In order to better acquaint prospective speakers with WBOC, we would like to offer the following information.

Our membership is made up of small and medium-sized enterprises. Seventy percent have fewer than five staff – most have just one or two employees. About half of our members have established businesses over five years old; the other half are involved in start-up businesses.

We have approximately 200 members, of whom 95% are women. Eighty percent are expatriates. Sixty percent of our members run sole proprietorships, while 40% have limited companies. Similarly, 60% provide services and the other 40% are traders and/or manufacturers. Our seminars are open to all and we usually have 60 to 80 participants at each event.

In order to ensure that the seminar runs smoothly, please take note of the following guidelines:

• Please provide the organiser with an outline of your talk together with a short bio (about five lines). This will enable the organiser to prepare a flyer for the event. We need to have this information at least six weeks in advance in order to promote the seminar to our members and guests.
• As WBOC is a non-profit organisation, we appreciate that all speakers present on an honorary basis. Of course attendance is free of charge for the speakers (including food / drinks for the seminar).
• We have three or four speakers for an evening seminar; one or two speakers for a luncheon seminar. You will be advised before the event who the other speakers are and what they will talk about, to ensure that speakers complement one another.
• The speakers will be introduced to the audience by the organiser just before their talk. If you have not already given a bio to the organiser, please be sure to bring one on the evening.

• There will be a five-minute break between each speaker. After all the speakers have finished, we ask that the speakers form a panel for a Question-and-Answer session.
• Speeches should be business-focused, informative and educational. While speaking at a WBOC seminar is a great way to indirectly market your product or service, speeches should not be a sales pitch.
• Please remember that all of our topics are targeted at small businesses and not multinational companies.
• Each speaker has 20 minutes. The organiser will signal to you when your time is almost up. Please keep your talk within this timeframe.
• We have found that, in most cases, speakers who use a visual aid such as a PowerPoint presentation are more effective. We would therefore encourage you to include visual aids in your talk.
• A one-page handout noting the highlights of your talk will be much appreciated by the audience. The organiser will let you know the day before the event the approximate number of copies you need to make for the audience. About 60% of the members and guests register a few days before the event.
• Please feel free to distribute brochures or other information about your business.

Once again we would like to express our appreciation to you for agreeing to be a speaker at a WBOC event.