Let’s be honest, as a meeting planner, you have your work cut out for you. There are high expectations from those above you to bring in the right mental health speaker to get butts in seats. Then there are high expectations from attendees who want to be educated and entertained while feeling the money and/or time they spend on attending your event is well worth it.
It’s not easy!
As a mental health speaker, I’ve spent a lot of time learning the ins and outs of the industry. I’ve been a member of Meeting Professionals International, Toastmasters International and have talked with plenty of meeting planners. And as much as I want to tell you to just hire me and make your job easy (hint, hint), I’m not going to do that.
The reality is I might not be the best fit for what you need. It’s important for you to know how to find the right mental health speaker for your event. But I’d love to shine some light on what I’ve learned over the years to help you out either way.
How do I hire the right mental health speaker?
Finding the right event speaker is a lot different than just finding a speaker. Here are some things that you need to consider:
- The purpose of your event and the outcomes you want
- What credentials does your speaker need to have
- Who your audience is
- The experience of the speaker
- Will the message be actionable
- What your budget is
- What a successful event looks like
It all starts with homework
If you’ve heard my personal story, you might have picked up on the fact that I wasn’t always the best student in school. But as much as you might hate to hear it, and I hate to say it, finding the right keynote speaker starts with homework.
There’s just no way around it.
You need to take the time and do the research before choosing who to work with. Don’t procrastinate. The tips below will help you find the right speaker to hire but only if you are putting the advice into action.
Who are the best mental health speakers?
This is a trick question. I can give you a list of good mental health keynote speakers to consider:
- Dr. Brené Brown
- Yashi Brown
- William Kellibrew IV
- Mike Veny (shameless plug)
- Jeff Yalden
- Patrick Kennedy
But the truth is there are many speakers who have impactful messages on mental health to share. For example, if you type in “mental health” to the search box at APB Speakers, there are 90 names that come up. And that’s only people who are working with that one organization.
There are popular icons and celebrities who speak on the topic, medical professionals with a long list of letters after their name, and then regular people, like me, who speak from life experiences with mental health challenges.
To pick the best speaker for your event, you first need to ask yourself:
What is the purpose of my event?
What’s your conference trying to achieve? What goals has your organization set? Are you trying to garner interest and increase registration? Or are there other outcomes you’re working toward?
That might be a lot to think about, but it’s the first step to finding the right speaker. Before you start looking through a list of speaker names and bios, clarify what it is you need. Because if you don’t know, it’s going to be impossible for a speaker to know how to meet that requirement.
You need to know the focus of your presentation and the message you want to communicate to attendees. Once you know this, you can look for a speaker whose message aligns with yours.
Getting crystal clear on what you want your event speaker to accomplish will help you define what to look for such as:
What credentials should a mental health speaker have?
Sometimes the greatest credential is proof that someone is a thought leader who has life experience with mental health challenges. But there are other times when your event might require you to find a speaker who has specific credentials. You might need a speaker with multiple doctorates and who uses medical terminology. Or your event might require you to find a speaker who can educate, entertain, and engage middle school students. Or if you’re looking for a presentation on something specific, like the pros and cons of TMS therapy, then you’ll need a speaker who is qualified to talk on that.
Can you see how these are very different types of speakers? It doesn’t mean one is better than the other, but it does mean that one is a better fit for your event than the other. And it’s the reason why it’s important to know your audience when choosing a speaker.
Another nontraditional credential to consider is social proof. Does the keynote speaker have great references? What do the testimonials on their website say? Have other meeting planners had good experiences working with them? These questions matter just as much as the degrees that a person does or doesn’t hold.
What experience does the speaker have?
If you want to plan a successful event, you want to check what type of experience the speaker has. It’s best if you can see at least a clip of them in action. Check their website for videos. Find out if they have a YouTube channel you can watch.
An experienced, high-quality speaker will have video proof for you to see. They understand that you’re making an investment and will want to hear how they communicate instead of just taking their word for it.
Along with watching their videos, ask for references. Talk to the other meeting planners who have worked with the speaker. Find out if the speaker can provide you with the feedback cards they’ve received from past events. You want a good understanding of the experience they have and the outcomes that they’re able to help you achieve.
This will also help you determine:
How to find an engaging mental health speaker
It’s no secret that when some people think of a mental health presentation, the word “boring” comes to mind. Good mental health speakers work hard not to fall into this category.
And if you want to pull off a successful event, you need to make sure you find a speaker who engages your audience. When you watch videos of mental health keynote speakers you’re considering, look and listen for the following:
- Audience laughter – This is a good indication that the audience is listening and engaged in the presentation.
- Conversational delivery – Even in large crowds, people don’t want to be “talked at”. The presentation shouldn’t sound like they’re reading it from a note card.
- Eye contact – Great speakers aren’t looking at their notes the entire time. Making eye contact with the crowd is an effective way to keep them engaged.
A quick note about Q&As
There are speakers who refuse to do a Q&A time at the end of their session. I’m open to it, but I can understand why some aren’t. If you don’t have a plan in place for this part of the session it can turn into the Wild Wild West.
Topics like mental health or diversity and inclusion can be controversial. That means there’s the possibility that people are going to have intense opinions. If you’re not careful, this can get out of control.
I’ve found one way that can help to keep things flowing well during Q&A sessions can be to put technology to work for you. Attendees can submit questions through their phones to a moderator who will then filter and ask the questions. Sometimes I’ve even had people tweet me questions during presentations and I’ve answered them directly from the social media platform.
But engaging also goes a step further than just connecting with attendees during the event.
Looking at the long-term benefits of working with the speaker
A common complaint that attendees have after an event is that while the information is good, they don’t know how to apply it to their daily lives. They may have enjoyed the presentation and want to make changes to what they learned, but they aren’t sure what the next steps are.
