What do speaker briefs and birthday presents have in common?

We asked a few seasoned event producers to give us their thoughts on speaker briefs. This is what we learnt;

Most speaker briefs focus on logistics: Where the speaker needs to be and at what time. But a good brief can have a dramatic effect on the quality of speaker performance. A good brief can be the difference between an average performance and a great performance from your speakers.

Put yourself in the shoes of the speaker

A speaker will have a topic, they can know their content well. But as every presentation trainer will tell you, it's the way you deliver that content that makes the difference

The birthday present

If I ask you to buy a birthday present what would you want to know? Firstly who is it for? How old are they, what do they like and dislike, what do they already have. Only when you have got a good understanding of who the present is for can you go out and buy the perfect gift. It's the same with a presentation. Only when you really understand the audience can you deliver a great presentation. The more you know the better. So when giving a brief really try to get into the character of the audience, their mood, what they know already on the subject and what they feel about what they know. The more you give the presenter the better they will perform for you.

Get Input from those who know

You may well not know the audience that well so get the audience information from those who do. Sales and marketing are always happy to share their thoughts on understanding the audience

Your Experience

Do you prepare speaker briefs? What has your experience been? Let us know if you have any stories where the brief has made a real difference: Good or bad!