stage.

• Time away from your primary business (if you’re building a speaking career, this is the business).

• Pre-event meetings, technical walkthroughs, Q&As, book signings, travel mishaps, and post-event follow-up.

• And maybe most importantly, your platform. The reason they’re hiring you is not just because you’re a good speaker—it’s because you can draw a crowd, bring credibility, and create a memorable experience.

Are You a Drip or a Pour-Over?

Some speakers scale by giving the same talk, every time. Others curate something new for each audience. That’s not a value judgment—it’s a business model.

But what matters is knowing which one you are, and pricing accordingly.

Because speaker fees shouldn’t be random. They should reflect your time, your transformation, and the value you bring off-stage as much as on it.

Until next time,

🔥 Want to go deeper?
I created a 6-lesson course called Setting Your Speaker Fee that walks you through this entire process, from pricing models to platform value to packaging. You can access that course here.

Should You Write Out Your Speech Word-for-Word?

One of the frequent questions I get is around how to start writing your talk—whether it’s a keynote or a workshop, speakers experienced and new want to know how the sausage should be made. Should you script your talk word-for-word, use an outline, or just wing it? Short answer: It depends. Longer answer: Let’s unpack that.

Yes, I’ve Tried Them All.

Over the years, I’ve written keynotes word-for-word. I’ve also rambled nonstop into a voice recorder, then tried to piece together whatever brilliance I thought I had. And I’ve walked on stage with nothing but a loose outline and a strong cup of coffee.

They all have their place. And as much as all of the creators of the helpful speech writing frameworks will disown me for saying this, it’s not one size fits all. Everyone is different. So, let me give you the honest breakdown—pitfalls included.

1. The Word-for-Word Approach

Who it’s great for: Perfectionists, new speakers, or anyone still finding their voice.
Who it’s risky for: Also perfectionists.

See what I did there? When I first started speaking, I wrote out every single word—the stories, the pauses, the transitions. I would underline certain adjectives, bold compelling verbs, and italicize essential quotes.

That was how I processed ideas. It helped me get my thoughts on paper and wrestle them into clarity.

But here’s the trap:
You start to memorize it. And once you do, you expect yourself to recite it.

That’s fine… until it’s not.

Because the moment you forget one line, your brain short-circuits. Suddenly, you’re not delivering a message—you’re chasing a script. You’re back in middle school drama class, whispering “Line, please?” to the void.

2. The Outline-Only Approach

Who it’s great for: Experienced speakers, facilitators, and improvisers.
Who it’s risky for: Anyone with a tight time slot.

The outline-only approach can give you great direction, but it is dangerous for some, especially those who like to talk (which seems to be many professional speakers). You can ramble and blow right past the 00:00 on the timer. The opposite is true, too. If you have solely an outline but don’t have the content for each point timed well, there’s a chance you blink and you’ve talked through all of your points and yet you still have stage time left.

If your keynote is programmed for 25 minutes and you treat it like open mic night, you’re asking for trouble, either way.

The key?
Modular thinking.

3. My Real Strategy: Modular Messaging

Here’s what I do now. Every time I write a story, I write it as a module—something self-contained, with a beginning, middle, end, and takeaway. Each one is:

• Memorable (with a hook or visual)

• Concrete (with relatable detail)

• Actionable (with a clear takeaway)

And yes, I often write them close to word-for-word. But not to memorize.
I do it so I can see the rhythm. I’ll bold key lines. Underline transitions. I write it the way I’d say it. I use these as guideposts. It like driving down a two-lane road in the middle of the night. You stay strictly between the double yellow lines on your left and the solid white line on your right. You have some leway, but you have some guardrails. So I write out these modules, knowing I don’t have to stick to them verbatim.

The beauty of this approach?
You can swap stories in and out on the fly.
You can pivot to fit the room.
You can reframe the same module to fit different meanings, different messages, and different audiences.

Real Example: Watch the Pros

I recently saw a well-known, Hall of Fame speaker do exactly this. He showed up to the venue shortly before he took the stage in front of thousands with no clear run-of-show or plan. In fact, he shared as much. But what he did have was a vault of strong, practiced modules. Each story had a clear pivot at the end. And depending on how the audience reacted, he adjusted the lesson.

It was elegant.
And it was intentional.

So... What Should You Do?

Here’s how to figure out what works for your next talk:

Ask yourself three questions:

1. How critical is the timing?

   • Keynote? Stick with structured modules.

   • Workshop? Outline may work.

2. How polished do I need to be?

   • Corporate or paid gig? They expect precision.

   • Local panel or practice stage? Ad-libbing could be permissible.

3. How confident am I in this content?

   • New material? Write more of it out.

   • Signature story you’ve told 100 times? Just make sure you land the punchline.

Your Homework (3 Action Steps):

1. Write your next story as a module.
   Don’t script the whole talk, just one story. Give it a strong opening, a turn, and a takeaway.

2. Underline key phrases.
   Bolding makes it memorable to you. You’re training your brain to recall structure, not lines.

3. Practice swapping stories.
   Take one story and brainstorm three different lessons it could teach. That’s when you know it’s a real asset.

BOTTOM LINE:

• Writing word-for-word can help you process.

• Outlining can help you pivot.

• Modular storytelling helps you do both—with freedom and flexibility.

1440: Your Weekly Business Cheat Sheet

Expand your business and finance knowledge with 1440. Get clear, conversational breakdowns of the key concepts in business and finance—no paywalls, no spin. Every Thursday, 1440 delivers deep dives, interactive charts, and rapid market rundowns trusted by 100k+ professionals.

Sign Up Today

Do you remember that story about the starfish?

Of course you do because speakers grossly overuse it… But I am not here to fixate on that.

Let’s talk about storytelling.

Not the “once upon a time” kind, but the kind that makes your message unforgettable.

You see, storytelling isn't just a nice-to-have; it's a must-have. It's the difference between being heard and being remembered.

Stories Are Sticky

There's a widely cited claim that stories are up to 22 times more memorable than facts alone. While the exact origin of this statistic is debated, the underlying truth remains: stories resonate.

In their book Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath talk about an experiment at Stanford University. Students were asked to give one-minute speeches containing statistics and stories. When tested later, only 5% remembered any individual statistic, but 63% remembered the stories.

Article Continues Below —> Click to continue reading!

Find out why 1M+ professionals read Superhuman AI daily.

In 2 years you will be working for AI

Or an AI will be working for you

Here's how you can future-proof yourself:

1. Join the Superhuman AI newsletter – read by 1M+ people at top companies

2. Master AI tools, tutorials, and news in just 3 minutes a day

3. Become 10X more productive using AI

Join 1,000,000+ pros at companies like Google, Meta, and Amazon that are using AI to get ahead.

Sign up and start learning AI

“There's always room for a story that can transport people to another place.

J.K. Rowling

BOTTOM LINE:

Stories aren't just for entertainment; they're tools for connection. By making your message concrete and relatable, you ensure it doesn't just inform—it sticks.

Is it ever okay to Pay to Speak?

Let’s talk about one of the most common (and confusing) questions in the speaking world that I get: Should you pay to play?

If you’ve ever gotten a DM offering to “get you on the speaking circuit for just $2,500,” you know the type. Depending on my mood when one of these generous 🙄 offers slides into my DMs, I either play dumb or reply with something like: “Thanks! This account is monitored by Ryan’s agent, and any attempt to hire Ryan outside of the agency’s site is a breach of contract.” That usually shuts it down.

“Know your worth. Then add tax.

Sharon M. Peterson

BOTTOM LINE:

Know what game you’re playing before you step on the field.