From food and beverages to ensuring adequate parking and making the venue look presentable, you have quite a bit to think about to ensure your audience leaves with a good impression. Perhaps one of the most daunting and critical tasks for those involved in the planning process is making sure the intended message of the event is conveyed clearly and that it easily reaches the audience which, in turn, makes your event a memorable and pleasant experience, and also increases the likelihood attendees will return for future events.
Planning and Preparing
Before settling on a spokesperson for your important engagement, you will need to address internal considerations. Whether you are new to event planning or a seasoned veteran, setting an agenda and theme for the day will take a considerable amount of stress out of the planning process for you and your chosen spokesperson. You should begin by creating a schedule outlining the events of the day, including breaks, and determine whether the speaker will be making several small speeches or delivering a soliloquy. You should also evaluate the demographic of the audience. Will they consist primarily of executives or CEOs, or industry experts and leaders? You should also consider age and gender ratios as well. Then, clarify the main objective of the event, and identify how a speaker can help relay that message.
Selecting a Speaker
Once you have planning out of the way, it is time to move on to selecting a speaker. Perhaps you know from past experience (or want to avoid the potential for this uncomfortable situation) that a hired speaker can make or break a business presentation. One of the most important, and often overlooked, aspects of hiring a spokesperson is ensuring that speaker has adequate time to prepare for the event. Any speaker, regardless of quality and reputation, can give a bad presentation if they are without ample time to prepare, not to mention dealing with the stresses of last-minute bookings and red-eye flights. To avoid this pitfall, your speechmaker should be chosen 6-12 months before the event.
Once logistics are taken care of you can focus on finding someone suitable in personality and area of specialty. There are many professional speakers, and while they share the same profession, they do not all share the same area of expertise, skill level, and overall effectiveness. In addition to choosing a speaker with a good reputation, you will want to look for a professional speechmaker whose skills and expertise match the message and mood you want to convey at your occasion. If your goal is to educate CEOs and corporate owners about industry trends, you should select a speaker with intimate knowledge of that subject. If you want to make your event informative and entertaining, consider hiring a speaker with a background in comedy.
Where to Find a Speaker
Now that you know what kind of speaker you want to find, it is time to search for the right man or woman for the job. Some speechmakers operate as individual consultants, and work for themselves. However, your best bet may be to consult a speaker bureau or accredited agency. While there are certainly speechmakers of varying quality available through both organization types, most event planners have greater success in hiring speakers from larger agencies. One of the most practical reasons is cost. Speakers, who are employed by bureaus and agencies, generally charge less per hour than their self-employed peers. Additionally, agencies have a larger pool of candidates to choose from, which increases your likelihood of finding the best person for the job.
Hosting a big corporate event is no small task. Many considerations must be taken into account to ensure the day goes smoothly. One of the most important factors is making sure the audience leaves with a new knowledge or deeper understanding of the topic du jour. A professional speechmaker can work wonders in making your day a success, and can do wonders for your company’s reputation and credibility, as well as help you make new corporate friends.
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This is an era of having proper connectivity and social presence in both personal and professional networks. Planning a non-forgettable event can be one part of making an effective business presence and employee empowerment. How do you plan your business meeting? Share your secret with us…!
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