Executive Assistant Support for Keynotes and Media

Executives, startup founders, public figures, and other high-net-worth individuals often find themselves in speaking engagements and media interviews to enhance their brand visibility or boost their organization’s reputation. The engagements can be anything, from delivering a keynote at an industry conference to appearing on a podcast.

Though such appearances may last only a few minutes or an hour, the preparation behind them is extensive and spans several days or weeks. 

An EA helps manage keynote preparations and media interviews by coordinating the executive’s schedule, researching, and preparing brief notes, among other tasks.

This article covers executive assistant keynote and media support, including how EAs follow up after events. Additionally, it distinguishes which tasks should remain solely the executive’s responsibility.

TL;DR: How Can an EA Help Manage Keynote Prep and Media Interviews?

An EA helps their executive streamline every stage of keynote presentations and media interviews by undertaking the following tasks:

1. Coordinating calendar appointments
2. Managing communications with stakeholders
3. Preparing briefing materials
4. Managing presentation decks
5. Coordinating travel and event logistics

Executives supported by experienced EAs are positioned to approach every event appearance with confidence and adequate preparation.

Why Keynote Prep and Media Interviews Create More Work Than Executives Expect

Making a keynote speech may seem like a brief presentation, and a media interview may seem like a brief conversation. However, this is not the case. Every time an executive commits to engaging in such public appearances, they have to contend with dozens of interconnected tasks that require careful coordination.

Some of the prep work for a keynote speech includes:

• Reviewing Audience Demographics: Executives must break down their audience composition, as this dictates how they approach their speeches. They also need to personalize their speeches to their target audience, which adds research-related workload. For example, if an executive is presenting before a panel of experts in their field, they are free to use industry-specific terminology. On the other hand, if the audience is the general public, it would be vital for the executive to write a speech in simple language, without jargon, so the audience can understand.
• Understanding Conference Themes: Executives must align their keynote speeches or podcast talks with an event’s topic(s). This may mean additional workload if they are presenting at multiple conferences. Additionally, they may need to prepare for questions from moderators, journalists, or audience members.
• Coordinating Audiovisual Requirements: Executives may need to create presentation slides and other media for their keynote speeches, which can take several hours. 
• Managing Travel Schedules: Executives often attend conferences across state lines or even overseas, which adds complexity to their logistics and travel coordination. This includes booking hotels and flights, and coordinating on-ground transport.
• Scheduling Rehearsals: Despite the tight schedules that busy executives face, they still have to find time to rehearse their speeches. This adds to their schedule, reducing the available time for strategic tasks.

How an EA Manages Keynote and Media Interview Preparation

Even small errors in any of the prep work highlighted above can increase the executive’s workload, requiring them to rework their keynote speech or podcast talking points. 

This is why busy executives may hire an executive assistant to coordinate these tasks, allowing them to focus on rehearsals alongside their day-to-day strategic work.

Below are common executive assistant tasks during keynote and media interview preparation:

1. Calendar Coordination

An EA maintains tight control over the calendar to ensure preparations for speaking events do not overshadow daily operations. They also coordinate several tasks, including attending event-organizer meetings, planning rehearsals, and attending media briefings.

Reddit user CB-Sweet3107 explains what it takes to manage a busy executive’s schedule, stating:

“I’m an EA to a hospital CEO, and that is exactly the kind of stuff we do in our system. It’s heavy on meeting schedules and meeting prep. I help prepare presentations as well as basic coordination for events and meetings. Maintenance requests and other things to help keep things running smoothly in the hospital as well.”

2. Communication Management 

The EA coordinates and plans the executive’s schedule, including communicating with conference organizers, journalists, and executive leadership. 

As the executive’s primary contact point, an EA does the following:

• Confirms event deadlines
• Collects required documents
• Follows up on missing event-related information
• Coordinates with relevant stakeholders and updates the executive when necessary

3. Preparing Executive Briefing Materials

The EA researches the upcoming event(s) and presents briefing packets to the executive. 

Some of the tasks the EA performs include:

• Researching the audience profile
• Reviewing the event’s agenda
• Conducting background checks on key attendees
• Identifying interview objectives

4. Presentation Management

Presentation decks often undergo multiple revisions before an event. The EA is usually responsible for proofreading, editing, and formatting the keynote slides to ensure they are free of grammatical and punctuation errors. 

Additionally, the EA ensures the presentations align with the executive’s tone or brand theme. Reddit user irishsaints23 made similar observations in a thread about preparing presentations for the executive:

“One piece of advice is to get to know your exec’s writing and presentation style. To a certain degree, memos and presentations in PPT or Excel can all be a little bit “pro forma”, but if you’re preparing them for your executive in particular, they’ll have a certain style and way of writing that will be important to get to know and understand…”

Lastly, the EA ensures event organizers receive the correct presentation version before the submission deadline while maintaining backup copies for contingency planning.

5. Coordinating Travel and Event Logistics

Travel disruptions can quickly derail an executive’s plans before an event and create unnecessary stress. To prevent this outcome, an EA oversees end-to-end executive travel coordination, including flight reservations, hotel accommodations, ground transportation, registration details, emergency contacts, and weather considerations.

Reddit user SignificanceWise2877 provides an example of what EAs do when making travel arrangements, stating:

“When my exec travels, I call the hotel to let them know what to expect and what we need in the room, make sure there’s nothing going on in the city I don’t know about (traffic/event) that would impede normal drive times or cause more traffic, make sure there’s no construction going on at the hotel, etc., etc.”

The right EA owns keynotes and media workflows, allowing the executive to focus on their strategic tasks, including rehearsing for upcoming presentations.

