Will Greenblatt's Linkedin Analytics

Should you write a script to prepare for a talk, or just bullet-point notes? This is one of the most F of all the Qs I get A-ed. So here's a real-life example (and what most people misunderstand about this): Today I appeared on a "pod" as the kids say, and the premise of this particular pod is to tell a story that you do some work on ahead of time. (Bree Aesie has a very impressive guest onboarding system for her AC English | Into the Story Podcast, with all the instructions laid out) So: Did I only write a SCRIPT? Making me sound like a ROBOT?? OR did I only write NOTES, leaving me wildly UNPREPARED?? Neither. That is, I wrote both. Which is my answer whenever someone in inevitably asks this question in one of my public speaking & storytelling workshops: WRITE A SCRIPT, but don't recite it verbatim, and use NOTES if you need to. It's not an either / or. But why spend time on writing a script if you're not gonna read it? Because only writing slows you down enough create the best version of what you wanna say. Writing lets you see your own words on the page, revisiting them multiple times to hone the message. Writing allows you to dig into your memory and consciousness and express thoughts and feeling you never would say out loud. Then, once you've uncovered them, you can say them out loud. Writing makes you a better speaker. (Sorry, A.I.-writing fans. It's the truth. If you don't care that's fine, but let's all be honest about this.) So, if you've ever wondered if you should write a script or just write notes to prepare for an upcoming talk... The answer is yes. --- 👋 Hi, I'm Will Greenblatt 🎭 Former actor ➜ speaker & coach 🔔 Follow me to Create Your Signature Workshop 📩 DM me for speaking availability or 1:1 coaching

Thinking of making this the cover art for my next book 🥲🥲🥲 But seriously, not a bad title eh? For a book about: “The importance of personal storytelling and human communication in the age of AI” etc. (Without the “… for fuck’s sake” part 😂) What do you think? Would you read that? And would any of you be interested in beta reading? (It’s just an expression, you’d still be totally alpha to me bro) Lemme know please 👇

Meeting someone new on Zoom: Brain 🧠 : *Don’t do it. Don’t you do that thing.* Me: …. 😓😓😓 P.S. NEVER listen to the first couple minutes of your own podcast appearance if you value your own sense of self-worth 😂

If you want to get paid to speak, you're probably better off doing a workshop over a keynote (I say that a lot). But here's the issue: How do you prove your workshop actually... works? One way that L&D people at companies measure the effectiveness of a training workshop is: The Kirkpatrick Model. It goes like this: Level 1: Reaction 👍 ↳ Did people LIKE the workshop? Level 2: Learning 🧠 ↳ Did people REMEMBER the lessons? Level 3: Behaviour 💪 ↳ Did people CHANGE how they do things? Level 4: Results 📈 ↳ Did people ACHIEVE their desired outcomes? Unfortunately, most new speakers focus only on measuring "Reaction" (and many forget even to do that 🥲) So, here's how you can measure effectiveness when delivering your workshop to corporate: 1. Reaction 👍 : ↳ Use a tool like Talkadot to capture audience feedback by putting a QR code right on your slides and offering a "freebie" in exchange 2. Learning 🧠: ↳ Ask the audience during the Q&A what the biggest takeaways were, and/or send a quiz using Typeform or something similar 3. Behaviour 💪 ↳ Offer to schedule a call 6 weeks after the workshop to see if/how behaviour has changed, e.g. more follow-up emails sent etc. (this benefits them as well as you!) 4. Results 📈 ↳ ROI or ROO (Return On Objectives) take time to appear, so schedule another call 12 weeks out to see if/how the KPIs of your audience have improved, e.g. 2% increased sales conversion rate etc. But is spending this extra time worth it, you might well ask? Getting these results documented will help you: - successfully pitch to future companies - tweak the workshop to make sure it's working - and streamline the data collection process over time P.S. This is what I'm doing to validate my new Signature Workshop "Story First: Build trust at speed and at scale" (Sorry Isabel Sterne 🟡 but thanks for the beautiful graphics!) I'll keep you updated on how it's going in some upcoming posts. 💪

