The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie: How to Speak So People Listen | #Success - Ep. 88
Before I ever dreamed of stepping on a stage, I was just an internet ‘nerd’ trying to make money online. In this episode, I share the story of how I first discovered the art of public speaking, why it terrified me, and the moment I saw someone speak with so much conviction that it changed my entire life trajectory.
I also dive into the original version of The Art of Public Speaking by the real Dale Carnegie, why this rare edition matters, and the single biggest lesson it teaches about becoming a powerful communicator. If you have a message, a product, or a mission you believe in, this episode will shift the way you think about sharing it.
Key Highlights:
◼️The day I watched speakers make 60k and 100k from stage and realized that speaking to sell was a real skill
◼️How I overcame my fear of public speaking by learning persuasion first, not performance
◼️The emotional story of a speaker whose message reached me at exactly the moment I needed it
◼️The truth I’ve learned watching 250 plus Funnel Hacking Live speakers and why passion always beats technique
◼️What the original Dale Carnegie taught about conviction, belief, and why loving your message matters more than perfect delivery
The power of public speaking isn’t about flawless articulation. It is about falling in love with what you are sharing so deeply that people feel it when you talk. That was true for me when I started talking about funnels, and it is still true for me today as I study the roots of great communication. If you’re looking to improve on your public speaking… This episode (and book!) is for you!
◼️https://russellbrunson.com/notes
◼️If you’ve got a product, offer, service… or idea… I’ll show you how to sell it (the RIGHT way) Register for my next event → https://sellingonline.com/podcast
◼️Still don’t have a funnel? ClickFunnels gives you the exact tools (and templates) to launch TODAY → https://clickfunnels.com/podcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Transcript
Speaker 1 You're about to make a trade. Which you do you listen to? Is it get optioning those options
Speaker 1 or let's do a little research?
Speaker 1 Learn more at finra.org/slash trade smart.
Speaker 1 Do you have a funnel, but it's not converting? The problem 99.9% of the time is that your funnel is good, but you suck at selling.
Speaker 1 If you want to learn how to sell so your funnels will actually convert, then get a ticket to my next selling online event by going to sellingonline.com slash podcast.
Speaker 1 That's sellingonline.com slash podcast.
Speaker 1 This is the Russell Brunson Show.
Speaker 1
Before I wanted to be a public speaker, I was an internet nerd who wanted to make money on the internet. And then I went to Armin Moore and had a seminar.
It's called The Big Seminar.
Speaker 1
And it was the biggest seminar in our industry at the time. So I remember going to this because I wanted to learn internet marketing, not because I wanted...
to ever be a speaker.
Speaker 1
That was never a goal or a plan or a vision I ever had. And I go to this event and I remember seeing the very first speaker get on stage.
And the speaker got up there. It was Mike Lippmann.
Speaker 1 He started speaking and I was taking notes as fast as I could. I still remember this presentation vividly to this day.
Speaker 1
Man, 18, 17, 18 years ago. At the end of it, he actually made an offer.
And I remember watching people run to the back and buy his product. And he was selling a $2,000 course.
Speaker 1
And I remember, I'd never seen something like this before. I didn't know what was happening.
I remember looking in the back of the room and counting the people in the back.
Speaker 1 I was like, you know, $2,000.
Speaker 1
offer like two four six eight ten I'm like he made sixty thousand dollars next speaker gets up there he has a five thousand dollar package. He speaks for 90 minutes.
Then he makes a present.
Speaker 1
He makes an offer. And people start running to the back.
And the same thing. I'm like, so confused.
I'm watching this thing happening.
Speaker 1
I look in the back and people in the back are buying and each one's $5,000. I'm like $5,000, $10,000, $1,500, $20.
And like, I did the math. I was like, he's made $100,000 in 90 minutes.
Speaker 1
Hey, this is Russell. How's it going? Welcome back to my vault.
Today I've got a really cool book with a very fascinating story.
Speaker 1 This book is called The Art of Public Speaking by a guy named Dale Carnegie. You guys know who Dale Carnegie is? I know you've heard Dale Carnegie, but this guy seems different.
Speaker 1 It's spelled completely different. Who is this guy? So, I'm gonna tell you the story about this book first, and then we'll dive into some of the information from inside.
Speaker 1 Now, for this copy of the book, I paid $535.35.
Speaker 1 And again, this one's interesting. So, most people have heard the name Dale Carnegie, right? Dale Carnegie, who wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Speaker 1 He still has a huge company around today, 100 years after he passed away, and is one of the most prolific writers and speakers of our generation, which is fascinating because I found this copy of the book.
Speaker 1 I'm like, Dale Carnegie, like that sounds like the same guy, but it seems a little different. So, I did did a little research, and what's crazy is he was actually born as Dale Carnegie.
