🇺🇦 Eddie Shleyner

Founder of VeryGoodCopy.com, essayist

Hello, thanks for stopping by. I’m Eddie 👋🏼

I’m a conversion copywriter, content marketer, and the founder of VeryGoodCopy, a newsletter about copywriting and creativity read by millions of people each year. Join over 80K email subscribers—including copywriters, marketers, entrepreneurs, and other smart folks—who've subscribed to the VeryGoodCopy Newsletter and bought 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘺: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬:

◾ “VeryGoodCopy shows you how to write, and how not to write. How to think, and how not to think. Eddie is a damn good marketer. I recommend him.”
—𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗗, 𝗢𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿

◾ “Please, God, can everyone involved in advertising—and not only copywriters—just read this book…I loved every moment.”
—𝗥𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗦𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗, 𝗢𝗴𝗶𝗹𝘃𝘆 𝗩𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻

◾ “Eddie is a fantastic copywriter.”
—𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗟𝗘𝗬, 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙨

◾ “Eddie Shleyner. Where to begin? Not only a fantastic writer, a historian, a gentleman, someone I'm proud to call a colleague. VeryGoodCopy is a copywriting goldmine. I often go there for inspiration. Eddie is the real deal.”
—𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗬 𝗗𝗥𝗬, 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺

◾ "Eddie Shleyner is one of the few people who can articulate what makes great writing great."
—𝗝𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗢, 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲

◾ "Eddie Shleyner is a brilliant writer who understands the art of persuasion — and teaches it — in a way few people can. I'm jealous of how he can say so much in so few words. Big fan!"
—𝗞𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗡 𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗦, 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳

◾ "Eddie Shleyner, now there's a fella who knows something about copywriting."
—𝗗𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗧, 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲

◾ "VeryGoodCopy is likely the very best reading you'll do on any given day about copywriting."
—𝗞𝗜𝗠 𝗞𝗥𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗠, 𝗔-𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝘆𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿

◾ “Eddie gets it. He’s a joy to work with and does so at the highest level.”
—𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗧𝗧 𝗗𝗜𝗞𝗞𝗘𝗥𝗦, 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿, 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻

Read hundreds of free "micro" lessons, interviews, and courses about copywriting, creativity, and storytelling on VeryGoodCopy.com.

You can also the "Featured" section below for more information about my products and services. 

Thanks again for being here—and enjoy!

Founder

"One of the best copywriting blogs around." 
- Wistia

"One of the content marketing industry's best copywriters." 
- HubSpot

VeryGoodCopy.com is a blog about the art and science of written persuasion. Over 53,000 people subscribe to receive weekly micro-articles about copywriting, content marketing, and psychology.

It's also a direct-response copywriting and content marketing agency that ships clear, concise words that sell.

Click the link below to learn more.

If you want to do A+ work, this mindset applies to all writing... scripts and novels, vignettes and short stories, sales letters and love letters and anything else.

Enjoy!

Founder of VeryGoodCopy.com | Join 95K newsletter subscribers

 Experienced vs. inexperienced writers:

How I write (and you can too):

0.
So I almost always want to know three things before I start writing a “micro-lesson” for VeryGoodCopy:

What’s the story?
What’s the lesson?
And what is the word count?

𝟭.
The story:

I typically find the story 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵. It could be—and often is—a personal anecdote, something from my life, some happening or experience with my wife or kids or parents or friends. But it could also be about something I saw on tv, or read in a book, or witnessed at a gas station or the grocery store or, or, 𝘰𝘳—

I mine all the things that happen in and around my life—be they significant or mundane, painful, embarrassing, or joyous—for creative material, for relatable stories.

“Everything is copy,” said Nora Ephron. Damn right.

So where the story comes from is secondary to how it made me 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭. If it made me emotional, that’s a sign it will make someone else emotional.

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader,” said Robert Frost. Damn right.

𝟮.
The lesson:

If the story 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 me of something I do for work—some concept, principle, or technique I use to write or think better—I have the lesson, the takeaway, the thing people can apply to 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 work (or life).

