Written by: Vickie Sullivan | March 07, 2023
This Big Change Will Impact Event Speaker Selection
Heads up: Change is afoot in the event world that will impact who organizers invite to speak.
Attendees’ needs have changed thanks to the pandemic, and organizers must do more to encourage them to attend events, according to a recent Vox article. So, they’re enticing them with interactive social events. (Many thanks to Debra Gardner for sharing the article with me.)
“What had changed was the emphasis. While the speakers (and moderators!) were still important, the summit leaned in to the more social and experiential aspects of the conference,” the article says.
In other words, people can get their education online. They will attend events to connect with others and network, and organizers must provide interesting and unique ways to do so.
How This Event Change Affects Speaker Selection
What does event change mean for speaker selection? My predictions:
• Free speakers will be good enough. Except for the keynote presentation and possibly winddown slots, the rest of the agenda will be taken by the experiential sessions led by folks working for free. Watch for more competition and hard negotiations here.
• Killer insights are not enough. The focus is not on what folks learn but on the lessons attendees learn from connecting with other like-minded people. The wild card: Corporate America’s expectations of what attendees bring back to share with others.
Listen: 2 Changes to Make in Your Speaker Pitches
Don’t take these shifts lightly. The next time you pitch your presentation, ask yourself: What can I bring that folks can’t get online? How can I facilitate a deeper connection among attendees?
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