About
I walked away from a planned PhD to become a magician. Here's what I learned over ten…
Articles by Brian
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Thankfully, I ignored him
Thankfully, I ignored him
There’s nothing quite like disapproval, especially when it’s coming from someone you look up to. It’s October 2015 and…
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Why you (probably) shouldn't be friendly when starting a speech
Why you (probably) shouldn't be friendly when starting a speech
You’re walking to the front of the room to give a speech. If you’re lucky (or famous), someone just introduced you.
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Stop showing me your oil stick
Stop showing me your oil stick
“Here you go.” He’s holding a thin stick covered in oil while making direct eye contact.
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You can be boring and still give great speeches
You can be boring and still give great speeches
"I wish I could be as engaging as you on stage.” He’s a financial advisor.
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The Sacrifice-Stakes Scale: How Top Speakers Earn True Engagement
The Sacrifice-Stakes Scale: How Top Speakers Earn True Engagement
As keynote speakers we need to grab our audience's attention. That's the job of the introduction.
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Keynote vs Workshops: How the Medium Shapes the Message
Keynote vs Workshops: How the Medium Shapes the Message
"The medium is the message." You've been booked for a keynote speech.
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Condensing vs Clarifying: How Long Should Your Message Be?
Condensing vs Clarifying: How Long Should Your Message Be?
A new video from the TEDx Talks YouTube channel popped up on my feed the other day. The title was intriguing, my thumb…
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You Don't Need to Be an Entertainer to Be Entertaining
You Don't Need to Be an Entertainer to Be Entertaining
Five insights from magic that will transform your next speech "No" has never been so loud. Standing in front of 700…
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Three lessons from 100 influential speechwriters
Three lessons from 100 influential speechwriters
I spent two days with 100 of the brightest, most influential speechwriters in the world. These are the folks who put…
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The Turtles Problem in Coaching
The Turtles Problem in Coaching
Saw this post floating around Facebook: I've articulated my thoughts on this, on the record, in many situations. But…
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Activity
7K followers
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Brian Miller shared thisPinch me. For the second year in a row I spent my birthday weekend in Vegas… but not for the usual reasons. I was honored to be invited back to speak at Forward 2026. Last year I shared the stage with legends like Chris Do and Codie Sanchez. This year included Daniel Priestly, Vanessa Van Edwards, Ed Mylett, and Leila Hormozi. Even better- this year Omar El-Takrori asked me to contribute a half day workshop to his inner circle while I was in town. It was exhausting and exhilarating. A privilege. A joy. Thank you to the 1,000 attendees who made me feel so welcome. To Neel Dhingra and his world class team for inviting me back. To the legendary speakers who treated me like a peer. And to the 100 VIP ticket holders who kept me in photo line signing books for a literal hour, making me feel like an extra special rock star on my birthday weekend. * * * … I did manage to make it home for my actual birthday with my family via red eye. I was dead tired, but nothing beats having your five-year-old sing happy birthday.
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Brian Miller shared thisAn absolutely insane day with Omar El-Takrori and his Inner Circle in Vegas. I delivered a half day messaging intensive followed by a surprise appearance fireside chat with Daniel Priestley. Omar’s team is second to none. So welcoming, so generous. It’s an honor.
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Brian Miller shared thisOutsourcing your writing to AI isn’t just making you sound like everyone else. It’s removing your need to think deeply about your work. You want to be a thought leader? You must have thoughts. And writing is how you produce thoughts. * * * Shout out to Rich Rochlin for having me on the Call My Guy podcast. 🔗 Full conversation: https://lnkd.in/eDBFJd-w
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Brian Miller reposted thisBrian Miller reposted thisI've been neglecting my community. I've spent the last several months hyper-focused on building a new app for clients, doing more in-person events, + creating really cool things with 1:1 clients. But it came at a cost... Me not having as much time for my community. That's meant less focus on enrolling clients into my Impact Accelerator + fewer community sessions. That's about to change. AND there's a brand new way to be a part of the Growth Habit™ community without the high-ticket cost of the Impact Accelerator. It's called RENEGADES. Some of the sessions we have coming up include.... • C͟l͟a͟u͟d͟e͟ ͟f͟o͟r͟ ͟C͟o͟a͟c͟h͟e͟s͟ ͟+͟ ͟C͟o͟n͟s͟u͟l͟t͟a͟n͟t͟s͟ - Practical Ways to Use Claude to Save Time + Grow Your Business (with Antoni Tzavelas) • G͟e͟t͟ ͟D͟a͟i͟l͟y͟ ͟N͟e͟w͟s͟l͟e͟t͟t͟e͟r͟ ͟S͟u͟b͟s͟c͟r͟i͟b͟e͟r͟s͟ ͟- With a Newsletter that Turns Curious People Into Clients (with me) • G͟r͟o͟w͟i͟n͟g͟ ͟o͟n͟ ͟I͟n͟s͟t͟a͟g͟r͟a͟m͟ ͟a͟s͟ ͟a͟ ͟C͟o͟a͟c͟h͟ ͟o͟r͟ ͟C͟o͟n͟s͟u͟l͟t͟a͟n͟t͟ - How Ingrid Went From 3k to 32k Followers on IG While Enjoying the Ride (with Ingrid Smith + me) • F͟*͟*͟k͟ ͟t͟h͟e͟ ͟A͟l͟g͟o͟ ͟+͟ ͟R͟u͟n͟ ͟Y͟o͟u͟r͟ ͟F͟i͟r͟s͟t͟ ͟A͟d͟s͟ - Attract Clients Without Having to Beg the Algorithm Gods to Show Your Content (with me) • T͟h͟e͟ ͟O͟n͟e͟-͟P͟a͟g͟e͟ ͟K͟e͟y͟n͟o͟t͟e͟ - How to Design a Speech that Always Works, No Charisma Required (with Brian Miller) I'm really freaking excited. P.S. Want to see the invitation to RENEGADES? Send me a DM with the word curious.
