Whenever I have had a guest speaker for our local church or a conference, I have always endeavored to remove any obstacles that would hinder their complete and total focus on the reason why I have hired them.
Having been on both ends of this equation, here are some of my personal takeaways. This is not an exhaustive list of what to do, however, there are some objectives you should consider. Check out the resource and let me know what you think.
- Make sure that your communication is clear. If you communicate business casual is the attire for a particular session, what does that mean? Business casual could mean a suit without a tie and for others it could mean a button down Oxford with khakis. There are so many variables that influence our interpretation of business casual. Tell them what you want them to wear. A good place to start… Tell them what you will be wearing. As a guest speaker, I’ve shown up before, the only one underdressed or overdressed and it is no fun. More importantly, it diverted my energy when it could’ve been avoided.
- What is the stated objective of your event? Your speaker needs to know your desired outcome. The benefits to this are innumerable. Ambiguity isn’t empowering! Be specific. If you need help with this, revisit why you are having this event to begin with. It all started with a “why?”.
- Is the event branded? Is there a theme? If so, please don’t minimize your brand or theme by going through a ton of marketing effort and then tell your speaker to speak on whatever he/she may feel. If God has given you a particular brand or theme, give your speaker the details and adequate time so that they can pray to get their heart around your God-given burden.
Here are a few other tasks that you should consider for your guest speaker.
- Discuss and confirm the travel arrangements with your guest speaker. Most prefer to secure their travel arrangements themselves, however, you should clarify. If your budget requires they purchase the most affordable rate, clearly convey that. Help them by sharing Kayak, Hotwire, or other travel search engines pricing. The occasional sale from Southwest can save you tons!
- Arrange transportation to/from the airport and accommodations if necessary.
- Provide your speaker with final travel documents and directions to the event site.
- Discuss the objective, setting, length—clearly agree on expectations for each session they are speaking.
- Assess the needs of your speaker: Will they use props, certain splash screens, certain stage elements, etc.?
- How is the transition going to be done? (I.e.–verbal from onstage OR prompted by a stagehand?)
- Do you want your speaker to mingle after the event?
- Does your speaker require a table and/or volunteers for product sales?
- Provide your speaker with the church and pastor contact information, including after hours and/or cell phone numbers in case of emergency.
Check out a sample communication I sent to a speaker recently here.
What do you think? Feel free to utilize it and make it work for you and yours.
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