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..

Bill McColl of Oxford University??? ???Jose Eiras, CIO, General Motors Europe Nigel Arkwright, IT Director, Parcel Force???Joe McMakin, CIO, Air Products Intl.Tony Salvaggio, CEO, CAI ?????????David Cohen, Chairman, Perot EMEA Vince Long, CIO, Autologic?????????James Onalfo, CIO, New York Police Dept Overall theme of the CIO Symposium is the "Challenge of Managing Information Technology Worldwide."The faculty will address such critical "Best Practices" in; Outsourcing, Governance, Security, Re-engineering the function, Bench-marking and Assessments for Productivity Improvements, Offshore Success, Automating Utility Computing, Process as a Religion, and Managing IT with Metrics. The "rate your shop open mike" discussion will kick off the all-day event. The 485 GBP admission fee includes a three-course lunch, faculty reception including a folio of all the presentations, speaker bios and attendees list. Discounts are available for early registration and groups.To register for the event or for more information, email: e-mail protected from spam botsor ring +44 (0)20 7556 7735. Additional Contact: Clif Onolfo(In UK) +447900 826 540 Email: e-mail protected from spam bots???Louis J.

Haugh (In US) +1 203 667 4600 Email:e-mail protected from spam bots.

They work by recognising a human speaker's voice and reducing or eliminating other sounds," Masi says.The system was tested over Tradia's two Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) networks TETRA and Tetrapol used by fire fighters, paramedics and police in Catalonia in both laboratory and field trials.????"In both the objective and subjective evaluations we saw a significant improvement in the clarity of communications," Masi says. "Better communication means emergency services are more efficient and can respond better and faster to emergency situations."Though designed for use over PMR networks with emergency and security services in mind, the ANITA system could also be employed in other sectors, and even on public mobile systems."It could be used inside factories, for example, or even for in-car mobile systems using public networks, in fact anywhere where background noise is an issue," Masi notes.Since the end of the project, which was coordinated by EADS, the partners are continuing to develop various components of the system, a commercial variant of which is likely to be launched in the future.Please mention IST Results as the source of this story and, if publishing online, please hyperlink to: http://istresults.cordis.lu/Contact: Tara Morris, +32-2-2861985, e-mail protected from spam bots.

Research Directorate and Susie Stephens, Principal Product Manager, Oracle Life Sciences, "Oracle'e Strategy in Life Sciences."Session IIIa: The Business Challenge Part 1:Chaired by John Poole, Small Company Advisor and Initiatior. Speakers include Dr Louis Nisbet, Partner, Sitka Partners and Seppo Makinen, Senior Partner at BioFund. Session IIIb: The Business Challenge Part 2: Speakers include Dr Jonathan Kwok, Biotechnology Analyst, Collins Stewart and Dr George Morris of Augusta Finance. To be followed by a drinks reception in the exhibition hall followed by a conference dinner on the Barbican Terrace.Session IV: Cracking the codeChaired by Prof. Nick Lemoine, Director of The Cancer Research UK Clinical Centre.Speakers include Prof.

Janet Thornton, Director of The European Bioinformatics Institute and founder of Inpharmatica and Prof. William O.C.M. Cookson, Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford and founder of Surface Therapeutics, followed by Dr. Jonathan Sheldon, Chief Scientific Officer (LifeSciences), InforSense Ltd.Session V: Collaboration modelSpeakers include J?rg Lippert, Bayer Technology Services, Computational Solutions and John Savin, CEO, Physiomics. Session VI: Ahead of the gameChaired by Prof.

Colin Howard, Director, London BioScience Innovation Centre and Vice Pricipal of Royal Veterinary College. Speakers include Dr Jin Li, Director, Chemical Computing Enabling Science and Technology (EST) AstraZeneca R&D M?lndal, Sweden, "Maximising the value of experimental and in silico screening." and Prof. David Fell, Professor of Biochemistry and Assistant Dean of the School of Biological & Molecular Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, "Developing the in silico cell: a tool for metabolic engineering and drug therapy design." Final speaker Prof. Alan Barrell, Chairman, Cambridge Worldwide Associates and Transitions Ltd, Entrepreneur in residence, Cambridge University..

