When is the best time to hire a public speaker?
When you Hire a Public Speaker for your event it can get expensive if you aren’t prepared, and getting the speaker you want can be difficult. Worse yet, hiring a speaker last minute can easily turn the best motivational speakers into an eyesore for the audience. If you’re planning an event and know you’d like a keynote speaker to project your message, invest the time early to get the most from your speaker.
So, when’s the best time to hire a public speaker? The best time to hire your speaker is 6 months before the date of event.
If that simply isn’t feasible for your organization, try to allot your speaker at least 3 months to prepare. Failing to take the time to connect with your speaker can result in an inauthentic experience for your audience. More importantly… You’re paying for their presence and well-known name. The earlier you start working with your speaker, the more you’re able to draw attention to your event before it occurs.
Beat the Busy Seasons with Proper Planning
Just like every other business, speakers have on and off seasons. Sometimes they are presenting all over the country for months on end, and other times they seem to have nothing to do but plan for the next busy season. When looking for the best motivational speakers for your events, try to take into account when you event is occurring.
For most speakers, summers are usually slower, when spring and fall are usually their busiest season. Every speaker and every speaker topic will have their own busy and off season. For example: Agricultural speakers are usually busy in the winter time, as during the spring and summer, farmers are too busy working to attend a session.
Try to plan further in advance if your event interferes with busy seasons by considering the following:
- If you contact a speaker 6 months before an event, they will most likely be available
- Consider your industry, when is your busy season, when is your slow season
- Get in touch with a bureau or a speaker to find out their travel schedule and if they might be in your area
- The start and end of each business quarter – usually when they are being hired or speaking
- There is a good chance that another organization similar to yours may be facing a similar challenge as you, teaming up and matchmaking with other organizations is a key way to elevate an event and save you some money.
- National holidays celebrating or bringing awareness to a topic – Pink Shirt Day, We Day, Movember…speakers are called in to help bring awareness to holidays and therefore are usually booked well in advance
Speakers and bureaus always try to deliver their best work, but only so much is possible when the speaker cannot research your needs before the presentation. For example: You don’t want to try and hire a keynote speaker for your December charity event in November. Not only will it be hard to find a speaker, you’ll both struggle to prepare and promote a speaker at the event.
By Roger Breault, President
& Gordon Breault, Executive Director
Speakers Bureau of Canada
Feb 1st, 2017
How Hiring a Speakers Early Saves You Money & Time
The earlier you contact your speaker the better. Everyone needs time to plan, so hiring a speaker early saves you time and money. Like most industries, you’re paying top dollar for last minute presentations. Booking times directly affect the price the you pay. The more time you give your speaker to prepare their presentations and workshops for your events, the more willing a speaker will negotiate their speaker fee. Rush jobs are not only expensive, they can lose their impact if the rush job is no good.
Giving your speaker ample time and information about your event will help them get into the zone for your audience. By giving them information about the event, it’s purpose, and the ideas that you want your audience to take away from your event, you let your speaker into the mindset of the event. Understanding the event let’s your speaker modify their presentations and workshops to fit the needs of your event and generate impact by leaving a positive impression.
The time put into the presentation of each event allows you, your audience, and the speaker to tap into the success that inspired the event. The earlier you start planning the better. Here are a few more ways early planning can help you maximize your return on investment for the event:
- Use social media to engage with your audience and promote your speaker
- Take the time to raise funds for your event with sponsors instead of ticket sales.
- Get your CEO involved for public awareness and team building
In Conclusion
At the end of the day, the best weapon in your arsenal is a planner.
The sooner you hire the speaker, the more you’re able to leverage their voice and spread your message. More importantly, your speaker has the time to personalize with the material and make an all-star speech at your event. The result? You get more from your investment and so does your audience.
To learn more about when to hire a speaker (and saving money, too) visit Speakers Bureau of Canada’s Event Planning Tools section of their website. There are many practical solutions for event coordinating.
