Welcome to another episode of "10 Words or Less," in which I ask brief questions of interesting people and request brief answers in return. Today's offering belongs to a growing 10WOL subset in which I talk to professional speakers. This particular speaker is a recent past president of the National Speakers Association and a recipient of both its highest earned and bestowed honors. He’ll be presenting ideas and solutions to NSA’s New England Chapter on Feb. 11th, an event that is open to the public. He is the author of four books including "Do It Well Make It Fun." He’s a nationally known humorist whose clients have included the US Senate and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, John Hopkins and Safeway.

Name Ron Culberson
Born when and where “Abingdon, Va., in 1960, but grew up in Emory, Va., which is 10 miles up the road in the middle of nowhere.”
Was there anything unusual about the circumstances of your birth? “Yes. I came in with such force, my mother went deaf in one ear. … She had mumps.”
Wow. Did she hold it against you? “That’s a good question. I need to ask my therapist about that. I’m not sure.”

Donna Serdula is the doyenne of the LinkedIn profile. She speaks professionally on the topic, and employs about 40 writers who craft better profiles for a world of clients. As the guest of the New England chapter of the National Speakers Association, she's coming to Waltham Jan. 7 to present on both topics: How to craft a profile, but also, how to build a business that needs 40-plus contributors to meet the demand for its services. Follow this link to attend her presentation.

Welcome to another special interest episode of 10 Words or Less, in which I ask brief questions of interesting people and ask them to respond with brief answers of their own. Today’s contestant is a professional speaker and the author of at least four books. He’s deeply invested in creativity and one of his outlets and speaking topics is how to make presentation slides that don’t suck. My usual admonishment to those playing at home: 10 words is a goal, not a limit, so please, no counting! It’s not easy to do.

Note: This is an edited transcript of a video interview published Sept. 23. Mike approved all edits.

Name Mike Robertson
Born when, where? “Feb. 23, 1954, in a tiny town in the brush country of Texas called Cotulla. I don’t think I have been back since."
Where do you live now? “I live in Austin, Texas. The capital city. The weirdest city in Texas."
What you do for work? “I’m a full-time speaker and designer of slides for myself and other people."
What did you create the first time you remember being creative? “I was probably sitting on the swing set in my backyard making up a song."
Something important about being creative “You have to exercise it. It’s not a good idea to be creative and then stop for a while because that muscle will begin to lose its strength. … Last year I decided I would do something different creatively each month. The first month of the year I wrote a song completely with all the tracks and recorded it. The second month I decided I would like to paint a large size painting, which I had never done. The third month I published a new book. That’s when my resolution came to a stop."
A misunderstood part of creativity “People tend to think they need a different gift to achieve something really cool and so we become envious of other people’s gifts. We say, well if I could sing like that guy, or, if I had her acting ability, I could do something really great with my life. But we each have tools already. The trick is just finding a new way to use those tools."

Pam Warren became known as Britain's "Lady in the Mask" after she survived a horrific train crash that killed 31 and wounded hundreds in 1999. She's now one of Britain's most sought-after professional speakers.

This conversation with Brian, an author, professional speaker, and an official spokesman for the Heart and Stroke Association of Ontario, was fabulous (IMO). He's a very inspiring guy.

Immediately after I completed my presentation to about 50 students at Middletown High School in Connecticut Tuesday, someone I was working alongside offered, “Tough crowd. It’s hard to get through to teenagers,” and that may sometimes be. But when my wife asked how it went (she called special, in the middle of day; ain’t she sweet?), I said I just didn’t know.

But now I do, thanks to scans of student-feedback forms sent to me by the organizer, and it’s better than my evenhanded skepticism would have surmised. 

I've begun building a section of speeches I've given to my Toastmasters club on this blog, because ... well, I should be honest, it's at least partly because I'm a showoff. (Too much of one? You decide.)

But also, I am a professional speaker, and I want to highlight both my ideas and my speaking style for buyers and event planners who can't help but benefit from hiring me.

I may have mentioned, once or twice, that I have added professional speaking to my quiver of strategies to carry the messages I wove into "Fat Boy Thin Man." In addition to the little notice I added in the upper left of this page, I've also established a space at fatboythinman.com to extol my ever-so-considerable virtues (please note my wink in that reference).

Please forgive the grubby appearance. Sometimes, I "come as I am" to Toastmasters, but I've decided not to do that any longer. But this time, grubby. Still, I wanted to share the sentiment.