National Speakers Association (NSA) 2011 Convention July 30–Aug. 2, Anaheim Marriott Hotel, Anaheim ATTENDED BY MORETHAN 1,200 PROFESSIONAL SPEAKERSALONG WITH THEIR STAFF MEMBERS, SPEAKER-BUREAU REPRESENTATIVES,AND MEETING PROFESSIONALS
When you take the podiumat the NSA Convention, you’re looking out at a roomful of people who have all been where you are, who know that you’re probably trying to figure out if you should warm them up with a joke, and who certainly have their own ideas about what makes for a good presentation, speech, discourse, dialogue, or whatever it is that’s brought you before the mike. It’s got to be a bit daunting—not just for the people who
are speaking to the speakers, but for the meeting professionals behind the scenes who are tasked with booking, preparing, and supporting them. Doesn’t it? “It is not challenging or intimidating to askour members to
speak for their peers. In fact, most of them lookat it as an honor and/or a chance to give back,” said Cara Tracy, NSA’s director of professional development. “It is more difficult to convince non-members to present—mainly because we do not pay speakers to present at our meetings.” As for how speakers feel once they’re in front of the crowd
—that varies, as you’d expect it to. “It is intimidating for some speakers to present, just as it would be intimi- dating for a meeting planner to organize a meeting for other planners,” Tracy said. “Like most audiences, our audience expects the presenter to deliver the material they said they would deliver, not sell from the platform, etc. Their expectations may be a little higher
because they know what is acceptable and what is not, and know what they would and would not do if they were presenting.” For its annual meeting, NSA emphasizes speakers with a
strong how-to component. Attendees expect “Less ofWHAT, more ofHOW,” according to the NSA Presenter Manual. “They know they have a problem and they want/need your help to solve it with practical tips and techniques.” The Presenter Manual suggests that NSA speakers “Help your audience to linkyour ideas and concepts to their style and material.” At the NSA 2011 Convention, that translated into a binder’s worth of practical, hands-on general sessions, including Glenna Salsbury, CSP, CPAE, on “The Essence of Presence ... How to Harness the Authentic You”; LarryWinget, CPAE, on “Building a Breakout Brand”; Les Brown, CPAE, on “Spellbinding Storytelling”; and a four-member panel on “Crafting a ‘Killer’ Keynote.” The nice thing about the NSA Convention is that the quali-
ties that make its attendees a tough, discriminating audience also make them open-minded and sympathetic. “They are a very respectful audience,” Tracy said, “because they know what it is like to be the person on the stage.”
HOW NOW: The National Speakers Association emphasizes presentations with “Less ofWHAT, more of HOW”—such as Les Brown’s “Spellbind- ing Storytelling” at the NSA 2011 Convention.