NSA Virginia

NSA Communicator

A Newsletter for NSA Virginia

November 2012

In This Issue
Presidents Remarks
NSA VA Academy Mentor Program
NSA VA Notables
Tools of the Trade
Article Headline
the Library Nook
New Member Spotlight
Save the Date: Upcoming Events
2013 NSA Virginia Board
Quick Links
 

 

Newsletter Coordinator:

We appreciate any comments, article submissions and other ideas.
Quick Links

 This Month in NSA Virginia: 

"The Story Finder : How to Create New Stories in 10 Minutes or Less!"

Speaker: Ed Tate, CS 

 

'You are either Remarkable or Invisible.' - Seth Godin, author of the book: Purple Cow
 

Most presentations are invisible, boring and forgettable. They lack original material. If it's not the PowerPoint Parade (one forgettable slide after another), it's the Data Dump (one mind-numbing statistic after another). The only statistic people care about during this type of presentation is when will it end!
In this exciting workshop, You will:
  * Discover how to be remarkable with your own material
  * Hear and diagnose Ed's award winning remarkable stories
  * Practice Ed's 4 Elements of Effective Story Telling
  * Create new material immediately, using a story creation framework
  * Learn 10 different ways to creatively open and close any presentation
  * Have lots of Fun in this interactive accelerated learning program
 

Attendees will leave knowing how to-

  1. Create your own original stories
  2. Break your routine of how to open and close a presentation
  3. Connect with any audience any time
  4. Reexam your existing material and re-energize it.

 

REGISTER TODAY!

 

See Ed Tate in Action:

Pay Attention
Pay Attention

 

Ed Tate is the 2000 winner of the World Championship of Speaking.

 

Become a Sponsor of this workshop!  Email [email protected] to learn more

Presidents Remarks:

 Pam Rambo, Ed.D

NSA VA President 2012-13

 

NSA Virginia is off to a great start this year.  Since August, we have gained valuable tools from monthly workshops designed to monetize our talents and take our speaking skills to the next level.
  * In August,  Steve Lishansky showed us how to take our ideas to reality.
  *  September brought us Chris Clarke Epstein who taught us how to beat the competition  by communicating return on investment to our potential clients.
  * October gave us three programs for the price of one when experts Jerry Teplitz CSP, Hope Mihalap CPAE and Harold Wood demonstrated best practices in speaking performance that translate into business success. 

 

In addition to great programs, this fall has seen the start of our first PEG or professional enrichment group.  The Entertainment PEG began meeting in September right after the morning workshop.  They meet for an informal lunch.  NSA Virginia members register for the PEG luncheons by clicking on the PEG meeting option when registering for the monthly workshop.  The purpose of the Entertainment PEG is to provide NSA Virginia members with a post-workshop discussion of speeches, books and other projects in progress, to exchange ideas for solving challenges and to celebrate success. 

 

There is much to look forward to this year. I can't wait to learn Ed Tate's storytelling formula in November.  NSA Virginia is possible because of the work of board members on a wide variety of projects and services.
  * This year we have a great wallet card with all of our meetings and programs on it as a ready reference for us as well as a great information piece to share with people you know who might enjoy NSA Virginia.  That card was the  work of Joan Bowling who is doing an amazing job as our membership chair.
  * We are embarking on the development of a strategic plan for our future thanks to the design and data collection efforts of John Lewis.
  * Jim Gordon has initiated a website project that will enhance our member search function through a project with eSpeakers.
  * Liz Garrett has developed our new sponsorship program which has given our members and Vendors a chance to showcase their services and is helping our bottom line so that we can keep workshop costs low and speaker quality high.
  * Cathy Lewis, Lori Hobson and Barb Upchurch have been working to encourage people in their geographical areas to try NSA Virginia and to reach out to organizations with similar interests who may want to attend.
  * Dave Miles has worked on publicity to help us increase our efforts to promote our talented members and to promote our events.  Due to his efforts, we are working on cooperative efforts with Toastmasters District 66.
  * Jayme Miles is helping us to continue to expand our newsletter to include more member news.
  * Kittygayle McMoon is conducting an audit of our NSA CD library to improve our ability to circulate our large collection of learning materials for speakers.
  * Nancy Giere and Gloria Thomas are working with the assistance of Harold Wood on a curriculum and operational review process for our academy program to develop a template for our academy of the future using NSA national materials.
  * Winston Bersch is providing support to students in the new Academy Mentor

Program as are Jim Gordon, Cathy Lewis and Jerry Teplitz. 

  * Shirley T Burke is monitoring our finances, paying our bills and otherwise keeping our financial house in order. We could not make it without her.

