Scheduling Criteria

The schedulers look at the following criteria when pairing Billy DeFrank speakers and assigning them to speaking engagements:

1. EXPERIENCE: There must be at least one “experienced” speaker at each speaking engagement. Sometimes this speaker will also be the observer.

Experienced speakers take responsiblity for introducing Billy DeFrank speakers, giving the disclaimer and keeping the engagement running smoothly. They might need to get the class going during the lull in the questions or restore order if several students are talking at once. They must be able to maintain their composure under pressure from hostile students and should be ready to help or calm a speaking partner if he or she is having a hard time for any reason.

A new or inexperienced speaker is one who either:

• has just been trained
• is not yet ready for the responsibilities of an experienced speaker (the scheduler’s decision is based on input from observers)
• is not comfortable with the responsibilities of an experienced speaker (the speaker’s decision)

2. PERSONALITY: Is the speaker quiet, talkative, shy, funny, dry, personable, etc.? Pairings work best when there is some contrast in personality types.

3. AGE: Is the speaker young (either still a student or having a student-like lifestyle), average (out of school and reasonably settled in career and residence), or older (old enough to remind the students of their parents)? Again, diversity is definitely best.

4. SINGLE/COUPLED: It is nice if students can hear at least one speaker who is single and one who is in a relationship.

5 ABILITY TO STAY FOCUSED: How well does the speaker stay focused on the question asked? Do they drift off the subject or ramble in search of an answer? Do they stay on this planet and seem in touch with the audience? At least one speaker in a pair must be very focused.

6. ABILITY TO STAY COOL: Has the speaker ever had trouble maintaining a “safe learning environment” while in a stressful situation, or is there reason to believe they might lose their cool. In other words, does the speaker have a short fuse and/or hot buttons that might trigger a hostile reaction? Since maintaining a safe learning environment is extremely important, those speakers who might lose their cool are paired, whenever possible, with people who are both very calm themselves and also capable of taking control of any awkward situation that might occur.

7. APPEARANCE: What is the general appearance of the speaker and how have classes responded to it in the past? Several factors go into this: butch/femme, yuppie/trendy/earthy/nerdy, etc. High-school students are especially affected by appearance and often have trouble getting past it. Again, variety is ideal.

8. NEED FOR MORE SPEAKING TIME: All else being equal, does this person need to speak again for some reason? Do they need just a couple more speaking engagements in order to be considered an experienced speaker, or do they need to speak again soon in order to reinforce something they need to work on in their presentation?

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

Speakers about whom the schedulers have any reservations will generally not be sent to high schools – since both our effectiveness and the likelihood of our being asked back can be adversely effected by just one negative experience. And, since we have relatively few engagements in high schools (and they all require two speakers), being selective about the speakers we send is generally not a problem. College students (especially when the class is long enough to warrant a four-person panel) are usually much more open to extremes, much less quick to judge, and generally cut us more slack.

We also sometimes get special requests from teachers. A minority speaker, a speaker with an especially timely story (military personnel, for example), or a speaker who meets some special criterion (such as being young, being  a parent,  bisexual, or in a long-term relationship) may have more opportunities to speak. We try hard to give teachers what they want so they will continue to ask us back.


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