Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

In our last blog we began a conversation about keynote speakers – the criteria to chose and who’s hot. Today we are turning our attention to the technical program. Are the criteria you use different than that used for keynotes?

Here are a few additional considerations:

Industry credibility

Does the speaker have credibility and name recognition in your industry?

Platform skills;

One of the balancing acts you will have to consider is the candidates’ technical expertise versus their ability to present. The smartest and best qualified industry experts can quickly lose their audience with boring uninspiring presentations.

Product placements

Ensure your candidate speak about issues without promoting their specific product or service.

Commitment

Once a candidate commits to speak at your conference, you must have an assurance that their commitment is a top priority for them and that there is very little likelihood that they may cancel at the last minute.

Stand-alone or panel

One method of bringing value to attendees with speakers who do not possess good presentation skills is through a moderated panel discussion. Ask if your candidate would be willing to participate in this type of format.

These are a few considerations for your technical program. Can you add to the list of criteria? Also, it would be interesting to open a discussion on what types of presentations have been most effective and those that have not.