992 Ashley Stahl:

Wings of Inspired Business Podcast EP 992 – Host Melinda Wittstock Interviews Ashley Stahl

Melinda Wittstock:

Coming up on Wings of Inspired Business:

Ashley Stahl:

There’s a big difference between credibility and authority. A lot of entrepreneurs have credibility. Maybe you’re a doctor and you went to medical school, like, you are to be trusted with this body of work or with this responsibility, but that doesn’t mean that they have authority. And authority is being a household name. It’s being the person everybody thinks of for your body of work. And so, the question you really need to ask if you’re an entrepreneur is, is there benefit of everybody thinking of me for my body of work? And if the answer is yes, then getting on major stages is one of the highest leverage ways, especially something like the TEDx stage, which has 45 million subscribers.

Melinda Wittstock:

For most people, public speaking is nothing short of terrifying. But the best entrepreneurs know that growth happens when we are outside our comfort zones. Ashley Stahl was working as a counterterrorism and national security expert when someone she met at an award ceremony recommended her for a TED Talk. Ashley’s talk went viral, and it catapulted her into helping purpose-driven entrepreneurs and experts master their signature talks and command stages. Today we get into what it takes to master public speaking and land a TEDx or a paid speaking gig.

Melinda Wittstock:

Hi, I’m Melinda Wittstock and welcome to Wings of Inspired Business, where we share the inspiring entrepreneurial journeys, epiphanies, and practical advice from successful female founders … so you have everything you need at your fingertips to build the business and life of your dreams. I’m all about paying it forward as a five-time serial entrepreneur, so I started this podcast to catalyze an ecosystem where women entrepreneurs mentor, promote, buy from, and invest in each other. Because together we’re stronger, and we all soar higher when we fly together and lift as we climb.

Melinda Wittstock:

Today we meet an inspiring entrepreneur who turned her own viral TED Talk into a prospering business helping others master their signature talk. Ashley Stahl is the founder and CEO of the Wise Whisper Agency, and she’s here today to share the transformative power of public speaking for entrepreneurs and change-makers. We talk about how a signature talk can elevate your authority, drive visibility, and open up opportunities for both personal and business growth.

Melinda Wittstock:

What slays on a stage is authenticity, storytelling and stage presence, and Ashley shares how these elements, when mastered, can make your message unforgettable. Today we talk practical strategies for creating talks that captivate audiences, including the critical role of titles, openings, and the structure of a compelling speech. She says your signature talk is your superpower, the thing that moves you beyond credibility to authority in your field. 

Melinda Wittstock:

So, what does it take to develop a signature talk? A lot of it comes down to mindset – like just about everything. And in an age of AI and content overload, it’s your human story and original thinking that truly resonate and differentiate you. Ashley shares how she built her business, how she works with clients, and the transformations she oversees.

Melinda Wittstock:

Let’s put on our wings with the inspiring Ashley Stahl.

[INTERVIEW]

Melinda Wittstock:

Ashley, welcome to Wings.

Ashley Stahl:

Thank you so much for having me.

Melinda Wittstock:

I am so excited to talk to you. Everyone needs their signature talk. It’s so important to entrepreneurs, and you help people do that. So, tell me what’s the main thing that you’re helping people with?

Ashley Stahl:

I feel like there’s a lot of agencies out there that help people try to figure out how to get booked on stages. But what I think a lot of people miss is even if you get yourself the gig, you get yourself the job, you get yourself whatever you want, you need to be excellent, you need to be captivating. You need to be the one that people remember. And my biggest passion over the years has become the artist in me, helping people write talks that actually captivate people, move people, and heal humanity in some way through their words. I think at their best, writing and writers are medicinal in the way that they are able to use words as a healing resource for people. And so, a lot of my work at Wise Whisper Agency has been helping people craft their greatest talk of their life, helping them get booked on major stages, and helping them learn how to be a true professional at speaking. And even if they’re already booking a lot of speaking, helping them scale their speaking fees so they can actually do it in a sustainable way.

Ashley Stahl:

And we have some software to do that. So, I’ve been keeping myself busy with this signature talk for the past few years, and I’m really passionate about it.

Melinda Wittstock:

And, of course, you had a really impactful talk yourself. I want you to take me back there.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah.

Melinda Wittstock:

Talk about that talk.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah.

Melinda Wittstock:

And how you got there, and I guess how it kind of changed your life?