Speaker 1 And at the time, a lot of you guys have heard the story about Andrew Carnegie, who was the most wealthy man on the planet. And so Dale Carnegie,
Speaker 1 if I can say her Dale Carnegie, he spoke at the Carnegie Center. And after he got done speaking, this is 1919, he decided I should change my name to sound like Carnegie.
Speaker 1 That way I can leverage his power and his influence.
Speaker 1
And so he literally changed his name to Dale Carnegie. That was not his given birth name.
So this book is one of the the rare books that was actually published before the name change.
Speaker 1 He was actually speaking and teaching at YMCAs across the country, teaching them how to do public speaking. And so this book is the book of him teaching public speaking at YMCAs.
Speaker 1 And it's just a fascinating book because, again, it was written before he became Dale Carnegie.
Speaker 1 Now, one caveat about this book, for those of you guys who want to become public speakers, I remember when I first got into this whole world, it was a guy named John Childers.
Speaker 1
And John Childers was a public speaking coach. So, again, I never had a desire to be a public speaker.
I remember I was scared to death of presenting in front of people.
Speaker 1 I remember in college, like being so scared of, like, when I had to present a paper or something in front of the class. And, in fact, it's funny, they say that
Speaker 1 the number one fear people have is public speaking. Number two fear is death.
Speaker 1 As I said, in most situations, the person, like at a funeral, people will be more scared to be the person on stage, like reading the eulogy than being the person who's actually dead in the casket.
Speaker 1 Like, it's crazy how much of a fear this is. And for me, it definitely was.
Speaker 1 I didn't have it on my radar until I saw human beings who who could get on stage, they could move someone, they could change somebody's life, and then they could make that much money.
Speaker 1 And so, John Childers was the last speaker, and he was teaching public speaking. And he asked the question, like, how many guys have noticed what's happened over the last couple of days?
Speaker 1
And I was like, yes, I noticed. And he's like, there's an art to speaking from stage.
And it was fascinating. He talked about it.
He's like, there's two ways to become a great speaker.
Speaker 1
He said, the first way is you become a great speaker. You become famous.
You're somebody who speaks really well. And then you can go and get paid to speak, right?
Speaker 1 He said, usually those are people that are famous and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 He said, the other way is you can learn how to speak to sell and when you speak to sell what happens is uh you don't you know not so much you become a great speaker as long as you learn like how to actually speak to persuade people to get them to move and to buy and john childers was teaching that version of public speaking so that was the path i went down is i went to go learn how to speak to sell and for me the last like 15 16 years that's what i've done and i've mastered and now i'm in a part of my career where i um because i would argue i'm not the group the best speaker um i think i'm one of the best ever from like speaking to sell but not the best speaker so now i'm I'm in this phase of my life, like I want to become a better speaker.
Speaker 1 Like, I want to like, I want to learn less and speak slower. So, like, I'm trying to learn the art of public speaking.
Speaker 1 And so, for me, it's been fun because I'm learning the other side of the speaking business, which is actually how to speak and how to articulate correctly.
Speaker 1 The very first time I ever experienced a really good speaker that actually changed my life, I was actually on my mission for my church, and I was in a time of my life where I was really struggling emotionally.
Speaker 1 I was like away from my family.
Speaker 1 And there was this guy, and he spoke at the conference we had, and his name was Jeffrey Holland and he spoke and the talk he gave was called a high priest of good things to come and he's given this presentation he's talking about Christ everything but he tells this story and the way he tells it he tells the story the very beginning of his life when him and his wife they just gotten married and they just graduated college I think they're going to start his master's degree or something they got him and his family in this car as they're driving the car the car breaks down right and he's a young father at the time he's scared he's nervous so he he leaves his kids in the car but it's really hot outside so he goes and he hikes back to the closest town.
Speaker 1
He gets a tow truck or gets someone to come out to fix the car. They come and they tow the car.
They bring it back and they look at it, like, well, nothing's wrong with the car.
Speaker 1
They start up, and it works again. So he gets back in the car.
He's driving the family, and the exact same spot, the car breaks down again, right?
Speaker 1 And he's like, what in the world? And so he's trying to fix the car. It doesn't work.
Speaker 1 He has to hike like two or three miles back into town, get the tow truck to come, and does this process three or four times, right? It's him early in his life.
Speaker 1
And he says, eventually, you know, they get a new car and they're able to go on the trip. And then he's talking about later on in his life when he's older.
And he's like, tells this story.
Speaker 1 I still get emotional thinking about it.
Speaker 1 He said he was driving on that same road, you know, 40 years later. His kids are growing out of the house.
Speaker 1 I'm getting emotional thinking about it. And he talks about how
Speaker 1
he's driving past that exact same spot. He's like, this is the spot.
This is the spot where our car broke down 40 years ago. And he's like, in my mind's eye, I saw
Speaker 1 this young father and a kid.
