So much is riding on the keynote speaker…

Getting it wrong isn’t just costly; it can also hurt your reputation badly. Interestingly, as one PCO pointed out, the keynote speaker is often the least expensive part of a day when all costs are considered. If you have a speaker after lunch for 500 delegates, the lunch might cost $6,000 (at $12 per person) and the speaker $3,000 - but it’s the speaker that is what you are judged on.

Here are some points to consider:

Nightmare #1. Getting the outcome wrong.
Is the speaker there to entertain, provide tangible knowledge that delegates can take away or to be uplifting and ‘inspirational’? Write down the outcomes you want them to take from the presentation as concisely as possible before you start looking. Examples of outcomes:

• To have delegates motivated to act on the knowledge from the earlier speakers at the conference
• To give delegates tangible easy to implement ideas to grow their business
• To help delegates understand the issues and solutions to great teamwork
• To give delegates ways to improve customer relationships

This nightmare usually manifests itself when organizers go through speakers lists and choose on name, reputation, location, cost or a number of other factors rather than the outcome required. Set the preferred outcomes first, THEN match this to available speakers.

Nightmare #2. Mis-defining “motivational”
A lot of the time you will be asked to find a “motivational “speaker, but what does that mean? It is too easy to assume that the client and the PCO are in agreement on this. Do they mean an inspirational life story, a goal setting expert or something else? It could be a business speaker with loads of good inspirational business building or team building ideas or a sales skills speaker who is “motivational” as they have shown the audience HOW, not just revved them up.

Nightmare #3. Not being relevant to the audience
Have they spoken to or worked in this industry before? This can be a huge advantage due to the industry’s peculiarities or it may be a hindrance as you are looking for completely fresh ideas. Be clear in which you want before you start looking. A common criticism is “He was fine, but didn’t understand our industry”

Nightmare #4. Not checking them out beforehand.
Nasty surprises await at times. Will they relate to the audience? Do they use off-color humor? Is the presentation too fact-filled? Quick easy to understand material on the speaker can be gained in a number of ways.

• Have they got a web site?
  Does it give you a good feel for the speaker? Has it got an online newsletter or blogs that might give a quick guide to what they can do and an indication as to what sort of person they are? Web sites are a good first step since unless you have personally heard them, you could be in for a nasty surprise.
• Videos, tapes, books and PowerPoint presentations
  These are usually easily obtainable upon request direct from the speaker or speaker’s bureau. These may exist in a very much abbreviated form on their web site, which still give a very good indication whether you should consider that speaker at all.
• Testimonials
  These are usually also on their web sites or in their promotional material. Read them. The people that put their names at the bottom obviously believed what they wrote at the time so can be a good guide. Even better are email or phone numbers to call for a more specific reference. Look for or ask for these. These can answer the not-otherwise-listed issues such as what are they like to work with? Are they a Prima Donna in terms of detail or timing or accommodation?
• Not having seen them in person
  There is no substitute for this, however it is not always practical and you must also weigh up the value of your own time. If they are an offshore speaker this is doubly difficult. A video clip on their web site may do as a substitute or perhaps someone else see them for you.

Nightmare #5. Not being able to customize and personalize the presentation
A one-size-fits-all presentation rarely works. Is the speaker prepared to do some homework on your company or organization’s issues? This impresses delegates more than most other elements, so ask the speaker. If they are, push them up your short list. The chances of them being the right person are greatly increased.

Nightmare #6. Choosing the speaker based on their fees
She was the most expensive, so must be the best!!! Really? The audience don’t know what each speaker is being paid, so they are going to judge them on the basis of relevance, style and value of the information - not the price.

Fees do not always reflect the abilities, as there could be a fair element of ‘celebrity’ status in there. They might be an outstanding athlete or have held high office but the issues of relevance to the audience, balance of message and humor etc still apply.

Nightmare #7. Not making use of a speakers bureau correctly
It is possible to save a few dollars by not going through a speaker’s bureau. However, these people act as your vetting agency. They screen the speakers and because they act for large numbers of speakers can be unbiased in their views. They are normally extremely conscious of their own reputations so will not even mention a dodgy speaker. A word of caution - do NOT phone them to get ideas and then contact the recommended speaker direct. The bureau will normally find out as most speakers keep their preferred bureaus informed of their engagements.

Nightmare #8. They don’t show up!
This has happened on more than one occasion, be it due to weather, transport issues or illness. What do you do? It’s called risk management and it’s a matter of weighing up the downside of a non-appearance. Should you get in the day before and pay a little extra or arrange safe transport (train rather than plane) or have a backup speaker from the internal ranks of the delegates? In each case, decide on the ‘cost’ to you and the conference of a non-appearance and look to minimize the impact by managing the bits you can.

Avoiding the nightmares
PCOs I have known tell me that all their speaker problems are usually the result of one of the above. I hope this is helpful to you, particularly to the newer members of the PCO community.