Rating Speakers, Control, and Context

I recently read Scott Berkun’s Confessions of a Public Speaker, and it got me thinking about speaker feedback. It was a timely read, as I’m (with a number of co-organizers) in the middle of preparations for WordCamp Boston this January.

How can we be sure the speakers we’ve accepted will deliver? How can we ensure they get the feedback they deserve (positive or negative)? Would using a site like SpeakerRate improve the situation?
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