Avoid the Duds: 10 Strategies for Selecting "The Perfect Speaker"
Today, more than ever, the success of meetings relies heavily on the strength of program content and presentation. Nothing can spoil a meeting more than hiring the wrong speaker. That's because speakers do more than just convey the overall meeting message. You look to them to provide insights, awareness, and cutting-edge information in an energetic, motivational, entertaining, and professional manner. What more could you ask for? Well, the right speaker can emphasize an important message, offer inspiration, help people cope with new assignments, and lead the way towards change.Selecting the right speaker for your event is one of the most important, yet daunting elements for creating a successful meeting.
Your speaker can often make or break the event. If he bombs, your reputation not only takes a severe nose-dive, but you also have the pleasure of dealing with the barrage of complaints from a disappointed audience. Yet, if he does well, you can walk away with many of the accolades, compliments, and of course, the rave reviews. By now, you probably realize that this massive responsibility is not to be taken lightly.Raise Your ExpectationsThe skill to selecting a great speaker is determining what combination of education, motivation, and entertainment best fits your function. Then set out to find a perfect match.
But keep your expectations high, since nothing can spoil a meeting faster than booking the wrong speaker. The following 10 guidelines should help you keep your focus and also keep you away from the "duds."1. Know the program objectives. Before you can start looking for the right speaker, you must know the program objectives. Begin with the end in mind.
What are you looking to achieve? Is this an annual meeting, a training program, an incentive get-together, an awards celebration, or another type of event? This will probably be a committee or management decision, rather than one you will have to make. But you may have to make an intangible concept tangible.2. Understand the audience's needs. Along with the program objectives, consider the needs of your audience. Does your group need industry-specific or technical information? Will a mix of motivation and entertainment serve your group's purpose? Today's audiences are generally younger, more educated, more diverse, and more sophisticated than in the past.
They want content. They want to learn, but they also want it to be fun, so consider the audience needs and exactly what they expect. Consider surveying your audience. Ask them what they want or what skills would most help them in their jobs. For example, sales people may ask for advanced selling skills, but managers may request teambuilding programs.3.
Check for reputation. With countless speakers out there vying for your business, how can you possibly determine which one best meets your needs? Many speakers produce highly professional or glitzy marketing materials to help sell their services. You must look deeper than simply scanning a few brochures and ask pointed questions to find the right fit, such as What experience does this speaker have? How familiar is this speaker with this industry? and, Who else has used this person?4. "Test drive" your prospects. If you don't have the opportunity to preview a speaker in person, then the next best thing is to request a video or audio recording of a previous presentation.
A session that was recorded before a live audience gives you a better sense of a person's real ability.Watch or listen carefully to how the speaker builds rapport and interacts with the audience. Ask yourself if this person would be right for your group. Is the combination of education, motivation, and entertainment appropriate for your needs? Does the speaker have a message that is appropriate, timely, and relevant to the theme or purpose of your event? Does it conform to your company's philosophy and policy? Do you feel the speaker is genuine and has the expertise to deliver a solid presentation?5. Don't be star-struck. If you are considering celebrity speakers, make sure they can speak! TV personalities do a great job on the air, but sometimes have little public speaking expertise, and you should be aware that the skills needed for being on TV and for speaking live are very different.
However, many well-known personalities make excellent speakers and can add enormous value and clout to your event. Politicians and sports, media, or entertainment celebrities often share life experiences, offer advice, or have an inspirational message to impart.6. Be wary of grandiose claims. Speakers who claim to be all things to all people are probably desperate for work. Avoid them.
True professional speakers, on the other hand, usually have certain areas or topics of expertise. They would much rather refer potential business to a true expert than jeopardize their reputation by trying to do a program outside of their knowledge zone. Also, beware of the charismatic and fluffy speaker as your audience wants good, solid take-away value.7. Provide and ask for good information. Reputable speakers want to find out as much as possible about the meeting objectives, the audience, industry challenges, and so on in order to tailor their presentation to the group.
