November 2008 News Flash
In this edition:
- Spirit of NSA Day – November 14
- Message from President Neil Dempster
- NSA-Arizona Monthly Meeting November 8
- Meeting Sponsor for November
- Meet the Board
- Candidate Program
- Living Room Forum
- New NSA-Arizona Members
- Speaker Labs
- Upcoming NSA-Arizona Programs
- NSA National Updates
- Bravo Corner
- Word Trippers from the Platform
- About This Newsletter
Spirit of NSA Day – November 14
Happy birthday, Cavett!
November 14 is the birthday of NSA’s founder Cavett Robert. Celebrate the 2nd Annual Spirit of NSA Day by giving back to the speaking community: provide genuine support to a colleague, take time to connect, mentor other members, create your own tribute. Just do it!
President’s Message from Neil Dempster
Because we’re not immune to the ebbs and flows that perpetuate in our economy, the only thing we can do is decide whether its impact on our businesses will be inconsequential or catastrophic. You are not powerless!
There are people in the speaking business today who are booked more (and therefore earning more!) than a year ago. What affords them that luxury? I’m certain one of the key elements is building their businesses to be resilient.
NSA-Arizona is committed to providing the programming and learning environment that will allow you to become resilient as well. With the knowledge and deep understanding you gain, you can establish your expertise and create your brand; you can discern which parts of your business are bringing value and which need to be revamped or tossed; you can position yourself to be the go-to person. This works when the economy is strong . . . and when it is not.
But knowledge doesn’t happen by osmosis! Get involved in all of the learning opportunities at NSA and create a resilient business that grows.
Sincerely,
Neil Dempster, MBA, CSP
NSA-Arizona President 2008-2009
NSA-Arizona Monthly Meeting-November 8, 2008
Time: 9:00 am – 1:30 pm; networking/breakfast 8:00 am
Location: NSA Conference Center, 1500 S. Priest Dr., Tempe, AZ
Prepaid registration (by 5 pm Wed., Nov. 5): $30/members, $45/guests
At-the-door registration: $40/members, $55/guests
No refunds after the early registration deadline.
Please notify us if you require any special needs for the meeting.
Dr. Tony Alessandra: Simplicity – Outsourcing, Digitizing, and Diversifying
This month Dr. Tony Allesandra will help us Simplify our speaking businesses by teaching us to Outsource, Diversify and Digitize our lives. We’ll learn:
- How to maximize the use of technology in our businesses
- How to generate passive, recurring revenue
- Be in a position to speak only when and where we want to
- How to outsource everything
- How to create an electronic press kit
- How to create electronic products
Tony Alessandra believes we can simplify most, if not everything we do, by outsourcing, digitizing and diversifying our lives.
Find out how Dr. Tony Alessandra helps companies build customers, relationships, and the bottom-line. He shares how these companies achieve market dominance through strategies to outmarket, outsell, and outservice their competition.
Dr. Alessandra has a street-wise, college-smart perspective on business, having realized success as a graduate professor of marketing, entrepreneur, business author, and keynote speaker. He earned his MBA from the University of Connecticut and his PhD in marketing from Georgia State University.
Recognized by Meetings & Conventions Magazine as “one of America’s most electrifying speakers,” Dr. Alessandra was inducted into the Speakers Hall of Fame in 1985. He is also a member of the Speakers Roundtable, a group of 20 of the world’s top professional speakers.
VOE: Stephanie Frank – Pulling Back the Curtain: 3 Steps to Building Your Automatic Internet Selling System
Go behind the scenes with Stephanie Frank as she reveals the persuasive insider strategies she uses to launch her biggest product ever. You will discover her:
- step-by-step system that automates your selling process
- subliminal persuasion technique that achieves higher sales on the first try
- secret strategy that makes sales online, even when you’re giving something away
Stephanie Frank, best-selling author of The Accidental Millionaire and president of the Success IQ University, helps people get more of what they want most – with each other, with their internal thoughts, and even with their computers!
This internationally recognized expert in the psychology of human behavior and rapid-change brain technology has coupled 15+ computer systems training to make her a modern-day transformational guru like no other. After all, how many people do you know that have been in a Swiss bank with hacker tools—and got paid for it?
