By: Adaira Landry, MD MEd and Resa E. Lewiss, MD.
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Editor’s Challenge
Clinician educators commonlyplan educational conferences that feature guest speakers, such as faculty members from other universities or professionals in fields relevant to medicine. These invited guests may lecture in a conference series sponsored by a university, hospital, single academic department, or professional society; examples include traditional grand rounds, visiting professorships, and residency didactics.
Guest lectures pose significant challenges for clinician educators tasked with conference planning responsibilities. High-quality, relevant presentations are the goal expected by the audience. However, without thoughtful advanced planning, even the most seasoned guest speakers may disappoint. This is especially problematic given the financial and opportunity costs necessary for their visits. Deservingly or not, failed guest lectures reflect poorly on both the guest and the faculty host who planned their visit. Thus, guest lectures are high-risk endeavors for everyone.
My post this month is a challenge: How can clinician educators plan exceptional guest lectures that wow the audience? Are your guest lectures expertly planned and executed? If not, why not?
Luckily, two of my cherished and insightful colleagues offered their sage wisdom on this topic. Below are some best practices they recommend – ‘microskills’ – for academic conference planners. Enjoy! – Mike Gisondi
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Thoughtfully Inviting Guest Speakers
Thanks for this challenge, Mike!
Surprisingly, the medical literature offers little guidance for academic conference planners. This represents a skills gap, especially for junior faculty members inexperienced in curriculum design, yet administratively responsible for arranging guest lectures.
We believe the planning required to host a successful guest lecturer is just as crucial as the speaker’s actual presentation. And yet, we feel important organizational aspects of this process remain overlooked and rarely taught, specifically regarding best practices for sending thoughtful invitations to potential guests. Drawing from our experiences as speakers and as organizers, we identified several small critical actions —what we call microskills – to refine your approach to inviting and hosting guest speakers.
Speaker Vetting
Recruiting talented speakers is an administrative and leadership skill that develops with time and experience. The guest speakers you invite have tremendous implications to the success of your conference, to your efficacy as a curriculum planner, and to the larger landscape of medical education.
Underrepresented groups, such as women, are less likely to receive speaking opportunities. Thus, we encourage deliberate solicitation of speakers from diverse groups. Never select a speaker based solely on their identity; rather, consider the background and perspectives your speaker may offer your audience.
Before inviting a speaker, assess if their expertise aligns with your conference goals and objectives. Do not assume the experience or expertise of your potential guests, especially as related to their identity or reputation. Start by reviewing the speaker’s personal and professional websites, social media presence, and past speaking engagements, as available. If you are unsure, ask : “Could you share your preferred lecture topics? Which do you enjoy delivering most?”
Schedule Considerations
Propose lecture dates that allow ample lead time for speakers. Everyone has a busy schedule. We know colleagues who book speaking engagements months to years in advance.
Avoid dates that are on or near holidays (national, religious, etc), refrain from early morning and evening lectures, and consider time zone differences, as these factors can compromise audience attendance and speaker availability.
Remember that everyone has obligations and responsibilities outside of work.For example, physician moms, in particular, carry more of the household duties, including dinner and bedtime routines. These considerations may impact travel availability as well as the delivery of a virtual lecture from home.
Once the speaker accepts your invitation, send a calendar reminder to your guests with comprehensive details about their visit. Include the address of the conference center, parking instructions and locations, designated faculty and administrative contacts with phone numbers, travel itineraries, hotel and car service confirmations, and a conference agenda. Specify arrival and departure times and provide transportation options. Include virtual conference links and passwords for remote presentations.
Fair Compensation
Do not underestimate the significant time and effort required of guest speakers, including: email correspondence; completion of continuing medical education requirements unique to your institution; provision of tax documents, biographies, and headshot photos; slide preparation; rehearsal; travel; and the presentation itself. Compensate your speakers appropriately based on this workload and their expertise, for both in-person and virtual presentations.
Monetary honoraria are best if your institution allows, in addition to the reimbursement of any travel, hotel, and meal expenses. Your options for speaker compensation are likely subject to institutional guidelines, and be aware that senior faculty or otherwise noteworthy guests may have higher speaker fees than your guidelines allow.
