Barbara Rozgonyi to lead speaker proposal workshop at NSA Carolinas retreat

Barbara Rozgonyi will lead a 90-minute workshop on October 26 at NSA Carolinas’ Speak or Treat retreat in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The session is designed to help speakers and experts judge CFPs, sharpen proposals, and show clearer audience value before they submit.

Why it matters: - Professional speakers, consultants, trainers, and subject-matter experts often waste time chasing speaking opportunities that do not fit their goals. - The workshop is built to help participants spend that time more strategically and improve the odds that selection committees see clear audience value. - Meeting planners and association leaders can use the same framework to compare proposals against program goals.

What happened: - Leadership visibility keynote speaker Barbara Rozgonyi will lead Speaker SOS: From Scary Submissions to Standout Stages on October 26 at NSA Carolinas’ Speak or Treat retreat in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. - The session is a 90-minute speaker proposal workshop. - NSA Carolinas’ Speak or Treat retreat runs October 25–27, 2026, at Embassy Suites by Hilton Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort at Kingston Plantation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The details: - The workshop focuses on how speakers choose worthwhile opportunities and build stronger calls for proposals, or CFP responses. - Rozgonyi will use her FRAME Method to walk participants through evaluating CFPs, researching audience and event needs, assessing business value, developing audience-focused proposal components, and choosing a next step. - The five steps are Find, Research, Assess and Align, Make the Case, and Engage. - Find means identifying and ranking potential speaking opportunities. - Research means reviewing the audience, event objectives, selection criteria, and submission requirements. - Assess and Align means weighing fit, compensation, business value, preparation effort, and missing information. - Make the Case means linking an audience need to relevant expertise and a clear learning outcome. - Engage means choosing a next step, such as asking the organizer a question, submitting a proposal, or moving on. - The workshop also introduces the Trick or Treat Test for deciding whether to pursue an opportunity, adapt a session idea, ask a question before investing more time, or pass. - Participants will work with real opportunities to build a ranked list of three to five speaking targets, an audience outcome statement, core proposal components, and a dated next action. - A take-home workbook includes a target scorecard, reusable proposal template, and opportunity tracker. - Optional AI exercises help participants review public CFP requirements and spot gaps in drafts. - Speakers are expected to verify the information and provide their own experience, evidence, and voice. - Rozgonyi said, “Better targets beat more submissions.” - Rozgonyi said a stronger proposal starts before writing, with audience research, opportunity assessment, and a clear case for value.

Between the lines: - The workshop reflects Rozgonyi’s broader focus on leadership visibility, which centers on making expertise easier to find, trust, and choose. - Rozgonyi describes the gap between earned expertise and public recognition as the Expert Gap™. - Speaker SOS applies that idea to the speaking marketplace by helping organizers and speakers align on audience needs, speaker experience, and expected takeaways. - The format suggests a practical, decision-making approach rather than a generic proposal-writing seminar. - The optional AI exercises signal growing interest in using AI as a drafting aid without replacing a speaker’s judgment or voice.

What's next: - NSA Carolinas’ Speak or Treat retreat will feature additional sessions from Jane Jenkins Herlong, Lynn Unsworth, Doug Lyman, Paulette Evans, and Crissy Fishbane. - Craig Collin will serve as emcee. - Event details and current registration options are available on the NSA Carolinas Speak or Treat event page. - Speaker SOS is available for National Speakers Association chapters, professional associations, and teams of experts who use speaking to build business relationships. - Rozgonyi is also available for interviews about evaluating speaking opportunities, audience-focused CFP responses, leadership visibility, PR, digital marketing, personal branding, and AI in proposal development. - More information about NSA Carolinas is available at NSA Carolinas. - Rozgonyi’s broader work and background are available at BarbaraRozgonyi.com and on LinkedIn.