Your Guide to Hiring a Christian Speaker
Hiring a speaker for your event involves a lot more than simply calling someone up, agreeing on a payment and sitting back to watch the speech. Take time to read this guide on the best process to follow and the biggest errors to avoid.
Why Consider a Christian Speaker
There are people who can and will speak on any subject you can imagine. Regardless of the event you are putting on, several speakers may fullfil your requirements. Considering a Christian speaker, however, may be the wisest choice in certain venues, regardless if they are religious or not. Here are a few of the advantages:
*Christian speakers are available on a multitude of subjects
*There is availability of plain Christian speakers, comedians, musicians and other forms of inspirational and entertaining content.
*You can be assured of family-friendly, wholesome topics.
Choosing Your Ideal Speaker
1. Determine Your Audience
Consider the people who will be in attendance. Are they professionals, religious leaders or families? Are the audience members going to be young adults, retired, or parents of teenagers? Knowing as much as possible about your audience will help you narrow in on what kind of Christian speaker will connect with those in attendance.
2. What Do You Hope to Achieve?
Is the purpose of your event to inform, entertain or teach? Knowing what you want your speaker to achieve will help determine who will be a good fit. Speakers tend to specialize in both subject matter and style. An inspirational speaker may add a bit of comedy, but the main purpose isn’t to entertain, but to inspire. A Christian musician, on the other hand, may appeal to a young audience, whereas a Christian comedian speaker may enthrall people of all ages.
3. Determine the Specifics
What is your budget? When and where will the event take place? Some speakers prefer speaking only to large crowds, while others may feel more comfortable in small, cozy settings. Will the speaker have to travel or are you searching for a local personality?
4. Budgeting For Your Speaker
Consider the speaker’s travel and lodging expenses, time for preparation and the speech itself, level of expertise, and your expectations of quality. You want a Christian speaker who leaves the audience satisfied. The following is only a general idea of what you should budget. It is important to find out well in advance, however, what your particular speaker requires. Here’s a broad idea of what you can expect in terms of fees:
*Industry experts without much talking experience – $250 to $1,000 a day
*Industry experts with great presentation skills – $1,000 to $4,000 a day
*Rising professional speakers – $4,000 to $10,000 a day
*Well-known professional speakers – $10,000 – $25,000 a day
*Celebrities in their respective fields – $25,000 – $400,000 per day
5. Timing is Essential
Many speakers are booked a year or two in advance. It may be possible to book a speaker in as little as three months, but it is a good rule of thumb to start your search anywhere between six months to a year in advance. By doing so, you’ll increase your options and won’t find yourself “settling” because everyone you really want is unavailable.
Do This to Help Make the Event a Success
1. Ask for a preview
By having your speaker provide a brief (maybe 30-second) video clip in advance, you have something to help build up excitement for the event in promotional campaigns for your event. People are more responsive to visual content than they are to a simple flyer.
2. Hire an Emcee
If the venue is a large one, and especially if there will be a variety of speakers, an emcee will not only help things move along more smoothly, but a professional emcee is trained to fill in where necessary if someone is running late or there happens to be some type of technical problems. They will keep the audience from becoming disgruntled. In addition, a good emcee can rile up the crowd in preparation for the main performance, creating an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation.
3. Build In Breaks
Listening to long presentations, sitting for long periods of time or having to process a variety of different subjects can be mentally and physically taxing on your audience. A restless audience won’t give the speaker the attention he or she deserve and both speaker and audience will leave unsatisfied. Keep everyone happy by allowing for an occasional bathroom or leg-stretching break.
Avoid the Following Mistakes
In addition to the following mistakes to avoid, check out this page for even more hints.
1. Round Tables
By having the audience sit at round tables, you are forcing part of the audience to either have to turn completely around or keep their backs to the speaker. This is not good for either the speaker or the audience members.
2. Food
It isn’t easy to concentrate on eating and listening at the same time. In addition, any speaker having to compete with food is facing a losing battle. Schedule meals and speakers at different times so there is no conflict.
3. Not Getting References
Take time to check on a proposed speaker’s past events. They may have a history of events behind them, but how easy were they to work with? Were they dependable? Did they achieve the goal the event planner expected? Check those references.
4. Rushing the Speaker
You want your audience to connect with the speaker, or they will feel cheated. Build in enough time for interaction between the speaker and the audience, whether it be a question and answer session or a book signing. If a post-event schedule won’t work, try planning a meet-and-greet beforehand so the audience can get a feel for the speaker.
5. Consider Getting Help
Hiring a Christian speaker can be time-consuming and confusing. With all the things that could go wrong, you might want to consider allowing a professional to handle the details. This will leave you free to make sure the rest of the event gets the attention it requires.
PB Talent offers a selection of Christian speakers for an event your audience will remember for years to come. Let us help you select the perfect speaker and leave the arrangements to us.
Resources
http://mannerofspeaking.org/2012/08/29/ten-common-mistakes-when-hiring-a-keynote-speaker/
http://velvetchainsaw.com/2010/10/25/cheat-sheet-for-hiring-paying-professional-speakers/
http://akeynotespeaker.com/hire-a-keynote-speaker-best/
