Putting a fine point on the speaking industry
Make a Genuine Effort
You’re sitting in the third
row with a close-up view
of the stage, to the right of
the center and on the aisle.
The opening General Session
of the National Speakers
Association’s annual convention is
about to commence.
Sixty minutes later, you leave the
room totally in awe. You have just experienced an amazing opening keynote.
So what made this keynote so special? What made it unique? Why was it
amazing?
The program was obviously well
rehearsed. The transitions were fantastic.
And the stories were relevant to the points
that the speaker was trying to make.
But you have witnessed that all
before. Why did you feel like such a
part of the program this time? How did
you personally relate to the message?
And why are you looking to take action
in response to the ideas you just heard?
Whether this was your
first NSA convention or
your 20th convention, or
it was the first time or the
hundredth you noticed
how amazing a speaker
could be, your awareness directly relates to the
speaker’s authenticity.
keeping our businesses real. And, ultimately, we must work to keep our relationships in our lives real.
This year, I challenge you to evalu-
ate all of these different areas in your
life and determine if you are living with
authenticity and have discovered how
to keep it real. Download a free self-
assessment tool to help
you with this process at
MyNSA.org/keepitreal.
At NSA, we also want
to keep our education
opportunities real. The
Board of Directors has
approved a new edu-
cation format that will
effectively divide our
We must look
for our authentic
self and then
work to share
that authenticity
with others.
The speaker kept his
message real. His presentation style was
comfortable and authentic. He revealed
strengths and weaknesses, successes and
failures, good times and tough times.
And through the process, you found
yourself becoming more attracted to the
speaker, more attracted to the message
and, ultimately, more attracted to committing to make changes in your life.
What you just experienced was a
professional speaker who knew
how to keep it real on the
platform. To underscore the
importance of this message,
NSA’s theme for 2008–2009
is “Keep It Real.”
year into thirds. We will have a fall
conference in November, a winter
conference in February and our annual
Convention in the summer. We plan to
adhere to this format for at least three
years, and hope it enables you to better plan for the future.
So what does that mean?
It means that we must look
for our authentic self and
then work to share that
authenticity with others. It
means that we must be real
on and off the platform. We
must keep our association
and our industry real. We
must face the challenge of
I hope you continue to discover
your authentic self and share it with
your clients, family and everyone at
NSA. The next time you step onto the
platform, ask yourself, “Is my authentic self coming through?” If the answer
is “yes,” you will notice a better connection with your audience. You will
inspire and engage them at a whole
new level. And you will thoroughly
enjoy the experience when you
“Keep It Real.”
