REALITY CHECK
Putting a fine point on the speaking industry

Accelerate Your Speaking Business

For me, chairing a con- vention is like being a parent. I lie awake at night worrying, I listen to a lot of whining, and it costs a fortune.

Convention planning, like parenthood, is a monumental endeavor filled with challenges, but it is well worth it in the end. Admittedly, working on the NSA Convention with Donna Cutting, CSP, and Vanna Novak has been one of the most fulfilling and rewarding experiences in my career.

A platform for learning, the Convention is a celebration of the speaking profession. This year’s theme is Accelerate 2012. We have designed an event that will meet you where you are in your career and accelerate you to the next level.

Our No. 1 goal is for every single attendee to walk away saying, “Wow!

That was worth my investment!”
The general session speakers are
some of the best, busiest and most
compelling speakers in the business.

Some are familiar faces and names that you have seen and heard before and some may be new to you, but I am confident that you will be singing their praises when they walk off stage.

Jeanne Robertson, CSP, CPAE, will open the Convention with hilarious stories and telling insights into how she has sustained five decades as a professional speaker. Thanks to Sirius/ XM radio and millions of You Tube hits, she keeps taking her speaking business to new heights. Dan Thurmon, CSP, CPAE, will amaze the

audience with his “kinetic keynote” and Peter Sheahan will follow with a cutting-edge, thought-leading message that has made him one of the hottest speakers on the platform.

Sally Hogshead will open the Monday line-up with her “ 7 keys to fascination,” followed by Jeff Jarvis, the best-selling author of What Would Google Do? and Public Parts.

Want to see what a two-time highest-rated Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) speaker looks like? Then stick around as Steve Gilliland takes the stage.

Motivational powerhouse Kevin Bracy will kick off Tuesday, followed by the incomparable Vernice “Flygirl” Armour, who closes out the Convention.

Get Better, Get Bigger, Get Booked

All of the concurrent sessions will fall under one of three banners: Get Better, Get Bigger, Get Booked. Can it be any simpler than that? There will be mega-sessions led by Connie Podesta, Pegine Echevarria, Wally Adamchik, CSP, CPAE, and Jeff Hayzlett and his team.

Back by popular demand are Meet the Pros, hosted by Francine Ward, Esq., and So you Still Think You Can Speak with Jon Petz, along with the new Whose Cliché is It Anyway, a Friday night comedy show hosted by Judson Laipply. Thom Singer will host the new NSA Learning Lounge, which will be open during all concurrent sessions, and features various learning stations ranging from presentations to peer-to-peer discussions. There will be 15-minute

Patrick Henry

talks from a main-stage center room, round table conversations, and technology tricks and tips.

Make your commitment now to join us in the winner’s circle at the NSA Accelerate 2012 Convention in Indianapolis, Ind., July 14-17, and bring “the need for speed.”