3 Ways Organizers Can Help Presenters Give Better Talks

Posted by Cat Virca in Design, Tips, Trends

Presenters look to the event organizer for guidelines on delivering their talks. As both a speaker and an organizer of digital marketing conferences, Kelvin Newman, founder of Rough Agenda, offers his unique perspective in his article, “Three Things to Share with Presenters to Help Them Deliver Better Talks.”

According to Newman, sometimes event speakers are barely given a brief by the event organizer; other organizers take a more hands-on approach, with meetings and rehearsals beforehand. Newman prefers the middle road – a strong briefing process that doesn’t take too much time.

Here are 3 tips that Newman shares for successfully briefing presenters:

1. Condense your advice into a single sentence. Don’t expect speakers to thoroughly read your briefing – always highlight one key sentence. It will be different for every event, but it helps to set the scene and expectations for the talk. The one-sentence highlight also helps speakers determine what stays and what goes in their presentations.
2. Share examples of other great talks. Assume that not everyone knows what a good presentation looks like, and show examples of what you like. It will establish a quality standard for your presenters.
3. Brief them on the context of the event. A speech is part of the larger program, and only one among other talks. Tell each speaker who will talk before and after each one. Giving them a clear picture of the themes discourages duplicate topics, and makes the event feel more like a unified whole instead of an assortment of various talks.

It’s worth taking the time to prepare a helpful brief and other communication to share with your presenters. As an event organizer, you can encourage your speakers to take an event from average to great.

Read the full article.