Managing A Public Speaker Bureau: A Manual for Health and Human Services Organizations (Falk Symposium)

When health and human services organizations (new, established, or mature) engage in a strategic planning process, invariably the suggestion is made to offer a public speaker bureau to support their mission. As a pro­ fessional in the health and human services field, you probably have encoun­ tered, to some degree, the services provided by an organization's speak­ ers bureau. You have heard speakers representing organizations or you may have been a staff or volunteer speaker for an organization. Public speaker bureaus are ubiquitous. Providing a public speaker bureau usually makes sense. It provides an easy and relatively inexpensive way to impart useful information to your constituents or the public, or serve as a marketing or fundraising tool. A public speaker bureau can increase your visibility in the communities that you serve or would like to serve. Throughout our score of years of experience in the health and human services fields, we were struck by the lack of attention given to most organ­ izations' public speaker bureaus. Again, while most organizations felt the need to have a speakers bureau, relatively little attention was given to the management and evaluation of this service. In fact, few organizations spent quality time determining whether or not a public speaker bureau was, indeed, needed and, if so, what should be its strategic purpose in serving the mission of the organization. The mission may be profound. The lecturers may be knowledgeable. But without a solid management and systems game plan, a speaker's bureau program wastes time, effort, staff, and of course, capital. Introducing Managing a Public Speaker Bureau, the first step-by-step resource dedicated to helping health and human service organizations recruit a team of worthwhile lecturers, put them in front of interested audiences, and effectively evaluate the results. Authors Gambescia and Gonzalez have addressed this straight-ahead book to busy administrators who need to know the essentials of managing a public speaker bureau: o Establishing a clear strategic purpose; o Recruiting and training speakers; o Generating publicity; o Ensuring the right fit between speaker and audience; o Monitoring, feedback, and audience satisfaction. In addition, this unique professional reference comes with its own time-saving resource kit that features recruitment tools, invitation letters, a sample marketing brochure, checklists, evaluation forms, and more. (And the authors include equally helpful illustrations of what not to do.) An organization's speakers often represent its public face, creating a first impression that is made only once and can be lasting. Whether the purpose is introducing new services to the community, educating potential clients, advocating for change, or raising needed funds, the information in Managing a Public Speaker Bureau will keep your organization on target Front Matter....Pages i-xviii Introduction....Pages 1-3 The Purpose of Your Organization’s Public Speaker Bureau....Pages 5-6 Creating Your Promotional Material....Pages 7-17 Recruiting Speakers for Your Speaker Bureau....Pages 19-40 Orienting and Training Your Speakers....Pages 41-50 Tools and Resources for Your Speakers....Pages 51-63 Publicizing Your Public Speaker Bureau....Pages 65-70 Coordinating Requests from Your Constituents....Pages 71-77 Securing a Speaker for an Engagement....Pages 79-95 Evaluating Your Public Speaker Bureau Program....Pages 97-114 Summary and Final Tips for Success....Pages 115-121 Back Matter....Pages 123-124 Such a bureau can impart useful information to constituents or the public, can serve as a marketing or fundraising tool, and can increase the organization's visibility in the communities it serves or would like to serve, say Gambescia (Cabrini College, Pennsylvania) and Gonzalez (Fox Chase Cancer Center, Pennsylvania). They walk readers through the process of designing and managing one for a new or existing institution; the advice might also be useful to people already running a bureau, particularly if they are thinking of revising the program. There is no bibliography. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) -Very hands on material with lots of sample letters and questionnaires -No other resource on this topic tailored to health and human services -Motivated and entrepreneurial author (Gambescia)