By Roger Breault,
President, Speakers Bureau of Canada,
Dec 1st, 2016
Through the power of positivity, Charmaine Hammond helps people and teams through tough times, and transforms them back to a happier version of themselves. That helps them get back to being a positive and function part of the group, no matter what the situation may be through her interactive team solutions presentations.
Charmaine Hammond has over two decades of speaker experience, and for many, is the one of the elite female team building speakers. Her Master’s Degree in Conflict Analysis & Management helps Charmaine Hammond get to the root of problems quickly and effectively. There she can help your team move past their fears, and get back to what really matters, working together.
With multiple degrees and multiple awards, Charmaine Hammond comes equipped to help your team through any time of strife. Her resilience and team solution presentations will inspire and teach your audience on how to Bounce Forward together through a synergistic approach. Her stories and ideas help wounded teams bounce back strong, and even stand stronger than before.
You get a wealth of knowledge when you higher keynote motivational speakers like Charmaine Hammond. 18 years of business ownership, multiple degrees, a spot as a community development specialist for municipal governments and non-profit organizations, and two decades of speaking experience make sure your team walk away uplifted and motivated and practical team solutions to bring your organization to the next level.
Team Solutions for Resilience is an attribute that you can learn, and Charmaine Hammond is the keynote business speaker that can teach it. After surviving a near death sailing accident, Charmaine discovered the secrets to resilience and surviving life, business, and the challenges of each day.
Follow Charmaine Hammond as she takes you on a journey and outlines the five lessons she learned on the day that almost took her life. No matter who you are, workplaces, teams, professional and business success, you can learn a thing or two from Charmaine Hammond about building resilience in your team. Let your team enjoy the speeches that over 200,000 people worldwide have experienced.
Bounce Forward and chart your course to resilience with Charmaine Hammond, and get your give your team the gift of resilience. The ability to take a challenge and turn it into a goal, and take the work impossible out of your team vocabulary.
Take a bit of time to learn more about Charmaine Hammond and her many team solutions and leadership oriented keynote and workshop speeches. You can find all of her information on her profile at the Speakers Bureau of Canada. Charmaine is an industry expert on teamwork, team building and resiliency.
Learn about her awards winning presentations, industry recognition’s, degrees, certifications, and get a more personal feel for her uplifting style and presentation. View breakdowns and read previews for her keynote speeches and workshops.
Whether you are looking for an impactful speech about leadership, or trying to get through a major conflict, Charmaine Hammond will lead you to practical solutions for Respect, teamwork, and conflict resolution and are the cornerstone of her impactful and uplifting work.
Minimizing conflict helps you produce results and increase productivity. Let Charmaine bring team solutions to your organization through her interactive sessions.
By Roger Breault,
President, Speakers Bureau of Canada,
Jan 6th, 2017
Carrie Doll – Speakers Bureau of Canada
In the business world, corporate events are the bread and butter of social networking, business expansion, and team building. Not only do they provide a wealth of opportunity to the organization at hand, they create a huge impact in the industry. That is, if they’re interesting. Far too often, corporate events fail to excite and engage the audience. Which is a shame. Producing engaging corporate events doesn’t have to cause you sleep and sanity. That’s where Carrie Doll comes in.
As a professional Master of Ceremonies (MC), and seasoned corporate event speaker, Carrie Doll is the perfect choice for corporate communities who are looking to engage their audience and make an impact with their message. She has interviewed countless lawmakers, newsmakers, and industry leaders throughout the city of Alberta and the international map. Her unmatched brilliance and ability to evoke emotion within audiences is what made her one of most recognizable news anchors in Northern Alberta.
Professional Credentials
● Honors Degree in Communications from the University of Calgary
● Diploma of Broadcast News from SAIT
● 13 years at CTV News
● Honorary Chair at the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards
● Board Member of Edmonton Singing Christmas Tree Foundation
● Chair Holder of Edmonton’s Stollery Women’s Network
● Co-Founder of the Luxus Group
● Edmonton’s Woman of the Year in 2002
If you’re looking for a the best female Emcee speakers to create meaningful conversation at your event, Carrie Doll is an amazing choice. In addition, her well recognized smile, her experience with in panel moderation and public speaking coaching shines through with every presentation.