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Brian Miller reposted thisBrian Miller reposted thisHeading to Manitoba for my final speaking engagements of June, and I’ve brought the perfect travel companion for the flight. ✈️📚 Over the past six months, between work, life, and raising a puppy, I haven’t had as much downtime to enjoy one of my favourite things—reading. This trip is the first one she’s not joining me on, so I finally have a chance to catch up with a great book. I was excited to receive a signed copy of The One Page Keynote by Brian Miller. Even better was spotting the personalized message Brian wrote and realizing it tied directly into a line from the book. Nicely done, Brian! It’s also an honour to be featured in the book, with my TEDx talk included as a case study highlighting Brian’s keynote framework. The section I am featured in focuses on how we use statistics and data effectively in keynote presentations. It's also wonderful to see Dr. Margaret Robinson Rutherford, Marjorie Aunos, Ph.D., MAPP and Yasmine Saad, PhD work featured. Congratulations, Brian, on a fantastic book. Looking forward to a great flight, a great read, and finishing off June with some meaningful conversations in Manitoba. You can pick up your copy at your local Indigo, Barnes and Noble and on Amazon. Link to book: https://lnkd.in/eQ6By2_i
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Brian Miller reposted thisBrian Miller reposted thisYesterday’s daily yay was a big one - I stood on the red dot wearing an outfit that felt like sunshine, and became a TEDx speaker at TEDxMississauga: Ripple Effects! I’m still going through photos and videos and messages (and I’m so thankful to have so much support 🥹) so I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts to share, but for now - Thank you to my parents and my boyfriend Dan for being the original ripple effects in getting me to share my journey 💖 Thank you to my best friends for always showing up AND hyping me up for everything I do 🫶🏽 Thank you to Brian Miller and Francisco Mahfuz for all the support leading up to the talk 🙏🏽 And thank you to the TEDxMississauga team for having me! And if you were there for the show, somehow I didn’t say it at all afterwards so I’ll say it now - thank you for coming to my TED(x) talk. 🥹🔴🙌🏽 - Also hi! I'm Lauren - an invisible disability speaker with 33% strength and 100% spirit. If you're looking for in-person or virtual keynote speakers on resilience, joy or belonging, check out LaurenSaysYay.com for how I can help! 🎤✨
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Brian Miller reposted thisBrian Miller reposted thisYou can only get so far on your own. It takes a village to grow a brand and a company. And boy am I happy to have Brian Miller in my village! People often ask me, “How did you land a Ted Talk?” The answer is Brian! He has been my speaking coach for 3 years. Steady, determined and skilled at what he does, Brian championed my “idea worth spreading”, and would not give up! I am so grateful! Thank you 🙏 Brian Miller for helping me clarify my ideas, to give the speech I needed to hear when I was a young person growing up. Read his new book ‘The One-Page Keynote’ to sharpen your ideas and write the speech that could land you a TEDx Talk!
