A 25 Year Veteran At The Podium.
If you hire speakers for your corporate events, you know
that choosing the right one for your audience is just the first step.
In order to ensure that your guest speaker(s) have the best
chance to succeed, there are number of issues you might want to consider.
CONNECT YOUR SPEAKER & CLIENT BEFORE THE EVENT
First, once you’ve hired your speaker, or even before, it’s
a good idea to have them talk with the client so they are both on the same page.
Some speakers customize more then others. If you hire a
prominent celebrity or high-level politician, you are more likely to get their
canned speech rather then one that is more tailored. There is not anything
necessarily wrong with that, but you should of course know that going in and
try to get as much information about their content ahead of time as possible.
If you hire a consultant on the other hand, you might expect
that they will do more homework to learn about your business and develop
specific ideas.
As a Corporate Put-on Comedian, I very much customize my
speeches so I always talk to the client to get as much information about the company
or group as I can. I also prescreen my material to make sure the client is
comfortable with all my content when I am done writing.
LOGISTICS
One of the most important things to help your speaker give a
great performance is to get them to the destination early enough so they are rested
and refreshed by the time they go on. Otherwise, you run the risk of them being
worn out from the day’s travel, and not as sharp.
If possible, depending on the
distance and location, I always try to get there the night before. Not only does this help me get a good night’s sleep, but it
also eliminates any worry for the client about any possible travel delays,
whether from weather or traffic, particularly these days on the GW Bridge. In
addition, I find it useful to watch some of the other meetings to get a flavor
of their topics and a feel for the audience.
AV AND ROOM SET UP
Any speaker worth their salt will usually want to check the
room and AV ahead of time, especially if they have power point or video as part
of their presentation. I sometimes create videos for my performances and
glitches are common when we first try them out. It also helps to adjust all the
volume controls before the speech, whether it’s for a video, podium mic, or wireless
lav. I always go over everything beforehand, and I also like to get on the
stage or at the podium to get a feel for the space ahead of time.
Make sure you have a good sound system and fresh batteries
in the wireless microphone. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had the wireless
die on me, so I also try to make sure that there’s always a backup.
In terms of the room set-up, I find auditorium style is
always the best. This way, you have the maximum amount of people close together
without any dead space if the room is filled. If it is not, try to get the
audience to sit up front and create a more unified situation.
A good rule of
thumb is that the closer the audience is to the speaker and one another, the
greater the reaction and attention.
Sometimes, I’m asked to speak after dinner or lunch and the
audience is at round tables. In that situation, I will try my best to get the
tables moved up and near one another, so again, I have the best chance for a
greater reaction.
The worst thing you can do to a speaker in terms of room set-up
is to have them too far away from the audience or have dead space in the front
of the room. I’ve spoken at events that had a dance floor in the middle that
literally divided the audience into separate parts that were much less cohesive,
and as a result, less reactive.
Another key factor in the room set-up is the lighting. It’s
best if the speaker and podium are well lit, and the audience is dim but not
completely dark. This helps us remain the focus of their full attention since
we’re the brightest thing in the room, but also lets us see the audience reaction,
which helps us adjust as we’re going along.
Sometimes, I’m in a situation where there is no spotlight or
special lighting, but only the hotel track lighting. This usually crosses the
entire room and doesn’t allow different levels of brightness for the audience and
speaker. In that case, I usually set everything somewhere in the middle, so
even though I may not be as bright as I’d like, I keep the audience from having
too much glare on them as well.
Above all, if you have the event at a breakfast, lunch or
dinner, make sure that everyone is done eating and the wait-staff has cleared
the dishes and stops moving. It’s a simple thing. If people are chewing and
clanking dishes, they’re going to be distracted from the presentation and also
create additional noise.
These are just a few tips that I’ve learned from my
experiences performing as a corporate speaker. I hope you find these tips useful
and if I can answer any questions, please contact me at Surfcomic@aol.com or check out my website at www.Hfreedman.com
Harry Freedman – The Nation’s Misleading Expert –
specializing in Customized Corporate Comedy Put-Ons and Standup Comedy.
