Why a Community Should Have a Speakers Bureau

A Speakers Bureau is made up of citizenry willing to represent themselves as Democrats to the larger community.

 

The benefits to the Party of having a Speakers Bureau include:

§         Giving Democrats political experience and exposing their talents to the county party;

§         Making both audiences and volunteer speakers feel that they possess political power and that they are a valuable asset to the democratic process;

§         Maintaining a connection to the Democratic base,

§         Responding to local requests for speakers,

§         Demonstrating that there is citizen support for the party, and

§         Training and public exposure that may produce future party officials and candidates.

 

What is a Speakers Bureau

A Speakers Bureau is a training ground for motivated speakers and is a source of citizen speakers available on demand.  Management must maintain control to assure that what speakers say is in line with the party platform.  Effective training and performance review will alleviate this concern.

 

The Main Components of the Speakers Bureau

The Speakers Bureau has two main components:

§         Recruiting, training, and maintaining volunteer speakers

§         Cultivating Speaking Engagements

 

Speaking engagements vary by size, importance, subjects to be covered, and format.  Speakers must be trained so that audiences believe them to be sincere, concerned, and knowledgeable, rather than experts.  Audiences remember whether speakers are friendly and credible, and not generally the specifics of what speakers say.

 

Types of Speakers:

There are four general types of speakers available to the Speakers Bureau:

§         Highly credible speakers, such as politicians, professors, and cultural stars;

§         Skilled public speakers who have expert knowledge;

§         Competent speakers with a good general grasp of the issues;

§         Enthusiastic novices (the largest number of volunteers - this group will need basic training in public speaking and information about the issues).

 

How to Find Speaking Engagements

Cultivating speaking opportunities is an ongoing challenge. Speaking opportunities are created by disseminating information about the Speakers Bureau to targeted groups.  We are currently contacting service organizations, social action committees of religious organizations, and unions. These organizations allow political discussion as a natural part of their business and are a natural fit for the Democratic Party.

 

Additional speaking opportunities are created by assigning speakers to media outlets (e.g. call-in shows, letters to the editor), and through telephone networking.

 

Recent Experience Forming a Speakers Bureau in Santa Clara County

Since starting the Speakers Bureau four months ago, speaker recruitment has gone well.  Requests for speakers went out at county meetings and through e-mail.  Fifty people have signed-up and many have received training at one of the three training sessions.