Speaking Engagements – Some Good…Some Bad… And Some Don’t Happen….

By Hilary TopperIn UncategorizedPosted

I sat on a panel today at the Fair Media Council. The topic was social media, what else?

Jaci Clement, Executive Director of the Fair Media Council, knows how to do these event right! There were more than 500 people in attendance, including PR people and media people from traditional and online sources.

What I appreciated most about the session is, she gave all the panelists a little gift and a card of appreciation. No one was paid for their time. Everyone volunteered to help educate our Long Island community. The little touch, made each speaker feel appreciated for his/her time.

Now I was on a panel a few weeks ago and the story was a bit different. It was held at a printer’s operation. More than 100 people were expected but nearly 20 were in attendance. The panel also focused on social media and marketing. Like the Fair Media Council, the panel members were outstanding. The owner of the printing house picked the “cream of the crop” with this panel. The difference, he never said “thank you” to any of the panelists. He never gave us that little touch that Jaci gave us and he certainly didn’t make us feel appreciated. His attitude was that he was giving us exposure to his clients and we should be grateful. Well, I didn’t see it that way…. I was there doing him a favor…. Not the other way around….

Then there was this other speaking gig that I was supposed to do next week. The organizer of the conference promised to either pay an honorarium fee or purchase my book, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Social Media, but were afraid to ask…” for all attendees. A few days ago, I get a call. He tells me they can’t pay an honorarium and they won’t pay for books. “But,” he said, “I will purchase 25 books and give them out to attendees that day so don’t worry.”

“Okay,” I told him, “but my bookkeeper wants to see a copy of the receipt. You could purchase the books through my office.”

“Oh, No. I want to purchase through Amazon.com,” he said.

“Well send us the receipt and all will be well,” I said. At this point I’m wasn’t feeling that he’s going to honor his word but  tried to give him the benefit of the doubt…

“As soon as I’m back in my office I will fax to you,” he said.

That afternoon, we received nothing. The next day, nothing…. The following day, we get a call from him saying that he changed his mind. He wasn’t going to purchase the books.

“No books, no talk….” we told him and decided to go on to the next one….

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Hilary Topper

Hilary Topper