𝟯.
The word count:

I rarely write without a predetermined word count, which, believe it or not, I leave to chance. I simply ask the Machine to pick a random number for me. I open ChatGPT and type:

"Pick a number at random between 166 and 475."

And whatever arbitrary number the Thing spits out, that’s how many words I’ll aim to write. I don’t always hit the word count (usually because I run out of time and need to move on), but when I do—when I land on the 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵 number—the writing almost always feels more intentional, which I like.

Then, it’s like a puzzle:

How can I put 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 story and 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 lesson together in precisely 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 many words?

______

Thanks for reading! 
That’s how I write.
Feel free to 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 ↓

This is a short essay about copywriting. Enjoy!

The miracle:

Resist the (very natural) urge to do 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴...

And instead, ask yourself 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 question...

Next time you're editing copy:

You can use this technique to transport The Reader anywhere, into any situation or circumstance, good or bad, painful or pleasant...

Oh, how compelling this can be. 

Enjoy!

Writing immersive stories:

The miracle:

I watched a 60 Minutes segment I’ll never forget…

The late Ed Bradley interviewed a family—a religiously devout mother, a painfully quiet father who was so shy he couldn’t even look into the camera, and their ten-year-old daughter who was in a wheelchair because she was born with spina bifida.

Every year the family pilgrimaged to Lourdes to pray for a miracle. Bradley was incredulous about this. He didn’t understand their journey to the shrine. The trip didn’t make sense to him: the cost, the effort, year after year—and yet the small girl was still in a wheelchair, so weak she had to be strapped in to stay upright.

“What do you pray for?” Bradley asked the girl.

You know what she said?

“I pray my father won’t be so shy,” said the girl, looking at her dad. “It makes him feel so lonely.”

This answer seemed to stun the interviewer, who fell silent. Ed just sat there for a moment, speechless. Finally, he looked at the mother and said something like:

“Every year you spend so much time and so much effort to come to this place in hopes of a miracle,” he said, “but you have no miracle to show for it. Why do you keep coming back?”

You know what she said?

“Oh, Mr. Bradley,” said the mother, looking at her kid. “You don’t understand,” she said, “we 𝘨𝘰𝘵 our miracle.”

______

I’ll never forget it as long as I live.

I’ll never forget how this amazing child was able to hold space for someone else’s pain before her own—and how this affected Ed Bradley, his entire perception and understanding of Lourdes:

It’s a place that, more than anything else, reveals a person’s character, who they are.

“Oh, Mr. Bradley...” she said, “we 𝙜𝙤𝙩 our miracle.”

______

Copywriting icon John Carlton once told a room full of business owners:

“You’re probably not gonna find your product’s story in the company line.”

That is, the most compelling narratives—marketing or otherwise—are not necessarily clear and obvious. No, usually, the deepest, most profound, most resonant and moving insights are inconspicuous, hidden away.

As copywriters, such a big part of our work is to uncover these unobtrusive truths, to notice them, recognize them, and bring them to light.

Thanks for reading! Did you enjoy this piece?

Award Winning Online Fitness Coach | Author | Finance Expert | Get My Metabolism Boosting Guide or DM "VITALITY" to start Performing at Peak Today!

Most leaders think the bottleneck is the business.
It’s not. It’s the Operator running it.

After 20+ years in corporate finance as an ex–banker, I was the classic “successful but burned out” leader. On paper, I was moving millions for global banks. Behind the scenes, I was trading health, energy, and relationships just to keep up.

So I rebuilt from the ground up.

- From chubby banker to award-winning author of The Body & Bank Connection

- From endless corporate hours to coaching founders and executives on sustainable high performance

- To building Operator’s Edge™... an operating system for scaling Energy, Enterprise, and Legacy without sacrifice

Along the way I’ve:

- Coached hundreds of high performers — from founders to C-suite

- Delivered keynotes and workshops on performance without burnout

- Been featured in FOX, The Times, International Business Times, Digital Journal, and more

🧩 What Operator’s Edge™ Actually Does

Operator’s Edge™ helps founders and executives scale without burning out by installing a few key systems:

1. Energy & Health systems – so your body can actually support the level you’re playing at

2. Identity & Execution systems – who you are as an Operator and how you make decisions

3. Strategy & Scale systems – simple, repeatable ways to grow without chaos

Health and fitness are still a core pillar... just one part of the wider operating system.