As a woman of many talents and services to offer, Carrie Doll categorizes her work under 3 categories:
1. Hosting
2. Speaking
3. Consulting
With 20 years behind the newsdesk, Doll has an unparalleled ability stay poised under pressure and adapt to changing situations on the fly. Her illustrious record of adaptation has allowed her to provide a wide range of services to her clients. With everything from panel management to event hosting under her belt, Carrie can provide a unique flavor to every presentation.
To learn more about Carrie Doll or to start the process of booking her as your speaker, visit her profile on our website: https://speakerscanada.com/keynote-speaker/carrie-doll/
By Gordon Breault,
Executive Director, Speakers Bureau of Canada
Feb 7th, 2017
Nature is our most precious asset. No matter what walk of life we choose to take, nature will always serve a guiding light for our spirits and our minds. Brian Keating serves as a reminder of that message. As a person who is deeply passionate about health, science, and the environment—Brian Keating has worked with many different organizations to teach a love of nature and expand wildlife projects around the world.
Keating is an excellent keynote and workshop speaker for wildlife protection agencies, park services, and education establishments looking to inspire a love of nature in their students. His presentations are engaging, inspiring, and leave an impression on individuals that far extends the event. More importantly, Brian Keating leaves guests with a desire to get back to nature and protect the earth they live and grow on every day!
Top Performing Presentations by Brian Keating
Whether you’re looking for a wildlife expert, a keynote speaker to inspire a greener future, or need to inspire students to take control of their health— Brian Keating is a great fit. Here’s a review of his most celebrated presentations.
A Natural Relationship
To highlight the concept of “Nature Deficit Disorder,” Brian Keating takes his audience on a journey to discover the importance of the natural health. With bright language and astounding visuals, Brian Keating illustrates the effects of nature of your health and psychological wellbeing.
In addition to helping guests get in touch with their own needs for nature, Brian Keating offers strategies for unplugging and getting outside. Despite his humorous nature, his impactful presentations drive a core message back to audiences: a green life is not only better for your health, it’s necessary for survival.
Cold Leadership
On the subject of leadership, Brian Keating takes audiences on a journey through his presentation Cold Leadership. The presentation walks the audience through the extraordinary Antarctic Leader Ernest Shackleton and his impact on the crew and discovery of Antarctic waters and the lessons we can take from his leadership in our own lives.
Going Wild
This spirit-lifting journey conveys the importance of protecting our wildlife spaces ad nature. An inspiring visual journey through Brian’s travels to 50 different countries on all 7 continents serves an inspiration and reminder to our peoples of all ages that our nature is worth fighting for.
No matter what your needs may be, Brian’s presentations have a universal message that allows him to move throughout multiple different industries to spread his message. Whether your management team needs a pick-me-up for their leaderships skills or you need to make a strong point to investors for your wildlife foundations, Brian Keating’s presentations will create memories that last a lifetime.
To view more of Brian Keating’s presentations, visit his speaker profile on Speakers Bureau of Canada’s website to learn more: https://speakerscanada.com/speakers/brian-keating/
By Gordon Breault,
Executive Director, Speakers Bureau of Canada
Dec 14th, 2016br
There are very few true go-getters out there now-a-days, but that’s exactly what you get from Bob Hooey. As one of the premiere business keynote speakers, Bob Hooey gets your team out of their comfort zone in favor of “the winners circle.”
If you are look for business motivational speakers with drive and a sense of humor, look no further than Bob Hooey. His upfront, in-your-face, kind hearted style is sure to rally the troops, and help them transition into success.
Hooey is a master at communication. With his 29-years of experience, he is sure to motivate your team through the use of success building blocks, results-based leadership, sales, and career development and success. His innovative ideas are proven leadership development tactics, sales enhancers, and career enhancers. Signing Bob Hooey as your corporate motivational speakers is sure to create a successful team.
