NSA Carolinas upcoming events

Second Saturday Meetups (please check specific time for your Regional Meetup) (May 09, 2026)

Sat, 09 May 2026 13:00:00 GMT

NSA Carolinas is committed to serving and building the Professional Speaker Community throughout North Carolina & South Carolina. In that spirit, we host ‘2nd Saturday’ Regional Meetups to foster connection, community, and collaboration.

These Meetups are regionally located, wherever a volunteer member Champion commits to hosting. A remote option (via Zoom) is also available.

GREATER RALEIGH (in-person): 9:00am - 10:00 am @ The Frontier, Blue Ridge Room, 800 Park Office Drive, Durham, NC 27709. (See "Address Note" below.) Area Champion: Alex Dumas (alex@speakeralexdumas.com) and Dr. Holly Sullenger (drhollyspeaks@gmail.com)
GREATER CHARLOTTE (in-person): 10:30am - 11:30am @ Charlotte Mecklenburg Library - SouthPark Regional Branch, 7015 Carnegie Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28211, Area Champion: Allie Pleiter (alliepleiter@gmail.com)
PIEDMONT/TRIAD (in-person) 10:00am - 11:00am @ New Market Plaza, 970 South Main Street, Kernersville, NC 27284 Area Champion: Sherman Transou (srtransou2@gmail.com), Carolyn Bennett-Sullivan (carolyn@carolynbsullivan.com)
REMOTE (virtually): @ 9:00am via Zoom (Zoom link will be included in the registration confirmation and reminder emails). Area Champion: John Edwards john@edwardsgroup.org)

NSA Carolinas is here to help you knock it out of the ballpark, and hit a home run in your Professional Speaker business. See you at our next 2nd Saturday!

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Address Note: Our GREATER RALEIGH event will be held at 800 Park Office Drive, Durham, NC 27703 — inside the Research Triangle Park campus. Some GPS systems mistakenly route to other “Park Office Drive” addresses in the area, so please double-check that your directions lead you to RTP near the Frontier campus.

For best results, try entering: ➡️ “800 Park Office Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27703” or use this direct Google Maps link.

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Want an in-person 2nd Saturday location closer to you? Get in touch with us about being a champion so you can help host and pick the location!

May 2026 Speaker Development Series: Book More Business: Growing Your Business in a Challenging Market (May 20, 2026)

Wed, 20 May 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Join us every third Wednesday for the NSA Carolinas Speaker Development Series, designed to help you build a thriving, ethical speaking business.

May 2026 Speaker Development Series: Book More Business: Growing Your Business in a Challenging Market

Date & Time: May 20, 2026 | 12:00–1:00 PM ET

The speaking industry is shifting. Budgets are tighter. Decisions take longer. Competition is louder than ever. The speakers who are still getting booked aren’t chasing more leads, they’re clearer, better positioned, and easier to buy. In this fast-paced virtual program, you’ll learn how today’s buyers choose speakers and what you need to do to stand out, communicate value, and confidently sell your work. This session focuses on the three drivers of bookings: strong positioning, a compelling speech, and clarity in the sales conversation. If you want more engagements on the calendar and a stronger, more sustainable speaking business, this program will show you exactly where to focus.

Key Takeaways

Learn how today’s buyers evaluate and select speakers in a competitive market
Strengthen your positioning to clearly differentiate your speaking business
Refine your message and signature speech to increase clarity and impact
Improve how you communicate value in sales conversations with confidence
Focus on the three drivers of bookings to build a more consistent pipeline

About the Speaker

Lois Creamer of Book More Business works with speakers and consultants who want to book more business, increase their income, and better monetize their message. With over 20 years in the speaking industry, she has presented for NSA, PSA, and organizations around the world. In 2021, she was named an Honorary Fellow of PSA England and Ireland.

She is the author of Book More Business: Make MORE Money Speaking and co-author of The Speaker Author: Sell More Books and Book More Speeches. Known for her practical, no-fluff approach to growing a speaking business, Lois brings deep industry insight paired with real-world strategies that speakers can apply immediately.

Save the Date - 2026 NSA Carolinas Awards Banquet and Program (June 12, 2026)

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 04:00:00 GMT

SAVE THE DATE!

2026 NSA Carolinas Awards Banquet and Program
Friday, June 12 – Saturday, June 13

Join us for one of NSA Carolinas’ most anticipated annual gatherings — a special two-part event bringing our community together for celebration, recognition, learning, and connection.

The weekend will follow our traditional format: Awards Banquet Friday evening and a full day of programming and networking on Saturday.

Location, agenda, and registration details will be announced soon, so be sure to save the date now and plan to join us for this annual NSA Carolinas tradition. Watch out for further announcements on the complete details.

