Over the past few days, I’ve had two speaking opportunities go sour.
- One was because the target market was wrong (I target independent business owners and entrepreneurs and the people who showed up at this event were corporate types – eek!)
- And the other was because what the host expected and what I delivered were not congruent
In both cases, I spoke to the organizers before the event to clarify what they wanted. What I didn’t do was sum up my understanding in an email.
I teach my Certified Virtual Event Managers to always confirm in an email to the speaker what is expected and they always do (they have a template that can easily be modified). However, most hosts/organizers will miss this step and it’s up to you, the speaker, to confirm by email what was discussed.
Looking back, here’s what I should’ve confirmed by email with the virtual event organizer about the session itself after we got off the phone:
- Length of session – “I understand that you want me to speak for 60-minutes, 90-minutes, 2-hours, etc.”
- Day/time of session – “I understand that you’d like me to speak on (insert date) at (insert time and timezone).”
- Type of session – “I understand that you’d like me to conduct the session lecture style (where I speak for the whole time), interview style (where the host asks me pre-determined questions) or conversation style (where the host/attendees interact with me).”
- Pitches – “I understand that I can / cannot pitch a product at the end of the session.”
- Target market – “I understand that those who will attend the session will be (insert target market).”
- Delivery platform – “I understand that this session will be delivered over the phone, via webinar, via Skype, etc.”
These are the 6 things that can help speakers really prepare the most talked about session at a virtual event. What other things would you need to know as a speaker so you can design the best virtual session ever?
Yes! Always confirm in writing – ALL the important details. Just today, I handled a difficult conversation with a host over an item that we each had separte understandings about – and we had a written contract! The problem: this was the ONE item we both failed to ensure was captured in the contract – leaving it wide open to differnt interpretations. Fortunately, we’d had an otherwise great experience, good intentions about each other, cleaned up our misunderstanding and the host wants me back again next year. 😀
Oh, Carrie, you must share what that item was so we can all look out for this. What was it that was misunderstood?
Great tips Leesa! Another thing I’ve learned to ask is what will be done with the interview/recording after the event.
Warm wishes,
Cindy
Yes, good point, Cindy. A good speaker release form will cover this quite nicely. I spoke at a non-virtual event where my presentation was video recorded. When I went back to the organizers to ask for a copy, they gave me the contact info of the videographer and said that I would need to pay for the recording. So, I went back to the contract and found the paragraph that stated that I would get a complimentary copy of the recording. When I pointed that out, the organizers apologized for the oversight and contacted the videographer on my behalf so they would incur the expense.
If there wasn’t a speaker’s contract…
These are great tips Leesa. Event planners and seminar hosts should always follow up with an email after the conversation and then again a few dsys before the event. Sadly, sometimes they forget (or get busy). If they don’t then you should!
I’ve definitely learned my lesson. Just because you have a great conversation doesn’t mean that everyone will remember it the same way. While the event or virtual event planner should do the follow-up, it’s critical for speakers to step up and do it BEFORE putting the energy into preparing their speech.