The Chicago Journal

Shawn Fair, Les Brown, and Jackie Kallen to Judge OnStage PLUS’ The Next Greatest Speaker

Leah Cooper Leah Cooper on November 26, 2020

Fall of 2021 is expected to be a celebration of talents as OnStage PLUS gathers the country’s most promising and gifted public speakers for a showdown of skills, self-confidence, wit, and stage presence in its new show called The Next Greatest Speaker. The show’s producer, David Watts, invited three of the industry’s most admired and sought after motivational speakers to be judges in the upcoming event. The highly respected set of judges is made up of Shawn Fair, Les Brown, and Jackie Kallen—all powerful and influential public speakers who have excelled incredibly in their respective industries. 

The Next Greatest Speaker is believed to be the American Idol version of public speaking as it intends to attract and discover the country’s most gifted speakers and put them on a platform where their innate gifts will be highlighted. The three judges will narrow down the choices to their final 12 picks, and they will speak on a stage similar to the well-known TV show American Idol. Through the upcoming TV show, Watts hopes to discover the next generation of powerful and life-changing speakers who will greatly impact the world, train the next leaders who will run businesses and governments, and those who will continue to inspire others. 

OnStage PLUS is a brand marketing and digital content company based in Oakland, California, and currently has a reach of 48 million households. It can be viewed on the ROKU digital platform, all internet-enabled devices, and digital TV platforms all the way in North America, South America, and Europe. At present, the company is in partnership with David Watts, who has been in the marketing and entertainment industries since the young age of 19. Watts has worked closely with a long list of respectable and well-known artists and personalities that include Denzel Washington, Marion Van Peebles, Les Brown, Louis Grossette Jr., and Vivica A. Fox, to mention a few.

Watts’s choice of judges for The Next Greatest Speaker are personalities that viewers are looking forward to watching next year. Shawn Fair is a popular motivational speaker and trainer in the industry, who has successfully helped countless individuals in the United States, Europe, and Canada improve their businesses significantly through his teachings. One of his most powerful topics is how to embrace change in order to grow personally and business-wise. His expertise involves speaking mostly on corporate leadership, vision, business development, and coaching. He has the unique gift of engaging, motivating, and inspiring leaders from various industries and levels to pursue that which will let their vision come to life.

Les Brown, on the other hand, is a world-class keynote speaker and the leading authority on achievement for audiences as big as 80,000. He can effectively encourage his audience to be brave in meeting the challenges in front of them by sharing inspiring instances from his personal life that shaped him to become the powerful and successful motivational speaker that he is now. 

Jackie Kallen is the world’s most successful female boxing manager and became the inspiration for a film. She was formerly a journalist who became a publicist for Thomas Hearns and Detroit’s Kronk Boxing Team. Kallen spent ten years learning the ropes of the boxing industry and learned strategic ways to stand out in a male-dominated world. When she launched her business as a manager, she became responsible for grooming James Toney, who eventually became a world champion. She is the epitome of strength, determination, and passion. 

The Next Greatest Speaker is bound to excite the world as it launches in 2021. Aside from its powerhouse judges, it is expected to showcase the best of the best when it comes to public speaking. 

Learn more about OnStage PLUS by visiting its website. 

The Next Greatest Speaker: A Competition Show for Motivational Speakers

Edward Anderson Edward Anderson on August 25, 2020

There has been a lot of television competition shows for singers, models, performing artists, designers, and chefs. But a new Onstage Plus original show, The Next Greatest Speaker, will be the first TV competition show of its kind. The Next Greatest Speaker is a show where people compete to be the next great motivational speaker.

This new show will take place over the span of twelve weeks. The first two episodes of The Next Greatest Speaker will feature the contestants trying out for the show. Each contestant will audition with a one-minute motivational talk challenge. After ten contestants have been selected, they will compete each week through different challenges to see who has the skills, knowledge, and charisma to be the next great motivational speaker. These challenges will have high stakes, as one contestant will be eliminated per week.

No competition show will be complete without judges and mentors. Two great motivational speakers have been brought in to guide and judge the contestants through each week of the competition. Renowned motivational and leadership speakers Les Brown and Shawn Fair will serve as the co-hosts, mentors, and judges on The Next Greatest Speaker.

Les Brown is a premier keynote speaker and a renowned authority on achievement. He has spoken in front of an audience as large as 80,000 people. His speaking style skillfully weaves his compelling story with his audience’s experiences, providing a compelling argument for how people have no excuse to be complacent and how they should aim high. In The Next Greatest Speaker, Les Brown will coach the contestants as a group. He will guide the contestants as to what the weekly challenge entails and what their expected performance is.

Shawn Fair is a world-renowned motivational speaker and leadership trainer. He is an expert on corporate leadership vision, business development, and coaching. With his skills, he helped countless individuals achieve massive growth in their business and personal lives.  Shawn has worked with various people across the United States, Europe, and Canada. With his years of experience, Shawn has cultivated the unique ability to engage, motivate, and inspire leaders in achieving their vision. Utilizing his expertise as a motivational speaker and speaking coach,  Shawn Fair will do one-on-one coaching with each contestant on The Next Greatest Speaker. Each week, he will check in with the contestants to see their progress and offer guidance to help them bring out their best. 

The Next Greatest Speaker is a competition show for motivational speakers, but it does not only aim to change the lives of the contestants. This show also wants to impact communities. Each week on The Next Greatest Speaker, the contestants will be asked to apply what they have learned on a challenge that will be carried out in their hometown. This ensures that the contestants bring out the best in themselves and the groups of people they speak to. Viewers of The Next Great Speaker will also greatly benefit from the leadership advice that the show’s mentors and judges provide, making it a must-watch show for anyone who wants to be inspired to grow.

The Next Greatest Speaker will be available on Onstage Plus. Onstage Plus is a digital TV network that wants to bring content from the stage straight into people’s homes around the world. David Watts is currently a partner at Onstage Plus. His years of experience in the marketing and entertainment industry, as well as his work with A-list celebrities such as Louis Grossette Jr., Vivica A Fox, Mario Van Peebles, and Denzel Washington, has made it possible for Onstage Plus to sign on Les Brown and Shawn Fair to be co-hosts on The Next Greatest Speaker.

The Next Greatest Speaker will be available on Onstage Plus in the Fall of 2021. Onstage Plus is also available to stream on ROKU.

For more information on The Next Great Speaker and Onstage Plus, you may visit this website. To learn more about Shawn Fair, you may visit this website.