Whether you are holding a charity event to raise funding or you are planning a community program to raise awareness, having the right speaker in place is one of the most important things you can do as a nonprofit organization. A speaker taking the stage to speak on your behalf who lacks the right skills could easily leave your listeners with a bad impression of your organization as a whole. This is one reason why hiring a professional speaker is a common route to take. If you have an event coming up and need a speaker, there are a few qualities you should be looking for in the most qualified professional. 

The speaker you choose must have strong storytelling skills. 

It may sound cliche, but the fact is, speakers who are good storytellers have the ability to connect with a crowd and engage their focus. Therefore, hire a speaker for your nonprofit organization who has the skills it takes to tell a good story. If you are considering a specific speaker, pull up some of their past engagements to get an idea of how well they tell a story when they speak. Make sure they are capable of organizing the spoken ideas in a clear, logical way. 

Choose a speaker who demands attention with their voice. 

The sound and pitch of a speaker's voice is actually crucial when you need to engage a large group of people. If the voice is too monotonous, the crowd will likely lose focus after the first few spoken sentences. If the person's voice is too high-pitched or low-keyed, some of the crowd may have a difficult time hearing what is being stated. The best public speakers have a clear, level voice that offers a range of tone and pitch depending upon the information being delivered. 

Go for a public speaker who has the ability to build an emotional connection with listeners. 

In a nonprofit setting, it is of absolute importance that the crowd can feel like they have a rapport with the speaker. The speaker needs to possess the ability to connect on an emotional level with your listeners, which is not a talent every speaker has. To test the skills of a specific speaker where building an emotional connection is concerned, offer them a pamphlet that tells what your organization is about, and then have them convey that same information back to you in their own words. If you feel like their concerns about your cause are legitimate, it is likely your crowd will as well.