Interview

Conor Cunneen is interviewed by Ray T. Sharpe, from London, England. Ray is a web marketing specialist with his own successful company, Wincustomers,  based in the USA.

Q: The first question has to be:- Why SHEIFGAB?
SHEIFGAB is an acronym I developed which outlines the key letters of Eight Building Blocks to Get and Keep You Motivated.
These Eight Building Blocks are

S – Structure (your life)
H - Help (others)
E – Environment (change it)
I - Improve (yourself)
F- Family (communicate with)
G - Goals (set and achieve)
A – Attitude (determines your success)
B - Boss (Boss here refers to a Bruce Springsteen anecdote. Music fans will know Springsteen is referred to as “The Boss”)

I work hard to ensure my audience retains ideas from my presentations. If I were to give my audience those eight building blocks without providing an acronym, many will not remember them. But I also do something else. To make the word even more memorable, I tell my audience that in the Irish language, the word SHEIFGAB means “Do It” or “Make It Happen”. Hence the title for a very well received presentation -
"Get out of that Bed and SHEIFGAB the World"

Q. SHEIFGAB does not mean what you initially said it means?
That’s correct. At the end of the presentation, I clarify that SHEIFGAB does not have any meaning in the Irish language and I tell a humorous story against myself.

Q. As well as having an unusual name, you are unusual in that you make a specific Brand Promise?
Yes, and I strongly believe in it. I have a strong marketing background and believe branding is a critical business tool. As a speaker, I am The Brand. My Brand Promise is QCHE which means that I offer Quality, Content, Humor and am Easy to work with.
In addition to that Brand Promise, I have a personal mission for each event. It is to Get Asked Back. The best way to ensure this happens is to exceed client expectations, which is not easy to do. However, as I research, develop and rehearse my presentations I regularly ask myself “Will this get me a return gig?”
Customer retention in speaking is as critical as in any other industry.

Q.What differentiates you from other speakers?
Tim Malloy of McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd – one of the leading intellectual property law offices in the country said in a testimonial letter “ I have never heard a speaker with the double whammy combination of humor and substance which I heard from you today”.
I research and read, research and read around my clients business and can craft quality presentations appropriate to each audience which is what the best speakers in this industry do.
In addition to offering that unique “double whammy combination” which Tim referred to, I can also be different because I deliver good, well researched content humorously in my Irish brogue. I do not present myself in a stage Irish fashion, but Ireland does entrance people. Thus, I often use images from my homeland which is most definitely a warm, welcoming, magical, mystical land.

Q. You are an award winning speaker?
 Yes, I am current holder of the Chicago Toastmasters Humorous Speaker of the Year title and have won other awards. I like competition speaking because it forces you to think through every line, every thought and how well those thoughts relate to each other. Ultimately it allows me to develop good content for my speaking career.

Q. What was the speech that won you the Humorous Speaker of the Year title?
The speech was on customer service in San Quentin prison which is a bit of an oxymoron.  I titled it Capturing the Guest and have now developed it into a key note using the speech itself, while also illustrating companies such as McDonald’s, JetBlue, Dell, Hyundai and many others.