All exhibitors attend shows where there are guest speakers. And some exhibitors resented their presence. It was not difficult to understand the resentment. Many had paid for their stand, and they knew full well the ‘star’ would not get better their chances of covering their costs.
It is easy to understand the organisers reasoning behind the attraction. Pay a fee and get a few extra people through the door. The ploy is seemingly a promotional asset. By observation, it is proven to be a waste of time. If the idea worked, it would still be a ‘part’ of the events.
The large shows have ‘star’ speakers. Look carefully; the whole dynamic is different, there is a different identity, here is the explanation. Many pay to talk! What did you just write Ian? Yes, many pay to talk, in fact, these show’s foundation is one of information and Visitors attend to listen to the lectures, most of which have a charge. Why do speakers pay? The primary reasons are self-promotion, sales of books, retreats, and workshops.
We are Community driven. The Community is the show, and it is my belief many members of The Community are well up to the standard of the ‘stars’. In fact, many exceed the abilities of some celebrity attractions. We have faith in our wisdom and knowledge. Our Visitors come to see the people who are on the Community Lists, and they will never be offered fishers ‘bait’ to attend our Well Being Shows.
Guests speakers? We have a venue full of the best people to fulfil the expectations of Visitors. To my mind, introducing a ‘guest speaker’ is insulting the quality and integrity of the people who invest in the shows.
Why would we want to pay someone to damage our reputations?
Over the years I watched the celebrities. They would turn up an hour before the talk, give the presentation and leave. I remember a well known (at the time) genius who stared into my eyes after I said ‘Hello’. His arrogance was contemptuous. Another lady had much the same attitude; she couldn’t care less for the exhibitors, who were, in fact, the people who had paid a percentage of her fee.
I remember a friend who had paid thirty pounds for a celebrity workshop at Gorton. ‘In the first five minutes, we were guided to buy a book. The whole workshop consisted of anecdotes about tv appearances and financial achievements’ my answer? ‘Ask for your money back’ – He’s still waiting. All three are long forgotten, dissolved in the illusion of their words.
No, we will stay with the power and potential of The Community. Visitors can be sure of our dedication to their Well Being.
See You Soon
If it aint broke don’t fix it simple
Thanks Campell 🙂
‘Famous’ Guest Speakers? NO THANKS!!!
Having them at events insults indeed ‘the quality and integrity of the people who invest in the shows’,the ‘exhibitors’ and speakers of our Community ,as you so aptly point out, Ian Timothy!
There are many ‘big shows’ which I refuse to exhibit at, because the numerous ‘star speakers’ , obviously there to simply promote their books/goods, would be detrimental to my own channelled book stand and talk- as well as keeping visitors away from all the stands-
As a speaker myself ( on the various states and mind levels in the Afterlife & the mysterious powers of our Creative Mind), my main aim is to HELP my audience. How?
By tailoring each of my talks around the angles/ topics my listeners in THAT particular talk, tell me they would like to learn about. I’d like each of my audiences to feel more ‘enlightened’ by the end of my talks.
My answers come from knowledge provided to me by those in the Higher Realms , which I have been channelling for nearly 36 years. I aim at giving hope and reassurance to the grieving, dispelling fears by increasing understanding of how and why we all survive and can communicate between the two worlds– and why we exist!
So , THANK YOU Liz and Ian for “staying with the power and potential of The Community” and having faith in the wisdom and knowledge of our Lizian Community members.
We have a great range of very knowledgeable and fascinating people and speakers among ourselves. I often regret to be obliged to stay at my stand therefore be unable to go & listen to some of my very interesting ‘ Community colleagues’!
If we preserve our ethos and dedicate our work to the Well Being of our dear Visitors , hopefully before long,Our Visitors will be the ones making us ‘famous’ …and label us as ethical ‘stars’… 🙂
Brigitte
For me, this is about the ethos of Lizian as a Community events organiser.
Lizian are providing a platform for community members to show, and promote, their products and services, members who have already paid to be there. It is right that they should have priority. At Lizian the talks might better be described as a “Members Showcase”. It is a symbiotic relationship. The talks boost gate money, the extra people boost takings for the speakers, the public like them.
The number of speakers who can command a significant audience specifically to see them, is few. Paul McKenna, Sally Morgan, Brian Weiss, and not many more. So the benefits of paid superstar speakers are niche, as you rightly point out , some pay to be there.
As a community member I am interested in the number of site visitors, the amount they spend, and the quality of the visitor experience overall. Personally, I would never say never to paid speakers. Lizian are entrusted with delivering visitor numbers who spend profitably. If both criteria are not met, the event fails.
I value the “Members Showcase”. I would not welcome outsiders parachuting in and paying to be there to promote their product. But allow me to introduce a scenario which may work.
The NEC Mind body Spirit Shows pay for Paul McKenna to speak. Typically, the speaker’s £10,000 expenses for flights, accommodation and expenses are paid for. The numbers are interesting. At £11 a ticket the organisers have to sell 900 extra tickets to break even. Typically, the star speaker does two shows a day, or over the weekend, at £40 a ticket. Hall numbers are limited to 500, both shows usually sell out. So the extra gate money produces £40,000 for the performer, which they keep, the organisers have their expenses covered with the thousand attendee gate takings, and the general exhibitors have an extra 1000 people at the show. Win/win. But Lizian is not competing with the big city centre events in London, Birmingham and Manchester, so even that model is not necessarily portable. To succeed you have to know who you are – and who you are not.
Lizian have done brilliantly to grow the existing event in twelve months. The burning question is, “Are there a finite amount of people who will attend a conventional WB event at a provincial venue? No-one knows because it is Lizian who are pioneering it. If there is a limit, and numbers need to be grown to meet the volume/ profitable spending criteria, then new things will have to be tried.
I thought that the new ribbon dancing Yoga display at Lincoln was excellent, it was an event, looked colourful, was entertaining, and added to the occasion. As a community I suspect we will have to experiment further, sometimes succeeding, sometimes learning from mistakes.