Speakers

Adding speakers to your event is very simple! You can add speakers, associate them with the sessions they are interacting with, and provide them with access links easily.

Presenter vs Linked Speaker

It is important to understand the difference between Presenter and Linked Speaker, so you can choose which one suits best your type of event.

Below you find the common capabilities for both presenters and linked speakers:

Now that we have listed the common capabilities, here is what distinguishes one from another:

  • Presenter: this is a type of permission an admin can choose for the attendee. It will allow this person to access all the activities with the capabilities described above.
  • Linked Speaker: this is a way to grant an attendee presenter permissions restricted to certain activities.

Regardless of which option you may choose, either as a presenter or linked speaker, if you want their profile to be displayed at the website or at the details of an activity, you have to create a Speaker profile. To do so, please read the next section and follow the steps listed below.

How do I add a new speaker?

In case you decide to give all speakers the Presenter permission, once you add the attendees to your event you can change their permission to grant them access to all activities. But as mentioned previously, both will need to be listed under Event > Speakers anyway.

  1. At the dedicated Speakers page

When you navigate on Event > Speakers, you will find the option to click the + Add speaker button. At the new window type the speaker's name and the category (optional). Once the information has been entered, click on the blue Create button.

Keep in mind that this action only creates the Speaker profile, you still need to link with his Attendee profile to give them access to the Virtual Lobby.
Adding speaker manually
The 'Ignore entries on previous events' checkbox is optional. If selected, the system will not pull data from previous events in case there is a match.
  1. While adding an attendee

Another way to add a Speaker is to select the box for the Speaker profile while adding a new user under People > Attendees.

Adding new user as speakers and also attendees
If you select this option, this person will automatically appear under Event > Speakers and have their Speaker profile linked to their attendee profile, and therefore all the information added will be synched.
  1. Via spreadsheet

You will be able to add multiple Speakers at once via spreadsheets. To do so, you will need to import an excel spreadsheet with all the information filled out. At the Event > Speakers page, press  Edit > Import > Download demo file.

Demo file for speaker
Only the Name field (Column A) is required, the other columns are optional and can be left blank.

Then, enter the speaker's information onto the excel sheet. After saving the changes to the file you must upload the excel sheet back to the platform. To do this, click Edit > Import. Then, press the green button, select the file, and press Import.

Download demo file

Can I filter the Speakers on the Attendees' List page?

Yes, if you wish to verify if an attendee is linked to a Speaker you can use the filter option while at People > Attendees > and select the filter Linked Speakers. A list of your linked Speakers will appear and you can also open the Speaker profile in a different tab by clicking on the mortarboard icon:

Filter linked speaker

With the new tab open you will be able to edit the Speaker's profile as shown in the next section.

Can I edit the Speaker's information?

To add or edit information, click on Edit and then click on the speaker's name. The Speaker information will appear on the right side. Click End after finishing the modifications. 

You can change or add new information related to:

  1. Image

The desired image size is 750 x 750 (px by px). There are two options to insert photos:

Insert photo profile of a speaker
  • External folder - click the red button and select an image from your computer, cloud, etc
  • Internal folder - When you select the Library, a new window will pop-up where you can Upload and select the images for all the speakers at once. It is also possible to insert images through ZIP archives. After uploading, you can associate the images with the correct Speaker profile.
  1. Linked attendee

This feature is to ensure your speakers will have access to the Virtual Lobby and therefore be able to enter the session they will present prior to the activity's starting time. It will also ensure having presenter capabilities (control over camera and microphone).

First, press Edit and link the attendee profile to the matching speaker, and press End when you're done.

Linked attendees
This action can also be done via spreadsheet by using the column linkAttendee.
  1. Additional information

Create a complete Speaker's profile by adding the role, company, email, and all related social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter, and website.

You can also write a brief description of the Speaker in the Mini-bio field, and add a category.

