SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
I speak to groups. I did not want to and I was talked into it by a man at
church, and it turns out I am reasonably good at it, which was a surprise to everybody including me.
THE LIEUTENANT XAVIER STONE EXPERIENCE
Roberta named this. I have asked her to stop. She will not stop.
What I actually talk about is not what people expect me to talk about. People book me expecting a
war story and what they get is forty-five minutes on how you keep functioning after the paperwork
says you are not supposed to be functioning. Some of them are disappointed. Most of them are not.
- Composure. Not courage. Courage is a mood. Composure is a skill and it can be taught to almost anybody.
- Operating without recognition. How to do good work when there is nobody who is permitted to say thank you. This is the corporate one. They love this one.
- Coming back. For veterans' groups, first responders, and anybody whose family has had to learn a new person.
- What I am allowed to say and what I am not, which sounds like a dodge and is in fact the whole talk.
2026 RATE CARD
| PROGRAM | LENGTH | FEE |
|---|
| The Keynote — the standard talk | 45 min | $2,500 |
| The Deep Dive — same talk, more of it, I sit on the front of the stage for the back half | 90 min | $4,000 |
| Leadership Intensive — corporate retreats. I wear the jacket for this one. | half day | $6,500 |
Q&A Add-On
Rider paragraph 4 states that I will not answer questions regarding a figure, a unit, an agency, or the number of letters in an agency. This is in the contract. It is not negotiable and I have walked out of one (1) event over it. | 30 min | $600 |
| Church groups, VFW posts, high school assemblies (grades 9–12 only) | — | FREE |
SPEAKER RIDER — ABBREVIATED
- I do not fly commercial. I will drive. Mileage is added at the federal rate. Please do not ask me about item 1.
- I need to be seated or standing where I can see the main door. Not near it. See it. This is not a preference.
- A lectern, not a stool. I am not a stool man.
- No fog machine. There was a fog machine in Omaha in 2022 and we are not going to do that again, and I have apologized to that DJ in writing.
- No surprise slideshow of me. If there is going to be a photograph of me on a screen behind me I need to have seen it first.
- One bottle of water, room temperature, opened by me.
- Do not introduce me with a number. If your introduction contains a number I will correct it from the stage and it will be awkward for both of us.
UPCOMING DATES
| DATE | EVENT | LOCATION | STATUS |
|---|
| 09/12/26 | Rotary Club of Grand Island — Luncheon | Grand Island, NE | CONFIRMED |
| 09/27/26 | Men's Prayer Breakfast, Bethel Lutheran | Hastings, NE | CONFIRMED |
| 10/04/26 | Tri-State Gun & Knife Show — Main Stage, 2:00 | Council Bluffs, IA | CONFIRMED |
| 10/18/26 | Regional Sales Leadership Summit (closed to public) | OMAHA, NE | CONFIRMED |
10/29/26 | Northview High School — Fall Assembly
The district received a telephone call from a parent. I am not going to characterize the call. Northview, the offer stands and it stands for free. | Lincoln, NE | CANCELLED |
| 11/11/26 | Veterans Day Program — Hall County Fairgrounds | Grand Island, NE | CONFIRMED |
| XX/XX/XX | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX | XXXXXXX | PENDING |
WHAT ORGANIZERS HAVE SAID
"Not what we expected and better than what we expected. Half the room stayed forty minutes after." — Carol V., Rotary Club
"Very moving. He did go over time." — Pastor Dale, Bethel Lutheran
"Guy would not do the Q and A the way we wanted. Still, good crowd." — Tri-State Show Management
"Our VP cried. I want to be clear that this was a good outcome." — HR Director, name withheld at their request
BOOKING INQUIRY
I answer booking mail before I answer any other kind of mail. Not because it is money. Because a room
of people who showed up on purpose is the closest thing I have found to the other thing, and I am not
going to pretend otherwise on my own website.
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