You can be the best meetings chair in your organization. You can also become the most popular presenter in your group. These are learnable skills and are not just reserved for those with magnetic personalities. You can do it. I can show you how.

Come with me and let’s discover how much better you can be. Click here for the details and the full table of contents in this training system.

Happy Audience = Happy Speaker

Recommendations For Jim Cathcart received in 2011

Jim Cathcart on campus at USC

Here is the link to explore the details and to contact NSA/GLAC for materials and recordings from the event.

http://www.nsaglac.org/meetings/meeting_1-14-2012.php

USC-NSA_GLAC Distinguished Speakers Symposium

In addition to the presentations both Cathcart and Salsbury allowed NSA to auction off some personal coaching

NSA/GLAC Presents: Distinguished Speakers Symposium Hosted by The University of Southern California January 14, 2012  During this dynamic, content rich event, you will learn how to:  Become a successful, more engaging presenter  Build instant rapport with every audience member  Capture and hold every audience’s attention  Discover proven techniques for handling distractions  Observe the styles and techniques of some of the best in the business Secure more paid speaking engagements   Reserve your seat NOW!    THE ART OF CONNECTION Making a Difference from the Platform Presented by Glenna Salsbury, CSP, CPAE  Are you sharing The Authentic You™ in all your richness with your audiences? Your ability to discover and communicate your unique message is the essence of powerful platform presence. Glenna will identify specific ways for you to enhance your effectiveness (and your joy!) in your calling as a speaker. This may well be the pivotal message of your entire career. Don’t miss it! We will together consider several “avenues of access” which will help you identify your own authenticity. These will include: Finding your own voice Unearthing your own stories Creating an atmosphere of intimacy Learning the art of rhythm Daring to let the real you shine through Glenna Salsbury provides keynotes and seminars nationally and internationally. Glenna graduated from Northwestern University and holds a Masters Degree from UCLA and a Masters from Fuller Seminary. An active member of the National Speakers Association, Glenna has received the highest awards given in the realm of professional speaking.  In her personal life Glenna was married to the late Jim Salsbury, a former Detroit Lion and Green Bay Packer. She resides in Scottsdale, Arizona. (866) 416-7252info@nsaglac.orgwww.nsaglac.org USC Campus Popovich Hall, room 112  Parking $8.00  Click here for Parking Map Meeting at a Glance 8:00 AM – Registration 9:00 AM – Welcome 9:10 AM – Member Spotlight 9:30 AM – Glenna Salsbury Presents 12:30 PM – Lunch 1:15 PM  – Meet the Pro 1:30 PM – Jim Cathcart Presents 3:00 PM – Conclusion   Registration Includes BREAKFAST and LUNCH Member/Apprentice: $49 Platinum Member: $39 USC Professor: $49 Non-Member: $69 USC Student: $49 At the door: Member/Apprentice: $69 Platinum Member: $69 USC Professor: $69 Non-Member: $89 USC Student: $69 GET REGISTERED TODAY! PROFESSIONAL STORYTELLING TECHNIQUES Presented by Jim Cathcart, CSP, CPAEEven business speakers and educators can increase their impact through the intelligent use of stories. Learn how the top professional speakers use storytelling to imprint their messages on their audiences. Discover how to find your own stories See how to bring stories alive Recognize what amateur speakers do that kills their chances of success Hear examples of stories that have stood the test of time Understand the concept of a “Signature Story” to craft your own Jim Cathcart is an active motivational speaker, radio host and prolific author plus anexecutive coach to numerous high-achievers. In his personal time he plays Rock n Roll guitar in night clubs, rides his motorcycle on the twistiest roads he can find and runs the trails of the mountains near his home at least twice each week. He’s a proud parent and grandparent and an active civic leader. He serves as an advisor to the Schools of Business at both Pepperdine University and California Lutheran University.   January 14, 2012 USC Campus Popovich Hall, room 112

This video will show you what the Speaker Hall of Fame Award, the “Council of Peers Award for Excellence” or CPAE is all about. In 1985 I was one of five people so honored. The photo below was taken only a few years ago as I was introducing one of the latest inductees.

Click on the photo to access the YouTube video that shows and describes this special award and the many people who have received it over the years. Of the 4,000+ who have been members of NSA at its peak enrollment only around 200 people have received this designation. There are currently 130 living CPAEs listed on NSA’s website.

The National Speakers Association, the professional voice for those who do this for a living, has just completed a new book that will be announced publicly in June of 2011. I had the honor of writing the Introduction for this book.

If you’ve ever been interested in learning how to become a paid professional speaker, this is THE book for you. It is built around all 8 professional competencies needed to thrive in speaking professionally.

Covering every aspect of launching, building, and maintaining a successful speaking career, Paid to Speak is a must-read for professional speakers–whether keynote speaker, motivator, coach, trainer, facilitator, or consultant–as well as those aspiring to a speaking career.

Divided into four sections, the content corresponds with the four core competencies that the National Speakers Association (NSA) has identified for success as a professional speaker:

• Eloquence: platform mechanics, presenting, and preparing
• Enterprise: business management, sales, and marketing
• Expertise: topic development, authorship, and product development
• Ethics: professional awareness and professional development

Thirty-four working NSA members who have built thriving speaking businesses weigh in with valuable insights and proven strategies on a gamut of topics, making Paid to Speak essential to any speaker’s list of reference materials.

Here is the link to the full Table of Contents of Paid To Speak.

LEARN HOW TO

• Create compelling presentations using stories of humor
• Hone your presentation and facilitation skills
• Convey a professional image through dress and body language
• Market and sell yourself effectively
• Develop an authentic and innovative brand
• Partner with speakers bureaus
• Spice up your writing and sell book proposals
• Establish yourself as an expert in your niche
• Leverage the virtual world
• Adhere to an ethical code of behavior
• And much, much more!

Read Paid to Speak from cover to cover, or open it to any chapter, for tried-and-true, hands-on information on taking your speaking career–and your bank account–to the next level.

Call me once you’ve read this book and let’s explore your opportunities in speaking.

In the February 2011 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine Ruth Parry wrote an article called “Making A Connection: Ten tips for engaging an audience.” It is an excellent article, especially if you are a musical performer…and…

It is ALSO an excellent article if you are a public speaker or any kind of presenter/entertainer. Ruth has isolated ten excellent steps for connecting with any group. Here they are. (Go to her article for the full treatment.)

Acoustic Guitar: Make a Connection

1. Look people in the eye and smile.

2. Tell a story.

3. Be a good observer.

4. Include special announcements and thank yous.

5. Get people singing or clapping. (involve them)

6. Satisfy children’s curiosity. (or shy observers’)

7. Ask for input.

8. Throw a change-up.

9. Make ‘em laugh.

10. Play with passion.

Contact me if you need some coaching or insight into speaking with confidence. 800-222-4883  info@cathcart.com

“Profiling”

What do you think of when you hear that word? Racial discrimination or intelligent decision making?

The media has demonized this concept over the past decade or so. They’ve made it popular to believe that one should never use profiling as part of decision making. I say, that is a foolish point of view. Absurd in fact.

Profiling; the act of identifying the patterns of difference that separate individuals into general groupings, is a vital life skill. I said “vital”, meaning that we cannot get through life without it. It is as natural and useful as thought itself.

When you look at a forest, it is in your best interest to distinguish between deer and bears, squirrels and rats, rabbits and weasels. That’s the only way you’ll know the appropriate reaction to each: threat or not. The same process takes place as you walk through a crowd in a public place. You identify the people who look threatening and those who don’t. And you should do this. It is in your best interest to do so.

Security personnel at political events have to use profiling to speed their identification of threats. If they looked at the bulk of the crowd in the same way they looked at the scary looking people then much time would be wasted and threats might be identified only after it was too late to deter them. The same applies to you and me.

Everyday intelligence demands that we develop the habit of identifying patterns, “profiles” if you will. The more we recognize patterns in behavior, in appearance, in language use, and in movement, then the more we will know about who to move toward and who to avoid. Our schools teach us to recognize patterns in all parts of life, mathematics/grammar/physics, so that we can predict where the threats and opportunities will be.

So, let’s get over this hyper-sensitivity to the concept of Profiling. It is the only efficient way to use our time, attention and resources wisely in any situation. Now, having said that, I also want to acknowledge that just because you look like you’re carrying a gun or angry at the world doesn’t mean that it’s so. So, even though I might identify you as a “likely” threat it doesn’t justify my treating you as an actual threat, convicted before found guilty. But it totally justifies me in paying closer attention to you until I’m sure that you’re not a threat.

The essence of intelligence is making distinctions, noticing more. So let’s encourage our security personnel, our law enforcement officers, our military and even each other to use our Profiling skills to the optimum, while remembering that appearances aren’t realities. They are simply indicators of likely realities.

Every person in America is innocent until proven guilty under the law and that is how it should remain. So, if you belong to a minority that has a track record of violence or crime, then I sympathize with your dilemma, but I’m still going to be more cautious around you than I am around others. It is a reality of life that how we look and what we do sends messages to others as to what we are probably like. Our choices tell others what to expect from us.

And now I have a personal request. Last week I traveled from Barcelona to Los Angeles. In doing so I went through several security check points. One of them involved a full body pat-down, the intimate and intrusive new procedure that is getting so many people outraged. Well, count me among them. If I had behaved in a threatening way, shown any evidence of belligerence or threat then I’d say, check me out thoroughly. But since I was randomly selected without the use of intelligent Profiling, then give me the treatment that is justified based upon my appearance, credentials and behavior. As a multi-million-mile frequent traveler on multiple airlines with plenty of credentials to identify myself, I think that less groping is needed to eliminate me as a threat. Let’s change the policies that our TSA officers have to follow. Let them single out the likely threats and treat the rest of us with a bit more dignity and respect. It will save them time and keep us safe.

Notice more.