Conferences take meticulous planning; they involve a lot of investment in terms of time and money. Someone who takes on the role as organizer of needs to make sure that all the details, major or minor are in place. One major detail is the hiring of a conference speaker. Take the time to choose the most engaging speakers and have enough of them to give your audience versatility and therefore keep them interested. Failing to select the required quality and amount of speakers can turn people off from events planned by you in the future.
The conference speakers are an important part of the conference, if not the most important part. Planning a specific amount of them for an entire weekend is no easy task either. The onus is left to the planner to carefully incorporate the appropriate amount of speakers so that their presentations are well received and attendees have a variety. Listed below are some determinants for planners when deciding how many speakers to use for a weekend conference.
Duration of the event: a weekend conference should not run less than 8 hours every day. Plan these 8 hours or more rather than planning the event by the day. If you decide to plan hourly, you will see that it is much easier to fill the time, and that you will be better able to place speakers. Try to give each speaker at least two hours, chances are they will not all speak for the entire two hours because of scheduled and unscheduled breaks.
The central focus of the event. This is usually an individual. Give that individual the most speaking time and place them where everyone attending the event will be able to take full advantage of their presentations. After straightening out the role of the main speaker, schedule all the other speakers around him/her to also create some versatility in terms of presentations.
The events time table. Extra events like workshops will fill in the time slots on the time table. Plan these events carefully and ensure full participation from the conference visitors. By doing this you will reduce the amount of speakers needed and also be better prepared to plan for the amount of expected speakers.
The role of the chairperson. You must decide what the role of the chairperson of the conference will be. Will they supplement the main speakers or will they do mini-presentations. Making their role as large as possible will contribute to needing fewer speakers at the event.
These are just a few of the many things that you should consider when planning how many speakers will appear at your conference. There are many more that only you can determine because every conference is unique. Consider what is unique about yours and then set out your detailed list and plan from there.
Visitors to conferences expect that they will get what they paid for. This is an increase in knowledge in a particular area. The conference speakers are the people who impart this knowledge and thus it is important to have the appropriate amount. Use the points listed above to create the best possible conference, by choosing the right speakers and the most suitable amount of them.
