What's wrong with NSA? ... ah, actually, not much.

I spent time on Saturday with my local chapter of the National Speakers Association (Mid-Atlantic Chapter, that is). Wow, what a great group. I had always heard that these folks were supportive, that they don't see their fellow members as competitors. That is true to my eyes so far. First off all, consider that you're getting a bunch of speakers together in the same room. Theoretically, that should be the Indianapolis 500 of Oneupmanship. Gentlemen, start your egos! Instead, these folks let each other talk, offer advice, share ideas, listen to the presenters on the agenda... jeez, what's wrong with these people? Where's their competitiveness, their inner fire, their pricky-ness?

We had a good session with Sharon Bowman speaking about how to design a speech and add enough interest to keep the audience on their toes. Nice job, Sharon. However, most of the value for me came from the other members who introduced themselves, showed interest in my nascent career, and told me about their methods. Like Rich Lucia, who can print a book ON DEMAND when someone orders it. Brilliant!

I am getting traction with this blog, with my articles, and my Internet radio appearances. Still, I'm trying to get my act together to start getting paid to speak.* I'm still defining my niche and working on my book (more on that in future posts). I think NSA will help me a lot, if the members of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter have anything to do with it.

*Okay, I exaggerate a little, tiny bit in my profile about launching my professional speaking career. I just think that if you build the practice and talk about it, they will come. Eventually.