Speakers & Entertainment
May 7, 2013
Hiring a speaker: Tips from an industry expert
Bob Parker, National President Elect from the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers talks about how to leverage a speaker’s expertise and discusses the challenges of working with a speaker. Parker also talks about the strengths and weaknesses of working with a speakers’ bureau and offers tips for those looking to enter the speaking profession.
April 17, 2013
Top meeting mistakes: Five items you may be forgetting
Frantic as CMPs and corporate meeting specialists often find themselves planning engaging programs and plotting event logistics, it's all too easy to overlook simple value-adds that can radically enhance any gathering's impact. But if properly leveraged, these cost-affordable and easily-implemented initiatives can help maximize attendance, boost audience learning and takeaway, and dramatically improve return on investment. Following are several ways to get more from your conferences and executive summits, none of which require huge added expenditures, yet all of which can maximize value for any organization.
April 3, 2013
Hiring a band or a DJ? Considering entertainment options for your next event
Clients are constantly asking my team and I what the best way is to assure that their event is a huge success as they debate between having a band or a DJ. Often the decision comes down to budget, as a full band can cost over $8,000 and a DJ usually ranges from $1,000 to $2,500. Source: Edan Kaufman
April 2, 2013
Why social gaming will amaze at your next meeting or event
If you understand the opposite of play is not work, but the opposite of play is depression, then you will begin to understand the importance of including social gaming into your corporate meetings or events.
February 12, 2013
Tell us a story: Three questions to ask when choosing your next speaker
Selecting the right speaker for your event will mean the difference between making a lasting impression and making no impression. While the appreciation for one speaker over the other often has much to do with one’s personal style and taste, there are some critical key factors in picking the right kind of speaker for your event.
December 3, 2012
Nine ideas for injecting energy into your next meeting or conference
Thank goodness that times are changing. Planners are increasingly coming up with ways to work with host communities to provide a more personalized conference experience. Planners are also rethinking their conference agenda and considering unique ways to liven up learning, networking and socializing.
September 1, 2012
Going Hollywood: tips for hiring celebrity impersonators
Although entertainment legends such as Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley are no longer with us, planners looking to add a bit of Hollywood glitz to their next corporate or social event can opt for the next best thing: the celebrity impersonator.
August 7, 2012
Successful meetings on a tight budget
Corporate Meetings & Events magazine’s Managing Editor Sean Moon talks about the challenge of creating maximum pop with fewer resources with money-saving ideas like site and venue selection tips, lowering food costs, and minimizing costs associated with entertainers and audio-visual components.
May 30, 2012
Eight great examples to enhance your meetings with virtual technologies
The explosion of virtual meetings and events is just ramping up and is expected to triple in the next five years. Through the convergence of technology, bandwidth and mobile devices, marketing managers, sales managers and meeting professionals will see not only more “virtual only meetings” but also a wide range of “hybrid meetings,” defined as a combination of face-to-face (f2f) and virtual attendees and components. These “live-plus” virtual events will dramatically change the face of the conference meeting, event and tradeshow industries. Get ready for a wild ride!
May 23, 2012
Eight tips and tricks from three experienced corporate meeting planners
All corporate meeting planners are constantly drowning in details, trying to get things together for the next meeting and worrying about the meeting after that one! Working “smarter” and not “harder” on their meetings, conferences, events and tradeshows is paramount to doing a great job. We gathered some of AMI’s Certified Meeting Planners together and asked them for some quick tips. Here is what they had to say.
May 9, 2012
Tips for building audience engagement
Ben Moorsom, President and Executive Creative Director at Debut Group, talks about techniques and strategies to tap into an audience’s emotions and build engagement by understanding what motivates them.
May 3, 2012
Ten tips for your next conference
Conferences are hard work. From developing the creative treatments to establishing milestones and timelines, planning ahead can make all the difference in the world. When planning a conference, there are specific guidelines that you should always follow in order for it to run smoothly. Here are 10 tips that will help you plan and run a successful conference.
April 11, 2012
Speakerfile launches first online marketplace of speakers for the $106 billion meetings and conferences industry
Speakerfile, a new technology platform for connecting a global community of corporate experts to the meetings and conferences industry, has successfully completed its initial phase and officially launched to event organizers yesterday. The company provides the first-ever online marketplace giving conference organizers a free, comprehensive resource to discover, evaluate and book fresh, talented public speakers, the company says. More than 3,000 speakers in over 70 countries have now registered profiles on Speakerfile. The site features both professional (paid) speakers as well as industry speakers from across 190 industry sectors.
February 29, 2012
The three essential elements that make for a great speech
Over the past 17 years, I’ve probably seen well over a thousand speakers and speeches. Some were good, some bad, some memorable, and some unforgettable. Though I sometimes joke that I’ve seen more speakers that anyone should be humanly subjected to in their lifetime, I actually consider myself lucky, as these experiences have provided me with a continuing education and perspective that most people don’t have access to.
January 24, 2012
Beyond boundaries: Speaking across cultural differences
Recently I was listening to a presentation made by a Canadian speaker at a conference in California. The audience was entirely American, and after being introduced as a Canadian, the speaker said, "There is one very big difference between speaking to a Canadian audience and speaking to an American audience." He then began the substantive part of his speech. Almost immediately, he was interrupted by an audience member who abruptly yelled out, "Hey! What's the difference?" The speaker responded, "That's the difference!"
December 6, 2011
Why event planners should 'start with why'
The concept is simply this – it doesn’t matter what you do, it matters why you do it. Citing examples ranging from Apple and Harley Davidson to Martin Luther King, Simon convincingly argues that the one thing these and other successful organizations and leaders have in common is that they answer the why questions before the who, what, when, where and how questions. This basic distinction permeates everything they do. For their companies and organizations, this can be seen in everything from their corporate culture to their marketing, and their overall strategic direction, vision and purpose. Source: By Martin Perelmuter, President, Speakers’ Spotlight
November 22, 2011
Speak up: Selecting the right keynote speaker for your meeting type
Different events require different types of keynote speakers. Yet with literally thousands of options at your fingertips, how do you know you’ve hit paydirt?
November 1, 2011
How the role of speakers' bureaus and agencies has changed for meeting professional
When we started Speakers' Spotlight in 1995, the world was a much different place. The Internet was in its infancy, nobody I knew had an e-mail address, and "social media" were two words rarely used in the same sentence. The role of speakers’ bureaus and agencies was very much that of a gatekeeper. They had rolodexes with speakers' telephone numbers, and if a meeting professional or conference organizer wanted to book a particular speaker, unless they happened to know them personally, they pretty much had to go through an agency. Source: President, Speakers' Spotlight
