"The expert's expert"—NYT. Author of 7 books, inc "Selling Your Professional Service Firm" + "The Business of Expertise" + "Secret Tradecraft". I help entrepreneurs build strong, sellable firms. Co-host: 2Bobs.com
We do 5-6 events a year, and just wrapped up our largest event, the Mind Your Own Business conference held in an Atlanta brewery. There were 130 people there, and both Jonathan and I consider it a great success. I thought I'd make a few comments on the role speakers play, too, for any of you who do events regularly. This isn't the only way to do events, but it's our way. /We focus on professionals who also speak, and not professional speakers. The difference is that the latter will tailor the presentation, but it's largely a well-worn theme based on a book or whatever. A speaker's skill at speaking needs to be sufficient that they aren't a distraction to the audience, but I'm fine with actual humans who talk in front of others, and some rough edges are okay. /One thing we like to do is to help launch speaking careers of people with a lot of meat to offer, but who haven't yet had a chance to do that. We had two speakers in that category this year, and they were both excellent. /Trust your speakers or don't invite them. Don't try to "approve" their decks. Yeah, agree on a subject, but otherwise turn them loose. Some people like to prepare weeks in advance, and some like to be inspired in the moment. I had no input in what they said. /Speaking of which, expose people to different perspectives. They are adults and the best gatherings give attendees something that helps them see things differently. /Create an event where speakers LOVE to participate. Every speaker who comes (except the occasional @sshole) has a lifetime invitation to return. We had seven, I think, who paid their own way and gave the attendees all kinds of opportunities to interact with them. /Pay your speakers a flat fee and let them make their own travel/lodging and pay for it out of that. Every speaker has their own set preferences, and there's no need to complicate things. /Support your competitors by giving them a platform. It's the right thing to do FOR THE AUDIENCE, and your control freak tendencies need to be stomped on when you do something like this. /Make it an event where the speakers WANT to share their participation with their own audience. Don't require it, and don't invite people to speak because you expect them to sell tickets for you. /Run things tightly, and treat time as a precious commodity. It's a respectful way to honor speakers and attendees. If someone goes long, as in more than a few mins long, pull them off the stage. Start on time. End on time. /Set expectations about not selling from the front. If someone wants to hire a speaker, they'll figure it out. Instead, the entire vibe is what can we do to inform and inspire attendees rather than what can we sell to them. We don't accept sponsors for this same reason. /Don't talk about DEI. Just do it and let that show up in your choices. We don't need any performative declarations--we should just quietly let our choices influence the outcome.
Alejo P.
1mo
I go to a lot of events, and the vibe at MYOB was unique. Chill and insightful. Two things stood out to me: 1) Speaker involvement. Most speakers don’t interact with the audience at a conference, unless there’s a vip ultra premium ticket holder. I like the casual feel of sitting in round tables and chatting human to human, with speakers that are eager to give and engage. 2) It’s about the attendees. Usually people go to an event because of the speakers, but most people I talked to didn’t know who the speakers were. 😅 They were there to learn from anybody you trusted to take the stage.. Because you made it about the audience, then the audience wasn’t passive. That was refreshing! I’m grateful I was able to go and contribute in my own way. I look forward to attending again next time. David C. Baker
Donna Bordeaux
1mo
When is the next one? I had a conflict this year but would love to attend.
Wolfgang Rathert
1mo
As a „professional who also speaks“ (what a great wording 👍) and an event designer myself, all your recommendations strongly resonate with me. The trust you express in the choices listed is a sound base for the co-creation between organizer, speaker, and audience that make up for a great event. Let me add a recommendation for the most potent event design element that can make a difference, and that is notoriously underused by organizers: it’s the audience. /They bring knowledge (both about solutions, but even more important about the challenges they want to tackle by attending the event). /They are resourceful (not in the way to be put on stage and inspire, but as a source of experience and as a node for networking to stay in touch with after the event). Good event design activates this potential by organizing for interaction before, during, and after the gathering. Think ‚open space technology’ or ‚liberating structures’. It’s like the challenges with speakers - just multiplied. But worth it.
Nikole Mackenzie
1mo
Really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to speak at MYOB David C. Baker 🙏🏼 this was a big milestone for me as someone who has always been terrified of public speaking. It was an amazing event!!
Harris III
1mo
We also focus on professionals who speak versus professional speakers. It’s one of the reasons people come to our gatherings, to hear new ideas from new people. Many times, our speakers are giving the first talk they’ve ever given at our event, which is super fun. And hands down, they get better reviews than the pro’s who have their talks dialed in.
I like this. There is nothing worse than when someone speaks and has an agenda to sell me. I always try to give away the farm in my speaking!
Ian Chisholm
1mo
These are brilliant design principles for creating something really valuable to everyone involved. Your system for running this brought out a gathering of folks who a) are open-hearted and ready to share and b) want to be excellent in what they do. I was honoured to speak. Everybody there I also really loved your 30 minute coffee breaks - and learned so much from everybody there.
Tom Martin
1mo
Smart and brave. And if you’re doing things correctly, shouldn’t end up hurting you in the end because your clients still remain loyal. Support your competitors by giving them a platform. It's the right thing to do FOR THE AUDIENCE, and your control freak tendencies need to be stomped on when you do something like this.
Blair Enns
1mo
Congrats on a successful event, David. Wish I could have been there.
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1mo”We focus on professionals who also speak, and not professional speakers. ” This is a REALLY big difference. I like it! A question: how many speakers do you have at the event(s)?