Selecting the right speakers to communicate the appropriate messages at your next conference may be one of the most important public relations tasks. Considering that attendees most likely will remember the roster of speakers (only second, some would say, to the quality of the meals), finding the right personality and avoiding controversial outbursts is key.
Case in point: At the Public Relations of Society's recent annual conference in St. Louis, one general session speaker,
Dr. Lynne V. Cheney, sparked a heated debate when her "The Importance of Truth" presentation became peppered with her political views. Cheney is host of CNN's "Sunday Crossfire" and the author of "Telling the Truth," a book exploring how political correctness has impacted society and the media. Though PRSA officials discounted any negative reactions to Cheney's approach, PR NEWS was on hand to witness the fireworks.
After Cheney's address, what followed was a somewhat confrontational question-and-answer session during which Cheney was questioned bout her conservative, Republican views. She was also asked about her "perception" of the truth; and hours after the session, PR practitioners were still discussing the presentation and its merit.
On face value, what the Cheney speech probably reminds PR practitioners of is the validity behind that old adage about how politics - merged with just about anything - makes for strange bedfellows and often sets the stage for controversy. It also underscores how important it is to screen, interview and sometimes shepherd conference speakers as well as to know when a controversial speaker is appropriate. To be fair, that Cheney sparked interest --albeit some negative interest -- even after her presentation may be a sign of a good speaker choice on the part of PRSA.
Ellen Gerber, PRSA's chief staff officer, said having a controversial general session speaker (such as Cheney) is part of its accepted pratice, but a so-called controversial workshop leader is not. PRSA's selection process for each type of speaker is very different.
For workshops at PRSA's annual conference, potential presenters, who opt to answer PRSA's call for presentations, write up a plan covering the topics they will explore and how they plan to do it. If selected, they may be asked to tweak the presentation or be more targeted, and are always required to present an outline of their presentation. This year's speakers were selected from a pool of about 300.
But with PRSA's key speakers, the approach is far more laissez faire and there isn't any before-session, intense review of the presentation. Still, Gerber said that doesn't mean that the speakers who are selected aren't carefully researched or that their backgrounds aren't probed.
"You can't select speakers without screening them. You never let them select the topic and you have to set an agenda," said Lee Hornick, program director of The Conference Board, an 80-year-old, New York-based organization which organizes conferences worldwide. "You also need to get a kind of buy-in from the speaker. This needs to be as important to him or her as it is to you. And you need to make sure there are rules to abide by and that speakers are not given free reign."
But Hornick was also quick to point out that the chance that a speaker will be controversial isn't enough to rule him or her out. "You sometimes want issues that are hot and controversial," Hornick added. "What you don't want is someone who is going to be angry and hostile."
In the case of Cheney, PRSA 1996 national conference chairman Jerry Bryan said Cheney accomplished what PRSA heads wanted: She piqued the audience and gave PR practitioners something to think about.
"You never know how provocative a speaker will be," Brian added. "What I hoped she would achieve, she did."
What steps can PR practitioners and conference planners take to help them select speakers? And what measures can they put in place to help them deal with a potentially controversial speaker?
"What's most important is surveying your membership and finding out what they're interested in," said Sue Hale, a former chair of the PR network/communications committee for the Suburban Maryland High-Tech Council, a consortium of high-tech firms, government research facilites and colleges and universities. "We focus on what's topical, what's in the news and what's been done in the past by the council."
It's the topic, Hale pointed out, that drives who the speaker will be. You can't just be bedazzled by someone with a high profile and expect they will be appropriate for your audience because of their fame.
To narrow down conference categories and speakers, one of the best methods Hale found was faxing members a survey that allows them to pick topics, tools and trends they would like to be addressed. Hale said this checklist approach ended up being more effective than a one-time survey which required that members fill in ategories instead of being given a menu of choices.
After the council selects topics (from the pool of most frequently mentioned issues), committee members use their contacts in various industries as well as networking to come up with referrals and names of potential speakers. "Mostly, it's word of mouth," Hale said. "And then after that, it's an interviewing process and then after that, it's very much a hand-holding process in terms of letting them know what you want."
But Hale was also one of those who said the potential for controversy isn't a reason to nix a speaker. She recalled one council-sponsored "Meet the Press" event during which a speaker was critical about PR practitioners who work for agencies.
"The moderator didn't ignore it, but acknowledged the differences in the room and then steered the meeting in another direction," Hale said. "I remember that event as being exicting, highly charged and leading to a healthy debate.... Ultimately, you can't protect against things like that happening. But you need to have mechanisms in place, to have a moderator who can take over when things get out of hand."
"It's really up to the moderator and you need to be careful with a system where anyone can come up to the mike because then you're playing with a loaded gun. Someone needs to control it," Hornick agreed.
But Hornick also said that sometimes there are unique approaches that can be used to thwart episodes. He said The Conference Board has dealt with a particular speaker who is known for starting off his presentations with an off-color joke. Hornick, instead, "circumvents" this by saying at the outset, in front of the audience, "Now, we're not going to tell any jokes are we?"
By involving the audience in the process, Hornick hits on a savvy tactic that serves as a notice to the presenter. And to also help in guiding speakers so there's no question about why they were chosen to address a group, Hornick said he:
- requires the speaker to submit a presentation outline;
- provides a list of bulleted points he wants addressed;
- gives the speaker a description of the audience;
- encourages speakers to touch on pertinent, timely issues; and
- relays a clear message if politics shouldn't be mentioned.
"It's easy to make something controversial --just throw in politics," Hornick added. "You want to get the best and the brightest people to communicate your message and you want to be selective."
(The Conference Board, Lee Hornick, 212/870-6674; PRSA, Ellen Gerber, 212/460-1406; Jerry Bryan, 314/770-4736; Suburban Maryland High-Tech Council, Sue Hale, 703/793-2016)
Editor's Note: PR professionals accustomed to building rapport with magazine, newspaper and TV editors need to remember that radio is an important medium, providing an avenue to generate press for topics that don't require lengthy coverage. National Public Radio, which is one of the most well-known radio networks, provides its fair share of typical government fare but also deviates from this format to bring listeners business stories, pieces with a human-interest appeal or reports about global events.