Section 1 | Speakers

Approaching a Professor, Freethought or Special Interest Group Leader

Michael Shermer was kind enough to pose with Students For Freethought when he came to speak to them. Get a group photo with big speakers if you can.
People love to talk about their work. Most professors and activist group leaders are happy to come and speak for student groups, regardless of their religious affiliation. Contact the potential speaker by phone or in person if at all possible. E-mail may be a good way to make a first contact, but it should be followed up by a phone call to confirm if a reply is not received in twenty-four hours. Despite the fact that it’s the 21st century, some people have still not made e-mail a part of their daily lives. Ask speakers how they prefer keeping in touch.
Before contacting a potential speaker, keep the following in mind: several options for dates (keep in mind that Friday events are not usually well attended), and a general idea of a topic on which you would like him/her to speak.
Be clear about your group, and your group’s purpose. Answer any questions the speaker may have honestly, and try to be flexible with his/her schedule. Let them know the general flow of your meeting. For example, if your meeting begins at 7:30pm, but you generally have 15 minutes of announcements, let the speaker know that he/she will begin his/her talk at 7:45pm.
One week before the person is scheduled to speak, call or e-mail them making sure everything is still on track for the presentation. In the morning on the day before the presentation ask them again. Speakers sometimes forget or have things come up that so overwhelm them that they forget to tell you they can’t make it. At the same time, you have a responsibility to come up with an alternative meeting if the speaker doesn’t show.
Most importantly, after someone has come to your group, send a follow up thank you e-mail or card. The impression that your group makes on him/her may influence other people’s decisions to come speak to your group, and your group’s public image in general. The speaker will tell his/her colleagues what a wonderful bunch of heathens you all are.

Using the SSA Speakers Bureau

The SSA has a speakers bureau of freethought personalities who have graciously offered to speak/present/debate on your campus. You can view the current list of speakers with biographies here: http://www.secularstudents.org/speakers.

To bring one of those speakers to your campus, follow the following process:

If you are interested in inviting a particular speaker to your campus, please contact the SSA’s Campus Organizer at organizer@secularstudents.org
The SSA can provide a few hundred dollars of money directly to the speaker for travel and lodging. In most cases, your group won't need to pay a thing. If we're flying someone across the country to speak to your group, we might need your group to help cover expenses. As we have speakers spread all over the country, this shouldn't be a problem often. Alas, we're unlikely to be able to fund international travel with the possible exceptions of Canada or Mexico.
Each speaking request is taken on a case by case basis and subject to the schedule availability of the speaker.
We ask that you do your very best to advertise the event. We are eager to help you with this.
We ask that you try to take some pictures of the event and give us a short write-up for it that we can publish on our website.
If you would like to bring a “big name” speaker to your campus who is not on the speakers bureau, you can still contact the SSA's campus organizer for help. The SSA has connections and/or contact information for many important speakers you might want to bring to your campus.

The Big Event

If your group is highly successful you are going to want to bring in big name speakers such as James Randi, Richard Dawkins, Wendy Kaminer, Christopher Hitchens, or Michael Shermer. Speaker honorariums, travel expenses, larger meeting spaces and special advertising costs can become extremely costly and take time to arrange. Here are some pointers:

Plan. Whom would you like to come to speak? How much will it cost? How much time will your group have to put into this event? What are advertising options? How big of a lecture space will you need, and how do you reserve it? Does it cost anything? Consider your budget. How much money does your group have to spend on an event? How much money can your group get through the university? How much money can your group get from local/national groups?
Get Funding. Apply well in advance for grants from your institution and national organizations like the SSA or CFI On Campus. Ask for donations from alumni or local branch groups of humanist or atheist organizations.
Get in Touch. Contact the SSA or the speaker’s organization directly. Many people like James Randi or Michael Shermer have an agent. Contact information is usually listed on that person's website. Be polite, direct, and willing to be flexible with the speaker's schedule. Have several dates in mind that you would like them to come to your university.
Give yourself Time. Plan on inviting big name speakers at least six months out if possible. You will need that time to get the meeting facilities, travel, accommodations, and advertising in order. Advertising is key, because you want to have a lot of people show up to an event that your group is shelling out a ton of money for.
Advertise. Ask for advice and check out the advertising section of this manual. You do not want to work hard to get a big name speaker only to have a poor audience turnout because you failed to advertise enough. Students For Freethought at OSU has a policy that 1/5 of the budget for a big name speaker goes to advertising.
Admission? Many groups think that the best way to offset the costs of a speaker is to charge admission to the event. If you decide to charge admission, set the rate and advertise it along with the event. Have group members at the door to take money, and be prepared to make change. If you don’t wish to have a set price, it is OK to encourage voluntary contributions from those willing to donate. Make sure the “donation box” is highly visible. Also, be aware of your University’s rules and regulations about charging for an event – simply asking for donations from attendees can make an otherwise free room cost money! Be sure to keep good records of how much money you collect.
Introduce the Speaker. Keep it simple! Ask for biographical information beforehand, and write up a brief introduction of the speaker. Mention yourself and your group. Mention a few people who played a key role in making the event happen. Mention the people and organizations that gave significant amounts of money to the event. Practice this speech! If there are names you don’t know how to pronounce, ask the speaker when he or she arrives. The speaker would much rather you ask and say the name correctly than not ask.
Show off. Make sure you provide printed information about your group and that all attendees have easy access to that information. Make sure people know when and where your next general meeting will be. You might want to make the next general meeting a discussion of the ideas presented at the talk.
Give Thanks. Taking a speaker to dinner before or after the event is an excellent way to say ‘Thanks!” This also offers a chance to unwind and have informal conversations and get advice. Be sure to send a thank you card afterwards as well.

Keep in mind:

Arrive early to make sure any A/V equipment is set up or to set it up and test it yourself
Dress nicely. You will be making a (good) first impression on a lot of people tonight.
Have fun! Kick back and enjoy all the fruits of your labor!

Check out http://cherrycommunications.com/tips.htm to read “The 7 Biggest Mistakes in Special Event Planning and How to Avoid Them” as well as other useful tips.