Welcome! Well, come!

This is Patrick Lee, Prez of NSA St. Louis, one of the more technologically challenged people you will ever meet. Maybe for the sake of this medium, you could call me blog-buffaloed, blog-bamboozled, or maybe just blog-birdbrained.

Nonetheless, it seemed poor form to have a blog with no posting since June 29, so I'm fixin' that right now! If a buffaloed, bamboozled, birdbrain can blog, so can you!

First of all, thanks to veteran NSA St.Louis member Rosemary Wilson for her suggestion to have a blog. And thanks to not-so-veteran NSA St. Louis member Scott Ginsberg for setting this up.

We have a great year ahead of us. In fact, have a look at this:

August 16
Dinner together! “A Nothing-but-Phun Event” No speaker. Just phun.
Organized by Kim Demotte
(Our Director of Phun)

September 15
Jim Cathcart, CSP, CPAE
The “Professional Speaker System”™
Guests welcome!

October 20
Chris Clarke-Epstein, CSP
“What Audiences Really Want from You!”
Guests welcome!

November 6
Jeanne Robertson, CSP, CPAE
"It Works For Me! How one humorist puts together a keynote."
Guests welcome!

December 13
Holiday Party
Hosted by Patricia Ball, CSP, CPAE

January 18
Joe Calloway, CSP, CPAE
By DVD and teleseminar: “Let It Go”

February 9
Francine Ward, JD
“5 Critical Legal Issues for Speakers”
Guests welcome!

March 15
David Arvin
“The Visibility Coach”
Guests welcome!

April 12
Sam Silverstein, CSP
“No more excuses!”

May 17
Marjorie Brody, CSP, CPAE, CMC, PCC
“Building Your Business!“
Guests welcome!

June 19
Mark LeBlanc
National President of NSA – “FUN-draiser!”
Guests welcome!

(This stunning line-up was organized by VP-Programming, Anne Obarski!)

There will be more details to follow, both here and on our website, www.nsastlouis.org. But for right now, that's all folks!

PL, P

32 ways to open the floodgates of writing

In Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, she insists upon a daily ritual called “Morning Pages.”

I’ve been doing them for about six months.

AND I PROMISE YOU: it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done for my writing career.

Ever.

Here’s how they work:

1. First thing in the morning (even before checking email!) open a blank document, either on paper or on your computer.

2. Spew out every single thought and/or idea that’s running through your mind. Dreams, worries, fears, annoyances, ideas, what you did the day before, everything. (Most of it will be negative. Don’t worry about that.)

3. Keep writing until you’ve filled up three pages. You simply show up and write, “This is how I feel.”

4. When you’re done, don’t even read it. Just save it in a folder called “Morning Pages.”

5. Then, get on with your day’s work.

That’s pretty much it.

That’s the best thing I’ve ever done for my writing career.

But don’t it from me. Take it from someone who’s not only written 20+ books and taught writing and creativity, but someone who’s been writing morning pages every day for decades.

Straight from Julia’s books, here are 32 reasons to do Morning Pages.

First, here’s what they ARE:

1. They are time outs.
2. They are portable solitude.
3. They are rituals of reflection.
4. They are a form of meditation.
5. They help you listen to yourself.
6. They are the first check-in of the day.
7. They are psychological holding environments.
8. They are gateways to inner and higher selves.
9. They are moments of free association and celebration.
10. They get the shanks out and bring forth the good stuff.

Second, here’s what they DO:

11. Morning pages lend you stability.
12. Morning pages provide intimacy.
13. Morning pages prioritize your day.
14. Morning pages keep you grounded.
15. Morning pages give you a place to ventilate.
16. Morning pages give you the privacy you crave.
17. Morning pages reveal weaknesses AND strengths.
18. Morning pages render us present to the moment.
19. Morning Pages are places to examine many aspects of an experience.
20. Morning pages are places to reframe our failures into lessons learned.
21. Morning pages introduce us to an unsuspected inner strength and agility.
22. Morning pages allow you to spit out what is troubling you NOW, just when you “should” be grateful.
23. Morning Pages are places to approach our next challenge from an emotionally neutral or positive stance.