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, it did change my life. I was working in national security and counterterrorism in my early 20s, and I won an award at a ceremony. And I’ll never forget: this beautiful woman walked in and she looked at me and. And I remember saying to her, who are you? Like, she just, have you ever seen somebody walk in a room and they feel like they are somebody significant for the room? Like, that was the energy she brought.

Melinda Wittstock:

There’s something magnetic about them. 

Ashley Stahl:

Yes, exactly.

Ashley Stahl:

So, she walked right on in and I was just like, who is this person? And I just need to talk to her. And so, I said, you’re radiating. Like, what’s your name? She goes, oh, I’m Sarah. And I just gave a TED Talk last week at the UN, a TEDx talk. And I said to her, wow, I would love to do that someday. But my voice was really from an energy of like, one day over the rainbow, you know, there was no part of me that thought I could do that anytime soon. And sure enough, she recommended me to a TEDx speech.

Ashley Stahl:

Just like a week later. Ended up hearing from curators. They emailed me, they said, oh, send me your speech speaking reel. And I didn’t even know what a speaking reel was. And I remember googling, what is a speaking reel? And I propped my phone up against a bathroom mirror of a motel because I was working for the government. I was in Turkey in 2012; it was during the protests in Istanbul. And I propped the phone against the mirror after googling, what is a speaking reel? And I just started talking to the phone and there was my speaking reel, which is obviously not the best. And by some sort of act of God, I still got the TED Talk.

Ashley Stahl:

And it ended up going viral, which to this day I have very mixed feelings about. Because you can imagine something that’s your first time, you want it to do well, but you also don’t want everybody to see you trying something for your first time. And so that talk totally changed my career in my life. Like, the amount of people who saw it, the amount of people who reached out to me, it was just like a truly life changing experience. And it put me on the map as a speaker. I ended up booking a speech every single month through that talk, and it completely set me up for a speaking career. And then I ended up giving a second TED talk that got 10 million views. And by that point, friends started asking me, can you help me write these? And the writer in me loves nothing more than that. So, I started helping friends brainstorm and curate their talks and make sense of their lives. Because when you’re writing a speech, you’re not just a writer, you’re a creative director, you’re a visionary trying to put a vision together and pick the right message and position the person right. And that was just so enjoyable for me to be able to help in that way. And I started seeing all my friends go viral. And that, to me, was when I said, okay, it’s time for me to have an agency doing this.

Melinda Wittstock:

When you think of what makes a really good talk, it seems like there’s so many ingredients, so many things that you have to get right. Like, yeah, talk about the authenticity, but also just great storytelling. And then there’s your presence. And then by the time they’re entrepreneurs and they’re successful, they have so many life experiences. So how do they narrow it down into the thing? It seems like there’s so much that when you start thinking about it, like, to me, it feels kind of on one hand, oh, duh. And on the other hand, incredibly complicated.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, it’s so true. There’s a couple elements. First, we want to look at what makes a talk go viral. So, what makes a talk go viral is really four things, and we have control over three of them. The first thing is the world. Like, what is going on with the world? We can’t control that. So, my talk that is called how to figure out what you really want, that has 10 million views. That talk did not get many views in its first year.

Ashley Stahl:

And the reason that that’s the case is because nobody was really thinking about purpose, I guess, in the same way in the collective that they were when Covet hit. As soon as Covid hit, it suddenly became viewed millions of times that year, and it’s compounded since then. So, the world is the first thing we have no control over. But the three things we do have control over. And by the way, I think that they’re enough is number one is your title. Too many people, especially if they’re putting a talk on YouTube, they don’t think enough about their title. And your title, YouTube is essentially like Google. It’s the second biggest search engine in the world.

Ashley Stahl:

Right. So, when you’re typing something into Google, you really need to make sure that it’s SEO optimized. You really want to tune into who is the person you’re here to help. And how can you title something in a way that their fingers are typing at 2 in the morning when. When they’re stressed about the thing that you’re the solution for. And so instead of typing something like what my parents taught me about, blah blah, blah, you need to think more about how to the secret to three ways to the hack, to the art of the skill of like. It’s very much like straightforward titles that are SEO optimized. So that’s the first thing.

Ashley Stahl:

The second thing is how you open up your speech. So, if you open up your talk and you can captivate the audience right from the get-go, that has a lot to do with the words you use. I was just helping someone who was an addict and he woke up handcuffed to a hospital bed. We opened up to his talk talking about how he was butt naked and handcuffed and it wasn’t the kind you thought it would be. And so, it’s really about paying attention to how you open something up. Because in the opening of a talk, people really need to feel a range of emotions. The better the opener, the more range of emotion it’s making people feel. And you know, the naked and handcuffed makes you feel one type of way.

