Motivational Keynote Speaking Reel
Dr. Danny Brassell Leaves the Audience LAUGHING | One of the FUNNIEST Motivational Speeches EVER
Leadership Speaking Reel
Coaching Testimonial
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I help leaders turn personal experiences into stories that drive action. Using my proven 5 C’s framework, I transform presentations into clear, engaging and results-focused experiences that move audiences to respond.
Unlike speakers who simply inspire, I deliver a practical system audiences can use immediately to communicate with clarity, connect emotionally and convert opportunities into real results. Every talk is tailored, interactive and built for execution.
Clients book me because I don’t just energize the room – I equip it. Your audience won’t just feel inspired…they’ll know exactly what to do next.
1 review
Corinna H.
May 4, 2026Most coaches tell you what you want to hear. Danny tells you what you need to know. He cuts straight to the two questions that expose every gap in your positioning: who you serve and what problem you actually solve. He won't let you hide behind a vague answer.
His framework is sharp. His instincts are sharper. And he leads with value before he ever mentions an offer.
If you want a coach who respects your intelligence, challenges your assumptions, and backs it up with real experience; Danny delivers.
Hired as: Business Motivational Speaker
Price range: Contact for rates
Languages: English, Spanish
Gig length: 20 - 2880 minutes
Insurance: $1,000,000 - I carry a general liability insurance policy with $1,000,000 in coverage. A certificate of insurance can be provided upon request, and I am happy to have the venue or hosting organization named as an additional insured if your contract requires it. Just let me know the exact wording your risk management team needs and I will have the certificate issued and sent well ahead of the event date.
Every company has a story. Most of them are telling it badly.
That is the problem I solve. I am Dr. Danny Brassell, and I help entrepreneurs, business owners and executive teams discover, structure and deliver the story that turns audiences into clients.
WHAT YOUR AUDIENCE WILL SEE
They will see a speaker who does not lecture. They will see someone who walks the room, calls people by name, makes them laugh out loud in the first ninety seconds and then – while their guard is down – hands them something they will still be using on Monday morning.
I have delivered more than 3,500 presentations on five continents. I have followed rock bands, preceded comedians and spoken to rooms at 8:00 a.m. after an open-bar night. I know how to read a room and adjust in real time. Your attendees will not be checking their phones.
What they experience is a blend of three things: story, laughter and takeaway. I open with a story they did not see coming. I get them talking to each other within the first five minutes. And I close with a framework simple enough that they can teach it to a colleague in the elevator.
Most importantly, they leave feeling capable rather than lectured. Nobody walks out saying "that was interesting." They walk out saying "I know exactly what I am changing tomorrow."
WHAT YOU AS THE PLANNER WILL GET
A speaker who makes your job easier. I answer emails within hours, not days. I submit AV requirements, intro copy, headshots and promotional materials before you have to chase me. I arrive early. I stay late. I do not have a green room rider.
Before your event, I get on the phone with you and, when possible, with three to five of your attendees. I want to know what keeps your people up at night, what the internal politics are, what last year's speaker got wrong and what your leadership actually wants to walk away with. Then I customize. Your audience will hear their industry, their language and their challenges reflected back at them from the platform.
You also get flexibility. I deliver keynotes of 45 to 90 minutes, half-day and full-day workshops, breakout sessions, executive retreats, virtual programs and multi-day team engagements. My team travels to client locations, so if you need work done with a leadership group before or after the general session, that is available too.
And you get results you can point to when your boss asks whether the speaker budget was worth it. Clients have used this material to rebuild sales presentations, restructure investor pitches and rewrite the way their frontline teams talk to customers.
MY SIGNATURE FRAMEWORK: THE 5 Cs
Storytelling advice is usually vague. "Be authentic." "Be vulnerable." That is not coaching – that is a fortune cookie.
So, I built a system. The 5 Cs give your people a repeatable structure they can apply to a sales call, a board presentation, a fundraising ask or a job interview:
Clarity – Who is your audience? What is the problem you solve? What is the one message you want them to remember?
Connect – Who is in the room, and what do they care about?
Content – What story or evidence proves the point?
Call to Action – What do I want them to do next?
Close – How do I want them to feel walking out?
Around that framework sit my three brand pillars: Story Discovery (finding the stories already sitting in your organization), Story Structure (the 5 Cs) and Story Delivery (getting it out of your mouth so people actually feel it).
