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Every night when the speeches and awards end, the bar closes and the majority of NSA Members are tucked up in bed dreaming of miles of aisles, there's only one place left to party, network, grab a drink or three and enjoy a stogie: the private suite where the Cigar PEG meets. The idea of a Cigar PEG (a PEG in NSA-speak is a "Professional Expert Group") originated in 1998 by chairperson and chief party animal Ed Rigsbee. This year the Cigar PEG hosted a fantastic party aboard the USS Midway as well as their open-bar suite in Room 477 at the hotel. Ed and his Cigar PEG colleagues offer people an opportunity to unwind after a busy day at the convention. The $75 membership fee and the monies raised by the various auctions go toward charity. For a complete background on the Cigar PEG, including photo galleries of members enjoying life, visit their website. If you plan to attend the 2008 convention in New York City and want to avoid paying $7 for well drinks at the hotel bar, consider joining the Cigar PEG. Do t

Each year the National Speakers Association honors five of its members with the coveted CPAE Award (Council of Peers Award for Excellence). There are only 120 living members who have the CPAE designation. The highlight of the formal dinner on the last night of the conference was the CPAE Awards. I tracked down one of these distinguished speakers after the banquet to find out how it feels to win an Award like this. Susie Vanderlip is a Youth and Family Issues expert from Orange County, California. She created quite a stir when she came onstage to accept her Award in character as a gang member from her schools talk. She transformed before our eyes into the foxy lady she is in real life, resplendent in evening gown and jewelry. Quite a transformation. Susie's latest book 52 Ways to Protect Your Teen presents the realities with which teens across all socio-economic groups are confronted. She addresses drug and alcohol abuse, rape, violence, depression and self-mutilation issues. She wrote the book based on

My 14-year-old son, Neil, accompanied me to NSA and attended the Youth Leadership Conference. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my colleague from Sun Microsystems, Mark Ivey, who first persuaded me join NSA and told me how much his kids had enjoyed the Youth Leadership event. I sat down with the Chair of the event Sunjay Nath to hear the story of the Youth Leadership Conference. Next year in New York the leader will be Rory Vaden. If you have a child aged between 10 and 16 you owe it to them to check out what Sunjay says by clicking on the podcast icon below. Neil is already booking his ticket to Times Square.

After hearing from Ian Percy I decided to ask around to see what conference attendees thought of the 'disruptions' he had set out to achieve. Were they able to deal with issues they don't agree with? Jenny de St. Georges is a fellow member of the NSA Northern California chapter. She's a long-term member of NSA and has attended many past conferences. She found the majority of first-time conference attendees have been disappointed by Ian Percy's Agenda. Her extensive network of contacts with International attendees were frankly confused by the event. She makes an impassioned plea for 'Speakers speaking to speakers' in future events. To hear Jenny, click on the podcast icon below.

In the final hours of the 2007 NSA Conference I sought out the person responsible for the Agenda - Ian Percy, CSP, CPAE. This conference has been seen by more than a few as a radical departure from past NSA Conferences. Heated discussions took place in the hallways over everything from the agnostic tone of Randy Gage's speech on Prosperity Consciousness to the tone of the five minute "Om" chant, and, as was humorously observed, the glazed-over tones of the NSA Youth singing in praise of Afghanistan's largest cash-crop, the tall Poppy. So I asked Ian: What have people been saying to you about this year's conference? To hear what he says, you know what you need to do. That's right - click on the podcast icon below.

The value of large conferences like this year's NSA Convention in San Diego is as much in chance conversations over lunch as in listening to presentations from the podium. "It's not what you know, it's who you meet in the hallways." I was delighted meet Rebecca Staton-Reinstein over lunch on Thursday. Working as a speechwriter at Hewlett-Packard, I hear stuff all the time about the vision and strategy of large organizations. Technology companies, by their very nature, tend to look to the future and speak in terms of innovation, R&D and the new, new thing. So I was surprised to hear Rebecca explain company strategy in historical terms. Imagine, an American with sense enough to try and understand the present in terms of the past! Her current project involves interviewing CEO's about their strategic vision and how this is translated into reality. Her research was stimulated by her understanding of the strategic vision of the 18th Century framers of the US Constitution. She talks to captains of industry about t

Immediately after talking with Fripp, I had a brief conversation with Las Vegas resident, NSA member, inspirational speaker and author Judi Moreo. Her most recent book You Are More Than Enough: Every Woman's Guide To Purpose, Passion & Power is in it's second edition within two months. In this powerful book, Judi shares ideas and techniques which clarified her path and made easier her journey to becoming the person she knew she could be. To hear Judi talk about the process she used to write the book as well as her views on the conference, click on the podcast icon below.

