An article on meeting planning by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
Help for meeting planners and
resources for finding speakers.
As a busy meeting planner, with the usual overload of demands
on getting your next event launched flawlessly, the last problem
you want to have is for your keynote speaker to disappear
off the radar screen. Whatever the reason — flu bug,
scheduling glitch, bad travel karma — you're skewered!
Call in back-up from your Association? Good luck — internal
bench strength is not going to get the job done when you're
expected to deliver nationally-recognized, high-performance
event headliners.
Well, my friends, if you'll read on, you'll find that you
need not wake up in a cold sweat from this bad dream. The
professional speaking community is not only very well organized,
but also quite sophisticated in responding to your last minute
or long-range quest for high-quality speakers.
First, let's start with what is, in my view, one of the
top resources for the best speakers: the National Speakers
Association. Perhaps this may appear biased - since I am honored
to be a past president of this organization - but their Meeting
Planners Guide to Professional Speakers is a terrific
tool for meeting planners seeking access to the nation's leading
presenters. It is an annual 400-plus page directory which
lists over 4,000 speakers and is cross-referenced alphabetically
and by topic and geographical location. NSA can be reached
by calling (480) 968-2552 or visiting their Website at www.nsaspeaker.org.
If you haven't yet fully explored the Internet, you're in
for a treat. This is such a rich lode for mining top performers,
good advice and subject area expertise, that once you start
using this tool for meeting planning support, you'll wonder
why you waited so long to access the Web.
I also invite you to visit my own Website, www.fripp.com.
for a wide menu of tools and accessories to make life easier
and more productive for meeting planners. I am always responsive
to your comments or queries, especially if I can help you
eliminate those "missing speaker nightmares."
Here are a few other speaker-search suggestions to expedite
your research process:
- Attend Speakers Showcase events, gaining concentrated
exposure to the skills and styles of a large selection of
speakers at the same time.
- Contact those well-received speakers you had in the past
and seek their high caliber referrals. Many of these top
speakers are in mini-groups and can refer each other, combine
their efforts for group marketing and even author books
together. (The group I belong to has 22 mutually-supportive
speakers who are able to fill in for our fellow members
even at the last minute - e-mailing our speaking notes to
each other to assure continuity). We are called Speakers
Roundtable. Many past presidents of National Speakers Association
are part of it.
- Check out speaker bureaus for convenient booking assistance.
I suggest speaker bureaus who are members of the NSA as
they live by a high code of ethics.
- Ask speakers who they can recommend.
- Don't overlook bringing back your most popular speakers.
Most seasoned presenters have more than one talk and do
well when welcomed back to a familiar and friendly setting.
(One association with which I have developed a great relationship,
has been bringing me back in various roles for 14 years
on a regular basis. Their Association Executive says he
can sleep better at night knowing he does not have to worry
about the performance of his keynoter).
- More about the NSA... This is where the professionals
congregate and they have established standards for classifying
their experienced speakers' experience and this serves as
helpful selection criteria for you. Their designations are
Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and Council of Peers
Award for Excellence (CPAE). The CSP is awarded for extended
speaking experience and satisfaction. The CPAE is an award
for platform excellence granted to no more than 5 speakers
annually.
Regardless of from where you may recruit a speaker, my advice
is that to minimize your risk and increase your success potential
always go with a professional. Professional speakers understand
that your reputation is riding on their performance. Their
experience with hundreds of audiences and the endless subtleties
of producing a great presentation can provide great peace
of mind for the discerning meeting planner.
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