Ashley Stahl:

And then when you hear that he was in a hospital bed, it makes you feel another. There’s a range of emotions there. The second thing that we have control over is our stage presence, or, sorry, our third thing. So, we have the title, the opening, and then the third thing is our stage presence. I can’t get on stage for someone and give stage presence. And I think a lot of what blocks people from great stage presence is that they’re not prepared enough for their talk. If you haven’t worked hard to prepare, if you haven’t really studied your talk and your script, what’s going to happen is you’re going to get on stage, and you start looking for your words in your head versus focusing on just delivering a great talk. So those are some things that make a talk do really well.

Ashley Stahl:

I think separate from that, we have a structure over at Wise Whisper and the structure is what we call the bones, the soul and the heartbeat of a talk. So, the bones is like the outline. It’s how you open it up. It is, yeah, like how you open up the talk. What else do I want to say about that? It’s usually we think the opening should be like 25% of a talk. And then you have two or three points and if you have a keynote that’s more than 45 minutes, you can probably do more than 3 points, but lower than that, probably not. It’s not substantial enough. So, let’s say you have, you know, two or three points, and then you have a close.

Ashley Stahl:

Your talking points usually, you know, if your opener is 25%, your talking points are usually 65%. Your conclusion, saying what you said and having a call to action is usually 10%. So that’s what we call the bones of a speech. 

Melinda Wittstock:

There’s so many things that go into it. And if you’re trying to remember what you’re saying, you’re trying to. You. Like, you haven’t really memorized your script, and you have this great script, but you’re just. Yeah. Like, you’re not in the zone.

Ashley Stahl:

You’re not in the zone. And that’s why I think the hardest workers are the ones that memorize their talk. Because guess what? Then you can just get on stage and give it. And all you have to focus on is your stage presence. You don’t have to focus on where in my brain are these words that I hope I remember, which is a very different energy to show up on stage with.

Melinda Wittstock:

Exactly. So, the presence, though, is also just your body language, I imagine, right? Like how you’re standing, like, how you’re connecting with the audience. Like, what are some things that you advise people to do in that. In that aspect of it?

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, I think the biggest thing is really pauses. I always tell people, pause until you’re uncomfortable and then just pause a little bit longer. I think that’s one of the most important things that a speaker can do is pause. And I think it’s an area that people really miss the mark. For some reason, they don’t want to pause. Maybe it’s because they’re uncomfortable on stage, and the sooner the talk gets out of them, the sooner they can leave, even if they want to be a speaker. I think speakers feel the nerves.

Ashley Stahl:

Some of them feel the high from being in front of an audience. So that’s something that I think is very real. So, I always tell speakers, pause until you’re uncomfortable and then pause a little bit longer. And from there, I would say the next thing is your intonation. If you’re telling a story and you’re speaking through the voice of someone else, you actually have to ham it up and have someone else’s voice. Like you really need to remember that being a successful speaker. Speakers are actors, they’re performers. And the best ones are really hamming it up out there and bringing energy.

Ashley Stahl:

So that’s another thing that I would say.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, tell me a little bit about the process that your clients go through. Right, Yeah, a little bit about those clients and, and where, where, where’s their start point and what are their biggest things they have to master?

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, so we have intensives that we are running all the time with. They’re capped at 15 people each because we want everyone to get really good attention. And they have six, six live workshops. And some of those workshops are two and a half hours, some of them are an hour and a half. None of them are lower than that. So, it’s like an hour and a half to three hours, six workshops over six months. And each of those workshops are designed for different things. So, a few of them are all about crafting the greatest talk you’ve ever had in your life.

Ashley Stahl:

We give some of our clients one on one sessions with our creative directors. One of our creative directors wrote speeches for Steve Jobs executive team. So, it gives you an idea on the type of talent we have in there. And they’re visionary. The clients will get an hour with a creative director going through their outline and making it even better. So that’s one thing that happens after that we have sessions with them about how to land major stages. And TEDx is absolutely one of those ones that we help give them some ideas on so how they can ace their applications, really stand out and get their TED talk. We’ve helped over 150 people get theirs.

