7-Steps to a $100 Million Story
Mar 31, 2016 | Public Speaking Tips, Sell with a Story, Stand OUT! Speaking Tip, Tell a Story, Make Your Point
Is there such a thing as a magic story formula? That depends on how you define ‘magic.’ In the world of movie making, a movie that earns $100 million is often considered a success. With that as a measuring stick, there is a magic storytelling formula. It has been...
Find Your Speaker ‘Driving Range’
Mar 26, 2016 | Develop a Dynamic Delivery, Overcome Fear of Speaking, Public Speaking Tips, Sell with a Story, Stand OUT! Speaking Tip, Tell a Story, Make Your Point
What a Speaker Can Learn From Golfers In the world of golf, there are many ways to practice - putting on practice greens, chipping shots out of a sand trap, and hitting balls at the driving range. If you're not familiar with the term, a driving range is a place where...
How to Create Memorable Moments In Your Story
Mar 19, 2016 | Advanced Public Speaking Skills, Connect with Every Audience, Public Speaking Tips, Stand OUT! Speaking Tip, Tell a Story, Make Your Point, Write a Meaningful & Memorable Message
I was watching a video of Dave as he was presenting his story in a storytelling workshop. He casually said, “My doctor said, “Dude, you’re going to die if you keep this up!” and Darren LaCroix, the workshops facilitators, said, “Whoa! Say that again!” Dave, a little...
How To Enjoy Public Speaking
Mar 12, 2016 | Develop a Dynamic Delivery, Overcome Fear of Speaking, Public Speaking Tips, Sell with a Story, Stand OUT! Speaking Tip, Write a Meaningful & Memorable Message
Speaking Lesson From an NFL Hall of Famer The day after speaking at a TED X Cincinnati audition, I read the following quote: "I love to play football on Sunday. In fact, I do that for nothing. They pay me for the practices during the week." ~ Sam Huff, Hall of Fame...
Speaking Tip: Why Should Your Audience Care?
Mar 5, 2016 | Connect with Every Audience, Persuasion, Public Speaking Tips, Sell with a Story, Stand OUT! Speaking Tip, Tell a Story, Make Your Point, Write a Meaningful & Memorable Message
Ed Tate, CSP (and 2000 World Champion of Public Speaking) is a terrific speaker and mentor. He is not afraid to cut to the chase when working with speakers. While sitting in on one of his live coaching sessions, I saw him stop a speaker 30 seconds into her talk and...
“Does Your Story Have To Be Factual?”
Feb 28, 2016 | Connect with Every Audience, Public Speaking Tips, Sell with a Story, Speech Writing, Stand OUT! Speaking Tip, Tell a Story, Make Your Point, Write a Meaningful & Memorable Message
Does a story have to be factual? What is your knee-jerk reaction to this question? The first time I heard this question, my emotional response was - absolutely! Anything else would be a lie. I had plenty of ‘proof’ to back this feeling: sales people who omit...
Speaking Lesson From the US Olympic Hockey Team
Feb 20, 2016 | Connect with Every Audience, Develop a Dynamic Delivery, Public Speaking Tips, Sell with a Story, Write a Meaningful & Memorable Message
One of the core speaking principles is the power of silence. Put into practice, this delivery tool can have a profound impact on an audience. This concept is not always easy to grasp. It’s counter-intuitive to think that a speaker is most effective when not speaking....
Stand OUT Speaking Tip: What Every Audience DOESN’T Want
Feb 13, 2016 | Connect with Every Audience, Public Speaking Tips, Stand OUT! Speaking Tip, Write a Meaningful & Memorable Message
Hint: It ain't about you! Last week, with help from the great band Van Halen, you read about a key speaking idea - what audiences want from you; your perspective. This week, you'll learn what audiences don't want. The author is not a rock band, but he is a Rock Star -...
What Every Audience Wants: Your Perspective
Feb 6, 2016 | Connect with Every Audience, Public Speaking Tips, Speech Writing, Stand OUT! Speaking Tip
In their heyday, Van Halen was known for it's unique style. They gave audiences what they wanted. Staging their elaborate concerts was no small task. It took 9 eighteen-wheel trucks filled with gear to stage these extravaganzas. In order to hire Van Halen to play at...
How to Deliver an Impactful Speech
Jan 30, 2016 | Connect with Every Audience, Public Speaking Tips, Sell with a Story, Speech Writing, Stand OUT! Speaking Tip, Write a Meaningful & Memorable Message
Speech Lesson From a Networking Event Recently I was attending a networking event. The facilitator announced a group activity, gave us three simple instructions, and divided us into groups of four. As the activity began, two people in my group started a discussion...
Shake ’em Up, Wake ’em Up When Speaking
Jan 24, 2016 | Connect with Every Audience, Develop a Dynamic Delivery, Persuasion, Public Speaking Tips, Stand OUT! Speaking Tip, Tell a Story, Make Your Point, Write a Meaningful & Memorable Message
Recently, I was talking with Denise, a coaching client who lives in Vancouver, Canada. She is often speaking about a challenging subject: living with HIV. We were discussing the emotional impact her topic has on others. "Michael, many people don't want to hear my...
Become a Speaker Who Reads Minds
Jan 16, 2016 | Connect with Every Audience, Develop a Dynamic Delivery, Public Speaking Tips, Stand OUT! Speaking Tip, Write a Meaningful & Memorable Message
Three Steps to Connecting With Your Audience (This weeks post is provided by my fellow Certified World Class Speaking Coach and speaker, Kwesi Millington. He offers a unique approach to connecting with your audience). Think about your last speech. Do you know what the...
THE Key To Finding Speech Material
Jan 10, 2016 | Public Speaking Tips, Sell with a Story, Speech Writing, Stand OUT! Speaking Tip, Tell a Story, Make Your Point, Write a Meaningful & Memorable Message
The Secret to Your Passion is Right In Front of You It was April of 2008. I was on the phone listening to a 'speech' from a man at our home office. He was explaining why I couldn't sell a mutual fund to a client who had requested it. After several minutes of...
How To Sell In Less Than 30 Seconds
Jan 3, 2016 | Marketing, Persuasion, Sell with a Story
Can you really sell a product, service or idea in 30 seconds? With the rare exception, the answer to that question is “NO.” The title of this post is intentionally misleading. The word ‘sell’ has many different connotations, many of them negative. The intention here...
Speaking with Inspirational Images
Dec 26, 2015 | Connect with Every Audience, Persuasion, Public Speaking Tips, Sell with a Story, Speech Writing, Stand OUT! Speaking Tip, Tell a Story, Make Your Point, Write a Meaningful & Memorable Message
If you’d been sitting with me at the association meeting at which I'd be speaking, you might have felt the same way when the envelopes were passed around. As the representative from a local food pantry walked to the front of the room, I must confess, my thoughts...
Our conference was elevated to a new level of professionalism. Michael will be retained to help make our trainers become better communicators, both visually and verbally and to assist us with next year’s conference. We highly recommend him and Speaking CPR to assist with your next event."
Robert Gerbus, President, Trans Ash, Inc.
Robert Gerbus, President, Trans Ash, Inc.
Michael Davis exceeded every expectation and was one of the best coaches I ever worked with. His quiet professionalism, and unsurpassed knowledge of storytelling helped make my Ted X Cincinnati talk extremely powerful.
I would recommend Michael, as a story and speaking coach to anyone with a high stakes talk to give. Michael will help you take your speech from good to great!”
LTC (Ret.) Scott Mann, Green Beret, Storyteller, Trainer, Coach, Author
LTC (Ret.) Scott Mann, Green Beret, Storyteller, Trainer, Coach, Author
He truly has a gift in connecting with the heart of each person he works with and helping them to unleash their story into their talk. All of the speakers raved about his work with them. Each of them has had broad experience in speaking, but they all felt that working with Michael raised the bar on their ability to speak. You can listen to all of his speakers, Anthony Munoz, Richard Bernstein and Graeme Joffe, at http://www.tedxcincinnati.com/talks/.”

