The Other F-Word You Don't Want to Hear

Gail Davis, 14 April 2021

GDA Speakers had 190 events impacted by the pandemic. Imagine someone walking into your office and asking to see all the current contracts. You hand them over and they rip them to shreds and say "good luck" as they walk out. That is how it felt starting in March of 2020. It was as if everything was up in the air. And as I started to figure it all out, another dreaded F-word glared at me.  

Let’s face it, sometimes you just gotta say it...Force Majeure. Except there isn’t that sense of satisfaction after expressing it. More like an overwhelming sense of frustration. With the global pandemic everyone got real familiar with force majeure.

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Celebrity Booking Tips

Gail Davis, 18 March 2021

Virtual speaking opportunities have made celebrity keynotes more accessible than ever. In addition to the below video, here are some considerations when booking a celebrity or high-profile speaker.

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A Woman Owned Business

Gail Davis, 09 March 2021

I recently completed documentation for our Women's Business Enterprise National Council Certification (WBENC). Finalizing the paperwork is no easy task, but I love the process. WBENC is truly committed to assisting women business owners and I am proud to be granted certification from this distinct organization. I am also grateful to our clients who diversify their supply chain to include women and minority owned businesses.

 

The significance and timing of the WBENC certification is particularly meaningful as we celebrate Women’s History Month. I think back on when I started GDA Speakers over 22 years ago, and the important women in my career who encouraged and inspired me to leave my 20 year corporate event career at Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and start GDA. My leader for many years, Vicki Yacovoni, was my role model. 

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2021: To Smoother Roads Ahead

Gail Davis, 07 January 2021

I love a road trip. I often drive from Dallas to my hometown in Oklahoma to visit my family. I enjoy the scenery, listening to podcasts, and just the relaxation of the familiar route. Most of the time, it’s an easy drive. But occasionally, I’ll run into that dreaded orange road “detour ahead” construction sign and I feel the frustration set in. When the sign indicates 5 or 10 miles ahead, I think to myself “OK, this won’t last too long.” But then there are those times, I’ll come across a detour sign and there is no mileage listed. Suddenly, I find myself on some uneven, bumpy road that’s taking me way off track - and I don’t know when it’s going to end.


To me, that was 2020. I think it’s safe to say the last 9 months we’ve all been traveling a no-mileage indicated detour path.

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Virtual Events are Fun, Engaging and on the Rise.

Gail Davis, 04 September 2020

Like you, we have seen a lot of interesting methods for people “gathering” in groups now. Perhaps you’re part of a weekly Zoom happy hour with coworkers.

As we look toward the future, we thought it would be constructive to focus on the positives that virtual elements bring to the table.

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Case Study: "Quarantine...let's binge watch our meeting"

Gail Davis, 05 August 2020

Case Study
The Nautilus Group
www.thenautilusgroup.com

 

The Nautilus Group is an elite membership-based consulting firm for New York Life Insurance. Since 2015, Nautilus has partnered with GDA Speakers on over 14 speaking opportunities. Three speakers were booked for May 13-15, 2020. They quickly made a radical shift in their plans tweaking their event to feel more like a "Netflix series" that could be viewed by everyone working from home.

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