I committed to Do One Thing I Have Never Done Before (“DOTIHNDB” for short) every month in 2013. This month I attended a meeting of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Speakers Association. Most meetings I attend regularly are  Chamber of Commerce-like or professional association. I really did not know what to expect. I wondered what kind of people would want to be professional speakers. I also wondered if they were the clique-ish sort.

My fears evaporated quickly as I entered the hotel meeting room. As you can imagine, those in attendance were outgoing and curious – it was a real pleasure meeting a group of people who were friendly, helpful and engaging. All had an interesting story to tell and had a quick and often self-deprecating  wit.

The guest speaker, Mark Leblanc http://www.smallbusinesssuccess.com/, was absolutely terrific. He is quite a master of the art, I so admire someone who uses pauses and eye contact to keep the audience engaged and to emphasize his point. Mark’s primary business to help small businesses grow and he had some great thoughts:

  • “Live engagement is the best way to market and sell.” (I totally agree)
  • “Think like an artist, act like a businessman.”
  • “If you make one telephone call, send out one card and send out one e-mail to a current client or prospect every day for one year, at the end of the year you will have more business that you can handle”.

Great experience. The National Speaker’s Association is going to be part of my regular monthly schedule.