On Stage: Tips for booking the right speaker in the right way
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Today's camp and conference guests are increasingly demanding of quality. They can excuse bad weather and an occasional glitch in service or accommodations. But invite a speaker who misses his audience or is otherwise a dud, and you'll do serious damage to your camp's reputation. And once your camp is underway, it's too late to "fix" a speaker.
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As a camp or retreat programmer, you must first know your audience and have a formulated purpose for what you're doing. Ask yourself if you are creating a safe environment where challenges can still be heard. Are you building on the "alumni" feeling for returning campers and guests with your choice of presenters? Secondly, it's crucial to know your speaker.
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Here are some preparatory steps before you make the first phone call:
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1. Think long-range. Start a "speaker ideas" file with hints and trends you pick up from reading magazines like InSite, Christianity Today, or the considerable resources of Youth Specialties. Cut out articles and keep these in an active file you review regularly.
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2. Develop a purpose statement for each camp or conference session. We prepare a one-page summary of every event we offer, including brief statements about the purpose, the target audience, staffing, speaker suggestions, and unusual parameters and costs for the time.
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3. Get out and get to know your area resource people. Visit churches with multiple staffs and find out who is good and available to speak. Even small churches usually have a paid youth director/minister--a phenomenon of the last 20 to 25 years that provides a rich resource for youth camps. You can do double-duty with marketing while you're out "in the field."
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4. Determine what is most important in attracting an audience. Is the speaker just interesting, or is he or she relational and Bible based? Can your potential presenter capture and hold an audience? Is he or she aware of current societal trends? Are you going for an evangelistic message, or is the audience 100 percent Christian? In our increasingly entertainment-focused culture, kids may want entertainment, but we know they need spiritual depth, too. With all of society's distractions, everyone needs mental and heart stimulation. Can your speaker deliver the specifics you want?
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5. Attend regional and national Christian Camp and Conference Association (CCCA) conventions and take notes on who is speaking, what they offer, and how effective they are. Most of the national speakers may be out of your league. But use the time to ask questions about who has worked well at other camps. Networking cannot be overemphasized. Most of our good speaker referrals come from personal contacts, not just from finding a hot list.
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6. Consult the Internet. Type in "Christian speakers" on your browser and you'll get an almost endless array of networks of speakers and agencies. Some of the free services have very useful search features, including by state and speaker topic. Several include a web page for each speaker, with a full biographical sketch, photo, references, and all contact information.
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Do Your Homework
If you've found a speaker you think will be ideal for your week or weekend, your research isn't complete. Before you book an individual, listen to him or her, preferably live, and insist on references (and follow through with at least two). If you can't arrange to hear a live message, get a sample cassette or CD of his or her speaking, and listen to it. At Mount Hermon, we want to know a speaker is comfortable working within our broadly evangelical perspectives. If you have a statement of faith, it's wise to share it with new speakers.
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You'll also need to decide who you will invite if the speaker has a spouse or family. To model what is spoken and add speaker credibility, we mostly book couples to present at couples retreats, or at least have the speaker and spouse present for the conference. This is fully at our expense, including travel. For family camp speakers, we pay to bring the family (or at least the spouse). We believe it's important to budget for this extra expense.
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Finally, prepare a file for each speaker. If you want someone back again, you need to be able to find what you agreed to the last time, and what your observations were on his or her ministry. Publicity photos, bios, and copies of correspondence can be kept in this file.
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The Booking Process
When possible, book individuals a year in advance. That may mean starting the search 15 to18 months prior to your event. A bonus: It makes it easier to project overall program costs at budget time.
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1. Start with a phone call, if time is short, but always put all details in writing. When I approach a first-time contact, I list the parameters of their coming to us (such as the number of guests expected, make up of the group, previous speakers who have filled the role, anything distinctive we usually do, dress standards, time allotted for each message, and purpose), then tell him or her what our honorarium ability is, and mention that all travel expenses are included. I then ask if that is in an agreeable range and if the dates are available.
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2. When time permits, put your whole proposal in writing first (e-mail or letter), then suggest you will follow through with a phone call in a few days, and/or invite their return phone call or e-mail.
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3. Know what your financial parameters are before you get on the phone. Don't make up something you'll regret after you hang up. But be prepared for a little flexibility that might make the difference between acceptance and refusal. Then summarize your conversation in writing.
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4. Be fair with your honorarium schedule. Remember to factor in how much total time commitment is involved for the speaker (Is he or she coming from down the road or across the country?) as well as the individual's age and experience level. Even with a two-night conference, the speaker may have to commit three full days or more when travel is included.
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5. Set a date for receiving an acceptance or refusal of your invitation. Weeks can be eaten up if you don't get specific with a response time. Ask: "Would you be able to give me a decision within 10 days?"
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6. Speakers working through an agency will usually have a contract or "letter of agreement" they want you to sign in advance. When you're not using an agent, protect yourself by drafting an agreement in letter form, listing the items mentioned above.
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Spoken For
When your conference/retreat is over, survey your guests with a brief response form or card before they leave the grounds. Ask for specific input on the speaker. Make a summary of the specific comment trends and place the results in that speaker's file. If you feel a speaker did a great job, write and tell him or her! Likewise, most speakers will appreciate feedback on their presentation, especially if it wasn't totally on the mark.
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***
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A platform guest, when part of a well-organized event, plays a key role in its success. Devoting thought and research to your guests, the conference experience, and the speaker and then attending carefully to details will best serve your guests as you select an individual who will meet and exceed their expectations.
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David R. Talbott
Dave is in his twenty-ninth year at the Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center in California, where he is director of adult ministries and resident musician. As a concert pianist, recording artist, and licensed pastor, he has been on both sides of speaker invitations. E-mail him at dtalbott@mhcamps.org.
This article first appeared in the January/February 2005 issue of InSite Magazine and is © 2005 by the Christian Camp and Conference Association (formerly CCI/USA).
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