Professionally Speaking

The afternoon speaker at Saturday's Northern California NSA Chapter meeting was our own chapter member from Eureka in the far north of California (and National NSA Board member) Jessica Pettitt, CSP.

Jessica's program challenged us to consider what differentiates us from other speakers or trainers in our niche. After speaking for fifteen years and stirring up tough conversations for audiences on college campuses, Jessica has learned a lot about who she isn't willing to be and who she accidentally is.

She delivered a highly interactive, high energy, humorous afternoon session where no question was off limits.

This culminated in an exercise to help us know what makes us unique as speakers by embracing our points of distinction.

Embrace Your Points of Distinction

Jessica distributed index cards and asked us to write down points that differentiate us as professional speakers. She then read out these statements (anonymously) asking if the audience could guess, based on the text, who it described. There were precious few of us who could be easily identified. Many in the room claimed their uniqueness lay in such commonplace features as:

"I'm entertaining" (isn't everyone?)

"I don't tell a story, I make it come alive" (not a marked point of distinction if you are presenting at a storytellers conference, maybe in the corporate world)

"High energy speaker!" (table stakes)

"Background in journalism" (all too common, given the job market in that profession)

"Combines speaking with hands on professional services" (much laughter)

"Free and easy smile" (you don't say)

"Integrate humor with my speeches" (even those who are not trying to be funny can be hysterical to some)

"Compassionate" (too low a bar)

It was only a few who were instantly recognizable to fellow chapter members. The lesson is obvious. As Karen Jacobsen directed in her morning session, we need to be able to describe the outcomes to our clients in one sentence. Jessica highlighted the importance of making sure that sentence contained something unique that would cause a meeting planner to want to book us.

To hear a brief extract from Jessica's presentation, where she talks about the importance of working on what makes us truly unique, click on the podcast icon below.

No member of the National Speakers Association speaks to as many people on a daily basis as does Karen Jacobsen. Her voice is one of the options on over 100 million GPS systems and 300 million smartphones. She's the one we hear when lose our way and the GPS tells us it is 'recalculating'.

On Saturday she spoke to members of the NSA Northern California Chapter.

Oh Say Can You See?

Karen, a professional singer-songwriter raised in Australia and now a native of New York, began her presentation with a stunning rendition of the American national anthem -- she's sung The Star Spangled Banner in baseball stadiums across the country. She then gave the motivational speech she delivers to corporate clients, listing five 'GPS Girl' life-lessons, interspersed with her own songs:

Is your inner GPS telling you that you are off your route?

Are you willing to change direction?

Have you clarified your destination?

Are you ready to embrace the steering wheel?

Accelerate!

Her speaker demo reel shows some of what we enjoyed:

Directions for Speaker Success

Following this showcase presentation, Karen shifted gears (so to speak) and shared her insights into success in the speaking business. She helped us navigate a list of 44 directions for speaker success in business, well-being, speech delivery and quality of life. They included recommendations on everything from being sure to stay hydrated (crucial for all speakers, not just singers), eating a diet of living foods, avoiding toxins, daily meditation practice and exercise to keeping an uncluttered office, participating in a mastermind group and working with a business coach. She emphasized these are a destination to aim for, not something we achieve immediately.

Taking Care of Business

Here's the GPS Girl's list of business goals:

I can describe the outcomes for my clients in one sentence.

I have a three minute Speaker Video I am proud of.

My website is updated regularly and clearly represents my brand.

I am using professional photographs taken in the past 12 months.

My business cards are on excellent high quality stock.

My social media strategy works for me and my online and offline presence are consistent.

I use Quickbooks (or an equivalent), my accounting is up-to-date and taxes are paid.

I know I look well-groomed and feel confident walking into any room.

I make daily phone calls as part of my marketing strategy.

I save at least 10% of my income.

I am earning my target revenue.

These are valuable goals for any freelancer, entrepreneur or small business owner, not just those in the speaking profession.

To hear a short extract from Karen's presentation, discussing the first two of these business goals, click on the podcast icon below.

Members of the Silicon Valley Speechwriters Roundtable joined David Murray on a conference call earlier this week. This is the third and final edited highlight of the call. In part one David talked about the way the profession has changed. In part two he reviewed highlights from the 2015 Ragan Speechwriters Conference.

In this third edited highlight, he discusses the importance of the Professional Speechwriters Association and shares some of his experiences as editor of Vital Speeches of the Day.

To hear what he said, click on the podcast icon below.

Members of the Silicon Valley Speechwriters Roundtable joined Vital Speeches of the Day Editor David Murray on a conference call earlier this week. This is the first of three edited highlights of the call.

David is executive director of the Professional Speechwriters Association and was the MC of the recent Ragan Speechwriters Conference. He's been a fixture on the speechwriting scene since the early 1990's.

In this part of the conference call, David reflects on the changes in the profession of speechwriting since the days of the "pipe smoking, erudite and slightly eccentric" gentlemen speechwriters of the old school.

To hear what he said, click on the podcast icon below.

Members of the Silicon Valley Speechwriters Roundtable joined Vital Speeches of the Day Editor David Murray on a conference call earlier this week. This is the first of three edited highlights of the call.

David is executive director of the Professional Speechwriters Association and was the MC of the recent Ragan Speechwriters Conference. He’s been a fixture on the speechwriting scene since the early 1990’s.

