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How to get the Most from a Professional Speaker
1. Fully inform your speaker about the audience and their business. Provide him/her with information such as annual reports, organizational newsletters, news releases, etc.
2. Put your speaker in touch with insiders who can assist with preparations. Contact with managers and staff prior to the conference is very helpful to a speaker. It is also sometimes helpful for the speaker to talk with customers/clients. Help arrange teleconferences or face-to-face meetings.
3. Be open about your competition and the challenges your business faces. Help him/her understand your industry and the competitive environment in which you operate.
4. Publicize your event and speaker. Use posters, memos, postcards and other mailings to announce the upcoming event and special speaker. Make sure you describe the speaker’s topic and background, and encourage people to visit his/her Web site. Make sure the audience comes to the event interested in listening to the speaker’s message.
5. Use the introduction provided by the speaker. But, feel free to customize it for your audience. Make sure the person chosen to make the introduction is well prepared and enthusiastic.
6. Ask your speaker about handouts or take-home material for participants. These can be good ways to reinforce the messages provided by the speaker. Remember, they can sometimes be as simple as a wallet-sized card.
7. Ask your speaker to assist you with room set-up advice. Take advantage of the speaker’s experience. Sometimes small changes in seating or lighting can make a big difference.
8. Discuss having a question and answer session after the formal presentation. Depending upon the nature of the speech, this can be a good way to allow the audience to make a deeper exploration of the topic. If you and the speaker decide to include time for Q&As, make sure that is announced in the speaker’s introduction, so that the audience will have time to formulate good questions.
Copyright 2003, Sumerlin Enterprises.
Terry L. Sumerlin, owner of J.B.'s Barber Shop in San Antonio, Texas, is known as "The Barber-osopher," and appears nationally as a humorist and motivational speaker. Permission is granted for you to copy this article for distribution as long as the above copyright and contact information is included.
www.barber-osophy.com. 