Learn new Internet tricks you can put to use now!
Talent Triage Panel: Kirsten Carey, Rich Hamilton, Neil Schneider
Experts on this panel answer your questions on this month’s topic, Creating and Selling Services and Products. Be sure to submit your questions to nsaquestions@gmail.com
Kirstin Carey works with creative professionals and business owners who want to attract more of the right kind of prospect and sell more services.
Rich Hamilton is the author of Internet Business Magic about building an online enterprise. He is an expert in web marketing, shopping cart solutions, and search engine optimization.
Neil Schneider is president of Sonoran Visual Media, a full-service video production company that produces video for the Web, DVDs, and broadcast.
Business Building Session: A Straightline Approach to Writing Articles and One-Sheets with Barbara McNichol
12:15 pm – 1:30 pm
This session provides tools for building your speaking businesses. All professional members, Candidate members, and guests attending the morning sessions are welcome.
This two-part session addresses writing skills you need to create top-quality one-sheets and articles—a must in marketing your business.
In Part 1, Barbara provides an overview of one-sheets, explaining why they are a necessary tool in your marketing toolkit. She will show examples and share the essential elements to include.
In Part 2, you’ll break into groups to brainstorm article topic ideas and use a planning tool to streamline the process. The magic is in the feedback you get from each other. You’ll walk away with the beginnings of an article you can use immediately.
NSA speakers look to Barbara McNichol for expert editing of nonfiction manuscripts, articles, and one-sheets. She works with speaking professionals in the U.S., Canada, Singapore, and South Africa. In her role as editor, she often trips over misused word combinations (Do you use further or farther? Effect or affect?) and clarifies them in her Word Trippers ebook and Word Tripper of the Week ezine. You’ll recognize her name as editor of this NewsFlash ezine!
Congratulations to Harold Wong who won a free meeting attendance by completing his evaluation form at October’s meeting! Submit your evaluations at the November meeting to participate in a drawing for a free meeting.
Prepayment Procedures: To streamline check-in at our monthly meetings, please prepay for your meeting attendance. Members and guests save $10 when they prepay by 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before the Saturday meeting. Registration at the door (available as space allows) is $40 for members and $55 for nonmembers.
Note from Executive Director Gwen Henson: We are happy to keep your credit card on file for meeting payments but it is not an automatic service. Please specifically ask us to do that.
To register for this meeting and save $10, follow these prepayment procedures.
Three ways to register: 1. Online: go to Registration 2. By email: send name, company, and number of attendees to Gwen@nsa-arizona.org 3. By telephone: call (480) 968-7443
SUPPORT OUR MEETING SPONSOR: How to Develop Your Own Successful Seminar Business with Patricia Noel Drain & Debbie Allen
Imagine making a FORTUNE by helping others achieve their goals through the public seminar business, one of the fastest growing businesses today. This is what Patricia Noel Drain and Debbie Allen, founders of Maximizing Success Wealth & Life Balance Events, have done. They’ll show how to use your expertise to create seminars and teleseminars that fill seats and generate income from recordings and product sales.
Discover the business strategies behind these world-famous events. And if you’ve already been MAXIMIZED, you’ll see why these two dynamic women have succeeded in the public event business.
Susan Ratcliff Susan@exhibitexpertsaz.com heads the Sponsorship Committee 2008-2009.
Meet the Board – Larry Colbert
This month, Neil Dempster interviews Larry Colbert, a long-term board member and chairman of our Speaker Development Lab.
Larry, what are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in the speaking business?
I joined NSA in 1990, so I can certainly speak about changes! I’ve noticed many of the individuals booking speakers are doing it 60 to 90 days out. Yes, some are still booking 12 or 9 months out, but most are under 60 days. Venues seem to be more intimate and people who attend want to get up close and personal. People like to be entertained, but they want to be entertained with a message. Fortunately, I’ve always had the ability to think quickly on my feet and drop in funny lines. My mother used to call me a smart aleck; now people just call me witty.
When you talk about intimacy, do audience sizes factor into that?