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Brian Miller shared thisThere's a scene in Eddie and the Cruisers II (a movie nobody except my father I have ever seen), in which veteran songwriter Eddie Wilson is jamming with a young up-and-comer, Rick Diesel. What a name. Rick lets rip on the electric guitar, busting out an 80s-inspired, Van Halen-style solo full of finger pyrotechnics and blazing runs. He finishes the solo, then looks up at Eddie desperate for praise. But instead, Eddie simply shrugs. "Not bad." Rick is indignant. "Not bad? What the hell does that mean?" Eddie doubles down. "Not bad means not bad. I mean, it was good, it would dazzle the audience. But that's the easy part." * That's the easy part * A lot of experts turn down or avoid speaking opportunities for the wrong reason. They think, “I’m not charismatic enough." "I'm not funny enough. "I'm not engaging or interesting enough." But audiences are not asking you to become a performer. They are asking you to make your expertise clear, understandable, relevant, and useful. Plenty of speakers are superficially entertaining. They're high energy, interactive, funny—traditionally charismatic. And indeed, they get high marks on feedback forms. But do their talks actually work? Do they create change? Rarely. Because all that pizazz actually distracts people from learning, and typically masks a presentation that isn't actually all that useful. Meanwhile, a well-designed talk can carry an untrained or even uncharismatic speaker. And you know this is true because during emergencies we are glued to our screens as experts awkwardly try to explain what's going on and what we need to know in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones. They have information that's vital to you. What you want, when it truly matters, is not charisma. It's clarity. Delivery still matters, no doubt. But delivery should serve the message, not distract from its absence. If you are an expert who has been asked to speak, do not wait until you feel like a “natural performer.” Simply design the talk well enough that you can trust the structure when nerves show up. In this conversation with John Ball on his podcast Present Influence, we talk through precisely how to do that. Thanks for having me, John! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eURCgGAtBrian Miller: How to Build a Keynote That Actually WorksBrian Miller: How to Build a Keynote That Actually Works
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Brian Miller shared thisI can tell instantly when a someone sends me a speech draft that was written by AI. There are two tells, and they are not what you think. Not em dashes. Not contrasting statements. Not rules of three. (See what I did there?) The two telltale signs: 1) Perfect prose 2) Semantically empty First, perfect prose: I have spent hours – sometimes dozens of hours – with these people. They do not have perfect prose. They come to me precisely because they’re not clear. They don’t know how to structure their argument. They ramble and include lots of unnecessary information. Yet magically their script is perfect. Please. Second, the scripts are semantically empty: Semantics, the study of meaning. Empty, containing nothing. Perfect phrased sentences, perfectly flowy paragraphs… that don’t. Mean. Anything. Sounds great when you don’t think about it. But I do think about it. And so will your listener. I often find myself asking them, “What exactly did you mean by this?” They can’t explain it. Because it doesn’t mean anything. And they didn’t think it in the first place. In this article for The Atlantic, Eve Fairbanks notes that AI writing is impossible to edit because you have to change everything. That is precisely my experience. It’s not even worth editing against an AI generated draft, because it only holds together insofar as it is not examined. So, is AI bad? No. Is it just a writing tool, like spellcheck? Also no. AI is a good research tool. It’s a decent intellectual sparring partner if you train it properly. However, it is an abysmal writer. And worse, it cannot think. You want to be a thought leader? You must have thoughts. And the thoughts MUST be yours. Filtered through your lived experience and perspective. When AI tools first dropped four years ago I argued that it would solve the blank page problem. Get creatives and writers past the mind-numbing, head-bashing early phase when you’ve got nothing down and starting seems impossible. The Resistance, as Steven Pressfield coined. Now I know I was wrong. If AI is useful at all it’s for the final stage of the creative process. Fine tune. Check for inconsistencies. Reveal gaps. But the foundation of your work should be human. Otherwise, what the hell are we doing here? * * * 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ecNz4SVe Written with my thumbs on a plane. En-dashes and all.
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Brian Miller reacted on thisBrian Miller reacted on thisAt Forward, the best speakers I heard all weekend weren't talking about rates. That's what makes Forward different. It's a non-mortgage mortgage event. And the principles they taught were exactly what I needed to hear. Chris Do reminded us that your personal brand is the voice of the individual. It's about self acceptance and self awareness, and creating a transformative experience with your client, not a transactional one. Macy McNeely: "Your personal brand is with you for life whether you like it or not. If you can't get out of it, get into it." Brian Miller on communication: the best ideas don't win, the clearest idea wins. (And yes, he did actual magic.) Leila Hormozi: "If I can't control it, why would I think about it?" Ed Mylett: Life gives you what you are willing to fight for and you are the most qualified to help the person you used to be. Ryan Leak: "There are levels to this thing." One Percenters are doing it while the rest of us are thinking about it. Daniel Priestley: people notice you for the first time when they've seen you 11 times. Vanessa Van Edwards: in the age of AI, learning to be a master communicator is career insurance. No matter how good AI gets, it can never feel empathy or elevate someone's performance. There was so much more, but the speakers were just one part. Neel Dhingra has built something rare. A community of people already winning at a high level who still show up hungry to learn and do more. Nobody's coasting. Everybody's all in. The cherry on top? I had almost thirty of my team members there with me. Learning alongside your people is inspiring and honestly just really fun. Neel says: "We don't half-ass it here. We full-ass it." This makes me laugh, but that's the spirit of this group. Love your people. Choose your circle on purpose. And go all in. 💛🌟 Rose Marie David Chad Jackson Christie Schalock Jennifer Coutts Keri Shepherd Randy Forcier Kellie Allen Mary-Francis Allen Phil Aguillon Brady Thomas Lisa San Diego Ryan Wheelwright Kelly Nordstrom
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Brian Miller reacted on thisBrian Miller showed up to Forward/ with purpose. Happy Birthday sir 🥳
Experience
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Publications
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When the Navy Calls
Vanish Magazine
See publicationMy article, entitled “When the Navy Calls,” is featured in this month’s issue. A brief 1000 words, the article recalls how I came to work with Navy Entertainment in the first place, and a general idea of how that first tour to Europe in April 2016 went.
