A Learning Hub & Community Helping Introverts Thrive
ABOUT MATTHEW POLLARD
Knowing that the Marriott audience has high expectations, Victoria chose Matthew from over 60 speaking candidates because of his track record for being not just highly motivational, but practical and actionable as well. She’s thrilled that his storytelling strategies are applicable organization-wide, from the sales team to operations, leadership, and associates. Matthew’s presentation was so engaging, and the room so energized, that the facilitators next door asked Marriott to tone down their event! Victoria also shares Matthew’s unparalleled support post-event, as the team continues to implement their new storytelling strategies across the organization. All in all, Victoria rates Matthew as one of the best speakers they’ve ever had.
When Jamal was invited by a friend to attend an event hosted by Entrepreneurs’ Organization Pittsburg, he was initially daunted by the prospect of a 5-hour session with a single speaker. But much to his surprise, Jamal was captivated within minutes. The absolute highlight was Matthew’s on-stage transformation of Jamal’s business story. Once Matthew infused it with emotion and detail, it actually moved some audience members to tears! Thanks to Jamal’s unexpected and energizing experience in this session, he now ranks Matthew alongside motivational giants like Eric Thomas and Tony Robbins.
Jerelle was looking for a kickoff speaker who could truly connect with a diverse and discerning audience. What impressed her most was Matthew’s thorough preparation in taking time to understand the culture, the flow of the event, and the needs of every department. On stage, Matthew’s authentic storytelling, interactive activities, and powerful story transformations captured the room instantly, turning skepticism into trust and sparking long-term impact. For Jerelle and her team, Matthew delivered inspiration, practical tools and lasting change, making him a standout speaker they continue to learn from long after the event.
For the National Association of Fraternal Insurance Counselors’ annual convention, the organizers knew they wanted a speaker who could give their members an innovative way to connect with customers and prospects. Matthew’s storytelling strategies ignited the room and resulted in off-the-charts scores, with many attendees eager to bring him in-house to work directly with their sales teams to refine their storytelling skills. Not only did Matthew deliver on stage, but he and his team were exceptionally professional and helpful leading up to the event, giving the organizers total confidence and alleviating pre-event stress.
Matthew was an immediate first impression energetic boost to our annual Sales Kickoff planning, and proactively facilitated multiple meetings to establish how to understand our sales motions, industry specifics, and market conditions so as to adapt his keynote around the curated needs of our global sellers.
On stage he was highly engaging and humorous, and he challenged the team while demonstrating great empathy for their complex day jobs. Matthew impressed further with his genuine care and follow-up to support our selling journey months later. Highly recommend!
My experience with Matthew was amazing. I truly appreciate how he partnered with us and understood our audience, and his professionalism and preparation were incomparable to anyone else I’ve worked with in the past. A speaker only has a few minutes to capture the attention of a tough crowd, and he did that really well for our diverse group. His stage presence is incredible, and he absolutely delivered that “wow” moment in an engaging, eye-opening, valuable presentation. The team truly loved it!
At EO Minnesota, we’ve brought Matthew in for two high profile events and the feedback has been spectacular. We host an annual Entrepreneurs’ Rally that draws 400+ entrepreneurs from multiple states. Matthew’s presentation scored the highest of all speakers at the rally (including a very big celebrity name).
Matthew also presented a day-long workshop which offered members a high-value experience and we hosted a prospect drive. We had great results – 30+% of the prospects that attended the test drive have joined the EO Minnesota chapter – one of our best conversion rates yet!
Besides being an exceptional speaker, Matthew and his team are incredibly easy to work with – they listen and cater the experience to our unique needs. As I’ve said before, and will likely say again and again, I am a Super Fan!
I discovered Matthew when planning our multi-city sales kick-off event. Matthew’s presentation and original strategies stood out to me as something that could provide us a real advantage over our competition, and that could be operationalized across our large organization.
From the day we engaged Matthew, I was impressed by his energy and how much work he put into customizing his presentation, as well as understanding our marketplace and the competitive landscape. His delivery in all ten presentations was not only on point and entertaining, but the way he mixed in his personal and client transformation stories left all attendees believing success was possible for them too.
On top of that, during each presentation, Matthew delivered an original, customized story about one of our customers, as if he’d worked for our company for years. He did an excellent job articulating the client’s struggles (from a functional and emotional perspective), the implementation, including industry acronyms, and the final outcome. It was a great example of Matthew’s ability to identify and add genuine depth to his storytelling – an incredibly valuable technique for my team to walk away with.
If you’re looking for an edge in sales, especially in highly technical sales, Matthew is the obvious choice. He will not only have a strong grasp of your industry and client needs, he will articulate the exact reasons prospects should work with you, in a value-packed story your reps can use again and again to clearly stand out from your competition.
Matthew really hit it out of the park with our discerning audience. It was great to see him, as an introvert, talk to other introverted leaders and show them that they really can connect in an authentic way and succeed in areas where they thought their introversion would hold them back. It was really impactful to see the ways storytelling can be a powerful, persuasive tool not just in sales, but to hire the right associate, change behavior across an organization, and in interactions with guests.
