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10 WAYS TO LEVERAGE
YOUR PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER
Hiring a professional speaker can be a very effective
way to raise an issue, educate an audience or drive home
a key business message. Use these ideas to get the most
from your investment.
1. Use Pre-Event Publicity to Build Interest in Your
Speaker:
* Put up posters at work to announce the upcoming
speaker and the topic.
* Send out a memo describing the speaker's background
and credentials.
* Circulate a cassette by the speaker to "tease"
interested parties.
* Encourage your staff to visit the speaker's World Wide
Web site.
2. Fully Inform Your Speaker about Your Business:
* Provide information for the speaker to study well in
advance: annual reports, internal newsletters, market
and media reports, etc.
* Answer the speaker's "Pre-Event Questionnaire" as
completely as possible.
3. Put Your Speaker In Touch with People Inside Your
Business:
* Be sure your speaker gets sufficient contact with
management and staff prior to the event. Telephone
conversations are a good start. Face to face meetings
are even better.
4. Put Your Speaker in Touch with Your Customers:
* Encourage contact between your speaker and your
customers. Let your customers know in advance that your
speaker will be calling to gather their ideas and
suggestions.
5. Be Candid with Your Speaker about Your Competition:
* Let your speaker know what's really going on inside
your industry. Be sure he understands your competitive
advantage, and the actions being taken by others.
6. Review and Use a Speaker's Introduction:
* Your speaker should provide you with a "Speaker's
Introduction" in advance of the actual event. Customize
this to link closely with current business issues.
* Be sure the person who introduces your speaker is well
prepared and enthusiastic. The introduction actually
starts the speech!
7. Reinforce the Message with Take-Home Handouts:
* Help people remember and apply key points with an
attractive take-home handout. Handouts can be as
extensive as a full-course, customized notebook, or as
simple as a laminated, wallet-sized card.
8. Arrange for Audio and Videotaping of Your Speaker:
* If your speaker is properly prepared and effective in
delivering the message, the cost of professional audio
and videotaping can be a very wise investment.
9. Improve Room Set-Up with Your Speaker's Input:
* Be sure your speaker has access to the room prior to
his presentation. Professional speakers have vast
experience with room layouts, acoustics, lighting, etc.
* Try to make the changes your speaker may suggest.
Small improvements can sometimes make a very big
difference.
10. Allow Time for Questions & Answers...and Be Sure You
Get Good
Questions:
* When the schedule allows, a Q&A session lets your
audience get deeper into the topic, and the speaker.
* Get good questions by letting your audience know in
advance that a Q&A session will follow the normal
presentation. You may allow a few minutes for discussion
amongst audience members before taking the first
question. If necessary, make sure one or two
participants will help "get
the ball rolling".
* Provide microphones for your audience to ask
questions. Your speaker should clearly repeat each
question for everyone to hear.
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- Ron's successful background includes high-impact special events at the
Rose Bowl, the Great Wall of China, St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow and on the Capitol
Mall in Washington DC. His unique approaches to leadership and learning have been featured
in LIFE Magazine, the New York Times and frequently on TV. A graduate of Brown University,
USA, Ron is certified in Applied Neuro-linguistics and is a professional member of the
National Speakers Association. For more information please visit his web site: http://www.ronkaufman.com/
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