Finding speakers is vital for any conferences, as well as conferences, are essential for interacting with people within your profession. With the increasing number of congresses, you would think it is easy to find a great speaker. There are thousands of speakers, but most of them do not have what it takes to appeal to the audience. The success of an event relies on engaging the audience through effective keynote speeches. The last thing you want is someone who will stand on the podium and talk throughout the session.
A professional speaker should have command of the subject, ability to incorporate technology and charisma. And do not forget about diversity. How do you find speakers for your next association conference? Here are a few tips to guide you through your planning process:
1. Tap into your network
When finding conference speakers, it is an excellent idea to begin the search with your existing network. For instance, you can source potential speakers from your LinkedIn connections. A good speaker will have a professional page and also use LinkedIn to find events to speak. Go through your profile and check out professionals in your relationships that may be excellent public speakers. Review several profiles by reading the content they post. This will give you an insight into their personality and whether they can suit your event.
2. Seek recommendation from professional associations
Most professional associations have ties to experts in their field. Therefore, you can reach out to your association to recommend a speaker for your next medical conference. A professional association ensures you get a qualified speaker who understands the industry well and has the charisma to appeal to the audience. Besides, members of an association always recommend someone who has done the job before. You are likely to get a speaker who will surpass your expectation.
3. Use social media
Social media is a gold mine when you are building a roster of speakers. You can search for authority figures in the industry, but it does not have to be someone famous. However, not any influential person can be a good speaker. How do you locate authority figures who are good speakers? Use your social channels or the internet to search for the topics you want your speakers to talk about during the conference. The results will give you related topics with many shares. When you find a captivating blog post, you can visit the website and do an in-depth search on the author. If you are lucky, they are professions in their field, and you can reach out to them for speaking engagements. Use your channels to find influential thought leaders in the industry.
4. Industry publications are useful in finding conference speakers
Industry publications are great opportunities for industry influencers to expand their reach and build their reputation. Therefore, important papers are the right place for finding conference speakers. Whether the article was offline or online, you can reach out to the contributor and request them to be your keynote speaker.
5. Interact with your attendees in online forums
Most of the conference attendees learn about the event in online forums. If you are planning the meeting, how about asking attendees for potential speakers? Most attendees can identify great speakers whom they would like to hear from during the association conference. To get useful feedback, you can use survey websites which will gather the information you need. You can also use a poll in your online forum. From the feedback, identify speakers with the highest poll numbers and reach out to them.
6. Request for proposals on ideas for talks
When finding speakers, it is hard to determine whether they will appeal to your audience. However, if you request for proposals and topic ideas, you will kill two birds with one stone. With proposals, you can identify the value that the speaker is adding to your event and find a great speaker. You can set up a call for proposals online, and you will get several speakers within a short time.
7. Look for certified speakers in speakers’ bureau
Most keynote speakers who are experts in their field register with speakers’ bureau. Therefore, when finding conference speakers, you can look for the speakers‘ bureau used in your industry. While the approach is useful, you need to book the speakers in advance. Besides, the speakers are quite costly. Therefore, you should explore other avenues if your budget is tight.
Speeches set the tone of a conference. That means you have to find engaging speakers for your congress to be successful. Sourcing conference speakers is an important task, but with the right approach, you can find the ideal candidates.
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Congrex Switzerland is an internationally operating agency delivering customised solutions. This encompasses the overall organisation of conferences and meetings, including the management of hotel rooms and the strategic consultancy. Annually Congrex Switzerland organises approximately 45 events with over 73’000 delegates. Amongst our clients are international associations, governmental organisations and corporations. Get in touch with us.
