“Having thought about what they want to achieve it’s important to recognise that profile is not everything and typically it doesn’t always follow that a presenter well versed in the art of running a game show can not necessarily deliver an inspirational speech,” he says. “As Aristotle said ‘public speaking is an art’.” One way to get the most bang for your speaker buck is pick a speaker who can fill multiple functions “On one occasion Richard Morecroft, one of the finest emcees in Australia, also delivered the after dinner speech, media trained the senior executives and hosted a Dancing with the Stars event,” says Broadbent. Opposite page from left: Comedian John Cleese and Richard Morecroft; former US President Bill Clinton; Ita Buttrose.
speakers performed and they [attendees] will speak of them, for better or worse, for many years. Bear in mind too, that at the conference dinner the speaker cost will often be less that the soufflé and you can bet that it will be the speaker who will be remembered.” Again, he advises against simply going for the best known talent that can be afforded.
“Similarly, in entertainment, Ciaran Gribbin, front man of INXS, will deliver an inspirational speech about growing up in war torn Northern Ireland, follow it later with his Rock’n Roll teambuilding and then bring out his band in the evening. Again, savings to be had but there is also a great deal of continuity developed with in the conference.” With lead times shortening, from five months when he started to two months today, Broadbent says it is paramount that the organiser and speaker are on the same page, with Saxton’s working very closely with the client to ensure the best outcome.
“There are a multiplicity of goals and concerns that we receive from our organisers from ‘We want it to be better than last year’ to ‘I will lose my job if I don’t get it right’ and a whole spectrum in between,” he says. “The relationship between the speaker and the client is very important in a achieving the sort of synergy that is necessary for that special speech. Just turning up on the night is an ideal recipe for disaster.” With 27 years in the business, Broadbent says he is still learning, with every event offering the client the opportunity to rate and make comments on both the speaker or act and Saxton. The information is collated to effectively give each one “a report card”. One speaker on Saxton’s books has never had less than 10 out of 10 since speaking since 1990 – Ita Buttrose. “How does she do it? Every speech is new, she speakers at length to every client before the event, she mixes and mingles afterwards and I have watched her have her photograph taken with over 200 delegates and every one of them looked like it was the special one. Similarly after one speech in Melbourne a 70m queue stretched out of the ballroom door with people who just wanted to shake her hand. A speech turns very much into an experience and one to be cherished.”
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