Your Monthly News & Updates |
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In News Flash, we provide the highlights of the month with links to the stories you most want to read. You'll find the full edition of News Flash online here. Please forward this newsletter to others whose careers benefit by improved skills in speaking and presenting. Some examples are members of Toastmasters, ATD, MPI, ICF, and AZODN among others.
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A Message from Our President |
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Welcome to your speaking community’s monthly newsletter. I come before you humbled in the trust you have so generously bestowed upon me to guide the NSA-Arizona chapter through the troubled waters of these times. Waters that all are required to currently navigate. But, like Simon and Garfunkel, we will work to build a bridge over our troubled waters. A bridge built on the structure of community, the NSA-Arizona speaking community. A bridge for all of us to safely cross when the pandemic is over. My theme as your president is: Rethink, Retool, and Reinvent.
RETHINK. As a chapter, and as a community of speakers, we need to rethink the way we do business. Rethink how we serve our customers.
RETOOL. Throughout time, people have produced new tools to advance society. What are the skills, services, and product offerings that will lead you not only through the storm, but position you better for after the storm? How, as a community, can we retool together?
REINVENT. Speaker success models are changing. The delivery of our products is changing; they were prior to the pandemic. The pandemic has just pushed this change ahead at warp speed. It is not about pivoting–it is about reinventing.
Let us not forget that you are not alone. We are a community of like-minded, hardworking, invested speakers, committed to the proposition of providing benefits to clients and knowledgeable value to attendees.
Your chapter leadership is working hard to advance your association. We have scheduled education programs to help you advance in your career. It is going to be an exciting year ahead and it is time to kick it off. I look forward to seeing your smiling faces at our next monthly program, Saturday, September 12. We have made this program free for all to attend, so there is no reason not to attend.
See you soon!
NSA-Arizona President
2020-2021
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NSA-AZ Monthly Meeting
Saturday, September 12, 2020
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THIS MEETING WILL BE VIRTUAL AND COMPLIMENTARY FOR ALL ATTENDEES |
Networking: 8:30 a.m.
Presentation: 9:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER—Cracking the course creation code: A proven system for creating great training that gets results! with Nancy Giere
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Leverage the power and knowledge of the NSA-Arizona Professional Member community. Facilitated by Michael Haley.
Join your peers as we develop tangible action items cultivated from the material presented during the monthly meeting.
Accountability, brainstorming, and creative thinking lead to the tactical implementation of business-generation ideas!
Join us on Zoom from 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. immediately after the regular chapter meeting.
Attendance at the Professional Opportunity is included for Professionals in the meeting registration.
Register in advance for this meeting by clicking here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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Candidate Program—Town Hall |
Join us as we kickoff the year with a Town Hall. We're going to ask you, the candidate, what you would like to see in programming for the upcoming year. Come prepared to share what you need to become a successful speaker. Learn what the chapter has in store for creating the education you need to survive and thrive amid today’s challenging environment. The Town Hall will be facilitated by Roger Rickard, Chapter President, and Elaine Simpson, Chapter President-Elect.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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Join us in September for a virtual happy hour with your peers from NSA-Arizona. Let’s catch-up, network, and create deeper connections!
We will meet via Zoom at 5:00 p.m. on September 24, 2020.
Bring your own beverage!
This happy hour is a free member benefit for Professional members and Candidates of NSA-Arizona.
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Cultivate Your Speaking Skills—Reason to be at Speakers Lab #46
Practice (verb): perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one's proficiency
“Practice doesn’t make perfect; practice makes permanent.”–Unknown
“Neurons that fire together, wire together.”—Neuroscientist Donald Hebb, 1949
Practice can lead to bad habits as well as good ones. Feedback can make the difference in which ones we develop.
In our current online environment, many of us have been presented with new challenges regarding engaging our audiences. Both the NSA Chapter meetings and the NSA Speakers Lab meetings have gone online. This presents an appropriate opportunity for practicing in this environment and getting feedback. Our presenters may seek help with marketing materials, website design, book ideas, or presentations. NSA-Arizona Speakers Lab is known for providing valuable feedback from skilled evaluators. They help the presenters (and others in the session) to engage their prospects, customers, clients, readers, or audience.
Our methodology: We ask presenters what their purpose is and what kind of feedback they want or need. We provide feedback in a structured environment that includes guidelines both for evaluators and for speakers. This helps to provide supportive, constructive, and useful advice.
Is there an area of your speaking or your speaking business that would benefit from some feedback? Come join us at Speakers’ Lab and experience the valuable feedback and encouragement to help you improve in any area of the speaking business.
Extra. Extra. Read All About It—A New Version of Speakers Lab
Introducing a brand-new version of our celebrated Speakers Lab: Virtual Evening Speakers Lab.
For a limited time (the next 6 months) we will be offering an evening version of Speakers Lab. Because of COVID, we will be virtual, which means no searching for a site to hold it, no commute time for you to get there.
The evening labs will be on the 3rd Wednesday every month for a trial period of 6 months. Our first Virtual Evening Speakers Lab will be at 6:30 p.m. on September 16.
If you want to network in advance of the session, you can log in as early as 6:00 p.m. Sessions will start at 6:30 p.m. and last 90 minutes (until 8:00 p.m.). They will feature two speakers plus the usual round robin feedback from your fellow attendees. Speakers will also receive feedback from a Guest Enricher. Sessions will conclude with words of wisdom from the Guest Enricher.
Step up to your computer or smart phone and bring your favorite beverage. Enjoy the value of Speakers Lab from the comfort of your own home (or car, or office, or wherever you have an internet connection).
NSA-Arizona Speaker Lab Leadership Team: Jake White, Michael Haley, Debra Exner, Natalie Sayer, Antonio Valles.