Ashley Stahl:

And then we have another session going through our signature software on how do you land more paid gigs? Like, how do you do this? And it has been so cool to see people use that and book themselves for so many paid gigs and change their mindset because a lot of people come in with hope, like they have a dream, right? Like they want to get on stages and change lives. And some of them more than others, right, have different feelings about like, is this actually possible? Can I actually be paid full time as a speaker? And it’s so fun to see them start booking the gigs and, and realizing, yes, I can. I can get paid as a speaker. I could get paid to change lives. And that’s what they Go do. And our program is really not just a launch pad for that, but it scales. People who are already doing that take them to the next level.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, for entrepreneurs, this is really important. Yeah, you can have the best product, the best service, but if no one knows about it, all kinds of different marketing tactics and whatnot. But where does the speaking really come into it for an entrepreneur? So, say you have all your, you have all your marketing buttoned up. You, you’ve worked hard on your brand, you know your product’s great, all of that, and you’re trying to be discovered in all the noise. I. I call it the infobesity of our…

Ashley Stahl:

That’s so funny because, like, there’s so…

Melinda Wittstock:

…many empty calories and all of that. It’s really hard to stand out in all that. And, and what makes you different or trusted when someone isn’t. So having that speak, it sounds. It feels like it’s very much about a validation. Yeah, all entrepreneurs do. This basically is the question.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, I mean, I do think that, number one, there’s a big difference between credibility and authority. A lot of entrepreneurs have credibility. Maybe you’re a doctor and you went to medical school, like, you are to be trusted with this body of work or with this responsibility, but that doesn’t mean that they have authority. And authority is being a household name. It’s being the person everybody thinks of for your body of work. And so, the question you really need to ask if you’re an entrepreneur is, is there benefit of everybody thinking of me for my body of work? And if the answer is yes, which I couldn’t see why it wouldn’t be, then getting on major stages is one of the highest leverage ways, especially something like the TEDx stage, which has 45 million subscribers. It’s literally the biggest stage in the world. So, you know, people will ask me, oh, is it too late to give one of those? I’m like, I don’t know, is 45 million people ever out of style for your brand? And so, I think that any founder has reason to be getting out there in this way and doing one of these without question.

Ashley Stahl:

And so that’s something that I think everybody should have. We did have a client that we helped craft his TEDx script, and he ended up getting an award at a gala. He got on stage, he used his TED Talk script because he thought to himself, well, you know, I have this, that I need to practice, and I have an audience, so that’s great. And. And at the end, he ended up saying, hey, and by the way, Please donate to this cause. And he ended up raising over $2 million by accident. And that’s just because he had the power of something that most people don’t choose to have, which is a signature talk in his back pocket. And the problem with a lot of founders is they might write a talk and be able to whip something up.

Ashley Stahl:

But is it really going to move people and actually be the thing that people are still thinking about next week? And that’s why we have our program is because, you know, there’s a lot of agencies saying, here’s how you go get booked, but there’s not enough about saying, and by the way, if you have the best talk of your life, it will get you selected for a lot more stuff. And that’s what we work on.

Melinda Wittstock:

Right, right. So, for an entrepreneur thinking strategically about they’ve got the message of their business, but they have their own personal story. And if they’ve been an entrepreneur that’s had multiple businesses or crosses multiple themes or whatever, how does one figure out what’s the best first talk?

Ashley Stahl:

Like, yeah, yeah. A lot of people get in their head about, like, what is my signature talk? I’ve had a life that’s been for so long, like, how do I pick this? The reality is, if you ask anyone, if you ask anybody, hey, from your life, from your experience, what do you deeply believe to be true if you ask that question, even people with a career for 50 years is they’re going to have a very simple answer if they really think about it. I think that’s something that, you know, just because you can talk about a lot of topics doesn’t mean you should. And I think a lot of speakers, and we do this in our intensives, we help people think about their goals. Like speakers are, they have such hearts of service that they want to help people. They’re not thinking enough about themselves and how they can help themselves. I always try to get speakers clear on, like, what do you want? Do you want more revenue? Do you want more opportunities? Do you want more speaking engagements? Like, whatever that is, we need to know what that is so that we can pick a topic through the lens of is this topic going to help you get that thing right? And if the answer is yes, that’s when you’re in a really good spot.

Melinda Wittstock:

Right, exactly. Because there’s all kinds of different things. You could be working on a current business, but you could have a life purpose that extends beyond your current thing.

Ashley Stahl:

Exactly, exactly.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, on one hand, you’ve got the type of person who wants to be a professional speaker, wants to get paid. You’ve got another part where the speaking is a validator for their business. I imagine the strategy is a little bit different in that case.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, yeah. I think that there’s a few different types of speakers. There’s the speaker that is speaking for visibility. They want to be seen; they want to build their authority. There’s another type of speaker that wants to get leads, that’s a lead generation speaker, that’s all about their target audience and getting in front of people that actually want what they have. The third type, and I think it’s important to separate these, is a full-time paid speaker. Too many people are kind of like; I’d love to get some paid gigs. And it’s like, you can do that, but if you’re already putting in the work, you might as well work a little bit more and get a lot of paid gigs.

