Working With Vip And Celebrity Speakers
Yvon Douran asked:
Politicians, VIP’s and celebrity speakers often expect to bring their spouse, travel companion or aide with them when they travel. If other parties are involved make sure you have something in writing that outlines what the understanding is regarding lodging and food reimbursement. If you retain your speaker’s services well in advance of your conference date he or she may be able to arrange other engagements close to your meeting date and location. If this happens, it could mean you save on the speakers travel expenses as this cost would then be shared.
If you would like your speaker to attend social events before or after the presentation, be sure the speaker is aware of your request well in advance. In many cases a speaker will spend the time right before his/her presentation preparing to go on the platform. Speakers are usually happy to attend extra events if given sufficient notice. Be aware, however, that some speakers prefer not to attend social events and some charge extra for any additional time spent.
Be sure to get the speaker’s photograph and biographical information to ensure you have what you need for any publications (programs, brochures, newsletters). The speaker will also provide you with an appropriate introduction.
Send the speaker as much information as possible about your organization including company newsletters, annual reports and any relevant meeting bulletins. Also send the speaker copies of any material mentioning his or her presentation. Some speakers will ask to see proofs of this material before it is published.
Many speakers and seminar leaders have written books and produced cassette tapes of their programs. Create a mutual understanding about what promotion of their materials will be allowed.
Mention of products being available can be made immediately following a speaker’s presentation. Attendees often benefit from material that extends the value of the presentation. If you want to make an audiotape or videotape of a presentation be sure to get signed authorization in advance.
1. Check contracts for accommodation requirements.
2. Bars, snacks and complimentary buffets.
3. Transportation – to and from the event and to and from the airport – limousines, helicopters, private planes.
4. Welcome and hospitality arrangements in place.
5. Reference material about organization supplied to speaker well in advance.
6. Outline of speech received prior to event.
7. Date given for when biography, headshot and introduction to be received.
8. Arrangements for any other person(s) traveling with the speaker.
9. Be aware of VIP’s personal preferences i.e. likes golf, will attend banquet, meet and greet.
10. Send out thank you letters.
11. Gifts – either delivered to room during conference, presented following speech or sent after the event.
12. Allow time for questions from the audience following speaker’s presentation.
Never hire a speaker based on celebrity status alone. A consultant who has written a best-selling book or journalist who has a high profile in the media does not necessarily have the platform skills it takes to be a dynamic opening keynote speaker. Always ask to see either a promotional video or get references from recent speaking engagements.
If you do not feel comfortable that a celebrity can hold your audiences attention on the platform, explore alternative ways of showcasing a celebrity. An interview or talk show scenario, meet and greet or question and answer session can make a good substitute or augment a short presentation.
Politicians, VIP’s and celebrity speakers often expect to bring their spouse, travel companion or aide with them when they travel. If other parties are involved make sure you have something in writing that outlines what the understanding is regarding lodging and food reimbursement. If you retain your speaker’s services well in advance of your conference date he or she may be able to arrange other engagements close to your meeting date and location. If this happens, it could mean you save on the speakers travel expenses as this cost would then be shared.
If you would like your speaker to attend social events before or after the presentation, be sure the speaker is aware of your request well in advance. In many cases a speaker will spend the time right before his/her presentation preparing to go on the platform. Speakers are usually happy to attend extra events if given sufficient notice. Be aware, however, that some speakers prefer not to attend social events and some charge extra for any additional time spent.
Be sure to get the speaker’s photograph and biographical information to ensure you have what you need for any publications (programs, brochures, newsletters). The speaker will also provide you with an appropriate introduction.
Send the speaker as much information as possible about your organization including company newsletters, annual reports and any relevant meeting bulletins. Also send the speaker copies of any material mentioning his or her presentation. Some speakers will ask to see proofs of this material before it is published.
Many speakers and seminar leaders have written books and produced cassette tapes of their programs. Create a mutual understanding about what promotion of their materials will be allowed.
Mention of products being available can be made immediately following a speaker’s presentation. Attendees often benefit from material that extends the value of the presentation. If you want to make an audiotape or videotape of a presentation be sure to get signed authorization in advance.
