Happen to have an event on the horizon and planning to enlist the services of a guest speaker?

Hiring a guest speaker may seem like a straightforward affair that can be left for last-minute, but it’s an important an aspect of event planning as any other. In fact, there are a few things to remember before hiring a guest speaker because the decision could make or break your event.

Event speakers are one way to keep your audience engaged during your event, corporate or otherwise. What a good speaker can also do is create a buzz around your event, either before or after the fact. The right speakers can bring shine and add credibility to your event, giving it weight and significance.

Bungling it up can take valuable points away from the event, and that’s not what you want obviously, regardless of the occasion. 

And even when you find a speaker, should their message fail to resonate with your audience or the speaker fails to live up to the billing, then it beats the whole purpose of inviting one over in the first place.

In an ideal world, you want to find a keynote speaker that helps you effectively communicate your intended message or achieve a desired goal or outcome as far as the audience is concerned.

Question is, how do you go about hiring a guest speaker that will add value to your company event?

Here are some important tips on speaker selection to keep in mind:

1. Define the purpose of your event

The first thing you need to ask yourself before you embark on a guest speaker search is what you are looking to achieve by bringing in a speaker.

Is it to educate, inspire or entertain? Or maybe you wish to motivate your people or provide fresh perspectives.

You also need to ask yourself what message you wish to communicate to the attendees. Are there particular themes or topics you want the event to be based around?

At the end of the day, it’s about the insights you want your audience to gain from the speech. 

Defining your purpose beforehand not only helps you in narrowing down the pool of speakers to choose from, but also ensures you find a speaker whose message aligns with the purpose or overall theme of your event.

This way, you are sure to create a more impactful and cohesive experience for the attendees.

2. Keep the audience in mind

Closely related to the first point, you also want to define your audience in advance in order to book the right speaker.

In the case of in-house corporate events targeted at a particular group or with a certain end goal in mind, this will not be as big a factor as it would be for say, a large conference that brings together a diverse array of people as far as things like demographics and background are concerned.

Still, it’s something you want to think about especially if you’re a larger company – and depending on the event objectives you want to achieve.

For instance, if the goal is to inspire employees on navigating work challenges or how to bounce back after personal or professional setbacks, a resilience speaker could be a nice addition.

Similarly, if you are planning a charity event, a speaker that is passionate about humanitarian causes would fit the bill. Planning a conference? Then an experienced conference speaker might be more suited for the job.

3. Consider the speaker’s expertise

With your event theme and audience defined, you want to ensure the speaker(s) you end up choosing will not be a case of fitting square pegs in round holes. 

Most professional speakers are more of generalists, but you will also find those who are experts in a given field.

For example, you will find experts who specialise in topics like artificial intelligence (AI), adversity and resilience, cybersecurity, civil rights, geopolitics you name it.

There is no harm in hiring generalist speakers like motivational speakers, as it all depends on the objectives of your event.

However, in instances where you’re looking to deep-dive into a given topic during your event, you might want to consider hiring an expert who specialises in the area of focus you want to shed light on.

4. Do your due diligence

Once you are clear on whom you are looking for, it’s time to do a little digging. Start by narrowing down on the names based on the criteria you have laid out.

Next, assess their reputation within the industry. Obviously, you don’t want someone with controversies following them around as this could dent your credibility.

Visit their websites and check their biographies to know more about their credentials and experience. Do they have video clips of past talks or presentations they have been involved in? 

This can help you evaluate their speaking credibility and to understand their style and delivery better.

As well, go through the list of clients they have worked with before and check what those previous clients say about them.

Lastly, you need to interview your potential candidates, preferably face-to-face or over a video or phone call. Direct interaction is the only way to get to know the speaker better and get a feel of what they are like.

The choice of guest speaker has a huge bearing on the success of any event. For this reason, it is a choice you do not want to gamble on. 

Avoid going with the most popular names you find out there, and instead, find a speaker that will align with the theme of your event and be right for the audience that will be in attendance.

The guest speaker needs to be someone with considerable experience and expertise on the key topic the event will be centred around. 

He or she needs to be able to work with diverse audiences (as well as connect with them) in order to keep the attendees engaged and be in a position to hammer the point home.

Whether it’s a motivational speaker, local celebrity or industry leader, hiring a good guest speaker will help you communicate your message effectively and ensure the audience leaves the event with memorable takeaways.