Imagine for a moment being in a large room with almost 1,500 professional speakers! Try to envision how much energy — and maybe even ego — that you’d find in a gathering of people who talk in public for a living. That’s what I’ve just concluded this past week: the 2019 edition of “Influence” — the annual convention of the National Speakers Association.

First off, it’s always great to get together with such incredible friends. Speakers, as you may know, are kind of a strange lot. We see each other very infrequently, because we are usually on the road traveling to our own events — which also means we seldom have the privilege of sitting in an audience and listening to other speakers share their craft and skill. In other words, we have great friends we see once a year.

Thank goodness for social media. Through it, I’m able to stay in close touch with great friends — know where they are, how they’re feeling about their careers and personal lives, and share triumphs and tragedies — while only seeing them infrequently. I obviously wish we had more time together.

• But, it’s better now than it has ever been.

Secondly, it’s a time of extreme learning. The best in the business share what has worked for them in an open forum with those who compete with them for bookings. In NSA, it’s called “the Spirit of Cavett.” The founder of the National Speakers Association was a legendary professional named Cavett Robert.

When I first met Cavett many years ago, he told me, “I am hearing some great things about you. You have an amazing future and will be a superstar in this business.” It was such an inspiring moment for me! Little did I realize this encouraging man was also saying the same thing to every other young professional he met in the association.

However, Cavett’s generous spirit and open-book approach to the business set a standard that is still adhered to — rather than try to defeat each other for bookings and sales, instead we will all seek to “grow the pie” and create more opportunity so everyone benefits. It’s an attitude of abundance, not scarcity. And, it’s worked — professional speakers are on stage at more events for larger fees than at any point in history.

• It’s better now than it has ever been.

So, what does this mean to you?

In this time of negativity…where people seem to be more angry and agitated, where many people have lost their sense of propriety and manners…sometimes it’s important to take stock of where we are compared to where we were.

I have tools now that keep me in better touch with friends with whom I wish I could share more personal time, but career and commitments interfere. It’s never been better.

I’m in a profession that is committed to lifelong learning, where other pros willingly share what works — and what doesn’t — to enable me to grow…and I do the same, in turn. It’s never been better.

This isn’t to sound like Pollyanna. We have challenges, obstacles, and problems.

But, it so many ways — it’s better now than it has ever been. 

Perhaps we need to remind each other of that, from time to time.