ProAssisting partners executives with EAs with experience supporting C-suites to prepare for keynote speeches and media interviews in reputable brands, such as Pandora, Oracle, and Comcast. Additionally, the agency offers customizable support, allowing executives to use ⅓, ½, or ⅔ of an EA’s capacity, depending on their workload and the level of support they need when preparing for keynotes and media.

Schedule a no-obligation call to explore available executive support options for conference and media coordination.

How an EA Handles Post-Appearance Follow-Up

An EA’s job does not end after the executive presents the keynote speech or appears on the podcast. Exceptional EAs understand that post-event coordination helps give the executive’s presentation long-term value to the business.

Some of the follow-up activities an EA handles include:

• Collecting Event Assets: The EA gathers video recordings, event photos, presentation files, audience feedback, attendance metrics, and press coverage from the organizers and stores them in the cloud. These materials will be valuable for future marketing, sales, or internal communications.
• Sending ‘Thank You’ Messages: The EA drafts and sends personalized thank-you messages to event organizers, conference hosts, journalists, podcast hosts, production teams, and internal stakeholders. Such messages help strengthen professional relationships, creating opportunities for future engagements and partnerships.
• Internal Distribution: The EA shares the key takeaways of relevant conferences or interviews with the rest of the company. They also distribute customer feedback and interview recordings, ensuring the entire organization benefits from the executive’s attendance and the insights they gained. 
• Updating Speaking Records: The EA tracks past speaking engagements, media appearances, audience sizes, topics presented, conference contracts, and future opportunities to help the executive maintain an ongoing record of all the events they attend.

What the Executive Should Still Own

An EA can provide extensive support when preparing for speeches and interviews. However, certain responsibilities should remain the exclusive domain of the executive, especially if they affect the company’s strategy and goals. 

The tasks include:

• Vision and Strategic Messaging: It is the executive’s responsibility to develop the agenda for the keynote speech or media interview. This includes determining how much of the company’s proprietary information or strategy they are willing to disclose.
• Personal Stories and Experiences: Including personal anecdotes and business experiences in a speech is one of the best ways of maintaining an audience’s attention. However, for such stories to resonate with attendees, they have to be genuine, not something an EA came up with or heard elsewhere, hence the reason why the executive has to decide what to share.
• Final Approval of Presentations: Once the EA completes slide formatting and refines audio and visuals, they pass the presentations to an executive for final sign-off. The executive should decide whether the presentation aligns with their vision or needs rework.
• Relationship-Building during Events: It should be the executive’s responsibility to interact and network with other contributors and attendees at conferences and podcasts. The EA may only help with future relationship management through email correspondence and follow-up.

What Sets Premium Keynote and Media Support Apart

The difference between an executive who prepares for a podcast appearance weeks in advance and another who scrambles for discussion points a few hours before recording comes down to the quality of support they receive.

Elite EAs coordinate the preparation process, including streamlining schedules and creating briefing notes, ensuring their executives are well-prepared for the interviews.

Some of the ways an EA can offer premium keynote and media support include:

• Developing Repeatable Systems: Experienced EAs maintain a database with speaker biographies, approved executive headshots, presentation templates, travel preferences, and historical records of past engagements. This improves operational efficiency and saves time by ensuring the EA does not start from scratch for every event.
• Stakeholder Management: An experienced EA understands that conference organizers, journalists, PR teams, and internal leadership have competing priorities. They coordinate scheduling with event organizers, shielding the executive from unnecessary back-and-forth. 
• Proactive Risk Management: An experienced EA identifies potential issues before they become problems. That means taking measures such as keeping backup files in case the files presented to event organizers are corrupted and preparing contingency travel plans in case of canceled flights.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Below are answers to common questions about executive assistant support for keynotes and media:

What Is the Difference Between an Executive Assistant and a Publicist?

An EA primarily manages an executive’s preparation for keynote speeches and media interviews, including coordinating schedules, organizing travel, and preparing briefing materials.

In contrast, a publicist manages the executive’s brand and public image, including exploring opportunities for media interviews and podcast appearances.

How Quickly Can an Executive Assistant Take Over Speaking and Media Logistics?

It depends on the executive’s existing workflows, the complexity of their upcoming engagements, and the EA’s skills and experience.

Executives with well-established workflows and standard operating procedures often allow the EA to settle into the role quickly, usually within a few weeks. Additionally, EAs with experience coordinating speaking and media logistics can learn the existing workflows quickly and own them, reducing the executive’s workload.  

Does an Executive Assistant Need Media or PR Experience?

No. An EA doesn’t need media or PR experience to provide keynote and media support. This is because most of their tasks mainly require administrative, operational, and strategic management skills.

Instead, what matters most is their ability to understand your positioning, conduct thorough research, build systematic workflows, and manage relationships.

How Do Executive Assistants Keep Media and Event Details Confidential?

Executive assistants manage confidential information during keynote speeches and media interviews by limiting information sharing to a need-to-know basis, using approved communication channels, implementing end-to-end encryption, and using VPNs. 

In terms of physical security, they use locked cabinets to store sensitive documents and use shredders to destroy outdated files.

Conclusion

Conferences and media engagements require extensive preparation, which increases the executive’s workload.

Executive assistants can coordinate preparation workflows by handling logistics, managing communications, preparing briefing materials, and overseeing post-event follow-up.

ProAssisting offers executive assistants with 5+ years of experience supporting busy C-suites, including coordinating speeches and media logistics.

The ProAssistants have the right balance of hard and soft skills, allowing them to undertake tasks like stakeholder relationship management, which have a strategic impact on their executives’ performance.

Schedule a call to learn how ProAssistants support executives overwhelmed by workloads and lack support for administrative tasks.