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Host and speaking coach Chris McAuley interviews keynote speaker, facilitator, and coach Kevin Bulmer, creator of the Little Engines small business community and Little Engines Live event series. Bulmer shares his career path from radio to auto racing talk radio, track announcer, and eventually sales/marketing director and general manager of Delaware Speedway, then event management and radio sales supporting small and mid-sized businesses. After a major life reset around 2011–2012, he left radio in 2017 to pursue speaking, later founding NSM Brand Media during COVID and growing Little Engines into its fourth year. He discusses preparing for keynotes by researching audiences, rehearsing out loud while moving, respecting time limits, and connecting emotionally through vulnerability, humor, and sincerity. Bulmer also describes his formats (keynotes, half-day team sessions, breakout workshops, emceeing/moderation), recommends the book “Fans First,” and shares how to find him at realsuccessnavigator.com and wethinkyoucan.com.

00:00 Podcast Opening
00:43 Meet Kevin Bulmer
02:20 From Radio to Racetrack
03:43 Rebuilding After Divorce
05:20 Going Solo and COVID Pivot
07:48 Speaker Calling Moment
11:39 First Keynote Experiment
13:45 Keynotes Workshops and Emceeing
16:41 Inside Little Engines Live
20:45 How Kevin Prepares Talks
23:59 Rehearsal and Earning Attention
26:17 Hobby Horse Entrance
26:50 Stage Blocking Basics
28:38 Finish Early Rule
29:16 Less Words More Feeling
30:55 Vulnerability And Sincerity
33:55 Handling Nerves And Unknowns
37:22 Performance Mindset
41:08 Creative Risks On Stage
43:19 Rapid Fire Questions
48:09 Where To Find Kevin
49:12 Final Sign Off

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Speak with Presence: Insights from Sonnet Simmons

Host and speaking coach Chris McAuley introduces his podcast on how confident communication shapes career, reputation, and opportunity, then interviews keynote speaker and vocal presence coach Sonnet Simmons. Simmons shares her background as a singer-songwriter with music licensed for ads and media, her work helping independent artists navigate music licensing, and how client demand led her into leadership communication and “true voice” coaching. She and McAuley discuss authenticity, speaking from the heart, building trust through vocal sound, and handling high-stakes spontaneous communication with structure and practice. Simmons outlines her keynote prep process (outline, recording, slides, video rehearsal), emphasizes audience connection, and recommends vocal warmups. They explore nerves as manageable through breath, the value of stories, and identifying protective vocal patterns (breathiness, vocal fry, uptalk) through awareness and recording.

00:00 Podcast Opening

00:47 Meet Sonnet Simmons

02:37 Music Career Origins

05:51 Finding True Voice

07:57 Authenticity From Heart

11:46 Sound of Trust Keynote

13:07 Handling High Stakes Moments

17:45 Preparation And Practice

25:13 Owning The Material

27:08 Speaking From The Heart

27:22 Storytelling That Connects

29:13 Managing Nerves With Breath

30:38 Breath Training And Performance

32:07 Breath Before You Speak

34:01 Finding Your True Voice

35:57 Vocal Patterns To Notice

37:55 Record Yourself For Feedback

40:58 Rapid Fire Favorites

43:53 Travel Dreams And Wrap Up

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Embodied Resilience: Neurodivergence, Mind–Body Care, and Speaking with Authentic Connection (with Robert Sims)

Chris McAuley introduces his podcast on confident, clear communication and interviews Robert Sims, CEO/owner and therapist at Embodied Resilience Wellness Clinic in Ontario. Sims explains the clinic’s wraparound model integrating mental and physical care—psychotherapy for individuals and couples alongside physiotherapy and massage—grounded in connection, authenticity, lived experience, and a specialization in neurodivergence (ADHD, autism, and AuDHD). He shares his path from TV broadcasting and security work into social work, reconnecting with Indigenous community and worldview, completing his MSW/RSW, and later identifying as AuDHD, which informed the clinic’s focus on neurodivergence-related comorbidities. Sims describes future plans to add services like nurse practitioners and other modalities, discusses tailoring presentations to audiences, using interactive storytelling and purposeful self-disclosure to build community and reciprocity, and reframing speaking nerves as excitement. He recommends books on therapeutic role-playing and “Dungeon Crawler Carl,” streams “Person of Interest,” and shares how to find Embodied Resilience online and via a weekly YouTube live, “All Things Neurodivergence.”

00:00 Podcast Cold Open
00:56 Meet Robert Sims
02:02 Embodied Resilience Clinic
02:54 What Neurodivergence Means
04:23 Robert’s Career Journey
06:54 Late Diagnosis and Mission
09:23 Mind Body Speaking Connection
11:45 Growing the Clinic Vision
12:37 Medicine Wheel Worldview
14:03 Workshop Prep Process
16:49 Tailoring and Flexibility
18:20 Authenticity Over Scripts
22:30 Staying On Track
24:00 Purposeful Anecdotes
24:43 Stories Build Connection
26:31 Creating Community Live
27:55 Interactive Presenting
29:41 Pauses And Questions
31:46 Turning Nerves Excitement
35:31 Rapid Fire Questions
39:19 Where To Find Robert
40:40 Closing Thanks And Outro