When you successfully secure a prominent keynote speaker, organizers have every reason to celebrate. For many attendees, the speaker's name is often one of the main reasons they fill out the registration form. If the speaker cancels at the last minute, it hits the organizer in a particularly sensitive spot.
After all, a keynote is not just one of many presentations on the program. Whether it sets the tone for the entire conference at the start or provides a summary on the final day, speakers deliver ideas, surprise with inspiring thoughts, and share their often long-standing experience with the audience, sending them back to their daily lives feeling motivated. Without a keynote, the event would be like a book missing its introduction or conclusion. It might still be readable, but the content wouldn't feel truly cohesive.
It is quite similar, if not quite as drastic, for session presentations. Here, too, a speaker's absence leaves a gap in the program schedule, creating the risk of unnecessary downtime. The time could actually be used more productively, but now the participants have to kill time somehow—unless the organizers already have a brilliant backup plan.
Cancellations can never be ruled out
The risk of a cancellation is unfortunately part of every event. If organizers keep this in mind, they are already in a better position, as there is a silver lining to be found. While a cancellation is obviously unpleasant, the fact remains that you can plan for it from the start. This creates a little breathing room for an emergency that, hopefully, will never happen.
The speaker is not always responsible for the cancellation—for instance, they might have written the wrong date in their calendar, which has been known to happen. For those who make a living from conference appearances or wanted to use the talk to raise their profile in the scientific community, a cancellation is likely more than just uncomfortable. In addition to health issues, external factors are often to blame, such as adverse weather conditions, traffic jams, or strikes that bring (air) travel to a standstill. In any case, the audience is disappointed when the announced speaker does not show up.
In any case, the timing of the cancellation is crucial. If the speaker cancels a week in advance, there is still room to set Plan B in motion. If, however, you receive the call completely unexpectedly the day before, there is not much time left to think.
Think negatively!
You probably won't read advice like this very often. Normally, doom and gloom are not appropriate, but here it is exceptionally necessary to arrive at a solution in time. An emergency plan is essential for every event. And it helps to always assume the worst: The presentation cannot take place as scheduled in the program. If you think about how you would react if that were to happen, there will be significantly less panic later on. So, in the end, negative thinking has a positive effect.
The situation is not hopeless. Often, there is more than one solution to the problem. Just as theaters have understudies who step in when needed, substitute speakers can help out at conferences. Sometimes, professional keynote speakers can recommend a replacement themselves. But don't rely on that! It's better to ask in advance. Well-connected organizers might find someone on LinkedIn who can offer advice. Otherwise, contact agencies that represent speakers and inquire about options for a worst-case scenario. Organizers who have used an agency to book a speaker are on the safe side. Many agencies have established procedures and are prepared for speaker cancellations. Thanks to their network, their staff can find a replacement in an emergency. This topic should definitely be brought up when talking to the agency. Whether you use an agency or not, always make contractual agreements that specify what should happen if a presentation is cancelled. Among other things, it should be stated that the speaker will not receive a fee if the keynote cannot take place. This ensures that an unfortunate situation does not result in financial loss for the organizer. If you want additional peace of mind, you also have the option of taking out a special insurance policy.
Off to a great start!
If the cancellation affects the opening speech, it feels like the event is doomed. Fortunately, that's not entirely true. The start can still be a success, even if nothing goes according to plan at first. Therefore, the first rule is always: Stay calm!
Next, it helps to ask yourself if the presentation can still take place after all. If a flight is missed, it is sometimes possible to change the schedule at short notice by moving the next planned event forward and simply rescheduling the original presentation for later. If you provide all conference attendees with an app, it will help you distribute the changes quickly.
Another option is a video chat. The speaker is simply dialed in live via Skype, FaceTime, or Google Hangouts. This allows the presentation to take place despite the speaker's absence. Clarify with the speakers in advance whether this is fundamentally possible. This includes ensuring the speaker is familiar with the technology and can start the speech—if it has to be broadcast this way—without significant delay.
Multiple alternatives
If none of these options work as a keynote replacement, get help from others. Besides you and the participants, the sponsors should be particularly interested in the event being a success. Perhaps they can help with a speaker from their own ranks. However, this is more likely to be successful with very well-known sponsors.
Speakers who talk about their scientific work understandably cannot simply have someone else do it for them. The best substitute will not be able to give a presentation for someone who has been intensively studying a topic for months or years—except, of course, for the co-author of a submitted abstract.
If someone drops out during a session and no co-author is available, finding a solution is often less difficult. In such a case, give all other speakers more time for the subsequent discussion or let all presentations take place one after the other and offer the participants the opportunity to discuss everything heard in the session at the very end.
If no one can be found
Despite your best efforts, it can happen: there is no replacement in sight for a speaker who has dropped out. Finding someone at the last minute is no easy task, and sometimes it is truly impossible. While this is far from ideal, it doesn't mean the entire event is doomed. To avoid upsetting your attendees, just don't let the downtime pass by without a plan. That would be a valid reason for frustration, as the audience paid for the program.
You can fill the gap in the schedule, because after all, only the speaker is missing—everyone else is still there. The reverse would be much worse. So, you need a different approach. A logical step is to involve the attendees. Discussion or Q&A sessions with experts from the audience are likely to be interesting for everyone. Think of one or two topics in advance and ask a few participants with expert status if they would be willing to take part.
If the information from the cancelled presentation is important for the participants, ask the absent speaker for a handout that you can make available to the attendees using event management software.
Talk about it
Unforeseen things can always happen. This is particularly annoying when it involves a speaker you have been promoting for a long time. If it doesn't work out in the end, you can still count on an understanding audience. Provided you are honest and explain openly that the program cannot proceed exactly as planned and why. Participants have a right to know how it happened. Perhaps briefly mention what you did to try to solve the problem. Always apologize for the inconvenience and offer an alternative program item. Organizers who act this way will see significantly fewer disappointed faces than those who present conference attendees with a fait accompli.
