1. Listen to Your Speaker
Different speakers have different objectives, and therefore different needs that dictate how their stages are set up. "If you're bringing up a football coach like Mike Ditka, or ESPN's Linda Cohn, those individuals are likely just going to need a lavaliere mike so they can walk around and be energetic," says Marc Reede, president of the Nationwide Speakers Bureau in Beverly Hills, California. "Business presenters are going to have PowerPoint presentations, slides, the need for darkened rooms and screens." A formal, authoritative speech will likely call for a stage, a traditional podium, and a stationary microphone, while a question-and-answer session might call for a lavaliere microphone and intimate seating, so the speaker can engage the audience. Regardless, don't make assumptions about a speaker's preferences. Reede says speakers rarely have production riders, so ask them up front, in plenty of time to accommodate them.
2. Listen Up
It's a waste of your speakers' time (not to mention your guests') if the message they're being paid to deliver isn't conveyed effectively due to a faulty audiovisual setup. In a room with poor acoustics, speaker placement (and we're talking the stereo kind here, not the talking head) is a key priority. "Strategically placing the speakers to eliminate feedback and properly fill the room is an essential part of the equation," says Jason Lieberman, vice president of AV Workshop in New York. For a large room, Lieberman recommends setting several speakers at a low volume rather than having two speakers at the front of the house at a high level. "A good audiovisual company might also recommend a more directional speaker with a tighter dispersion angle," he says, "so the sound is more accurately projected and is not bouncing all over the room." It's also a good idea to have a few assisted-listening devices for hearing-impaired audience members. (Expect to pay about $125 for a transmitter and $20 per headset.)
3. See It to Believe It
While good audio is crucial, your guests will miss out if they can't see a PowerPoint presentation, video clip, or even an animated speaker's facial expressions and gestures. So make sure you use visual aids, like screens and risers, whenever necessary. "Screens are essential when you have a large crowd of people and visibility is poor otherwise," says Jessie Lomma, a producer with the Experiential Agency (XA) in New York. At a recent British Telecom event, XA set up large screen so all 300 guests could see the featured speakers. "By using a large screen above the stage, the speakers had greater impact," says BT Americas vice president of marketing communications Debbie Brown. "Everyone could see the expressions on their faces."
While there are no set rules for using visual aids, Lomma has a rule of thumb. "If the room that we are holding the event in has a complicated layout with columns, or there's multiple rooms, then visual aids such as screens are essential to ensure sight lines from all angles," she says. But screens aren't the only method you can use: In a small room, a simple stage might raise your speaker high enough to be seen. Kenny Eggerl, owner and president of KSE Productions in Severna Park, Maryland, recommends putting speakers on platforms that are at least 24 inches high.
4. Do a Dress Rehearsal
"Always rehearse and sound check with your speakers," Eggerl advises. Some pros require this: Reede represents one speaker, Harvard Business School professor John Kotter, who insists on having a rehearsal "because he's been burned in the past" by faulty audiovisual systems. "We're big proponents of rehearsal for speakers," says Terry Rieser, an executive producer and partner at TAG Creative in New York. "It's important for them to come into the room, understand [things like] how they'll get on and off the stage, where they'll sit, and if they're tall enough for the podium." If a run-through isn't possible insist that your speaker arrive early enough for a brief orientation before the room fills up with attendees. "It makes a huge difference," Rieser says. "Having the security of knowing where you're going is another way to ensure that all you need to worry about is your presentation and connecting to your audience. Get all [the technical stuff] figured out before."
5. Sit Pretty
How you arrange your audience can also play a role in the effectiveness of a speech. "The first goal in setting up a room is to give the speaker focus and make the audience comfortable," Rieser says. The second is to comply with fire codes and venue rules. "A lot of times venues have rules that you can't get
around—you have to have an aisle of so many feet, or you can't block doors," Rieser says. "All of that determines your room configuration." Other crucial elements to consider: lighting, audio, and sight lines. The objective of your speech will be a consideration here, too: If you want to have a question-and-answer session at the end of a presentation, your audience members will need to have easy access to microphones in the aisles or at the sides of the room, and you can give a speech a casual feel by arranging chairs in a semicircle.
