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[[Category:Strategies for Program Chairpersons]][[Category:Allen, Desmond Walls]][[Category:Programs]][[Category:Rising, Marsha Hoffman]]

When Your Speaker IS Your Program
by
Desmond Walls Allen and Marsha Hoffman Rising
INTRODUCTION
Your society has decided to produce a conference
or workshop for society members and guests. You
have been assigned the responsibility to arrange for
a speaker. What plans do you need to make? How
should you negotiate with the speaker? What
details will you have to remember? This paper will
aid you in making those plans and decisions.
FINDING A SPEAKER
The society's conference committee probably has
established some guidelines about the possible
topics of interest to members. Your job is to find
the experts on those topics. A starting point is to
contact the following organizations or businesses
for names and lecturing information about their
members. Determine if a Directory is published or
if data on speakers appears on a Web site.
• Speakers List, The Genealogical Speakers
Guild, 2818 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 159,
Washington, DC 20007. Web site:
www.genspeakguild.org
• The Board for Certification of Genealogists,
P.O. Box 14291, Washington, DC 20044. Web
site: www.genealogy.org/~bcg
• Directory of Professional Genealogists published
by the Association of Professional
Genealogists, P.O. Box 40393, Denver, CO
80204-0393. Web site: www.apgen.org/
• Ancestor Detective Speakers’ Bureau, P.O.
Box 6386, Plymouth, MI 48170-0386. Web
site: www.ancestordetective.com/bureau.htm
(A commercial firm specializing in Web site
listings for speakers.)
While these references can be helpful, some of
the best speakers are located by asking for
recommendations from individuals. Seek
suggestions from previous speakers, society
officers or genealogical groups who have already
presented successful workshops.
Many well-known speakers have produced audio
tapes at various conferences. These tapes can be
purchased for personal review only from:
• Repeat Performance, 2911 Crabapple Lane,
Hobart, IN 46342.
• Index to NGS and FGS Conferences and
Syllabi, compiled by Joy Reisinger, indexes
FGS and NGS national conference
presentations by title, topic, and speaker.
Instructions are given to order the tape and the�
When Your Speaker IS Your Program
Page 2 FGS Society Strategies, Set VI Number 4
handout for each session. Index may be
purchased from the FGS Business Office, P.O.
Box 200940, Austin, TX 78720-0940. Web site:
www.fgs.org
CONTACTING AND NEGOTIATING
When you find potential candidates, call and ask
about their schedules and fees. Don't be bashful
about mentioning money. You are paying a
professional for services. Money is important. If
you can't afford a particular speaker, find one
within your price range rather than ask for a
discount. If you want the expert in a particular area,
consider raising your workshop fees.
Discuss topics. It is important for the speaker to
know whether an already prepared lecture or
workshop outline can be adapted to your audience,
or whether a new presentation will be required. Be
specific about the length of the suggested presentation.
Asking for an “all-day” workshop is too
vague—“four one-hour lecture segments with
thirty minutes for questions at the end of the day”
gives the candidate a better notion of your
expectations.
Ask speakers to send a list of those topics on which
they are prepared to speak. Be sure to ask if the
lecturer has any particular preferences. It is
important the speaker, as well as the audience, be
enthusiastic about the subject. If you need to
consult with a workshop committee about the
speaker's proposals, do so quickly and renotify the
speaker with acceptance or regrets.
If you have spoken with a potential speaker about
a workshop, courtesy dictates that you follow up
with information about your final decision.
Speakers are often negotiating with several
societies concurrently. If you have decided not to
use a particular individual for this conference, do
send “regrets” as soon as your decision is made.
MAKING THE AGREEMENT
If either the speaker or your society requires a
contract, complete the paperwork so there are no
misunderstandings. If a formal contract isn't
required, you still need to write the speaker a
letter and re-state all the important items you
covered on the phone. Include the specific time,
place, fee, topic(s), travel arrangements, lodging,
meals, and hospitality plans.
If air travel is required, decide who will make the
reservations and who will pay for the tickets. If
the society expects the speaker to use a
discounted fare, perhaps you, as the society
officer responsible, should make the reservations
and pay for the tickets in advance. Some speakers
prefer to use a travel bureau with whom they are
familiar. If the speaker wants to make individual
travel arrangements, the board needs to approve
the air fare early enough that the speaker can
arrange the most convenient travel at the most
economical rate. Speakers who organize their
own travel plans are always pleased to receive
reimbursement from the society as soon as the
tickets are purchased.
Who will make motel reservations? Please don't
expect your speaker to double-up with a
potentially incompatible roommate or to stay in
a stranger's home. Most speakers prefer privacy
for lecture preparation in order to be at their best
on workshop day. If your society wants the
speaker to submit receipts for reimbursable
expenses, state that clearly in your letter or
contract.
