Meeting planners often add a clause to contracts or guidelines for their events, which reads something like: "The presenter is not to promote any product or service from the platform." The guidelines may prohibit the display of such product as well as the mention of it in any of the presenter's materials.

This type of restriction is almost always the result of a previous bad experience. A speaker at an earlier event made a "hard sell" of his or her product. The attendees felt betrayed and gave low evaluation scores.

No presentation should sound like an infomercial. Audiences and planners have the right to expect a powerful, inspirational message with strong educational content that meets their needs. High scores and satisfied audiences should be the end goal for everyone.

But that satisfaction should last more than an hour or two, beyond the sound of the presenter's voice. Audiences should have the opportunity to avail themselves of tools that reinforce, remind, and further explore what was shared in the short time they had with the speaker … or nothing will change. The warm feeling fades and the new idea is forgotten.

If the presenter has authored a book or created an audio resource, making it part of the presentation gives attendees the chance to take the presenter home. It also provides the support later that's necessary for real change.

Here are some tips for doing this in a way that adds to - rather than detracts from - the attendees' experience.

• Negotiate the speaker's fee with a copy of his or her book for each attendee. People will remember your event each time they read the book.
• Include in the presenter's introduction a mention of the resource and where it's available after the presentation. Work with the presenter to come up with the best language that satisfies you both and encourages sales.
• Display all the presenters' resources in an event Learning Library. Set up times immediately after each presentation for the presenters to be in the "library" autographing copies.
• Make arrangements with the presenters to offer resources at a special price during your event; for the organization to receive a percentage of the sales; or for a portion of the sales to go to a favorite charity.
• Use presenters' resources as prizes for team-building events.
• Offer a package at a special event-only price, such as a set of books or audios, which include all the presenters' resources. Attendees can take home everyone, even those they had to miss.
• Work with your presenters. It's not a presentation with a sales pitch thrown in. The presentation should answer these questions for the audience: Why do I need resources? Why do I need your resource? Why should I buy it from you, here, today?
• Encourage your speakers to cite resources other than their own. In a recent audio conference, the presenter shared one key idea from a resource that wasn't his, but was particularly pertinent to the topic. During the question-and-answer period, five of the first six questions were, "Where can I get that resource?"

Speaker Savvy Take Away

Work with your presenters to make their books and/or other resources an added attendee value.

As part of speakers' fees, negotiate a copy of their book for each attendee; make arrangements to have the resources available at a special price during the event; for a portion of the sales proceeds to go to the organization or a favorite charity the organization supports.

Steve Schumann (Steve@GetitCoach.com) spent five years delivering more than 1,000 successful public seminars around the world. He coaches people toward professional success in career development, sales, and presentation skills.

These tips should be used for informational purposes and not be considered legal advice.

The National Speakers Association (NSA) is the leading educational organization for professional speakers. NSA's 3,500 members include experts in a variety of industries and disciplines, who reach audiences as trainers, educators, humorists, motivators, consultants, authors, and more. As a service to meeting professionals, NSA provides resources and information on finding and working with speakers. Please visit NSA's Web site at www.nsaspeaker.org.