The Rundown
Topics: Presenters, Conference Production | 3 min read
Your presenters are the cornerstone of a good conference or awards ceremony. On-stage content is the reason the audience came, and it has to hold them.
An unhappy presenter does not perform at their best. If they are not at their best, the audience is not getting what they turned up for - and no amount of production value compensates.
Most of what makes the difference happens before they reach the stage: what they were told in advance, where they got ready, and whether anyone was looking after them.
Here is what to put in place, off stage and on.
Before They Arrive
Send Information in Advance
Presenters are busy people. Many are used to walking into unfamiliar situations, but all of them prepare better with detail beforehand.
A presenter pack should cover:
Venue details - access doors, exact location, parking.
Timings - event start and finish, their slot, and who is on immediately before and after them.
Background - why the event is happening and who is in the room. This is the item most often left out and the one that most improves a talk.
Technical requirements - whether they are expected to use their own laptop, or can bring a PDF on a USB stick.
Catering - whether food and drink are provided, and when.
Send It Early Enough
A pack that lands the night before is a courtesy. One that lands a fortnight out changes what they write.
If the audience profile is different to what they assumed, they need time to adjust the content.
Looking After Them
Provide a Proper Green Room
There is little worse as a presenter than battling through crowds to find a toilet, or changing in a public area.
It sounds minor and it is not. A separate green room goes a long way, and it should be private, well lit and close to the stage.
Comfortable seating and a table are the minimum. A fridge, tea and coffee facilities and drinking water earn considerable goodwill for very little cost.
Position matters as much as comfort. A green room three floors away is barely better than none.
Give Them a Point of Contact
A friendly face makes an enormous difference when nerves are high.
Assign someone specifically to look after presenters - checking they have what they need, answering questions, and getting them to the stage at the right moment.
It should be one named person, not whoever is nearest. Presenters relax considerably once they know who to ask.
Water on Stage
Small, and one of the most appreciated. A dry mouth halfway through a talk is a presenter's worst moment.
Put water on the lectern or table, or with a stage hand just off stage if it would spoil the look.
On Stage
Communication During the Talk
Presenters thrive on feedback - from the audience, and from you.
Whether that is someone side of stage giving hand signals or a prompting monitor at the back of the room, the more information they have, the better they perform.
Comfort Monitors
Comfort or confidence monitors are the main way a production company solves this.
They show timing, so a presenter can pace themselves rather than guess. They can display slides, so nobody has to turn around to check what the audience is seeing. And they can carry Q and A submissions, so questions arrive without a break in flow.
Position them in the audience eyeline where possible, so the presenter naturally keeps facing forward.
Rehearsal
If there is any opportunity for presenters to stand on the stage before the audience arrives, take it.
Ten minutes finding the lectern, testing the clicker and hearing their own voice in the room removes most first-minute nerves.
Getting Advice
These are a few of the ways to help presenters deliver their best.
If you are planning an event and want advice on presenter support, get in touch with Premier Live on 0116 202 9953 or info@premier-ltd.com.
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The people behind the production.
These are our people - the production managers, technicians, show-callers and crew who plan your event and run the room on the night. The same team from first site visit to final cue.
What We've Been Up To.
A look at the events we've delivered, the brief, the build, and how it ran on the night. Worth a read.
