My #freewrite:

I visited a monthly meeting of the National Speakers Association. The members met to discuss trends in their speaking profession and to talk about how to improve themselves. The meeting reminded me of a Toastmaster's meeting. Expect these people rocked the stage.

A typical Toastmaster's meeting features a group of semi-pros who address the crowd and then receive feedback on their presentations. Like smile more, or use your arms more, or talk to a specific person in the crowd.

The NSA features authors, teachers, humorists, and motivational people who make speaking their profession. So these are the pros.

During the meeting, a few stood up to show off, or present their latest talk. They all were impressive and really showed why they were the tops.

Las Vegas has a lot of people who use the city as their home base and then go out and talk to corporate events, trainings, or other opportunities.

I was very impressed by an accountant who had spent the last 25 years working with one accounting firm to help it improve customer service and outreach. He actually spent more time helping the company with its processes. Goes to show a professional speaker can find a way to make a living without it seeming like he was working.