Speaker FAQ

• What is the profile of a typical Academy Member?


• How often are Speakers invited to present to Members?


• What makes the ideal Speaker?


• What value have other Speakers gained from talking to Academy Members?


• What are the key points for a Speaker?

What is the profile of a typical Academy Member?

The profile is very mixed in age, sector and background. The common factor is that they are enthusiastic to improve their business performance and that they recognise that improving their own performance is key to that. Most members are sole, majority, or family owners and a number more are subsidiary MDs, senior partners or business unit directors. Some non-profit making organisations also find Academy membership valuable. Members refer to their experience as being "positively life changing"
In many cases Academy members are entrepreneurs who have started their own business, been successful and grown through the early stages and are now facing leadership and management challenges for which they feel ill equipped. They particularly value having a peer group to act as a sounding board on how to move forward. The Academy has helped many business Leaders achieve greater business and personal success. Leaders who join The Academy share our values of: compassion, courage, curiosity and integrity.

How often are Speakers invited to present to Members?

Well, that depends on you. Academy Chairmen will share with their fellow Chairmen and Members the value they feel they've received from you. Just one booking can lead to many - our successful speakers may be booked up to 20 times a year!

"Members have gained enormous value from the monthly expert presentations. So much so, that some have even arranged follow-up sessions with individual speakers for their own businesses... Speakers have been asked to contribute at members' own internal management conferences to help deliver the company message that was needed. Having a third party endorsement on important management topics is an excellent way of bringing home the key message to your own teams. Especially if you have seen the speaker in action beforehand."
- Alan Sanders, Academy Board Member/Formerly Chairman, Academy Group 1

What makes the ideal Speaker?

The key to being a successful Academy speaker is that you must be engaging and provide practical usable thoughts, tips and tools. The session is 3-4 hours' long so you must be interactive and ensure that the topic has immediate take-away value. Members will want to be able to use the lessons learned quickly within their own organisations – as the following month they will hear another expert presentation! It's also important to challenge members' current thinking.
"Since that first memorable occasion, the diverse range of Speakers has been challenging, stimulating and extremely helpful."
- Colin Williams of Colin Williams Design, Member

What value have other Speakers gained from talking to Academy Members?

Talking to Academy members is a great way to gauge whether the work that you are doing hits the right button for the senior level. Some speakers have told us that being involved with The Academy makes them 'step up to the plate' because they have to be good - members see a lot of high quality speakers and are very challenging. You also receive instant feedback. Additionally, of course, you will be meeting many Chief Executives, and if they are impressed enough by you, they may book you directly for their own organisations.
"I thought your speech was outstanding, the way you interacted with my members was extremely effective. The content was awesome, and your delivery style was excellent. Thanks for making a major contribution to my Group."
- Joe Adams, Chairman, Academy Group 11 (providing feedback to Academy Speaker, Roger Harrop)

TEN KEY QUESTIONS to an Academy Speaker

The ten key questions which help us understand more about your particular chosen subject are:

1. In a sentence
- What is your area of expertise and in which "category" do you see yourself? (See Categories PDF)

2. Why now?
- Why is your topic of particular interest and relevance to Academy Members today?

3. Your marketplace
- Are you the first in your field, the only person in your field or one of many?

4. Why you?
- How does your approach differ from others?

5. The What?
- If you ran a session, what would your title and objectives be?

6. The How?
- How would you achieve them?

7. Outcomes
- By the end of your session what will members have acquired?

8. Actions
- What would you expect them to do as a result of your session?

9. Takeaways
- What tools would you provide to help them?

10. Downstream value
- Three months later, how would you measure the value of your session?