Yes. The size of groups I speak to range from 40 to 150. The intimacy aspect is, of course, more pronounced in the smaller groups.
What should we speakers do to prepare ourselves for the future?
Given that most of my business comes off the Internet and through referrals from previous clients, it’s important to have an active website that gives prospective clients and the public information about what we do and how we do it. Video is critical; people want to see how we speak and interact. Most clicks on my web site are for the demo video. We should nurture relationships with previous clients. Let them know we’re still here and ask for referrals.
You’ve been a member of the NSA Arizona board for several years. What’s given you the most pleasure in that role?
I have been blessed and honored to work with the Speaker Development Lab–my greatest joy. I enjoy it even more now that I have an opportunity to communicate to the Board the needs, concerns, and desires of the Speaker Lab. Another joy is encouraging people to go through the Candidate Program. Several people I’ve brought in have reached professional status–that makes me feel good! Also, the camaraderie among members gives me a lot of joy. In fact, I’ve gotten referrals from other speakers who call me back to say, “Wow, my client thinks you did a smash up job. I want to thank you for that.” That makes me feel good.
Candidate Program: Ready, Aim, Fire!
We are continuing our year-long series based on the Ready, Aim, Fire approach from The Wealthy Speaker. Please join us for our free monthly tele-seminars on the third Saturday of the month from 11:00 to 12:00. This program directed by Dr. Michelle May
Next Teleseminar: Saturday, November 15, 2008, 11:00am-12:00
Negotiating with Meeting Planners: Getting Paid What You’re Worth with Jim Hennig, PhD, CSP, CPAE, negotiating expert, author, and past-president of NSA
During this info-packed session, you’ll learn:
- How to set your fees
- How to ask for and get increased fees
- How to talk with meeting planners
- How to convince meeting planners to expand their speaker budgets
- How to fit into a meeting planner’s budget without altering your fee
- How to build legitimacy and become a speaking celebrity
- Anything else you want to know about fees but were afraid to ask
(Candidates and all participants in the Wealthy Speaker Kick-Off event will receive a separate email with call-in details.)
Living Room Forum – November 19 on Crafting a Keynote
Join Bill Johnson, CSP, and 1974 Charter member of NSA who has delivered more than 900 paid engagements in 35 states and seven countries, and has attended every one of NSA’s 34 conventions. He’ll provide a sample structure of a keynote and facilitate a discussion based on these learning points:
- What REALLY is a keynote?
- The MOST important part of your keynote.
- Moving from your keynote to myriad of other opportunities
This forum takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 19 from 7 pm to 9 pm at the home of Susan Ratliff. RSVP at LRF or call Gwen (480) 968-7443. Cost: $15 members, $25 Guests. Registration and payment are required in advance; no refunds. You’ll receive directions when you register.
Note: LRF meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month September through November (third Wednesday) and January through May.
Kitty Wiemelt kitty@kittywiemelt.com and Bonnie Mattick bonnie@bonniemattick.com chair the Living Room Forum for 2008-2009.
New NSA-Arizona Members
Welcome to our newest Professional members: Beverly Carlson Quinn and Laird Smay
Welcome to our newest Candidate members: Roseann Higgins, Nereyda Lopez, Jim Zaccaria, Jeff Haebig
Please check out NSA-Arizona’s website nsa-arizona.org for bios and contact details.
Join Us at the Speaker Labs
The Speaker Lab is the ultimate opportunity to test new material or refine/improve existing material. The Lab is offered exclusively to members of NSA-Arizona, the only chapter nationally to offer this unique service. Speakers are allotted 30 minutes to present and receive feedback. Forty-minute slots are also available on request. Guests are invited to visit the Lab twice at no charge.
Morning Speaker Lab
AM Speaker Lab is held 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month.
Location: NSA Headquarters, 1500 South Priest Drive, Tempe, AZ 85281
Time: 9:30 a.m. Networking / 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. LAB
Evening Speaker Lab
An enhanced Speaker’s Lab experience continues on the second Tuesday at our new location, Jobing.com headquarters. NSA members, Candidates, and guests are welcome to see the value NSA offers. One or more CSPs or CPAEs will be present to give feedback.
