How to Get the Right Speaker for Your Conference

Organizing a conference can be a complex task. You need to book a suitable venue, organize session times and coffee breaks, decide on a menu, check the audio-visual equipment ... the task sometimes seems endless. It's not surprising that many conference organisers leave it almost too late to add the most important ingredient - the right speaker.Speakers these days come in all shapes, sizes and areas of expertise. Name a topic, and you can find someone to speak on it.
Some speakers are good. Some are brilliant. But some, unfortunately, are not so good.

There's a good deal of money invested in the average conference to make sure it runs smoothly. Naturally, no organizer wants to fall into the trap of booking a "not-so-good" speaker who might undo all the good work.

We'll pause here for a bit of arithmetic. Let's say you have thirty delegates at a session. You may not realize it, but the cost of putting thirty people in a room just to hear a few words is surprisingly high. Try this: thirty executives at one hundred dollars per hour? Yes, three thousand dollars. Imagine then, the cost of putting three hundred in a room for an hour!

If you're spending this kind of money, or even anywhere near it, you need to make sure that you don't blow the whole thing by putting on a speaker who has the delegates nodding into their notebooks after the first three minutes.

To ensure the success of the conference you have worked so hard to put together, your speakers must have impact. Let's get one thing clear right now: the cost of a good speaker is nothing compared to the cost of failing to get the right message across to your delegates. Good speakers motivate people: they help the magic of an idea become reality.

Maybe, up until now, you've spent up big on other aspects of the conference, and economized on the speaker by having some bigwig in the company address the captive audience.
Think hard before you stick to this course. If old Fred has been saying a few words for the past ten years, for a nominal sum (or nothing), to a team who listens out of respect, laziness or loyalty - you might as well burn the money and be done with it. Give speeches miss entirely; install a pool table. Why ask your audience to listen to a speech with no impact?

Impact. Its importance cannot be overrated. Long after the conference is over, people won't remember whether the coffee was hot or cold. But they will remember the message of a speaker with impact.

When choosing a speaker, you need to take into consideration:

- The conference theme/session topic.

- The length of speaking time allocated.

- The time of the presentation.

- The style of the presentation.

- Information about the speaker.

The Topic

One speaker cannot be all things to all people. As the client, you must select the best speaker for your conference theme. If, for instance, the session is about how to increase sales, you've got to restrict your list of possible speakers to those who have the right experience. It is essential that you have a clear objective in mind for the session. Is it your intention that the speaker should be motivational or entertaining? Or is it more important that he or she be able to transmit technical information in a clear an interesting way?

Once you've decided the session time and have committed to the topic, start the process of selecting speakers according to how well they can address your needs. Make sure you give the speaker a strong brief well in advance - perhaps one-to-one over a cup of coffee.

Length of Speaking Time

When you are organizing a conference, keep in mind that people get bored easily. It's essential that you maintain the pace of the session to stop that boredom from setting in. Rarely will you find a speaker talking for longer than sixty minutes. (Rarely will you find an audience who can bear to sit and listen for much longer than that!). If there are no audio-visuals, cut the time to forty-five minutes.

A speaker who runs over time can throw your whole seminar into chaos. To make sure this doesn't happen, lay it on the line right from the start. It is a good idea to hold an introductory session before a conference, and lay down firm ground rules to the session leaders. The rule should be: Start on time, finish on time. Arrange to give your speakers a three-minute warning signal, then a "stop speaking" signal.

The time of speaking

Is the speech to be given in the morning or the afternoon? Keep in mind that your audience can concentrate better in the morning, and sit through longer speeches.

How is the message going to be delivered? Is it going to be a straightforward speech from the podium or might delegates get more out of an audience participation session?

There are several aspects you need to consider when deciding which speakers should be on at which times:

- Speeches containing more technical or challenging material should be on in the morning session.

- Speeches should be shorter as the day progresses. Panels of speakers work well in afternoon sessions, when the attention of the audience is better kept with frequent changes (of activities as well as speakers).

Style and Presentation

You can't always control who will be giving the speeches, particularly in regard to more technical material. It's hard to avoid the odd drone. But, whenever possible, book talented, interesting people so the delegates will leave with an overall impression that the conference was worth coming to.

Your choice of speaker will range from talking heads to those who like total audience participation. You might hear of one speaker who talks a lot and uses only a few slides, and another who relies on talking visuals with only occasional input from herself.

Of course, if you have a big budget, there's limit to what you can do. The budget determines the production (remember Gone With the Wind?) but even with only a little money, there's a lot you can do. The less money you have, the more careful you have to be.

Information About the Speaker

When you're booking speakers, make sure you check the following things:

- Their area of expertise.

- Their presentation style.

- Their track record.

- Their attitudes and values.

Area of Expertise

We have already spoken about the necessity for choosing the right speaker to suit the conference theme and the topic of the session. Take care to choose a speaker whose area of expertise dovetails with the information you want to get across to the conference delegates.

Presentation Style

What effect do you want for a particular session? A light and breezy approach? Inspirational? Witty? Someone who can make difficult and technical concepts clear and interesting?Look at the session time, look at the projected speech length, look at the conference theme. Then, make your choice. Remember it's essential to choose someone who will have the right impact. The best speakers have strong, relevant content wrapped in a great presentation style.

Track Record

Just because a speaker's the new kid on the block doesn't mean that he or she won't deliver the goods. To get the best out of a speaker, you should always try to get references from three people who have used him or her in similar circumstances. Ask prospective speakers to give you the names and addresses of other people who have booked them.

If you're taking a punt on a new speaker, and you haven't been able to get any feedback from other conference organizers, try that person out in a short speech session.

Don't be tempted to spend money on a speaker with a "so-so" reputation. And book early enough to get the most suitable person, not "the-only-one-left-who'll-have-to-do".

Attitudes and Values

Try to ensure that your speakers' attitudes and values mirror those of most of the delegates - and especially the values of the company. If you're espousing ethical business procedures and restraint, it's not a good idea to choose a speaker who's renowned for being a shark. The speakers chosen should be known for attitudes which reflect the conference theme.

Doug Malouf delivers results in the areas of Sales, Customer Service, Management Development and Communication Skills. He is a unique keynote speaker and is universally acknowledged as one of the most involving and imaginative trainers in the world. www.dougspeak.com