** Important Note **

Please note that this Save the Date is NOT the final event registration. Full registration details, including pricing, schedule, and location information, will be released soon.

We look forward to celebrating with you!

2026 NSA Carolinas Annual Banquet (June 12, 2026)

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:00:00 GMT

2026 NSA Carolinas Annual Banquet

June 12–13, 2026 · Raleigh, NC

Join us for our biggest event of the year — a weekend celebrating our chapter's success, investing in your craft, and connecting with the speaking community you call home.

Friday, June 12 — Awards Gala & Dinner

Raleigh (Venue TBA - we are excited to announce soon!)

Kick off the weekend with an elegant evening celebrating everything our chapter has accomplished this year. Enjoy a buffet dinner, one complimentary drink ticket, and a night filled with recognition, community, and the kind of conversations that only happen when great speakers get in a room together.

The evening will include:

Celebration of all we have accomplished this year!
Time (and photos! ) with your NSA Carolinas speaker friends
Presentation of this year's chapter awards
Recognition and send-off for our outgoing board members
Welcome to our incoming board and the new chapter year
A delicious dinner ️ and a celebration drink ticket
Registration does not include hotel accommodations, but our team is working on securing a discounted room block and will communicate ASAP.

This is a night to dress up, slow down, and celebrate. We hope you'll join us!

Full weekend (Friday and Saturday) pricing:

Member: $200
Non-member: $250

Friday-ONLY ticket prices:

Member (individual): $95
Member (couple; member + guest): $170
Non-member: $140
Additional Guest of Member (in addition to +1) (additional guest tickets with members’ couple registration): $95

Saturday, June 13 — Professional Development Day

Raleigh (Venue TBD)

Saturday is all about your speaker business. Spend the day in rich, small-group conversations with fellow chapter members and invited experts, organized around our four chapter pillars: Eloquence, Ethics, Enterprise, and Expertise.

Each pillar hosts two roundtables, and you'll have the opportunity to attend three sessions of your choosing throughout the day — 45-minute deep dives designed to generate real takeaways you can put to work immediately.

Lunch is included.

Roundtable topics – you’ll get to pick THREE!

Pillar	Table A	Table B
Eloquence	Your signature story Every speaker has a story that does the heavy lifting — the one that earns trust, shifts perspective, and stays with an audience long after the event ends. Is yours working as hard as it should? We'll explore how to sharpen the structure, deepen the emotional truth, and make sure your signature story still reflects who you are today.	From good to unforgettable Technical skill gets you booked. Presence gets you rebooked. What separates a competent keynote from one that people talk about on the drive home — and how do you close that gap intentionally? We'll dig into the specific choices that elevate a strong talk into a transformational experience.
Ethics	AI & authenticity How do you use AI tools in your business — for content, proposals, social media — without losing your voice or misrepresenting your process to clients? Where do you draw the line, and how do you communicate that line to the people who hire you?	Pricing integrity Do you charge what you're worth, or do you discount in ways that undercut your peers and signal low value? How do you hold your fee even when a client pushes back, and what does that say about how you value your own work?
Enterprise	Your referral ecosystem Referrals don't happen by accident. They happen because you've built relationships where the right people think of you first, trust you enough to put their name behind you, and know exactly who to send your way. How do you build and nurture that ecosystem deliberately — and how do you make it easy for people to refer you?	Systems that scale At some point, running your speaking business out of your inbox stops working. What does a sustainable back-end actually look like — CRM, follow-up sequences, contracts, invoicing, content repurposing — and how do you build it without overcomplicating it? We'll talk about what's worth systematizing and what you can let go of.
Expertise	Engagement that earns attention Audiences today are distracted, overstimulated, and quietly skeptical. How do you earn their attention from the first thirty seconds and hold it through to the close? We'll explore specific, practical techniques for creating the kind of engagement that makes a room feel alive — and makes event planners want to bring you back.	The close that converts Whether you're selling from the stage, driving attendees to a next step, or simply trying to make sure your message sticks, your call to action is the moment everything either lands or evaporates. What makes a CTA feel natural rather than pushy, and how do you build toward it from the very first line of your talk?

Pillar

Table A

Table B

Eloquence

Your signature story

Every speaker has a story that does the heavy lifting — the one that earns trust, shifts perspective, and stays with an audience long after the event ends. Is yours working as hard as it should? We'll explore how to sharpen the structure, deepen the emotional truth, and make sure your signature story still reflects who you are today.

From good to unforgettable

Technical skill gets you booked. Presence gets you rebooked. What separates a competent keynote from one that people talk about on the drive home — and how do you close that gap intentionally? We'll dig into the specific choices that elevate a strong talk into a transformational experience.

