Getting the Trainer or Speaker to your event, requires some thought and a little professionalism from your side. You or your company have invested a lot of money for your event as well as for the Professional Speaker or Trainer. You have obviously realised by now that these Professionals do not come cheap. So often, the success of your event relies heavily on this Professional.

Let us see how best to arrange and treat this person for the sole motive of ensuring your event a success and a value for money:

1. Travel Arrangements

  When making the travel arrangements ensure that you give the Professional enough time to arrive, taking into account that flights may be cancelled or delayed. If it is an international flight, let the person arrive at least one day before the event to allow them the time to relax and adjust to the environment. Any travel is usually a stressful event and you do not want to add to the person’s stress levels by cutting the arrangements to the last minute. As the Speaker or Trainer is a Professional, they want to preserve their own reputation by being punctual and in control. Help them to achieve this.

2. Directions / Airport Collections

Ensure that you give the Professional a map and directions that are clear and easy to decipher. It is also a good idea to attach the GPS coordinates.

If they require being collected at the airport, make sure the person collecting them is there before the speaker arrives. Let them have a board with the person’s name printed in big letters.

For African countries, it is best to use the services of a professional company or a person that is well connected to assist the Professional through immigration, and customs.

Ensure that the Professional has your contact details as well as a backup person in the event of an emergency or the person being lost or your arrangements not working as you originally planned.

3. Accommodation

Always book accommodation as close to the venue as possible. The true Professional will normally have loads of equipment as well as manuals or handouts to carry around. They may want to inspect the venue and facilities to ensure greater success to their talk or training.

4. Choosing the venue

It is important to select the right venue for the amount of delegates. Too small and it is cramped and difficult for the delegates to relax and concentrate. Too large and you lose the atmosphere.

Make sure that any unused furniture and equipment is removed from the room as there is nothing worse than trying to create an atmosphere in a ‘storeroom’.

Check that the lighting is sufficient and if a light is shining on the screen, get the venue organisers to switch it off.

Visit the venue prior to the event at a similar time to check on external noises as well as the acoustics inside the room.

It is also a good idea to choose a venue that has the bathrooms and refreshment areas nearby so delegates do not spend unnecessary time visiting them.  

5. Equipment 

    i) Computers

Allow the Professional to use their own equipment. Their presentation has been tried and tested on their own equipment and all the necessary bits that are needed for their presentation has been loaded on their computer to ensure that the correct results are achieved. By insisting that they load their presentation on another computer can cause the fonts, visuals and colours to become distorted or even unreadable. The audience will never look towards the event organiser to blame, rather the Professional. This makes the Professional appear unprofessional. By forcing the Professional to fit in with your infrastructure will only create disaster for the presentation and in turn impact on your event.

    ii) Microphones

Discuss with the Presenter which microphone would be more suitable for them. A fixed microphone on a stand prohibits movement by the Speaker.

 

If the Professional requires a cordless lapel microphone, ensure that a fresh battery is inserted every morning and after each lunch break.

 

Whatever type of microphone is used, always ensure that spare microphones are on hand. These are generally the first things to go wrong. You also do not want to be in a situation whereby a single microphone is passed around the room, particularly in the question and answer session. This is unprofessional and eats into the time.

6. Speaker arrival

 Arrange that the Professional be at the venue at least one hour before their scheduled time. Normally the Professional will do this automatically to get a feel for the audience. Your motive here is to cover yourself if the preceding speaker is late or just doesn’t pitch. Get the person to contact you on arrival to give you peace of mind.

7. Introduction.  

When introducing the Professional, you are bringing two parties (the audience and the speaker) together. By doing a professional job you will create that bond. To do this, ask the Professional to give you a short CV that is relevant to the event and his or her presentation. If you can do it by memory you will look like a professional that will enhance the presentation to come. Try not to read it as it only shows that you have not prepared at all. Can you imagine if the Professional had to read his or her presentation?

8. Time Management

For any conference or event that runs with an agenda, time management can quite easily get out of control. If there are numerous speakers, use the signal light system (red, amber and green). A green light is illuminated from the time the person starts to speak. The amber light is switched on when one minute is left and the red light comes on at the end of the scheduled time. If the Speaker has not seen it, interject with “Time up” so he or she can hear you.

If you start late, where will you steal the time to bring it back on track, the Speaker? This is unprofessional on your part so do not let it become the Professionals problem.

9. Plan the Breaks

Depending on the event you are organising and the amount of concentration that is required by the delegates, enough breaks should be planned for.

The first break in the morning should at mid-morning for the official tea break. This break should be no longer than twenty minutes unless you have a lot of delegates. Have a short break of five to ten minutes between the tea break and lunch. Depending on the number of delegates, lunch should be between 30 minutes to a maximum of one hour.

Discuss with the caterers that they must be ready and organised for the start of the lunch and not to hold you up in any way. Have short five to ten minute breaks every hour after lunch until the mid-afternoon tea break, using the same set up as the mid-morning break. Again, continue with the hourly breaks.

10. Thanking the Speaker 

A quick thank you is sufficient and a brief summary of the talk is unnecessary. The audience are not usually brain dead so they do not require a full recap.