How You Can Create a Speakers' Bureau for Your Company Events

Each day 100,000 Americans stand up to give a speech. Here's to those intrepid corporate adventures who head up the highway on a dark, rainy night to some remote Holiday Inn and a hungry group of lions.

More and more companies are recognizing the value of this face-to-face contact. As a result, formal speakers' bureaus are gaining popularity. This is a group of topic experts that get together to address schools, churches, civic clubs, and other influential audiences.

Two good questions to ask if you're organizing your own speakers' bureau are "How do I select the speakers?" and "How do I make the bureau successful?"

Executive Speaker consultant Andrea Turner offers some suggestions on how to choose your speakers.

First of all, you should use your manager or supervisor in the selection process. The manager will be more likely to support the speaker's bureau if he or she is involved in the selection process. Managers can also help identify "hot topics" and those who can speak on them. Be sure to give your managers specific directions as to the type of speaker you're looking for.

Secondly, develop guidelines. Look for someone with an enthusiastic and positive attitude about your company. You also need someone who can handle questions without getting defensive. Be sure your speakers understand appropriate dress for the audience and occasion. You may want to evaluate how your speaker comes across during a presentation. Consider carefully a volunteer who is very soft spoken, or obviously nervous in group situations.

• Determine a number of speeches each person needs to make to stay on the bureau.

• Develop an audience feedback mechanism. Often audiences are too nice to give completely candid verbal evaluations. But if a speaker is really terrible, it might show through on a feedback form.

• Use the partner concept. Pair a more experienced speaker with a new speaker; or an old bureau member with a new one, or even two good friends.

• Use training. Some bureaus don't allow a new member to speak until he or she has been through a speakers' bureau training program. You can put together one yourself, or bring in an outside consultant.

By following these few guidelines, you can ensure that your speaker's bureau is a valuable and viable tool for your company.