1. Check contracts for accommodation requirements.
2. Bars, snacks and complimentary buffets.
3. Transportation – to and from the event and to and from the airport – limousines, helicopters, private planes.
4. Welcome and hospitality arrangements in place.
5. Reference material about organization supplied to speaker well in advance.
6. Outline of speech received prior to event.
7. Date given for when biography, headshot and introduction to be received.
8. Arrangements for any other person(s) traveling with the speaker.
9. Be aware of VIP’s personal preferences i.e. likes golf, will attend banquet, meet and greet.
10. Send out thank you letters.
11. Gifts – either delivered to room during conference, presented following speech or sent after the event.
12. Allow time for questions from the audience following speaker’s presentation.
Never hire a speaker based on celebrity status alone. A consultant who has written a best-selling book or journalist who has a high profile in the media does not necessarily have the platform skills it takes to be a dynamic opening keynote speaker. Always ask to see either a promotional video or get references from recent speaking engagements.
If you do not feel comfortable that a celebrity can hold your audiences attention on the platform, explore alternative ways of showcasing a celebrity. An interview or talk show scenario, meet and greet or question and answer session can make a good substitute or augment a short presentation.
Why Celebrities Smoke Cigarettes?
S. Barbu asked:
Is it true that celebrities really desist from endorsing cigarettes of all hues? Is it because they are conscious of their social responsibilities? Pictures of celebrities smoking appear glamorous and civilized, regardless of the context of the scene in a movie and thus it strikes a cord with teens. They are shown at parties with a cigarette which pushes young people to emulate them. The brands they smoke, Marlboro cigarettes, Camel, Winston, Virginia Slims, Salem etc, become a point of campus discussion.
Could it be that the stars themselves have been influenced by the glamour that was once associated with cigarettes? Perhaps if you spend long enough in the fantasy world of film you start to believe in the celluloid image. Just like Gloria Swanson in ‘Sunset Boulevard’ you lose touch with reality.
After all, it’s not so long ago that everybody who was somebody in Hollywood smoked and was proud of it. Cigarettes smoking was glamorous and sophisticated. Just think of the iconic image of Audrey Hepburn in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ as Holly Golightly posing elegantly with her long cigarette holder, upswept chignon and little black dress.
What’s not so elegant of course is the way Audrey Hepburn succumbed to the smoking habit herself. Ignoring her mother’s ‘beauty tip’ to: "keep to six cigarettes a day only", Hepburn managed two or three packs at her worst times – even smoking in her nun’s habit on the set of ‘The Nun’s Story’ and chain smoking her way through ‘My Fair Lady’. Unsurprisingly, she suffered from asthma for most of her life and died of cancer at only 63 – looking frail and old for her years. Not the kind of ending we like to imagine for the sublime Holly Golightly.
There’s no doubt that the very nature of the movie business has caused many a celebrity to start treading the nicotine path. Smoking is as common in movies today as it was back in the 1950’s although overall smoking in the population at large has reduced. Could it be that a cigarette has become the film prop of choice for actors looking for an easy way to inhabit another skin?
For some celebrities – tired of the constant criticism and the ciggy shots splashed across the tabloids – a kind of smoking defiance has crept in. As Gwyneth Paltrow once said, "I smoke and I’m not going to stop!" Paltrow – famous for getting through a pack of Camel Lights a day in her teens and twenties – has only very recently quit smoking. Perhaps she started to wonder how her fine, fair skin and ethereal beauty would cope with the collagen depletion in her fourties and fifties.
Some celebrities keep going with the smoking habit whatever the consequences and even if it impacts on their relationships. It’s well known that smoking was a bone of contention between Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston during their marriage. Brad Pitt is on record as saying how much he hated his ex-wife’s chain smoking. His disapproval didn’t cut much ice with Jennifer though – as recent paparazzi photos show. You have to ask why one of the worlds most loved and naturally attractive women would do this to themselves?
Similarly, iconic top model Kate Moss is regularly photographed with her cigarettes, a lighter and a mobile phone as her only fashion accessory. As a supreme super model its probably not surprising that Moss still manages to appear effortlessly elegant and beautiful however she’s photographed – at least for now. She certainly shows no signs of wanting to quit smoking any time soon. Perhaps like so many in her world – she associates smoking with thinness. Or perhaps, for her, it’s the least troubling of her addictions.
When celebrities do chose to quit its fascinating that the reasons given are so often not about looks. Catherine Zeta-Jones for instance, quit smoking – so she said – because she didn’t want her children to start asking questions. Not as you might have thought – because beauty is her personal trademark and smoking would kick-start skin aging and undermine her potential to earn huge sums of money.
