Seminar & Speaker Module - Training Guide

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Katie Morris
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Welcome to ShowOff's Seminar and Speaker management system. This guide (based on a recent training webinar) will walk you through everything you need to build and manage your event's speaker profiles and session agenda - from your first import to advanced configurations.

What you'll learn:

  • How to add and organise speaker profiles
  • How to build and display your event agenda
  • How to create filtered views for different audiences
  • Best practices for efficient content management

Before you begin:

  • Log into the ShowOff back office
  • Have your speaker and session data ready (preferably in a spreadsheet)
  • Review our CSV templates (links in Additional Resources section)

View the training video

Part 1: Speaker Management

Getting Started with Speakers

Think of your speaker database as the foundation of your event content. You'll build this first, then connect these speakers to your sessions later.

Step 1: Adding Your First Speaker (Manual Method)

When to use this: Adding one or two speakers, or making quick updates during the event cycle.

How to do it:

  1. Navigate to Modules > Speakers
  2. Click Add New Speaker
  3. Complete the mandatory fields:
    • Speaker Code: A unique identifier (e.g., "SPEAK001" or "JS2025")
      • Why it matters: This code prevents duplicates and helps with imports later
    • First Name: Speaker's first name
    • Last Name: Speaker's last name
  4. Optional but recommended fields:
    • Email: For your records only (not displayed publicly)
    • Job Title: Appears under their name
    • Company: Their organisation
    • Description: Their biography or profile (essential for building SEO)
    • Social Profiles: LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. (these create clickable links on their profile)
  5. Click Save

What happens next: Your speaker will appear in the Modules > Speakers list and be available to assign to sessions.

Step 2: Adding Multiple Speakers (CSV Import Method)

When to use this: Adding 5+ speakers at once - this will save you significant time.

How to do it:

  1. Prepare your CSV file

    • Download the speaker import template from our Knowledge Base
    • Fill in your data using Excel or Google Sheets
    • Critical: Keep speaker codes unique (no two speakers can have the same code)
    • Save the file as CSV format (not XLSX)

    CSV Tips:

    • One row per speaker
    • Mandatory columns: Speaker Code, First Name, Last Name
    • Leave columns blank if you don't have the information yet
    • Use the exact column headers from our template
  2. Upload your file
    • Go to Modules > Speakers
    • Click More > Import
    • Click Choose File and select your CSV
    • Click Submit
  3. Map your data
    • You'll see a mapping screen showing your CSV columns on the right and ShowOff fields on the left
    • If you used our template, most fields will map automatically
    • Double-check each field is mapped correctly
    • For any field you don't want to import, select Ignore from the dropdown
    • Click Submit
  4. Import options
    • Add New: Use this for your first import or when adding brand new speakers
    • Update Existing: Use this when updating information for speakers already in the system
    • Add & Update: Use when your file contains both new speakers and updates to existing ones
    • Deactivate entries not in file: Check this if you want to hide any speakers not in your current CSV
  5. Preview and confirm
    • Review the preview of your data
    • Check the row count matches your expectations
    • Click Submit to complete the import

What happens next: All your speakers are now in the system and ready to be assigned to sessions or displayed on your website.

Displaying Your Speakers

Configuring Your Speaker Listing

Where to find this: Modules > Speakers > Scroll to Speaker List Options

This is where you control how visitors see your speakers on your website.

Essential Settings:

  1. Page Title & URL
    • Change "Speakers" to whatever suits your event (e.g., "Advisory Board," "Judges," "Expert Panel")
    • The URL will update automatically
  2. List Template (choose your layout)
    • Grid Squares: Traditional grid layout with square images
    • Grid Circles: Same as above but with circular images
    • Carousel Squares/Circles: Scrolling carousel format
    • Most common: Grid Squares for main listings, Carousel for homepage features
  3. Entries Per Page
    • Default: 10 speakers before pagination kicks in
    • Recommendation: Set to 20-50 for better user experience
  4. How Links Open
    • Direct: Opens speaker profile in a new page (better for SEO)
    • Modal: Opens in a pop-up overlay (cleaner user experience)

5. Order By

  • Most common: Last Name A-Z
  • Alternative: Random (good for homepage features so the same person isn't always first)

Display Options to Consider:

Under the same Speaker List Options section:

  • Show Company Logo: Toggle on/off
  • Show Job Title: Toggle on/off
  • Show Description: Toggle on/off
  • Layout Settings: Adjust how many speakers appear per row on different devices

Save your changes and view your live speaker page to see the results.

