Speaking Of Speaking

Send us a textHow do you turn life-shattering trauma into a powerful speaking career? Combat-wounded veteran Brian Fleming reveals the answer after surviving a suicide bomber attack in Afghanistan that left him with second and third-degree burns requiring 14 months of grueling recovery.The pivotal moment came when Fleming met a Vietnam veteran who showed him how personal pain could transform lives—including his own. Sixteen years later, Fleming has spoken to over half a million people, worked with Fortune 500 companies, and built a thriving career sharing his resilience strategies.What's surprising is Fleming's counterintuitive approach to storytelling. "One of the biggest mistakes new speakers make is that they talk about themselves," he explains. Instead, successful speakers position their experiences as solutions to problems their audiences desperately want solved. This shift in perspective transforms a personal story from self-focused to audience-focused, answering the two questions ev