Tips on Setting Your Franchise Convention Speakers Up for Success – Part Two – Maximize the Energy in the Room

In Part Two of our three-part series, Troy Hazard and I chat about how to create and maintain a fabulously high, very fun, and full-on engaging energy for the conference overall and for your keynote investment specifically.

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Great franchise convention energy does not just happen. It’s intentionally created and carefully choreographed. Maximize your speaker investment by strategically building the energy in the room so that your speaker can spend their valuable time educating, inspiring and igniting your franchises. When your keynote takes the platform and launches their presentation into a room that is already energized, your results will be extraordinary!

Here are 4 tips on how to create amazing energy in the room before you keynote speaker even takes the platform:

       1.  The Element of Anticipation!

Even before a single person comes into the room, you can build the energy. Have high-energy music revving them up behind closed doors. Open the doors at one time and let everyone rush in at once. Create some anticipation of something fun and unexpected about to happen. The contrasting approach, and what we see most commonly in franchise conventions? Allowing attendees to trickle in, no music, no video, not building excitement. Now your speaker will need to spend the first 5 minutes of their session building excitement and engagement instead of delivering the meaningful content you hired them to bring to your franchisees.

2.  Music Matters! 

Choose music that is relevant to your convention theme, your culture, and your system history—something that jazzes the group and really creates a connection. Don’t rely on your AV tech. He doesn’t know your system and you might end up with acid Jazz!

3.  Seating Matters! 

The wrong seating can either build your convention energy or deflate it like a released balloon. Sometimes your venue can have more seats than your attendee head count and allowing guests to spread out creates a huge dissipation of the collective energy.

Here’s our list of ‘Don’ts’ when organizing your seating:

Don’t allow your attendees to spread out throughout the room. Especially if the room is set for a much larger number of possible guests than you have franchisees attending.

Don’t have your first row far away from the stage. Most professional speakers want the first row of audience members 6 feet from the edge of the platform. A good speaker wants to create connection and rapport with the audience, not be separated from them by an unnecessary chasm of bad ballroom carpeting.

Don’t have extra chairs if you don’t need them. Have the hotel/venue staff create a few stacks of chairs in the back that your staff can add if needed. The goal is to create an energetic ‘epicenter’ in the room not dilute it.

Here’s our list of ‘Do’s’:

Rope off all the seats in the back of the room and direct attendees to the fill the front first. Give them a prize. Hide a gift certificate to have their convention hotel room comped under one of the chairs in the first 3 rows. Make it fun and get them excited to be up front and engaged.

Use your home office staff as energetic ushers and brand cheerleaders. Line your staff up down the isles from the few doors you are opening in unison. Have them high-five the franchisees, chant your brand name or your convention theme. Make is fun!

Set the stage 6 feet from the edge of the platform, connecting your audience to your speaker. Your attendees will be more engaged and your speaker will be able to connect with your franchisees more authentically. You’ll be glad you did!

4.  The Introduction is CRITICAL!

Often overlooked and regularly discounted, your speaker’s intro is actually a critical element in setting your speaker up for success. Having someone deliver a well written, short and engaging introduction with energy and flair, helps the audience understand why they should even be listening to your speaker. The introduction is tees your speaker up to create a real WOW! for your franchisees for the next hour.

NOT having the speaker properly introduced by a third party forces the speaker to weave in their own resume to establish credibility and rapport with the audience. And sometimes this can backfire on the speaker and they seemingly come across from a place of ego, not a place of service.

A short, punchy intro delivered with enthusiasm and energy allows your speaker to take the stage and dive straight into the story, grabbing your audience from the start.

Next week, tune-in to Part Three of our three-part series on Setting Your Speaker Up for Success. We’ll be talking about the physical plant – sound, lights, stage set and everything else you need to consider to maximize your speaker investment.

And as always, we’d love to hear from you if you have additional ideas to share. We’ll add them to our Convention Tips list and recirculate back to the franchise community.

And if you missed Part One click here!

More soon…