A Note from Your President

Plan NOW for Greatness – We Want YOU

Personally, I’ve been in awe and appreciation of the wonderful mix of content at our NSA North Texas Chapter the past several years, and our #1 aim this year has been to continue that tradition, and to further build on the momentum in our NSA-NT professional speaking community.

Let me say it here in print – the Energy in our Chapter is Amazing! Can you feel it? From Chapter meetings, to Labs sessions, to After Hours events, to Facebook group interaction, to mind-blowing and heart-warming levels of volunteerism and support – there is simply great mojo in this North Texas Chapter!

Let’s just think together for a moment about some highlights from the past couple of years. If you’ve been with us recently, you’ve experienced wonderful NSAers including Steven Iwersen, CSP (@StevenI) – Brian Walter, CSP, CPAE (@ExtremeMeetings) – Tami Evans (@_Tami_Evans) – Alvin Law, CSP, HoF (@ToesLaw) – Lou Heckler, CSP CPAE (Linkedin) – Laurie Guest, CSP (@LaurieGuest) – Mike Rayburn, CSP, CPAE (@MikeRayburn) – Neen James, CSP (@NeenJames) – David Newman, CSP (@DavidNewman) – Thom Winninger, CSP, CPAE, Cavett (@Winninger) – and NSA National President Ruby Newell-Legner, CSP (@7StarService). And many more.

From option pricing, to stage presence, to becoming a virtuoso, to active disruption, to idea leadership, to speaker business systems, to relevance/reinvention, to sticky content – there simply has been a wealth of knowledge, expertise and wisdom to enjoy and leverage. And my highest wish is that you are holding yourself to the promises I’m sure you made to yourself — when you were learning together with these amazing people.

And we’re going to keep Rolling. The next few months should be epic! And, in the spirit of continuous improvement, we’re going to do something Different.

Introducing the ED (Foreman) Talk

While we LOVE our visiting special speaker guests, we also have TONS of local speaking talent. We are aiming to create space for more “main stage” exposure for our local heroes. Also, we want to acknowledge the continuing rise of the short-form talk (commonly typified by TED and TEDx). And, since we are the National Speakers Association (NSA), we will do things our own way.

And so, for the final Chapter meetings of the 2015/16 Year, we are introducing the ED (Foreman) Talk – a short-form 18-minute presentation, focused around a key idea, innovation, or impulse. The “ED” refers to one of our beloved Chapter founders, the inimitable Edgar Franklin “Ed” Foreman, Jr. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Foreman). A Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and Council of Peers Award for Excellence (CPAE) Hall of Famer, Ed Foreman has been an unfailing paid Professional Member in our NSA North Texas Chapter. We bring you this new content channel in his honor.

Here are the upcoming Chapter meetings in our 2015/16 home stretch. I personally invite you to loudly and proudly participate in every single session, as we continue to build momentum towards our annual July break. Be together with us as we each individually aim for having our Best Year Yet!

• Sat, 12-March — Rory Vaden, CSP (@Rory_Vaden) — Automated Revenue Machine
  • plus ED (Foreman) Talk with Vince Poscente, CSP, CPAE (@VincePoscente)
• Sat, 09-April — Sylvie di Giusto (@Sylvie_diGiusto) — Profitable E-Learning Programs
  • plus ED (Foreman) TALK with Ed Foreman, CSP, CPAE (Linkedin)
• Sat, 14-May — Ed Rigsbee, CSP (@EdRigsbee) — Successful Speaking with Associations
  • plus ED (Foreman) TALK with Christine Cashen, CSP, CPAE (@ChristineCashen)
• Sat, 11-Jun — Walter Bond, CSP, CPAE (@WalterBond)– Captivate Your Audience
  • plus ED (Foreman) TALK with Gary Rifkin, CSP, 2015 Cavett Winner (@GaryRifkin)

These will ALL be great programs – so watch our Facebook group and Speaker.org for more information. PLUS check our calendar for upcoming Wed night Labs Sessions — with more tactical, hands-on content of interest.

February Meeting Shout-Outs

What else can you say about our annual Presidents Celebration – it Rocked with Love! We introduced and interviewed a collection of our NSA North Texas Past-Presidents, with Special Guest NSA National President Ruby Newell-Legner, CSP (@7StarService). Ruby is THE Fan Experience Expert, and she presented “Creating Systems to put YOU Center Stage”. It was great having you there, and if you missed it, look for more information on our new Members Portal, where you can relive the experience via video. Your Chapter Treasurer Sandi Leyva (@CPAAccelerator) is leading a project to roll out this new All-Access Pass benefit.

I say it a lot, because you deserve it, and because I mean it. Thanks for being with us.

To your continued Success and Happiness,

 

 

Chris Price (@ChrisPriceCDP)
President 2015-16
NSA North Texas (@NSANorthTexas)

Our Next Seminar March 12, 2016

Rory Vaden, CSP: Automated Revenue Machine

How we built a $10 million a year business in 10 years and how you can too!