Ok: I'm about to use sports as a metaphor on LinkedIn (sue me). But I'm not gonna do it the way most of the biz bros on this platform do it. "Hockey is like sales, bro, you gotta... skate hard, and... shoot your, like, sales script, at the goalie, who's... kinda like the prospect..." 🙄 For context: The Toronto goddam Maple Leafs lost again last night, bringing their record in playoff elimination games to 1-13 (!) in the Matthews-Marner era. (I'm a leafs fan if you can't tell. It's a sickness.) All of Toronto sports media is asking the same question today: "Why can't these talented players win when it really matters?" The answer goes by various names, describing a feeling all of us are familiar with if we've ever done anything important in public: - "Choking" - "The 'yips'" - "Past demons" - "The moment is too big" - "No 'killer instinct'" But what they really mean is: "Performance anxiety." If you've ever spoken onstage, or given a big sales pitch, you know this feeling. Now, here's where my POV differs from the average "business is like sports" post: Business is NOT like sports. This is a lie that businessmen (mostly men, but some women who like sports too) tell themselves, and each other, to feel cool and live out a lost fantasy. I get it. I wanted to play in the NHL too. But sports is a zero-sum game: I win, you lose. Or vice versa. That's the only possible result. But building a business, in my opinion, is about finding situations where multiple "teams" can win at the same time: - sales calls should be convos, not competitions - partnership negotiations should be mutually beneficial - and those of us who aren't chronically miserable shouldn't compare ourself to our peers to see if we're "winning" In that framing, "choking and losing" become inevitable. Almost every champion loses more than they win. But if you adopt an "anti-sports" mindset if you will, the kind that says: - "Life is long and progress can be slow" - "Every failure is a learning experience" - "There's no final destination" - "I'm only competing with myself" - "Being a decent person is more important that making money" (*shocked Pikachu face*) Then "performance anxiety" gets dramatically reduced. That's what I've found anyway. Stop trying to "win" at business. You're not an athlete. And you'll be happier for it. P.S. Go leafs 🥲

If you wanna get paid to speak to corporate, you gotta learn their language. Here are the 5 most requested corporate training topics (from Talkadot's 2025 report based on 10,621 searches)👇 1. "Leadership Training" Companies want experts to help managers become better leaders. 2. "Professional Development" Organizations are investing in their employees’ skills and career growth. 3. "Staff Training" Companies need speakers to train their workforce on soft skills, communication, and leadership 4. "Staff Development" Businesses are funding programs that help teams improve their collaboration, mindset, and innovation. 5. "Leadership Retreats" Executive teams want facilitated retreats to improve leadership effectiveness and team cohesion -------------- So, when pitching your talks to corporations, make sure you use the language they're actually searching with to increase your chances of success. AND as the report states quite plainly: "If you're only focusing on keynotes, you're leaving money on the table." If you don't have a workshop, time to create one. Comment SPEAK or send me a DM if you want create and start selling your Signature Workshop in 2025. P.S. Follow Arel Moodie and see the entire Talkadot report, it's super helpful!

The biggest storytelling mistake you’re probably making: Not telling the audience your ORIGIN STORY. The SECOND biggest mistake though, is starting the Origin Story too late. Here's how most people do it: "I studied art history, but I ended up working for a tech startup instead. While working there, I realized that payment processing is super inefficient..." 😴 😴 😴 WHY did you study art history in the first place? What caused you to change your trajectory? And why are you the KIND OF PERSON who cares about this work you do now? All - or most - of these answers can be found in your: 1. Childhood 2. Youth Many psychologists believe the most formative years of life are between 0-8 and 12-18. Yet most people start their story AFTER this period of life, which makes no sense. The reasons you chose to study, work, and even live the way you did was largely due to these early years. And especially the difficult or traumatic moments. It can feel weird and scary to share these parts of our ourselves with strangers in a professional audience. But if you do - honestly, and without expectation: You'll find they reward you with their ATTENTION and TRUST. TL;DR: Start your Origin Story in childhood. And don't skip your adolescence. P.S. If you struggle with this or wonder how to do it, drop me a Q 👇 --- 👋 Hi, I'm Will Greenblatt 🎭 Former actor ➜ speaker & coach 🔔 Follow me to Create Your Signature Workshop 📩 DM me for speaking availability or 1:1 coaching

