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Create, Don’t Copy
My first question to my new client was, “So, what’s your topic and approach?” He responded, “My topi...
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3 Reasons Why Your Website Needs New Content NOW
We’ve all seen it: a speaker’s website that looks like it was designed in 1990 and hasn&...
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3 Things an Airline Taught Me About Customer Service
All too often we are quick to jump down the throats of our favorite airlines and criticize them for ...
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4 Levels of Evaluation That Impact Your Business Bottom Line
Rick was not a professional speaker. And it showed. The squinting audience needed binoculars to read...
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Create, Don’t Compete!
When NSA was formed 40 years ago, founder Cavett Robert, CSP, CPAE, had a vision: To create a bigger...
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Role Agreements, Not Job Descriptions
When hiring staff, many people use ‘job descriptions’ to define what the person will do....
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How Cops, Reporters and Researchers Can Enhance Your Customer Experience
When we have an idea, one of the first things we ask ourselves is “But what if it doesn’t work?” How...
Latest Posts
Speak
The Keynote We Can’t Let Go
Do you remember where you were when you first heard the phrases “let it go” or “pick a lane”? Perhaps you were in the hallway of an NSA Convention and someone retold the tale of a speech that would be talked about for 14 years after it was delivered....
The Worst I Ever Bombed
For Laughter Week 2018, Andrew Tarvin pulled back the curtain on a time he bombed onstage. “Surprisingly, it w...
Prepare to be Funny
For Laughter Week 2018, Lou Heckler, CSP, CPAE, advised members to start gathering humor before they need it. ...
Market
Building a Back-End Business
I’m a fellow member of NSA and I have experienced firsthand the power of building a better back-end business model. Imagine you’re me, five years ago. You’re a 30-something “up-and-coming” speaker and trainer. You’ve been semi-successful at landing p...
Don’t Miss Influence 2018
Are You Ready for Influence 2018? Corey Perlman and Jill Schiefelbein (aka Neo and Trinity), Influence 2018 co...
Speaker’s Toolkit: Speak to Build Influence, Credibility and Awareness
Our traditional business model is to speak and get paid. But how else can you use your skills to grow your bus...
Sell
Using the Global Octopus Model to Partner Across the Globe
Many speakers and trainers want to work globally, but aren’t sure how to make it happen. As two CSPs, one in Atlanta (Jennifer) and one in Berlin, Germany, (Dirk) we created a highly successful intensive weeklong leadership program in 2016 for coaches in Berlin. Dirk’s consulting firm hosted Jennifer and we collaborated for a year to design and del...
How Four Scored: Four NSA Legends Share Golden Nuggets for Generating a 7-figure income
Remember being that new professional speaker with big dreams to change the world with your message? Then you w...
Why Fee Integrity is Hurting You
I first heard the term ‘fee integrity’ when I started hanging around the National Speakers Associa...
3 Mantras for Sales Success
The speaking world has changed. Our clients are well-informed with information at their fingertips 24/7. Let’s...
Publish
Clearing the Decks
How do busy professionals find the time to write their books? I recently spoke with Steve Bustin, a speaker colleague from Brighton in the United Kingdom. I learned from Facebook that he had written his book in one week, so I had to talk with him to ...
Publish or Perish!
As someone who has spent a good amount of years in and around academia, the age-old phrase “publish or perish”...
4 Steps to Publishing Your Breakthrough ...
Many speakers spend a lot time dreaming about the day they will walk into a Barnes & Noble, or saunter pas...
Lifestyle
16 Revenue-Generating Ideas
At Influence 2018, 16 speakers each had two-minutes to quickly and clearly share a tip that brought their business additional revenue. Check out the transcripts of each of their presentations that can help you bring in more revenue for your speaking ...
Getting Ready for the Biggest Change
Life events cause you to think of things—even the inevitable—in different ways. Intellectually, we all know th...
What to Do in an Active Shooter Situation
With more active shooter incidents happening, here are tips on how to respond if a shooting breaks out: Remain...
Office
Avoid Last-Minute Surprises with a Meeting Planner Checklist
With the nickname Organized Audrey, I am not a fan of surprises, because they make me feel out of control. So, imagine my surprise when I arrived to an engagement wearing mostly black, accompanied by my videographer, only to discover that the drape b...
Create Your Own Custom Pre-Event List
From location logistics and AV specifications to who will handle handouts, there are dozens of details that ne...
Track your Tasks
If you’re preparing to put on a self-sponsored program, make sure you don’t miss any to-dos with a detailed ch...
Technology
The Picture of Success
I interviewed five fabulous speakers on how they use Instagram for their business. Not too surprising, they had five completely different strategies for how they use the app and how they determine results. There were two consistent messages in the in...
What’s Driving Your Choice of Webinar Platform?
The best software solution for you will be the one that meets your specific needs. Once you’ve decided if you ...
How Being Good-Looking Will Grow Your Speaking Business – Get an Unfair Advantage
A few weeks ago, an editor at a prestigious publishing house called me. She said, “I want to publish a book on...
