When you organize an event, a workshop, a course, a Workshaop, there are two priority things to choose: the location and speakers. Without them, no event is possible.
How to find and choose great speakers for your event? And if you want to propose yourself as a speaker, how can you do it?
How to find speakers for your event
Three simple methods, but they work.
1. On Google Write the word “speaker” accompanied by the topic that you would like the speaker to talk about and about which, most likely, he or she is an expert.
Example: “web marketing speaker”, “affiliate marketing speaker”, “social media marketing speaker”.
2. In Youtube Search for the words “TEDx speaker” and the topic of my interest.
Example: “TEDx business speaker”, “TEDx speaker time management”, “TEDx speaker motivation”.
At the different TEDx in Italy and around the world, experts, entrepreneurs and professionals take the stage who not only have a deep knowledge of what they are talking about, but are also qualified speakers . And here comes the key point. When organizing an event, you should always keep in mind that the speakers must be excellent speakers, so they have to know:
- Present theme in a clear and attractive way.
- entertain and keep high la audience attention throughout the duration of the speech.
- Mperform properly on stage (not to be rigid like a pole, but not to spin everywhere like a top).
- Hspeak with the appropriate tone of voice, knowing when to take breaks, how to regain attention if it is lost and how to wake up the audience if you see them sleeping (it can happen in the post-lunch phase).
3. Browse sites that offer multiple speakers.
Use this solution mainly to find foreign speakers and it serves as a main overview, thanks to which you can meet new experts and already understand what rate they are asking for (if you repeatedly contact very authoritative speakers who ask for a quote of 30.000 euros for 1 hour of talks and in my case, despite the enormous professionalism and skill of the professional, it would never have been economically sustainable), what country they live in, what other events they have already attended, if they have received feedback and what type. In short, I do a first analysis to investigate the basic information and understand if there may be a speaker who is really for me.
Some interesting sites are:
How to choose speakers for your event
Now that you've found numerous potential speakers, it's time to select a specific number based on how you decide to structure your event(s) and how much time you want to dedicate to each session.
For each of the speakers found, I analyze the communication, how they move online, if – who – how they talk about it online. In particular I consider:
- The speaker's website: (I hope everyone has a professional site): What are they like? Do they write on the blog? When is the last post published? Are you podcast authors or guests? Is there a video that represents you on stage?
- The speaker's social networks : are they active? Are there videos and/or photos of them?
- Their books : Often renowned speakers have also written one or more books. I run to Amazon, type in the name of the book or its name, and read the reviews. Sometimes (I'm not always successful!), I buy their books and read them to better understand their experience, how they communicate, and to get an idea of what and how they might be talking about at my event.
How to be chosen as a speaker at an event
Here it is the opposite case: you are not the organizer of an event who has to search for and select speakers, but, conversely, you are a professional who aspires to be a speaker at some strategic events (because you know that they can lead to a return commercial, such as visibility, reputation, knowledge of partners, new potential clients).
If you want to increase your chances of being invited as a speaker at an event, I recommend that you:
1. Curate your images as a speaker:
- insert a dedicated page on your site , which you can call "speaker" or "events", where you explain that you have been a speaker at several events and specify the topics you cover
- (example: SEO, entrepreneurship, e-commerce, etc.);
- insert on your site, always on the dedicated page, the names and logos of the events to which who attended as a speaker and some photos or mini videos of you on stage;
- Maintain your networks sociales Updated with content that promotes your presence at events (publications, event invitations, photos, videos, live shows).
2. Attend events where you would like to be a speaker:
- take advantage to know and shake hands with the organizers , introducing yourself and explaining your profession;
- Once the event is over, remember to connect immediately on LinkedIn with the organizers: send them a message reminding them who you are, the fact that you met during that day's event and where, and take the opportunity to propose yourself as a speaker for the following year.
3. Pay attention to the “call for speakers” for the events you are interested in (normally opens 1 year before the start of the event): prepare a personalized email to send to the organizers that contains:
- your brief professional presentation.
- your speech idea (title and summary).
- your rate.
- your availability (if the event takes place over several days);
- your site and your social contacts.
- why they should choose you as their speaker.
