Key Takeaways from our September Chapter Event

“YOU CAN EITHER BE A PERFORMER OR A CRITIC. YOU CANNOT BE BOTH.”

Welcoming 20 new members to NSA NYC, Sylvie di Giusto, CSP, NSA NYC President 

When you speak do you consider yourself a “performer”?
Do you think of your presentations as “performances”?
Maybe it’s time look at yourself and your presentations in a whole new light.

If you didn’t think you needed to attend the September NSANYC Chapter meeting you are sadly mistaken. You did.

Welcome message by sponsor and host Dan Toronto, Wealth Manager at UBS 

“Say yes to every room you enter.” – Jeanne M. Stafford, meeting host 

From the opening remarks provided by Master of Ceremonies Jeanne M. Stafford through updates on Speaker University by Dean Robyn Hatcher and NSA National initiatives from Rochelle Rice CSP, we were reminded just how lucky we are to have amongst our membership some of the best and most professional performance artists that exist.  And these performances were just the warm-up acts!

Launching this year’s Speaker University program, Robyn Hatcher, Dean of Speaker University 

“Transform, educate, engage and elevate.” – Rochelle Rice, CSP, National Board Member 

Enter Andrew Tarvin whose performance on “Thinking Inside the Box while Coloring Outside the Box” was nothing short of a masterpiece.  Andrew showed us that with careful preparation, intense practice and adherence to strict scripting you could put on a performance worthy of a one-man show on Broadway.

“Think inside the box and color outside of it.” – Andrew Tarvin, Member Insights 

Then, from stage right, entered the dynamic duo of speaking coaches Amy and Michael Port, the owner/founders of Heroic Public Speaking. We were treated to two-plus hours of Speaker Performance direction that quite simply mesmerized us. Their combination of instruction, coaching and common sense tips opened all of our eyes and minds to the concept of speaking as a performer. Virtually everyone in attendance left the meeting with a new found understanding of how they should view their craft from development through execution.

Takeaways from Amy Port, the seven steps for rehearsing:

  1. Table read: Read our talk out loud while sitting down to experience saying the words and notice if some words don’t flow.
  2. Content mapping (beats, operative words): Break down the architecture of your language to add pauses and emphasize powerful words.
  3. Blocking and staging: Determine your physical actions. They should all be intentional.
  4. Improve and re-write: Do it for real and record it to capture your brilliant phrases.
  5. Invited rehearsal: Invite a specific person who can follow instructions to watch for specific things you want feedback on.
  6. Open rehearsal: You don’t want your first time doing the talk to be the gig.
  7. Dress and tech: You don’t want a clothing or tech mishap.

“Silence is the best part of your presentation.” – Michael Port 

Special thanks to John DeMato for capturing so many great moments of our first chapter event.
Learn more about John DeMato: 
 johndemato.com   John DeMato  @DeMatoPhoto