In this part of the conference call, David reflects on the changes in the profession of speechwriting since the days of the “pipe smoking, erudite and slightly eccentric” gentlemen speechwriters of the old school.

To hear what he said, click on the podcast icon below.

There are over 11 million corporate meetings every day in the United States, yet how often do we walk into a corporate meeting wondering why we are there? Or walk out angry that we've wasted another precious hour and accomplished nothing?

What makes for a good conversation, or a meaningful meeting? Why are good conversations so elusive? How can we use our communications and leadership skills to ensure that more conversations at work excite participants, enable them to connect deeply with each other, and enhance organizational productivity?

These were some of the questions raised in an NSA/NC Salon held last Sunday, hosted by Wendy Hanson, featuring Chapter President-Elect Jim Ware.

Jim is the author of Changing the Corporate Conversation (forthcoming) and a former Harvard Business School professor who has spent his entire career teaching clients how to invent their own futures. He is the founder and Executive Director of The Future of Work…unlimited, Global Research Director for Occupiers Journal Limited, and a Partner with the FutureWork Forum. He is also a co-founder of the new Great Work Cultures movement.

Jim believes that as leaders in organizations and communications specialists we all have an opportunity -- and responsibility -- to focus our energy of drawing out the unique insights and experiences that each of us brings to the workplace. Teams that understand the power of collaboration, rooted in authentic conversation, make the whole greater than the sum of the parts.

The Social Construction of Reality

My own interest in conversation pre-dates my life in the corporate world. Reading C Wright Mills in my Leicester University Sociology class left an indelible impression. His 1940 paper on Situated Actions and Vocabularies of Motive explains the social, rather than the psychological, reasons people say what they do in conversation with others. Certain statements will be acceptable in some contexts, not in others. Indeed, as I've written here before, the 'technology of interaction' in meetings points to a whole raft of unstated assumptions, social norms, cultural influences and power relations underpinning conversations.

Want to see these social forces in action? They're not difficult to spot. It's as simple as watching when an idea voiced by a woman in a meeting is ignored, while the same from a man is applauded. Or listening to how much more loudly people laugh at the boss's jokes than yours.

Talk Talk

Following Mills, sociologists such as Garfinkle and Goffman developed the sociology of conversation analysis. In formal meetings, as well as informal interactions, responses which agree with the position advocated tend to be offered sooner than statements that disagree with those positions. One consequence of this is that agreement and acceptance are easier alternatives and a natural outcome of many meetings.

Fair Warning

So, next time you're in a meeting where they call for 'honest feedback' just remember the warning of the French philosopher:

But I digress.

To hear some of what Jim shared at the meeting, click on the podcast icon below.

There are over 11 million corporate meetings every day in the United States, yet how often do we walk into a corporate meeting wondering why we are there? Or walk out angry that we’ve wasted another precious hour and accomplished nothing?

What makes for a good conversation, or a meaningful meeting? Why are good conversations so elusive? How can we use our communications and leadership skills to ensure that more conversations at work excite participants, enable them to connect deeply with each other, and enhance organizational productivity?

These were some of the questions raised in an NSA/NC Salon held last Sunday, hosted by Wendy Hanson, featuring Chapter President-Elect Jim Ware.

Jim is the author of Changing the Corporate Conversation (forthcoming) and a former Harvard Business School professor who has spent his entire career teaching clients how to invent their own futures. He is the founder and Executive Director of The Future of Work…unlimited, Global Research Director for Occupiers Journal Limited, and a Partner with the FutureWork Forum. He is also a co-founder of the new Great Work Cultures movement.

Jim believes that as leaders in organizations and communications specialists we all have an opportunity — and responsibility — to focus our energy of drawing out the unique insights and experiences that each of us brings to the workplace. Teams that understand the power of collaboration, rooted in authentic conversation, make the whole greater than the sum of the parts.

The Social Construction of Reality

My own interest in conversation pre-dates my life in the corporate world. Reading C Wright Mills in my Leicester University Sociology class left an indelible impression. His 1940 paper on Situated Actions and Vocabularies of Motive explains the social, rather than the psychological, reasons people say what they do in conversation with others. Certain statements will be acceptable in some contexts, not in others. Indeed, as I’ve written here before, the ‘technology of interaction’ in meetings points to a whole raft of unstated assumptions, social norms, cultural influences and power relations underpinning conversations.

Want to see these social forces in action? They’re not difficult to spot. It’s as simple as watching when an idea voiced by a woman in a meeting is ignored, while the same from a man is applauded. Or listening to how much more loudly people laugh at the boss’s jokes than yours.

Talk Talk

Following Mills, sociologists such as Garfinkle and Goffman developed the sociology of conversation analysis. In formal meetings, as well as informal interactions, responses which agree with the position advocated tend to be offered sooner than statements that disagree with those positions. One consequence of this is that agreement and acceptance are easier alternatives and a natural outcome of many meetings.

Fair Warning

So, next time you’re in a meeting where they call for ‘honest feedback’ just remember the warning of the French philosopher:

But I digress.

To hear some of what Jim shared at the meeting, click on the podcast icon below.

Members of the Silicon Valley Speechwriters Roundtable joined speechwriter, screenwriter and author Mike Long on a conference call earlier this week. This is the second of two edited highlights of the call. In part one Mike talked about becoming a freelance speechwriter.

In this second edited highlight, Mike talks about how his experience as a screenwriter helps him write better speeches and the core elements essential to any story. To hear what he said, click on the podcast icon below.