TAISPEAK
Tai speaks on turning customers into Fans, leadership, music, and navigating AI.
The Frontline of Fandom
The people with the most power to turn customers into Fans are usually nowhere near the boardroom. What Taylor Swift, Disney, and Chick-fil-A know about the front line of fandom.
Be More Human in the Age of AI
My nine-year-old summed up the AI backlash in three words. Why I am stepping back from generative video and music, and why the imperfect human touch is what actually builds trust.
Curiosity, Preparation, and the Problem with Slop
A guitar lesson with my niece exposed a leadership blind spot. Why curiosity plus preparation is the antidote to both the pointless meeting and the empty AI report.
The Power of “We.”
A green-room conversation with a fellow keynote speaker rearranged how I think about giving advice. One small word carries the wisdom and delivers the message people need most: you are not alone.
When the Wind Derails a Win
Two weeks of wins, then one gust of wind doubled the cost of a video shoot and shattered my gear. Why I am sharing the failure, and what it taught me about pricing, producing, and authenticity.
Into the Great Wide Open
Written at 34,015 feet on the way to Red Rocks: the book goes to production, THIRD DAY is current again, and after ten years I have stepped away from my corporate role to speak and consult full-time.
Simon Sinek Got One Thing Wrong. Here’s What This Tour Taught Me.
Seventy percent of the way through THIRD DAY’s 30th Anniversary Tour, three lessons have risen above the rest, starting with the one thing the Golden Circle leaves out.
When My Work Became Worship
Seven shows into the tour, in front of six thousand people in Houston, I dropped to my knees during the encore. What happened that night taught me that doing your work well can itself be an offering.
I Wasn’t Good Enough. They Let Me In Anyway.
I joined THIRD DAY at 16 without an audition, and for the next three decades I outworked an impostor syndrome I never named. For the 30th Anniversary Tour, I decided to show up differently.
You Are Not “Bad at Technology.” You’re Just Complacent.
Saying you are just not good at technology is not a description of a limitation. It is an installation of one. Here is the small shift in language that changes the trajectory, and why the barrier to learning anything is no longer access. It’s attitude.
What a Vietnam Helicopter Pilot Taught Me About AI Accountability
I used AI to turn an old photo into a tribute slide for my father-in-law, and the room gave him a standing ovation. On the drive home I learned the pilot in the photo wasn’t him. The lesson is the one I had just taught: we have to own our output.
Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should
A line my sister delivered on the first day of ninth grade has become my filter for AI. I use it when it makes the work more human, and I pause when it removes the humanity from the moment.
S.T.A.N.D. and Deliver – Part 5
You only learn to give a great talk by giving a few bad ones. Here is why practice is the final step of S.T.A.N.D. and Deliver, and three ways to drill that actually work.
S.T.A.N.D. and Deliver – Part 4
Nerves are just noise, and noise can be quieted. Here are the two kinds of noise every speaker faces and five practical ways to calm both before you step on stage.
S.T.A.N.D. and Deliver – Part 3
Authenticity is not about being polished. It is about being vulnerable. Here is why audiences lean in when you tell the truth instead of the highlight reel.
S.T.A.N.D. and Deliver – Part 2
When your audience trusts you, they will follow you almost anywhere. Here is how clarity builds authority and empathy builds affinity in the first minutes of any presentation.
S.T.A.N.D. and Deliver – Part 1
Every strong message starts with a commitment to serve the audience. Here is the simple speaking framework I rebuilt from scratch after losing my slide deck, and why step one is serving instead of impressing.
Say Yes, Then Figure It Out
Sometimes you have to say yes to the opportunity first, and then figure out how to make it a reality. Here is what a three-week crash course on 14 songs taught me about business.