🎤 Brand→Stage™ Speaking Engine (One of Those Systems)

One system that’s created outsized results is Brand→Stage™.

Instead of treating speaking as random “exposure”, we turn it into a predictable growth lever:

- Turn one clear talk into a true speaking asset

- Use a simple engine to land 2–4 aligned stages a month (virtual + in-person, local + international)

- Design the talk, CTA, and follow-up so those rooms turn into buyers and opportunities, not just applause

In an AI-heavy world where anyone can churn out content, being in the room with a talk that converts is one of the most authentic ways to build trust and grow.

If you’re scaling and can feel the cracks in your energy, systems, or ability to keep leading at this pace, you’re not broken... you’re just running an outdated operating system.

That’s what we upgrade.

DM me “EDGE” if you want to scale without burnout, or “STAGES” if you want speaking to become a predictable growth engine.

Ritchie Nkana

Your problem isn’t discipline.
It’s design.

I used to stack my day like a machine:

Back-to-back calls. “Quick” tasks between. Late-night catch-up to feel on top of things.

On paper? Productive.
In my body? Fried.

And the scary part:

I kept trying to fix it with more frameworks.

Until I realised this...

If your day is designed to drain you, no framework will save you.

The Operator Day Design (3 moves)...

1) Win the first 60 minutes
 No input. No inbox.
 Water → light → movement → 1 priority written down.
 You’re telling your nervous system: we lead today.

2) Batch your output
 Two “push windows” (60–90 mins) for deep work.
 Two “pull windows” for meetings/messages.
 Stop switching roles every 12 minutes.

3) Install a hard shutdown
 10 minutes to close loops + write tomorrow’s top 3.
 Then you’re off. Not “available.”

Your calendar is either a performance tool…
 or a slow leak.

Which part of your day is leaking the most energy right now?

Author & Ex-Banker | Founder, Operator’s Edge™ | Turn 2–4 Stages/Month Into Clients | Scale Without Burnout | Podcast Host

Most people think stage bookings happen from “visibility.”
They don’t.

They happen from volume + targeting + follow-up.

I learned this after a month where I did everything “right”:

Posted. Networked. Waited. Refreshed my inbox like it owed me money...
Nothing.

Then I treated speaking like pipeline...

Within 30 days: real conversations, booked dates, and a calendar that didn’t rely on hope.

Engineered Stages (not lucky breaks):

1) Build your Stage List (20 targets)
 Not “big events.”
 Buyer-dense rooms.

 Score each stage on:
- ideal client concentration
- topic urgency
- trust transfer (host credibility)
- CTA permission (can you offer a resource?)

2) Run a Weekly Outreach Sprint (10 messages/week)
 Short. Specific. Helpful:
- the breakout topic
- who it’s for
- the transformation
- proof you can deliver

3) Follow-up like a pro (3-touch rule)
 Most speakers quit after 1 message.
 Pipeline gets built on touch #2 and #3.

4) Book 2–4 stages/month (the math)
- 40 outreach touches/month
- 10 replies
- 4 calls
- 2 bookings
Not guaranteed. But predictable.

If you’re “waiting to be invited,” you’re renting your growth.

Build the machine.

P.S. I break the full stage pipeline down in a free training in my Featured section.

Author & Ex-Banker | Founder, Operator’s Edge™ | Scale Without Burnout & Turn 2–4 Stages/Month Into Buyers | Podcast Host

Stop chasing keynote fees.
Build a stage pipeline that brings clients to you.

I used to think the goal of speaking was getting paid to speak...

Then I ran a free breakout session for a room of ~30 people at a niche conference.

