Jim Davies joins us today to discuss best practices for holding Q&A sessions at the end of your presentation.

Beverly West joins us on today's show to discuss using humor in your presentation. Using humor is one way that makes it easier to tell people difficult things. BUT - where people go wrong is telling a semi-funny joke that creates confusion. You should use humor, it's effective, but it can be confusing over the phone. SO - how can you effectively use humor in your presentation? This episode discusses what you need to know.

What does it take to get in front of your audience, deliver the presentation, and get them to buy from you, invest in you, or work with you? In this show, we approach this from a few different angles. Plus, Jim talks science behind cursing and swearing. How can you use swearing in your presentation? Listen in to this episode for Oren and Jim's take.

This is a special short episode because I’m on the road promoting my new book, Flip the Script. After doing about 30 podcast interviews over the past couple of weeks, I’m more convinced than ever that sales people need to get better at two things. First, we need to prevent people from saying “let me think about it” or “let me show it to my partner”. Second, we need to learn how to respond to prospects when they do say these kinds of things.

As soon as Eric told me about this trick I knew I had to invite him on the podcast. He has used this strategy to build a career as a highly successful Hollywood financial adviser. His company manages assets for some of the top celebrities on the planet and he doesn’t accept any new clients without a referral. On this episode, he explains the trick he uses with new clients to close them on his services. It’s genius.

Before you take the stage to give any kind of speech, pitch, or presentation, there will be an introduction for you. Unfortunately, these are often a complete train wreck that fail to set you up properly and prime the audience for your talk both cognitively and emotionally. In this episode Jim Davies and I will show you how to take control of your introductions and make sure they are perfect every time.

It’s nearly impossible to influence anybody from the wrong level of the dominance hierarchy. On this episode, I speak with Bev about some ideas from my new book, Flip the Script, and we look at how social status works. I also reveal how you can set “rules” for how status will work in a specific relationship.

Can you tell when somebody is lying to you? Studies show most people are overconfident in our ability to spot liars. The CIA has developed some proven approaches to help agents tell whether or not someone is being truthful. In this episode, ex CIA agent Jason Hanson explains how these methods work.

When you put on an event that includes a speech, how can you make sure it turns out great? On this episode, Jim Davies and I talk about the science of hosting a speaker. We explore all of the technology involved in a great speech, from confidence monitors to laptop adaptors, and we reveal what separates the great events from the mediocre ones.

It’s a bad sign when someone shows up late to their first meeting, isn’t prepared, or acts arrogant. When you see these types of power plays early on, you have to put a stop to them using some power plays of your own. But how? On this episode, I talked to Jason Hanson about how CIA agents handle this kind of arrogant behavior.

When the CIA recruits new assets for the US government, they approach with total confidence and zero neediness—the same traits that work in business deals. On today’s episode, Jason Hanson tells me exactly how they do it. He says that it all comes down to doing enough research before you approach a prospect. How can you do this kind of research in your own life and business? Jason dives into his own methods on this episode.

I don’t do a lot of preparation before important meetings anymore and it has cost me money. On today’s episode, I wanted to get a taste of what serious preparation looks like. So I spoke with Jason Hanson, ex-CIA agent and author of the new book Agent of Influence. Jason told me how carefully the CIA prepares for an important meeting and how they stay authentic when they know so much about a prospect before-hand.

The main key to becoming an expert in anything is practice. But pitching and presenting are really hard things to practice because they require an audience. In this episode, Jim Davies and I dive into the science of practice and we look at some of the main places that speakers go wrong when they are preparing for a speech. I also explain some of the strategies I use in my own speaking career to get ready for a big talk.

The elements that make something fun to read are not the same as the elements that make something fun to listen to. One place many people go wrong with their pitches and presentations is they start by writing them out on a piece of paper and then they transfer them to slides or notecards in order to give their talk. On this episode, I explain why this is a problem and I reveal my tips for making sure your pitch is well-spoken, not just well-written.

We all know that using high pressure tactics during your sales pitch can backfire and cause your buyers to resist you. But studies show that even asking the wrong questions at the wrong time can turn buyers against you. How do you avoid triggering resistance in buyers? On this episode I spoke with research psychologist Andy Earle about the science of psychological reactance and how it applies to sales.

When you “raise the stakes” you are providing new information that makes an existing situation seem more urgent, compelling, or important. You need to do this in the first 15 seconds of your presentation otherwise you’ve already lost your audience. But most people go about it in completely the wrong way. Today, I talk to Jim Davies about the science of raising the stakes and we provide 4 exact scripts you can use in your own presentations.

Sales and marketing tactics don’t work for raising capital and getting investors because the way money works is counter-intuitive. Investors don’t want to be sold on you and your ideas, they want to be attracted to you. Until you understand the language of money, no investor is going to want to be part of your deals. On this episode, I reveal how to talk about money in a way that makes people want to give theirs to you.

This is the first meeting of the Level X Group, a new organization I’m assembling of top performers in a number of fields. The goal is to see what I can learn about success by getting together with a bunch of people at the top of their game. On this episode I meet up with Casey, a fitness podcaster and gym owner, at the first meeting of Level X.

There are two main tricks I use at the beginning of a call to make sure everything starts just right. On today’s episode, Beverly and I explore both of them. First, we look at the importance of tone. You’ll see how a self-deprecating tone can be used incorrectly and my recommendation for when to use a slow and serious tone. Also, we’ll talk about pacing and how to keep your audience feeling like they are on a roller coaster.

I don’t believe in tough audiences, because I think if a show doesn’t go over well it’s always the speaker’s fault. But when you get put in the wrong room or get a group who is completely wrong for your material, what can you do to regain control? On this episode I speak with Cognitive Scientist Jim Davies and we unpack some research-based strategies that work anywhere. You’ll want to have a few of these in your back pocket at all times, just in case.

I get a lot of emails from entrepreneurs asking for my advice. In this episode, I answer some of the most common ones. To keep things interesting, and to keep my answers fresh, I recorded the episode while I was driving around in my truck. My producer fired questions at me and I responded on the spot as best as I could. Topics include my best experience as an entrepreneur, the most rewarding part of being an entrepreneur, and the biggest mistake new entrepreneurs make.

Hearing the word “yes” from the buyer is not the end of a sale. You still need to get the purchase approved and finalized by everyone on the buyer’s team, and there are a number of things that can go wrong during this process. On this episode, I speak with Cullen, a logistics expert who advises companies on large purchases and hires. He reveals 7 red flags that cause him to pump the brakes during a sale and we discuss what sales people can do to avoid these and push the sale forward.

During any presentation, the first thing you say and the last thing you say are the most important words that will come out of your mouth. On this episode of the podcast, Jim Davies and I focus on the best way to start your talk. We cover two specific scripts you can apply to any topic to grab your audience’s attention, establish intrigue, and make them feel like what you’re talking about is important and worth listening to. We also walk you through the main things to avoid during the first...