SIGNATURE PROGRAMS
The Story Advantage: Why Your Best Ideas Are Losing to Worse Ones. A keynote for mixed business audiences on why the better-told idea beats the better idea every single time – and how to stop being on the losing end of that.
Sell Without Selling: Storytelling for Revenue Teams. Built for sales organizations, financial advisors and anyone whose income depends on persuasion. We rebuild the pitch around the client's transformation rather than your product's features.
The Leader Who Tells: Executive Communication That Moves People. For leadership teams and C-suite retreats. How executives use narrative to drive change initiatives, deliver hard news and build cultures people do not quit.
Team Story Lab. A hands-on half-day or full-day workshop where every participant leaves with a finished, tested story they can use immediately. This is where the real transformation happens – and where planners tell me the evaluations go through the roof.
WHO I WORK WITH
Corporate conferences, sales kickoffs, association meetings, leadership retreats, franchise conventions, financial services firms, professional services organizations and entrepreneurial groups such as EO and YPO. I have worked with financial advisory firms, technology companies, nonprofits and family businesses.
Audiences have ranged from twelve executives around a conference table to arenas of several thousand. Both work. The material scales.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
Before I ever stood on a corporate stage, I spent over 30 years as a teacher and a professor – which is the toughest speaking gig on earth. If you can hold the attention of a room of teenagers on a Friday afternoon, a sales conference is not intimidating.
I am the author of multiple books, the host of the "Misfits and Crackpots" podcast and I have been fortunate enough to build a business helping people all over the world say what they mean in a way that lands.
WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT
Plenty of speakers will entertain your audience. Plenty of consultants will give your team a framework. Very few do both in the same room on the same day.
I am not a motivational speaker who leaves your people feeling great with nothing to do about it. I am also not a corporate trainer who delivers excellent content to a room full of glazed eyes. I sit in the middle, and that is deliberate.
LOGISTICS
I travel from Denver and I am on the road most weeks, so I am often already near your city. Virtual delivery is available and I treat it as its own craft rather than a keynote pointed at a webcam. Books and materials can be bundled for attendees. Fees vary by format, travel and length – let's talk about what fits your budget.
LET'S TALK
Send me a note with your date, your audience and the one outcome you most want. I will tell you honestly whether I am the right fit. If I am not, I will point you toward someone who is.
Your audience deserves better than another slide deck. Let us give them a story they will repeat.
A highly-sought after speaker, trainer and coach known as “Jim Carrey with a Ph.D.,” Dr. Danny Brassell ((link hidden)) has spoken to over 3,500 audiences worldwide. He has authored 22 books, including Leadership Begins with Motivation and Misfits and Crackpots. The co-founder of WellCrafted Story™, Danny helps entrepreneurs, business owners, executives and organizations leverage speaking on stages as a major client lead source that converts.
I try to be the easiest speaker on your run sheet. I do not travel with a crew, I do not need a green room and I have presented everywhere from ballrooms to warehouse floors to hotel meeting rooms with a folding table and a flip chart. If something on this list is not available, tell me and we will work around it. Very little here is a deal-breaker.
That said, here is what helps me give your audience the best possible experience.
SOUND
Handheld wireless microphone. This is my strong preference and the one item I will push for. I move constantly, I hand the mic to audience members and I use it as a prop. A handheld makes all of that possible.
Please have fresh batteries and a backup handheld on standby. If the room is small enough that no amplification is needed, I am fine going without.
If I am playing any audio or video, I will need house sound patched to the presentation computer with the levels checked before doors open.
PROJECTION AND SLIDES
I typically use PowerPoint – not because the content depends on it, but because a room staring at one person for sixty minutes gets visually tired. My slides are image-driven, with very few words, and they support the talk rather than carry it.
If projection is unavailable, I can and will deliver the program without slides. Nothing breaks. Just let me know in advance so I can adjust.
When slides are used, I would appreciate: a projector and screen (or LED wall) sized for the room, HDMI connection, 16:9 format and a wireless slide advancer. I bring my own advancer as a backup.
I prefer to present from my own laptop. If your venue requires slides be loaded onto a house machine, that is fine – I will send the file in advance in whatever format your AV team needs.
A confidence monitor or downstage monitor is appreciated but not required. I do not read from my slides, so I am comfortable working with the screen behind me.