An effective mental health speaker is going to guide the audience on how to have long-term success.
One of the things I recommend you look at is the type of content that the speaker has to offer. It’s not just about a great presentation. What do they offer that will help people continue down the path after the event?
For example, if someone who listened to one of my keynotes wanted more information after the event, they could choose from the following:
- Read my book and workbook, Transforming Stigma: How to Become a Mental Wellness Superhero
- Check out the blog posts on my website
- Read other articles I have authored on sites like Health Central
- Watch my YouTube channel for more tips and guidance
And in addition to those options, if an event allows, I like to bring a printed resource that attendees can take home with them. I like to provide attendees with actions they can take within 24 hours of the event.
I’m a big believer in having lots of free content out there and not just fluff, but stuff that’s practical and actionable.
How much does a good mental health speaker cost?
Once you know what type of speaker you’re looking for, you need to see how it will fit in with your budget. When it comes to pricing, good keynote speakers charge across a wide range of prices.
Celebrity speakers can run you over $100k based on who you’re trying to work with. However, if you’re not worried about finding a big-name celebrity, you can expect to pay anywhere from $5k-$10k. You need to remember good speakers cost money. You generally get what you pay for and it can make all the difference in the world between hosting an event that’s okay and one that’s great.
But I do understand that not all organizations and events have $5k to put toward a speaker. If you have a smaller budget, let the speaker know what your budget is. There is always the chance that the speaker will be able to make it work within your budget. For example, they may be speaking at another event in your area, which would reduce their travel cost of getting to and from your event.
If you find a speaker who you feel is a good fit and you want to work with them, don’t be afraid to talk to them about your options. The worst that happens is they say “no” and you move on to another speaker.
So, how do I find an event speaker?
When it comes to looking for a speaker, there are a few things you can do:
- Ask for referrals
- Search online
- Check a speaker’s bureau
Talk to other meeting planners who have held events similar to yours and see if they have a speaker they recommend. Make sure to consider that their speaker requirements might be different than what you need for your event, so you still need to do your homework.
You can also search online to find speakers. Head to Google or YouTube and type in “mental health speaker”. Or you can look directly through a speakers bureau like APB. Once you get the results, start looking into the details to see if they look like the right fit for your event.
What makes a successful event?
What defines “success” will look different for each event and host. You need to know what success looks like for your event and then you need to communicate this to the speaker.
Prior to speaking at an event, I like to have a conversation with the meeting planner to work out all these details. You can see an example of how I handle this in my Rider.
The clearer you can be about your needs and expectations from the start, the more successful your event will be.
Common mistakes to avoid when planning an event
Now that we’ve covered what to do and look for when finding a speaker, here are a few common mistakes that you want to avoid.
Not trusting your instincts
It’s important that you trust your gut when choosing a speaker. If there’s a speaker who checks off all the boxes on your list but they leave you with a funny feeling after talking with them, trust that feeling.
Procrastinating on hiring a speaker
I’ve noticed lately that more and more meeting planners seem to be hiring at the last minute for their events. This will make your job harder than it needs to be.
Many of the best speakers book up months (or years) in advance. If you wait until the last minute there’s a good chance that the best speakers won’t be available. It also makes it more likely that you won’t take the time to do your homework and research the speaker before signing the contract.
Not talking to the speaker before the event
I touched on this above but can’t emphasize it enough. It’s important that you have a chance to ask the speaker questions so you’re comfortable knowing that you’re making the right choice.
I believe this so much that I address it in my Rider like this:
“At least 30 days before your event, please provide Mike with information about your organization, its goals, demographics, and the theme of your event. This will help him to customize his presentation to your audience. Mike Veny’s goal is to provide a personal experience for every person he interacts with. The more he knows about your event and audience, the more successful he can be.”
These are the three questions that I like to ask meeting planners during our call:
- What is your biggest challenge?
- What terminology should I know and use?
- If I could wave a magic wand and give your attendees one thing from this presentation, what would it be?
You can view my entire Rider here to get more ideas of what you should be finding out from speakers in advance.
Falling for the draw of a big-name
A big-name speaker might be the perfect fit for your event, but they might not be. Don’t just fall for the allure of a big name.
Some of these speakers have a set message they plan on delivering and they don’t deviate from it. Using their name might help draw people to your event, but if their message doesn’t align with your event message, it doesn’t make sense to bring them in. You don’t want to end up with an audience just looking at a celebrity on stage.
Having the wrong focus
As you found out above, good speakers cost money. It’s highly unlikely that you’re going to find an experienced and effective speaker who will come and speak at your event for free. That’s why you need to shift your thinking.
Stop thinking of the price of a speaker as a cost and start thinking of it as an investment. It’s an investment in the conversations that will happen within your organization after the speaker leaves the stage. That’s really what you’re hiring a speaker for.
Not taking care of yourself
So I know this article isn’t about self-care, but I’ve spoken with way too many meeting planners who are burned out and exhausted. There are a lot of details that go into planning events and it’s not easy, even though you make it look effortless to the rest of us. When deadlines are looming and the to-do list is long, it’s easy to sleep less, get less rest, eat things you probably shouldn’t, and just get stuck in the busyness of your work.
And because of this, I wouldn’t feel right ending this message without encouraging you to take care of yourself. Pulling off a successful event begins with you taking care of yourself. I won’t dive into details, but I encourage you to check out this video below on self-care because as important as your event is, you are more important.
I wish you the best
I would say “good luck” in finding the right mental health speaker for your event, but it’s not about luck. By following the advice provided above, I trust that you will find the perfect fit for your event.
If you found this post helpful, I would love for you to share it with other meeting planners. And if you are interested in seeing if I’m the right keynote speaker for your event, you can learn more here.