Ideas At Work! Is Bob’s bread and butter, but he is known for much more. From bestselling author to award winning speaker, Bob is equipped to provide the necessary tools and tactics to ensure anyone’s success.
Whether it’s enhancing your career, or growing your sales, Bob Hooey is committed to your growth and excellence, not your comfort. This means you get a little bit of an unconventional pathway that has proven it’s worth time and time again.
Bob’s idea-rich strategies are designed to create effective leaders who drive productivity. He does this through the P.E.E.L. method.
Protect your conference and leverage your training dollars.
Enhance your professional career and sell more products and services.
Equip and motivate leaders through growth and success, even trying times.
Leverage your leadership, and leave your mark on the business world.
Great speakers are a dime a dozen, but few attack success with the vigor and creativity of Bob Hooey.
His specifically crafted presentations are meant to move you, touch your heart, nurture your spirit, tickle your funny bone, and equip you for any sign of adversity.
Don’t just settle for any other speaker, really get your audience motivated with a Spirit of CAPS award winner, Lamplight service award winner, Canada 125 Award winner, and one of 68 Toastmasters International Accredited Speakers.
Your team will never experience a speaker like Bob again.
Bob’s keynote speeches normally run anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour, but can sometimes run up to 90 minutes. His workshops are usually 90 minutes to 120 minutes. Either way, Bob Hooey is more than equipped to tailor his presentations to meet your needs.
Make your team feel special, and give them a motivational speaker that they will not only remember, but emulate. From Speaking for Success to making your team feel special, you are sure to find an abundance of ideas, learn stress management techniques, and inspire your leaders to create the best team they can through constructive leadership tactics.
So when you are planning your next convention or event, and you want to get your audience educated, excited and motivated, look to business speakers like Bob Hooey for an impacting message.
Written By Gordon Breault,
Executive Director of Speakers Bureau of Canada,
Feb 5th, 2017
100 kids were introduced to competitive cross-country skiing on Friday, January 20th. Children from nearby First Nations traveled to Tawatina, Alta for a cross-country ski race hosted by Ski Fit North.
Olympian Beckie Scott is the program director at Ski Fit North. She is a gold medal winner from the 2002 Olympics, 17 time world champion, and placed second at the 2006 Olympics and World Championships.
“This event came about as an idea to help bridge the gap between a real competition where the kids may have been racing for many years or are very experienced in racing,” Scott said.
“It’s an opportunity for our Indigenous students in the program to try racing in a really fun, low-key, supportive environment to see if they like it. We’d then assist for the next level of competitions.”
The race participants ranged from Grades 1 through 12, and came from The race participants came from Kikino Metis Settlement, Beaver Lake First Nation, Heart Lake First Nation, Goodfish First Nation, Saddle Lake Cree Nation and Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement
Many schools in the area have recently created ski clubs. Take Kikino School, their ski club has grown from 10 people to 110 in just 3 years. Along with hockey and baseball, this growing ski club is just one of three recreational sports that are offered at Kikino.
Kian Bishop, 12, is from Kikino Metis Settlement and Kikino School, and finished third in the three-kilometre race.
“It gives all these little kids a chance to ski and get better as the years go on,” Bishop said. “It’s a pretty big moment for them. It’s kind of special.”
There were many races that day, and one of them started with a pileup at the start line. Laurie Thompson, Principal at Kikino, weighed in on that pile up, and viewed it as a life lesson in determination for the kids involved.
“They get up. That’s what life’s about. When you fall down you get up. You still keep going,” she said. “You put that next ski in front of the other. You be proud that you got from here to there.
This lesson in determination is one many kids never have the opportunity to learn through extracurricular activities like the Ski Fit North races.
Ski Fit North’s Program Direct, Beckie Scott, weighed in on the event too.
“This event came about as an idea to help bridge the gap between a real competition where the kids may have been racing for many years or are very experienced in racing,” Scott said. “It’s an opportunity for our Indigenous students in the program to try racing in a really fun, low-key, supportive environment to see if they like it. We’d then assist for the next level of competitions.”