Ashley Stahl:

Right. And that being a full-time paid speaker, that’s more of a transaction than speaking for leads or visibility. Because now you’re dealing with an event manager who has a set of needs and wants and you’re there, you know, they’re your client and you need to deliver on the scope of work versus if you’re the free speaker, if you’re the visibility speaker, you’re just out there saying what you got to say and people are excited they have you as a speaker. It’s a very different type of transaction.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, completely. So, the process that people go through, like anything, like anything, coaching anything about succeeding in entrepreneurship or speaking or whatever it is, at the end of the day, it’s a mindset issue.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah.

Melinda Wittstock:

So how much of your work, Ashley, is actually helping people through that?

Ashley Stahl:

Like, oh, we’re very practical, tactical. I take a lot of pride in that. So, you know, we talk about speaking mindset probably in one of our first workshops. Like, for example, one mindset thing is everybody thinks they need to have a message. I think you have many messages, not just a message. And it’s really important that we are able to. Instead of saying, what’s my message? And let me write a talk around that saying, where do I have my most original thinking? And original thinking isn’t about it’s the first time it’s ever been said. It’s about nobody’s saying it the way you are saying it.

Ashley Stahl:

It’s just being said differently by you. And you have your perspective on the thing. And so, I’m really here for people asking themselves as speakers, what is my goal? Do I want more gigs? Do I want more leads? Do I want more authority? Do I want a book deal? What do I want out of this? Speaking and then saying, okay, what topics cater to that goal? And of those topics, which one do you have the most original thinking? Like, that’s the big thing to take a look at.

Melinda Wittstock:

Right. And I think this is interesting in an AI world, right? 

Ashley Stahl:

Right.

Melinda Wittstock:

And a lot of people are relying on AI to do things. But AI is not an original thinker and never 100%.

Ashley Stahl:

I tell people all the time, if you’re a 5 out of 10 writer, AI will get you to a 7 or 8. But AI cannot right now, at least do what the human touch can do for a creative talk. And if you want to be world class, you got to get past the AI. I generally use AI as a research assistant, or if I have a hard time stating a sentence, I ask it for a rewrite. Like rewrite suggestions. But I’m not using AI as my guide for my talk. I love it for research and brainstorms.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, it’s great for that. It’s great for. Yeah, for research. It’s amazing whether you’re doing a really in-depth competitive analysis, if you’re looking for gaps or like all kinds of different things and just sort of help with, say, structuring something or whatever. But that. The human essence, that thing that makes someone really unique. Yeah. It seems like that’s a key part of a really successful talk.

Melinda Wittstock:

Like, like you mentioned, it could be that you’re just saying it differently. It’s not necessarily an original idea, but it’s original in the sense that its original and unique to you as a person. And that’s something that AI cannot do.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, getting people really conscious of where AI can work for them, but where it stops working for them.

Ashley Stahl:

Exactly. Exactly. Correct. Yeah. Mindset’s the beginning. And then from there we get into the structure of a talk, and we have people writing their openings. We. We have people making outlines, we have creative directors meeting with people to go through their outline.

Ashley Stahl:

We have people writing drafts, we have writers meeting with them to overhaul their storytelling if they need to, and they leave with signature talk, and they also leave with clarity on how they’re going to go get their TED Talk and how they’re going to go get major stages and get paid. So that’s kind of our goal. And I think that this is just so needed right now because we’re living in such weird times that we have a lot more events going on. Like, I see an explosion of conferences right now, more than I’ve seen before. And I think it’s just because people with AI are still craving that human touch. And so, there’s a rise of events and a need for inspirational speakers, more than I’ve ever seen.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, people are really crazy. I mean, there is a loneliness epidemic. It’s incredibly harmful to our health. And we’ve been so sort of surgically attached to the screen. And I think the pandemic obviously made this a lot worse. Work from home, all these sorts of things. So, a lot of people are really isolated. There is a real craving for human connection.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, I think AI at its best can take away enough of the busy work that it allows us to really focus on relationships and really connecting with other people. It’s interesting that you see that the rise of just people, oh my God, I just want to be around other people.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, for sure. And it makes sense, right? Like it’s a need that we all have. It’s kind of why we’re here on this planet, is to connect.