STAGING
Please, no lectern. If one must be on stage for other presenters, I would ask that it be moved to the side so I have open floor.
I need room to walk. A stage is welcome but not necessary – I am equally happy working from the floor at audience level, and for groups under 100 I often prefer it.
If there is a stage, a center-stage set of stairs or a ramp makes a real difference, because I frequently step down into the audience.
For workshops, rounds or crescent-rounds work far better than theater seating. People need to talk to each other. If the room must be set theater style, I will adapt, but I will make them turn to a neighbor anyway.
LIGHTING
Standard front wash is plenty. I do not need specials, gobos or anything theatrical.
Two requests: please keep house lights up enough that I can see faces, and please avoid a full blackout on the audience. My material depends on reading the room and pulling people in, and I cannot do that talking into a dark void.
Please avoid pointing a spotlight directly into the front row.
ROOM AND TIMING
I would like access to the room for a sound and slide check at least sixty minutes before doors, or the evening before if the schedule allows.
Whenever possible, I like to be in the room before my session starts so I can meet attendees and hear what they are talking about. It makes the opening far stronger.
If you would like me to stay for questions, book-signing or informal conversation afterward, I am glad to – just build it into the schedule.
If your event is being recorded or streamed, please let me know in advance so we can discuss usage.
VIRTUAL PROGRAMS
I deliver virtual sessions from a dedicated studio with professional lighting, a broadcast microphone, a hardwired connection and a backup connection standing by.
I am comfortable in Zoom, Teams, Webex, Hopin and most other platforms. I ask for co-host or presenter rights, a technical rehearsal on the actual platform a few days prior and – if the group is large – a producer to manage chat and breakout rooms so I can focus on the audience.
For virtual delivery I strongly prefer cameras on and a group small enough for genuine interaction. If the format is a broadcast to a large passive audience, that is doable, but the program will be structured differently.
MATERIALS AND MERCHANDISE
For workshops, participants benefit from a printed workbook. I can supply the file for your team to print or arrange printing myself.
If books are being provided to attendees, I am happy to sign them. Please provide a table, a chair and someone to help manage the line.
Handouts, worksheets and a follow-up resource link can be provided to attendees at no additional cost.
TRAVEL
I travel from Denver and I am on the road most weeks, so there is a reasonable chance I am already near you. Travel is billed at cost or as a flat rate, whichever you prefer.
For events starting before 10:00 a.m., I will arrive the evening before. I do not do same-morning flights to a keynote.
QUESTIONS
If your venue has constraints that conflict with anything above, reach out. In more than 3,500 presentations I have not yet found a room I could not work in.
Zig Ziglar. Zig taught me that persuasion and decency are not opposites. He could sell anything and never once made you feel sold to, because he genuinely believed helping enough other people get what they want is the whole game. His warmth is the standard I measure myself against.
Jim Rohn. Rohn spoke slowly, said less than everyone else in the room and somehow landed harder. He proved that a plain sentence, delivered with conviction and enough space around it, beats a clever one every time. Whenever I catch myself over-explaining, I hear him telling me to trust the pause.
Tom Peters. Peters proved that business content does not have to be dry to be rigorous. He is relentlessly curious, unapologetically enthusiastic and never talks down to a room. He taught me that the excitement you feel about your material is contagious – or, if you do not feel any, that is contagious too.
Les Brown. Nobody moves a room like Les. He taught me about rhythm, repetition and the courage to sit in silence for three full seconds while a point lands. He also modeled something I care deeply about: your worst chapter can become your most useful story.
Tony Robbins. Robbins showed me that a keynote can be a physical experience rather than a spectator sport. Get people standing, talking, moving and committing to something out loud. I do not run four-day immersions, but that instinct – make them participants, not an audience – shapes everything I do.
Jack Canfield. Canfield built an empire on the simplest premise in publishing – that a well-chosen story does more than any argument ever will. Watching him string small human moments into something people carry around for decades convinced me that story structure is a teachable skill, not a gift. That belief is the foundation of everything I do.
And my students. Before any corporate stage, I taught. Kids, especially the kindergartners, are the most honest audience on earth. They will not politely check out. They will tell you, loudly, the moment you become boring. Every instinct I have for reading a room came from them.
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Business Motivational Speaker