Share information on your organization and audience to help the speaker design a program to fit your specific needs. provide them with newsletters, catalogs, or any other publications that highlight industry trends, key people, industry jargon or buzz words, and insider news and views.Also include as much information as possible about the size and demographics of the audience such as age, gender, and positions.8. Ask for an outline. Ask prospective speakers for an outline of the presentation to make sure they will be covering the material as you discussed. This will clearly lay out what's expected as verbal communication is subject to being misunderstood or misinterpreted.
Seeing exactly what speakers plan to cover in the sessions should help to ensure that the material is tailored to your specific needs.9. Maximize opportunities. Look for ways to maximize opportunities with your speakers. Discuss different ways they can add extra value and be a significant resource to help improve your meeting's success. Brainstorm ways that you feel they can assist you in planning, preparing, promoting, and presenting.
Some suggestions include serving as an emcee, conducting special sessions or roundtable discussions about current issues for select groups such as company executives or the board of directors, and participating in a spouse program.10. Trust your instincts. Through your communication with the speaker, you will quickly form an opinion or have a feeling about this person. First reactions count here. "I like this person" or "I don't like this person," or "I feel comfortable or uncomfortable working with this person," are strong indicators.
These responses usually comes from your gut ? a very trustworthy organ. Have confidence in your instincts and trust that so-called sixth sense. If you experience any kind of negative feeling, think about looking for someone else or get another opinion from a colleague. You want to make sure that you can work with this person and that both of you are on the same wavelength.The true objective of hiring a professional speaker hinges on establishing a partnership where a mutually beneficial relationship grows and flourishes. When this happens, you know you've chosen well.The Perfect MatchOverwhelmed with the plethora of speakers to choose from? You may want to turn to a speaker's bureau for advice and guidance.
A good bureau should act as a consultant and partner to help your event succeed. Even though many hundreds of bureaus are out there, the numbers pale in comparison to the thousands of speakers. A bureau's sole purpose is simply to make your job easier and provide you with solutions. They want to find the best possible match for your event within your price range. So, where do go looking for one of these bureaus? Here are a few places to start your search: the phone book, chambers of commerce, convention and visitors bureaus, the Internet, industry colleagues, and friends.A Final Note:Look for CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) or CPAE (Council of Peers Award for Excellence) designations.
Both these are conferred by the National Speakers Association and are considered the speaking profession's international measure of professional platform skill (http://www.nsaspeaker.org).Armed with these guidelines and resources, your search for the perfect speaker will be more fruitful. And with a little effort and some time, you will connect with a speaker who will fulfill your goals? one that will be both inform and enlighten. Your audience will thank you..
Written by Susan A. Friedmann,CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: ?Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies,? working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and training.Go to http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com to sign up for a free copy of ExhibitSmart Tips of the Week.info@thetradeshowcoach.com
Music and Art Meet - Vision Acoustics Bridges the Gap Between Form and Function with Modern,Innovative Designs That Add an Air of Sophistication to Any Room
Vision Acoustics believes that speakers are more than just components of a good home or office sound system, such as your home theater system, which is why each speaker is a unique
functional work of art. They are designed to add an architectural dimension with crisp clear sound that will bring life to music, movies and even video games. Instead of trying to disguise ordinary speakers that don't fit in with your home decor. Vision Acoustics designs speakers that are built to last and reflect your personal style, which is why various color choices, sizes, and shapes are offered. In addition to carefully executed designs, your speakers now play an integral part of home or office decor without having to camouflage them.Vision Acoustics speakers are the embodiment of sophistication with clean simple lines that project an understated elegance equally suited for casual or formal decor.
Your speakers no longer need to be seen as an accessory but part of your room decor. Also...