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
Posted 11.28.05
Related Stories
Roundtable: Hiring Speakers
3 Budgets, 3 Ideas: Speakers
Different speakers have different objectives, and therefore different needs that dictate how their stages are set up. "If you're bringing up a football coach like Mike Ditka, or ESPN's Linda Cohn, those individuals are likely just going to need a lavaliere mike so they can walk around and be energetic," says Marc Reede, president of the Nationwide Speakers Bureau in Beverly Hills, California. "Business presenters are going to have PowerPoint presentations, slides, the need for darkened rooms and screens." A formal, authoritative speech will likely call for a stage, a traditional podium, and a stationary microphone, while a question-and-answer session might call for a lavaliere microphone and intimate seating, so the speaker can engage the audience. Regardless, don't make assumptions about a speaker's preferences. Reede says speakers rarely have production riders, so ask them up front, in plenty of time to accommodate them.
2. Listen Up
It's a waste of your speakers' time (not to mention your guests') if the message they're being paid to deliver isn't conveyed effectively due to a faulty audiovisual setup. In a room with poor acoustics, speaker placement (and we're talking the stereo kind here, not the talking head) is a key priority. "Strategically placing the speakers to eliminate feedback and properly fill the room is an essential part of the equation," says Jason Lieberman, vice president of AV Workshop in New York. For a large room, Lieberman recommends setting several speakers at a low volume rather than having two speakers at the front of the house at a high level. "A good audiovisual company might also recommend a more directional speaker with a tighter dispersion angle," he says, "so the sound is more accurately projected and is not bouncing all over the room." It's also a good idea to have a few assisted-listening devices for hearing-impaired audience members. (Expect to pay about $125 for a transmitter and $20 per headset.)
3. See It to Believe It
While good audio is crucial, your guests will miss out if they can't see a PowerPoint presentation, video clip, or even an animated speaker's facial expressions and gestures. So make sure you use visual aids, like screens and risers, whenever necessary. "Screens are essential when you have a large crowd of people and visibility is poor otherwise," says Jessie Lomma, a producer with the Experiential Agency (XA) in New York. At a recent British Telecom event, XA set up large screen so all 300 guests could see the featured speakers. "By using a large screen above the stage, the speakers had greater impact," says BT Americas vice president of marketing communications Debbie Brown. "Everyone could see the expressions on their faces."
While there are no set rules for using visual aids, Lomma has a rule of thumb. "If the room that we are holding the event in has a complicated layout with columns, or there's multiple rooms, then visual aids such as screens are essential to ensure sight lines from all angles," she says. But screens aren't the only method you can use: In a small room, a simple stage might raise your speaker high enough to be seen. Kenny Eggerl, owner and president of KSE Productions in Severna Park, Maryland, recommends putting speakers on platforms that are at least 24 inches high.
4. Do a Dress Rehearsal
"Always rehearse and sound check with your speakers," Eggerl advises. Some pros require this: Reede represents one speaker, Harvard Business School professor John Kotter, who insists on having a rehearsal "because he's been burned in the past" by faulty audiovisual systems. "We're big proponents of rehearsal for speakers," says Terry Rieser, an executive producer and partner at TAG Creative in New York. "It's important for them to come into the room, understand [things like] how they'll get on and off the stage, where they'll sit, and if they're tall enough for the podium." If a run-through isn't possible insist that your speaker arrive early enough for a brief orientation before the room fills up with attendees. "It makes a huge difference," Rieser says. "Having the security of knowing where you're going is another way to ensure that all you need to worry about is your presentation and connecting to your audience. Get all [the technical stuff] figured out before."
5. Sit Pretty
How you arrange your audience can also play a role in the effectiveness of a speech. "The first goal in setting up a room is to give the speaker focus and make the audience comfortable," Rieser says. The second is to comply with fire codes and venue rules. "A lot of times venues have rules that you can't get
around—you have to have an aisle of so many feet, or you can't block doors," Rieser says. "All of that determines your room configuration." Other crucial elements to consider: lighting, audio, and sight lines. The objective of your speech will be a consideration here, too: If you want to have a question-and-answer session at the end of a presentation, your audience members will need to have easy access to microphones in the aisles or at the sides of the room, and you can give a speech a casual feel by arranging chairs in a semicircle.
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
Posted 11.28.05
Related Stories
Roundtable: Hiring Speakers
3 Budgets, 3 Ideas: Speakers
At a recent British Telecom event the Experiential Agency set up a large screen so all 300 guests could see the featured speaker and BT president Chuck Pol.
