Kristin Shoop's Top 5 Sessionboard Features For Seamless Speaker and Session Management

About This Session

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Want to streamline event content management and improve speaker communications?

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Kristin Shoop, Events and Professional Development Manager, shares her top five favorite Sessionboard features that have transformed their event planning.

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In this session you will learn about:

-How to optimize the Call For Content

-Managing complex submission reviews with ease-Centralizing speaker resources and deliverables

-Scaling communications across your speaker file

-Increasing professionalism with speakers and your community

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From rubrics for fair evaluations to automated speaker updates and resource sharing, get an exclusive look at how to make the most of Sessionboard for your events - all while saving time and enhancing speaker experience.

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Transcript

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Bryan Funk [00:00:00]

I'm so excited to have the wonderful, talented, brilliant Kristin Shoop on board with us here today to dive into her favorite Sessionboard features.

Kristin, welcome back. Excited to have you.

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Kristin Shoop [00:00:30]

Oh my gosh, Bryan, I'm so excited to be here. I’m a super fan of Sessionboard because it has literally changed my process and my life. I'm delighted to share that today. Thank you for having me.

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Bryan Funk [00:00:45]

Thank you for giving your time here. Before we kick off, can you just let us know two things? One, congratulations on your exciting career transition. Tell us a little bit about where you’ve been and where you're at professionally. And then I’d love to start with a picture of what your life looked like before Sessionboard. What were the key pain points and challenges?

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Kristin Shoop [00:01:15]

Was there a life before Sessionboard? That’s the question! Thank you. I’ve been in event planning, event management, and meetings for most of my 25-year career—working with speakers and content. This is really meaningful to me. I actually just came from a meeting planner organization’s quarterly meeting this morning, and we talked about speaker management. It’s such a critical part of anyone’s process—whether you’re a meeting planner or responsible for bringing speakers onboard and preparing them to present. It's all scalable, no matter your level of involvement.

Most recently, I had the amazing opportunity to work with the Society for Editing (ACES). I took their process, which worked, and then found Sessionboard. It was a wonderful experience bringing them through it and finding new ways to use Sessionboard to continue improving efficiency and scale it into other organizational objectives.

Pre-Sessionboard, I was a Google Docs girl. It worked because it was shareable and updated in real-time. A speaker would submit a session, we’d drop it into Google Docs, and the whole team would manage it from there—including evaluators. But my big challenge was scaling the process with speakers. How do I scale communication, resources, and scheduling?

Speakers received tons of emails from me. That was my only tool. I could deliver documents and information, but I didn’t have a centralized place where everything lived. With Sessionboard, everything is centralized, and speakers can tap in at their convenience to get what they need. After I did the demo, I thought, “Holy smokes, this is it.”

Not only did it centralize my communication, but it allowed me to be a more effective and efficient shepherd for my speakers. You want to onboard your speakers in a thoughtful and nurturing way to build a connection throughout the planning process. That connection makes all the difference when they step on stage.

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Bryan Funk [00:05:00]

Your event’s success starts from that first touchpoint with speakers—through your call for content or call for speakers. You're setting expectations for a high-quality experience that positions your speakers for success. It’s part marketing, part enablement. I love your ethos around putting speakers at the center of your work.

Let’s dive into your speaker and content management motion. Let's start with the foundation: the call for sessions. Walk us through how you're using Sessionboard to run an effective call for content.

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Kristin Shoop [00:06:00]

I use Sessionboard from the very beginning—the call for sessions—all the way through to post-event evaluations. It’s a first-stop and last-stop platform.

When launching the call for sessions, it's important to clearly communicate what you're looking for in a speaker. Be transparent about your event’s objectives, audience expectations, and your organization's mission and culture. That gives potential speakers the context to tailor their approach.

I also outline the topic areas and include levels—introductory, intermediate, advanced. Define each clearly so submitters understand the expectations. Then, ask for a session title, description, bio, headshot, and three bullet-point learning objectives. Bullet points keep responses digestible and help evaluate alignment with the session description.

Sessionboard lets me organize and sort submissions easily. I can track which topic areas are being covered and which levels. If I notice 90% of proposals are only covering one area, I can proactively market the call for sessions to bring in more diversity.

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Bryan Funk [00:11:00]

So you're streamlining submissions and using the process to align speakers to your event’s goals and track data about topics and experience levels. Are there any other helpful data points you like to collect?

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Kristin Shoop [00:11:30]

Yes! I ask for LinkedIn profiles and share expectations around our processes—like accessibility, equity, or DEI initiatives. Being upfront avoids surprises later. I also provide high-level milestones so speakers know when deliverables are due.

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Bryan Funk [00:14:00]

Let’s move into your evaluation and review process. How do you manage that in Sessionboard?

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Kristin Shoop [00:14:15]

First, I send a thank-you email to all who submitted—letting them know we received their session, when they can expect to hear back, and what the process looks like.

