What Flavor Is Your Speaker?

Gail Davis, 14 February 2022

From initial brainstorming to the standing ovation, I love everything about the process of booking a speaker. Perhaps my most favorite part is getting the audience's feedback. Many of our clients poll their audience members and provide very detailed feedback as a part of the post-event survey. During virtual presentations, the audience often provides real-time feedback via the chat feature.

I often marvel at the contrasting comments about the same speaker. One person will use superlatives to describe the presentation content and the next person’s opinion may be that the information was dated. I frequently have to reread the comments and double check to be sure they are referencing the same speaker!

I know how seriously our clients take speaker selection─their desire is to get a giant seal of approval across the board. However, sometimes that doesn’t happen. There are a variety of reasons the same speaker can receive varying reactions from the audience. While the speaker’s style and content play into it, audience expectations also play a role in their preferences. Sometimes audience members are more critical of big name celebrity speakers versus the unexpected surprise of a compelling speaker with which they are less familiar.

GDA Speakers President & Founder Gail Davis

It is impossible for our team to know with certainty how an audience will rate a speaker, but you can expect us to give you as much information as possible to make an informed decision in your speaker selection. Having built strong relationships in the speaker industry enables us to tap into the experiences of our trusted colleagues to gain valuable insights─finding the best possible solution for your event and audience.

At the end of the day, I know there is a reason Baskin Robbins offers 31 flavors of ice cream─some like strawberry and others prefer butter pecan. With this in mind, my pro tip to ensure broader appeal to your audience is to include variety and diversity in your speaker lineup when presenting a series or a multi-day event. This will allow for every audience member to feel like they are receiving their favorite flavor during your event. Let us help you serve up the right option!