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Use pre-event
publicity to build interest in your
speaker.
Use posters to announce the speaker and
the topic.
Send a memo describing the speaker’s
credentials.
Encourage your staff to visit the
speaker’s website.
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Fully inform your
speaker about your business.
Provide information for the speaker to
study well in advance: annual reports,
newsletters, press releases, etc.
Answer the speaker’s questionnaire as
completely as possible. Don’t hold back
useful insights or information.
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Put your speaker
in touch with people in the business.
Give your speaker access with management
and staff prior to the event. Telephone
conversations are a good start.
Face-to-face meetings are even better.
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Put your speaker
in touch with your customers.
Encourage contact between your speaker
and your customers. Let customers know
in advance that a speaker will be
calling to gather their ideas and
suggestions.
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Be candid with
your speaker about your culture and your
competition.
Let your speaker know what’s really
going on in your industry. Be sure he or
she understands your competitive
advantage and the actions being taken by
others.
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Review and use a
speaker’s introduction.
Your speaker should provide you with a
‘speaker’s introduction’ in advance of
the actual event. Customize this to link
with your event theme or business
issues.
The person introducing the speaker
should be prepared and enthusiastic. The
introduction starts the speech!
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Reinforce the
message with take-home handouts.
Help people remember and apply key
points with an attractive take-home
handout. Handouts can be as extensive as
a customized notebook, or as simple as a
laminated wallet-size card.
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Arrange for audio
and video taping of your speaker.
If your speaker is properly prepared and
effective in delivering an important
message, the cost of professional audio
and video taping can be a very wise
investment.
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Improve room setup
with your speaker’s input.
Be sure your speaker has access to the
venue prior to his or her presentation.
Professional speakers have vast
experience with room layouts, acoustics,
lighting, etc. Small improvements can
make a very big difference.
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Allow time for
questions and answers, but ensure you
get good questions!
When the schedule allows, a Q&A session
lets your audience go deeper into the
topic with the speaker.
Get good questions by letting your
audience know in advance that a Q&A
session will follow the normal
presentation. Allow a few minutes for
discussion among audience members before
taking the first question. Make sure one
or two participants are ready in advance
with excellent questions to help ‘get
the ball rolling’.
Provide microphones for your audience to
ask questions. Otherwise, ask your
speaker to repeat each question clearly
before providing an answer.