We use Sessionboard to create an evaluation plan. Everything’s already in the system—no spreadsheets. Evaluators are assigned within Sessionboard and can review sessions using a numerical rubric. We use blind reviews to focus on content. Evaluators assess title, description, learning objectives, and relevance to our audience.

Sessionboard lets us assign evaluators specific topics or groups of sessions to reduce overwhelm. The rubric ensures consistency and alignment with event goals. I prefer a 1-5 numerical scale to allow for granularity—4.13 vs. 4.36 helps with tough decisions. Evaluators can also leave comments for qualitative insight.

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Bryan Funk [00:20:00]

And for panels, you do a second round of reviews with speaker info revealed, right?

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Kristin Shoop [00:20:15]

Yes! For panels, the value is in the speakers, so we reveal bios, titles, and affiliations to evaluate the panel’s composition. Content still matters, but speaker context is essential for panels.

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Bryan Funk [00:21:00]

What’s your preferred rubric scale?

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Kristin Shoop [00:21:15]

I use a 1–5 scale. A 1–3 doesn’t give enough range. With so many great sessions, the broader range helps differentiate. And since evaluators rate each rubric section, final scores aren’t usually whole numbers—they’re 4.16, 3.79, etc. It really helps.

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Bryan Funk [00:22:00]

Once your review is complete, how do you build your agenda in Sessionboard?

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Kristin Shoop [00:22:15]

The agenda builder is my favorite feature. You can drag and drop sessions onto a visual calendar. Each track is color-coded, so you can easily see diversity across time slots—introductory vs. advanced, different topic areas, etc. It helps prevent double bookings and visualizes balance across the program.

You can also annotate speaker preferences—like avoiding Thursday at 1 PM—and honor them easily. It’s incredibly helpful for managing concurrent sessions and creating a program attendees will love.

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Bryan Funk [00:27:00]

Let’s shift to speaker communication. How do you use Sessionboard to keep speakers informed and on track?

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Kristin Shoop [00:27:15]

The email functionality is incredible. You can email speakers at the session or individual level. I use templates to keep things consistent and branded—adding banners and logos to match the event.

Emails are personalized with merge tags: “Hi Bryan, your session titled 'How to Use Sessionboard' has been accepted.” It pulls from the speaker’s data so it’s accurate and personal. I also create a general update template for ongoing communications with clear subject lines for easy search.

You can email all speakers with one click—or exclude specific people if needed. You can also include executive assistants or admins.

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Bryan Funk [00:34:00]

Let’s talk about the speaker portal. How do you use it to deliver resources and support speakers?

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Kristin Shoop [00:34:15]

The portal is a game changer. Once speakers are accepted, I move them into a private speaker portal. Only accepted speakers can access it, and I upload all assets there—PowerPoint templates, social tiles, accessibility guides, orientation recordings, slide decks, chat transcripts, etc.

Anything helpful—guides, deadlines, how-to resources—goes into the portal. It’s a one-stop shop. I even upload a copy of the acceptance email for easy reference.

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Bryan Funk [00:39:00]

How do you handle missed deadlines?

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Kristin Shoop [00:39:15]

I set calendar reminders to follow up. Sessionboard lets you see who submitted what and target only those who are missing deliverables. After the deadline, the task locks, and they must email me to reopen it—adding accountability. Most people don’t want to miss the deadline!

I send one reminder post-deadline and follow up individually as needed. You can be flexible while still maintaining structure.

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Bryan Funk [00:41:00]

Let’s wrap with integrations. How do you use Sessionboard with other tools?

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Kristin Shoop [00:41:15]

Even without a direct API, it’s easy. Data exports cleanly into Excel and uploads into other platforms. It saves so much time. The data is clean, and there are safeguards to prevent issues like wrong file types or sizes.

We used Sessionboard for content upload and speaker review. It controlled file sizes, formats, and deadlines. I always knew who submitted what.

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Bryan Funk [00:45:00]

And we’re always adding new integrations—like our recent partnership with Ingo to make it easier for speakers to promote their sessions on social.

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Kristin Shoop [00:45:30]

That’s awesome. And I have to give a shoutout to your support team. Jasmine and Katrina are exceptional. They adapt to your learning style and provide the kind of support that makes implementation smooth and enjoyable.

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Bryan Funk [00:47:00]

Any advice for others onboarding Sessionboard?

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Kristin Shoop [00:47:15]

Ask questions. Play in the sandbox. Pretend you’re a speaker and test the experience. Be clear on your goals and lean on Sessionboard’s team—they’ll help you find ways to meet your needs.

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Bryan Funk [00:49:00]

Feedback is welcomed. Your feedback helps us build better tools.

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Kristin Shoop [00:49:15]

Sessionboard has truly transformed how I work as a meeting planner. It saves hours and makes the process more fun and engaging. I’m really grateful.

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Bryan Funk [00:50:00]

Thanks, Kristin, for your time and wisdom. Congratulations on all your success!

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