Roosevelt University, 425 South Wabash Ave., Chicago, Illinois
September 22 & 29, October 13, 20, & 27, November 3
Each session contains essential information, ranging from improving platform skills to marketing and running your business. Participants will get the tools they need to succeed as professional speakers.
All sessions are held on Saturday mornings from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in Room WB 1015 at Roosevelt University, Wabash Building, 425 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago.
Session 1 – September 22: Orientation, Professional Awareness and Topic Development
We’ll have an overview of the course, highlight the importance of the speaking profession, and then help you 1) identify your area of expertise and 2) how to define and refine your topic for your target audience.
A former President NSA-IL and alum of Speaker Academy Conor's passion is to Improve People, Performance and Productivity - with a Smile and leave audiences with a smile on the face, a spring in the step, a beat in the heart (which is very important he is told) AND memorable, implementable concepts to take back to a more engaged workplace and workforce. "This is the third time I have been invited to co-Dean this fantastic program. Couldn't be happier to do it."
Topic Development Faculty: Jill Morgenthaler https://www.espeakers.com/s/nois/profile/23524
Jill Morgenthaler is a retired military colonel who was able to climb up the career ladder despite the fact that it was quite challenging for her to advance in the 1970s and 1980s when women were viewed as incapable of leadership and inferior to men. The military reflected the society of the time. However, this colonel has many words of wisdom for both female and male leaders. Jill has served as President of NSA, has previously been co-Dean of this great program and is also an alum of Speaker Academy.
Session 2 – September 29: Presenting and Performing: Platform Mechanics
Developing your skills as a speaker includes your commitment to the profession, the art of presentations skills, and the logistics of speaking from the stage. You’ll learn about everything from “owning the room” to managing the microphone.
She has over 2 decades of experience in business to business and healthcare capital equipment sales and has been recognized as a fortune 500 top sales performer and international sales trainer. She has trained hundreds of entrepreneurs, sales professionals, and teams on sales skills, public speaking, presentation skills, sales process, and negotiation skills. She has delivered inspirational keynote speeches to organizations including the Women's Business Development Center.
A master storyteller, Wayne shares the emotional and spellbinding details of his personal experience, igniting a number of thought-provoking moments for the audience. They take each step of that fateful evening through his triumphant recovery. The challenges that followed provided life lessons, which Wayne chronicles for his audiences and gifts them with what is required to earn the Championship C.A.P. and claim "The Spirit of a Champion."
Session 3 – October 13: Sales and Marketing: Professional Relationships
Success in the speaking business depends on your ability to sell and market your services. This class discusses successful strategies for positioning yourself to the people who hire speakers, the importance of the sales cycle, and the marketing techniques to get booked.
Bill Guertin (pronounced gur-TEEN) is a sales expert, sales trainer, professional speaker, and founder/CEO of The 800-Pound Gorilla, Inc., a sales training and consulting company based in suburban Chicago, IL. Bill has worked with the ticket sales departments of over 100 professional sports teams in nearly all the major leagues in North America, including teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, and several collegiate athletic departments. Through his sales training programs, teams improve dramatically by selling more seats, filling their stadiums more regularly, and generating record-breaking cash flow.
Session 4 – October 20: Authorship and Products
Giving a speech isn’t the only way professional speakers build their businesses. Learn how to expand your platform and profits through books, workbooks, CDs, webinars and other products/services.
Authorship and Products Faculty: Haydn Shaw, CSP
Session 5 – October 27: Managing Your Business
You can be great on the stage, but a lot of your success will depend on what happens behind the scenes. This session focuses on how to set up and maintain the business side of speaking, so you can move this from a hobby into a profit center.
Known as "the queen of customer service," Lori Miller helps companies increase employee morale and bottom line results while improving customer satisfaction. Leaders of some of the world's largest companies rely on Lori to provide solutions to some of the toughest customer service and sales issues. For over 20 years, clients have worked with Lori's company, Tooty Inc., to evaluate, train, monitor and mentor their customer service and sales teams. Lori's innate ability to assess employee skills and identify areas of improvement enables her to create custom scripts, training and strategies that change employee behavior, reduce turnover and boost customer satisfaction.
Session 6 – November 3: Putting it All Together-Best Practices / Graduation
Time to take a bow! You’ve gone through the 10-module workbook, heard from top-notch speakers, and now it’s time to give your own speech. Everyone gets a little stage time. Then we end the class by celebrating with the representatives of the NSA Illinois board and our very own chapter CSPs.
Cost
The investment in your future success is $795, which includes six 4-hour classes. NSA Illinois’ Speakers Academy and Speaker University alumni may attend for a $195 reviewer fee. Reviewers also must complete the application.
Please note: once accepted and registered for NSA Illinois’ Speakers Academy, your program tuition will not be refunded.