Lastly, here’s why they’re so EFFECTIVE:

24. You awaken your intuition.
25. You need to release thoughts.
26. You must train your censor to stand aside.
27. You can find out what you like and don’t like.
28. You keep your spirit from being parched and dry.
29. You can shape your lives by your authentic desires.
30. Your problems are exposed and solutions are suggested.
31. You draw to your attention those areas of your life that need your focus.
32. You discover that a little trickle of writing keeps the flow from closing down completely.

Because a writer writes. Always.

Morning pages. Best thing ever.

Start today. Never stop.

Thanks, Julia!


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...this educational post brought to you by your friends at National Speakers Association.

Learn more about The Gateway Chapter here!

24 reasons why content is KING

(This post contributed by The Nametag Guy.)

"How does a speaker get 35,000 hits a day on her website?" I'm often asked.

Google Adwords?
Sponsored links?
Pay per click?
Search engine optimization?

Maybe.

Still, I think the BEST answer is one powerful word: content.

Because content is KING.

And it comes in many forms:

o Articles
o Blog posts
o Pictures
o Videos
o Testimonials
o Profiles
o Lists
o Downloadable ebooks
o PowerPoint slides
o PDF’s and other documents
o Evaluations, tests and assessments
o Podcasts, either video or audio
o Message boards
o Comments and notes left by page visitors
o Any other form of value-added substance that a visitor to the web page would benefit from.

Content is king.

And here’s why:

1. It leads to sales.
2. It gives value first.
3. It helps sell product.
4. It forces you to write.
5. It shows thought leadership.
6. It shows you doing what you do
7. It boosts search engine rankings.
8. It gives social proof of your value.
9. It gets the media to come to YOU.
10. It support and enhances expertise.
11. It adds depth and value to your website.
12. It contributes to your company’s positive reputation.
13. It offers multiple forms of media to convey your message.
14. It keeps your website current, which creates return traffic.
15. It creates a web PRESENCE, since just having a web SITE is no longer enough.
16. It gives away free information; and the more you give away for free, the wealthier you will be.

Content is king.

And if you haven’t already been convinced, here are a few more reasons:

1. Content drives action.
2. Content replaces selling.
3. Content replaces agents.
4. Content replaces pitching.
5. Content drives transactions.
6. Content replaces advertising.
7. Content replaces cold calling.
8. Content pulls instead of pushes.

Content is king.

So, now that you’ve realized the power of content, remember a few final tips:

1. Make content interactive. Can people comment on your stuff?
2. Encourage viral marketing. Can people (easily) share your content with their friends?
3. Link content directly into the sales cycle. At the end of your articles, do you have a call to action? Something that brings the reader over to your site?
4. Make content the focus of your site. When someone arrives at your site, is there a login that grants her full access to your online library?
5. Make your content answer your customers’ problems. Are you asking your target market what topics they want content about?

Content is king.

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...this educational post brought to you by your friends at National Speakers Association.

Learn more about The Gateway Chapter here!

Watch NSA STL's Scott Ginsberg on 20/20!

Hope everyone tuned in last Friday to 20/20's "The Lucky Ones"!
NSA STL's own Scott Ginsberg was a featured guest.

Here's the transcript, fresh ABC's website:















The Lucky Ones: Is It Serendipity or Smarts?
Good Luck and Hard Work Often Go Hand in Hand

'Hello, My Name Is Scott'

Speaker and author Scott Ginsberg, 27, has no problem finding people to talk to. "I've probably had encounters with over 100,000 people," Ginsberg said.

His popularity is fueled by an accessory that may make most people uncomfortable: He always wears a name tag.

"What is with the name tag? Well, I get that probably three to five times a day. And it's been approximately 2,237 days that I've been wearing this 24/7," he said.

Ginsberg feels the name tag represents friendliness in a world filled with strangers. In fact, he started his marketing business, "Hello My Name Is Scott," when he was just 22. He now makes more than six figures a year from book sales and speaking engagements.

