Stephen F. Gambescia

Tools and Resources for Your Speakers

Your speakers are your most valuable assets in delivering this kind of educational service. As the coordinator you have the responsibility to equip your speakers with the information and tools that are going to satisfy your audiences. Providing educational tools and resources for your speakers may seem self-evident. However, we have observed and learned that most organizations do little in this area. Most organizations think that a public speaker bureau is a good idea for their organization. Once committed to the idea, they simply put out a call for speakers; speakers invariably step forward and off they go to speaking engagements. As one physician speaker from a community hospital’s speakers bureau often exclaimed to us: “I’m off to stamp out disease and push back the frontiers of ignorance.” Certainly this is an admirable effort. However, there is much work to be done to ensure quality in What your speakers are saying, How they are saying it, and How it is perceived by your audiences. Even those expert speakers on esoteric subject matters need resources from you—if only to support the organizational and mission related messages. This assurance continues, after a quality recruitment and training process, with providing your speakers with appropriate educational tools and information resources.

Securing a Speaker for an Engagement

You receive a request for a speaker, and you are naturally excited about the prospect of meeting the customer group’s need. You review the topic and the perfect speaker comes to mind. You pick up the phone and call the speaker; she is not there so you leave a brief message. A few days go by and you haven’t heard back from the prospective speaker. You call the speaker again and leave another message. The next day you pick up a message from your office from the prospective speaker who is returning your call. You call back the speaker again and find out that she is not available. You identify yourself to the speaker’s support staff and explain the purpose of your call. The support staff person recognizes your request and notes that the speaker has actually tried to get in touch with you; she tells you that you are difficult to reach. You ask for a good time to phone the prospective speaker; you are told tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime the contact person from the group calls and wants to know who the speaker is for your group. You explain to the group’s coordinator, “you are working on it.” The next afternoon you successfully reach the prospective speaker. She is very interested in doing the presentation but has several parameters before she can commit. You don’t know the answers to these requests, and say that you will check with the group’s coordinator. You call back the coordinator who is not available; you leave a message. The next day you hear back from the coordinator and find that the parameters that the speaker must work within will not work for the group. You tell the coordinator that you have another speaker in mind and will get back to her shortly. You think of another speaker who may make this presentation. You call the second prospective speaker; he is unavailable so you leave a message...

Evaluating Your Public Speaker Bureau Program

Up until this point in the management of a public speaker bureau, you have been able to influence, if not control, the process. Now it is time for the presentation. This is the moment that you and your organization have been planning and waiting for; and the impact of this time is entirely up to the knowledgeable, well-oriented and trained, and dynamic speaker. All of the time that you have spent preparing for this moment is generally unnoticed, as it should be, to your audience. The process of preparing and arranging a speaker is seamless to the audience. Now that your speaker is before the group, his or her words and actions are what reflect your organization. The preparation process is one of those things that no one notices until something is missing.

The Purpose of Your Organization’s Public Speaker Bureau

The first step to establishing or revitalizing a public speaker bureau for a health or human services organization is to clearly define its purpose to the organization at a particular time. What do you want the speakers bureau to do for your organization or how can the speakers bureau best serve your constituents? This purpose is not the same as knowing the overall purpose or mission of an organization. The speakers bureau is a means to that end. It is an educational or communications strategy that helps fulfill the mission of your organization. The purpose should somehow be tied to the mission of the organization.

Summary and Final Tips for Success

The adage “anything worth doing is worth doing right” is a good advice to health and human services groups who wish to offer a public speaker bureau service. Now that you have completed this book and have learned the essential elements and identified some pitfalls of managing a public speaker bureau, you should be on the right track in providing a useful and quality educational service to your constituents and the communities you serve. These groups will, in turn, reward you once they see through this service that your organization is worthy of their support.

Orienting and Training Your Speakers

Similar to recruiting, training your speakers is a process—an ongoing process. The training actually begins with your initial contact. Each contact, especially early on in the process, aims to communicate to speakers the overall purpose and objectives of this educational service and to explain their role and responsibilities. Speakers, regardless of their education, subject matter expertise, or comfort level as public speakers need, and in fact deserve, training from your organization.

Publicizing Your Public Speaker Bureau

Similar to any service provided by your organization you should have a publicity or marketing plan to promote your public speaker bureau. You should meet with the individuals in your organization who are responsible for external relations or marketing to determine the strategies your organization will use to publicize the availability of this service. If your organization has several services, then you will have to vie for time on your co-workers’ agenda. The public speaker bureau may not be the top services to promote. However, some level of publicity should be dedicated, if your organization has chosen to devote some time and resources to this service. If you are responsible for the promotion of the program, as the coordinator, or if you also work within the external relations/marketing department of your organization, then you will be familiar with the traditional ways to publicize a service such as this public speaker bureau.

Recruiting Speakers for Your Speaker Bureau

Recruiting expert, effective, and reliable speakers to your bureau is probably the most important essential element to the success of this educational initiative. If there is a mismatch between a speaker and the explicit or implicit purpose and objectives of your public speaker bureau, many people will be dissatisfied, disappointed, and at times, disturbed.

Coordinating Requests from Your Constituents

Information about requests for a speaker will flow to you from several directions and in diverse format (e.g., responses from brochure, unsolicited requests through the mail, email, phone, in person). Ideally you have set up systems and communications channels that give you the information you need to begin meeting the customers’needs. As we have learned earlier in this manual, knowing that a request exists for a speaker is just the beginning.

Creating Your Promotional Material

Health and human services organizations are usually adept at creating brochures and promotional materials. Your main public speaker bureau brochure or web page is important. It should be tailored and produced to fit your local needs. Individuals responsible for managing, coordinating, and working with the bureau should be closely involved or consulted during its production.