It is possible to use bullet lists on the WYSIWYG editor for Speakers.
WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG is a tech initialism that stands for “what you see is what you get.” It usually refers to a user interface that lets you directly edit and manipulate the look and content of a document, page, or file. This means that whatever edits you’re making to something will display the same way when the final output is produced.

If a Speaker tag is created you can associate them with the Speaker's profile by clicking on the desired tag or by adding the tags to the spreadsheet that will be uploaded. This information will be available to attendees in both the app and the website.

Additional information of a speaker

To learn how to create tags, click here.
Creating speaker categories

You have the option to organize your speakers into distinct categories. To create a category, enter its name in the designated Category field. If you wish to assign a speaker to an existing category, simply type the category name in the field. Additionally, you can include translations for the category name by clicking on the Translate icon and selecting your preferred translation language.

Creating a speaker category

To remove a speaker from a category, simply leave the Category field empty and the Speaker will be listed under Others.

You can link speakers to the activity by clicking Agenda > Activities. Click on Edit then choose an Activity. In the window that appears on the right, press Speakers, select the speaker using the drop-down bar, and then press Add speaker. When you have finished, press End and the speaker will be linked to the activity.

Link a speaker to an activity
This action can also be done via spreadsheet. You should add any associated activities, split by comma or semicolon, to the Activities column in the default demo file.
For more information on creating activities, refer to our Agenda Management article.

Can I set start and end time for speakers in activities?

Yes, you can set start and end time for each speaker in an activity. You can do so using the time and date selector which corresponds to the speaker after adding them to your activity.

By default, speakers' start and end time follow the start and end time of the activity.
GIF showing how to set start and end time for speakers.

The speakers' start and end time will be reflected in the Grouped logs of the Checklog reports.

Can I change the order of the speakers?

To change the order the speakers are being displayed, click on Edit and then drag the speaker to the correct position using the dotted icon, outlined in the image below.

Changing speaker position

Can I use speakers from my previous events?

Yes, once you create a speaker in an event, they will be saved on the company level so you can use them again for new events, saving you time.

Click on + Add speaker and once you begin to type the speakers' name, a drop-down box will appear with previously saved speakers.

Adding speakers from previous event

All the content from that speaker will be pulled to your new event.

Bypass cache

Manually

If you don't wish the platform to pull data from previous events, check the box that says 'Ignore entries on previous events' when adding the Speaker at the dedicated page:

Ignore entry on previous event
Using spreadsheet

If you are adding the Speakers using the spreadsheet, you can simply enter the number '1' at the column O of the Speaker's demo file.

0 and 1 in spreadsheet

Can I send the speakers an automatic email?

When entering speakers' information onto the excel sheet, you will see a column that says Should send the confirmation email if it is a new attendee?

To answer this question, use 0 for No and 1 for Yes.

In case you didn't link the speaker to their attendee profile, you can safely ignore this question.

Click here for further information on the confirmation email.

Notify email in spreadsheet

Yes! To minimize errors and make sure the Speakers find the correct activity they will be speaking at, you can send the link to the linked activity.

At the Speaker's profile, scroll down until you see Speaker activities, click on the magic wand icon as displayed below and copy to clipboard. That's it, you can now share the direct link with your speakers!

Magic link to speakers

Alternatively, you can go to Agenda > Activity > select the activity and click on Speaker:

Magic link to speakers through activities

Once you click on the icon, the link will be copied so you can paste it and re-send it to the Speaker!

Is it possible for Speakers to rehearse before the event?

Yes, not only possible but strongly recommended! Here are some articles that can be shared with the speakers before the Dry run:

Where do I view the Speakers

Speakers can be viewed on the event website, in the email, in the Virtual Lobby and in the mobile app.

How do I view speakers in the app?

To view the Speakers in the app, go to Menu > Speakers

Speakers in the App

How do I view Speakers in the Virtual Lobby?