Location: Jobing.com, 4747 North 22nd Street, 2nd floor Phoenix, AZ 85016 Time: 6:15 p.m. Networking / 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. LAB
To participate in either lab, please contact Maggie Hunts for open speaking slots/scheduling. MaggieHunts@gmail.com or 602-315-7788
For Speaker Lab questions and feedback, contact Don Thoren, CPAE, CMC, Dthoren@cox.net or 480-838-7406.
Speaker Lab Chair for 2008-2009 is Larry Colbert, 480-894-2639, larry@drivingvision.com
Holiday Party December 13th
Save the date: NSA-Arizona’s Holiday Party at Don and Kathleen Thoren’s home on Saturday, December 13th from 11 to 3.
Hilari Weinstein, coordinator of this year’s Holiday Party, requests silent auction items worth $500+. Getaways, timeshare condos, coaching packages, and more. Contact Hilari at 602-795-5400 or hilari@highimpactcommunication.com
Upcoming NSA-Arizona Programs
- January 10, Al Walker, CPAE, CSP
- February 14, Willie Jolley, CPAE, CSP
- March 14, Carl Hammerschlag, CPAE, MD
- April 11, Roxanne Emmerich, CPAE, CSP, CMC
- May 9, Alan Zimmerman, CPAE, PhD, CSP
- June 13, Tim Gard, CPAE, CSP
Members: If you have not picked up your insulated drink tumbler with 08-09 schedule, request one from Bill Johnson at 602-870-3333.
NSA National Updates
Mark your calendar for these fabulous NSA events: 2008 Winter Conference – Feb. 12-15, 2009 in Orlando, Florida 2009 NSA Convention – July 18-21, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona 2009 Fall Conference – Nov. 19-22, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona 2010 Winter Conference – Feb. 11-14, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee 2010 NSA Convention – July 17-20, 2010 in Orlando, Florida 2011 NSA Convention – July 30-August 2, 2011 in Anaheim, California
For more details, go to the NSA website at NSASpeaker.org
Bravo Corner
Kevin Gazzara has released his new book THE LEADER OF OZ: Revealing the 101 Secrets of Marvelous Leadership for the 21st Century.
Patricia Drain (What Should I Be When I Grow Up at 40, 50, 60?) and Kitty Wiemelt (Laid Off? Don’t Stress) were featured on a New York radio program to help people being laid off. Listen and pass it on!
Be sure to listen to an excellent interview with Roxanne Emmerich, CSP, CPAE, CMC on September’s Voices of Experience CD. She’s our featured speaker on April 11th. If you did not receive this CD, email Bill@BillJohnson.com and he’ll get a copy to you pronto.
Word Trippers from the Platform
By Barbara McNichol editor@barbaramcnichol.com
Improve how you use words on the platform! Don’t let these pesky pairings trip you up.
Famous, notorious –“Famous” means known widely and favorably, while “notorious” means known widely and unfavorably. “The young actress became famous for her Oscar-nominated role, and then became notorious for her drug use and underage drinking.”
Gratuity, gratuitous – A “gratuity” is a favor or gift, usually money, given in return for service; a tip. “Gratuitous” means unnecessary, unwarranted, or unjustified; less commonly it means given or obtained without charge or payment. “The waiter’s excellent service was rewarded with a generous gratuity.” “I prefer classic movies that aren’t filled with gratuitous sex and violence.”
Interpolate, extrapolate – To “interpolate” is to introduce something new between existing parts, especially in the sense of inserting foreign material to falsify a text. To “extrapolate” is to infer or estimate by extending or projecting known information. “The corrupt accountant interpolated fabricated records into the yearly earnings report so positive growth would be extrapolated for the next quarter.”
Sign up for Barbara’s Word Tripper of the Week at http://www.BarbaraMcNichol.com and receive a complimentary ebook of 300+ Word Trippers. Barbara is your perennial NewsFlash editor.
About This Newsletter
Email your News Flash announcements to editor Barbara McNichol at editor@barbaramcnichol.com or call 520-615-7910 by 15th of each month.
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