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"How to Give a TEDx Talk: One Magician's Journey"
MUM Magazine (Society of American Magicians)
Reprint of Brian's blog post "How to Give a TEDx Talk: One Magician's Journey," edited and adapted for publication by Christian Painter in his column "Working in the Real World." MUM is the official publication of the Society of American Magicians.
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"How to Magically Connect with Anyone"
MAGIC Magazine
A transcript of Brian's TEDx talk "How to Magically Connect with Anyone," adapted for article format and published in the November issue of MAGIC Magazine, one of the leading publications in the magic industry.
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The Choices We Can't See
Genii Magazine
Write up of Brian's original piece of mind reading "The Choices We Can't See." Published in the legendary Magicana column of Genii Magazine, one of the leading publications in the magic industry.
Honors & Awards
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2025 Cicero Award for Speechwriting: Social Justice
Vital Speeches of the Day
Since Cicero called rhetoric a “great art” more than 2,000 years ago, the world has seen the Gutenberg Press, radio, television, the Internet and social media. These technological advances haven’t diminished the transformative social power of a great speech. If anything, they’ve underlined it.
And so the Cicero Speechwriting Awards recognize the speechwriters and the speakers who make great speeches—who do exceptional research, audience analysis, introspection, writing and thoughtful…Since Cicero called rhetoric a “great art” more than 2,000 years ago, the world has seen the Gutenberg Press, radio, television, the Internet and social media. These technological advances haven’t diminished the transformative social power of a great speech. If anything, they’ve underlined it.
And so the Cicero Speechwriting Awards recognize the speechwriters and the speakers who make great speeches—who do exceptional research, audience analysis, introspection, writing and thoughtful rewriting. Whether the work is done mostly by the speaker or the speechwriter, or in equal collaboration, the work must be done.
Presented by Vital Speeches of the Day, the monthly magazine that’s collected the best speeches in the world for nine decades, the Cicero Speechwriting Awards recognize the work that makes the speeches that help leaders lead—in every sector of society. -
Navy Entertainment Tour: Asia
Navy Entertainment
Invited to entertain the American troops and their families stationed on Naval bases in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Guam. The tour consisted of 9 shows in 8 locations in 16 days.
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Navy Entertainment Tour: The Middle East & Africa
Navy Entertainment
Invited to entertain the American troops stationed on U.S. Naval bases in Bahrain and Djibouti.
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Navy Entertainment Tour: Europe
Navy Entertainment
Invited to entertain the American troops and their families on U.S. Naval bases in Spain and Italy for the "Month of the Military Child."
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TEDx Speaker
TEDxManchesterHighSchool
Invited to speak at TEDxManchesterHighSchool, an independently organized conference under the TED brand and guidelines, in the spirit of "ideas worth spreading." View the talk, entitled "How to Magically Connect with Anyone," which is inspiring people worldwide: https://youtu.be/D4cV8yfgNyI
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Nominated "America's Best Small Venue Performer"
Campus Activities Magazine (2014 reader's choice awards)
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Nominated "America's Best Small Venue Performer"
Campus Activities Magazine (2013 reader's choice awards)
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President's Award for Best Presentation
SUNY Oneonta Undergraduate Philosophy Conference
For presenting the paper "Contextually Speaking". This presentation outlined a defense of contextual resemblance nominalism, and argued that such an account resolves Plato's problem of the One over Many.
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President's Award for Best Presentation
SUNY Oneonta Undergraduate Philosophy Conference
For presenting the paper "The Illusion of Choice." This presentation outlined a tidy argument for the metaphysical position known as hard incompatibilism, which states that free will is incompatible with both nomological determinism and indeterminism, and therefore free will does not, and can not, exist.
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