Speaker Hall of Fame: The Thrill of a Lifetime!

Last week I received the greatest honor of my career: I was inducted into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame at my National Speakers Association Convention in Philadelphia.

You probably don't know what that is so here's a little explanation:
In February 1977, National Speakers Association (NSA) established the Council of Peers Award for Excellence Speaker Hall of Fame to honor professional speakers who have reached the top echelon of platform excellence.
To date, only 196 men and women have been inducted into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame, including Zig Ziglar, Ronald Reagan and Norman Vincent Peale.
Each candidate must excel in seven categories: material, style, experience, delivery, image, professionalism and communication. 
See why I'm so excited? It's the top honor in my industry and I am thrilled beyond words.
So now I am: Mikki Williams, CSP, CPAE!
Not to brag, but fewer than 1% of all professional speakers hold both of those designations.
Yay!!
Thank you, thank you to my fellow speakers for this awesome honor!

He Who Laughts... Lasts | Video

At  NSA this year there were eight of us who did a short comedy routine called Whose Cliché Is It Anyway? Very funny.

Here's the list of clichés we had to incorporate into our presentation:
Think outside the box

Check up from the neck up

We become what we think about

Awaken the giant within

You’ve got to be hungry

Build a bigger pie

Think and grow rich

We didn't have to use the phrase exactly, just the general wording.
Check it out:

Speaking Tips: Your Introduction

Speaking Tips straight from my Speaker's School

1.  Always email your introduction ahead of time to the meeting planner and ask for the name of the person who will be introducing you. Highlight the important parts or the humorous parts, then brief the introducer on how you would like it to be read. Explain they should not deviate from the written copy.

2.  A good introduction should tell the audience who you are and why you're qualified on the subject. It should create interest in what you're going to be speaking about. Include your honors but not your résumé.

3.  Bad introductions range from "This speaker needs no introduction," to "Here's _________," or (the worst) actually telling the audience that they're going to laugh and cry.

4.  Concluders:  Many speakers print a concluder on the back of the introduction sheet. This allows a speaker to exit the stage and go to the product table while the introducer is reminding the audience to fill out the evaluation forms, pass them in, meet the speaker at the back table, etc.

Looking for more speaking tips? Want to become a professional speaker? Attend my Speaker's School! I hold three sessions every year in September, February, and April. Visit my website now for more details.