Adding Search and Filters

Why this matters: If you have more than 20 speakers, visitors need an easy way to find specific people.

How to add filters:

  1. Stay in Speaker List Options
  2. Find Filterable Fields section
  3. Enable these recommended filters:
    • Free Text: Allows visitors to search by name, company, or job title ✓ Always recommended
    • A-Z Filtering: Alphabetical quick links at the top of the page

What your visitors will see: A search box and/or alphabet links at the top of your speaker listing.

Creating Filtered Speaker Lists

Real-world example: You want to feature your 10 Advisory Board members on your homepage, but also show all 100 speakers on a separate page - without maintaining two separate databases.

Solution: Categories and filtered widgets

Step 1: Create a Category

  1. Go to Settings > Categories
  2. Click Add New Category
  3. Give it a Code (e.g., "100") and Label (e.g., "Speaker Type")
  4. Click Save
  5. Add selections to your category:
    • Click Add Category Selection
    • Code: "001", Label: "Advisory Board"
    • Click Add Category Selection again
    • Code: "002", Label: "General Speaker"
    • Continue for any other speaker types you need
  6. Assign the category:
    • Scroll to Assign To section
    • Select your website from the dropdown
    • Check the box next to Speakers
    • Click Save

Step 2: Tag Your Speakers

Option A: Tag individually

  1. Go to any speaker record
  2. Scroll to Speaker Options
  3. Click Advanced tab
  4. Select the appropriate category (e.g., "Advisory Board")
  5. Save

Option B: Tag in bulk via CSV

  1. Add a new column to your CSV called "Speaker Type"
  2. Enter the relevant category label "Advisory Board" or "General Speaker" for each row
  3. Import using Update Existing method
  4. When mapping, match your "Speaker Type" column to the category field
  5. Map the values (e.g., "Advisory Board" maps to "Advisory Board" in the system)

Step 3: Create a Filtered Widget

  1. Go to Pages
  2. Create a new page or edit an existing one (like your homepage)
  3. Add a Speaker Widget to the page
  4. In the widget settings, find Search and Filters
  5. Select your category filter (e.g., "Speaker Type: Advisory Board")
  6. Choose your display style (Carousel recommended for homepage)
  7. Insert and Save

Result: This page now shows only Advisory Board members. Your main speaker listing (without filters) still shows everyone.

Part 2: Seminar Management

Getting Started with Your Agenda/Programme

Your seminar module is where you build your programme. Before importing any sessions, you'll need to set up your organisational structure.

Step 1: Set Up Streams and Locations

What are these?

  • Streams (also called Tracks or Topics): Content themes like "Marketing," "Technology," "Leadership"
  • Locations: Physical venues like "Main Stage," "Room 201," "Exhibition Hall"

Why set these up first? When you import sessions, they need somewhere to be assigned. Setting these up now saves time later.

How to do it:

  1. Go to Modules > Seminars
  2. Click Streams and Locations

Adding Streams:

  1. Click Add Stream
  2. Enter stream name (e.g., "Marketing Track")
  3. Optional: Add a color (helps with visual identification) and/or upload an icon
  4. Click Save
  5. Repeat for all your streams

Adding Locations:

  1. Click Add Location
  2. Enter location name (e.g., "Main Stage")
  3. Optional: Add area grouping and color
  4. Click Save
  5. Repeat for all your locations

Pro tip: You can add sponsor logos to locations later for sponsored stages/rooms.

Step 2: Create Your Seminar Programme

  1. Go back to Modules > Seminars
  2. Click Add New Seminar Programme
  3. Give it a name (e.g., "2025 Conference Agenda")
  4. Click Save

You're now ready to add sessions.

Step 3: Adding Sessions

Method A: Add One Session Manually

When to use: Adding a single new session or making a quick update.