 

In addition to NSA board members, our members contribute to meeting preparation and success.  In particular, past presidents like Tom Davidson, Sandy Dumont, Cathy Lewis, Dorothy Erlanger, Gloria Thomas and Harold Wood actively work to advise the board and take on projects to keep the organization responsive to what is happening in our field.

NSA Virginia Offers Academy Mentor Program in 2012-13

By Pam Rambo, NSA VA President

 

A central part of the mission of NSA Virginia is to provide education and training to members.  Beyond the monthly workshops, members can take advantage of additional training after monthly meetings offered by the chapter in a coordinated program designed to help them find their message, clarify their brand and learn advanced presentation skills. 

Prior to this year, NSA Va offered the ProTrack program which involved a four hour class after each monthly workshop. Pro Track participants also had mentors.  This year's program, called the Academy Mentor Program, has a shorter afternoon class with an enhanced mentor program. 

 

This year, the Academy Mentor Program has enrolled five candidates:
  * Sheryl Buckner
  * Maureen Archer
  * Bill Van Hoy
  * Bill Holland
  * Erin Mahone 

 

Academy Mentor Program candidates participate in a two hour program after each meeting.  Instructors include NSA Virginia veterans including Harold Wood, Gloria Thomas and Cathy Lewis.  In addition to the after workshop instructional meetings, each student has a mentor.  Mentors this year include Jim Gordon, Jerry Teplitz, Cathy Lewis, Hope Mihalap and Pam Rambo. Mentors meet with candidates monthly to review their progress and offer support. 

 

Tuition for this year's program is $847, which can be paid in installments.  During the 10 months that candidates are enrolled, their monthly workshop fees are reduced to $25 per meeting.  The afternoon training program includes lunch which often includes a few minutes of face time with the morning workshop presenter. 

 

At the conclusion of the program in June, candidates get to show off their skills in a program for members that will include a critique and suggestions to students from NSA national president Ron Culberson

NSA Virginia Notables

HIGHLIGHTING OUR MEMBERS

By Pam Rambo, NSA VA President

 

Jim Gordon Head shot Successful Life Publishing announces the birth of the newest NSA author, Captain Jim Gordon. Songbook from my Soul, Notes of the Sea contains fifty poems, all designed around a theme of love and caring. Please consider this remarkable book in light of one of its testimonials:

 

"The rhythm of relationships and life are captured poetically as your imagination dances with the metaphors of sea, boats, and nature. Jim has cleverly hidden heart and soul in each verse's simplicity. You'll relish reading the poems and recalling memories." Smokie Sizemore, CPCC

 

Jim has sheltered these dreamy thoughtscapes in private since the sixties.

What we find so fascinating is the word placement on each page. Every word is uniquely placed to build a rhythm without rhyme. Some give a hint of being very old and perhaps translated. In Jim's words, he was spiritually guided to each poem's wording and layout effortlessly - even waking up suddenly and rushing to capture his muse's words onto paper. How rare to find a poet who takes no credit for his originality.

 

As a spiritually based speaker and results trainer, Jim's first book showplaces his gift, a rare insight into our deepest wishes. The reader can feel the hidden strength and strong commitment Jim brings to each one of his readers. At first glance, poetry might seem an unusual direction for a new author. However, this collection knows the goal ... to show each of us the joy and mysteries of life. What a fabulous gift for a loving partner or friend!

 

Successful Life Publishing has revealed another Gordon book in the works. Book Two is a humorous collection of life stories around the author's home on the Chesapeake Bay, titled Who Let the Crabs Out - Navigating the Waters of Life. If YOU are out there, reading this and a book weighs heavily on your creative side, let Successful Life Publishing bring that book into the Light. Dust off your notes and sketches and our editor will turn out your book. We are a 2011 start-up firm, specializing in self-publishing with some great artists and layout experts contracted to us.

 

Call Captain Jim at (804)399-4444 for a reference.

Tools of the Trade

By Dave Miles, NSA VA Publicity Chair

  

This month I would like to talk about a tool that I am using more and more often and I think will be a benefit to most speakers - especially trainers. We are all familiar with the term 'Death by PowerPoint' but when you are trying to get your message across on a screen visually, what choice do we have? What can we do to liven-up our visual presentations? Most of us use PowerPoint on a fairly regular basis, or we have used it before but about a year or so ago I began using Prezi (www.Prezi.com).

 

"The Good"

Prezi is an online tool for creating presentations that is very functional and much more creative than PowerPoint. Prezi is a non-linear based way to use visually present your topic while having the ability to integrate PDF's, videos, audio features, and images seamlessly. Here is a link to a quick introduction to how Prezi works: http://youtu.be/ZUNvQVCw4eg but in general, it helps your audience see the big picture much easier than PowerPoint slides in the past. You can use it online to create, edit, and present your material as long as you have an internet connection, or you can download Prezi Desktop and sync your Prezis to your laptop so you can present them without an active internet connection (which is just one more thing that can go wrong in a hotel meeting room).

