Show Notes
Heroes are at the center of our stories… but what about anti-heroes? Christine Cashen shares stories that don’t paint her in the finest of lights, all in the name of her mission to stop the world whining.
Every speaker needs humility, but Christine takes it to a different level – not least in her signature story about a literal run in with a former President. You can’t get much more cringe-inducing than nearly knocking George W Bush off stage!
So how does fighting the fear of poking fun at yourself work to the audience’s benefit? And what can we, as speakers, learn from Christine’s novel approach to heroes and anti-heroes?
Find out about:
- How Christine adapts stories to fit a conversational style vs a scripted style
- Why observational humor increases empathy and how to add humor to your presentations and stories
- How Christine walks the dangerous road of bringing politics into speaking
- Christine’s method for keeping track of her stories and selecting the right one
- What Christine believes is the best and worst amount of time to deliver a speech in
Quotes from the episode:
“I try to weave in new material, but I’ve never dumped everything from my keynote and started fresh, because I know it works! What I try to do is pull out something that doesn’t get a lot of action.”
“I want people to start hitting each other – where they gasp and say ‘she gets it, she’s one of us’.”
“Whenever I try to make ‘a joke’, I don’t think that flies. I think the funny is all around us and you have to be present on stage and in the room. Half the best things that happen to me is when something goes wrong.”
Connect with Christine Cashen
2 Key Questions
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given about the speaking business?
“Write the book! I waited a long time to write my first book and am so happy that I did it. You can do it! You’ve just got to have your B, I and C – your Butt In Chair – and the right people to help you.
Also, people will too often have broad brush ideas, whereas I think audiences now want specific ideas that they can do today. So, if you talk like everybody else about goal setting or being grateful, give them something specific to do and name it something interesting. Tammy Evans has the ‘Bank of Thanks’. Create an original name for your tip and explain it to your audience. Make it sticky.”
Who is your dream guest for Standing Ovation?
“Jeanne Robertson. She’s a lot of fun and I look to her as my guide to how you can tell a story that people can relate to and want to share with their friends. Her stories are magic, she really is the master of storytelling. I don’t know of anybody really better, except for maybe Mark Scharenbroich who is an amazing storyteller. Either of those two!”
