Conference planning involves a lot behind the scenes. Finding quality speakers for an event is no easy task. In a field as diverse as marketing, where there are so many events, it can be difficult to find qualified speakers – who may already have some pretty full schedules.
The right speaker can make the difference between pats on the back and slow head shakes at your event. Your keynote speaker will help increase the buzz you’ll need when creating your marketing campaign and increase the impact you’ll get from it. You can use them to set the tone for the event and make it memorable for your audience. A quality speaker can influence your results right down to the ticket level.
When selecting speakers you have several considerations. Their capabilities include everything from technological expertise and diversity to engaging and inspiring your target audience. Your reputation is at risk if you get it wrong, but if it’s done correctly, you’ll have taken a significant step towards a successful and memorable event.
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What makes a good guest speaker?
Rather than just another item on the checklist, it is important to consider speaker selection as a positive opportunity. Your entire event can be brought into sharp focus by selecting a good speaker.
Let’s start with what makes a good speaker. As it stands, they must be capable of entertaining an audience, engaging them, and inspiring them to take action when they leave the room. You need to consider the specific vision you have for your event and the goals you want to achieve when choosing the right speaker.
A good keynote or guest speaker must be able to do at least some of the following:
- Attract attendees
- Engage an audience
- Reinforce key event themes
- Entertain an audience
- Educate audiences
- Inspire audiences and drive positive change
- Contribute new insights and perspectives on event-related topics
- Provide actions and motivational takeaways
7 Strategies to Get the Best Speakers at Your Next Event
1. Leverage Social Media
Today, social media is a vital part of our day-to-day lives. You can use Social media as a tool for your association to find and potentially hire speakers.
By using social media, you can find speakers and determine whether their style of speaking fits your event. You may be able to find video recordings of the speaker’s prior speeches on YouTube if you have one in mind. Additionally, you can watch TED Talk videos and discover new speakers this way. Also, social media platforms like LinkedIn can be helpful in the search, providing information about their work history and prior experience. Speakers’ expertise in a topic and their performance can be learned through these resources.
You can follow up on a speaker you’re interested in by conducting a more comprehensive search on the Internet. See if they are reliable and really up to par on other platforms and reviews.
2. Use Speaker Websites
Several organizations specialize in training professional speakers and connecting you with those who specialize in public speaking. Several event discovery platforms like 10Times are all great sources for finding a speaker for your event. These websites allow users to search for a specific topic and find potential speakers along with their past work. Additionally, you can see past events they have participated in, as well as what they specialize in.
10Times, a leading event management and networking platform, has a huge database of events spanning a wide range of industries. The listed events offer detailed information regarding the speakers, their designations, and their respective companies. With 10Times, you can search for events or find the top 100 related to your industry and gain access to the list of speakers speaking at each easily.
3. Utilize Networking and Referrals
With the internet and its plethora of resources, it can be easy to put real-life connections on the back burner. When searching for a speaker for your event, don’t forget to make use of old-fashioned methods as well. Get in touch with your network.
You can use the connections you’ve already made to locate speakers if you’re struggling to find one. You can use these connections to plan your next event as an invaluable resource. Ask your colleagues and friends for recommendations as well.
Make sure to cross-reference your research with network recommendations. Performing an online search can help you verify their credentials and experience. With this in mind, you can combine the strategies on this list to make sure you find the most suitable speaker. Don’t forget that whoever you choose as a speaker can represent your entire association. Make sure you do your research properly!
4. Contact Local Chamber of Commerce
Consider the benefits your association can provide to your members. Are your goals and mission-aligned with anything related to business? Consider contacting your local chamber of commerce if this is the case.
It is common for business owners to join these organizations to increase the visibility of their brand or area of business. The chambers of commerce orchestrate events to bring local businesses together. Previously hosted speakers may have expertise in a topic relevant to the association’s interests. Contact information for past speakers who did a great job could be provided to them.
5. Check Content Relevance
Having an amazing and entertaining speaker is great for keeping the audience interested, but will you be able to get your message across? Your speakers must be able to incorporate the goal of your event into their speeches for your event to be successful. Ideally, your speakers should be able to deliver your message in a unique way that your audience won’t find anywhere else.
6. Utilize Data From Your Past Events
Attending events not only provides attendees with educational opportunities but also opens up networking opportunities for your association. It probably takes a lot of effort to find good speakers for other events. Your upcoming event can benefit from their hard work. You can verify a speaker’s ability first-hand if you have attended an event in the past. As you continue to attend events, try to make connections with speakers so that they can assist you with your future events.
The size of the audience, how the speaker talks and other factors influence the layout of the event space, and if it isn’t matched to the content, you may irk participants or outright upset attendees. In other words, not having a large enough screen for a room with many attendees, having the wrong table arrangement so people cannot see the speaker well, etc.
7. Issue a Call For Proposals
Potential speakers can submit their talk ideas directly via a call for proposals, also known as an abstract call. Thus, you have access to a large pool of qualified speakers interested in speaking at your event.
Several tools allow organizers to set up a call for proposals and start receiving speaker proposals in less than 15 minutes. You can rate and review speaker proposals once they are submitted to choose the best.
Conclusion
The first step to a successful event is finding an excellent speaker. With a great speaker, you can accomplish a great deal for your event and organization in general.
Book a demo with 10Times and learn how our platform can help you in finding a top stellar line-up of speakers for your upcoming event.