You will learn:

• Models and methodologies for how to think about your speaking business like a real business
• Our sales process for getting booked to keynote at premier events like MDRT
• The secrets of online sales funnels, how they work, and what you need to do to create them
• Why social media is a complete waste of time for some people and an absolute gold mine for others
• The biggest mistakes that speakers spend money on when trying to do marketing for their business
• The exact formula that we used to become a New York Times best-selling author
• Exactly what it takes to organize your business in a way that enables you to have repeat clients, referrals, and to automate much of the office work related to booking keynotes
• How to develop a system that supports the back end structure of your business that is so strong you can complete your CSP application in the push of a button
• What elements of your marketing that you can automate to help generate consistent passive income
• Tips for keeping up with writing, podcasting, blogging, coaching, tweeting, speaking without losing your mind

 

 About the Speaker:

Rory Vaden is widely regarded in the media as one of the world’s leading strategists on overcoming procrastination, increasing productivity and in helping people to do the things they know they should do that they don’t feel like doing. His first book Take the Stairs was a #1 Wall St Journal, and #2 New York Times bestseller that has since been translated into 11 languages. As an entrepreneur, Rory Co-Founded Southwestern Consultingâ„¢, which is now an 8-figure global consulting and coaching practice with more than 100 team members who have served over 7000 clients in 35 countries. Rory’s insights have been featured on Fox and Friends, Oprah radio, CNN and in Fast Company, Forbes, Inc and Success Magazine. Rory’s own blog, social media outlets and podcast receive over 4 million impressions each month and Alexa just listed Rory’s blog as one of the top 30 leadership blogs in the world. His new book “Procrastinate On Purpose: 5 Permissions to Multiply Your Time” just came out and was an instant National Bestseller. Entrepreneur magazine recently referred to Rory as “one of world’s leading productivity thinkers.”

roryvaden.com

Mark your calendar and make your reservation now!

Saturday, March 12 ,  8:00 am – 12:30 pm
Hilton Garden Inn Dallas / Richardson

you, the speaker - Trump as a speaker

by Dave Lieber, CSP

No matter how you feel about Donald Trump, do you agree that it’s his speaking power that fuels his popularity? The man is full of tricks.

Actually, he does so much right when he speaks to large crowds. He follow so many of the concepts that we learn at NSA. Here’s my non-political analysis:

He seems to speak off the cuff. He acts like he’s riffing in a stream-of-consciousness improv. Actually, he has a script, or more accurately an outline of what he wants to say at each speech. When he spoke at American Airlines Center, I saw him put sheets back in his inside jacket pocket.

He is conversational. He has an uncanny ability to make his listeners believe and feel that he’s talking directly to them as individuals. Jack Paar introduced that intimate sitting-on-a-stool talking style to TV in the 1950s. Trump updates it with bombast. But he’s more likely to hit you with the stool than sit on it.

The hero’s journey. The key to any good speech or story is a hero who is trying to overcome a villain. That’s Trump’s whole shtick. That’s his Trump card. (Oh, sorry. Speakers shouldn’t speak in cliches.)

Power of threes. Pro speakers know that speaking in threes is effective. Three times makes the point. Trump does this constantly. At Liberty University, he told the students: “The Bible is the best. The Bible blows it away. There’s nothing like the Bible.”

Audience engagement. Millennials, especially, dislike speakers who conduct one-way conversations. Trump handles this by talking back to his audience, going beyond President Barack Obama’s “I love you, too.” Trump told a man who shouted something at his speech, “Stand up. That’s very good. I like you.”

He plays all the parts. When Trump tells a story, he often acts out the parts of the other players with make-believe dialogue. “You people are going to get sick and tired of winning. You’re going to say, ‘Please, please, President Trump, we can’t take this much victory. Please stop … .’ And I’m going to say to you, ‘We’re going to win. I don’t care what you say.'”

He is newsy. Trump speeches each day are updated to infuse his take on the latest Trump-related news. When professional speakers incorporate the latest news, they are very effective.

Uses his senses. Trump’s storytelling ability helps his listeners see, feel and almost touch. He even incorporates smell when he can. (“The smell of death … was with us for months, the smell, the air,” he said in his stunning debate defense of New Yorkers and how they handled the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.)

His interior monologue. Trump sometimes shows us what he’s thinking, as if he’s looking in the mirror talking to himself. This gives insight into a private space that other candidates don’t share. They erect privacy barriers.

Trump is that rare “arena speaker.” A most dangerous one because his tool bag holds many oratorical tricks. These are his path to power.

Portions of the above first appeared in a column by the author, Dave Lieber, CSP, in The Dallas Morning News.

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@DaveLieber, CSP, is The Watchdog investigative columnist for The Dallas Morning News. He shares digital identities at  DaveLieber.org and WatchdogNation.com