If you are planning a conference for a specific industry, you may be focused on lining up only speakers who are from your industry.

This is totally understandable, and you should have lots of industry specific experts.

However, if you only use industry experts, you may be short-changing both your event and your attendees. A non-industry speaker can offer some tremendous value that you would be hard pressed to find elsewhere.

Here are 7 Reasons Your Should Consider a Non-Industry Speaker for Your Next Event:

1) Re-Energize Your Group

Industry specific information is useful and incredibly important. However, it can also be heavy and tiring. A great, energetic speaker used strategically (say, halfway through your event) can inject much needed life back into your attendees so they are ready to get just as much out of the second half that they did out of the first half.

2) Create a Buzz

This is one of the most requested (yet hardest to measure) success criteria I get from clients before an event. They simply want their people to be “buzzing” about the conference. Industry specific content will rarely achieve that result. A unique, humorous, and high-energy presentation that makes people think, on the other hand, will definitely create that “buzz.”

3) Offer a New Perspective

Some of the greatest innovations come when people are willing to look beyond their own industry and adapt ideas from other disciplines. An annual conference is one of the few opportunities people have to be exposed to new ideas, and by using a non-industry speaker you can give them a new perspective.

4) Increase Attendance

Do you want more attendees? Of course you do! Having a program on the agenda that is not the “same-old , same-old,” that makes people curious, is a way to encourage fence-sitters to attend.

5) Make It Memorable

Industry content is great, and hopefully people will apply much of what they learn. But far more than information, attendees will remember 2 things: 1) How they felt and 2) How they were touched, personally. Having a speaker who moves them emotionally and gets them thinking about their lives beyond their jobs is an amazing way to make sure people remember your event long after they go home.

6) Be Unique

Every industry has multiple associations and conferences. How do you differentiate yourself from all the others? The industry content will be very similar. By offering something different, you set yourself apart from the other options.

7) Add Value to the Rest of the Event

A well-chosen non-industry speaker will tie their message to your theme and make sure your attendees are approaching their sessions with an open-mind to new idea. They will also stress the importance of taking action after the event. These ideas make every other session at your event more effective, and as a result people will rate your conference even higher than they would have otherwise.

As you plan your event, yes, focus very heavily on industry-specific content and speakers. However, don’t dismiss the idea of a non-industry speaker out of hand. It may be the very thing you need to take your event to the next level!

Is Avish the Right “Non-Industry” Speaker for Your Event?

Maybe. Contact him now to find out!