No fancy stage. No big cheque.
But the room was full of the right buyers.

After the session:
- 7 quality conversations
- 3 follow-up calls booked
- 1 client closed within weeks

That day taught me the difference:

Paid keynotes pay once.
Aligned stages can pay for months.

The Stage Pipeline System (2–4 stages/month) below: 

1) Pick buyer-dense rooms (not big rooms)
 Score stages on:
- audience match
- problem intensity
- trust transfer
- opt-in follow-up access

2) Lead with a breakout offer (easier to book, easier to convert)
 Specific topic. Clear outcome. Practical takeaways.

3) Install the follow-up bridge before you speak
 One simple next step:
- opt-in resource → nurture → call

4) Run a monthly booking rhythm
- Week 1: shortlist 12 stages
- Week 2: outreach 12 organisers
- Week 3: follow-up + confirm
- Week 4: deliver + collect opt-ins

If your pipeline feels shaky, it’s not always your offer.

Sometimes you’re just not on enough aligned stages.

PS: Want the full blueprint? Watch the free training in my bio section: Turn speaking into a client acquisition engine.

Most people are using AI on their talks the same way they use autocorrect:

Quietly.
Constantly.

And wondering why they don’t sound like themselves on stage.

I watched a brilliant operator rehearse a keynote recently.

The content was technically strong…
…but the delivery felt like a clean Wikipedia page trying to be inspirational.

Here’s the shift that fixed it:
AI shouldn’t write your talk.
AI should pressure-test your talk.

The “Augmented, Not Replaced” Stage System (2026):

1) Voice Kernel (Human-only)
 Write 7–10 bullets in your raw voice: opinions, edges, lines you’d actually say.

2) AI as Editor, not Author
 Use it to: tighten, reorder, sharpen transitions, surface missing objections.

3) The “Mouth Test”
 Read it out loud. If you wouldn’t say it to a friend, delete it.

4) Stage Proofing
Add 3 “you had to be there” moments: a mistake, a decision, a scar, a win.

AI can help you sound clearer.
It can’t help you sound truer.

If you’re building talks for 2026 and want the full Brand → Stage workflow (with prompts), the free training is in my bio / featured section.

In 2026, “wellness” isn’t yoga and green juice.
It’s your performance infrastructure.

Because the new edge isn’t working harder...

It’s staying sharp longer without losing your health, relationships, or identity in the process.

The trend I’m watching: whole-person wellness.

Not as a vibe. As a system.

Whole-Person Wellness = Performance System

1) Physical (Energy)
- Sleep consistency > sleep hacks
- Strength + Zone 2 > random workouts
- Blood sugar stability > willpower

2) Mental (Clarity)
- Fewer open loops
- One deep-work block daily
- A shutdown ritual to end reactivity

3) Social (Nervous System)
- Your relationships are fuel (or friction)
- One honest conversation per week
- People who tell you the truth, not what you want to hear

Most leaders treat these as separate lanes.

High performers integrate them because your body, mind, and relationships all pay the bill for your ambition.

What’s the one lane you’ve neglected that’s quietly taxing your performance?

A while back I took a “proper break.”

No laptop.
No calls.
No Slack.

By Sunday night… my chest was tight again.

Not because work had started.
But because my body already knew: pressure is coming.

That’s when I realised something:

Burnout recovery isn’t a countdown. It’s a system rebuild.

I wrote a short newsletter on why “time off” doesn’t always fix it and what actually speeds recovery up.

If you’re in that weird place where you’ve rested but you still don’t feel back… this will help you name what’s happening.

👇 Newsletter is here.

View newsletter: Peak Performance Insider

A few months back, I took a “proper” break. No calls. No laptop. No Slack. I even did the thing people tell you to do: sleep in, go for walks, do noth

Open article: Burnout Recovery Isn’t a Countdown. It’s a System Rebuild. by Ritchie Nkana • 2 min read

Burnout Recovery Isn’t a Countdown. It’s a System Rebuild.

Most teams don’t have a performance problem.
They have a meaning problem.

