The Pulse of the Speaking Industry

GDA Industry Insights

Visiting Their Cells Emotional. Energy.

Let me begin by saying thank you to everyone who came to the WOSC event on Thursday night. It was another amazing stop on the “Give Back Tour.”

It’s been a busy few days. Physically, intellectually, emotionally. When the alarm clock went off on Friday morning, I was not sure I could handle another visit.

So for a moment I considered skipping out on the last stop in Oklahoma.

The stop was the Granite State Reformatory.

Then I was thought about how much Andre was giving back. I mean, if he could get up and go again, I could do it. I got ready.

This was serious stuff. A real prison. A real wall. Images of every prison movie you have ever seen came flashing into my mind. I was very nervous.

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GDA Industry Insights

Sex, Mentors and Thank You ... An unexpected sort of day.

When Andre first approached me about working together, I told him I would need a reference. He put me in contact with a Catholic Bishop in Boston. I remember the conversation well. He told me Andre had a gift to know his audience and how to present the message in a way they would understand.

More than 300 kids filled the Hollis High School Auditorium today. The students may have expected an inspirational story of how a prisoner gained his freedom, but instead, they got some advice they can all put to use.

At Andre’s request, the boys were on one half of the auditorium and the girls on the other.

First up on the agenda: self respect and why waiting to have sex has lots of pluses. I started to squirm. Maybe it is because my mom and dad were next to me.

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GDA Industry Insights

Powerful. The only word for today.

Powerful is the only word I can think of to adequately describe our first stop on the “Give Back Tour.”

The Southwest Oklahoma Detention Center is located in the middle of nowhere. I am from southwest Oklahoma, so I can say that.

You are driving along and all of the sudden you turn right on a dirt road and there it is … a building behind a large fence with big coils of barbed wire. No cell phones or cameras are allowed inside. We were to leave purses in the car. We were physically patted down and then received a quick briefing from the center director.

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GDA Industry Insights

The Give Back Tour Begins

Tomorrow I begin my “Give Back Tour” with Andre Norman.

Excited would be an understatement. The opportunity to make a difference in so many lives throughout my home state of Oklahoma and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex will probably keep me awake tonight.

You may be wondering what a “Give Back Tour” is … well, I just made up the name.

It all started this past December when Andre spoke at a fundraising event. Not only did he speak at the event, he also offered a future presentation for the auction.

As the bidding was getting underway, he challenged the bidders to work together to increase the overall contribution to the charity. He said that if we pulled together the bids, he would work for one week.

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GDA Industry Insights

Andre Norman and Giving Back

I really am passionate about the speaking industry and the potential it has to transform lives. There are so many important genres of speakers. While I enjoy and understand the importance various speakers and topics play in the marketplace, my personal favorite is inspiration.

I carefully chose the word inspiration over motivation. I am not sure motivation has a long-term impact on audiences. However, I do believe we can be forever changed by inspiration.

Over the years, one of my favorite ways to give back is to provide a speaker to the Tarrant County Juvenile Detention Center. The first time I did this, I sat in the back of the room and was brought to tears. I did not expect so many young children to be in the audience. I did not expect my heart to break for their pain. I was overjoyed that I had the opportunity to arrange for the speaker to be there. I remember the complete satisfaction of watching these hurt kids start to smile as they began to believe their lives could be different. That feeling is like no other. It is awesome to see a ballroom of corporate employees rise to a standing ovation for a speaker. But to see kids impacted is a completely different level of satisfaction.

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GDA Industry Insights

Energy and Synergy with Ankit Fadia

Last week Ankit Fadia visited our office. Being around Ankit is an energy rush. His accomplishments are incredible for a 25 year old. Yet, only a 25 year old would have the energy to do what he does!!

Ankit wrote his first book at 14. He began speaking at age 15 and today he runs a successful security consulting firm. He also runs training courses in India and China on computer security, is the host of his own show on MTV India called What the Hack, has a lucrative speaking career AND is a world traveler who takes the time to meet locals and truly experience the places he visits.

I met in Ankit in 2007 and began representing him. At the time , his speaking career focused on a presentation called “Hacked”. The presentation is usually two hours long and very interactive.

The idea of the presentation is to scare everyone through his use of audience volunteers showing the ease of breaking passwords and getting into email and credit card accounts. He also scrolls down a screen showing everyone’s mobile phone that has blue tooth enabled. Audiences gasp when they see their name and phone number scrolling on the screen. Most of us have no idea how vulnerable we are to technological break-ins.

This presentation is still a crowd favorite because it is very hands on, scary, exciting, educational, very much a performance, and fast paced...perfect for someone with a short attention span.

During the last 15 minutes...Ankit gives real solutions as take-home for audience members to implement.

Since 2007, many of our clients have booked Ankit. Most of them have wanted to bring him back a second time. To respond to this request, Ankit created a presentation called “The Digital Social.”

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