When working with Beckie Scott, she demonstrates and teaches resilience, through a powerful message of teamwork, leadership and hard work. Beckie’s commitments to her life’s accomplishment show us that her passion to help and change Canadian’s and especially Canadian Youth, are an example for all of us to follow when dealing with adversity.
Written By Roger Breault,
President of Speakers Bureau of Canada
Feb 12th, 2017
Barbara May is an award-winning business coach, educator, team building expert, and one of Northern America’s pioneering team building speakers. Her diverse career spans 2 decades of experience in education, from school counselor and special education teacher to executive director and sports consultant.
Her career arc also includes roles in entertainment, non-profit management, government (serving as President of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) – Edmonton Chapter), facilitating more than 500 Career and Employment Workshops, teaching the National Coaching Certification Program’s “How to Coach” course for 15 years, and holding the Guinness World Record for longest stand-up comedy show in history.
Her involvement in so many industries has given her a wide and diverse professional palette. A background this broad lends itself towards recognizing what gaps need to be bridged in corporate or educational environments so effective team building and communication can take place.
Of course, with 20+ active experience comes 20+ years of obstacles.
At age 46, Barbara May suffered some pulmonary emboli, which are blood clots that take place in the lungs.
She survived of course, but that event and the subsequent recovery turned out to be the breakthrough she needed.
A medical scare like this will slow anyone down, but Barbara utilized her collective knowledge, observations, and wisdom to push forward and achieve a higher sense of mental and emotional fortitude.
That health crises was what she needed to discover her purpose. Barbara May created Stumbling Blocks, a team building seminar designed to show companies new ways of overcoming adversity and solving problems in the workplace.
As a keynote or workshop teamwork speaker, she highlights which obstacles your team might face:
- Letting side issues take the stage
- Feelings of stagnation
- Resenting work
- Getting defensive
- Allowing teamwork to give way to individual complaints.
It’s just as important to identify which stumbling blocks as it is to recognizing the solution.
Stumbling Blocks Team Building Seminar
By sharing her struggles and triumphs openly as a team building speaker, Barbara helps teams rebuild their stumbling blocks, and become productive, motivated, and happy.
The Stumbling Blocks team building seminar reinforces and supports a handful of key objectives in order to create and manage an effective team environment:
- Communication, collaboration, and resolving conflict
- Handling stress and setbacks
- Moving on and learning from your mistakes
- Taking initiative and being willing to ask for help
- Public speaking and presentation skills
- Change management and accepting change
Barbara’s Stumbling Blocks is a crash course in overcoming challenges, and defeating adversity. These seminar showcase 3 main programs designed to detect which stumbling blocks are obstructing progress.
Motivation
Opening and closing keynote speeches for meetings, conferences or team building events.
Team Building
Interactive, fun, and informative team building seminars for everyone from new recruits to emerging leaders and senior executives.
Leadership
Customized skill building workshops on problem solving with communication and overcoming mistakes.
If your team seems stuck, don’t feel stuck; feel inspired. Barbara May will show you how.
If you’re interested in contacting Barbara for a team building workshop or seminar, you can book her through the Speakers Bureau of Canada here:
By Gordon Breault,
Executive Director of Speakers Bureau of Canada
Feb 4th, 2017
Ann Dowsett Johnston is an award-winning journalist, author, and an internationally recognized education keynote and workshop speaker on addictions. Her career is as diverse as her passions, spanning from public policy matters to mental health awareness, and education. She’s been an active, prolific voice in publishing circles across Canada.
Ann Dowsett Johnston’s signature work in journalism. Her 14-part series, Women and Alcohol, is featured in the Toronto Star that recognizes and dissects the rising trend of alcohol abuse among students and working class women. She engages the issue with an investigative vigor, showcasing the story of Beata Klimek, a recovering alcoholic with nothing to lose but her life after struggling with the disease for years.
Ann Dowsett Johnston is the winner of 5 National Magazine Awards. Her other works in journalism that deal with alcohol abuse and mental health issues include Booze is a Loan Shark, Pinking the Alcohol Market, and the Anti-stigma Campaign.
