MICHELLE RAY
What Meeting Planners Expect From Professional Speakers
Leadership expert Michelle Ray helps people and organizations to take the lead, get out of their comfort zones, and develop the willingness to risk. Delivering her powerful message on self-leadership with insight, humour, and passion, Michelle’s engaging, interactive, presentations resonate with a diverse clientele who are seeking to inspire their teams and take personal responsibility for creating their own reality at work, in business and in life. Based on her observations from years of professional speaking, Michelle shares her ideas on what meeting planners need from the professional speakers they hire:
While preparing my presentation set-up for a keynote at a recent conference, the meeting planner ran toward me in a panic, apologizing for being pulled in ten different directions, simultaneously. She explained that there were several items demanding her immediate attention. Her committee were in a time crunch, trying to locate the whereabouts of one of the panelists due to appear in a morning breakout session. In addition, tensions were building amongst attendees as the registration software was inexplicably malfunctioning, resulting in lengthy line-ups and delays at the welcome booths. Boxes containing sponsors’ promotional materials were missing and presumed lost en route, as the conference facility’s shipping and receiving department and the planner frenetically exchanged text messages. Meanwhile, the banquet manager was waiting for her at the back of the room, needing approval to add seating for the luncheon, in order to accommodate a number of special guests who confirmed their attendance that morning.
As I reflect on the experience, it reminded me of several important factors that contribute to the success of a conference, from the perspective of a meeting planner. First and foremost, although speakers have the privilege of the performing on the main stage, we are not at the centre of the meeting planner’s universe. It behooves us to be mindful of their immediate priorities and ultimate objectives.
AMANDA GORE