Four Ways to Improve the Quality of Your Speaker Talks
When creating an event, there are many formats you could follow for the programme. At some point during the event, you will probably have someone stood in front of a projector talking over slides. Being a common element of a conference, there’s a lot you can do to make sure these talks engage and stimulate the attendees. Here are four things you can do to get the most out of your speakers:
Book in a Run Through
The lead up to any event can be hectic, deadlines of every shape and form catching up with you. Sponsors change their plans. Venues misinterpret your needs. No event is without these niggles. However, you need to find suitable time to run through your speaker’s talks.
This can be a time consuming task, but it has huge value. One of the main reasons is so that speakers don’t leave it to the last minute, they will have all their talks prepared. Thus, giving them sufficient time to analyse their content and practice. It is a well-known fact that presenters tend to leave it to the last minute, booking in a run through cancels out this worry.
Overview of the Audience
Speakers love to tailor their talks to that specific audience. Giving the speaker an overview of the audience will allow the creation of content that has a better chance of engagement, enhancing the value to attendees.
Give Them Direction
Presenting in front of an audience can be quite a daunting experience. Giving the speaker some form of direction can really increase the confidence in which they speak and present. Inform the speaker of what your audience want to hear. For example, “our audience care more about the ‘how’ and ‘why’”. This helps avoid too much scene setting and context, focusing on what the audience actually want to hear. Therefore, this really just gives the speaker an approach in order to create content that constantly engages attendees.
Share Their Knowledge
We have talked a lot about how your attendees can get the most out of your speakers. However, it is important to take into consideration the needs of the speaker. How can you help your speakers get more from the opportunity to speak to your audience.
Encourage them to write accompanying blogs that you can share post event. Also, some members of the audience will be interested in the speaker slides. Allowing the speaker to share them on your website can be beneficial for both parties.
And finally, things like including the event Hashtag in the title of their blog posts. Anyone following the Hashtag away from the event can see their content.
