1. Choose your Speakers

• Find great Storytellers who will inspire students to Startup
• Feature new people from the local community, or University students and graduates who will speak directly to their fellows
• Look for inspiring professors at every University - They always can share a great story of their students or themselves as mentors
• Global Famous Speakers are giving a worldwide perspective to the event - and at the same time they’re adding credibility and may promote the event to their social channels
• Organize the event in up to 4 Sessions; with up to 4 Speakers/ 1 hour each; Group speakers by topic, for each Session.

2. Give them a Reason

Why should a busy person spend hours to prepare a talk for an unknown University event?

Closing a speaker is like doing sales to new customers. They have to be persuaded to buy in.

• Empathy. To help students - ambitious young people. Targeted speakers were once students too. Give emotion, but short, about helping and inspiring a new future-shelf, in a way speakers feel empathy and be persuaded. Tell them how they can change and help a new generation of people.
• Personal or Company Promotion. Tech CEOs will come to promote their companies and find new tech workers and Experts to promote their expertise.
• Use Metrics. Tell your speakers about the biggest numbers of expected attendees and other invited big-names Speakers

3. Email Request

• Find their email addresses. Look for them on Google, or use Rocketreach (search by name), and snov.io and hunter.io (search by website)
• Install a Mail-Tracking plugin, to know when Speakers read your email invitation - we suggest Mailpanion
• Use catchy email subject - for example to Bill Gates “Bill Gates Speech at the University of Harvard | Tech and the City 2021”. It works because:
  
  a) Sounds as an already arranged talk. Speakers were intrigued to open the email to check whether they had arranged something.
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  b) As they didn't know Tech and the City, we first noted the University name. This gives the notion of been invited formally by a University - quite honorable.

• Email Text should be short and clear in what we need to do. As they are so busy, they won't give more than 30 secs to read an email. How to write it:
  
  a) 1-sentence familiar/ warm intro. Example: "I have been following you and admire for the XYZ/ You have been so inspiring"
  
  b) Give them a Reason. Example: "We are doing a big event to inspire students to startup, and we would be honored to have as a speaker. Since your story goes that you dropped out of College to found your Company, you can help many students who are in a position your younger self was."
  
  c) Event Details. Date, the time needed, other speakers, or the number of (expecting/wanting to have, without telling) attendees to validate your proposal.
  
  Example: Other verified (or invited) speakers include Bill Gates and Eva Kaili. On the 20th of September, the event will be held at the ceremony hall of the University of Macedonia, expecting 600+ Attendees.
  
  d) Send the participation and speech guidelines, only in a second email, if they accept the initial invitation

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Email Template

4. Choose an event host

One of the most important speakers at your event is your event’s Host. In an ideal situation, the event’s lead organizer is not the onstage Host. The onstage Host – the master of ceremonies – is thepublic face of your Tech and the City event.

The host will be responsible for introducing speakers, time-keeping for the Speeches, make anynecessary announcements, and encourage audience participation.

Generally, your Host should:

• have experience with public speaking or hosting events.
• be from the local community, so they can easily connect with the audience.
• be able to understand the Tech and the City spirit well, so they can communicate its goals effortlessly.

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