Music and Art Meet - Vision Acoustics Bridges the Gap Between Form and Function with Modern,Innovative Designs That Add an Air of Sophistication to Any Room
Speakers > Music and Art Meet - Vision Acoustics Bridges the Gap Between Form and Function with Modern,Innovative Designs That Add an Air of Sophistication to Any Room
Car Stereos
Hobbies differ from one person to another. There can be little doubt that the most common hobby would be music. Marvelous are the effects of music. There is no limit to it. You can have it anywhere and everywhere, even while you are traveling in your car.
Indeed, you can take your favorite music along through your car stereo.
A car stereo includes a set of equipment like speakers, amplifiers, and CD or cassette players. Originally, car stereos meant just a radio run on a battery. Slowly, more additions were incorporated to include traffic signal messages and also sizeable memory. The earliest known brand of car stereo was Motorola.
There are many components constituting a car stereo. They are amplifiers, woofers, speakers, capacitors etc. You need to know the purpose of each component to select the correct one for your car.
Like home audio, car stereo is a fast-growing and ever-changing field with new technologies gaining popularity. By installing...
Speakers > Car Stereos
Michael Fortino Announced As Keynote Speaker Of the IVAA Fourth Annual Best Practices Conference
The International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA) is pleased to announce that Michael Fortino has been selected to deliver the opening and closing keynotes at the Fourth Annual Best Practices Summit to be held October 19-22, 2005, at the Houston Hyatt Regency.
"Mr. Fortino is ranked in the top 2% of all national keynote speakers and trainers in the country and his dynamic, motivational and humorous presentation style has entertained audiences in more than 17 countries and 1,100 organizations," states Heather Lee, Summit Committee member."We're enthusiastic about working with this vibrant and motivating presenter to bring our members and virtual assistants everywhere the best Summit yet," stated Kim Barnes Jefferson, Co-Chair of the 2005 Summit Committee. "We're confident that many will share in our excitement at the opportunity to hear one of the nation's top business speakers." For many small business owners, developing an effective marketing and public relations plan...
Speakers > Michael Fortino Announced As Keynote Speaker Of the IVAA Fourth Annual Best Practices Conference
LearnShare Announces Distinguished CLO Panel for Atlanta Sharing@LearnShare
(ContentDesk) August 1, 2006 -- LearnShare, LLC, the consortium of Fortune 1000 companies organized to research, design, purchase, package and share best practices in the training and development field, today announced the lineup and moderator for its distinguished CLO Panel, to be held on September 14, 2006, at the Atlanta Sharing@LearnShare conference (www.sharing2006.com).
In the theme of Achieving Competitive Advantage, Greg Dardis, Director of Leadership Development at Home Depot, Vince Eugenio, CLO of Randstad North America, and Karen Hendrix, Director, CCNA Learning & Development at Coca-Cola, will join moderator Pat Galagan, Vice President of Content for ASTD, to discuss getting ahead by knowing how to be a good business partner.
Sharing@LearnShare provides best practices and lessons learned from industry leading organizations in an event consisting of highly experienced keynote speakers, focused breakout...
Speakers > LearnShare Announces Distinguished CLO Panel for Atlanta Sharing@LearnShare
Speakers weight loss Avoid the Duds: 10 Strategies for Selecting "The Perfect Speaker"
Business Filings and SB Suite Expand Their Targeted Market Reach Through a Strategic Partnership.
Los Angeles, CA; Madison, WI (ContentDesk) March 1, 2004-?Small Business Suite (?SB Suite"), the premier nationwide small business back-office services provider, announced today its strategic co-marketing partnership with Business Filings Incorporated ("Business Filings"), the Internet leader for incorporation and the formation of limited liability companies and nonprofit corporations. Under the partnership, SB Suite and Business Filings will bring their respective members valuable services that...
Speakers
Speakers > Business Filings and SB Suite Expand Their Targeted Market Reach Through a Strategic Partnership.
Speakers puppy training Avoid the Duds: 10 Strategies for Selecting "The Perfect Speaker"