To view the Speakers in the Virtual lobby, you must have linked the Speakers to the activities in which they are participating in. In the lobby, they will appear in the activity room covers like this:

Speakers in the Virtual Lobby

If there are more than five speakers assigned to an activity, you will see the + icon along with the remaining number of speakers. By clicking on this icon, it will display the complete list of speakers assigned to the activity.

Screenshot showing the complete list of more than 5 speakers.

Inside the activity, the participants will see the Speakers at the base like this:

View Speakers in the Virtual Lobby
Click on a Speaker to view more information about them.
  • You can customize the Speakers heading that appears inside a session when using the Classic layout. To do this, go to Settings > Headings and change the Virtual Lobby - Settings heading to a label of your choice. The image below shows before and after an the Speakers heading is changed.
Speakers heading inside a session in the Classic layout

How do I view Speakers on the website?

To have the Speakers' information displayed on the website, ensure to add the Speakers' section.

This will allow some information added under Event > Speakers to appear in your website.

Display Speaker categories on the website

If you have created Speaker categories under Event > Speakers, and you'd like your Speakers to be displayed on the website according to their categories, activate the Enable Speaker Categories under Options

Speaker categories in the website

By clicking the Learn more, +, or simply clicking on the speaker's card depending on the template being used, you will see more information on the speaker.

How do I view Speakers on the email?

To show your event speakers on the email, follow the steps below:

  1. Once you want to create your email, you will be on the Email creator page where you can find six section categories on the menu bar to the left.
  2. Under the Media category, you will see the option Speakers. Drag it from the left to the email on the right.
  3. A section showing all your event speakers with their pictures, names and roles will be added to your email.
Showing speakers in the email

Editing the speaker section on your email

By default, all the speakers you added under Event > Speakers will be displayed in your email.

  1. You can choose which speakers to hide/show by following the steps below:
    1. Click on a speaker to open the section's settings.
    2. Under Speaker Content, uncheck the checkbox of the speaker you want to hide and check them again if you want to show them.
  2. You can also edit the size of the speaker profile pictures by following these steps:
    1. Click on a speaker to open the section's settings.
    2. Go to Text Contents and resize the profile picture as you wish.

  1. If you want to edit the Speaker's name or role follow these steps:
    1. Click on a speaker to open the section's settings.
    2. Go to Text Contents and change the speaker's name or role as you wish.

  1. If you want to edit the website links follow these steps:
    1. Click on a speaker to open the section's settings.
    2. Go to Text Contents and select the speaker's name.
    3. Press the hyperlink icon > edit the URL > Press Save.
By default, your speakers' website links are the URLs added under Event > Speakers.
Speakers link in the email

Can Speakers see the activities they have been linked to?

If you are a Presenter or a linked Speaker, you will have access to the activities you are presenting in through the My Sessions tab on the My Agenda page.

In this section, you can perform similar actions to those available in the Agenda tab, such as viewing details and interacting with activities.

To access an activity's room, simply click on the Virtual room button located on that activity's card.

Screenshot showing the Virtual room link on the activity card.

By clicking on the Details button of an activity, you will be able to access more information about the activity. You can also perform various actions similar to those in the Agenda tab, including:

  • Viewing and adding questions in the Questions field
  • Viewing and adding comments in the Chat field in chat discussions.
  • Viewing and answering polls in the Polls field.
  • Pinning/unpinning the activity.
  • Saving the activity to your calendar.
  • Providing feedback on the activity.
  • Viewing and uploading files that will be available within the activity.
My Sessions for Linked speakers

If you are using the List view, the Details button will not appear on the activity's card.

List view

How can I extract a report of all my Speakers?

To extract an excel report of all your Speakers, simply click go to Event > Speakers, click on the Edit button, then press the Report button at the top left corner of the page. You will receive a message letting you know that your excel sheet is being processed and will be sent to your email once completed.

Speakers report

The report will contain information such as: speakerID, companyID, eventID, personID (if linked to an attendee), name, headline, image, email, social media links, speakerTags, etc.


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