Melinda Wittstock:

100% true. And I think that’s been lost a lot, even with say sales or marketing, where that used to have a high degree of human touch. But then with so many, with technology and automations, it could be easy to think, ah, well, all these tools will just do this for me.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah.

Melinda Wittstock:

And to a certain point. But at the end of the day, business, like everything, it’s about relationship.

Ashley Stahl:

Right, Exactly. It’s so, so, so true. And I think speechwriting is a pursuit that is about connecting deeply with humans in the human experience. And there’s just no quick fix for being able to really do that

Melinda Wittstock:

100%. So, take me through some before and after, say for some of you, like I just paint the picture of the sort of prototypical client who comes to you, where they start and then the process and, and, and how long it takes them to get to the point where, yeah, they’re commanding stages, they’re truly confident, they have their signature talk, they’re like, you know, their life is transformed. What does that process look like?

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, I mean, one client that comes to mind and we were confidential for most people because they don’t want, I guess, I don’t know. There’s this idea that if they have visionaries like us behind them, it, they Feel like, oh, I want it to be my talk. Right. Like nobody else. So that makes sense. But we, we have an amazing client, Erica Glenn. She did a TEDx talk. She got two and a half million views in like 100 days.

Ashley Stahl:

She was an amazing corporate executive. She was making a huge impact. She just knew in her heart she was down to wanted to speak and that was calling on her. And she got on that stage, she blew it out of the water and, and then she was able to transition out of her work and become more full time, focus on, on paid, paid speaking. And so that’s been really fun to see. We had another doctor who, she was sitting on her visibility for a really long time. She kind of knew that she needed to get on it, but she wasn’t. And she saw another doctor at a conference get paid a bunch to do it and she ended up saying, you know what, that’s it.

Ashley Stahl:

Like I’m, I’m doing this. And she ended up getting like 4 million views on her speech. She left being a doctor. She’s a full-time TV personality and speaker and she helps people with mental health. And so, it’s, it’s just been super cool to see people like that where they’ve been sitting on this and then the moment they do it, they’re like, why didn’t I do this six years ago? Here I am.

Melinda Wittstock:

Right. So, there’s a lot of procrastination. It’s the same thing with writing a book, but for women in particular, the visibility thing is tricky for a lot of women.  I’ve talked to so many women who are like, okay, yeah, like I’ll do this when. I don’t know, like I lose weight or like I’ll do this or I’ll do this when… And it’s this kind of procrastination sort of mixed up with a little bit of perfectionism and maybe underneath that there’s an imposter syndrome. There’s all kinds of stuff going on in there.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, yeah, totally. I think the world is moving towards visibility and people who are not showing up for that, it’s not that they’re going to be left behind. It’s just going to be a lot harder to get the opportunities you want if you don’t have the right visibility and authority.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, no, I think that’s, I think that’s true. So, so, so talk to me about the process. What are the ideal clients that you look for? Tell me like, yeah, does it cost? What’s the investment? 

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, so we look for people who are either early in their speaking career and they know it’s time to up level. They don’t necessarily have a signature talk, or maybe they have something and they’re doing a little bit of speaking, but they’re not getting paid what they want or paid at all. And then we also have some people that are getting paid here and there, but it’s not stable, it’s not consistent. And they really want to up level. And we look for people who have hearts of service. Like they really have a something that they want the world to know and understand and an audience that they want to make an impact on, even if it’s a big audience, a small audience, and they know that the time to do that is now. Like, they know that they can’t hide anymore from the world. Like they got to get out there, they have that urgency and those are the people we look for.

Ashley Stahl:

And then from there, when they join our programs, we have different cohorts running, I want to say like once a month we have 115 people. And like I said, it’s those six workshops. Write your talk, get yourself booked for stages, get yourself paid gigs. And then we also have group calls with me and our creative directors. So, one of our creative directors helped run a large TEDx event. So, if you’re looking at booking stages, he might be a good one. One of our creative directors runs innovation for one of the biggest media companies in the world. If you’re trying to rethink your talk or positioning, he probably is the right direction to go.

[PROMO CREDIT]

Wings of Inspired Business is brought to you by the podcast, Zero Limits Business Growth Secrets where Steve Little – serial entrepreneur, investor and mergers & acquisitions maestro – shares the little-known 24 value drivers that spell the difference between a $5m business, and a $50mm even $500 mm business. It always pays to understand what’s driving the underlying enterprise value of your business. So, check out Zero Limits Business Growth Secrets at zerolimitsradio.com – that’s zerolimitsradio.com and available wherever you get your podcasts. More information about valuation growth at Zero Limits Ventures.com

Melinda Wittstock:

And we’re back with Ashley Stahl, the founder of boutique speaking agency, Wise Whisper.

