“Tim, Your Speaker Was High During His Session”
We’ve finished the Speaker Agreement for 2008 event. Because we’re paying our speakers next year a percentage of the profits, we’ve added in quite a bit more language about how they need to perform in order to get paid and what we are expecting from them. Yet, like any contract, you have to decide how much is really necessary to put in there to make sure you get a session that meets the expectations of your attendees and yourself.
We’ve added in language that says how long their actual presentation must be, and the maximum number of minutes they can dedicate at the end to a Q&A period. This is because one of our speakers this year ended their one-hour session after 30 minutes. I didn’t think we’d have to be specific about this, but apparently we do.
But I also heard from several attendees that one of the panelists appeared to be on drugs during the session and disrupted the flow of the workshop. Wonderful. Do I need to now put a clause in the speaker agreement that they won’t be intoxicated or high during their presentation? We haven’t, of course, because I think it was a rare enough event that it won’t happen again. The detail side of me says I need to put as much stuff as possible in their to ensure a great experience for the attendees. But the realistic side of me knows I can’t account for every single thing that may go wrong. But I take it as a reflection on our company and the event when a speaker screws up. For that one-hour - they ARE the show and representing our company.
In the end, I have to set the expectations as best I can and choose our speakers wisely. Needless to say, that speaker won’t be invited back.
October 10th, 2007 at 5:11 pm |
This is why the industry will benefit from a ratings engine–something that’ll take immediate attendee feedback and post it to the Web so the speaker can be fairly graded by the masses and that grade posted for all to see. If the speaker is going to profit from getting his message and expertise in the public’s eye, then the public should be given equal time. It’s good for all: the speaker benefits from massive word of mouth endorsement if they put on a good presentation; the conference organizer benefits by having rounded up good speakers and content, guaranteeing the next event will be as well or better attended; and the attendee walks away entertained or having learned something. A ratings engine ensures these metrics are met and will go a long way toward up-leveling the industry as a whole.