How To Choose An Inspirational Speaker In 3 Steps
Are you trying to choose the best inspirational speaker for your next big event? Following these guidelines will help you find the right person to knock the socks off of your audience and make you look like a hero at the same time.
Finding the right speaker for your group can be a daunting process. not only can it be very expensive, but it is a major reflection on an event planner as well as the organization. Therefore, having a solid and proven process to choose your next speaker is the best way to maximize your chances for a great event and reduce chances of a ‘flop!’
Step #1: Treat Your Inspirational Speaker Like They’re A New, Short-Term Employee
You’d be pretty careful if you were hiring a new employee, wouldn’t you? Why would you treat booking a speaker any differently? Look at it this way: A new worker, working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks would provide you with 1,920 hours of work. Well, if your speaker talks for 90 minutes and there’s an audience of about 1300 people, that’s the same number of hours!
Therefore, you should consider the speaker’s professional achievements and credentials. Take a look at the speaker’s website and view some of the samples that he or she may present. can they hold an audiences attention? Will people be excited to see them speak?
Step #2: Find An Inspirational Speaker Relevant To Your Purpose
If you know the ‘end result’ that you want your audience to leave with, you can find a speaker that will be relevant. If you want someone who is simply going to motivate and inspire, the subject matter isn’t incredibly important. If you want someone who will entertain, any comedian, magician, or good story-teller will do the trick. If you need your audience to leave with a set of skills or specific industry knowledge, you should take this into consideration as well. Often, bringing in a ‘big-name’ can be worth it as well-known people can put butts in seats and an aura of importance to your event… even if their speech sucks!
Step #3: Appreciate Inspirational Speakers Who Are Easy To Work With!
Many speakers are divas. They request private green rooms and fill their riders with all sorts of ridiculous requests. They need to email and call you every few days with some sort of change. They’re annoying!
Here’s a big hint: if someone bothers you when you try and book them to speak, or if they’re not easy to work with, chances are, they’re also going to be a pain when they get to your event! Your first experience with a speaker is probably going to be your best experience with them. Therefore, you can save yourself a serious headache by trusting your instinct.
Overall, to get the best inspirational speaker for your next event, follow these 3 simple steps!
