Public events and conferences are high-capacity activities that require ingenuity and charisma from those who chose to create them. Because the planners will be accommodating many people, they will need something that will capture the audience's attention - something that will make sure that they know they have not wasted their time, or to make sure that they can bring something home from the event. One of the most common features of such events are guest speakers, authorities who can apply their expertise in order to share it with others. Guest speakers from different industries have become common in conferences, university lectures, or even in the casual get-together.
However, guests must be aware that not all guest speakers can prove to be good speakers. This can be caused by different factors. For one, some guest speakers might have a habit of being unprepared, always relying on impromptu conversations. Sometimes, it can be due to differing expertise - prolific business speakers can be passable guest speakers for casual affairs, but it might be difficult to have a casual speaker do a talk in front of a highly specialized group of marketing professionals. However, the most common cause is that a person still needs to improve on the skills that can enable him to become a good talker.
A good motivational speaker should possess many qualities, but above all, he or she must be a catalyst, an attention grabber, and a source of knowledge. Good guest speakers for any occasion should bring something new and interesting to the table: a bit of trivia or statistical data that will perk the ears of those who hear it. He or she must be knowledgeable in the fields or industries that can apply to his audience, in order to convey a sense of belonging and professionalism. Another useful personality for the good guest speakers is being an attention grabber. Being an attention-grabber entails different methods. Some know the power of humor and funny anecdotes to warm up the crowd or stir some attention; others have a knack for asking questions that can pique the people's participation and interest.
But the most important use of a speaker is his ability to become a catalyst - to become the source of change or thought that can spark inspiration or action in other people. When people hear his words, they should be able to appreciate them; when he calls out for change, the people should be able to follow him. When he asks the audience to remember what he tells them, the audience should always keep it in their hearts and minds.
With years of experience and dozens of speaking engagements, Ramon Thomas has kept these guidelines mastered, as well as displayed other useful skills on the trade of guest speakers. His company, Ramon Thomas Coaching & Training Enterprises, has offered similar speaking services to many parts of South Africa today. Thomas has used his extensive knowledge of information science to spot and predict trends in the computer world, as well as to gather knowledge for several speaking engagements. Today, he has been interviewed in many popular media outlets, such as the Reader's Digest, Business Day, Sunday Times, Special Assignment, and as a regular on CNBC South Africa. Indeed, Ramon Thomas has worked his way to become one of the best contemporary guest speakers of modern times.