Allison Wonders Gars
Speaker Coach Manager, TED x Cincinnati
Allison Wonders Gars
Speaker Coach Manager, TED x Cincinnati
“Investing in Michael is one of the best investments I have ever made. I speak on the subject of diversity in the workplace, which can at times be a difficult topic to discuss.
Michael taught me a repeatable process that allows me to create a foundational concept, a logical structure, an opening that grabs the audience’s attention, and a conclusion that encourages my audience to take action that will save them time and money.
I found Michael easy to work with, flexible with his schedule, and a wealth of information about the art of speaking. If you need to improve your presentation or speech, I highly recommend you consider hiring Michael. It is one of the best investments you can make in your own growth.”

Natalie Holder
Founder, QUEST Diversity
Natalie Holder
Founder, QUEST Diversity
Panic to Power

Swift and Simple Strategies Anyone Can Use to Overcome Fear and Anxiety About Public Speaking.
Evaluate to Elevate

Discover the keys to delivering evaluations that lift others to higher levels of accomplishment
THE Book on Storytelling

Discover How to Develop and Deliver Business Stories That Increase Your Impact, Influence and Income
Recent Posts
- Quickly Gain Trust, Increase Your Influence, And Sell More, Faster
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- 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴
- Amplify Your Impact: Master the Storytelling Structure The Brain Craves
- 3 Surprising Storytelling Barriers That Keep Your Message from Sticking
- Leaders, Share Your Vision Without Relying On Complex Data
- How to Close More Sales Without Sounding Like a Pushy Salesperson
- 3 Hidden Storytelling Barriers Holding Back CEOs and Entrepreneurs
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Michael’s mission is to help leaders, managers and sales professionals communicate with more confidence, impact, and influence. This passion is born from his own communication difficulties early in his career.
Fortunately, he discovered that public speaking is like riding a bike, swimming or driving a car - it’s a learnable skill. Once he discovered this ‘secret’ he became a voracious student of the craft. He took courses, studied some of the world’s best speakers and storytellers and continues to study presentation and business storytelling skills.
He is hired by companies and organizations, leaders, managers and sales professionals, and TEDx speakers to help them become more confident, impactful and influential communicators.

