One of the crucial decisions that people have to make when organizing events is getting a speaker. Whether you’re looking for a Leading Sales Keynote Speaker for 2024 or simply an inspirational speaker to boost team morale, the speaker that you choose can determine how successful the event goes. You should, therefore, take your time to think about an ideal speaker for the event. The right leadership leader can not only set the tone for the event but also make it quite memorable in the minds of your audience.
Before you do this, you need to make some crucial considerations. The lack of looking at all the relevant factors as you choose a speaker for an event can damage your reputation. Getting it right can, however, bring you closer toward a successful event. Our guide can help you discover how you can choose the right leadership speaker to make your event a success. Enjoy!
What makes a good speaker?
Instead of looking at a few famous names and ticking them off, you need to understand what makes one a good leadership speaker so that you don’t go wrong with your selection. A good speaker should be able to engage with the audience naturally and compel them to take a particular action at the end of the talk. They should also entertain and educate the audience.
The speaker should also be able to provide some fresh insights on topics that are related to the event. During their speech, a good leadership speaker should also offer some motivational takeaways to inspire the audience.
How to choose the right speaker
Now that you understand the qualities of a great event speaker, you should find out how you can get one. Start with the following.
Define the aim of the event
Before you start making calls to different individuals whom you presume can make great speakers, you need to assess the objective of the particular event you are planning on having. Most of the speakers have different levels of experience and expertise. They therefore cannot deliver the same message in a similar manner. Think about the central themes of the event so that you can choose a speaker that aligns with these.
As you organize an event, you should have clear goals that a leadership speaker can help you achieve. For instance, choosing a celebrity speaker for an event can help you energize the crowd and keep them entertained. When you are clear of how you want your event to go, then you will not have problems identifying the right speaker.
Get familiar with the flow of the event
While some events work with only one speaker, others use two or three speakers. If you are planning on having a conference the entire day, you can choose more than one speaker. Since the energy of a room may fluctuate at different stages of the event, different speakers can prevent monotony and keep the audience focused at all times.
Understanding the flow of your event can help you choose the right leadership speakers. You can, for instance, get a kick-off speaker that can set the tone of the event and an after-lunch speaker that can reignite the energy in your audience. A speaker can close the event pulling together all the crucial messages that have been discussed throughout the day. The leadership speaker has to be quite flexible in regards to their content and be able to answer all the relevant questions that the audience may have.
Speaker diversity
You should also think about choosing speakers from different backgrounds in terms of gender, race, religion, or even sexual orientation. Getting speakers with diverse opinions can lead to a meaningful debate. Speaker diversity during an event can also create an enriching experience for your audience. You can quickly achieve this by searching for different speakers from various sources.
Consider the expectations of the audience
Most people tend to overlook the audience when choosing guest speakers for their events. Disregarding the audience can make your events unsuccessful. You need to think about the expectations of the audience as you compare different guest speakers. If you want to draw a broad audience to an event, you can go for a celebrity speaker.
The audience, in this case, always look forward to being entertained from the event. If you are having difficulties understanding the expectations of your audience, you could try to find out why people are attending the conference and what they are looking for from it. Ensure that you match the leadership speaker with the audience.
Budget
Organizing a big event needs a lot of money, and working with a budget is crucial. When you think about a speaker for the event, you should also set up a budget so that you know what you intend to spend on this. Compare different guest speakers for your event as you factor in how much this is going to cost you. You can avoid wasting funds by researching how much different speakers are paid. Most of them often quote their charges on their websites. Apart from the regular costs, you should also have in mind additional expenses that you might incur while hosting the speaker.
The accommodation costs are not usually included in the charges reflected online. Some of the leadership speakers also have particular AV requirements that can lead to additional expenses. Considering all these costs can help you choose the right speaker that is within your budget. Ensure that you clear up all the related costs upfront to minimize any issues after the event. If you prefer working with a high profile speaker, you should be ready to pay a substantial amount.
Avoid compromising
Since there are numerous speakers that you can pick from, you should not settle for anything less than what you are searching for. Remember that you are the customer looking for a speaker who can fulfill specific needs in your event. You should, therefore, be sure of what you are searching for from a speaker and get one that can fulfill all the requirements.