Ethics

AI & authenticity

How do you use AI tools in your business — for content, proposals, social media — without losing your voice or misrepresenting your process to clients? Where do you draw the line, and how do you communicate that line to the people who hire you?

Pricing integrity

Do you charge what you're worth, or do you discount in ways that undercut your peers and signal low value? How do you hold your fee even when a client pushes back, and what does that say about how you value your own work?

Enterprise

Your referral ecosystem

Referrals don't happen by accident. They happen because you've built relationships where the right people think of you first, trust you enough to put their name behind you, and know exactly who to send your way. How do you build and nurture that ecosystem deliberately — and how do you make it easy for people to refer you?

Systems that scale

At some point, running your speaking business out of your inbox stops working. What does a sustainable back-end actually look like — CRM, follow-up sequences, contracts, invoicing, content repurposing — and how do you build it without overcomplicating it? We'll talk about what's worth systematizing and what you can let go of.

Expertise

Engagement that earns attention

Audiences today are distracted, overstimulated, and quietly skeptical. How do you earn their attention from the first thirty seconds and hold it through to the close? We'll explore specific, practical techniques for creating the kind of engagement that makes a room feel alive — and makes event planners want to bring you back.

The close that converts

Whether you're selling from the stage, driving attendees to a next step, or simply trying to make sure your message sticks, your call to action is the moment everything either lands or evaporates. What makes a CTA feel natural rather than pushy, and how do you build toward it from the very first line of your talk?

Saturday schedule:

9:00 AM — Registration & morning refreshments
9:30 AM — Welcome address, incoming chapter president
10:00 AM — Roundtable session 1 (45 minutes)
10:45 AM — Short break
11:00 AM — Roundtable session 2 (45 minutes)
11:45 AM — Lunch
12:15 PM — Roundtable session 3 (45 minutes)
1:00 PM — Big-group share & closing remarks
2:00 PM — Adjourn

Saturday ticket prices:

Member: $50
Non-member: $85

Sponsorship Opportunities

Do you have a service or product that would be beneficial for speakers, coaches and consultants to know about? If so, consider sponsorship for our annual banquet event and program! Details available HERE ... please email info@nsacarolinas.org to secure your sponsorship or for more details.

NSA Carolinas aligns with the National Speakers Association policies for Code of Ethics, Civility and Professional Conduct. By registering for any of our events you are also agreeing to adhere to these national standards to uphold the highest standards of professionalism!

If you have questions or any special needs or accommodations that we can support you with, please let us know! We look forward to seeing everyone on June 12th and 13th!

CANCELLED: June 2026 Second Saturday Meetup (June 13, 2026)

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 13:00:00 GMT

These Meetups are regionally located, wherever a volunteer member Champion commits to hosting. A remote option (via Zoom) is also available.

GREATER RALEIGH (in-person): 9:00am - 10:00 am @ The Frontier, Blue Ridge Room, 800 Park Office Drive, Durham, NC 27709. (See "Address Note" below.) Area Champion: Alex Dumas (alex@speakeralexdumas.com) and Dr. Holly Sullenger (drhollyspeaks@gmail.com)
GREATER CHARLOTTE (in-person): 10:30am - 11:30am @ Charlotte Mecklenburg Library - SouthPark Regional Branch, 7015 Carnegie Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28211, Area Champion: Allie Pleiter (alliepleiter@gmail.com)
PIEDMONT/TRIAD (in-person) 10:00am - 11:00am @ New Market Plaza, 970 South Main Street, Kernersville, NC 27284 Area Champion: Sherman Transou (srtransou2@gmail.com), Carolyn Bennett-Sullivan (carolyn@carolynbsullivan.com)
REMOTE (virtually): @ 9:00am via Zoom (Zoom link will be included in the registration confirmation and reminder emails). Area Champion: John Edwards john@edwardsgroup.org)

NSA Carolinas is here to help you knock it out of the ballpark, and hit a home run in your Professional Speaker business. See you at our next 2nd Saturday!

###

For best results, try entering: ➡️ “800 Park Office Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27703” or use this direct Google Maps link.

###

Want an in-person 2nd Saturday location closer to you? Get in touch with us about being a champion so you can help host and pick the location!

NSA Carolinas upcoming events

Second Saturday Meetups (*please check specific time for your Regional Meetup*) (May 09, 2026)

May 2026 Speaker Development Series: Book More Business: Growing Your Business in a Challenging Market (May 20, 2026)

Key Takeaways

About the Speaker

Save the Date - 2026 NSA Carolinas Awards Banquet and Program (June 12, 2026)

2026 NSA Carolinas Annual Banquet (June 12, 2026)

CANCELLED: June 2026 Second Saturday Meetup (June 13, 2026)

Second Saturday Meetups (please check specific time for your Regional Meetup) (May 09, 2026)