Submitting to speak at conferences? You can save a SH*T-TON of time by creating re-usable "Speaker Assets": 1. Talk Title Instead of re-inventing it every time, or making up one to fit the event, develop a Signature Talk title (or 2-3) and only apply for RELEVANT conferences! Use this formula: "Catchy Title: Helping who + do what + how + why" 2. Session Description 500 words or less. This should describe: • WHAT you're going to talk about • HOW you'll deliver it (format) • WHO needs it • & WHY it matters *Note: some form ask for an additional "marketing version". When in doubt, give the marketing version to help them sell it to attendees. 3. Speaker Bio 150 words outlining: • Your backstory • Why you speak about this • Your credentials on the topic • Speaking experience & accolades Use simple language, personal details, and specific numbers, clients, or awards. 4. Attendee takeaways Use the format: "Attendees will..." (Attendees will learn, create, discover, etc.) You need 3 per talk generally, but write 7-10 from your different talks so you can choose ones that fit the theme & audience of the event 5. References, footage, testimonials, etc. Any EVIDENCE you can gather, written or video, of how awesome you are. Collect this in a folder called "Speaking Kit" The next time you apply for a conference, COPY AND PASTE everything, and save it in a Word Doc! I learned this the hard way, don't make the same mistakes 👏 P.S. Ask me anything about being a pro speaker below, I’ll do my best to answer 👇

I hate to admit it but I get a twinge of jealousy every time I come across someone like Amanda Baker on LinkedIn. Like me she speaks & coaches on storytelling, BUT: - She's a TEDx speaker - She has extensive industry experience - She has a university degree (with honours) - She has almost double the LinkedIn audience - And her online presence just seems like someone who's "figured it out" (Damn her! Lol) All these things that I feel like I'm lacking, she's got. But of course, as soon as I chat with her, I realize: Even though we do similar things, we're not in competition. In fact, we SHOULD be collaborating. And that's what we're gonna do. Yes, she's accomplished, and impressive, but she's also a really warm, genuine and lovely person. (Most of the people I admire on here from a far turn out to be) F*ck competing. Collaborating is the way. Thanks Amanda for the hour-long story geek-out. Stay tuned for some announcements about what we're gonna do together! Hint: it will be workshop-related 😅 P.S. Thanks to Mark Leruste 🎤 for making me aware of Amanda in a post. For anyone who thinks posts that shine a light on other people have no value, they definitely do 👏

I write songs. Not for a living - otherwise my family would starve - but: I do have 1 album and 1 EP on Spotify, Apple Music etc, and probably 50+ unrecorded songs that exist in my head and various papers or iPhone Notes. I've been doing it since I was 14 years old, and I can say from experience that songwriting - like all forms of creativity I know - is a mysterious beast: It can't be tamed through sheer force. It can't be willed into existence. It has to be captured, delicately and piecemeal, from some unknown ether that sends you messages when there's a song floating around in it, and you're lucky enough to have a guitar and a notebook lying around, and a few quiet minutes to bring the thing into this dimension. Obviously, the more time you spend in front of the "blank page" with your instrument, the more songs you can capture from the ether. BUT: The delicate wrestling moves you need to apply so you don't overwork the song (like a dough), and yet spend enough time and attention on it (like a child) to see it realize it's full potential... That's the craft. That's what being a songwriter is: Wrestling the song into existence without hurting it. Or killing it. Now: I'm not religious at all. But this is as close to sacred as it gets for me. The human creative process is something we don't understand, but most of us are lucky enough to experience at times. And every once in a while - when you spend enough time wrestling - you get blessed by the gods, and something truly special comes out. And another person hears it, or sees it, or reads it, and the two of you become something greater than yourselves as individuals when that happens. This is what we stand to lose if we let A.I. write for us. It's not about whether the "end product" is "good" or not. It's about preserving the knowledge of wrestling with words. Without killing them.

