Speaker Savvy By Gina Schreck, CSP

Take Away

Engage Speakers To EngageAttendees

Here are four ways that your speakers can connect with attendees early and often, using the latest tech tools.

Itgoeswithoutsayingthatengagingattendeesis always one of the top goals when producing an event.We all know that it’s just not enough to get people in the door.Today’s attendees are tech-savvy andwant higher-value content, delivered in fresh, relevant, and fun ways. And while there may be many powerful tools available to you and your attendees for greater engagement,howdo you get your speakers—along with the rest of your team —on board? Here are a few ideas.

Before the Event Today’s pocket video cameras, like the Flip,make it easy to create short (two- to three-minute) mes- sages.Your team can provide information suchas travel tips, apps that can be downloaded,Twitter tags, and social sites to get people connecting early. Ask each of the speakers to send you a short welcome video introducing attendees to their topic. It’s a great way to create buzz.We are a video-consuming society. Instead of sending text-heavy messages to your groups that typically get ignored, create a series of videos that can be sent out and then archived on your Facebook page, website, blog, and elsewhere.

During the Event Geolocation-based mobile tools, including Foursquare,Gowalla, andSCVNGR, canget your attendees checkingin for fabulousprizes.Createcon- tests, such as “Who will be today’s mayor of Ball- room B?” Ask your speakers and vendors to give away prizes (for speakers, this might be a copy of their latest book), or create check-in spotsaroundthe event center.Tips, trivia,andlearning facts can also beembeddedin eachlocation for attendees to find. QR codes are one of today’s hottest mobile

trends. These odd blotches were designed for inventory management, but once smartphones

entered the picture, the codes suddenly took on a newpurpose.Whenscanned, the codes take atten- dees to a website or social site for content or more information. You can plant these codes around your event location and create an interac- tive-learning scavenger hunt. Ask your speakers to create a special content

page for the event and place theirQRcode in the session roomaswell as in theirmaterials. Attendees thencan scanthem for additional content. (Always put the complete URL underneath the code for those who are not using a smartphone.) You can scan the code below (and see Take Away, at right) for more onQRcodes:

It’s Applicable One of my favorite scanner apps on Android is Barcode Scanner. And for iPhone, check out QR APP or NeoReader. I recommend using one of the many free apps, as they work just as well as those you pay for. To create your own codes for free, you can simply Google “QR Code Generator,” or visit one of my favorites: http://zxing.appspot .com/generator.

Gina Schreck

These tips should be used for informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice.

Gina Schreck, CSP, is a technology enthusiast and social-media expert. She is the president and co-founder of Synapse Connecting (www .synapseconnecting .com), which helps organi- zations strategically use today’s technology to engage communities.

After the Event Host a virtual event —suchas aQ&Awebinar— aweekortwoafter your participants return to their regular schedule, to allowthem to sharewhat they took away from the face-to-face meeting. Arrange for the speakers to be part of this webinar so they can answer any follow-up questions attendees mayhave.You can line up a different speaker each month to continue the engagement.

ON_THE_WEB: Follow Gina Schreck on Twitter (www.twitter.com/GinaSchreck) or get inside tech tips on her Gettin’ Geeky Facebook fan page (www.facebook.com/GettinGeeky).

52 pcma convene December 2010 ILLUSTRATION BY GREG MABLY

The National Speakers Association (NSA) is the leading educational organization for profes- sionalspeakers. NSA’s 3,500 members include experts in a variety of industries and disciplines, who reach audiences as trainers, educators, humorists, motivators, consultants, authors, and more. NSA provides resources and informa- tion on finding and work- ing with speakers. Visit NSA’s website at www.nsaspeaker.org.