Member of the Week for January 23, 2023 Elizabeth McCormick, CSP
About Elizabeth McCormick, CSP NSA-North Texas Member of the Week for January 23, 2023
Elizabeth McCormick, CSP, has been seen on ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX News and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal. She is an author with more than 19 published books, including the “Bookability Factor” about everything she wishes she had known when she first started keynote speaking.
Elizabeth is also the Founder of Soar 2 Success Publishing and a United States Congressional Veteran Commendation recipient. Elizabeth is named #5 on the list of “Leadership Experts to Follow” because of her social media content and online presence. She was just named one of the TOP 30 Motivational Speakers in the WORLD.
As a former US Army Black Hawk Pilot, Elizabeth learned to take complex systems and break them into sequences for optimal results. Elizabeth applied this skill to her own keynote speaking career which has rocketed since she started speaking while averaging 100 paid speaking engagements booked every year since 2014. She has spoken for major corporations, associations and organizations you may recognize such as eBay, Shell Oil, Krispy Kreme, Oracle, Charles Schwab, AFLAC, Intuit, Lowe’s, American Airlines, Coca-Cola, and many, many more.
As a Certified Virtual Presenter and Certified Virtual Host, both credentialed by eSpeakers, she is also a power user and trainer for the #1 online directory service for speakers in the WORLD.
Elizabeth earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation in 2019. Established in 1980, the CSP is the speaking profession’s international measure of speaking experience and skill. About 17 percent of NSA national members hold this professional designation, proving that the speaker has demonstrated the Four E’s of Professional Speaker excellence: Eloquence, Expertise, Enterprise, and Ethics. The CSP designation is conferred by NSA on accomplished professional speakers who have earned it by meeting strict criteria. Those who pursue the CSP designation must document a proven track record of continuing speaking experience and expertise, as well as a commitment to ongoing education, outstanding client service, and ethical behavior. The CSP is the highest earned designation that can be achieved by a member of the National Speakers Association or Global Speakers Federation member associations.
Elizabeth was the Education Chair for the Power Women Community Group at the National level for 3 years before becoming the Leader of this Community Group and serving through a tumultuous time for another 2 - 1/2 years during that time she increased women’s visibility and credibility within the organization and the industry. Elizabeth currently serves as the 2022-2023 President of the National Speakers Association North Texas Chapter.
In 2021 Elizabeth was added to the Faculty of the Maxwell Leadership Certified Team (formerly John Maxwell Team) of Speakers, Coaches and Trainers serving the over 46,000 Certified Team Members in the world.
What audiences you speak for?
I speak for Corporations, Associations, and Organizations that want to inspire their people to greater heights in life and business.
What led you to this career?
Speaking came to me. What most people don’t know about me is that I grew up so shy I would not call my own hairdresser for an appointment. As one of the few female helicopter pilots, I was called on to present at airshows and schools as an example of what was possible. Then in my corporate job, I presented to vendors and my leadership team. When my community (Plano/Murphy/Wylie/Sachse) found out I was helicopter pilot, I kept getting asked to speak! I did some when I could around my corporate “pay the bills” job. Every time I spoke, my phone rang more! I turned many of these down. One day, I was turning someone down and they offered to pay me- WHAT? I could have been getting paid? I had no idea this was an industry and could be a vocation. A few months later, in January 2009, I was laid off from my corporate job and knew what I was supposed to do.
What’s one professional skill you’re currently working on?
I’m currently working at being even better on the follow up and post event “aftercare” (as Lois Creamer calls it). I tend to focus on the next event, and need to spend more time continuing the relationships with my existing clients. To support this, I’m hiring and training a new VA to just focus on the post event follow up sequence and adding more action items in eSpeakers in the post event.
What’s your go-to productivity trick?
HIRING! I’ve found that hiring a virtual contractor(s) to help me with recurring tasks allows me to focus on the things that MUST be done by me: Content Creation, Closing the deals and Client experience at the events (before during and after the event).
I have a team of 13 contractors on retainer when I need them. Each with a segmented task.
Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?
I didn’t start my business with NSA. I got here as fast as I could. And as such I spent a LOT of time researching other speakers and learning what they do to ensure I was different from what they taught and their style. Now many of these esteemed world class speakers I can call my friends. Waldo “Wingman”, Vernice “Fly Girl” Armour, Carey Lohrenz. I also studied videos of many of the industry “greats” and made a list of things they did on stage that I liked (or didn’t like) that helped shape what is now my speaking style.
What’s a mistake you made early on in your career, and what did you learn from it?
I partnered with some others to create a training company. But the partnership was not equal and we didn’t share the same goals and as such the partnership did not survive the first year.
It was my whole focus for a year (a year I didn’t work within my own business).
If I had to do it over again, I would have spent more time in the discovery process before signing the partnership agreement to ensure it was a good fit. And ask more and better questions. I would have also continued to have worked my own business separately instead of absorbing that into the partnership. So many lessons learned.
What’s a work-related accomplishment that you’re proud of?
Achieving my CSP in 2019 was a huge accomplishment from many years of work (and paperwork)! It was a thrill to have achieved that earned designation.
Second to that? Currently serving as NSA-NT President and helping bring mobile friendly technology to the chapter’s infrastructure that will serve the chapter today and in the future.
What being a member of NSA-NT means to you (testimonial):
The friendships that NSA-NT has brought to my life are invaluable. No one else seems to “get” this industry and the joys and challenges (hello- airlines!?) it brings. Having this family of friends who understand that you can’t be home for every happy hour or event and knowing that we’re still only a phone call or Facebook message away makes a difference. I’ve grown as a speaker thanks to NSA-NT and NSA National. And my speaking business has grown too through referring other speakers when I can’t do an event or recommend someone who can follow me and having speakers refer me.
Something personal you want us to know- can be about family, a vacation, a favorite food- anything you care to share.
My favorite vacation is warm and sandy with fruity drink in my hand and my family around me (too bad my 18 year old son prefers to snowboard)!
Contact info and Social Media info:
Elizabeth’s Speaking website: http://www.YourInspirationalSpeaker.com
Get the her Book at: http://www.PilotMethod.com
Online Training and More at: http://www.soar2success.com/
Free Online Course to “Master Your Motivation” at:
Follow Elizabeth Online at:
http://www.Facebook.com/BlackHawkPilotSpeaker
http://www.Twitter.com/PilotSpeaker
http://www.Linkedin.com/in/PilotSpeaker
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