When it comes to choosing the right speaker for your next event, you should keep in mind that speakers are often a foundation of an event. It means they are very important for entertainment as well as for engagement and marketing.
A perfect speaker holds the attendees’ attention from start to finish. They are easy to work with. They entertain and inspire your audience. They allow you to focus on other things. The right speaker will match your event needs and expectations. Furthermore, a perfect speaker attracts a bigger audience than you had ever imagined, adding integrity to your event.
Yes, such a thing as the perfect speaker really does exist, so how do you go about finding him or her for your next event?
Research
Resources
You can use many resources to find a speaker such as personal recommendations, Google, agencies or you can use tools like SpeakerHub and SpeakerMatch. Both tools are the fastest-growing community of professional, independent, or amateur public speakers, trainers and other subject-matter experts who’d like to be found by companies, event organizers and schools. Having the name of the speaker is not enough: you need to see them, read about them and find out how much are they into your topic.
However, you may choose to work with agencies. Agencies will help you find out the most relevant speakers for your event, but first, make sure you know their speaker selection criteria.
Theme & topic
Before you reach out to the potential candidates define what is the theme of the conference and the topic you’d like your candidate to speak about. This will ensure you’ll find the relevant people for your event. You don’t need to book your favorite speaker. Just because you admire him or her doesn’t mean they are the right choice. You want the best one for your attendees, who’ll fit with your event theme. Ask attendees whether they liked or didn’t like your previous speakers and ask them what they would like to see in the future. Furthermore, you can ask for potential speakers past client list and see if they spoke to audiences similar to yours.
Determine location, dates, and details relevant to your speakers, team members, and attendees. Be clear about your expectations, and make sure the speaker you’ll choose will deliver all your requirements. Determine benefits to both the speaker and your audience. Additionally, make sure you understand the costs of the speaker which often do not include expenses or accommodation.
Videos
Wherever you visit the speaker’s profile, take a look at their videos. You should look for their confidence, knowledge, and charisma to know them better. The best videos are the ones where the speaker is in front of a live audience. Check the audience: how big it is, do they look boring or engaged? An alternative to videos is a podcast or an interview. However, If the speaker doesn’t have any kind of videos online, have a video chat with them or meet them in person.
On the whole, videos are effective tools in the evaluation process. Our advice is to follow your video review with a phone call. This will allow you to represent your event objectives and goals to the speaker, and the speaker than will have a direct opportunity to respond by sharing his or her opinion.
Content
Furthermore, look at the speaker’s content – their profile or website. Try Googling their name and just see what you can find. Read their articles if any, check out their posts on social media and how people respond to it. Pay attention to what they are writing about and how.
A quality check
To verify the quality of the speaker, check these things:
- Is your speaker hardworking or he/she brings the same keynote to every event? Every speaker should align their research and presentation to the goals and objectives of an event.
- How emotional are their presentations and content and how delegates should feel after the session?
- How unique and innovative are they?
- Have they had repeat bookings? If so, this is a great indicator of a quality speaker.
Evaluation
Before you start calling your potential speakers, make sure you evaluate your wishlist.
First, ask yourself how many speakers do you need? Use the information you’ve collected about candidates to determine who will be your first, second, and third choices and create a lineup that will keep attendees engaged throughout the day. Moreover, you don’t need to spend a large amount of money on a well-known speaker, you can always choose to hire a rising star. Be different regarding your competition.
Contacting
When it’s time to start contacting your potential candidates, decide how many emails you need to send or how many phone calls, before it’s time to get someone off the list. It’s very important to be clear about your expectations as well as total costs. Ask about any special requests to avoid surprises.
Remember to treat your speaker with respect and courtesy before, during, and after your event. After all the work is done and you find yourself that perfect speaker keeps in mind that perfect speakers know other perfect speakers! Take care of him or her to ensure they remember you most positively.
