How to Select a Leadership or Board Event Speaker or Board Retreat Facilitator
Four steps to choose the right leadership, board, or corporate event speaker.
Leadership event, board event, and corporate event audiences are extremely sophisticated, and they are also analytical. The first question they ask themselves is simple: why should I listen to the person in front of me? There needs to be a really good answer to that question.
That person should be a multiple #1 bestselling author with a real pedigree and a client list of top brands they serve as an advisor. And they must combine that expertise with a powerful, engaging delivery style.
That is why our shortlist of leadership and board event speakers and facilitators is so short. Finding people who meet all of those requirements is nearly impossible.
To choose the right leadership event speaker, board event speaker, or board retreat facilitator, do four things: choose a practitioner, confirm their ideas are validated, put them through a trial by fire, and get receipts from their most recent clients.
The four things at a glance
- Choose a practitioner, not a student: Are they in the trenches with executives and board members every day?
- Confirm their ideas are validated: Have their books reached bestselling status, and are their concepts widely accepted?
- Put them through a trial by fire: Will they meet with your selection team on Zoom and answer hard hitting questions?
- Get receipts: Will they connect you with the planners from their most recent events?
Choose a practitioner, not a student
Ironically, the overwhelming majority of leadership event speakers, board event speakers, and board retreat facilitators are actually students. They study systems, methods, and tools, and then they turn those systems into a presentation. Some of those presentations can even be good.
The problem is that your sophisticated audience does not want a student or a theorist. They want a practitioner: someone who is in the trenches with executives and board members every day, who fully understands the psychodynamics of leaders, and who fully understands the challenges and needs of a very sophisticated audience. Always choose a practitioner.
Ask the speaker
"Which executive teams and boards are you advising right now, and what are you learning from that work?"
Confirm their ideas have been validated
Ask how their theories have been validated. The best way to determine whether a leadership event speaker or corporate event facilitator has been validated is whether their books have reached bestselling status and whether their concepts, systems, and tools are widely accepted in the marketplace.
It is far too risky to bring on a speaker or facilitator who would use your event and your audience as an experiment.
Ask the speaker
"Which of your books have reached bestselling status, and where are your frameworks being used today?"
Put them through a trial by fire
Perhaps the most important thing every meeting and event planner should do is subject a potential board retreat speaker or facilitator to a trial by fire. Any highly competent speaker or facilitator would welcome a Zoom call with your selection or management team, where you can ask tough, hard hitting questions.
It is not just their responses that matter. You will be able to determine their honest commitment to delivering value and their true understanding of the subject matter.
Ask the speaker
- Are you willing to go through a comprehensive pre-event customization process to make certain your message surgically connects to our audience?
- Will you provide value added resources, including a 15 to 30 page custom white paper specific to our industry sector and our organization?
- Will you offer additional resources, such as digital copies of your bestselling books?
Great speakers and facilitators always want to stack value.
Get receipts
Speak with one or two of the meeting planners from their most recent events to see exactly how everything played out, colleague to colleague. Great speakers and facilitators are always excited to share fresh references that are not handpicked, but drawn from their last few events.
Ask the speaker
"Can you connect us with the planners from your last two events?"
Comparing your finalists
Score each finalist from 1 to 5 on every step, multiply by the weight, and total the results.
| Step | Weight |
|---|---|
| Practitioner: advising executives and boards today | 30% |
| Validation: bestselling books and widely accepted frameworks | 25% |
| Trial by fire: performance with your selection team and commitment to customization | 25% |
| Receipts: feedback from their most recent event planners | 20% |
Rule of thumb: any finalist who will not meet with your selection team or share recent references should not advance.
Reduce your risk, maximize your opportunity
Whether you are hiring a leadership event speaker, a board retreat speaker, or a corporate event facilitator, your audience will judge every minute of the session against one question: why should I listen to this person?
A practitioner with validated ideas, a commitment to customization, and fresh references gives them a clear answer. These four steps reduce your risk of failure and maximize your opportunity for a home run.
Questions planners ask
What is the difference between a practitioner and a student speaker?
A student studies systems, methods, and tools and turns them into a presentation. A practitioner works in the trenches with executives and board members every day and understands both the psychodynamics of leaders and the needs of a sophisticated audience.
How do I know if a leadership speaker's ideas are validated?
Look for books that have reached bestselling status and concepts, systems, and tools that are widely accepted in the marketplace. Avoid any speaker who would treat your event and your audience as an experiment.
What should a board retreat speaker or facilitator provide beyond the session?
Expect a comprehensive pre-event customization process and value added resources, such as a 15 to 30 page custom white paper for your industry and organization and digital copies of the speaker's bestselling books.
Do these steps apply to corporate event speakers and facilitators?
Yes. Corporate event audiences of executives and managers ask the same question: why should I listen to this person? The same four steps help you choose a corporate event speaker or corporate event facilitator with real expertise and an engaging delivery.
Why ask for the most recent clients instead of references?
Handpicked references show a speaker's best moments. The planners from their last few events show how the speaker performs today.
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