Be sure everyone understands who will transport
the speaker from the airport to the motel; from
the motel to the conference site and back. If the
speaker is to make individual arrangements, the
society should pay for transportation and/or
parking fees incurred. Please remember that�
When Your Speaker IS Your Program
FGS Society Strategies, Set VI Number 4 Page 3
speakers must also pay for transportation and/or
parking between their home and the airport.
Settle the “what-ifs.” What if the conference is
canceled? Will the society reimburse the speaker
for airline tickets if they have already been
purchased and are non-refundable? The society
may need to consider paying the speaker a partial
fee because another engagement for the same date
may have been refused. What if the speaker cannot
come because of a personal emergency? (That
possibility is every conference supervisor's
nightmare and fortunately, rarely happens.) If it
does, happen perhaps the speaker has a back-up
plan or suggestion for a substitute speaker.
Consider what will happen if the speaker breaks a
leg the day before the conference? Do you have a
back-up plan? You will sleep better if you settle
the what-if's in advance.
You and the speaker should agree upon deadlines
for receiving lecture outlines and master copies of
handouts. Be specific about what you expect to
receive, when you will need it and exactly where to
send it. Send the speaker copies of press releases,
registration flyers, and conference notices as soon
as they are available. This not only serves as a
reminder to a busy speaker, but informs the lecturer
that you are doing your part to insure a successful
conference. Speakers are well aware that good
publicity is absolutely essential to a good
conference no matter how illustrious the speaker's
prior reputation.
Most professional speakers have photographs
available which reproduce well in newspapers or
flyers. Be sure to request these early in preparation
for your conference. Photographs on your flyers
will catch the eye of potential registrants.
Advertise the lectures or workshop from the
outlines you receive from the speaker. If your
speaker's framework states the topic is an
“Introduction to Federal Land Patents” don't
advertise “Land Records” which may lead your
audience to have false expectations.
Does the speaker permit the audience to audio
tape the lecture(s)? Ask in advance and announce
the speaker's policy at the start of the workshop
as well as printing that policy on the registration
flyers. If you would like to have the workshop
professionally taped with either audio or video
devices, be sure to make prior arrangements with
the speaker regarding the sale of the tapes and
royalties to the lecturer. Although professional
recording requires more work for the society, it
can be a significant fund raiser for all concerned.
For guidance, review the “Taping Resolution”
developed by the Genealogical Coordinating
Committee. Copies may be obtained from the
Genealogical Speakers Guild, 2818 Pennsylvania
Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20007.
LAST MINUTE ARRANGEMENTS
The week before the big event, call the speaker
and check to see if any last minute arrangements
need to be handled. Perhaps your guest requires
a non-smoking motel room or prefers a groundfloor
room. The person responsible for picking
up the speaker should send a photo or
communicate something easily identified by the
speaker scanning a crowd. If the speaker is
driving, send a map with explicit directions to
both motel and workshop site.
Be sure plans have been made for the type of
media your speaker will be using. Ask in advance
for specifics about overhead projectors, slide
projectors, and microphones. Ask if the speaker
has a preference for a stationary or lapel
microphone. Are back-up bulbs for the projectors
on hand? Extension cords should be in place and
taped to the floor. Good speakers will want to arrive
early and examine the area for acoustics,
blind spots, lighting, and media visibility. In the
event your speaker does not have this opportunity,
try to anticipate and solve any problems
well in advance.�
When Your Speaker IS Your Program
Page 4 FGS Society Strategies, Set VI Number 4
Arrange privacy time for the speaker. Do not feel
that you must fill every minute of the speaker's
visit with social activities. Ask the individual about
hospitality activities including meals and tours of
the library and local attractions. Few speakers have
the energy for more than one evening of entertainment.
Lecturing is an exhausting activity.
Although you may introduce the speaker informally
to individuals during the day, assign someone to
formally introduce the speaker at the beginning of
the conference.
When the conference is over, see that your braindead
speaker is stowed on the return airplane or
tucked away in the motel. Say thanks. Be sure the
agreed upon fee is available before the speaker
departs.
AFTERWARD
Write the speaker reviewing the best aspects of
the program. Make positive, constructive
suggestions if appropriate. An evaluation form
should be sed for the conference. Not only should
the speaker receive a summary of the results, but
an evaluation form can help the society plan
future programs and topics.
If the response to your speaker was as good as
you expected it would be, share this with the
speaker in your Thank You note. The speaker
will be especially pleased if you include
permission to share the letter with other societies.
As soon as the conference is over, sit down and
write your objective reaction as to how the
meeting progressed and how it could have been
better—not just the speaker's performance, but
the whole experience. Finally, it is absolutely
essential that you pass your notes along to the
poor soul who has the responsibility for next
year's conference.

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