  1. From your programme, click Add New Session at the top
  2. Fill in the mandatory fields:
    • Session Title
    • Date
    • Start Time
    • End Time
    • Session Type:
      • Session = Standard clickable session (use this for most)
      • Break/Lunch = Greyed out, non-clickable placeholder
      • Keynote/Workshop = Styled differently for emphasis
  3. Optional but recommended:
    • Abstract: Short description (appears in listings)
    • Description: Full session details (appears on session page)
    • Stream: Select from your previously created streams
    • Location: Select from your previously created locations
  4. Assign People:
    • Chairperson: Click to select from your speaker list
    • Speakers: Click to select (can add multiple)
    • The order you add them is the order they'll appear on the website
  5. Click Save

Method B: Bulk Import Sessions via CSV

When to use: Adding your full agenda (5+ sessions).

Preparation:

  1. Download the seminar import template
  2. Fill in your session data in Excel/Google Sheets
  3. Critical columns:
    • Session Code (unique identifier)
    • Session Title
    • Date (format: DD/MM/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD)
    • Start Time (format: HH:MM)
    • End Time (format: HH:MM)
    • Stream (must match exactly what you created earlier)
    • Location (must match exactly what you created earlier)
    • Speaker Codes (use the speaker codes, NOT names)

Why use speaker codes instead of names? If you have two speakers named "John Smith," the system won't know which one you mean. Using codes like "SPEAK001" ensures accuracy.

For multiple speakers: Comma-separate the codes (e.g., "SPEAK001,SPEAK002,SPEAK003")

  1. Save as CSV

Import Process:

  1. Go to your programme
  2. Click More > Import
  3. Choose your CSV file
  4. Click Submit
  5. Select Add New (for first import) or Update Existing (for updates)
  6. Map your data:
    • Session Code → Entry Code
    • Session Title → Session Name
    • Date → Date
    • Start Time → Start Time
    • End Time → End Time
    • Stream → Stream
    • Location → Location
    • Speaker Codes → Speakers
    • Chairperson Code → Chairperson
  7. Map your streams and locations:
    • The system will show you what's in your CSV file
    • Match each one to the streams/locations you created
    • Example: "Marketing Track" in CSV = "Marketing Track" in system
  8. Preview your data
    • Check the row count
    • Scan through to spot any errors
    • Click Submit to complete

What happens next: All your sessions are now in the system, with speakers assigned and organized by stream/location.

Displaying Your Seminar/Conference Agenda

The problem: Without configuration, your agenda will appear as an unorganised list of sessions - not helpful for anyone.

The solution: Display settings that group and organize your content.

Essential Configuration

Where to find this: From your programme, scroll to Seminar Options at the bottom

Critical Settings:

  1. List Template (choose your agenda layout)
    • Table: Most common—shows sessions in a timetable format ✓ Recommended for main agenda
    • Calendar: Visual calendar grid
    • Columns: Vertical columns by day
    • List: Simple list view
    • Accordion: Collapsible sections
  2. Grouping (this is crucial)

Think of grouping like organizing a spreadsheet:

  • First Grouping = The main tabs visitors click through (usually Date)
  • Second Grouping = How sessions are organized within each tab (usually Start Time or Location)

Common configurations:

  • Date + Start Time: Creates day tabs with sessions organized by time slots ✓ Most popular
  • Date + Location: Creates day tabs with sessions organized by venue
  • Location + Start Time: Creates venue tabs with sessions organized by time

How to set this:

  1. Under Grouping, set Group 1 to Date
  2. Set Group 2 to Start Time
  3. Click Submit

What your visitors will see: Tabs for each day at the top, with sessions organized by time slot underneath.

  1. Entries Per Page
    • Set this HIGH (e.g., 500) to ensure all sessions display
    • Otherwise, sessions beyond the limit won't appear
  2. How Links Open
    • Direct: Opens session details in new page
    • Modal: Opens in pop-up overlay ✓ Most common
    • None: No click-through (useful for placeholder agendas early in the cycle)

Save your changes and view your agenda page.

Adding User Filters

Why this matters: Visitors need ways to find sessions relevant to them.

