I have yet to find anyone who will argue with the value of relationships or teamwork.  But as the traditional, often hierarchal command and control management models give way to more decentralized approaches, a new focus on socially networked and emotionally intelligent leadership is quickly emerging.  Many leaders are finding themselves as members of a number of teams including those that are virtual, autonomous, cross-functional and sometimes even focused on pre-mortem; hence the need for a much more relationship-centric approach.

As the need to build highly liquid, dynamic, effective teams increases, the available bandwidth to build and nurture these teams diminishes. Rapidly changing market dynamics coupled with limited resources, demand re-engineering, streamlining, and an increased demand for service, all makes most leaders feel certain that they must continue to do more with less.

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Top National Experts Share Dynamic Public Speaking Techniques And Their Secrets for Success

The Georgia Chapter of the National Speakers Association (NSA Georgia) will host its annual NSA Georgia’s Speakers’ Academy, a public speaking workshop, on Saturday, May 10, from 8 am to 7 pm at the Georgia Tech Klaus Building, Midtown, Atlanta. For more information and to register, please visit www.NSAGeorgia.org or call 770-445-4797.

NSA Georgia’s Speakers’ Academy is an all-day event packed with powerful, practical advice on how to launch and grow your speaking career and polish your presentation skills. Registration and networking are from 8 to 9 am. Keynote speeches, breakout sessions by 15 national speakers and presenters, and lunch follow. The breakout sessions are divided into two tracks: Track One is a public speaking course for launching great communication skills and Track Two is for thriving as a professional speaker or presenter. A reception and partner expo from 5 to 7 pm conclude the event. The investment in this unique opportunity starts at $200.

Presenters include:

• Pat Hazell, former writer for Seinfeld on Bankable Humor
• Rick Frishman on the best practices of publishing
• Monica Wofford on Content Development
• Don Cooper on the “Tao” of Sales
• Tim Gard, CSP, CPAE on developing your Comic Vision
• A panel of Meeting Industry executives on key trends and what they expect from internal and external presentations
• Dr. Gene Griessman as President Lincoln on developing a character
• Ken Futch, Dan Thurmon, and Jeff Justice on Lessons Learned as Certified Speaking Professionals (CSPs) – moderated by Jean Houston-Shore
• Christina Parker of New Beginnings and Waldo Waldman of Your Wingman on Getting Off to a Great Start as a Professional Speaker
• Mitch Davis of Yearbook of Experts on Search Engine Optimization
• Jim Mathis on the Five Resources to Get Started as a Professional Speaker

Top national experts will show participants how to:

• Avoid the typical costly mistakes in most presentations
• Develop rich, marketable content as a professional speaker
• Promote yourself and your content, both within and outside of your organization
• Attract and retain ideal clients
• Brighten up your talks with bankable humor
• Master the art of storytelling

NSA Georgia is the Georgia Chapter of the National Speakers Association (NSA), the leading professional association for speakers. NSA provides resources and education designed to advance the skills, integrity and value of its members and the speaking profession. NSA Georgia holds monthly chapter meetings, offers content-rich workshops and provides a dynamic environment for speakers to meet and learn from each other. Visit www.NSAGeorgia.org

From a recent postcard by National Speakers Association friend Scott Friedman, CSP – Motivational Humorist:

1. In health food shop window: “Closed Due To Illness.”
2. In a London department store: “Bargain Basement Upstairs.”
3. Spotted in a safari park: “Elephants Please Stay In Your Car.”
4. Sign in a London building: “Toilet Out of Order.  Please Use Floor Below.”
5. In a Laundromat: “Please Remove All Your Clothes When The Light Goes Out.”
6. Notice in a farmer’s field: “The Farmer Allows Walkers To Cross The Field For Free, But The Bull Charges.”
7. Outside a second-hand shop: “We Exchange Anything.  Why Not Bring Your Wife Along and Get a Wonderful Bargain?”
8. Seen during a parenting conference: “For Anyone Who Has Children and Doesn’t Know It, There Is a Day Care On The 1st Floor.”
9. On a repair shop door: “We Can Repair Anything. (Please Knock Hard – The Door Bell Doesn’t Work)”
10. In an office: “Would The Person Who Took The Step Ladder Yesterday Please Bring It Back Or Further Steps Will Be Taken.”

Is your sales compensation plan working? How do you know? Can you drive better performance by improving the plan? How can you adapt to more effectively support your strategic goals with the least amount of disruption to your business?

Often, the sales compensation program is the weakest link between an organization’s strategic goals and its sales results. Poorly designed and grossly overlooked, the compensation plan can dramatically move the organization in the wrong direction. This translates into missed critical objectives with a high recovery cost. Conversely, if designed and implemented well, the sales compensation plan can motivate exceptional sales professionals and drive exponential performance of the company’s goals and objectives.

So, what are some of the fundamental issues in sales effectiveness and compensation?

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