Your speakers no longer need to be seen as an accessory but part of your room decor. Also there is more than looks alone. In addition to a well designed exterior they offer rich, multilayered sound produced by premium speaker components that are all protected by thermal circuit breakers which automatically reset preventing any speaker damage.A sound system is an extension of your personal style. These speakers are for the sophisticated listener with a taste for an unforgettable sound. With superior sound and stylish designs.

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The Conference will include:Developers and their representatives from luxury towers: Trump International, Sandhurst, Boca Raton, Allure, Sky Las Vegas, Liberty Tower and Scandia will be on hand to showcase their luxurious towers. "This is a rare chance for buyers both locally and nationally to compare projects side by side, while learning about the hottest real estate market in the country. The investment potential in Southern Nevada is unparalleled. These Luxury Condominium Developers really understand the new Las Vegas lifestyle", explains Ben Peterson, the Editor of Condos & Townhomes. Speakers from the fields of Finance, Development, Land Management, Real Estate Marketing, Architecture, Zoning, Urban Redevelopment, and Demographics will educate attendees about the explosive Las Vegas real estate market.

Mayor Oscar Goodman will give an exciting presentation on the growth of Downtown. Sponsoring the event will be Ryness, Fidelity Title, and Washington Mutual Home Loans. The Conference will be hosted at the Bellagio Resort, March 25, 2005. Doors open at 7 am with speakers running from 8 am-12 noon. Tickets are $45 in advance.

Seating is extremely limited. RSVP information can be downloaded from www.condosandtownhomes.net. The website also offers the latest issue of the magazine in PDF format..

With low prices, high quality, and personal attention to every order, regardless of the quantity ordered, the company is really taking off. For more information on CD and DVD duplication services, including drop-ship fulfillment, professional audio program recording via telephone, contact Seth Schrock at 253-952-7156 or on the web at www.ezcdmaker.com..

Their debate will focus on the war in Iraq and U.S. foreign policy. Other speakers include:- Ben Brandon - Libertarian Elected office holder- Stephen Rhode - Past president of the ACLU of Southern California- Jim Babka - President of Downsize DC Foundation- Chuck Muth ? Author and political consultant- Bob Burg ? Motivational speaker and author- Kate O'Brien ? Elected California Libertarian - Richard Burke - Oregon LP Executive Director and elected LibertarianThe California Libertarian Convention is paid for entirely by the delegates and organizers, without the use of any tax dollars. For Convention information, visit http://www.ca.lp.org or contact David Ruprecht, the executive director of the Libertarian Party of California, at 877 884-1776.About the Libertarian Party of California:The Libertarian Party of California has elected more than fifty public officeholders statewide. Libertarians believe in personal freedom in both social and economic spheres, and in government small enough to protect those freedoms..

Be BoldYou might think that it takes boldness just to stand up and start talking, and it does, but there are plenty of speakers out there who come across like timid mice. Be bold as a speaker, confident in your abilities. Practice every day, give speeches whenever you can. 3. Be differentSuccessful speakers aren't like everybody else.

There's something that sets them apart. Makes them stand out. They're the speakers who do more than just stand in the front of the room and talk at you. 4. Be funnySuccessful speakers know how to be funny, that is: they know when and where to use humor in their presentations...

and they aren't afraid to do so. 5. Be engagingListening to a speech is, for most people, a passive activity. Successful speakers involve their audiences and converse with them so that it's a conversation, not a talking-to. 6.

Be positiveNo matter what the subject, successful speakers are always positive with their audiences. They help their audiences learn what to do as opposed to what NOT to do. They focus on the upside, not the downside. 7. Be challenging.Lastly, great speakers always challenge their audiences to do great things.

And again, it doesn't matter what the subject. A successful speaker gives you the know-how and the challenge to make your life more enjoyable and more rewarding everyday. ?2001 .