How To Interview and Select the Right Professional Speakers for Your Events By Milo Shapiro, CEO of

STEP B -- INTERVIEWING AND SELECTING A speaker

Once you have looked at a few sites and think you have found either the right speaker or a short list of candidates, it’s time to pick up the phone. 

       If you get their voicemail or a staff person, be sure to leave more than your contact information.  Also leave:  

►  the city of the event.   This can greatly affect our availability depending where we are
 the day before and after.  If it’s a lesser known city, it’s nice to hear facts like  “That’s
 about two hours north of Seattle” or “By the way Evansville does have its own airport.”

►  the date of the event and the approximate time.  I almost said no to a company
 because I'd already booked that morning and then found out their meeting wasn’t until
 7pm in the same city.

►  the type of service you are looking for.  Many speakers are also consultants, trainers,
 coaches, teambuilders, performers, etc. so if you just say “event”, we don’t know
 what we’re calling you back about doing.

►  your time zone.   It’s easy to forget which zone a central state is in.  And if you’re
 calling from Arizona, with your own unique take on Daylight Savings, always include
 this!  (No one can remember what time it is in Arizona.)

Supplied with this information, we’ll be better prepared when we call you back and get right to the information you need.

Once you are live on the phone with a speaker, ask him to tell you a little about the program you are interested in.  Though you are bound to have specific questions, some may be answered in his response and it’s your chance to hear the energy and personality of the speaker as he describes what he does.  This may be far more valuable in giving you a good or bad feeling than the answer to any questions.  Demo tapes become dated as soon as they are produced; this phone call may be your best example of what you will get from this person on stage.

Once he has described the program and you are still interested in this speaker, here is a good checklist for a few of the questions you will probably want answers to, in order to determine if this person is a good fit or not.  Some you may already know from their website. 

Regarding the body of the speech and their qualifications, consider asking these questions:

1.   Is this program purely lecture, a little bit participatory, or highly interactive? 
 The answer may please or turn off your client, depending on the group type.

2.   What percentage is story versus data?  (The more speakers I hear, the more
 convinced I am that stories hold interest stronger, convey a point better, and affect an
 audience far longer than data can)

3.   How will this program be different from those this group has heard in the past
 (particularly helpful if you can find out beforehand who has been used or, at least,
 what topics have been done before).

4.   What types of audiences do they find they are most effective with?  This can be an
 interesting qualifier.

5.   Is the person a member of the National Speakers Association?  If not, why not? 
 You don’t want to hear that they don’t qualify yet, though!  If they say they used to
 be, some people may have legitimate personal reasons for having left, but at least
 you’ll know they once met the standards.

Regarding the speaker’s specific needs in running the event, find out…

6.   Will he be needing PowerPoint?  If so, who will be providing the laptop and other AV? 
 (Typically, the speaker provides the laptop and the client provides the A/V, but I like
 to request, if possible, that the client provide the laptop.  That way, it can be set up
 before I arrive and my laptop becomes the emergency backup, which has paid off
 twice already).

7.   Will handouts be involved?  If so, as reference tools or will writing be involved?

8.   Would a lavaliere microphone (the hands-free clip-on type) greatly enhance the
 performance or is a handheld sufficient?

9.   Does the speaker expect or appreciate the ability to sell books, tapes, etc. at the
 back of the room afterward?  While this is a courtesy that usually costs the clients
 nothing, some clients strongly object and this is something you’ll want to clarify
 immediately if that’s the case.

With these questions answered, you can feel more confident trusting your gut reaction to whether you liked this speaker’s style enough to choose him or her…

…if the budget is a match.  While I recommend finding out a few things about the speech before getting into price (in particular, numbers one through five above), it’s worthwhile to discuss fee before delving into the specifics of the speaker’s needs.  That way, even if the price is not a match this time, you’ve shown the speaker the respect of finding out about his material, in case it’s ever a fit in the future.  At the same time, you haven’t delved so deeply that you waste more of each of your time if the price is out of the question.

  In our third and find article in this series, we'll help you
avoid many of the potential pitfalls of working with the speaker
you have chosen to ensure the event comes off perfectly.