Speakers Appreciate Thoughtful Corporate Gift |
22 May 2006 |
| Thank-you presents for speakers make a statement about your organization to people who are likely some of the most powerful in your industry. And speakers and the planners who hire them agree on one thing: a thoughtful gift that takes their personal tastes into account makes a great impression. "If you're going to give a speaker a gift to take home, it's best to try to personalize it," said Phoenix-based speaker and certified meeting planner Cara Tracy. "Call their staff, ask questions, pay attention. And think about the effect that gift will have on the ongoing relationship you're hoping to have with that person." But what about occasions where a planner must choose one gift for several speakers at once? Joanne Dennison, a speaker and president of Ordinary Success in Martinsville, N.J., said she has appreciated gifts that are either very practical or light and humorous. "I have a very beautiful clock I got from speaking at a Meeting Professionals International conference, and it's lovely enough that it sits in our living room," Dennison said. "On the other hand, I also love the can of juggling balls I got from the National Speakers Association's D.C. chapter. They played on the theme that speakers juggle a lot of different roles in their lives." Dennison and her colleagues agree that it is better to give no gift than to give a bad one. One year when Nancy Woolever's association, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), wanted to trim expenses, several speakers received a fluorescent orange ruler with the organization's logo on it. |
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