How to add filters:

  1. Stay in Seminar Options
  2. Find Filterable Fields
  3. Enable recommended filters:
    • Free Text: Search by session title, description, or speaker name ✓ Always recommended
    • Stream: Filter by topic/track ✓ Recommended
    • Location: Filter by venue ✓ Recommended
    • Speakers: Filter by specific speaker (only if you have <50 speakers)
    • Date: Usually not needed if you already grouped by date
  4. Click Submit

What your visitors will see: Filter dropdowns at the top of your agenda allowing them to narrow down sessions.

Custom Speaker Roles

Scenario: You need to add Moderators, Panellists, or Judges to sessions - roles that aren't in the default setup.

Solution: Custom Fields

Adding a New Speaker Role

  1. Go to your programme
  2. Click More > Custom Fields
  3. Click Create Custom Field
  4. Scroll down to Field Types
  5. Select Speakers (at the bottom of the list)
  6. Give it a name (e.g., "Moderator")
  7. Make it Mandatory? Usually "No" (not every session will have one)
  8. Click Save

What happens next:

  • When you edit any session, you'll now see a "Moderator" field
  • You can select a speaker from your database
  • That speaker will appear on the session page labeled as "Moderator"
  • You can add unlimited custom speaker roles this way

To reorder roles on the session page: Drag and drop the custom fields in the list to change the display order.

Linking Sessions to Exhibitors

Scenario: An exhibitor is presenting a session, and you want to cross-promote between their booth profile and their session.

Solution: Custom association field

Setting This Up

  1. Go to your programme
  2. Click More > Custom Fields
  3. Click Create Custom Field
  4. Scroll to bottom and select Custom Association
  5. Name it (e.g., "Presenting Company")
  6. Click Save
  7. Assign the field:
    • Edit any session
    • Scroll to bottom
    • You'll now see "Presenting Company" field
    • Select the exhibitor from your exhibitor database
    • Save

What this creates:

  • On the session page: Link to the exhibitor's booth profile
  • On the exhibitor profile: List of all sessions they're presenting
  • Visitors can easily navigate between related content

Part 3: Visual Customisation

Branding Your Streams

Add color-coding to help visitors quickly identify session topics.

  1. Go to Modules > Seminars > Streams and Locations
  2. Click into any stream
  3. Color Option 1: Click the color picker and select your brand color
  4. Color Option 2: Enter a hex code (e.g., #FF5733) from your brand guidelines
  5. Icon Option: Upload a custom icon instead of a colored dot
  6. Add a Description (appears on hover or in legend)
  7. Click Save

Result: Sessions in this stream will have a colored indicator or icon, making them visually distinct on your agenda.

Adding Sponsor Recognition

Scenario 1: Sponsored Stage/Location

  1. Go to Streams and Locations
  2. Click into the location
  3. Scroll to Sponsors
  4. Upload sponsor logo OR link to an existing exhibitor record
  5. Save

Result: Sponsor logo appears above that location's sessions in your agenda.

Scenario 2: Sponsored Session

  1. Edit the specific session
  2. Scroll to Sponsors section
  3. Upload logos or link to exhibitor records
  4. Save

Result: Sponsor logo appears on the session detail page.

Part 4: Creating Filtered Views

Use Case Examples

Example 1: Create a "Day 1 Only" Page

  • Create a new page
  • Add a Seminar Widget
  • Filter by Date = Day 1
  • Result: Visitors see only Day 1 sessions

Example 2: Create a "Main Stage Sessions" Page

  • Create a new page
  • Add a Seminar Widget
  • Filter by Location = Main Stage
  • Result: Visitors see only Main Stage sessions

Example 3: Create a "Marketing Track" Page

  • Create a new page
  • Add a Seminar Widget
  • Filter by Stream = Marketing Track
  • Result: Visitors see only marketing-related sessions

How to Create a Filtered Widget

  1. Go to Pages
  2. Create or edit a page
  3. Click to add content
  4. Search for and select Seminar Widget
  5. Select your programme
  6. Choose display settings (layout, grouping)
  7. Under Search and Filters:
    • Select the filter(s) you want to apply
    • Example: Location = Main Stage
  8. Click Insert
  9. Save the page

Result: This page will only display content matching your filter criteria, but all content remains in your central database.

