05 Apr Event Speakers with Extra
Holding an event or gala for your organization is incredibly exciting; one of the most important elements of a memorable event is the talent, the people who come and speak about issues relevant to your industry or interests. Back in the day, this was a relatively simple affair; the speaker would show up, give a keynote address, shake a couple of hands and be on their way. Today, though, we can ask more of our speakers – great ones will deliver.
The best way to know if you have a speaker who’s going to go the extra mile is through your initial interactions with them. When you talk to them about their speaking engagement, are they willing to listen to your questions and concerns? Do they provide a copy of their speech beforehand? Are they interested in hearing recommendations about how to make it more relevant to your business, or have they made these adjustments of their own volition? In order to get a good sense of the speaker you want to hire, it’s advisable that you have several conversations with them before the day of the event; that way, you can iron out all of the details and make sure you’re getting what you paid for.
In today’s hyper-connected age, a great speaker will promote your event for you. That means they’ll hop on the Gram, Tweet, and generally make noise about the exciting things that you’re bringing together. A speaker who truly goes the extra mile might even coordinate their efforts with your overall social media and marketing plan. This is a huge boon for a lot of businesses who might not have as many followers as a speaker; that means hiring a famous speaker can act both as an exciting cornerstone to your event and a method of expanding your social media presence.
Speakers with that extra something will often have been booked before, and the really great ones will have videos of these bookings on YouTube. Do you research, and look up videos of speakers you plan on hiring. When there’s a lot of high quality videos, crowds that look engaged, and the speaker is talking about things they’re passionate about, you’ll know you’ve found someone good. Videos on their personal channel are also a great indicator of their willingness to cross post events to their social media.
How do you find the right speaker, one who talks about issues relevant to you, one who can engage audiences before, during and after the event, one who is willing to communicate with you several times before the day? The easy answer is to hire from a speakers agency; Forbes gives a great guide on speakers agencies and how they can help you find the right keynote speaker for any event. Make sure to book these speakers well in advance; because they’re so talented, and so willing to go the extra mile, they’re often in high demand with very full schedules.