 

There are four reasons that I have found to take a good look at using Prezi for your presentations:

  • It's more similar to how you think (thought processes are traditionally not a purely linear process)
  • You can rotate and zoom in and out (highlighting the details vs. the big picture)
  • It's visually appealing (It's new, different, and NOT the default. The standard font is quite elegant from the start. Also the ability to integrate video, pictures, images, & PDF's is great).
  • It's good for search engine optimization (SEO). (When putting Prezi's on your business website, for some reason Google seems to like Prezis which is one great and rather unadvertised feature for the program)  [adapted from kcclaveria.com under a creative commons license].

"The Bad"

Yes, all silver clouds have some sort of dark lining just waiting to strike when you are least expecting and this wonderful silver presentation cloud is no exception. The bad part about Prezi is that there is a learning curve. Although there are many good online tutorials on Prezi's site and on YouTube, if you are like me you want to jump right in and figure it out. ...that's not the best idea. Use the learning resources available to make your learning curve much less steep and get you up and going faster.

 

"Bottom Line"

Look at lots of the examples that they show on the Prezi site, see the categories such as teaching, sales, training that others have used it for. Bottom line is that Prezi can really increase the effectiveness of your presentations and be a tool that can help you engage your audience. It's good for you, your audience, and your SEO and more importantly - hopefully Prezi's good for your bottom line.

 

We Our NSA Workshop Sponsors!

By Liz Garrett, NSA VA Sponsor Chair

 
Workshop sponsors help keep our workshops affordable.  They increase the energy and involvment at the event.  They introduce us to new resources and opportunities.
 
Would you like to be a Workshop Sponsor to launch a new brand or service, or to let your colleagues know more about you?  Would you like to share this precious opportunity with one of your service providers, to give them a chance to impress our members?  Please do!  There are only a few sponsorshop opportunities remaining, so please email [email protected] immediately.

Workshop Sponsor benefits include:
*Two (noncompeting) per event
*exclusive right to put promotional materials and giveaways on guest tables in addition to speaker and NSA materials
*logo or company name projected on screen at meeting
*logo or company name published on email invitation and reminders, as well as event page of website
*sponsor receives 1 registration to workshop and display table at the event
*sponsor representative to be recognized at meeting (with introduction they provide)
*Can provide short article in newsletter (2 to 3 paragraphs)
Indicate your preference for Meeting Dates and Cities and we will try to accommodate (first come, first served).
16-Nov-12, Norfolk, Getting Better Faster Using Speaking Secrets of the Champions, Ed Tate, CSP
14-Dec-12, Williamsburg, Holiday Party
18-Jan-13, Richmond, Speaking of Books, Blogs and Business, Monica Wofford, CSP One Spot Available 
15-Feb-13, Williamsburg, Putting Polish and Pizzazz in Your Next Presentation, Patrick Donadio, CSP
15-Mar-13, Norfolk, So You Think You Can Speak NSA VA Competition, (Members Only!)
19-Apr-13, Richmond, Speak Softly and Carry a Big Schitck, Mikki Williams, CSP 17-May-13, Williamsburg, Grow Your Business with the Growth Expert, Ed Robinson, CSP
21-Jun-13, Norfolk, Do it Well, Make it Fun and Laugh All the Way to the Bank, Ron Culberson, CSP and NSA President One Spot Available
The Library Nook  

By Kittygale McMoon, NSA VA Libarian

 Compact Disks

MISSING IN ACTION!!!!  MIA!!    MIA!!!!    MIA!!!
Thank you to the wonderful rescuer who brought back one of our missing CDs last month, "Life Balance-Are You Kidding?  Come and Learn Guilt Free, Creative Ways to BLEND Your Work And Your Life" by Barbara Glanz.  The "poor little thing" has been cuddling up to family and friends since she returned, telling a "harrowing" story about her rescue and deliverance!
 

She was lost and has now been found!!!  We, here in the library, all celebrated her safe return!
 

Life is difficult for these CDs who bravely go out to service NSA-VA members, help them in their speaking careers and then are not returned to their familiar place in their home binders with other CDs they know.
 

They get lonely and frightened of ever finding their way back to do their jobs helping our members grow. Some of the missing are:
"Your Million-Dollar Voice: Why the Voice You Were Born With Isn't the Voice You're Stuck With" by Ruth Sherman;
"Seventeen Ways toGet a Bazillion Bookings" by Mike Rayburn;
"What's So Funny? How NYC'S Best Stand-Up Comedians Get Their Material" by Matt Bellace, Phd.
 

