Speaker Showcase
One of the drudgery bits of my job is trying to find speakers for the various conventions and seminars my employer puts on. Most of the presentations at the smaller shows are done by your correspondent, but for the larger ones I need others. There are literally thousands upon thousands of professional speakers out there ranging from Bill Clinton to the local dog catcher (you may score that spread as you wish depends upon your own sensibilities). The majority of these speakers use an agent, or in speaker's terms, a bureau.
Speaker's bureaus represent a wide range of talent and just like an agent take care of the "back of the house" details for the speakers, as well as attempt to source jobs for them. One way bureaus try to get jobs for their clients is through what is known as a "Speaker's Showcase. Since most people are not going to hire a speaker sight unseen (or unheard), the m.o. is to get as many speakers in front of decision makers at once to 'showcase" them. This means the speakers appear on stage with about 15 to 20 minutes to do their best stuff, trying to flip a switch with someone in the audience that will lead to a job. That is what I attended yesterday, where I saw about a dozen speakers. The reason I went was not for myself, but rather to take my new office manager to see one and get the need (or desire) to attend one out of her system.
Almost every speaker was what is known as a motivational speaker. Basically, "straighten up and fly right"-type speeches. Micheal Jordan and Thomas Edison were winners, and you can be one too. Any of the speakers could have switched their bits with another and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. By the end of the day, the speakers were saying, "As Susie mentioned in her presentation earlier..." Some of the same inspirational quotes were even used by multiple speakers. I think you get the idea.
Nothing really came of the day. The draw ticket was Rudy Gatlin of the Gatlin Bros. country music group. I have to say I did not recognize a single song he did in his medley. Besides, I was taking phone calls from Board members and my sister all day, so I was up and down, in and out of the room. No big loss for me. The funny part of the day was unintentional on the part of the organizer.
Seated in the back of the room was one of the day's earlier speakers. She would stand as Rudy began each song in his "performance," clapping her hands above her head, dancing in a manner that is described by some as "shaking your moneymaker," and yelling "whoo-whoo" with the best of the Girls Gone Wild crowd. I was seriously expecting the J. C. Penney red suit she was wearing to be lifted at any time. Two points I have missed in describing this scene. There are about 30 people in the room total including the speakers. And the "whoo-whoo" woman was easily on the far side of 65. I was in the rear of the room behind her, having come back into the room from taking a cell phone call from my sister. She had already been up and down at least three times, when Rudy went into another song. Up she went and another woman seated next to her made a comment that I could not hear to which the "whoo-whoo" woman loudly replied, "I don't know any of these songs, I just want to dance." God bless her for her energy, but I haven't seen a performance like that since a Doobie Brothers concert in Tampa Stadium in 1975. The only differences were the size of the crowd, the music being performed, the age of the "whoo-whoo" girl and, at that time, the equivalent of the red suit top did come off.
Speaker's bureaus represent a wide range of talent and just like an agent take care of the "back of the house" details for the speakers, as well as attempt to source jobs for them. One way bureaus try to get jobs for their clients is through what is known as a "Speaker's Showcase. Since most people are not going to hire a speaker sight unseen (or unheard), the m.o. is to get as many speakers in front of decision makers at once to 'showcase" them. This means the speakers appear on stage with about 15 to 20 minutes to do their best stuff, trying to flip a switch with someone in the audience that will lead to a job. That is what I attended yesterday, where I saw about a dozen speakers. The reason I went was not for myself, but rather to take my new office manager to see one and get the need (or desire) to attend one out of her system.
Almost every speaker was what is known as a motivational speaker. Basically, "straighten up and fly right"-type speeches. Micheal Jordan and Thomas Edison were winners, and you can be one too. Any of the speakers could have switched their bits with another and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. By the end of the day, the speakers were saying, "As Susie mentioned in her presentation earlier..." Some of the same inspirational quotes were even used by multiple speakers. I think you get the idea.
Nothing really came of the day. The draw ticket was Rudy Gatlin of the Gatlin Bros. country music group. I have to say I did not recognize a single song he did in his medley. Besides, I was taking phone calls from Board members and my sister all day, so I was up and down, in and out of the room. No big loss for me. The funny part of the day was unintentional on the part of the organizer.
Seated in the back of the room was one of the day's earlier speakers. She would stand as Rudy began each song in his "performance," clapping her hands above her head, dancing in a manner that is described by some as "shaking your moneymaker," and yelling "whoo-whoo" with the best of the Girls Gone Wild crowd. I was seriously expecting the J. C. Penney red suit she was wearing to be lifted at any time. Two points I have missed in describing this scene. There are about 30 people in the room total including the speakers. And the "whoo-whoo" woman was easily on the far side of 65. I was in the rear of the room behind her, having come back into the room from taking a cell phone call from my sister. She had already been up and down at least three times, when Rudy went into another song. Up she went and another woman seated next to her made a comment that I could not hear to which the "whoo-whoo" woman loudly replied, "I don't know any of these songs, I just want to dance." God bless her for her energy, but I haven't seen a performance like that since a Doobie Brothers concert in Tampa Stadium in 1975. The only differences were the size of the crowd, the music being performed, the age of the "whoo-whoo" girl and, at that time, the equivalent of the red suit top did come off.
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