February 2005 

With the Summit in mind, let me tell you about the upcoming, and first, Global Speakers Summit, to be held from March 31 to April 2 at the Grand Copthorne Hotel, Singapore.

Some background:  As you very well know by now, there are national speakers associations in a number of countries around the world. under the umbrella of the IFFPS. Every year, each country holds their own annual convention (in addition to whatever other seminars, workshops and events they put on). By the way, as an NSASA member, you have access to ALL of these events at member's rates.

This year, for the very first time, there is a Global Speakers Summit, to be held in Singapore. A bunch of South Africans are already booked to attend. also, we'll be well represented on the platform! Michael Jackson has been invited to run a breakout session, and Paul du Toit is doing a showcase. I'm lucky to be one of 10 or so speakers from around the world to deliver a keynote. We - NSASA - will also be inaugurated to the IFFPS at this event. Go to http://www.iffps.org

But there is more. again, some background: Back to the national events of the different member countries. particularly NSA in the USA. Every year at this event, there is a one-day "Peak of the Convention" event, open to selected invited speakers only. This is a meeting of some of the most successful speakers from around the world to have an opportunity to pick brains and share thinking on issues of concern to this peer group, in an informal setting. Normally, only twenty or so people meet, behind closed doors. They talk about tax strategies, corporate structures, exit plans, staffing, revenue stream mixes, bureau's & agents, technology from every angle, networks/alliances/partnerships, and fee structuring models, among other things. I've attended a few.

This "Peak" meeting started out as a small, casual gathering of speakers at roughly similar points in their careers - all at the initiative of Warren Evans. The basic invitation criteria for the "Peak" is normally limited to those who have made themselves millionaires from this business, are netting a quarter million dollars a year or better from speaking, or are in the obvious position to do the above if they choose to do so.

Here is what W. Mitchell, arguably one of the world's very finest speakers, said after attending his first "Peak": "I could have left after this meeting and my whole trip to the NSA convention would have been worth it!"

This time, and this time only, at the Singapore event, we are opening the doors for this session to a wider group. In the case of NSASA, all of our attending members will be invited.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity NOT to be missed - rubbing shoulders with, and sharing ideas with some of the top speakers in the world could have a profound impact on your career.

The event, which will be held on March 30^th, the day before the Global Speakers Summit will not be advertised anywhere except to invited attendees (of which you, as a member of NSASA, are now one). Click here to register for this event http://www.asiaspeakers.org/summit (This link is NOT accessible from the Global Summit website; click it now to get to this page)

The only cost of the "Peak of the Global Summit" day is a $97.50 USD donation to Laura's Hope (a global medical research initiative) - click here for more http://www.LaurasHope.com. 

In closing: by now you can see that we are serious about the NSASA. and that we are bringing you immense value. But we need members. If you have not yet joined - please do mailto:enquire@nsasouthafrica.co.za. And if you are a member, please help us recruit new members. Corny as this may sound: We exist for our members. but cannot exist without them.

Take care of yourself

Stef du Plessis

President NSASA

mailto:president@nsasouthafrica.co.za

United States       https://www.nsaspeaker.org   

Europe (UK)         http://www.professionalspeakers.org
Australia              http://www.nationalspeakers.asn.au
New Zealand        http://www.nationalspeakers.org.nzl
Canada               http://www.canadianspeakers.org

4. Recent past local events and feedback

15 January. Our first event of the year was at Image Excellence House in Blairgowrie, kindly made available to us by Gail Cameron. NSASA President Stef du Plessis gave an insight into how successful international speakers plan their year ahead, often more than 18 months in advance, and gave an abundance of tips on how to plan and organise our businesses going forward.

"I just wanted to mail you and say a very sincere thanks for the workshop on Saturday. I got an enormous amount out of it as far as business strategy and lifestyle planning. I am really looking forwards to implementing some of these ideas in my business" - Conrad Koch

"Despite the plea from Stef that he is not a good at standing up and delivering a workshop of this nature, he does a great job in his own style that makes it more meaningful and appreciated. As someone starting out in the business of keynote speaking I really appreciated receiving information such as contacts and event planning, something that I am able to use as a guideline for starting out.The interaction with the rest of the members at events like this is also great" - Iain Johnson

9 February - Grace Hotel, Rosebank. Paul Bridle, President of IFFPS and past President of the PSA spoke to us about the global industry, gave us insights into some of the larger events happening worldwide and interspersed some leadership and speaking tips. We started the evening with a 7 minute World Today interview conducted with our own Deputy President, Paul du Toit on SABC 3 the week before. We had members driving up from Durban for this event.

"I learned a huge amount from this evening, and my head was just buzzing with ideas afterwards. I look forward to getting speakers such as Paul Bridle to visit us in Durban soon." - Allan Kleynhans

5. Upcoming events

* This edition we're supplying all the details in print - from the next issue we will publish just the date, speaker and workshop/talk name with a hyperlink to the website for details*

5 March and 19 March - Professor Ron Arden

Ron Arden, featured in Time magazine, is widely regarded as one of the leading communication consultants in the world. He uses highly personalised, intense, hands-on training methods. He gets immediate and sustainable results through specific, straight-to-the-point evaluation and remedy. Participants consistently praise the merit of his workshops and the exceptional value of his ideas and techniques. Professor Arden has an extensive private practice in San Diego and conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and South Africa. His clients include corporations, city, state and federal agencies, politicians, attorneys, executives, sales staff, radio and television personalities and many of the top professional speakers in the world. He is the only speech coach ever to have been invited to deliver a main platform presentation at the NSA (USA). The following are extracts from some unsolicited letters from clients: