JMT Blog

By Sonya Etchemendy, certified John Maxwell Team coach, speaker & trainer Do you think you are funny? There was a time that I thought I was until my sense of humor was put to the test in front of 500 people! Early in my career, I was blessed with many different opportunities and I’d jump…

I don’t know about you, but growing up in school I hated English class. More than anything I hated to write. What was the point? Now, decades later, I realize the point. Writing and reading have helped me learn how to think and, even more importantly, how to communicate my thoughts clearly. Communication occurs daily…

In March 2017, I had the opportunity to share a small part of my personal growth journey with approximately 2,400 other members of The John Maxwell Team. This experience was extra special because I shared the stage, for a few moments, with John Maxwell himself. I earned this opportunity because I was one of ten…

To be a good speaker you need to know your material and be comfortable in presenting it. These are obvious. I remember one mentor saying, “There is nothing more unforgivable than a speaker who fails to prepare and wastes the audience’s time.” I agree. We must have our content down. Outside of that, there are…

So, you have decided to take the plunge and become a public speaker. Congratulations! You might be unaware, but statistically only 1 in 10,000 people really have what it takes to get on a stage and utilize it as a platform. It’s true. Speaking in front of large groups of people is a very unnatural…

What do you do when it goes ALL wrong? What do you do when you have prepared your speech for months, done your research, interviewed people, and practiced your delivery a gazillion times, standing up, with a hammer acting as the mic, to deliver the best keynote speech ever and it all goes wrong? Earlier…