When purpose is fuzzy, people start freelancing:
- Decisions get slow
- Standards get “flexible”
- Great operators quietly leave

Purpose isn’t a poster. It’s a performance strategy.

Here’s the simplest way I’ve seen it work:

The Mission → Decision → Behaviour Loop

1) Mission (Why we exist)
 If the “why” is unclear, everything downstream gets noisy.

2) Decisions (What we choose + what we refuse)
 Mission should eliminate options, not inspire speeches.

3) Behaviours (How we show up daily)
 You don’t get culture from values.
 You get culture from what’s rewarded, tolerated, and repeated.

The “Purpose Filter” (use it in meetings)...

Before you approve a project, hire, or change priorities... ask:
1. Does this move the mission forward or just create activity?
2. What behaviour will this create more of?
3. What will we stop doing because of this?

If you can’t answer those in 60 seconds, don’t call it “strategy.”

If your talk sounds “too perfect” right now… it’s probably costing you trust.

A few months ago I watched two speakers back-to-back.

Speaker #1:
Tight script. Clean slides. Perfect pacing.
The room nodded… politely.

Speaker #2:
Paused mid-sentence.
Owned a mistake from last quarter.
Shared the messy decision behind the outcome.
Then showed the system they installed to fix it.

The room leaned forward like: finally.

Here’s what’s changed:

In an AI-saturated world, polish is cheap.

Audiences don’t trust perfection anymore.
They trust proof.

Authenticity isn’t “being raw.”
It’s being verifiable.

So before your next talk, bake in these 3 credibility cues:

1. Specificity over slogans
 “Things improved” → by how much, by when, and because of what?

2. Trade-offs over triumphs
 What did you stop doing? What almost broke? What did it cost?

3. Process over personality
 Don’t just tell your story... show your thinking and the framework behind it.

Perfection performs.
Truth + structure leads.

If you want the exact framework I use to turn lived experience into talks that land (without sounding like everyone else), the free training is in my bio / Featured section.

You don’t need a bigger audience.
You need better rooms.

Big audiences don’t equal buyers.
Aligned rooms do.

I see this all the time:

People chasing followers, views, likes…
but the stages they’re on are totally random.

Wrong industry.
Wrong level.
Wrong problem.

Looks good from the outside.
Does very little on the inside.

The goal isn’t visibility.
It’s relevance.

I’ll take 2–4 right stages a month over chasing virality every single time.

Because the right stage:
→ Puts you in front of people who actually have the problem you solve
→ Frames you as the go-to, not “just another speaker”
→ Feeds your pipeline for weeks or months after you step off

Stages are a pipeline...
if you treat them like one.

Most “communication problems” aren’t wording problems.
They’re attention problems.

I watched a senior leader lose a room in under 30 seconds.

Not because he was wrong.
Because he was fast.

Someone raised a concern. He jumped straight to a solution.

The team went quiet.
Not respectful quiet. Checked-out quiet.

After the meeting I asked someone what happened...

They said:

“His answer was good. I just didn’t feel heard… so I stopped trying.”

That’s the part leaders keep missing in 2026.

Empathy isn’t a soft skill. It’s your competitive edge.

Because people don’t resist your strategy.

They resist the feeling of being steamrolled by it.

The communication skill that will matter most in 2026:

 👉 High-clarity listening.

Not nodding. Not “I hear you.”

 Actual listening that lowers friction and raises influence.

Steal this:
The 10-Second Empathy Loop...

1. Mirror: “So the concern is timeline risk.”
2. Name: “Sounds like there’s frustration here.”
3. Invite: “What would make this feel safe to ship?”

Do that, and two things happen:

- People tell you the real problem faster
- Your decisions get carried with you, not dragged behind you

If you want the leader’s edge for 2026:

listen until the room relaxes. Then speak.

Where do you feel empathy is most “expensive” in your role... direct reports, peers, or clients?

Most experts don’t have a marketing problem.
They have an IP problem.

They’re brilliant… but their brilliance is trapped in their head.

