It’s the worst-case scenario. The stage is set and the delegates are eagerly awaiting the keynote speaker – who has cancelled. These are the steps that will help you avoid disaster.
After much searching, pouring over videos, many meetings, numerous phone calls and a 100 emails, you have finally booked a speaker for your event.
Firstly make sure that everything is included in the contract. Such as if you want the speaker to attend dinner with the sponsors, participate in a press conference, have a book signing, do Facebook Live, hold a photo session with attendees, arrive the day before, stay for the whole event or any other extras you can think of. Later, it will be very difficult to add extras especially once flights are booked and schedules confirmed.
Next, about a month out from the event you should start thinking about logistics. For local events with a local speaker this might just be a car to pick up the speaker, drop them off at the event and take them home afterwards. If you book the car, you control what time the keynote speaker arrives and what time they leave, if you leave it up to the speaker you run the risk that they arrive late if they underestimate the time it takes to get to the venue.
Pay more for peace of mind
No-shows do happen. A professional car service will be more expensive but is the best option and means your speaker will arrive on time and be ready to present.
If your keynote speaker is flying to your event the tickets should always be booked in a fully flexible and fully refundable class which are invariably the most expensive tickets but in the long run could save you money. Speakers have agendas that change constantly and a month before an event they may be flying from their home city, then a week before the event they pick up another booking in another city and need to change their flights.
If you have booked a discounted business class ticket you may end up having to buy a completely new ticket and a week before an event and this will cost you dearly. Some airlines do offer flexibility for a fee but this usually does not include a full refund if you cancel the ticket, always ask your travel agent or airline when booking the ticket what changes are allowed and what are the conditions if you cancel.
Last-minute checks
Also make sure your keynote speaker has a valid passport, a visa if required and that they are not prohibited from entering the country where the event takes place. There are some countries in the
Middle East for example which will not allow entry if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport and
Malaysia does not allow Israeli passports at all.
At the airport a professional car service should be arranged to take the speaker to the hotel or venue and clear instructions should be given to the speaker of where the meeting point is and a contact number for the car service in case of delays and especially at large international airports like Heathrow where there are thousands of people arriving constantly it is easy to miss your driver.
Approximately two weeks before the event you should arrange a briefing call with the end client and the speaker, so they have an opportunity to discuss the event, the client can explain what exactly they are after and the speaker can give their input. Ahead of the call always send background information about the client and the event and a list of who will be on the call and their position.
Let the speaker know what’s required
It is always a good idea to send a reminder about the call a day before to both the client and the speaker to make sure no one forgets to dial in, and make notes on the call and send a copy of the notes to the speaker and client after the call to make sure everything is clear.
Usually speakers like to prepare their presentation right up until the last minute, and they do not like to send their presentation in advance. If your client wants to see their presentation before the event, make sure the speaker is aware of this. Also, always check with the speaker what they are going to need with regard to audio-visual support in advance, what kind of microphone they require, will they be showing slides or playing videos, will they bring their own computer or their presentation on a pen drive. Usually venues will have everything you need especially if they are doing international events but it is always best to double check they have the right cables and adaptors.
Then you can sit back, relax and wait for the event date and pray that there are no last-minute unexpected disasters.
Ben Myatt Director Speakers and Conferences Thinking Heads
