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These tips are offered for planning and
fine-tuning your meeting. They come from years of speaking to
corporations, professional societies and associations. Some were
learned as a Professional Member of the National Speakers
Association, some come from the "school of experience" and others
are from meeting planners. I hope that you find some ideas here to
help make your meeting even more successful!
Selecting & Booking Your
Speaker:
Check speaker’s track record, talk
with others and if possible, preview the speaker. Experience
counts! The more experienced the speaker, the more you can count
on this person to handle the glitches that WILL arise! This
experience is part of what you are paying for. The professional
speaker knows how to make you, your organization and your meeting
look good.
Ask other meeting planners: Was the
speaker easy to work with? Did the speaker interact with the
group? How did the audience respond? Were there any unpleasant
surprises? Did the speaker deliver what was promised? Was he
professional on and off the platform? Would you invite this
speaker back?
The earlier you are able to book your
speaker the better for you both. This is especially important when
planning meetings for heavily booked Spring and Fall months.
Booking early can also lock in lower fees prior to rate
increases.
Selecting Your
Meeting Location:
What type of meeting are you
conducting and what tone do you want to set? Convention centers
are business-focused. Clubs and restaurants can provide a more
intimate or personal feeling. Hotels can offer both. If you are
considering a country club or golf club, there are other issues to
consider. Is the meeting room appropriate for A/V equipment? Some
have expansive windows with decorative drapes that don’t close – a
nightmare for a presenter using image projection!
The audiovisual company will have
significant impact on meeting success. Does the facility have
on-site or off-site A/V? An off-site company brings equipment,
sets it up and then leaves to work with other clients. If
equipment fails, it requires someone returning to the facility.
With an on-site A/V, problem solutions are in the same building!
Most clubs and restaurants use off-site A/V groups. Consider
options carefully.
When planning seating, tighter is
better than looser. There is more energy in a room where people
are seated close together than when they are spread out. Bear this
in mind as it WILL affect the mood of the meeting.
Promoting Your
Meeting:
Some speakers have materials available for
use in promoting your meeting. Photos, artwork and promo blurbs
add interest to mailings and can increase attendance. Ask the
speaker what is available.
Ask the speaker for a journal or
newsletter article that might increase awareness and attendance of
the upcoming meeting.
Quotes from other meetings/audience
attendees can increase interest in your meeting. Ask your speaker
for quotes to use in promotion.
Ask the speaker about ideas to
promote his/her presentation. Speakers have seen what works for
other groups and might have some
suggestions.
ALWAYS send your
speaker one of your promo pieces. (Sending a draft to the
speaker before printing can eliminate problems later on.)
The speaker needs to know what your attendees have read and
expect. A speaker should review this prior to the meeting to
ensure that the presentation content is "as advertised." This step
is key and is likely to increase audience
satisfaction.
Care & Feeding of the
Audience:
Audience comfort has a huge impact
on participant responsiveness to the meeting. Assign volunteers to
be room "comfort/temperature monitors".
If participants are seated at tables,
have water pitchers and glasses on each table. Or have water
service available at rear of the room.
Quality of food and its service can
make or break a meeting. No matter how great is the speaker or the
facility, poor food service can create disgruntled attendees and
they’ll talk about it! If your meeting starts very early in the
morning and attendees have driven far, many will expect at least
some coffee to start the day.
Care & Feeding of the
Speaker:
Travel is
stressful. The more the client can reduce speaker stress the
better the presenter will be. Making arrangements for airport
pickup can eliminate the anxiety of arriving in a new city &
airport.
The host may invite the
speaker to dinner the night before the meeting. Some speakers
enjoy getting out of the hotel and welcome this opportunity. Other
speakers prefer to have room service in order to rest from travel
and prepare for the the next day. Ask the speaker’s preference.
If the meeting is not at
the the speaker’s hotel, offer to have someone pick up the
speaker, or arrange for transportation. It is crucial to have the
speaker at the meeting location at least 45 minutes prior to the
program start. (The more complicated or sophisticated the
audiovisual setup, the earlier the speaker should be there!) By
making these arrangements yourself, you help to eliminate some of
the early morning jitters.
Day of the Meeting - The
"Countdown":
Test all A/V equipment and
ensure that visuals can be seen from all corners of the room. Be
sure the podium does not obstruct view from front row, and check
if audience heads will obstruct view of projected images. Ensure
that overhead lighting doesn’t wash out projected image. Bulbs
over screens can be unscrewed to improve clarity.
Place a copy of the speaker’s
introduction at the podium.
Distribute evaluation forms before the
presentation.
Review with the speaker how handouts
are to be distributed.
Review times of breaks and closing
with speaker.
Review how lights are to be managed
during image projection.
Check with speaker if timing signals
are wanted.
Stay on schedule! Audiences want the
meeting to run as advertised.
At close of the meeting, request that
audience members complete evaluations.
Suzanne Boswell Presentations
- Raleigh, NC USA
Phone:
919-845-4189 - Fax:
919-845-4188
Email : Suzanne@BoswellPresentations.com Website: www.BoswellPresentations.com
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