John Maybury

What an epic marketers day 2026. Sadly I didn't get to be in the room as I was hosting a special edition of the TMC podcast, interviewing a selection of speakers and guests. They brought the energy of the people. ⚡ 💥 🔥

Together with my trusty partner, cameraman & marketer Downes we got an exclusive 1:1 audience with the speakers.

The theme of the one-day conference was "Momentum"

I asked them...

Where are you seeing momentum in business?
Share a story of a client or team who's shown momentum?
Where's the hidden gem for marketers in the next 12 months?
What they loved about marketers day?
If you're a marketer, why you should be in the room 2027?
One word to describe marketers day.

The last question was anything from "epic", "connection", "love", "vibes", "chaos" and "family".

In a world dominated by AI, everyone leaned in on face to face connection.

A simple smile.

A nod of acknowledgement.

There's nothing else like it.

Humans connecting with humans.

Highlighting a few speakers who stood out for me were (their stories) Jess Bovey, Tom Horton, Cassandra Grodd, Roimata Wilkey, Stanley Henry, Carsten Grueber, Ekant Veer, Sindy Ward, Andy Havill, Stephen Toms and a special guest in a pink blazer Janine Chamley.

👀 Follow the TMC channels for this awesome content.

The real heroes of TMC are the purple shirts.

The epic humans who... just...bring...the...energy and get sh*t done.

I'm grateful to be in your presence and witness first hand how much, like me, you love this TMC community.

I love ya.

And Chanel Clark, Stu Lees and Andrea Halal, just wow, eh?

Thrilled to add value to the Year 13 boys at Westlake Boys. Giving them some helpful storytelling tools to to sell-in their business ideas.

They learned how to tell a 2 min story that they'll present to the shark tank investors.

Will they invest in storytelling?

Facts tell, stories sell.

I went to the BNI national conference last week, with my people.

Working "on" my business.

It was a cracking event in Otautahi Christchurch.

150 cult-following BNI members.

😂

I've been a member for 6 years and it's a cult that'll change your business.

If you do it right.

The relationships I've built through BNI has transformed my business.

What did I learn from the two days at conference?

👉 I like "talking" to business owners ‼️ and connecting them
👉 Giving is at the heart of what we do as humans
👉 Referrals are the highest form of trust
👉 I've got some mindset stuff to deal with 😖

Six years in, and I'm still learning that the best business strategy isn't a funnel or a framework.

It's showing up consistently for people who show up for you.

If you're not in a room like this regularly, find one.

Your business will thank you.

And thank you to my people for putting up with my "loudness", shiny objects and humour.

I love ya. 💙

Who here is a fellow BNI member?

Drop a "heart" or comment 👇 below.

Most leaders think communication is a soft skill. ❌
It's not. It's a revenue driver.

Roma secured more speaking bookings and paying clients after learning to cut the waffle from her presentations.

Tony went from camera-shy to 30 videos and started getting conversations from people who felt like they already knew him.

Hindujhan signed three new clients from a single talk.

None of them had a knowledge problem.

They had a communication problem.

Once they fixed it, they grew.

I wrote about what separates good communicators from great ones and what it actually looks like when leaders invest in how they speak.

Link in the comments 👇

How good is this ‼️ When the client says after their second video "I freaking loving this" it generates real warm fuzzies. A 10x10x10 filming today and this was what they said...

For those going to LinkedIn Local tonight, if you look closely, it's the effervescent Mark Hill-Rennie.

I've known Mark for 7+ years and it's been a goal of mine to get him on camera.

Today he finally let loose.

And I couldn't be more proud.

Of his presentation skills, verve and commitment.

With his two partners and The Loanary, who were nervous but came out shining.

One of them said to me "John, I'm freaking loving this" after his second video.

👑 ⚡ 💥 💪

Gold.

Another said this in his Google review.

𝘏𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺 , 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦!!! 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 & 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝟧 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘷𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵... 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 (𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵) 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘴 , 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 “ 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 “

💙

As a coach, this is "why" I do what I do.

Getting the best out of you.

The next 10x10x10 Auckland filming is mid-June so hmu if you're looking for this kind of confidence.

I've spent 7 years helping people show up on video and in that time, I've watched something happen over and over again.

Brilliant people with expertise and genuine value to offer.

But the moment a camera appears, or they walk into a room to present, something shuts down.

They freeze.

I used to think the problem was video.

So I focused there.

Helped hundreds of professionals get comfortable on camera, find their presence, stop hiding behind their content.

Then about three years ago I went deep on storytelling.

Because I kept seeing people who could speak clearly but couldn't connect.

They were informing people instead of moving them.

Storytelling changed that.

But here's what I've realised.

Video is a channel.

Storytelling is a tool.

Neither of them is the whole system.

What's actually missing is a complete operating system for how smart, capable people communicate.

Not just on camera. Not just in a talk.

But in the room, on the call, in the pitch, on the post.

And right now the gap is getting wider.

AI can clone your face and your voice.

Digital avatars are becoming indistinguishable from the real thing.

Which means the one thing that can't be faked, your actual presence, your ability to stand in a room and genuinely connect with another human, is about to become the most valuable communication asset you have.

The professionals who invest in that now will be in a completely different position in 12 months.

That's why I built Speaker OS.

I'll be posting about this opportunity in the next six weeks.

Confidence isn't what makes a great speaker. Preparation is.

The speakers who look effortlessly confident on stage aren't braver than you. They're just more prepared.

They know their material. They've rehearsed out loud. They've recorded themselves and fixed the bad habits.

Confidence is a by-product, not a starting point.

I wrote 30 practical hacks to help you get there faster.

Link in the comments.

I volunteered to mentor some year 12 boys at Westlake HS business school last night and I was looking forward to meeting the boys.

But it didn't happen.

On the way, I popped into Woolworths Birkenhead to get some stuff, as you do.

And when I returned to start the car.

blip-blip-blip-blip-blip

Rang my mechanic, Graham.

"You've got a flat battery, John"

S**t.

You see I'm crap at knowing anything about cars (and taking photos) so I followed his advice.

Good samaritans helped.

First a fleet manager who did the car jumpy thing but it still went flat.

"Looks like you need a new battery, mate"

I sat in my car with hood up thinking what I should do.

10 mins later.

A tap on the window and this calm voice said "Do you need a hand?"

"I can drive you to a garage or workshop"

"That would be amazing", I said.

As we drove, he told me that he is head of languages at Carmel College and his teaching career had spanned well-known public and private schools in Auckland.

He had a mana about him.

A caring, respectful demeanour.

I shared that I went to Rosmini College (catholic brother/sister school to Carmel) and there was an immediate connection.

Long story short, we found a mechanic, paid the $400 for the new battery (ouch), took the mechanic, Simon (on the left in the picture) and he sorted the car and I was away.

Thank you Simon.

And thank you, Maurice.

As we departed, Maurice turned to me with a smile and said "Can I give you a hongi?".

Tears of gratitude in my eyes.

I was heading off to be a mentor and I got mentored in how to be kind, helpful and respectful.

Because he lead by example. 💙

There are people in this world who will help you.

You've just got to be open to it.