This is what happens when you work with amazing clients: They get results. You look like a genius, because they’re so awesome, and yes you did help them, but their: - tenacity - work ethic - personality - confidence - and accomplishments Paved the way for them to succeed. Vincent Pierri is a dream client, because he does everything I show him how to do, and more. He signed up for my Signature Workshop program last month, and is already generating interest in paid workshops that we’re creating together, and following the sales outreach strategy I use myself. He’s a brilliant content creator, but more than that, he’s a real person who cares about what he does and shows up that way with everyone. So excited to see results after only 3 weeks of working together!! Go follow Vincent if you don’t already. You won’t regret it. P.S. My Signature Workshop 1:1 client list is currently full. If you want to be the first to know when a spot opens up, then: 1. Join my community Speaking Heroes (link in my Featured section) 2. OR subscribe to the Greenblast for a slightly later announcement (also in Featured) Let’s get you paid to speak this year 🔥🔥

I’m a validation addict. (As I post a selfie on LinkedIn 🙄). That’s honestly how I see myself, and how I think about the work I do in my life: Since I was a kid, I went into audition rooms as a child actor and tried to make people like me. Everything I did was a performance. Slowly, after losing my brother at a young age, coming to grips with being molested at an even younger age, and being arrested for a crime I didn’t commit 3 months after my brother died… I became so angry at the world that I stopped performing, a least somewhat. But I spent my days feeling like the universe hated me, that I was uniquely fucked up, and that I had justification for being an asshole. That didn’t feel good either. I traveled, and got away from my hometown and friends, and slowly, so slowly, I started healing. Nowadays, I speak onstages, and post content online. This is a terrible idea for a validation addict. But I learned that there’s something that I can replace it with: Connection. If I show up here, and onstage, not trying to make you like me, but trying to share the real sh*t, good, bad, and ugly, then I can make connection and help other people heal. I honestly think this stuff can do that. So I’m still a validation addict, but I’m a recovering validation addict. It’s a lifelong process 😅

“Personal storytelling” is a LinkedIn niche with which I’ve become obsessed. (How ‘bout that grammar eh?!) Here’s a list of my favourite creators in this space: Mark Leruste 🎤 - author of Glow In The Dark. Amazing keynote speaker and person. kristina flynn - the 1st person I heard say “personal branding sucks. Tell your personal story.” 🔥 AI extraordinaire. Dan Manning - talks about stories of all kinds, but includes many of his own. A master. Amanda Baker - f*ck Drake, I love new friends! TED speaker, 5 Stories creator, new mum 👏 Chris Do - yes he’s famous, but you might not know him. He’s taught me a ridiculous amount about personal storytelling. YouTube him. David Hutchens - like Dan, helps leaders tell all kind of stories, but his personal stories are always from the heart ❤️👏 Namrata 'Nammy' Sirur - host of a new podcast focusing on personal storytelling (I’m appearing next week!) Namrata helps non-native English speakers tell stories too. Niall Ratcliffe - also a big creator, and a bit too strategic with the personal stories for me, but well worth a follow to see how personal stories can go viral and scale. If I’ve missed anyone, please add them (or yourself) and feel free to call me a stupid idiot below!!👇 I love you all ❤️ P.S. That’s me at 5 years old (in the picture) with my brother Luke. P.P.S. Stephanie Zhuang 🐶🧦 dared me to show my baby pic. Your turn! 😅

You know who you are 😤 For the love of god: Practice your talk OUT LOUD! At least 2-3x. Carmine Gallo says 10x, so I think you’re getting off light with me. Don’t get up there and expect to do well with zero actual rehearsal. Sincerely: Everyone in your future audience. Thank you 🙏

I hired an EA, and she’s f*cking amazing. 🤩 Here’s some tangible results so far: - 37% response rate from cold outreach to corporate buyers (for my signature workshop) - 9% appointment booking rate - 6 proposals sent - 1 closed lost so far 🥲 - 5 waiting for response! Gabby Rosely is worth 10,000 ChatGPTs. (Only a slight exaggeration) Why am I telling you this, you may well ask? Because: I have 3 MORE SPOTS left in my “Create & Start Selling Your Signature Workshop” course. (I’m working with 2 clients now, and can take on max 5 at a time). But now when you hire me, you get Gabby as well! She’s like me, but more organized, detail oriented and smarter. Where else are you gonna get that deal? Comment SPEAK or send me a DM to see if the Signature Workshop course is right for you! P.S. We’re working on getting me and my clients corporate workshops, association gigs, and conferences, FYI.