Working with Matthew to prepare for the conference was fantastic. He customized and tailored everything to the audience’s needs, and he authentically cared about their experience. It felt like he was part of the team. Even when a part of our conference didn’t go quite as expected, he was there to jump in and give us support and guidance on how to get things back on track. I would recommend Matthew to anyone.
Matthew Pollard’s speaking engagement at Baker’s Best was outstanding! He demonstrated exceptional attention to detail and a deep understanding of his audience. His presentation was engaging, informative, and entertaining, with a perfect balance of humor and valuable insights.
He effortlessly adjusted his pace and tone to keep everyone engaged, and his interactive elements encouraged participation. Matthew’s enthusiasm for his topic was contagious, and he shared practical tips and strategies that attendees could apply to their own lives.
Matthew presented to us during our sales kickoff, and really jazzed the room. We’re all in and ready to go. I’m excited about what he was able to bring, and I recommend him to any organization that needs to infuse energy into their sales staff. Thank you!
Matthew was a huge hit! He and his team were easy to work with up front and provided lots of marketing and planning assistance around his keynote and breakout sessions. Our attendees commented that it was great information that they could actually use in their day-to-day business operations and life. His industry knowledge was a huge asset in communicating his strategies clearly, and with real world examples that were instrumental in reaching the audience.
Matthew has my highest stamp of approval as a speaker that gets EO and its members. Our region has hired Matthew as a keynote speaker for several events over the past two years. They’re always well attended, and he is consistently one of our highest rated speakers ever. We also get the added benefit of closing a lot of new members from his speaking engagements as well. Can’t say enough good things about him!
On behalf of the ICCFA’s Board and staff, thank you for delivering such a compelling and transformative keynote at DEADTalks 2025. Your innovative approach to overcoming client hesitation, guiding families to plan ahead, and increasing pre-need sales has provided our professionals in the cemetery, cremation, and funeral space with invaluable tools and inspiration. Your ability to replace outdated sales tactics with emotionally resonant, trust-building conversations is a game-changer for our industry.
DEADTalks 2025 would not have been the outstanding experience it was without your expertise and enthusiasm. We are grateful for the time and effort you invested in making your session impactful and memorable. We look forward to future opportunities to collaborate with you and continue advancing our profession together.
We recently hosted Matthew for an event on storytelling, and he was phenomenal. His engagement, from the start of our conversations to booking the event and ultimately speaking to our audience, was excellent. Matthew’s focus on providing a world-class experience was much appreciated. More importantly, he delivered. Feedback from our audience has been astounding. We have hosted numerous events, with very accomplished public speakers. Matthew is at the top of the list. He did not disappoint!
Thank you, Matthew, for an absolutely incredible session! I was blown away not only by your engaging delivery but by the mountain of expertise you distilled and shared with our attendees. Comments from the audience included, “Easily my favorite speaker of the conference,” “I’ve totally changed the way I view business growth,” and “I’m so excited to implement every one of the techniques.” Your presentation was a true standout, full of actionable strategies and “aha” moments. Can’t wait to have you back!
One of the most engaging guest speakers we have had the privilege to learn from.
Can’t wait to bring the power of storytelling to our Portfolio Companies!
Brilliant, gifted, and delivered countless actionable tactics to fuel growth.
The hands-down standout moment of the Entrepreneurship Rally held by Entrepreneurs’ Organization Minnesota, was watching Matthew Pollard coach people live on stage—breaking through their limiting beliefs and giving them clarity in a matter of minutes. No fluff, no BS, just powerful insight.
I saw Matthew speak at the Entrepreneurs’ Rally in Minneapolis. I came to the event with curiosity and an open mind. He used thoughtful prompts to create an engaging workshop where we got to test out his framework for storytelling and selling. In a few hours, I had clarity about how to talk about my work and my role, without sounding salesy — as well as a framework to share with my sales team about how to tell our stories in a more engaging, impactful way. He made himself available after the talk and was extremely generous with his time and his expertise. Matthew inspired me to think differently — and in turn, to help my team think and act differently. Thank you!
Matthew’s presentation was impressive and filled with fantastic insights. I don’t know how he commanded a stage like that, but the fact he had the attention of 400+ attendees for 2.5 hours is a clear reflection of the value he provided! My biggest takeaway: Nobody cares what you do, until they see that you care.
Probably the best talk we’ve had at EO, and everyone was saying that!
Thank you for delivering a valuable workshop at EO. During lunch, I started using the 2-3 word trick you suggested when strangers ask, “What do you do?” My two-word answer was simple and catchy. People actually leaned and got curious. It felt like they genuinely cared to hear more. This simple tweak was a game changer for networking and making truly mutually beneficial connections. Thank you!
After five years of trying and failing to articulate what we do in 10 words or less (even after the engagement of marketing specialists) within the first 30 minutes of Matthew’s session, the penny dropped!! I got a lot out of today – the content really resonated with me. Thank you!
