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Using productive work time to pull staff from their every day activities is difficult, particularly when times have been as tough as they are.  Yet senior managers committed to meeting their strategic planning goals are doing just that.  They are providing a brief intermission from the hectic day to day for their employees by providing speech presentations on a wide array of topics related and unrelated to their job.

 

Many speakers are available to provide presentations that will inspire and encourage your employees to pitch in to help meet the company’s strategic planning goals.Don’t worry about finding someone directly related to your company’s field.  Many speakers speak on subjects that can enhance your function.Employees can grow creatively and sales will be positively affected upon hearing new ideas that can be applied to their everyday jobs. 

 

Here is a checklist of things to discuss with a potential speaker:

 

1.         General Facts. 

 

Communicate the exact date, time, and location up front when talking with potential speakers.  In addition, make sure to communicate from the start how long you would like the presentation to be.  While it may seem overkill to mention this, there have been plenty of instances where a manager has promoted an event only to discover a mix up with the speaker on the date or time needed for the presentation. 

 

  It will also help if you can give the speaker an estimate of attendees and details about the group they will be talking to.This is a big help to a speaker in aiming their speech to the group and will give your staff a more relevant function. 

 

2.Event Promotion.

 

Ask the speaker for a summary of their presentation in advance so that you can start building excitement among your employees.  Do this through email teasers, flyers and other forms of promotion.Providing food is always a great way to make it fun for the employees. Bottom line is to make sure the employees see the event as a benefit to them rather than something that management is making them do. 

 

3.         Compensation. 

 

If you have a budget available to pay a speaker you will be working with a larger selection.Most will charge a different rate for local or non-local gigs.If out of their area, many may request travel compensation as well, and if you want an extra long presentation they may charge more. 

 

Don’t worry if cost is a factor.  Speaking rates vary greatly and are typically negotiable if you are able to provide other forms of compensation.For most, their ultimate objective lies in potential sales of the speaker’s services and products rather than to earn a speaking fee. 

 

Two typical forms of payment on a low budget are promoting the speaker’s products to the audience, or, even better, buying a copy of their book or product for each attendee. 

 

 

There are other ways to compensate a speaker on a low budget.You might consider inviting your customers or those in your office complex to create a larger group for the speaker.  Provide the speaker a list of all attendees with contact information and allow them to follow up individually.  Even offer a testimonial and referrals to similar organizations. 

 

It takes some effort and time to set up a speaker session your employees will enjoy and get value from, but it is a great way to build positive energy and increase commitment among your staff.Make sure that you constantly stress what they will get out of the experience and how you are committed to their self improvement.The effect on the company’s profitability will be your reward.     

 

Marty Dickinson moved beyond his techno-fear of the Internet more than 14 years ago and has since launched more than 100 of his own websites while helping more than 300 clients to use the Internet to grow their businesses. Internet Marketing Speaker, business owner, and co-author of "Web Marketing All-in-One for Dummies" (Wiley 2009), he enjoys inspiring other techno-phobic business owners, authors and speakers to move beyond their fear of the Internet to embrace its full potential.