She’s spent time researching alcohol policy and mental health as part of the Atkinson Fellowship of Public Policy as well as the Southam Fellowship. As a respected advocate in public policy matters, her track record in shaping a diverse number of publications speaks for itself.
Dowsett-Johnston may be best known for overhauling Maclean’s Guide to Canadian Universities system, and Maclean’s University Graduate Survey.
Her work in education has positioned her as a leader on educational policy and re-investment. She became vice-principal of McGill University in 2006 where she oversees development, alumni relations and strategic communication.
In 2013 she published Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, a bestseller that highlights her research on the dynamics between alcohol addiction and women.
Ann’s work as a keynote woman speaker may be her most endearing. She engages audiences on a deep level, using personal insight, stories, and a provocative style that captures the hearts and minds of her audience.
In her keynote speech Our Love Affair with Alcohol: How a Fairy-tale Romance Blocks Strong Policy and How Media Can Help, Ann examines the role media plays in framing our relationship with alcohol, Canada’s policy on alcohol, and how we can use research to advocate for change.
Ann argues that the media is a key player in shaping strong policy.
Spirited in her approach, Ann’s passion is palpable. As an education keynote speaker, her leadership on alcohol policy, public education, and mental health awareness has placed her a pillar of the community among publishing and education circles.
By Gordon Breault,
Executive Director of Speakers Bureau of Canada,
Jan 10th, 2017
Andrea Holwegner: Happy, Healthy and Energetic keynote and workshop speaker understands and conveys that good health is the key to success. Health motivational speakers like Andrea understand the importance of a healthy diet and how to speak to those health-conscious consumers. From sourcing your healthy food to the useful side of a burgers and fries, Andrea focuses her efforts on helping companies create less stress and promote health, internally and externally
Consumers are starting to align with a more health conscience point of view, and communicating with them is getting harder. Andrea is taking a crack at this challenge through the use of her immense knowledge in health and marketing with her keynote presentation and workshop, “Marketing and Catering to the Health-Conscious Consumer.”
Healthcare keynote and workshop motivational speakers like Andrea create presentations and workshops designed to help the food industry connect with health-conscious consumer. This includes food producers, food processors, grocery stores, food service, agricultural fields, nutritionist, and the like.
Picture Andrea’s presentation as a perfect blend of marketing and health-conscious behavior. Understanding what the health-conscience consumer is looking for, listening to, and wants to buy, helps food service establishments all over create content and practices that speak to the health-conscience consumer. With Andrea’s expertise, health-conscious food services will learn what it takes to connect with the health-conscious customers they are seeking.
As one of the premiere motivational woman speakers, Andrea helps these health-conscious teams create content through increasing their credibility, visibility, and reach. By doing so, these teams will be able to increase their market share through knowledge. This allows health-conscious teams connect with their customers through the power of knowledge. If you prove to the customer that you know what you are talking about with one subject, that consumer is more likely to return with more questions for you to answer.
By helping teams create ideas and content that are focused on the health-conscious consumer, Andrea makes sure the marketing department is talking to the right people.
From medical needs to preparation techniques, your team should be prepared to help each and every consumer with a question. Leaving a door unopened is leaving money at that door, so Andrea makes sure your team knows how to stay up to date with the major trends. The philosophy revolves around credibility. If the major players in your industry are discussing a topic, you should be too.
On top of following the major players, your team will learn how to stretch their creativity through reviews, case studies, and research. Andrea will help your team learn how to apply these data giants into opinions and other content that your health-conscience consumer is looking for.
Communicating your current and future offers can be a challenge, but with Andrea on your team’s side, your team will learn everything it takes to make a major impact on your health-conscious consumer through targeting and powerful marketing.
Remember, communicating with your customer the right way is the key to success. So, instead of treading water in your market with no direction, look to one of the best female motivational speakers like award winning Andrea Holwegner help your team freestyle to the top.
Written By Roger Breault,
President of Speakers Bureau of Canada,
Dec 1st, 2016