General Session

Lola Gillebaard

Proving that there’s no upper age limit to a successful career in professional speaking, Lola spoke on Surviving the Coming of Age: Discovering the Magic and Fun of Growing Older. This 76-year-old beauty skated close to the edge of good taste in the ways that only Americans with Southern accents (and us Brits) can get away with. Her jokes contained innuendoes about teenage masturbation, incest (sleeping with relatives) and more. We loved both her spunk and her style.

She’s the sage of age. Spicy feisty Lola accentuates bold over old. She explodes the fun of activist aging.

Phillip Van Hooser

The author of the must-read You’re Joe’s Boy, Ain’t Ya? and Willie’s Way spoke on ABRACADABRA or SYLACAUGA: Magnifying the Magic of Our Mission.

He commented on the spooky fact about the conference that had struck me - the audiences watches people doing what we do. And they try and become better at what they do as a result.

He discussed his own early love of public speaking, instilled in him by his snuff-totin’ Grandmother in them there Kentucky Hills.

He observed that the almost instantaneous standing ovations each speaker was gifted is not reality. Most audiences sit on their butts and applaud. However, he strove to become so good that even staid business audiences would give him a standing ovation. In fact, he got to the point as a presenter that they would often come to the front of the room after the meeting and hug him. Men and women. This meant his wife came to accept that when Phil returned from business trips he’d often have mascara on his suit lapels. As Dale Irvin later commented, not many men are smooth enough to establish that level of trust with their spouse!

Phil showed us that real magic in the speaking profession often occurs in those unplanned, unscripted moments that offer the speaker and the audience member an opportunity to pause and connect.

Doug Stevenson

This accomplished actor spoke on Defining and Developing Your Signature Story. Doug is the creator of the Story Theater Method and author of Never Be Boring Again - Make Your Business Presentations Capture Attention, Inspire Action and Produce Results, the how-to book that teaches the Story Theater Method for strategic storytelling in business.

A signature story is a highly developed, brilliantly performed story that brands you. It contains emotional triggers of comedy and/or drama, as well as a solid point. Doug explained in compelling detail how to tell stories in present-time. He explained how a story is the emotional fast lane to the brain allowing the audience to feel genuine emotion. Deep learning takes place when the audience experiences the lesson and stories create emotional triggers so the listener feels emotion.

Doug’s nine steps to create a story structure are:

1. Set the scene
2. Introduce the characters
3. Begin the journey (from the known to the unknown)
4. Encounter the obstacle (the block that creates dramatic tension)
5. Overcome the obstacle (this is the “How To” part of the story
6. Resolve the story (Tie up loose ends)
7. Main the point (One story, one clear and simple point)
8. Ask the question (”So, how about you? Anything like this ever happen in your world?”)
9. Repeat the point

He covered the technique of stepping IN and OUT of your persona when on stage telling a story where actions, reactions and interactions convey emotion.

This was, without doubt, the single most valuable hour I spent in Orlando. Thank you Doug.

Kim Snider

This accomplished businesswoman wakes up each weekday and walks her dog to keep herself gorgeous and slender. Her next task is to sit at the computer for an hour-and-a-half and walk her fingers on the keyboard to keep her three blogs in shape. She does this each and every morning. The written results are equally appealing.

Her presentation to an audience of around 100 people was titled Blogging for Speakers: What, Why, When, Where, How?.

She covered both the nuts and bolts of setting up a blog (she uses Typepad) as well as making a clear case for the importance of most speakers taking the time and effort to blog.

The audience was covered the spectrum. Some had never read a blog, ever. Others like Bert Decker introduced themselves as active bloggers. Still others wondered if this was a fad like CB Radio in the 1970’s and would blogs last? I was frankly amazed at this lack of awareness. Perhaps it was a self-selecting factor where Convention attendees who knew nothing whatsoever about a topic decided to attend (gosh, perhaps there are 1,685 who really are prepared for a flu pandemic!). But I doubt it. I think this crowd was the best the NSA currently has to offer.

Kim dealt with the Luddites and Neanderthals with kindness and understanding. She pointed out that CEO’s blog. That her blog is read is read by Nobel Prize winners in Economics and so, no, Virginia, blogs were probably not a flash in the pan. It reminded me of a 3rd Grade teacher patiently explaining gravity or magnetism to her class.

Her compelling vision is of a critical mass of NSA members posting regular blogs.

This is a brilliant idea.

It would take the energy of Orlando and transform it into a vast network of links creating real Magic among the Community of Speakers, year-round. These interlinked blogs would open a window that allowed light to shine on the currently isolate and separate worlds of those on the pro-speaker circuit. Allowing us to post insights and share thoughts from the airline clubs and hotel rooms where many idle hours are spent. Topics that would make compelling reading include anything that other speakers, and the audience, would like to hear. Such as:

These blogs could capture the real spirit of life on the road. Of the joys and sorrows of the speakers world. NSA members who wrote and tracked-back to other blogs would offer a real sense of year-round dialog. Heck, all that would be missing would be a new Blogging Professional Expert Group (PEG) to support people getting into the program and share best practices as we grow together. And how difficult would it be to start that?

If you are an NSA Member and would like to support the formation of a Blogging PEG either send me an email or, better, leave a comment below.

In Conclusion

It’s taken me a whole day to write up what happened on Day 3 and Day 4 in Orlando. I did not cover everything. There was a black tie dinner on the last evening and a whole bunch of people were recognized for their contribution to NSA and the profession. Then the people drifted off to the bar or to dance. Then the hotel staff and the roadies came and started stacking the tables and chairs.

Now the seats are all empty
Let the roadies take the stage
Pack it up and tear it down
They’re the first to come and last to leave
Working for that minimum wage
.
.
But the bands on the bus
And they’re waiting to go
We’ve got to drive all night and do a show in Chicago
Or Detroit, I don’t know
We do so many shows in a row
And these towns all look the same
We just pass the time in our hotel rooms
And wander round backstage
Till those lights come up and we hear that crowd
And we remember why we came
.
.
People stay just a little bit longer
We want to play — just a little bit longer

Jackson Browne

Next year the NSA Convention is in San Diego. The Cigar PEG folks are already scouting down by the docks where the sailors all come in for the right kind of raunchy dive. More respectable members are planning the Agenda and other good stuff.

Thanks to everyone who put on this years conference and made it one of the most rewarding five days of the year for me.

I deeply appreciate it.