How to Communicate With and Enable Your Event Speakers

Your event content is often among the most valuable content that your organization puts together. Hours of insight-filled sessions can be converted into hundreds of short videos, blog posts, guides, social outreach, email assets, and more. Now that many events are either virtual or hybrid, content is even easier to reuse.

With so many organizations delivering virtual content, it can be easy for your event content to get lost. Getting top-notch content first requires making sure all of your event speakers thoroughly understand their requirements and are prepared to deliver. Here are a few tips for better communication with your speakers, whether they are presenting virtually or in person at the event:

Don’t Be Afraid to “Over-Communicate”

Communicating every last detail about requirements and procedures can save you and your speakers from a great deal of stress. Aside from session dates, deadlines, topics, and tasks there are many things you should consider spelling out up front. What you communicate will have a lot to do with your delivery format. Here’s a breakdown of items you might want to communicate for speakers in each event format:

Virtual	Both	In Person
Backgrounds for recording	Speaker perks	Room number
Recording time	Microphone testing	Room resources
Preferred video file type	Bio length	Hotel accommodations
Session preview requirements	Photo expectations	Parking validation
Thumbnail requirements	Slide expectations	Meals provided
	Uploading related resources	Nearby activities
	Session attire

Host Speaker Meetings

Try as we might to write thorough task descriptions, there is no replacement for face-to-face communication. In preparation for your event, plan a time and day (or multiple days) when speakers can join a video call to ask questions and to brainstorm ideas.

Put Together a Speaker Kit

In addition to a standard task list, many organizations choose to send out speaker kits. Speaker guides provide speakers with a point of reference for all things session-related. These kits might include a guide, session templates, social media posts, sample session videos, and instructional videos.

Guide Speakers Through Production

The previous tips will ensure your speakers have everything they need to present. As a final word of advice, take the time to train your virtual speakers how to record sessions. They may need your guidance selecting the appropriate place, technology, and event time to record. For example, those who record during daylight hours in a naturally lit room tend to have a more professional-looking session than those who record at night with only a few yellow light bulbs directly above their heads.

By training speakers to deliver high-quality sessions, you’ll equip your marketing team with valuable content that will last well beyond the dates of your event. Communicating often, meeting together to brainstorm, offering plenty of resources and training for high-quality production will set your content apart.