Taking the risk out of hiring a keynote speaker

Choosing a keynote speaker or corporate trainer has its risks. Worldwide, there are thousands of professional speakers, so how do you choose one that will win you praise rather than embarrassment? My advice is to engage a professional speaking bureau to guide you in making the right choice. Speaking bureaus know the speaking industry. Many bureaus have hundreds to thousands of speakers, however more boutique speaking bureaus develop very personal relationships with their speakers, and recommend them because they can guarantee the speaker willl deliver.

The next time you are looking to engage a keynote speaker consider these tips:

• What is the purpose of the event; Is it to engage employees? Motivate the team? A new product launch? Training in customer service? Boosting the sales team?
• Is there a theme to your event which the speaker can tailor the presentation to?
• Who are the delegates? i.e. age, percentage of females and males, their roles in the company?
• What are the challenges your organisation is experiencing?
• What do you want your delegates to remember after hearing the speaker?
• What message would you like the keynote speaker to deliver to the audience?
• What is the most important part of the keynote that you would like the delegates to take away with them?
• Are there any sensitive issues that you do not want the speaker to mention?
• Will the speaker be permitted to sell their own products?

Once you engaged a speaker you may wish to consider the following:

• Has the speaker or speaking bureau provided you with a contract?
• Have you organised the materials or handouts for the speaker?
• Do you have adequate signage for your delegates to find their way to break out rooms, conference rooms etc?
• Have you got the mobile (Cell) phone number of the speaker and the speaking bureau?
• Have you informed the speaker of the dress code?
• Have you advised the catering staff NOT to serve food whilst the speaker is presenting?
• Does the speaker have the mobile number of the contact person when he/she arrives at the venue?
• Has the MC been provided with the keynote speaker's intro? Ideally, the speaker should brief the introducer.
• Are you intending to record or video the presentation? If yes,you must have a written agreement with the speaker?
• Have you given your PR/Marketing department enough information to promote the speaker? If you have a celebrity speaker it would be wise to leverage off their fame.
• Has the speaker been briefed?
• Check in with the speaker at least two days in advance.

Contracts

Always ask the speaker or bureau for a contract. Our speaker bureau contracts always include:

• Who pays for the material costs – the speaker may include this or it may be added on to the fee
• Most speakers expect the client to pay for travel, transfers and accommodation and this should be in the contract
• What AV equipment is required
• Who will pay for transporting materials
• If you desire to record or film the speaker you will need written permission in the contract
• What the staging requirements are i.e. lectern, hand-held mic, DVD player
• What time the speaker is expected to arrive at the venue
• Date and time of presentation and have it written in the contract
• Duration of the Presentation - ensure this is written in the contract.
• Guarantee - is there a guarantee from the speaker if the conference organizers are not happy with the outcome?
• The speaker will have a cancellation fee and this should be written in the speaker’s contract

The best advice I can give you is to engage a speaking bureau as they only recommend speakers they know will deliver and will have all the above covered in their terms. The best news is this doesn’t cost you a thing…it’s all paid for by the speaker and the fee is not inflated to cover this.

Debbie Carr has been in the speaking bureau business since 2004 and can be contacted at www.coyote.com.au or www.truecolourskeynotes.com

For more information www.coyote.com.au/debbie_carr.html