Professional Speakers

Professional speakers are a breed apart. Like stand-up comedians (many of who count themselves as professional speakers), they take the stage with just a microphone and capture an audience. Professional speakers include experts on every topic under the sun.

Many professional speakers, who would never normally cross paths, are united by membership in The National Speakers Association (NSA). The NSA's latest convention was titled "Expertise, Eloquence and Enterprise to Thrive in the Speaking Profession." The Arizona gathering raised an interesting question: What professional speaker do you put in front of an audience of professional speakers?

One answer: Keith Harrell. Harrell was a top training instructor at IBM. He has over 13 years experience in the corporate world. He is known for high-energy presentations, focused on attitude adjustment. "Fix-it or kick-it" is what he preaches. Fixing it, he says, can come in three easy steps: Monitor what you hear (avoid negativism), monitor what you read (improve yourself), and monitor what you say (stay positive).

Professional Speakers Make Us See with New Eyes

Keith Harrell's approach looks simple enough on the page, and a jaded reader may disregard it. But professional speakers like Harrell can take a simple message and turn audiences into true believers. IBM, Mattel, AT&T, and McDonald's have had Harrell back to speak more than once. Like the best professional speakers, he researches companies before giving his presentation, shaping his talk to each company's needs. Speakers bureaus represent hundreds of gifted professional speakers. The Internet is an excellent source of information on Speakers Bureaus and the people they represent.