Early bird VIP bonus: 1-on-1 hour private implementation time with a mentor (NSA NYC past president of executive committee member); valued at +$500.
Early Bird Deadline: September 18, 2026
Registration Closes October 10, 2026
Start Date: October 15, 2026
OVERVIEW
NSA-NYC Speaker Academy is a 4-month program designed for emerging through established speakers who want to elevate their speaking careers and create a more strategic path to booked speaking engagements.
During this program, participants (you) will:
• Clarify your message and positioning statement
• Define your target audience
• Refine your speaker brand and positioning in the marketplace
• Develop your speaking topic (stress-test new material or enhance existing content)
• Uplevel your presentation and performance skills (platform mechanics, stagecraft)
• Gain strategy for sales, marketing, and uncovering speaking opportunities
• Build your speaker network
• Get professional photos and professionally recorded video in front of a live audience to enhance or begin your speaker reel
Guest lecturers and faculty will support participants by sharing feedback, practical tools, templates, techniques, and strategies that participants can immediately apply to their talks, marketing assets, offers, and outreach.
Hold yourself accountable to goals via check-ins with an accountability partner and cohort-mates. Receive ongoing support from the Speaker Academy Dean, a professional speaker and presentation coach as well as expert faculty to keep you on track to hit your goals.
PROGRAM LEADERSHIP
Melanie Fox | Dean, Speaker Coach (“Professor of Presentations”)
Payal Mehta | Director, Learner Experience & Curriculum
Carolann Valentino | Producer & Experience Director of Live Programs
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Articulate a clear, sellable one-sentence positioning statement that tells a planner or referrer exactly who your audience is and what problem you solve.
2. Craft and deliver a five-minute signature talk that integrates a story and demonstrates your speaking style and expertise.
3. Walk away with a professionally recorded video of that talk—framed from day one as a marketing asset you can use to pitch event planners, bureaus, and/or stages.
4. Build the buyer-ready infrastructure of a working speaker: a one-sheet, bio, introduction, talk description, and initial offer structure.
5. Create a practical outreach and follow-up plan for landing paid or referred bookings over the next 90 days.
CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
Step 1 — Get Clear
Goal: Know who you are as a speaker before you write anything.
• Define your audience and one-sentence positioning statement.
• Identify the problem you solve and confirm that it is sellable.
• Understand the facets of NSA-NYC and the resources it provides as part of the larger speaker ecosystem and network you will develop as your speaking business grows.
Step 2 — Get Speaking
Goal: Build, rehearse, and record the talk that becomes your primary marketing asset.
• Select and integrate a personal story using a clear storytelling framework.
• Strengthen stagecraft, presence, voice, and audience connection.
• Understand what makes a keynote work—and what makes it sellable.
• Polish, perform, and record the five-minute talk.
Step 3 — Get Booked
Goal: Turn the talk and speaker assets into credible paths to bookings.
• Build the speaker toolbox: one-sheet, bio, introduction, talk description, and offer structure.
• Create an outreach strategy using warm introductions, target lists, and consistent follow-up.
• Evaluate platforms, representation options, and audience-feedback tools.
• Market the speaker brand with a focused 90-day action plan.
