Deposits and Cancellation Policy

50% deposit of agreed fee is required upon confirmation of the booking. Balance of fee is required on or before date of program. If booking is less than 60 days in advance, 100% of fee is due upon booking. In the event of program cancellation, Mel Abraham will re-book program on a mutually convenient date with no penalty. If program is canceled by client and not rescheduled, deposit will be considered full and complete settlement.

Travel Expenses

All travel expenses to be reimbursed and provide a sleeping room at speaking venue direct billed to client.

Accommodations

Speaker accommodations should be billed direct to client.

Audio and Video Recording

Mel will allow recording if authorized in advance. Additional fees may apply depending on distribution and usage. Mel will receive copies of any and all footage of his sessions at an event. 

Addendum to agreement required related to distribution of any recording.

Books and Tapes

Educational support materials can be made available if there is a written agreement to do so between Mel H. Abraham and the client.

A/V, Stage and Green Room Requirements

1. For A/V: Countryman Headset (or similar brand headset) – sanitized
2. For A/V: Mel will bring his own laptop to run his PowerPoint. He needs
   power hookup for MacBook Pro on stage to run slides directly from Mel’s system.
3. Mel will need a small table on stage to place the laptop on. Not a podium – it needs to be a flat table – a small cocktail round table works great. (* If there is not an onsite A/V team please let us know.)
4. For Tech Check: Mel will want to do a complete run through of stage, slides and sound. (Preferably the day or night before)
5. For Green Room: Bottled Water & Hot green tea
6. For Stage: High Top Rounded with Bottled Water – No podium
7. For A/V: 2 Confidence Monitors that have the time counting down, the current slide and next slide (up and down) & notes (to right of slides)

Mel has discovered some ideas for room set up that will add to the quality of any meeting when applied. Positive, enthusiastic responses from the audience can be enhanced by using some of these room setup principles. Keep in mind, Mel does not require that you do any of these. We are adding them here for whatever value they may be to you, the meeting planner. If you have questions about any of them, please contact Mel or one of his representatives at 805.428.3331.

1. Use your own speaker sound system, rather than the speakers in the room ceiling. You will get much higher quality sound.
2. Use speakers in the front, middle and rear of the audience.
3. If recording, put microphones in the audience to pick up audience response. (Refer to Audio and Video Taping fees below)
4. Use additional light sources for presenter. Studies have proven that when the presenter is illuminated more than the audience, listeners can hear better and are less distracted.
5. Keep the front row as close to the stage as is possibly comfortable — six feet away where possible.
6. Do not overset the room. If you are planning on 200 people, set the room for 200 (or fewer), not 250. It is better to have every seat taken than large empty spots throughout the audience and an empty front row.
7. If the room is rectangular, set the stage area in the middle of the long wall — not on the short end. It is better to have an audience wide than deep.
8. Ask attendees to turn off phones and other possible alarms before beginning.
9. Use a dark backdrop — the face of the presenter is accentuated against it.
10. Use music in your program.
11. Use image magnification where appropriate.