Hiring a Speaker Guide
If you are looking for a speaker for the students of your school there are a few key things that you should be aware of:
Content should be short, sweet and relevant – Make sure that the person delivering the presentation for the students has a message that will resonate with the audience. The message should be light, engaging but most importantly, inspiring and motivating. A speaker that can combine motivation and humor with the key messages of setting and achieving goals will be a hit with your school. A keynote should never be longer than 40-55 minutes.
Delivery is as important as content – When you are selecting the “right” speaker for your students make sure that he or she has had significant experience addressing students. Often people will bring in a speaker that is a big name but they don’t know how to relate to students and rather than inspire the crowd they put them to sleep.
No need to reinvent the wheel – If your school has had success with a speaker in the past, look to use him or her again. Remember, the student body (in theory) is a completely different group every few years. Learn from the successes of previous years. At the same time, if you have had a speaker that did not work well in the past, there is no need to go back to him or her. There are plenty of speakers who can do a wonderful job for school.
Ask around – Don’t be impressed with someone’s fancy brochures. The best way to tell if someone is going to be a good fit for your school is to see him or her first hand. If that is not possible, ask around. Ask other schools if they have had a particular speaker and how he or she was received. Ask for suggestions of other speakers they have had that the staff and students really enjoyed. At the same time, share your experiences both good and bad with other schools.
Ask for a deal – If you are going to hire a speaker, see how you can work out a deal. Many speakers will discount their fees if you can get other schools to book around the same time as yours. Also, some speakers will work out discounts if you bring them in more than once. You could get the same speaker to address your entire student body at one point in the year and then have him or her return to address the graduating class at a later date.
Remember, you are in control of who your bring in. Ask for what you want. If the person can’t provide it, look for another speaker. There are plenty. For someone with a tremendous amount of experience speaking with students across North America, who is entertaining, engaging and inspiring, consider hiring professional speaker Sunjay Nath, He will leave your school feeling motivated, and ready to take on the world!!
