Control your message.
Obviously messaging matters! The trouble is that at times you have no control over what is going to be said. Two examples spring to mind:
In the last couple of weeks we have done fundraisers for three different enviromental groups. Each event was introduced by a great speaker. Two of the speakers worked for the organizations and were conscious that we would be moving from their speech into a fundraiser. The third speaker has a national reputation and gave a condensed version of a speech he gives around the country.
I want to stress that all three speeches were riveting. The difference was that at two of them, the two where the speaker was conscious that this was a fundraiser, their presentation ended with an achievable call to action. The national speaker, who was the scariest of the three, made the case that to save the environment requires a techtonic shift in our political consciousness and the commitment trillions of dollars. While that may well be true, it reduces the audience to ineffective bystanders.
A very different example occurred several years ago. We were doing a fundraiser for an arts organization, and before the auction they wanted to honor a very significant donor. Whether it was from a fear of public speaking or from a natural proclivity, the significant donor had been hitting the cocktails. He was also there without his wife who was, I suspect, the true supporter of this organization. Upon being given his plaque, and the chance to address the audience, the donor took the microphone and started with the immortal words “I hate this **$$%&$%% organization”. It went downhill from there.
There have been other incidents over the years. Performers who insist on performing a complete set when they have been specifically requested to keep it to 20 minutes. Others have used obscenity on stage, told inappropriate jokes, or, and this is particularly insidious, just assumed that the audience had the same political sensibilities as themselves.
It’s your event. The audience is going to assume that whatever is said from the stage has your tacit approval. The more formal or famous the speaker, the more importance will be attached to what is said. To work effectively for your organization the speech or the presentation must end with a call to action that empowers the audience. As we say to all our clients, part of their mission is to inform the donors how their donation has “moved the needle”. you must insist on this. If the speaker does not explicitly agree DO NOT LET THEM ON STAGE.
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