Event Planning and Marketing
Four (More) Keys to Selecting the Best Event Speaker Submissions
2 Oct 2024 | Jessica F. Lillian | 4 minutes
Picture this: Your recent call for papers proved wildly popular. You received far more high-quality submissions than you could ever cram into the available keynote and track slots within your event agenda.
Your team is thrilled that making it to the stage at your flagship event is clearly viewed within the industry as a prestigious goal. But a daunting task awaits: Now you have to review all the submissions and decide who makes the cut.
Content is the core of any event. Making the right speaker choices could be the difference between an event that wows your attendees and one that leaves them bored and disappointed.
As you sort through the prospective speakers’ proposals and plan your slate of content offerings, consider the following questions to guide the process:
- Is there a clear story?
Even at the most no-nonsense technical B2B conference, no one wants to be bored or confused when listening to a speaker. Any engaging presentation should contain some form of a narrative, just like a book. Does the proposed session lend itself to a defined beginning, middle, and end? For many sessions, that structure may present itself as a problem, solution, and next steps. While the presentation may not be as exciting as a mystery novel, look for suspense and characters that could build interest. The “story” also needs logic and flow for the session to make sense to your event audience.
- Does the speaker have a unique perspective?
In the age of generative AI, copycatting, and hastily produced generic content, audiences are hungry for true thought leadership. Often, the most memorable and engaging speakers offer a fresh take on a familiar industry topic. Or they might weave a personal story into a valuable business lesson for their peers. If a session proposal you’re reviewing sounds perfectly aligned with best practices but no different from what your audience heard last year (or what you’ve heard at others’ events), consider moving on to the next. Curating a diverse speaker lineup — in all the ways that matter most to your organization and your attendees — is important.
- Will enough people in your expected audience care about the topic?
Session content must strike a balance between offering something different and maintaining broad relevance. Dive into your attendee persona data, based on reports from previous events as well as projections and target lists for the event you’re planning. Estimate how many audience members each proposed session might draw. There’s plenty of room for nuance and exceptions. For example, a presentation might not have broad appeal, but if it’s likely to speak deeply to those in a particular overlooked job role or users of a specific small but growing offering, it might still be well worth adding to the schedule.
- How is the fit and relationship?
Our first three keys have centered on the proposed session itself. But as you’re narrowing down your selections, start thinking about other factors. Speaker quality and fit is critical. Unfortunately, even the most compelling story will fall short if it’s delivered by the wrong person. Have you — or anyone else at the company — seen your prospective speaker on stage before at another event? Or, are there video clips on their LinkedIn profile or elsewhere online so that you can verify that their abilities and style match your event?
Events are all about building and enhancing relationships. Savvy teams incorporate that relationship mindset into their speaker outreach and selection. When looking through proposals, they consider the needs of valued clients, high-priority prospects, and important partners within the context of the event’s and organization’s business goals — of course while prioritizing content quality.
Relationship-building might also mean favoring speakers with a history of good collaboration, communication, and respect for deadlines and quality. Ideally, every speaker is another trusty partner in helping your team create a great event!
Selecting event speakers is just the start of the speaker enablement process. An efficient portal makes it easy to communicate essential information, keep your speakers on task, share audience engagement data, gather feedback, and much more.