As more and more people are completing their COVID vaccinations and getting their boosters, in-person events are tentatively coming back into consideration. Now, we don’t think virtual events are going away soon—in fact, we think that they will be a permanent way of reaching the highest number of ... » Learn More about COVID SAFETY FOR IN-PERSON AND HYBRID EVENTS
Program Manager Tips
THANK YOUR SPEAKERS
While the ultimate speaker appreciation is getting adequately and promptly paid, smart program managers know that showing appreciation for their speakers goes a long way to create a positive experience for them, and always reflects well on your club or venue. We’re Paying Them—Isn’t That ... » Learn More about THANK YOUR SPEAKERS
HOW TO INTRODUCE A SPEAKER
Are you thinking, “This sounds so basic, I can’t believe Great Garden Speakers is going to tell me how to introduce someone”? Well, we are, because guess what? Some of the speaker introductions we’ve heard over the years would make your toes curl, and none of us are in the business of curling ... » Learn More about HOW TO INTRODUCE A SPEAKER
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR SPEAKER CANCELS
This is likely to strike fear or induce a panic attack in some program managers, but it doesn’t need to! If you’ve planned an event and your speaker cancels, it doesn’t need to be the end of your event or ruin the day. We’ve got some tips for you to stay calm, cool, and collected! What to Do If ... » Learn More about WHAT TO DO IF YOUR SPEAKER CANCELS
HOW TO USE VOLUNTEERS AT A VENUE
Whether your venue is a large convention center or a neighborhood garden club, you can’t run everything on your own. I mean, you can try, but it’ll either make you nuts or earn you the reputation of a control freak. Now, we have nothing against control freaks, but we don’t want you going nuts, and ... » Learn More about HOW TO USE VOLUNTEERS AT A VENUE
What to Budget for Speakers
Whether you’re a program manager for a large venue or the committee chair for the neighborhood garden club, this question comes up consistently: What do presentations cost? What should you budget as a venue or club? While we can’t tell you exactly what to pay (that would be a big ... » Learn More about What to Budget for Speakers
How to Pay Online Garden Speakers with Revenue from Non-Members
Are you a program manager for an organization that hosts garden talks and presentations? Do you often feel that your organization lacks the funds to properly pay speakers — or pay them at all? We’re just going to rip this bandaid off here — experienced, high-quality speakers are going to charge for ... » Learn More about How to Pay Online Garden Speakers with Revenue from Non-Members
5 Must-Have Tools for Online Garden Talks
We hear your pain, garden speakers! Just when you felt like you had your live presentation down, along comes a global pandemic to shake things up. Now we’re talking about virtual presentations on platforms like Zoom — and while this can be momentarily disconcerting, let’s view this as just another ... » Learn More about 5 Must-Have Tools for Online Garden Talks
6 Things Garden Speakers Love Program Managers to Do
Whether you’re a new program manager or a very experienced one, your job is crucial to making your organization’s events run smoothly. You wear a lot of hats, and one of them is to make sure that the speaker you’ve booked has everything they need in order to do the best job for you! And if you’re ... » Learn More about 6 Things Garden Speakers Love Program Managers to Do
How to Run a Glitch-Free Garden Speaker Zoom Talk
Let’s say you’re a program manager for a garden-related organization or business, and you’re used to creating and running live presentations and events. Now that virtual/online events are more necessary and popular, are there different considerations for you and your team? You bet there are! Virtual ... » Learn More about How to Run a Glitch-Free Garden Speaker Zoom Talk