In both the corporate and association worlds, one factor is central to how well educational events are received by attendees: The performance of session presenters who are not professional speakers. Surveys in the medical/pharmaceutical field and others have shown that event attendees want to hear from those who work in the same job function or industry. Naturally, though, such people aren't perfectly polished in delivering educational lessons because they are busy doing their primary job well enough to attract notice from meeting planners.
To get everyday professionals to deliver effective and interesting presentations, both their colleagues and planners can help by giving those presenters the right kinds of constructive criticism of prior performances or of practice runs. This article from Fast Company offers several tips for people as they critique a non-professional speaker so that the presentation can get better as easily as possible. Some key takeaways: Point out the strongest parts of the presentation, but don't get too granular with your criticism of other areas.
