A speaker can make or break any business meeting. If you are paying him/her to motivate or present pertinent information to your group, you need to treat him/her like the professional that (you hope) he/she is.

Upon Arrival
The initial impression that your speaker gets upon arrival at the business meeting site will set the tone for his presentation—and his entire stay. It will only take a few minutes to impress him/her with your consideration.

• Guarantee arrival for your speaker’s hotel room and check him in before he/she arrives. Check the room to make sure everything is in order. Arrange for direct billing to your organization. This eliminates paperwork for you after the event, and makes check-in and-out a painless experience.
• Leave a message for your speaker to receive upon his/her check-in. Indicate your room number, or how he/she can get in touch with you when he/she arrives.

The Day of the Presentation
One of the most frequent comments from speakers is that the time allotted to their program was not available because “everything ran a little late.” Remember, your speaker has prepared the presentation based on your original instructions. Asking him/her to change it at the last minute is not fair to him/her or the audience.

• Start on time, even if others wander in late (both at the beginning of the meeting and after breaks). Not only does this start you off on the right foot with your schedule, it also shows respect to those who made an effort to be there on time.
• Build some "flextime" into your agenda. For example, 20-minute breaks can be shortened to 10 minutes when you need to gain time.
• Remind all speakers (paid, introducers and others) of their allotted time. Place a timepiece on the podium (and set it 5 minutes ahead!).
• Use a timekeeper. He/she should stand at the back of the room and hold up a hand for time cues that indicate 10 minutes remaining, 5 minutes remaining and 1 minute to wrap-up. This is especially important for senior executives, who often tend to get off-focus. Make sure everyone understands the meaning of the cues.

Don’t Stub Your Toe
As the saying goes "it's all in the details." Remembering the little things will help make your business meeting a success.

• Make sure that the speaker’s introduction has been given to the person who will introduce him/her.
• Instruct the introducer to deliver the introduction exactly as it was prepared by the speaker.
• Ensure that the speaker’s name is spelled correctly on the printed program and on his/her name badge.