You Can’t Learn to Play Golf in a Seminar

If you are like me, you go to conferences and workshops to absorb the latest and greatest knowledge. However, after the convention is over, we can get caught up in the busyness of everyday life and the good ideas are tucked away in a desk drawer never to see the light of day. I vowed that after the National Speakers Association (NSA) Conference, I would use the valuable information presented by some of the best speakers in the industry.

The speakers in the NSA embody what Cavett Robert founded the organization on, “Don't worry about how we divide up the pie, there is enough for everybody. Let's just build a bigger pie!” Although these speakers typically command large fees, they do not get paid for their presentations nor can they sell their books, CD’s or consulting services in their session. Most of them present best practices to help other speakers.

For today’s gift, I emailed five professional speakers to thank them for sharing their expertise. I also committed to implement at least one idea that they gave to us.

Here are a few highlights of their sessions:

Bruce Turkel is a brand-marketing expert. He said to brand only one thing that really matters and frame everything else around it. A good brand makes people feel good. A great brand makes people feel good about themselves. Your brand is not about you. It’s about them.

Shep Hyken knows customer service. He taught us how to position ourselves as an expert at using social media marketing. He predicted that Google+ will one day be bigger than Facebook.

Bob Gray holds a Guinness Book of World Records recognition for his incredible memory techniques. He has memorized the entire world almanac and was able to answer audience questions about the population of obscure countries. We learned how to memorize a list of items that would queue us to know the names of the planets in the solar system.

Laurie Guest is a humorist who speaks about customer service in the health care industry. She talked about the importance of having a blueprint for our lives and businesses. From that, we can determine our “happy place” that will help us to find a satisfying job.

Scott Halford is pursuing his master’s degree in neurology. He told us that messy minds don’t accomplish anything. Our brain pays attention to what we tell it to. He says we don’t learn in a room. 

We gather information there and our brain learns in our sleep. Application of the learning leads to the new patterns and behaviors.

Just attending a learning session is not enough. We all must practice what we learn. After all you can’t learn to play golf in a seminar.

In Giving,

Robin