A good speaker can make or break an event. But how can you know who will be a good speaker? Sure, they might have a flashy logo, a buzzing website and look the part – but that doesn’t necessarily make them right for your event.
Speaking is more than just showing up with a script and collecting a fee. But what should you expect? And what should you be looking for? How can you tell if your speaker is going to give your audience a valuable experience?
There are some obvious signs of a good speaker if you know what to look out for…
They Walk The Walk
It may come as a surprise (or not) that some speakers will talk the talk… but don’t practise what they preach.
How confident would you be if someone told you how to drive, but couldn’t drive themselves? Not very, I bet! Theory is wildly different from practice, and in marketing particularly, it takes honing and trialling new things to hit upon true success. Anyone who doesn’t follow their own advice should be given a wide berth – whatever field they’re in.
As an example, I send over a million emails in a year. And what I do in my millionth email will have evolved from my first – you don’t get that insight by just writing a book on email marketing – you get it by doing it.
Tailored Not Tired
No matter how many speaking engagements a good marketing speaker has in their calendar, they’re going to make sure what they’re saying directly relates to the people listening to them. This means creating a seminar or talk that is new and tailored to the specific event.
Lazy speakers use the same old tired spiel for all their gigs.
A great speaker will go through a process of researching the audience, the purpose of the event and the likely demographic of the people who will turn up to listen. Only by taking all of that into account, can they make sure every word they say will resonate and make an impact on those in the room.
On the other hand, if your speaker has a single script they like to repeat at every function for ease, you might find your attendees yawning more often than clapping.
Promote Not Just Repost
Your speaker is a partner in your event. Sure, they may well be the main attraction, but that doesn’t mean they should sit back and let you do all the leg work.
A good speaker will take an active role in the promotion. I know – it’s your event, and you’re putting a lot of hard work into making it a memorable one, but your marketing speaker should be playing an active role too.
The speaker should be invested in its success just as much as you! Plus, having a large, engaged audience makes it more fun and gives it more energy. A great speaker will want your event to be a success and will be willing to help you achieve that.
For example, in the run-up to an event that I am speaking at, I will help by creating visual content to promote the event, sharing information across my social profiles and letting specific people on my email list know what’s coming up next.
Poor speakers will either not bother promoting, or just repost a couple of your social posts. The point is that an experienced speaker will already have an engaged audience, and that audience should match up nicely with yours.
Equipping Your Event
Following on from active promotion, a quality marketing speaker ensures you have all the tools you need to create hype around your event. No handing over a LinkedIn bio or telling you to make it up.
You’ll get a detailed bio – with photos – and helpful information that you can build into the marketing of your event. After all, what good is a marketing speaker that doesn’t assist with good marketing?!
A sign that you’re booking a poor speaker is that they book your event date and then drop off the map until the big day. Without asking questions or providing you with marketing materials of their own, they’re letting you know they don’t care, not really.
Don’t Chat And Dash
Imagine this. It’s the day of your event, and your speaker turns up. They’re clearly exhausted, a bit dishevelled and they forget most of their talking points on stage. Why did this happen? Well, they may have been busy at other events directly before yours – and maybe even after yours too.
Some speakers like to book speaking gigs back to back. They think ‘While I’m on the road that day, I can double up and make it worthwhile’. Sure, they’ll make the most of a day out of the office – but are you, the client, getting value?
A speaker that is clock-watching, because they have somewhere else to be, won’t give it their all. In fact, they may side-step questions fearing they’ll overrun and impact their next event.
After 10 years of experience as a marketing speaker, I understand just how important it is to be fully focused on one event. That’s why I only ever book one event in a day – no multi-event bookings! I like to show up early, get a feel for the atmosphere of the event and stay afterwards in case there are any questions a delegate didn’t get to ask, or wants to ask in private.
Good speakers are busy, but they should also be willing to dedicate themselves to your event if you’re going to book them.
Looking For A Marketing Speaker For Your Event?
When booking a marketing speaker, make sure you know what you’re looking for because it’s not always obvious! A good speaker will make sure they’re not double-booked, will promote your event and personalise their speech for your unique audience.
If you want to know what goes into a motivating speech, or you need a marketing speaker for your showstopping event, get in touch with me today.