There are seventy-five (75) of these NSA CDs out there somewhere feeling abandoned, unloved, unwanted..... and no one seems to know where they are.......
It's Fall Cleaning Time still and we have our next meeting on a beautiful Autumn day in Norfolk this month!  If you have EVER borrowed even one CD, PLEASE search, find and bring our wayward NSA CDs to the meeting!
 

If you are not going to be at the meeting and you find any, please call your Librarian, Kittygayle McMoon, at 804-334-1228 and pick up will be arranged! (Anonymously if desired!)  Please look in all your "nooks and crannies" once again and help us put our wonderful library back together! 

 

Thanks!

Upcoming Events in Member Businesses 

 

Sandy

Sandy Dumont, The Image Architect, is holding her famous Stiletto Camp in Richmond on Nov. 24.  She has one space available is offering the event at a 50% discount to an NSA Va member. To register, contact Sandy at her email address:

[email protected].

CLICK HERE to view complete details.

New Member Spotlight on Rosemary Rawlins 

By Joan Bowling, NSA VA Membership Chair

 

In an instant, everything can change. New NSA/Virginia member Rosemary Rawlins knows that all too well. On a fateful day in 2002, Rosemary's husband Hugh was hit by a car while cycling and suffered with a traumatic brain injury.   Journaling was Rosemary's way of coping with the long days of treatments, surgeries, therapy and fear of what had happened to their family and what the future might hold for them.

 

Fortunately, Rosemary's husband Hugh navigated successfully through the long road of recovery. And with it, Rosemary's completed journals to help her cope with the newness and the numbness of Hugh's accident became her first book, "Learning by Accident". Based on the success of this book, Rosemary enjoys a thriving speaking business. She speaks at medical conferences, TBI conferences, rehabilitation hospitals, churches, book groups and caregiving forums. Rosemary knows the impact of excellent compassionate patient care. And through her talks she wants caregivers to know the impact they make and the care that they need, too. Caregivers are suffering right alongside the patients.

 

Rosemary joined NSA Virginia because she loves watching great speakers and wants to improve upon her craft in delivering he messages to audiences. NSA/Virginia will provide her with the opportunity to network within the Virginia speakers' community and into the national speaking community as well as a result of our programs and the national programs.

 

When she's not speaking, Rosemary joins the whole family at the beach. They enjoy all water sports and she's learning how to paddleboard. And there is another book in the works for her as well about wounded warriors.

 

Please join me in welcoming our new NSA/Virginia member.

 November Increase Your Business Idea

 

For over a decade, NSA member Ed Rigsbee has been teaching professional speakers how to go after associations through the back door via editors. This month he is sharing his formula for getting association bookings with NSA Chapters.  In addition to holding the CSP title with NSA, he is also a Certified Association Executive, and offers the following formula: "Write great articles based on your expertise, call association editors and give them your content, use the editor to access the meeting planner."

SAVE THE DATE: 
  • 14-Dec-12,  5:00pm Holiday Party, Governor's Land, Williamsburg. Hosted in the Home NSA Virginia Pam Rambo. this is sure to be the social event of the season. (Members and their Guests)- This event will include a silent auction to raise money for the NSA VA Chapter. If you have an item You would like to donate, please contact Barb Upchurch @ [email protected]
  • 18-Jan-13, Richmond, Speaking of Books, Blogs and Business, Monica Wofford, CSPOne Spot Available

       Please note: As we strive to have the highest caliber of speakers, with that comes last-minute changes at times. Therefore, speakers and topics are subject to change. Watch your email for details on these meetings. Registrations for these workshops will be open soon! 

 

View Photos From Past NSA Virginia Workshops 

2012 - 2013 Officers and Executive Board
 

LEADERSHIP TEAM

President- Pam Rambo
President-Elect- Jim Gordon
Immediate Past President- Coleen Kenny

Vice President- Ron Chapman
Secretary- Nancy Giere

Treasurer- Shirley T. Burke

Member at Large- Gloria Thomas

Member at Large for Planning- John Lewis

 

LOGISTICS TEAMS

 Chapter Growth:

Membership Chair- Joan Bowling
Hampton Roads Liaison- Cathy Lewis

Richmond Liaison- Barb Upchurch

Peninsula Liaison- Lori Hobson

Sponsorship- Liz Garrett
Publicity- Dave Miles

   Member Education:

ProTrack- Winston Bersch
Newsletter- Jayme Miles

Librarian- Kittygayle McMoon

 

CLICK HERE to VIEW their profiles and see contact information on the NSA Virginia Website.