[INTERVIEW CONTINUES]

Ashley Stahl:

So, there’s more than three calls every single month outside of the workshops that anyone can hop to and just get personalized support. And we have subject matter experts every single month that show up and help people with their brand, not just their speaking career. So, this month we have somebody about paid gigs and next month we have somebody that focuses on Instagram. Everybody’s a little bit different, but it’s all geared towards building visibility. And the investment depends, you know, it really depends on who the person is. Like, we have a scholarship every now and again, but usually it comes in at around 10k. And part of that is that we give one on one sessions to people, depending on what they need.

Melinda Wittstock:

That’s, that’s amazing. What has been the toughest thing, the hardest thing for you in building this business that you’ve built?

Ashley Stahl:

I think the hardest thing is managing salespeople. Because what I’m learning is that salespeople the reason that they’re so good at what they do is that they have a lot of emotion and they can connect to that deep, deep part inside of people. And there’s so much power in them for that reason, but also they have a lot of emotion. And sales is mindset. And so, I have a business that’s tied to people doing enrollment versus like a passive sale. And so, from a business perspective, like if John Doe broke up with his girlfriend last week and he’s my sales guy, like, sales are going to be down. And so that’s been. One of the things that are, is really tough for a business is like, it’s almost like we flow with the moods of the people that are closing revenue.

Melinda Wittstock:

That’s so interesting. It’s funny. The toughest thing about business always, you know, is people.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, I know, I know. I liked all of them so much. And then, and then it’s like these moments or they’re emotional and they’ll be like, I, I can’t come to work for two weeks. Something happened. And I’m like, oh no. Like, and by the way, I don’t like to be a toxic person saying, oh, you’re being emotional. It just feels like there’s a lot of emotion there. And it’s like, oh gosh, like, I don’t know any niche where somebody just doesn’t show up for their job for two weeks without like planned vacation.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, that, that’s, that’s amazing. So tell me a little bit about how you manage that. I mean, do you go with it or like…

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, it depends on how high of a performer I have. Like, if I have a very high achieving person. I think a lot of companies are very quick to let people go if they’re not performing. But, but I like to have reverence for my top achievers. There are some people who’ve come in and they’ve rocked my business. They’ve changed our lives. And those ones, I’m like, you know what, if you have a couple bad sales weeks, I’m not looking at your numbers the same way another founder might, but I think that that’s something that I take a look at is like, what is this person’s contribution when it comes to hiring? I look at three things. One is the good and one is the grit and one is the gift.

Ashley Stahl:

And to me, the good is like, does this person have a good heart? Like, is this somebody that I feel like would do somebody right? Because you’d be surprised how many people have A competence. And they’re very gritty, but nobody wants to know them. You know what I mean?

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah, yeah.

Ashley Stahl:

Or they feel like they’re being swindled. So, do I have a good person here? And then the second thing is the grit. Do they have the grind in them? Like, are they ready to get to work? A lot of people don’t want to work hard, and that’s okay. It’s just not okay in my company. And then the final thing is, do they have the gift? Because if you have a hard worker, but they don’t have the gift. You’re just seeing somebody work hard and produce no results. So, I look for all three of those, and if one of those are missing, I don’t hire the person.

Melinda Wittstock:

That’s so interesting. How do you test for that? I’m fascinated by that.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah. I think you can tell if somebody has a good heart just by talking to them. You can tell if somebody’s giving you contrived or honest answers. Like, if you ask somebody, like, what are. You know, what are things that you’re not so proud of that you think you could do better? Like, I’m always looking for how honest people are. Are they giving me packaged answers that make them look good still? Are they sharing with me something that, like, they really don’t like, but they’re being honest? What else do I look for? So that’s the good side of it, the grit. I asked them about their values.

Ashley Stahl:

Like, what are your values? Like, if. If your friend had to describe you with three words, how would they describe you? And I look for those words. Like, it depends on what they say, but. And another thing is how much time. What do you. How do you spend your time outside of work? Like, what are you up to? If people have a very, very, very big life outside of work, I usually am concerned that they do not have the capacity, which is part of the grit, to do the job. And then the gift, I just. I look at their numbers.

Ashley Stahl:

I ask about past things they’ve done. What’s the conversion? Why. Why were you let go? If you were let go, why did you leave? Like, I ask all those questions.