Quick Reference Guide

Speaker Import Checklist

✅ Speaker codes are unique
✅ Mandatory fields filled: Code, First Name, Last Name
✅ File saved as CSV (not XLSX)
✅ Using our template with correct column headers

Seminar Import Checklist

✅ Streams and locations created BEFORE import
✅ Speakers imported BEFORE seminars
✅ Using speaker codes (not names) in CSV
✅ Dates formatted consistently (DD/MM/YYYY)
✅ Times in HH:MM format
✅ Session codes are unique
✅ Stream and location names match exactly what's in the system

Display Settings Checklist

Speakers: 
✅ List template chosen (grid/carousel)
✅ Entries per page set high enough
✅ Free text search enabled
✅ Link opening method selected (modal/direct)

Seminars:
✅ List template chosen (table most common)
✅ Grouping configured (Date + Start Time typical)
✅ Entries per page set to 500+
✅ Filterable fields enabled (free text, stream, location)
✅ Stream key/legend enabled

Best Practices

Import Workflow

Recommended Order:

  1. Set up streams and locations
  2. Import speakers
  3. Import seminars
  4. Configure display settings
  5. Add categories/filters as needed

Maintaining Your Data

During the event cycle, use "Update Existing":

  • When speaker details change
  • When session times shift
  • When adding/removing speakers from sessions

Use "Add New":

  • When adding completely new speakers/sessions
  • For your initial import

The "Deactivate entries not in file" option:

  • ✓ Use this if your CSV is the complete, current list
  • ✗ Don't use this if you're only updating a subset of records

Avoiding Common Errors

❌ Don't import seminars before speakers exist
❌ Don't use speaker names in CSV (use codes)
❌ Don't forget to set grouping (agenda will look unorganized)
❌ Don't set entries per page too low (sessions won't appear)
❌ Don't use XLSX format (must be CSV)

✅ Do preview your import before submitting
✅ Do check row counts match expectations
✅ Do use unique codes for all records
✅ Do test on the live site after major changes

Troubleshooting

"My speaker isn't appearing in the session assignment list"

Cause: The speaker is marked as inactive
Solution: Go to Modules > Speakers, find the speaker, click Edit, and ensure they're set to Active

"My sessions are all showing in one long list"

Cause: Grouping isn't configured
Solution: Go to Seminar Options > Grouping and set Group 1 to Date, Group 2 to Start Time

"Not all my sessions are displaying"

Cause: Entries per page is set too low
Solution: Go to Seminar Options and set Entries Per Page to 500 or higher

"My CSV import failed"

Common causes:

  • File is XLSX instead of CSV
  • Speaker codes in seminar CSV don't match existing speaker records
  • Stream/location names don't match exactly
  • Mandatory fields are missing

Solution: Check the error message, correct the file, and try again

"I have two speakers with the same name"

Solution: This is why speaker codes exist. Always use codes in imports to distinguish between them.

Next Steps

Getting Started

  1. ✅ Download CSV templates from Knowledge Base
  2. ✅ Prepare your speaker data
  3. ✅ Import speakers
  4. ✅ Set up streams and locations
  5. ✅ Prepare session data with speaker codes
  6. ✅ Import sessions
  7. ✅ Configure display settings
  8. ✅ Test on live site

Appendix: Common Configurations

Homepage Featured Speakers

  • Widget: Speaker Carousel
  • Filter: Category = Advisory Board (or Featured)
  • Entries: 10-20
  • Link Style: Modal

Full Speaker Listing

  • Layout: Grid Squares
  • Order: Last Name A-Z
  • Filters: Free Text, A-Z
  • Entries per page: 20-50
  • Link Style: Modal

Main Event Agenda

  • Template: Table
  • Grouping: Date + Start Time
  • Filters: Free Text, Stream, Location
  • Entries per page: 500
  • Link Style: Modal
  • Stream Key: Enabled

Filtered Location Page

  • Widget: Seminar Table
  • Grouping: Date + Start Time
  • Filter: Location = [Specific venue]
  • No additional filters needed (already filtered)

View the Recording

For questions about this guide or your specific implementation, contact your ASP account manager.

 
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