Speaker 1 who's like scared and nervous, not sure what to do.
Speaker 1 And
Speaker 1 in the talk,
Speaker 1 he's like, in my mind's eye, he's like, I was yelling out that kid, like, you can do it, like, keep going. Like,
Speaker 1 the future is going to be amazing. And just shared that, anyway.
Speaker 1 I remember sharing that story. And I remember as again, a 20-year-old kid who's struggling and where I'm at.
Speaker 1 And I hear this story of this guy who's now talking about his future self coming back to that moment and like sharing with him, like, I know it's scary, but you're going to do it.
Speaker 1
You're going to move forward. And I felt like he was coming.
It felt like it was like the future, me coming back to me, like telling me the same thing, like, it's going to be worth it.
Speaker 1 Like, keep moving forward. Like, you're going to do it.
Speaker 1 I remember like that, like like feeling somebody stand on stage and give a presentation and have it like change my entire life like it was the first time I'd ever felt that before and I think for me that's why why speaking is so important right like
Speaker 1 That's why I do, I don't know, we do 20 events a year right now because like I see the effect of someone getting in a room and you hear a speaker with the right message at the right time, you can completely transform that person's life.
Speaker 1
You could change, you know, it could change their relationship. It could change their personal life.
It could save somebody from, you know, darkness.
Speaker 1 It could say, like, there's so many powerful things that come from that and so public speaking i think is such an important skill to learn in this book this is a it's a thick book and there's a lot of stuff again it was written 1915 was when he when he wrote this uh this book and so there's so many good lessons in here but i think the lesson that i got from it that was the most powerful is he talked about like if you want to be somebody who's great at persuasion and speaking and like and doing these things he's like you have to really really really believe in the thing you're speaking about and again it could be a product it could be a service could be something different but and i sure most of you guys have felt this before right if you really believe in the thing you're selling you can sell it right you can you can do that like but you have to have a deep conviction they see people all the time who like there's a product you tell like they could care less about the product and they're going door to door they're selling on a webinar whatever like they're just doing it because they're trying to make money um there's a different level versus somebody who like understands it and loves it i think when we launched the click funnels movement a decade ago and people would see me speak and talk about it i think the reason why i did so well was not because I was a great speaker necessarily, but I did love, like, I was obsessed with the product.
Speaker 1 You know, like
Speaker 1 I would talk about funnels, and there's a clip of Tony Robbins. He's like, every time I talk about funnels, he's like, it's like Jesus is coming through your body.
Speaker 1
He's like, you have to love your product so much that when you talk about it, you light up. You're so excited about it.
Like, that's the power of it, right?
Speaker 1 And I think for most people, they want to learn to become a great speaker versus like,
Speaker 1 how do you dig deeper into the thing that you're trying to share?
Speaker 1 Like, the message, the product, whatever it is, and like becoming so excited about that that when you share it, even if you're not the best speaker, you can be like me and you talk too fast and you say ums and ahs and you mess up all the time and you're kind of all over the place.
Speaker 1 But if people feel the passion coming through that, like that elevates your speaking more than you know, articulating everything perfectly or
Speaker 1 speaking perfectly slow or having the stories perfect. It's more like the like understanding like the passion about the message is the most important thing.
Speaker 1 And you know, we've ran our big event, Funnel Hacking Live, for a decade now, which means a decade, every event we got 20-something speakers.
Speaker 1 So we're looking at 250, 300 speakers that have come through and spoken at Funnel Hacking Live on our stage. And it's interesting because we get to see a lot of really cool metrics, right?
Speaker 1
Like we have people who are in the audience who experience it. We get to be backstage watching.
We get to see how people move, what they don't.
Speaker 1 And it's fascinating because the people that the audience resonate with the most, the people who get the best feedback, the people who sell the most, all those kind of things, it's never the people that are the best speakers necessarily, but it's the people that are the most passionate about the thing that they're talking about you can tell the ones that are obsessed the ones that have the passion you see that you see it in their eye like the glint in their eye of just like they're so excited to share the thing and that's i think the most important part so that's one of the things i really got going back through this book is is if we spend as much time really mastering and falling in love with our message it makes the communication the sharing the message so much better and makes you a much better public speaker all right if you guys want to go deeper and become a better public speaker and learn from the original Dale Carnegie, not Carnegie, same guy, if you want to, uh, I wrote my notes from this book and outlined some really cool things.
Speaker 1 You can get all you gotta do is click link in the description down below, and you can get the show notes.
Speaker 1 Um, also, I'll throw a link down below if you want to see the full video of the talk that changed my life. We'll drop a link in the comments down in the description down below for that as well.
Speaker 1 Other than that, I hope you guys enjoyed this video and uh appreciate you guys being here. Thanks so much.