The best events are so memorable that people recall them for a long time afterwards.
To host a successful event, you need the right moderator who will do a great job of equipping your attendees with all the necessary information. Sometimes known as a Master of Ceremonies, this host will make your guests feel at ease and be the thread through the event.
Whether you are organising an informal or formal event, workshop, conference, seminar, or awards event, you need the best speaker to actualise your dreams.
These tips will help you identify them and work together for a successful event.
- What is the objective of your event?
Before choosing a speaker, first define the goal of your event, your KPIs, and then think of who is in the best position to help you achieve them.
Speakers have their niches and specialties, no matter how famous they might be. Choose a host speaker or moderator by how well they can contribute to the success of your event, not just by perceived popularity, advises Lisa Burke, experienced event host.
Lisa has led events and conferences across Europe for over 20 years. Topics encompass space, the sciences, finance, medicine, technology, entrepreneurship, fashion and music. However, Lisa knows that her key passions will remain science-linked as that’s what she studied back at Cambridge University. She is also passionate about music.
- Get the best value out of your speaker
When preparing your event schedule with a speaker in mind, think of ways to maximize the person’s presence throughout the event, and most notably in the pre-planning before an event. With adequate planning, you will discover ways to maximize the speaker’s knowledge-base and time for the benefit of the attendees.
For instance, you can ask your main speaker to stay for a while, so they can address some people at the end of the program or hand-out awards. If you’re working with an author or poet, you can ask them to recite a poem or do a book reading. You can also schedule a meet-and-greet at the end of the event to make things memorable.
It is imperative to work with the speaker through all planning stages to maximise their ideas and best use too.
- Build awareness and create a buzz before the event
The period leading up to the event is critical for promoting the event and highlighting its benefits for attendees. It is the best time to leverage the speaker’s popularity and expertise to produce preview content that gives an insight into what is to come.
Discuss with your event speaker and work together towards promoting your event while also marketing the speaker’s expertise.
Examples of such pre-event projects include blog posts, interviews, video teasers, and social media posts. When you have such promos running, you are building marketing value for your event.
- Give the Speaker the best environment to deliver
If you want a speaker to do their best at your event, you must create a comfortable and enabling environment for them to do so. Prepare the speaker by telling them the objectives of your event, the profile of attendees, how long they would be speaking, and what range of content they should deliver.
Ensure that they have all they need to give their best, including logistics, communication materials, and anything else necessary for improved performance.