If you are producing an event for your employees, then you know that one of the most critical decisions you make is on which guest speakers you invite. These experts have the power to make or break your event as they are the main reason people attend.
Organizing a conference and finding a speaker who suits you is no easy task, you have to estimate your budget, identify your theme, find the place related to your seminar, provide sufficient room to accommodate everyone, and make sure that everything all comes together like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
To help you determine the appropriate speaker for your event, there are a few things you are going to need to consider:
Goals & Objectives
First of all, you have to study your needs, that is to say, bring together the collaborators involved with you on the organization of your seminar, in order to determine the different goals you wish to address. To help you, you can set objectives for this conference/seminar and indicate KPI’s to measure the achievement of these objectives.
Here is a list of good questions to ask yourself when trying to find a speaker for your event:
1. Who is your target audience?
Who is the seminar aimed at?
Your sales people?
Or your customer service reps?
“Sales people will surely prefer a very dynamic conference, while your customer service reps will probably want something more instructional” suggests John Rogan of Motivational Speakers. “This is why it is important to choose the speaker who is consistent with your audience and your goals.”
2. What type of event will this be?
Are you looking for a conference for your company without a specific theme to do a training?
Do you want a celebration with a known personality?
Would you like a speaker who is an expert in his field who can teach your employees something specific?
“Knowing what type of event you want to organize and being very specific is essential to know before hiring a guest speaker” suggests Dan Smith of Keynote Speakers. “There are many different types of event speakers you can work with and by knowing the type of event, it will quickly help the organizer narrow down their options.”
3. What is the purpose of your conference?
Why do you want to hold a conference?
Do you have a specific context in your business? (examples: restructuring, merger, commercial development, reorganization, need for cohesion, communication, trust, creativity, change management, etc.).
It is necessary to identify the purpose in order to be able to find a competent speaker to absolutely meet your needs.
4. What is the format of your event?
How do you want to organize your conference?
Which type of format do you want to use?
You can opt for a conference of approximately one hour followed by questions and answers between the speaker and his audience.
It is also possible to carry out collaborative workshops following the conference to work on your theme.
Or do you want to have a discussion panel where you bring in multiple experts who discuss their perspective on a different topic?
Choosing the format of your event will also play a pivotal role in helping you understand what type of speaker you should hire.
5. When do you want to hold the event?
To find a speaker that is right for you, it is also important to consider when to hold your conference. Certain periods may be favorable for certain types of conferences. For example, a conference in January to motivate your teams and announce the objectives for that year can be a great way to kick things off when employees return from holiday.
Or, alternatively, some organizations like to hold their seminars in the middle of the year to break up the “lull” that some might feel after working for a great period of time. This can also provide an opportunity for management to make sure everyone is on the same page.
6. Where is the conference taking place?
The location and venue of your seminar will also be quite important when ascertaining which speakers you should invite. If you plan on holding the event in a major city, this will give you the opportunity to hire bigger name speakers. Whereas if your event is in a more isolated or rural location, then you may need to find a local speaker.
After reviewing these critical questions, you will be able to determine with more certainty which speaker to contact.