One of the joys of a Conference like the NSA meeting is the serendipity of chance encounters. I lucked out after lunch when I met Patricia Fripp, doyenne and past-President of the National Speakers Association. She invited me to sit up front at the same table with the past-NSA presidents. We heard a keynote by Ross Schafer which made a huge impact on the audience. Fripp is one of the best speech coaches in the country. Her website has a great collection of free articles sure to be of interest to every business or professional speaker. Hear Fripp's unique take on the Conference by clicking on the podcast icon below.

I was introduced to Holly Stiel by Barry Wishner of the NSA Northern California Chapter. Holly is known as the World's Greatest Concierge. She offers superior customer service training that works for a wide variety of clients, from major hotel chains to Nordstrom, Hewlett-Packard and numerous state and local tourist boards. She is probably the only conference attendee who owns a forest in Gualala. She can be reached via her website. To listen to the interview click on the podcast icon below.

Continuing the series of happenstance podcasts from the National Speakers Association 2007 Conference in San Diego, I sat down with Helice "Sparky" Bridges who told me about her amazing blue ribbon campaign 'Who I Am Makes a Difference'. This campaign involves an incredible 26 million school children around the globe. Helice is the winner of the 2005 Gandhi Nonviolence Award and the author of the book by that title which is filled with heartwarming true stories that reflect the need for acknowledgement, love and gratitude by children everywhere. Something as simple as the blue ribbon acknowledgement process has saved more lives than we'll most likely ever know. Being pinned with a blue ribbon often is the most encouraging experience some kids will ever encounter. In this interview Helice discusses her vision for the Blue Ribbon campaign and some of the ways that leaders in churches, schools, businesses and neighborhood organizations can get involved. More details are on the blueribbons website and Helice c

In the first of a series of podcasts with attendees at the 2007 NSA Convention in San Diego, I sat next to Rebecca Dunbar at Tuesday's lunch. Rebecca is the author of the book Mariah Jennings: The Battle. In this interview she talks about the book, which is subtitled 'Too holy for the corporation; not holy enough for the church'. She describes how she came to write the book as a result of combining her job in corporate America and her experiences as a Christian. The book teaches timely lessons for modern corporate ethics. Rebecca is a first-time NSA Convention attendee and talks about her experience of the conference to date. To listen, click on the podcast icon below.

Betsy is a 25-year veteran of broadcast news, spending most of her career in electronic journalism with the CBS Radio network as a reporter and news-anchor. In 1997 Betsy took a turn for the greener and launched one minute segments on KCBS called EcoTalk. The environmental feature grew from one minute to one hour and local to national in 2004 when the program was picked up by the Air America Radio network. In fall of 2006, Betsy's program became the first green show to go to a daily, prime-time format, breaking new ground and signaling the start of what she terms, the "eco-evolution". Betsy is passionate about spreading the Green gospel through mainstream media outlets and on the speaking circuit. In this interview, Betsy shares her impressions of the National Speakers Association Pro-Track program and discusses some of the choices we can all make to help the environment. There are valuable links as well as archives of Betsy's past radio shows on her website http://www.ecotalk.net. To listen, click on the

Nan Amish spoke this weekend at the NSA Northern California Pro-Track seminar on Marketing for Speakers, Trainers and Consultants. As a professional speaker, she takes a systematic approach to bringing her products and services to her customers, focusing on the market segments most likely to benefit from her services, which are both willing and able to pay for them. In this brief extract from a full day seminar, Nan discusses various aspects of self-promotion for speakers, including the need for collateral tools such as Web Sites and One Sheets, the role of Advertising and PR as well as Sales. She concludes by discussing the value of good old fashioned print media such as the humble postcard in reaching potential clients. To listen, click on the the podcast icon below.