 So every sales call turns into custom consulting.

 Every post becomes “another tip.”
 Every talk sounds good… but doesn’t stick.

Here’s the truth...

People don’t pay for information.
They pay for a named way of seeing the problem.

That’s what proprietary IP is.

Not a 40-page PDF.
A clear framework that makes your expertise repeatable.

Design Your IP (3 steps) below:

1) Extract the Pattern
 “What do my best clients always struggle with first?”
 That’s your core tension.

2) Create 3–5 Pillars
 Group your repeated solutions into buckets.
 If you can’t teach it on a whiteboard in 5 minutes, it’s not a framework yet.

3) Name the System
 If it isn’t named, it’s forgettable.
 If it’s named, it becomes an asset.

The outcome:
- clearer positioning
- faster trust
- easier sales
- stronger talks
- content that connects instead of broadcasts

If you’ve been working too hard to explain what you do…

you don’t need more content.
You need IP.

P.S. I break down how to turn speaking into a client acquisition engine (built on your IP) in a free training... it’s in my bio / Featured section.

2026 isn’t calling you to do more.
It’s calling you to stop bleeding energy.

I keep hearing the same thing from high performers right now:
“I’m productive… but I feel fragile.”
Not lazy. Not undisciplined.

Just running a system that’s too expensive to maintain.

Here’s the problem with “doing more”:
Tasks don’t burn you out.
Energy leaks do.

The hidden cost usually shows up as:
- context switching all day
- decision fatigue by 2pm
- endless “urgent” work from other people
- no real recovery (just scrolling + sleep debt)

So 2026 becomes a different game.

Not time management.
Energy management.

Here is the Operator Recalibration (use this weekly)...

Ask yourself 4 questions:
1. What drains me the most for the least return?
2. What gives me energy AND moves the needle?
3. What am I tolerating that’s quietly taxing my nervous system?
4. What must be protected (sleep, training, deep work, relationships)?

Then make one move:
Remove one drain. Add one restore. Protect one non-negotiable.

That’s sustainable performance.
Not intensity. Not hustle.

If you’re feeling the strain already, don’t wait for burnout to teach you.
Recalibrate before your body does it for you.

I watched a “big name” walk on stage recently and lose the room in 90 seconds.

Not because the idea was weak.
Because the format was 2012.

- 12-minute setup
- 1 audience question at the end
- slides doing all the talking

Modern audiences don’t reward long ramps.
They reward fast value + participation.

In 2026, the talks that land are built from micro-keynotes + interactive moments.

Here’s the Builder framework:

The 4-Minute Micro-Keynote...
1. Tension (20s): what’s broken / costly
2. Truth (60s): the counterintuitive insight
3. Tool (90s): the “do this on Monday” step
4. Proof (60s): a quick example or before/after
5. Lock-in (10s): one sentence they can repeat

Then you stitch 4–6 micro-keynotes into a full talk.

And every 6–8 minutes you add one interaction:

- “Pick one: A or B” (hands up)
- “Write this line down”
- “Turn to the person next to you: what’s your biggest bottleneck?”
- “Quick check... who here is dealing with this right now?”

You’re not “adding engagement.”
You’re building it in.

If you want my exact Brand-to-Stage training (how to turn your expertise into a talk that wins rooms), it’s free in my Bio / Featured section.

I’ve seen speakers crush a room…
…and still struggle to convert.

Not because they weren’t credible.
Because their talk was a performance, not a property.

You could feel it.
But you couldn’t run it.

That’s the operator distinction:

Content gets applause.
IP gets outcomes.

If your message can’t be:
- repeated
- implemented
- explained by someone else
- scaled beyond your calendar

…it’s not IP.

It’s a great moment.

Frameworks are how you turn expertise into something the market can buy without needing your presence every time.

Here is the Talk-IP Test...

If your audience can’t answer:

1. What do I believe now?
2. What do I do next?
3. Why does this work?

You didn’t deliver IP.
You delivered energy.