Ginsberg says his success is a result of his approachability and he can trace the first time it worked for him back to one key day years ago. He had a conversation with a stranger on a bus and gave him his card. "About a week later, I get a phone call from the editor of the Portland Tribune, who wants to do an article about my upcoming book. This article went out to every major news wire in the country. … Everything in my entire life since then is because that guy on the bus. His girlfriend was that reporter for the newspaper."

Ginsberg, like most lucky people, doesn't listen to naysayers. His belief in his positive attitude is so strong that he even got his name tag tattooed on his body. He said it's "100 percent real. And you know what? This is as real as my commitment. And I think that is what can actually increase someone's luck." According to Ginsberg, he is the luckiest person he knows.

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...this post brought to you by your friends at National Speakers Association.

Learn more about The Gateway Chapter here!

See you at the St. Louis Storytelling Conference!

Speakers know full well the impact that a story has on listeners.

What better place than a national gathering of storytellers to learn from the masters how to craft, deliver and apply a story in business, education, or health care?

Performance storytelling will also be expertly demonstrated in one of several storytelling concerts.

It's open to the public and family friendly.

The confluence of tellers from across the USA will occur in St. Louis, Missouri July 12-15, 2007 at the annual National Storytelling Network's National Storytelling Conference.

For further information go to Storynet and click on the Gateway Arch!

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...this educational post brought to you by your friends at National Speakers Association.

Learn more about The Gateway Chapter here!

23 truths every professional speaker needs to know

1. Speakers deal with meeting planners, experts deal with CEO’s. Which one are you?

2. Audience members want to hear FROM success, not ABOUT it.

3. The more you focus your speeches, the more the buyers say, “That’s for me!” and then the more you can charge.

4. If all you’re doing is speaking then you don’t have a business.

5. If you don't want to make this a career, don't bother.

6. It’s not what you talk about, but what can you bring that nobody else can.

7. ASK YOURSELF: What industry do you want to dominate?

8. Refuse to go away. Persistence is attractive. But don’t be annoying. Or desperate. It’s tough to sell with your tongue hanging out.

9. Why would you re-do or re-create your marketing materials if nobody asks for them?

10. Too polished of a speaker = unapproachable and not real.

11. Speaking at a tradeshow = credibility.

12. Is everything you know written down somewhere?

13. It doesn’t matter what you write. Just write. It's amazing how many speakers don’t write every day.

14. You need to build a following.

15. Eliminate the “one” source of income.

16. You are selling your insights.

17. If you’re the only one who does what you do, there IS no competition.

18. If you want to dominate you need to do your own stuff.

19. Tradeshow speaking = broad based intro to industry & keeps you current.

20. THEY ARE not buying your book, they’re buying your voice.

21. We are in the name accumulation business.

22. SERIOUSLY ASK YOURSELF: Why are you speaking?

23. “You participate in your online image but you don’t control it.” CEO, Monster.com. He also said, “The internet is forever.” Careful what you post.

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...this educational post brought to you by your friends at National Speakers Association.

Learn more about The Gateway Chapter here!

17 things we learned from Eileen McDargh

Eileen McDargh led a fantastic discussion at our NSA St. Louis Chapter Meeting today. Here are a few highlights:

1. Never do anything without a reason with an audience

2. The only word that should follow NO is NEXT

3. As a speaker, remember that you’re taking away the single most valuable assent of your audience members: their time. You can take someone’s money. But you can’t take their time. You take their time; you take their life.

4. Where’s the breath? (stopping, taking a pause, off button, pause to think)

5. If you “know too much,” how do you reduce it down to the core?

6. To succeed in this business, it costs A LOT of money

7. Don’t be seduced by the success of others. It will destroy you.

8. How soon are you engaging your audience?

9. There is no single way to make it in this business.

10. You CAN be several “things,” as long as you market them differently

11. You have to earn the audience's trust as soon as possible.

12. Jackets give women shoulders, taller, more space – b/c women need to own space because there's not as much immediate trust like men

13. Speakers aren’t just booked for content and speech, but as a partner in event and “making the event awesome” and co-producing

14. Be careful not to fall in love with your own titles

15. What is today’s creative opportunity?

16. What are you selling your audience?

17. Clarify your topic/message before you get cute with the title


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...from your friends at National Speakers Association

Learn more about The Gateway Chapter here!