The book
Well Said
How to speak the words that matter in the age of AI and social media. Coming from [publisher] in [month, year]. Pre-order now and get your opening audited free.
Pre-orders open soon
For speakers headed to the main stage
They decide in thirty seconds whether to listen.
Well Said helps you say it in the right order, so the room actually hears what you came to say.
Your openingLive
That's how long you get before they swipe away in their heads.
Form beats content.
The problem
Your audience's brains have been rewired by the feed. They didn't come to hear you. You're on their turf, and if you say it in the wrong order, they've already shut you down.
Content still matters. But you can have the best content in the world, and if nobody gives you thirty seconds, it never lands. Charisma won't fix that. Energy won't either. Getting the order right will.
The Well Said method
Five segments, in order. Then the gate opens.
- Segment 1
Their turf
Where are they right now?
Start in their hero story, not yours. Put the audience on camera.
- Segment 2
The hook
Why care in the next five seconds?
Tap status or affiliation, the two things people already talk about.
- Segment 3
Open the loop
What can't they stop wondering?
A puzzle, a broken expectation, a sentence they have to finish.
- Segment 4
Add tension
Why does it matter now?
Everybody knows the stakes. Show the bomb under the table.
- Segment 5
The assumed antidote
What do they think already fixes it?
Name the fix they're counting on. It worked, until something changed. That opens the gate.
The gate opens. Now they invite you in, and your content lands.
Three ways in
Start where you are.
Free
Opening Audit
Send the first 90 seconds of your talk. Todd scores it against the five segments and tells you what to move.
Send your opening →1:1
Keynote Companion
Todd works side by side with you before the talk, in the room, and after. You sharpen the message points, the order, and the open, then debrief for the next stage.
Start with a free audit →
About Todd Wall
Sports TV figured this out in the '60s.
Before Roone Arledge, there were no crowd shots and no microphones in the stands. Then ABC put the kid with his head in his hands on camera, and suddenly you were inside the last ten minutes of the game.
Todd spent three decades in broadcasting learning how to keep people from changing the channel. Then a decade on stage, and a decade in sales and marketing. Well Said is what he teaches from all three.
30years in broadcasting
10years on stage
10years in sales and marketing
Have a keynote coming up?
Send us your first 90 seconds.
Paste a link to a video of your opening, from a past talk or recorded on your phone. You'll hear back with what's working, what to move, and whether the Keynote Companion is a fit.
Send my opening
Takes about two minutes. Free.