Seth Godin, author of The Dip spoke in Santa Clara last night. He's a masterful public speaker as well as an awesome entrepreneur and thought leader. I can recommend dipping into his blog for his take on a range of ideas. This brief extract from his talk captures the flavor of The Dip: recognizing the power of being the best in the world at what you do and resisting the temptation to quit before you get to be the best. Click on the podcast to hear Seth speak.

Feleciai is a member of the National Speakers Association 2007 Pro-Track class. She recently launched The Power of Beauty - an image management company offering education, events and products. Her goal is to help women understand the power of their personal and professional image. She is dedicated to delivering message about The Power of Beauty in a fun and exciting way via workshops and seminars. When Feleciai is not helping women look and feel their best she is helping individuals reach their dream of home ownership in the San Francisco area as the as the owner a residential real estate brokerage company. Prior to entering the world of real estate and image management she was a hairstylist and brand manager for such companies as RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, Pepsi Cola and Brown Forman beverages. She spoke to me about her target market as an image consultant to women of color, her plans to develop her speaking business and how Pro-Track is helping. To listen, click on the podcast icon below.

Professional speakers and information brokers of all kinds can leverage their knowledge into tips booklets and related information products for marketing, motivating and making money. Paulette Ensign, the Tips Booklet Queen, is the world's leading expert on the writing, publishing and marketing of tips booklets. She has a full-service website, Tips Products International, filled with proven processes to help anyone create a booklet. Paulette has sold well over a million copies of her own tips booklet, 110 Ideas for Organizing your Business Life, in 4 languages and various formats, without spending a penny on advertising. Her website hosts over 300 booklets written by others on topics as diverse as 70 Tips To Welcome Your Newly Adopted Cat Into Your Life to 115 Essential Tips For Effective Presentations. I caught up with Paulette at a seminar she gave in Sacramento this week. Click on the podcast link below to hear her share how she got started in this business and what is involved in producing a tips bo

Anyone starting out in the speaking business faces the challenge of finding people willing to pay for their services. Carolyn Millet created a successful speaking business from scratch 12 years ago when she noticed some High School graduates who lacked social graces and decided to do something about it. Her Junior Manners Cotillion now serves the San Francisco Bay Area and helps young people acquire the social skills that will make their transition into adult society an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Click on the podcast link below to hear Carolyn's frank and humorous description about how she started out. Marvel at the commitment and determination with which she undertook the challenge of starting a successful speaking business.

Speaker Bureaus are an important way for Professional Speakers to market their services. Michael Soon Lee, CSP, spoke to the Pro-Track meeting last Saturday about the advantages and disadvantages of registering with a Speaker's Bureau. These Bureaus come in all sizes - from those that deal with the famous to those that will work with the speaker who is starting out. Michael used to manage a Speaker Bureau. Click on the podcast below to hear him share some of his insights and experience.

Associations across America spend millions on meetings and events. Dr. Bill Wittich, incoming NSA Northern California President, shared his expertise Saturday on how professional speakers can market themselves to Associations. Bill spoke on the panel of experts at the St Patrick's Day Pro-Track meeting. Click on the podcast link below to hear Bill tell us why Associations are such a lucrative market and his secrets for networking your way into a speaking engagement.

The National Speakers Association Northern California Newsletter goes out monthly to over 600 subscribers. Each month we profile one of the Pro-Track training group. This month I'm breaking new territory by including a podcast of an interview I recorded to supplement the written profile. Pro-Track Profile: Nannette Carroll Nannette Carroll approaches all management challenges as communication opportunities. For over 20 years, her upbeat management seminars have helped participants use their process skills to discover root causes for people problems. With this knowledge, managers can implement lasting solutions. Her background as Director of Management Development/ Training for a Fortune 100 gives her a uniquely helpful perspective on aligning process, project and people management. Nannette sets high standards for achievement while creating a fun, supportive, collaborative environment for participants in both workshops and speaking engagements. As well as being a member of the National Speakers Associati