Have you ever invited a speaker to speak to your students about a sensitive topic and they totally bombed? I have. I used to be an event planner and I know how difficult it is to bring in a motivational speaker that can really hold the attention of your students and still relay a powerful message.
I have over 12 years of experience speaking to students and working with event planners to make sure they have a successful event. When I speak in schools I take a lot into consideration. My team works with every event planner to get details about the event and about the community. These extra details are why counselors have made me one of the most requested anti bullying speakers in the nation.
For one, I know that a lot of teachers dislike school assemblies because they feel it takes away from class time. The message they are sending is due to the fact that the program in the past has not been as strong as they expected. In my presentations, I make sure to speak to students, but also have teaching moments for teachers and counselors.
I also know how hard it is to trust a speaker from the outside. I must say, this is why I like to speak personally to all event planners so they can feel comfortable with the message that I’m going deliver and I get a better idea of the goals for the event. I also like to know the demographics of the school so that I use jokes that can help me relate to the audience.
So before you invite a motivational speaker to speak to your youth, do research on the speaker, read or watch speaker testimonials to see what others had to say about them and see if that person fits within your budget. Once you feel that you can trust a certain speaker, bring them to your school and have a successful school assembly.
Fabian has many resources for you to use in the classroom. One of those resources is a set of free anti bullying posters that you can print and hang on your wall today.
