The Effectiveness of a Focused Script

Your event script is one of the best tools to achieve the goals of a committed, connected and engaged audience of supporters. When you build your script carefully to give award honorees clear speaking guidelines and focus your emcee on the business of keeping your event on time and on track, the likelihood of success and enjoyment increases dramatically.

The Center for Women’s Leadership’s annual Power Lunch, an influence-packed room full of advocates at the Portland Art Museum, isn’t the kind of event that can go off-script without the potential of taking more time than this audience full of busy leaders has to give. Since it happens during the lunch hour, the success of the event depends on a commitment from the emcee and every speaker to keep their talking points brief, thoughtful and to the point. A well-vetted and intentional script makes this possible.

The 2017 Power Lunch was no exception. Helmed by our wonderful emcee Judge Adrienne Nelson, who has flawless instincts from the stage, the script was an important tool to execute a flawless, heartfelt and on-time event. Writing the script to the sentence level helped insure we’d actually crafted a 60-minute program. Executive Director Traci Rossi talking points on the importance of a leader’s “seat at the table” set the theme that helped honorees and special guests also share their commitment to having a seat and providing mentorship to others. Working with honorees in advance to stay on time and on message, each woman CWL honored spoke briefly and compellingly about how her personal mission aligns with the larger mission to support women leaders at the Center.

A strong script took the guess work out of producing a strong event despite welcoming many speakers to stage. At this year’s Power Lunch, we produced a lunchtime event that was mission-focused and impactful—exactly the “hour of power” we hoped it would be!

Photos by Tom Cook