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Volunteer Spotlight: John Iannarelli, CSP |
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Where do you live now? Where are you originally from? Do you share your home with pets or family?
I am originally from New Jersey, just outside NYC. But I transferred regularly during my career, so I have lived in a lot of different places. I now reside in Scottsdale, not far from the NSA office.
Do you have any hobbies, travels, volunteer work, or other interesting things to share?
I have always traveled for work. When not working, I enjoy reading, the gym (when it's open) and the occasional round of golf.
What is your speaking specialty?
I speak on how to keep yourself, your family and your business safe. I focus on the topics of cybersecurity, active shooter preparation and terrorism prevention.
What kind of work did you do before you started speaking? Are you still doing that or other work in addition to speaking?
I started as a police officer in San Diego. After earning my law degree, I practiced for a while. I then entered the FBI Academy. I spent the next twenty years as a Special Agent in various assignments around the country and working throughout the world.
When did you start speaking? When did you join NSA-Arizona?
Throughout my FBI career, I held various leadership positions that called for me to speak before audiences. This included having served as the FBI national spokesperson in Washington, D.C. addressing the national and international media. After retiring from the FBI, I began appearing on the national news as a law enforcement consultant. I discovered NSA about three years ago, which is when I joined the Arizona chapter.
How have you volunteered for our chapter?
Two years ago, I was asked to be the Program Chair, arranging for our monthly speakers. More recently I became a member of the Executive Board as this year’s Vice President.
For you, what is the best advantage of NSA-Arizona membership?
In the world of professional speaking, there is so much to learn and so many potential mistakes to be made. The best advantage of NSA is that there are others who have already been down this road. You can learn from their experiences, allowing you to avoid many of the mistakes which saves time, effort and money.
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Mike Staver, CSP, Professional Member.
Mike is the current Chair-Elect of NSA.
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Webinar Series for Members |
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Join us for NSA-Arizona's webinar series with host Kristin Arnold, CSP. Our next webinar is Monday, September 28, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. Arizona time. The webinar is free to Professional members and Candidates of NSA-Arizona. Watch your inbox for the Zoom link.
This month's topic: Train-the-Trainer and Licensing your IP
with Michelle May, M.D., CSP.
Could a train-the-trainer program or licensing your intellectual property be your next step in building a healthy business model? If you are the go-to expert on your topic, these options will allow you to multiply your influence, leverage your expertise, and generate passive revenue. During this session, we’ll explore the key elements necessary: unique content; a market for that content; a process, system, or model to transfer your expertise; format options, legal considerations, and efficient administration of your programs.
Michelle May, M.D., CSP. As a mindful eating expert, inspirational speaker, and award-winning author, Michelle’s passion, insight, and humor stems from her own personal struggle with food and body image.
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Editor’s Note: This feature reminds you to take advantage of our fabulous lending library of NSA Convention recordings.
Well, I got word that most, if not all, of the employee benefits events that I facilitate will be virtual this year. So I won't rack up any frequent flier miles, but it has me thinking. What can I do instead for revenue while live events aren't an option? I checked the library and found a session from the Influence 2019 event called Separating Fact from Fiction - How to Generate Passive Income with Online Courses by Sylvie Di Guisto, CSP. Great idea! I have a bunch of stuff I can turn into an online course, and wouldn't passive income be nice?
Here's what I learned from Sylvie about content creation, delivery and pricing.
Content Creation
- Sylvie is an image consultant. She could offer her classes to a broad general audience, or to a narrow audience of professionals. She targets the narrow, professional audience. It is easier to market to a narrow audience because we know more about them; what they need, where hang out, what they read, and what they do. A broad audience is more difficult to target, but also requires a low price point-anywhere from free to $497. A program to a professional audience could sell for $5,000.
- However, increased competition has affected pricing. What used to be a $5,000 certification is now $1,700.
- Before you create your course, you must study your audience. Sylvie discovered that traditional demographics such as age, gender, and occupation data were of little value. But knowing her clients' learning styles, the problems they need to solve, and what they need for their communities was very valuable. She was able to group clients and prospects based on these attributes.
- Now that you have studied your market very well, you are now able to create products based on that information. Please do not think that you already have a product because you already have thousands of PowerPoint slides. Instead, Sylvie bases her products on a model that should deliver on the following:
- What information do you want to deliver to your audience?
- How will you check performance so that you know the content works and that clients can assess their progress?
- What will the learning experience be like?
Richard is NSA-Arizona’s librarian who accepts donations of books, tapes, magazines, CDs, and videos of interest to speakers. Contact Richard for instructions to download recent NSA Convention sessions.
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Influence 2021: July 10–July 12, 2021–Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, NV
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Kudos to Laurie Battaglia for being promoted from Candidate to Professional member.
Congratulations to both Maria Church and John Iannarelli on receiving the highest professional designation in the speaking industry as Certified Professional Speaker (CSP).
Let fellow NSA-Arizona members know about your achievements. Email Linda-Ann Stewart to be included in Bravo Corner.
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Word Tripper from the Platform |
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Do you ever confuse this word pair? Now you know the difference so you won't get tripped up!
Intrusive, obtrusive – They both describe something or someone as disruptive, adverse, or prominent in an unwelcome way. The difference lies in the implied direction of each word. “Intrusive” implies thrusting into a place or situation, while “obtrusive” implies thrusting out beyond accepted or expected limits. “At the opening, the artist was attentive to his guests without being obtrusive. I can’t say the same for the intrusive gallery owner who repeatedly interrupted the patrons’ conversations.”
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Due to COVID, Living Room Forum has been cancelled until further notice. |
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Email your News Flash announcements to editor Linda-Ann Stewart at or call 928-600-0452 by 15th of each month. Thanks to proofreaders Michelle Cubas and Richard Victor.
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