event energizers blog

There are many good rules of thumb to keep in mind when booking a speaker or talent to host or entertain your guests. Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind that I have learned over the last 16 years.

Have the party match the speaker. Ask yourself if he or she relevant to the group? Second, don’t put all your money into the speaker and neglect the rest of the event. Come up with a ratio in your budget so the whole event can have continuity. Generally speakers/talent should be no more than 30% of the total budget, ideally 25% is a good ratio.

Give the speaker as much background material on the group as possible. Don’t expect them to do their own research.

Book speakers that are current and will engage your audience. I worked on a product launch where we flew in 5 of the instructors from Dancing With the Stars to teach a room full of editors the hottest dance moves. It was a resounding success and even the editors at Vogue RSVP’d two weeks early!

Know what the speaker is going to discuss. Elliott Spitzer was the speaker at a banking event where I produced the décor. My client was so excited to have landed a big name speaker, however she was a bit shocked when the speaker launched into a platform about how bankers needed to become more ethical. I overheard guests saying in the restroom, they felt like they went to an event and got scolded.

Make sure the speaker is agreeable to a meet and greet with CEO’s afterwards (this includes photo op). Have how much time spelled out the contract so the expectation is managed. Guy Fieri and Sandra Lee were HUGE crowd pleasers. Both were incredibly dynamic hosts and were absolutely wonderful in dealing with the crowds. This is not always the case when having a celebrity host. I once did an award show in the Hamptons where a certain rap artist/actress was horrible to deal with so if you can learn ahead of time who is difficult to deal with you may save yourself a lot of headaches. I once hired an iconic all women singing trio that was celebrating their 25th Anniversary where one member had a history of alcohol issues and she proceeded to miss the first several flights to NYC that day (claiming vertigo) and barely made it onto the last possible flight to make it in time to the event.
Does your potential speaker come through a reputable agency? Check references, see the speaker ahead of time or You Tube them to get a feel for their content. If you get a chance to speak to them get a feel for if they seem to be happy to be attending your event or if they are doing it for the money. I have stories of childhood actors that were hired to appear at a “Where have they been?” party and some of them were unprofessional and difficult to work with. To that end, divas and stars with drug and alcohol problems are rarely worth dealing with, no matter how “hot” they are at the moment. As an event producer, you have enough to deal with the night of the event to worry about if talent will show up. A “no show” is a real buzz kill to your party.

Lastly, keep in mind that professional speakers don’t usually like lecterns, but do like to be elevated on a stage, lit well and the focal point of the room. Ask them ahead of time for all their needs and preferences. For instance, some prefer hand held microphones while others prefer lapel models.