If you want the training on how to build IP that does the heavy lifting before you ever open PowerPoint…

Free training in my bio / featured section.

In 2026, bigger goals won’t save you... better systems will.

Last year I watched a high-performer do the “responsible” thing.

New quarter. New targets.
So they added more.

More meetings.
More initiatives.
More “just push for 90 days.”

It worked… for about 3 weeks.

Then the wheels came off.

Not because they lacked discipline.
Because they were running growth through a broken pipeline.

Here’s the truth:

Goals create pressure. Systems create capacity.

If your only plan is “want it more,” your nervous system becomes the system.
And eventually it taps out.

Builder lesson for 2026:

Stop asking “How do I hit the goal?”
Start asking “What system makes the goal inevitable?”

Here is the 10-Minute Tuesday Systems Audit...

Score each 0–10:
1. Focus — Do you know the one win this week?
2. Flow — Do you have a repeatable way work moves daily?
3. Feedback — Do you review and tighten weekly?

Anything under 7 becomes the priority fix.

You don’t need a huge audience... you need the right stages.

Most people are trying to get seen.
Operators are trying to get picked.

Because here’s the truth:

Big audiences don’t equal buyers.
Aligned rooms do.

The goal isn’t visibility.
It’s relevance.

And relevance comes from stages where:
- people already trust expertise
- the problem is already urgent
- you can actually follow up

Here is the “Right Stage” Scorecard (30 seconds)...

Before you say yes, ask:

1. Fit — do they already have the problem you solve?

2. Authority — are decision makers in the room (or people who influence them)?

3. Proximity — can you talk to them after (DMs, email list, intro, Q&A)?

4. Repeatability — could this become a monthly pipeline?

If you can’t score at least 3/4… it’s not a stage.
It’s a performance.

Treat stages like a pipeline (not a moment)
Stage → Conversation → Relationship → Client

My default play:
- Stage: teach one clear problem → one clear tool
- Follow-up: “Reply STAGE and I’ll send the resource”
- System: track which rooms convert, then re-book + stack referrals

That’s why 2–4 right stages a month beats chasing virality every time.

If you want the full Stage Pipeline, the free training is in my Bio / Featured section.

Monday morning isn’t when you “lose focus.”
It’s when you leak it.

A while back, I noticed a pattern.

Every Monday, before I’d even started real work, I’d already:
- answered 7 messages
- skimmed 2 docs
- “quick checked” my calendar
- reacted to someone else’s urgency

By 10:00am, I felt busy… and somehow behind.

Not because the workload was insane.
Because my boundaries were nonexistent.

I was starting my week in response mode.

That’s the thing about blurred boundaries:
they don’t make you adaptable... they make you reactive.

The shift that changed my Mondays:
I built fences.

Not to be rigid.
To protect my best thinking.

The 3-Fence System: 
1. Time fence: fixed start + fixed stop
2. Attention fence: notifications off during deep work
3. Energy fence: no heavy decisions after shutdown

Now Mondays feel different.
Not easier... cleaner.

Less mental noise.
More meaningful output.

Your signature talk isn’t “content.”
It’s your marketing.

Because in 45 minutes, a great talk does what most funnels can’t:

- builds trust fast
- positions you as the guide
- makes your method feel inevitable
- creates demand without chasing

If you’re treating speaking like a nice-to-have… you’re missing the leverage.

Why a signature talk grows your business: 

1) It’s your positioning, spoken out loud
 A clear promise + a clear enemy (the old way) = instant differentiation.

2) It turns expertise into IP
 Your method stops being “advice” and becomes a named framework people remember.

3) It creates inbound
 The right talk doesn’t convince everyone.
 It attracts the right ones and repels the wrong ones.

4) It shortens the sales cycle
 When someone hears your thinking live, the first call becomes:
 “Here’s where I’m stuck... can you help?”
 Not “So… what do you do?”

A signature talk is not a speech.

It’s a system that sells after you leave the room.

If you had to name your talk in one sentence, what would it be?

P.S. I break this down step-by-step in a free training... it’s in my Featured section.

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