Category: Theatre

10 Questions to Ask a Keynote Speaker before Hiring Them

zapstarsOctober 19, 2015Conferences, Festivals, Forums, Openings, Press Releases, Theatre
10 Questions to Ask a Keynote Speaker before Hiring Them

The keynote is the most crucial part that establishes the framework of a programme, event, convention agenda or some other specific happenings involving talking. They are mainly carried out by convention moderators who are also called keynote speaker. The keynote speaker definitely has an important mission that can provide a better understanding about some particular theme or even make changes much broader like in a whole organization. Take a look at 10 things that you should be asking the keynote speaker before hiring him.

  • What preparation does a keynote speaker need to undergo to provide a successful service?

On the interview, it should be clear that the potential keynote speaker is familiar with what should be done to capture the essence of any meeting and highlight it to the target audience in a short period of time. The interviewer should ask about concrete techniques the employee would use to achieve that, such as researching of particular industry issues, the audience and others.

  • What is your background and attitude towards life?

Asking this question can provide also some shaky ground information that most likely is not mentioned in the CV, for example, prejudices against some nationality and others that can be challenging when dealing with some particular audience.

  • Can you give a brief presentation of yourself?

The best way how to see how the theory works in practice is by asking a potential keynote speaker to promote himself. In this manner, it is possible to witness how a person is using gestures, his voice, and other tools.

  • Can you summarize the given text?

Giving a task to summarize some text will show what information a person finds important and which words he or she chooses to use to retell the idea.

  • What will you do to stay memorable to the target audience? Can you provide an example?

To see how creative a person is with his approaches, it could be important to ask what kind of tools or approach he or she will use to leave a memorable impression. In this case, it can be some anecdote, showing some clips, singing and others.

  • Can you name some of the most popular keynote speakers worldwide?

This question will help to determine if a person has some background knowledge in the field and perhaps people from whom he gets inspired, like Steve Jobs, Doug Dvorak.

  • What are the differences between inspirational speaker and keynote speaker?

It is important to make a clear distinction between terms. The keynote speaker has more to do with providing a summary of a message.

  • What and who inspires you?

To determine personality traits and the possible approach to moderate a keynote event, it is important to see what a person is interested in and from where he gets the ideas to make the best impression to the target audience when spreading the organizations or some other hirers’ message.

  • How long is a good speech?

Mainly there are two types of speakers: the ones who tend to talk shorter than expected and the ones who talk too much. There should be some plan also to stay focused on the most important bits of the information that needs to be provided to the target audience.

  • Do you think it is important to interact with the audience or not? Justify your opinion.

A keynote speaker can choose either provide one-way conversation or try to interact with the audience. The second choice is better and not that easy to be made successfully. He or she should be careful with connecting references, rhetorical questions and other approaches a keynote speaker uses.

To successfully achieve this mission, this special speaker needs to be selected with a special care. Some of the highlighted questions can help to make a decision that can influence the whole future of a company, an event or some other issue. Questions practical in nature also shouldn’t be forgotten as they can help to see how a person can promote himself and see him in action. The more provoking and non-standard the questions will be, the more possibility will be there to find the most suitable candidature, who won’t let anyone down.

 For more information on how to breathe life into your next event check:

Your trusted Audio Visual Production and Solution Provider,

 

5 Key Questions To Ask Your Event Planner Before Hiring Them

zapstarsSeptember 3, 2015Arenas and stadiums, Award Evenings, Charity, Conferences, Festivals, Forums, Fund rasing, Openings, Performances, Press Releases, Product Launches, Theatre, Trade Show and Expos
5 Key Questions To Ask Your Event Planner Before Hiring Them
You’ve got an event coming up for your business, charity or even personal (wedding, birthday) but just don’t have the resources to organise it? Well, in this case, you may see the potential benefits of hiring an event planner.

If you don’t have any references from friends or colleagues you will have to start from scratch and interview and evaluate a few different planners before choosing the right one to make your event a reality.  

It’s not hard to find an event management company or freelance event planner since there are hundreds out there. But you will need to eliminate the “so called” planners, that lack important skills and experience to effectively produce, manage and make your event come to life. Hiring the bad event planner can lead to poor outcomes, jeopardize your finances and public relations.

To help guide you we have gathered a 5 key questions you should ask your event planner prior to hiring them:

  • What are your areas of expertise? 

To find out if your chosen event planner is a good fit for your event, ask them what type of events they most frequently work on.

Not all events are the same and there are many different types (conferences, trade shows, weddings, reunions, sporting events and fundraisers) so knowing what events the planner has managed before will give you an idea into their qualifications and areas of expertise.

We are not saying that an event planner has to have a lot of knowledge in your niche area to do a good job, but it’s better to know that he/she has done events similar to yours in the past.

  • What services do you offer?

 Another important information to have is to know exactly if this event planner can handle all your requirements. You will need to establish if you need them to find a venue, take care of catering, audio-visual, transportation, etc.

A good planner will have a preferred list of vendors and even venues that they’ve worked with in the past and they should be able to secure contracts and deals for you and meet all of your needs.

  • What services are included in your fee?

Event planners have different ways of charging for their services (hourly, flat fee, percentage, etc.) and while most of them are upfront about costs sometimes some services may not be included in their fee. You will need to establish and discuss all the fees up front so there are no surprises later!

  • What staff do you have?

Depending on the size of the agency, you will be working with the person you are meeting with, for smaller agencies, or for larger companies, you can sometimes be assigned to someone.

That is why you will need to establish who your day-to-day contact will be, if there will be a team of people working your event or just one and how will your event be staffed the day of it. Just make sure that you have a good connection and feeling about the person you are working with and most important, make sure that you meet them!

  • What is your cancellation and refund policy?

One of the most important factors when planning an event is to remember that things may happen that are beyond your control. Make sure you know the exact details of your contract and the terms for cancelling, postponing or changing the event.

While most organisers will charge you for all the hours and services they’ve put in up until the point of change, keep in mind that other suppliers such as the venue and caterer will have their own cancellation terms, so you have to make sure you know all these details up front in order to maintain sanity in case unexpected things happen.

Finally, be sure to interview and evaluate a good selection of firms and individuals before making your decision but keep in mind that one of the most important thing is to hire someone you like because your event planner has to be an assistant, friend and manager all wrapped up in one.

For more information on how to breathe life into your next event check:

Your trusted Audio Visual Production and Solution Provider,

Zapstars Productions at Les Misérables pop-up performance.

zapstarsJuly 6, 2015Performances, Theatre
Zapstars Productions at Les Misérables pop-up performance.

The Qantas Club at Sydney Airport’s domestic T3 terminal hosted a special pop-up performance last Friday featuring numbers from Les Misérables.

Cast members and Helpmann Award Nominees Simon Gleeson and Hayden Tee will presented three songs from the revival of the acclaimed musical, which is now wowing Sydney audiences after a successful run in Melbourne.

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Zapstars projects in the Theatre Royal.

zapstarsAugust 7, 2014Theatre
Zapstars projects in the Theatre Royal.

Zapstars projects in the Theatre Royal.

One of Sydney’s premier commercial theatre venues, the Theatre Royal has been the home of shows from world renowned plays such as The Importance of Being Earnest, The Woman in Black and The Hollow Crown to mega-musicals, such as the Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Cats, Rent, Dirty Dancing, My Fair Lady, the phenomenal long-running musical – Jersey Boys, and more recently Driving Miss Daisy starring legendary actors Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones. The first Theatre Royal was originally built in 1827.

 

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