"So... any questions?"

In this episode of The Public Speaking Podcast, hosts Lucas Reuterstig and Alexander Grabner Jarlung unpack one of the most common, and dangerous, mistakes presenters make: handing the final impression of their entire talk over to an unpredictable room.

Just like landing an airplane, the final 60 seconds of your presentation require maximum precision. Lucas and Alex break down the psychological reasons why audiences remember the ending above all else, how to handle running out of time, and the exact 4-step strategy to close your speech with authority, impact, and a lasting emotional payoff.

Connect with Alex

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jarlung/

Linkedin: https://se.linkedin.com/in/alexander-grabner-jarlung

Connect with Lucas

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mr_reuterstig/

Linkedin: https://se.linkedin.com/in/reuterstig

Follow us on social media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headgain.co/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepublicspeakingchannel

Website: https://headgain.com/

Join our community

Free skool community: https://www.skool.com/beginner

Paid skool community: https://www.skool.com/speak

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know that most speakers lose their entire audience within the first 60 seconds of walking onto stage?

In this new episode of The Public Speaking Podcast, Lucas Reuterstig and Alexander Grabner Jarlung break down the silent killer of keynotes and corporate presentations: weak, forgettable openings.

Alex shares a recent real-world story where he put an entire audience through a 15-second "stress test" in the opening minute, proving why interactive hooks completely disrupt the room and demand instant attention. Together, they discuss the worst stage habits that you could do in real life.

Whether you're presenting quarterly financial reports or delivering a keynote, this episode gives you practical ways to make your opening personal, high-energy, and completely impossible to ignore.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro

02:00 - Gone in 60 Seconds: How Speakers Lose the Room

03:34 - The 15-Second "Stress Test" Stage Opening

06:28 - Observations from the Amazon Nordic Event

08:32 - The Worst Ways to Start a Speech

10:11 - What Makes a Really Good Stage Hook?

12:00 - Entertaining the Brain While Delivering Facts

14:24 - How "Berta" Should Hook an Audience with Boring Numbers

16:00 - Shaping Audience Emotion from the First Impression

19:42 - Scanian Dialects & Authentic Persona on Stage

22:00 - What's the Worst That Can Happen? Taking Stage Risks

25:00 - How to Build Confidence in 14 Days

27:05 - Outro

Connect with Alex

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jarlung/

Linkedin: https://se.linkedin.com/in/alexander-grabner-jarlung

Connect with Lucas

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mr_reuterstig/

Linkedin: https://se.linkedin.com/in/reuterstig

Follow us on social media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headgain.co/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepublicspeakingchannel

Website: https://headgain.com/

Join our community

Free skool community: https://www.skool.com/beginner

Paid skool community: https://www.skool.com/speak

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you go from living in a $20-a-month shack surrounded by mice to generating $50M+ in sales and standing on global TEDx stages?

In this explosive, high-energy episode of The Public Speaking Podcast, hosts Lucas Reuterstig and Alexander Grabner Jarlung sit down with international speaker and investor, Steven Dossou.

Steven shares his personal story where he went from hawking vacuum cleaners door-to-door in South Africa to scaling multi-million dollar organizations and building a global public speaking business.

Steven pulls no punches when breaking down the reality of getting booked. He opens up about applying to over 150 TEDx and also explains the critical differences between getting booked in Europe versus the US, and breaks down his daily routine for unbreakable confidence. Plus, he introduces Real Speaking Gigs, an AI-powered tool trained on a decade of outreach data to help speakers connect directly with event organizers and land paid stages.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro

02:18 - The Speaker Agency Dilemma: Exclusivity vs. Freedom

05:58 - 10 Tough Thoughts with Steven Dossou

07:08 - Growing Up in a $20 Shack in Togo

08:54 - Door-to-Door Vacuum Sales to $50 Million in Revenue

11:13 - Losing Everything & Finding His True Calling in Speaking

13:49 - Cold-Pitching Directors to Build a Career

15:57 - The Truth About TEDx

18:31 - How Credibility Precedes Paid Gigs

19:11 - Getting Booked in Europe vs. The US (Market Realities)

22:07 - Finding Your "Touchstone Message" & Signature Speech

24:51 - In-Person Stage Energy vs. Digital Speaking

28:02 - 3 Daily Habits for Unstoppable Confidence & Resilience

32:59 - Guest Recommendations

35:03 - How "Real Speaking Gigs" AI Helps Speakers Land Bookings

37:30 - Where to Connect with Steven Dossou & Outro

Connect with Steven

Linkedin: https://fi.linkedin.com/in/steven-dossou-action-man-3623b5106

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steven_dossou/?hl=en

Website: https://stevendossou.com/

Follow us on social media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headgain.co/

Join our community

Free skool community: https://www.skool.com/beginner

Paid skool community: https://www.skool.com/speak

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.