Speakernomics

How do you demonstrate your professionalism when you’re interacting with clients and prospects? It’s one thing to be an expert and excellent speaker, but at the National Speakers Association and this podcast specifically, we’re focused on professional speaking. This week on Speakernomics, we invited long-time NSA member Jim Cathcart, CSP, CPAE, who originally developed NSA’s professional competencies to the show to discuss what being a “professional” means and how that can benefit your business (and bottom line).Key Takeaways                Be more than a speaker Be a bigger resource than your clients think you are Who is Jim Cathcart, CSP, CPAE?Jim is an international keynote speaker with more than 45 years of experience and an author of 23 books. He’s a singer, guitar player and a lifetime member of the American Motorcyclists Association. Jim joined NSA in 1976 and he’s been a chair of almost every NSA committee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does your legacy as a professional speaker look like? Is your goal to share your message as an enjoyable way to pay the bills, or are you trying to leave your mark for years to come? To celebrate our 100th episode of Speakernomics (and NSA’s quickly approaching 50th anniversary), we invited Lee Robert, the daughter of NSA’s founder, Cavett Robert, to reminisce about NSA’s past and to share how you too can leave a legacy.Key Takeaways Have an abundant generosity mindset Have the long game in mind for your career Who is Lee Robert?Lee is a professional singer who has performed around the world with her unique style of Cowgirl Jazz, a mixture of blues, jazz and western swing music. She is also a speaker and the daughter of NSA’s founder, Cavett Robert. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How often do you find yourself chasing something new, popular and shiny rather than doubling down and staying true to your focus or niche? While it’s not a surprising or novel idea, sometimes we need to be reminded that that we can’t become an expert on every topic our clients are looking for. This week on Speakermomics, we invited Erik Qualman to remind us the value of focus in our business and how staying true to our expertise will lead to more business.Key Takeaways Focus on what you will own Win more deals from the stage Who is Erik Qualman?Erik is a best-selling author and speaker who dove into the speaking industry after working as a marketer and technology executive. He’s also a professor of digital leadership at Northwestern University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's episode is a recast of one of this year's most listened to episodes with Jay Baer while we work on a few exciting upcoming episodes. Even if you already listened to this episode with Jay, we encourage you to listen to it again with a fresh mind and find new wisdom and advice you didn't pick up on last time!Here’s a hot take from today’s guest, Jay Baer, CSP, CPAE: Your content and presentation skills are probably not that much better than every other professional speaker in your field, which is to say you’re all good speakers. But what can you do to stand out to make sure your message transcends the presentation itself? This week on Speakernomics we invited Jay to share his insights about how to differentiate yourself from other speakers so meeting planners choose to work with you. Key Takeaways: Meeting planners want outcomes Give planners something to remember you   Who is Jay Baer, CSP, CPAE?Jay is a speaker, author and consultant for major brands to help them exceed customer expectation. He only started professionally speaking 12 years ago but is a member of NSA’s Speaker Hall of Fame and lets each client pick which of his 14 plaid suits they want him to wear on stage.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When was the last time you took a moment to pause and reflect on your message? Are you still sharing the same stories and messages and with the same slide deck and presentation techniques? Is this leading to you feeling uninspired by your own platform? This week on Speakernomics we invited Karen Jacobsen to the program to encourage you take a moment to pause, think about your business, and refine it into a business that you can find exciting again. Key Takeaways Get Quiet Look at what you love doing most  Who is Karen Jacobson?Karen tells you what to do every day if you’re using Australian Siri. She’s a singer, songwriter, and a successful professional speaker. She was once a clue in the New York Times Crossword puzzle.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does the idea of downloading Tik Tok stress you out? Are you overwhelmed trying to come up with new content to post on your social accounts, or wonder if it’s even worth the effort? On this week’s episode of Speakernomics, we’re here to make social media easy. We invited social media pro LaShaundra McCarty to share her best advice on making the most of social media platforms as a busy speaker and how it can actually help you get found and get booked.Key Takeaways Everything is content Social media is not haphazard, plan for success Who is LaShaundra McCarty?LaShaundra works with speakers, entrepreneurs, and non-profits to help them tell their story with the goal of monetizing while helping them work smarter, not harder. She helps businesses add new social media platforms to their communications plans without stress.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you spending all of your time working from gig to gig, or do you have a strategic structure in place to use speaking as a funnel into your other products and services? If you don’t have a plan behind getting to your next speaking engagement, this episode is for you. This week on Speakernomics we invited Michelle Villalobos, CSP, to share her philosophy on creating a big, back-end business where speaking is just the first step in a long-term relationship.Key Takeaways Begin with the big back end in mind Sell it first and figure it out later Who is Michelle Villalobos, CSP?Michelle helps superstars monetize their brilliance instead of just their time and helps them focus on what they do naturally to make business more joyous and fulfilling. She has build a successful speaking business speaking for a fee and for free to promote not only her career but her additional products. She’s the chair of NSA’s Million Dollar Speakers Group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One in four of your audience members are experiencing some form of disability. What are you doing to ensure that you’re spreading your message to everyone in the audience, and not leaving some individuals unable to get the full impact of your presentation? This week on Speakernomics, we invited Donna Mack to the program to discuss how you modify your presentations to include audience members with disabilitiesKey Takeaways Don’t let your visuals be just visual Always enable caption Who is Donna Mack?Donna Mack is an award-winning advocate and author in the field of disability who works with businesses that want to grow profits and transform cultures by increasing disability access and inclusion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you still giving online presentations? Whether we like it or not, virtual presentations and meetings have become more common and accepted. While face-to-face meetings might be ideal, you’re bound to find yourself delivering virtually even as live meetings return. This week on Speakernomics, we invited Robbie Samuels who successfully rebuilt his business during 2020 to maximize on virtual presentations and networking to share simple things you can do to elevate your virtual performances.Key Takeaways: Start with the end in mind Focus on technique, not technology  Who is Robbie Samuels?Robbie helps companies move their events online with less stress and more attendee engagement. He hosted his first online meeting on March 13, 2020. Nine months later, he had a six-figure business using online tools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you make sure you audiences don’t just immediately dismiss you and your message as soon as you get on stage? You can have all the accolades and experience necessary to solve a problem, but that doesn’t help if your audience can’t relate to you. This week on Speakernomics we invited James Robilotta to the show to discuss how important relatability is and how you can make sure you’re always relatable to your audiences. Key Takeaways Your credibility doesn’t make you a good speaker Tell everyday stories Who is James Robilotta, CSP?James is professional speaker focusing on company culture and how curiosity creates community. He’s been a professional speaker for 12 years and is married to another professional speaker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices