President's Report

It was my first out-of-state gig.  I was presenting before a group of about 250 business leaders in Sparta, Wisconsin.  I had done this message many times before but was still quite nervous as this was my first real “stage” outside of Minnesota. 

At about 15 minutes in, I shared this line: “I could not quit, because I have a wife and four kids,” or, rather, that is what I was supposed to say.  Instead, I said, “I could not quit, because I have four wives and a kid.”  This got a huge roar, especially since my intro included that I was from Utah and had served a two-year mission to Siberia for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  While I was super embarrassed, I definitely stood out that day from all the other speakers. 

As we begin this new year, I think it is wise to question, “How do I stand out?”  Certainly, I don’t go around sharing that I have four wives and a kid because…well, I don’t.  However, since I am in the bucket of leadership, I have to constantly figure out ways that I can be in this bucket and yet stand out from others.  Sometimes it is as simple as having the audience stand, find a partner they don’t know, and go through my DUMB question exercise…something different than the sit and get keynotes.  At other times, it’s that I’ve built an entire training program that can take what I share in a speaking message and expand it over a period of 8 months.  For you, it may be that you’re super easy to work with, or that you have a framework, have written a book, can solve an important problem, do magic, or are local.  There are lots of ways to stand out and it’s important that you know what they are for you.  Once you’ve done that, it becomes much easier to sell yourself.

So, I challenge you, how do you stand out?  If you don’t know, ask someone from our NSA Minnesota chapter to sit down and have a brainstorming session with you.  This is a great way to #speakersservingspeakers and it would probably be beneficial for the other person too!

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NSA MN Chapter Meeting

Buckle up as January is busy for NSA Minnesota events.  We start with a deep dive on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and how it can be your thinking partner as a content creator.  The CSP CPAE Terry Brock will be walking us through this on Thursday, January 9th from 4 to 6 pm.  Register here for this Zoom meeting. 

Next, we have our very own CSP CPAE Mark LeBlanc who is going to share with us the art of speech delivery, using Diana Kander’s 2024 Influence keynote.  Diana’s message can be watched via the NSA national vault (must be a member of NSA national), but the wisdom of Mark and his years of experience won’t be there.  You’ll have to join us on Saturday, January 18th from 9 to 12 pm for that. 

Finally, we’ll close out this month with our regular chapter meeting, featuring past NSA St. Louis president Joe Fingerhut.  He’s going to walk us through how to have a show business mindset as we create a thriving speaking career.  Learn from him how to maximize marketing without doing cold calls and how you can write an exceptional speech.  This is on January 24th at our regular location, Brookview Golf Course.  Register here.

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Last Story Standing

It’s time to put your storytelling skills into action.  Registration opens on January 8th for NSA Minnesota’s Last Story Standing storytelling competition.  This is a 5 minute (no more, but can be less) story (not a Ted talk) that has a purpose, is delivered well, and makes an impact.  Round 1 consists of a video recording of you telling your story.  This video submission will be due on Thursday, February 20th.  From there, our local judges will analyze your story based on the criteria set by NSA national (see more details on the national website here).  The top 3 storytellers will then tell their story in front of all of us at our March 15th chapter meeting.  I can’t wait to see the talent and hear the stories!  For the complete information about NSA Minnesota’s event, click here.    

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Let's Get Social!

Did you know?  NSA Minnesota has a Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube page?  Well, we do and we’d love for you to be our biggest fans.  Use the links below to subscribe and follow as we spread the word of this amazing organization. 

NSA MN YouTube

NSA MN LinkedIn

NSA MN Facebook

Once you’ve connected, actively engage with us - Like, Comment and Share the content to your own social media. Encourage others to follow us and attend our events. Tag us on your own posts.  Together we can all build a better business and become a better speaker. 

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Celebrations

Congrats to Jimmy Zugschwert on publishing his latest book in December.  Sales Perspective is a book about shifting your mindset, igniting your sales potential and standing out from the crowd.  Probably something we all need.  Check it out here. 

If you know of someone who should be celebrated, or if you’ve done something worth celebrating, please send me a short description [email protected]. 

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Your 2024-2025 Leadership Team

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