At Speakers Corner we have never been a fan of surprises, so we like to make sure our clients aren’t caught off guard too. That is why we have a dedicated Logistics team  to provide anyone who has booked a speaker with an end-to-end service, to make sure their speaker arrives to the event safe and sound.

In the midst of their enviable colour-coding and list-making skills, the Logistics team also host the briefing call – which is otherwise known as the chat between the speaker and the client before the event . This call is essential for ironing out all those essential details, whilst also giving our clients a chance to get to know the speaker a little bit.

When you (our event booker, we are talking to you) do have the chance to get on the call, often the big day is only a few weeks away, so things can get forgotten. We’ve, therefore, put together an agenda for a briefing call to help out and make sure all bases are covered.

While one of the Speakers Corner team will always be in the background taking notes, and making sure every critical area has been discussed, this agenda should help to give an idea of how things should pan out.

We are always in the background, taking notes (the helpful kind!)

Firstly, we will discuss the background of the event and your company, and ask those key questions, such as: How will the whole event work? Has it been running for a long time, or is this the first one? What are the demographics of the audience?

This will give the speaker an opportunity to think about tailoring their content, so it aligns perfectly to the drivers of your event and audience. It is also a chance to discuss the themes and objectives of your event. Your audience are the most important people here, so we will want to nail what you need them to go away thinking about.

Next, we will look at the nitty-gritty of the speech itself, everything from the brief for a speech title, whether a Q&A will be happening, the audience size, to any presentation requirements and tech specifications. These types of details will inevitably open up more questions that are specific to your event, and these can, of course, be addressed too.

We will also need to look at what type of PR and marketing you will want to do around the event. Some speakers relish the opportunity to engage with their speaking events on social media  and through other platforms, but other speakers simply aren’t allowed due to contractual requirements. As this question throws up a spectrum of answers, it is always good to thoroughly look at what is and isn’t possible. You should have an idea from the initial contracts anyway.

Although these details may already be confirmed, we also like to run through the basics of the event, such as date, venue, speech and arrival time and contact details for the day.

We will make sure your speaker is fed and watered if you need us to

Finally, we like to sort the travel  arrangements, find out whether accommodation will be needed and make sure all the necessary transport has been booked.

We will combine all of these details in one handy document, which the team here will then keep on file to refer back to. If it is helpful to the speaker and the client also, we can always send a copy of this to you.

As the party in the middle, we are happy to ask the pertinent questions for you and remember anything that may have been forgotten on the day. The briefing call is a crucial resource for getting the event exactly how you want it, so we are here every step of the way to make sure just that happens. With the combined event experience of over 100 years, we have a pretty good idea of what we are talking about so relax as much as you can and let us work out the rest!

For further information or to book a speaker, call us on +44 (0)20 7607 7070  or email  info@speakerscorner.co.uk .