Here’s a challenge for you: If you’re a coach, explain what you do WITHOUT the words: - empower - embodied - transformative - alignment - clarity - purpose - systems - signature - high-performer - intersection - accountability - method - framework - discovery - ignite - integrate - holistic If you can 😂

I meet so many funny, interesting, & relatable people who become absolutely BORING when it's their time to "speak in public." I call it: The "leaden blanket of professionalism." (Bit of a clumsy name tbh, but I'm going for accuracy over cleverness) We all have this fear - mostly subconsciously - that: - making jokes - admitting flaws - confessing mistakes - and saying honest, relatable things ... will somehow work against us when we stand up to speak "officially". As if presentation time = serious time. But it's almost always the opposite: People who are loose, relatable, funny, self-deprecating (from a place of confidence) and even a bit goofy are WAY more interesting to listen to. And are usually seen as more credible too. (Based on a bunch of studies I can go into if you like) So, take off the professionalism blanket, and crack a joke or at least a SMILE up there. Your audience will thank you for it. --- 👋 Hi, I'm Will Greenblatt 🎭 Former actor ➜ speaker & coach 🔔 Follow me to Create Your Signature Workshop 📩 DM me for speaking availability or 1:1 coaching

Sentence to HOOK you: (Subtitle to make you click "more") 👉 Bold statement about something "controversial." (Sorry, but it's true.) Finely-trimmed listicle: ↠ funky arrow point 1 ↠ funky arrow point 2 ↠ funky arrow point 3 However, here's a listicle of OPPOSITE things: ⇉ unnecessarily different arrow point 1 ⇉ unnecessarily different arrow point 2 ⇉ unnecessarily different arrow point 3 So: Condescending hypothetical question, summarizing the above? Overly confident answer. No nuance. But: Spineless hedge to avoid saying anything. What are YOUR thoughts? Engage below 👇 P.S. Buy my shit

Here’s how I deal with haters on LinkedIn: First, I study their comments carefully. Then, I instantly accept & internalize all the negative feedback. This way, I can mold my personality to what each one of them wants, avoiding more negative comments in the future. I think about it like this: If I can please one hater by adopting their suggestions for how I should talk, what I should say, or even what certain parts of my body should look like, then I just have to do that a few thousand times before I win them all over. Eventually, I’ll be the perfect collage of inoffensive bland statements, apolitical stances, neutral vocal tone and unthreatening presence in place of my actual personality. (Unless you don’t like all that, then I’ll change again). Hope this helps someone who’s currently expressing themselves honestly online 🙏 Tag someone who currently has the audacity to be themselves 👇

I really didn’t want to post this. It’s a Saturday, and it’s Passover. I wanted to post a fun, stupid meme on LinkedIn about public speaking, and then go spend time with my family before the Seder. But the news coming out of America is insane, and I don’t have any other platform to talk about this on: The US government announced it’s gonna be “screening” immigrants based on “antisemitic activity,” which to them includes participation in anti-Israel protests or even speech online. This is f*cking crazy. I’ll say what should be obvious, but somehow needs to be repeated again and again: Criticizing the Israeli government and army for the horrific amount of death they’re causing is NOT antisemitic. Some people who do it might be. But many are not. I know them. It IS antisemitic to assume that all Jews agree with Israel’s actions, which we don’t. I don’t care if you support Israel. I disagree but that’s your right. Some of my friends do, even now. But you care at all about free speech and basic human decency, i wanted you to be aware of this. This policing of anti-Israel or even pro-Palestinian speech has to stop, in Canada too. To all my fellow Jews, Chag Simeach, and please consider how crazy this would be in regards to any other country on Earth. I know I’m making a bad business decision by posting this. I can’t seem to care. I’ll go back to “not talking about politics on LinkedIn”. Feel free to unfollow if you don’t like where I stand on this.