Melinda Wittstock:

Yeah.

Ashley Stahl:

That’s great.

Melinda Wittstock:

So, what’s next for you, Ashley?

Melinda Wittstock:

What you’ve built… It’s helping, you know, create so much goodness in the world.

Ashley Stahl:

Right. Thank you. That’s how I feel. I’m really proud of it. And, you know, I think There’s a lot of companies doing a lot of things out there. But I like to feel like at least my heart is in a really honest and real place with how I want to help people and what lane I can stand in what’s next. I mean, I’m just growing this program and I’m really proud of that. I have nowhere else to be.

Ashley Stahl:

I’m living in New York with my partner. Probably want to have a family at some point. That’s me over here.

Melinda Wittstock:

Amazing. New York is so great. I used to live in New York. It’s a wonderful, exciting city.

Ashley Stahl:

It really is. It is. It’s a lot when you’re building a startup because you’re just nonstop all day and then you go outside and outside is nonstop. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Melinda Wittstock:

When I lived there, I had to…

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah.

Melinda Wittstock:

…Every two or three weeks I just have to go somewhere very green like…

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly.

Melinda Wittstock:

Because you just need to, you know, settle a little bit. But. Yeah, no, but that’s, that’s, that’s great. So, I imagine people listening to this show are, you know, they’ve been putting off the speaking. They sort of know they need to do it or they’re intrigued. What’s the best way for them to find you?

Ashley Stahl:

I think the best thing to do is talk to my team. They’re really good at doing like an initial call and getting a sense of for, can we help you? Like, are you somebody we can help? All you have to do is go to wise whisperagency.com chat and you can book a call with them, and they’ll do like an initial 30-minute call just to get a sense of who are you, can we help you? And then from there, if we think we can help you, they’ll put you on a deeper call with one of our personal brand experts. And that’s a much deeper dive. For an hour about, like, who are you? Can we help you? And you usually will leave that call with kind of a 90-day roadmap for your speaking career. A little more clarity on where you’re taking your story and all that kind of stuff.

Melinda Wittstock:

Amazing. And then you also have a podcast too, U Turn.

Ashley Stahl:

Yes.

Melinda Wittstock:

Tell me a little bit about U Turn and how that relates to your business.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, you know, I’ve been on a sabbatical from it for a few months now and it’s crazy. I had it for five years. We did almost 500 episodes. And it feels kind of weird that I’m not doing it all the time, but I’ve had my hands fully focused on Wise Whisper. But what I will say is that that podcast is really about making a U Turn, which is coming home to yourself. And to me, that means, like, really reconnecting to who you truly are and how you’re meant to help the world. So that has been. And I think being really honest with yourself, I think a lot of people struggle to be honest with themselves.

Ashley Stahl:

So, yeah, that’s. That’s what I focus on with the podcast.

Melinda Wittstock:

Amazing. Amazing. Well, I’ll make sure that everybody knows how to contact you.

Ashley Stahl:

Thank you.

Melinda Wittstock:

In the show notes and such. But congrats, Ashley, on everything that you’ve done, and I know that it’s on my list of things that I need to do, so you’ll probably hear from me.

Ashley Stahl:

Oh, well, we would love to have you, and I always love talking to you.

Melinda Wittstock:

Well, thank you so much for putting on your wings and flying with us today.

Ashley Stahl:

Yeah, thanks again.

[INTERVIEW ENDS]

Melinda Wittstock:

Ashley Stahl is the founder of Wise Whisper, a boutique speaking agency that’s helped hundreds of clients craft their signature speeches and get placed as speakers on hundreds of BIG stages around the world, including the TEDx stage.

Melinda Wittstock:

Please take a moment to give us a five-star rating and review the podcast on Apple and Spotify—it helps more entrepreneurs like you find the secret sauce to support and grow their businesses.

Melinda Wittstock:

That’s it for today’s episode. Head on over to WingsPodcast.com – and subscribe to the show. When you subscribe, you’ll instantly get my special gift, the WINGS Success Formula. Women … Innovating … Networking … Growing …Scaling … IS the WINGS of Inspired Business Formula …for daily success in your business and life. Miss a Wings episode? We’ve got hundreds in the vault, all with actionable advice and epiphanies. Check them out at MelindaWittstock.com or wingspodcast.com. You can also catch me on LinkedIn or Instagram @MelindaAnneWittstock. We also love it when you share your feedback with a 5-star rating and review on Apple, Spotify or wherever else you listen, including Podopolo where you can interact with me and share your favorite clips.