Include the specific offer of compensation in your initial invitation, as this is a kind and respectful action that avoids placing the burden on the speaker as a topic to raise. When it comes to reimbursements, minimize the number of surprises and explain your institution’s reimbursement process as relevant. Much of this information can be summarized in templated emails for reuse with future invitations.
We have had many unpaid speaking engagements, and we appreciated invitations that offered us alternative forms of compensation that were valuable .
Technical Support
Discuss audio/visual requirements and available technical support with guest speakers well in advance of their lectures. Most experienced speakers are familiar with common video conferencing tools, but it is wise to solicit questions and preferences. If virtual meeting platforms are used, tell the speaker how you will manage the waiting room, chat, question & answer functions, and breakout rooms. Recommend a tech check days before the event. Always consider reviewing unique accessibility tools that may be unfamiliar to your speakers, such as captioning or sign language interpretation.
Promotion and Marketing
Given the resources and effort required to plan guest lectures, be sure to maximize your return on investment. Broadly promote all speaking engagements to relevant audiences including those outside your department.
List the speaker’s name, credentials, presentation title, scheduled date/time, and location details on all marketing materials. Even if an event is private, the speaker can use this material to help build their brand by creating awareness of their expertise. Prior to sharing promotional materials, request and confirm the speaker’s approval.
Advertise widely across social media platforms (LinkedIN, Instagram, etc.). Use hashtags such as #MedEd. During the event, consider designating someone to share live updates online — such as quotes, questions from the audience, and screenshots of slides allowed by the speaker. Ensure you have your guest’s permission to record the session for future use or distribution.
Social Gatherings
Conference planners often arrange social gatherings to allow their colleagues an opportunity to meet guest speakers. Examples include meals with a curated group of faculty members with shared interests or larger, more inclusive meet-and-greets. Remember to solicit food preferences and restrictions before choosing restaurants or catering for these events.
Despite your intended kindness, not all guests will want to participate in welcome gatherings or group get-togethers. Keep in mind that some speakers may feel uncomfortable in large social groups; 58% of us identify as introverts and may prefer quieter, small networking events. For instance, the speaker may prefer a series of brief 1:1 meetings with select faculty members on a conference day, as opposed to a large lunch. This helps them get to know your colleagues better. We also appreciate some personal time during the visit and welcome recommendations for available activities or nearby restaurants to visit alone.
Lecture Feedback
Solicit feedback using online forms that are easily accessible to the audience, e.g., QR code. Data collected in this manner are simpler to analyze and easier to graph and visualize compared to paper surveys. Summarize the feedback and share it with your guest. This helps the speaker improve subsequent talks, and it provides them an external assessment of their work that is valuable to future promotions and tenure considerations. You may ask the speaker if they have particular questions they’d like included on your digital form and offer to disseminate any evaluation tools that they routinely use. Ask your audience for permission to use their feedback about the lecture in future marketing materials.
Sharing Your Experiences
Was your guest lecture successful? Did your speaker meet your expectations? Thank them by sharing your positive experience with colleagues outside your institution who may be planning conferences of their own. With their permission, share their name within your professional network and include available recordings or insightful lecture quotes. Your referrals can enhance the guest’s professional reputation and create career opportunities. Sharing details of their visit on social media is a valuable method of sponsorship that has the potential to open doors for them and increase visibility for your organization.
In Summary
Delivering a lecture, workshop, or even fireside chat requires careful consideration and effort by a guest speaker. Keep the presenter at the center of your planning and actively involve them in the process. You need not change all your speaker recruitment practices at once. Incrementally incorporate microskills when arranging your next guest lecture. These simple, yet critical and deliberate actions are helpful to thoughtfully invite potential speakers, organize successful conferences, and ensure welcoming and meaningful educational experiences for both your speaker and your audience.
About the Authors: Adaira Landry MD MEd is Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School and practices at Mass General Brigham. (@AdairaLandryMD, ailandry@bwh.harvard.edu) Resa E. Lewiss, MD is Professor of Emergency Medicine at University of Alabama at Birmingham (@resalewissmd, resalewiss@gmail.com). Drs. Landry and Lewiss are the authors of MicroSkills: Small Actions, Big Impact (HarperCollins, 2024.)
Editor: Michael A. Gisondi, MD is Professor and Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Emergency Medicine and Assistant Dean for Academic Advising at Stanford School of Medicine. @MikeGisondi
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