Whatever the reasons celebrities have for smoking or for deciding to quit – the truth about skin damage and smoking very rarely features as a major factor in the debate. Well – we think it should. So our advice to all you celebrity smokers out there – carry on smoking if you want but don’t expect your fickle public not to notice the effect on your looks. And when you hit a deluded middle age you may still be able to say, like Gloria Swanson in ‘Sunset Boulevard’: "I’m ready for my close-up now Mr de Mille" – but only if it’s filmed in heavy soft-focus, expertly back-lit and then extensively re-touched afterwards.
Is it true that celebrities really desist from endorsing cigarettes of all hues? Is it because they are conscious of their social responsibilities? Pictures of celebrities smoking appear glamorous and civilized, regardless of the context of the scene in a movie and thus it strikes a cord with teens. They are shown at parties with a cigarette which pushes young people to emulate them. The brands they smoke, Marlboro cigarettes, Camel, Winston, Virginia Slims, Salem etc, become a point of campus discussion.
Could it be that the stars themselves have been influenced by the glamour that was once associated with cigarettes? Perhaps if you spend long enough in the fantasy world of film you start to believe in the celluloid image. Just like Gloria Swanson in ‘Sunset Boulevard’ you lose touch with reality.
After all, it’s not so long ago that everybody who was somebody in Hollywood smoked and was proud of it. Cigarettes smoking was glamorous and sophisticated. Just think of the iconic image of Audrey Hepburn in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ as Holly Golightly posing elegantly with her long cigarette holder, upswept chignon and little black dress.
What’s not so elegant of course is the way Audrey Hepburn succumbed to the smoking habit herself. Ignoring her mother’s ‘beauty tip’ to: "keep to six cigarettes a day only", Hepburn managed two or three packs at her worst times – even smoking in her nun’s habit on the set of ‘The Nun’s Story’ and chain smoking her way through ‘My Fair Lady’. Unsurprisingly, she suffered from asthma for most of her life and died of cancer at only 63 – looking frail and old for her years. Not the kind of ending we like to imagine for the sublime Holly Golightly.
There’s no doubt that the very nature of the movie business has caused many a celebrity to start treading the nicotine path. Smoking is as common in movies today as it was back in the 1950’s although overall smoking in the population at large has reduced. Could it be that a cigarette has become the film prop of choice for actors looking for an easy way to inhabit another skin?
For some celebrities – tired of the constant criticism and the ciggy shots splashed across the tabloids – a kind of smoking defiance has crept in. As Gwyneth Paltrow once said, "I smoke and I’m not going to stop!" Paltrow – famous for getting through a pack of Camel Lights a day in her teens and twenties – has only very recently quit smoking. Perhaps she started to wonder how her fine, fair skin and ethereal beauty would cope with the collagen depletion in her fourties and fifties.
Some celebrities keep going with the smoking habit whatever the consequences and even if it impacts on their relationships. It’s well known that smoking was a bone of contention between Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston during their marriage. Brad Pitt is on record as saying how much he hated his ex-wife’s chain smoking. His disapproval didn’t cut much ice with Jennifer though – as recent paparazzi photos show. You have to ask why one of the worlds most loved and naturally attractive women would do this to themselves?
Similarly, iconic top model Kate Moss is regularly photographed with her cigarettes, a lighter and a mobile phone as her only fashion accessory. As a supreme super model its probably not surprising that Moss still manages to appear effortlessly elegant and beautiful however she’s photographed – at least for now. She certainly shows no signs of wanting to quit smoking any time soon. Perhaps like so many in her world – she associates smoking with thinness. Or perhaps, for her, it’s the least troubling of her addictions.
When celebrities do chose to quit its fascinating that the reasons given are so often not about looks. Catherine Zeta-Jones for instance, quit smoking – so she said – because she didn’t want her children to start asking questions. Not as you might have thought – because beauty is her personal trademark and smoking would kick-start skin aging and undermine her potential to earn huge sums of money.
Whatever the reasons celebrities have for smoking or for deciding to quit – the truth about skin damage and smoking very rarely features as a major factor in the debate. Well – we think it should. So our advice to all you celebrity smokers out there – carry on smoking if you want but don’t expect your fickle public not to notice the effect on your looks. And when you hit a deluded middle age you may still be able to say, like Gloria Swanson in ‘Sunset Boulevard’: "I’m ready for my close-up now Mr de Mille" – but only if it’s filmed in heavy soft-focus, expertly back-lit and then extensively re-touched afterwards.
