Speakers can make or break a conference. Hire a speaker who doesn’t appeal to your members or align with their values, and your event is likely to fall flat.

One way to identify a speaker who fits your meeting is to reach out to other organizations in your industry or profession , says Callie Walker from the MemberClicks blog. There might not be another association like yours, but you can still learn from what has and hasn’t worked for related organizations. Not sure where to start? Try online discussion forums specifically aimed at finding speakers.

Talk to your members as well to gauge what they need from your meeting. Send out a poll to see who or what topic will provide them with the most value and get them excited about the event. Some of your members might be up for sharing their expertise, too.

Creating Productive Meetings

If the team isn’t focused on the outcome, than they’re just performing a process. @QuartzAtWork #meetings #meetingprofs https://t.co/MGXlakHPmc

— parked (@thehopethefood) September 16, 2018

Everything you do at work should be a purposeful step toward a goal. This is especially true for meetings, where weekly stand-ups or one-on-ones can can often lapse into routine processes instead of facilitating productive action.

To make a meeting more purposeful, start it with an intention. That requires you to understand what the meeting’s outcome should be. “Process itself is only useful when it serves some kind of outcome, and that must be kept in mind from the beginning,” says Cate Huston in a post on Quartz.

Other Links of Note

Video is one of the most powerful marketing tools. The Hubspot blog details how to use Instagram’s IGTV and offers key insights on the platform.

Running out of conference ideas? Practice these strategies to get your creativity flowing, from Plan Your Meetings.

If you need to refresh your content, start with social. In its latest podcast, the Buffer blog has tips for how to scour social media for fresh content ideas.

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