Alison Henderson, middle, says the best speakers exude high energy while maintaining their authenticity.

As the corporate and incentive meetings and events industry becomes ever more competitive for attendees’ attention, the winners will be those who deliver a memorable, engaging experience. And one way to do that is by featuring energizing and meaningful keynote speakers who capture the attendees’ attention and make long-lasting impressions. But for many meeting and event planners, that is simply easier said than done. Identifying and finding the ideal keynote speaker requires due diligence and a keen understanding of what would resonate with meeting and event attendees.

Chuck Underwood, founder of the Generational Imperative and keynote speaker who has been in the speaker circuit for more than two decades, says if a meeting planner is looking for an opening keynote, they need to determine if the keynoter’s content is so powerful that it influences all subsequent breakout sessions. “If the planner seeks a closing keynote, will the keynoter’s topic send the audience out the door energized and eager to share the content with family, friends, coworkers and customers? And, importantly, will they leave with especially positive memories about attending the conference?” Underwood asks. “Is the topic fresh, or is it beaten to death? In these unique times, with people stuck at home for so long due to COVID-19 restrictions and also exhausted with politics, audiences are tired of ‘talking heads’ on politics and government. Don’t book a ‘talking head’ for a keynote unless their presentation is very directly relevant to the conference theme. The celebrity appeal of TV talking heads has worn down dramatically.”

It’s also important to note that audience members are discouraged, fatigued and beaten down due to the current environment. So, is the keynote topic an upbeat celebration of “good?” Is it optimistic, enthusiastic, and will it make audience members feel better about themselves and their nation? Does a speaker’s topic focus on the audience or on themselves? “If a keynoter showcases the audience, everyone wins,” Underwood says.

Courtney Lutkus, meeting planner at Simply Radiant Events, says a great keynote speaker has an engaging personality who knows his or her audience. They know how to get to the heart of the topic and relate to the guest attendees. “When a planner is exploring the topic for the event for their client, they first need to speak with their client to discuss potential speakers who are well known and closely tied to their topic,” Lutkus says. “Especially with virtual events — it is vital to have a speaker providing the value based on the event topic.”

Veteran speaker Chuck Underwood advises looking for a speaker with powerful content.

Selection Criteria

Alison Henderson, presentation consultant at Moving Image Consulting, says a great keynote speaker should ask questions of the audience, incorporate activities and audience involvement, and provide a balance of information with action steps or “how to’s” for the audience to take away. “The most entertaining keynote speakers are high energy, while maintaining their authenticity. They blend stories with facts and takeaways,” Henderson says. “They don’t use notes or rely on slides.” Before identifying the ideal keynote speaker, meeting planners need to get to know their audience. Talk with as many people in the target industry as possible. Ask them who they follow on social media, who they read and who they have seen at other conferences that they really liked. “You don’t necessarily want to repeat speakers, but you can watch their reels and get a sense for the style your audience prefers,” Henderson says. Will they prefer more entertainment over content, or are they looking for more information than inspiration? Survey the key stakeholders within the organization for what they want and what they have used in previous years. Keynote speakers can be informational, inspirational, comedic or entertainers.

For Teri Awwad, executive director, planning and meeting technology at Event Travel Management, hiring a speaker is similar to hiring a new employee. Speakers need to be thoroughly interviewed with questions positioned around cultural alignment, experiences, and how those experiences have catapulted them to the stage and to be deemed an expert. “You also need to ask what situations they work well under and which don’t work well — short timelines, technology challenges, etc.,” Awwad says. “The best speakers are willing to take the additional time to craft and mold their topic to deliverable, meaningful, inspiring content. Some say they will, but don’t deliver. Your speaker interview needs to drill down on examples, and you need to seek references.”

Underwood says the choice of speaker should depend in part on the event: Will there be just one speaker, for example, at a banquet? Or a kickoff keynote for a day-long or multi-day conference of multiple speakers and sessions? Is it a “live” or “virtual” meeting? Also, is the audience’s demographic makeup relatively homogeneous or is it varied in age, gender, ethnicity, education level, income and so on? If the audience is demographically varied, select a speaker and topic that will include absolutely everyone. If it is a paid-admission conference, do you feel you need a celebrity keynoter in order to drive paid attendance? “And remember, be cautious with celebrities. If they don’t have a long track record of excellent speaking every single time, they can blow up your whole event,” Underwood says. And finally, do you want your opening keynote speaker to deliver content that will create fresh insights — and be referred to by participants — in the subsequent sessions at your conference? The closing keynote is the attendees’ final “taste” of the event. What do you want them to think and feel about your conference for the following week?

Shane Feldman suggests planners look for speakers who have the “three Rs:” relevance, reliability and relatability.

Making An Impact

Keynote speaker and founder of the Count Me In Movement, Shane Feldman, has traveled the globe researching leadership and human behavior across 28 countries. Feldman’s reputation as a speaker is built on his energetic stage presence, skilled storytelling, and his practical takeaways. Because of his extensive speaking experience, Feldman has identified three key attributes meeting professionals should look for in a keynote speaker that is guaranteed to rock any physical or virtual stage. “It’s easy to find speakers with great stories, charisma and perfectly sculpted biographies. How do you filter through the noise and find keynotes who will ‘wow’ your audience and make you look good in front of the board? “As an event producer, who has hired more than 100 speakers over the years, and as a keynote speaker myself, I use ‘the 3 Rs,’” Feldman says.

• Relevance: Are they relevant today? Does their topic and expertise lend itself to challenges being faced today? Is it a fresh take on a key area in which the audience already has interest?
• Reliability: Are they credible? Fancy media credits and a bestselling book don’t necessarily equal a standing ovation speaker. Are there videos of them rocking stages similar to yours?
• Relatability: Now more than ever, audiences want speakers in which they can see themselves. More than inspiration dressed in Hallmark cliches, audiences want to hear real stories in which they can see themselves reflected. This is the only way to guarantee that inspiration turns into action and the impact lasts far longer than the conference itself.

Other key down-to-basics attributes that solid keynote speakers need to have include:

• Is his/her voice pleasant? If not, nothing else matters.
• Is he or she truly skilled at blending PowerPoint slides with the spoken word? Slides and words, when blended seamlessly, are very mesmerizing. Too many speakers are average with slides, at best.

“The best attributes that a speaker should have include a personality that aligns with the corporate culture, humor to the extent that is acceptable for the topic, delivery and the audience, the ability to weave their topic/content into the desired theme, and the ability to connect with an audience,” Awwad says.

As Underwood explains, from the moment a keynote speaker utters their first words, audiences should immediately say, “I think I like this person. Also, the audience should feel comfortable that this speaker is not going to cross the line by being vulgar or attacking people unfairly or giving us his/her own inappropriate opinions,” Underwood says. “Only when audiences feel that they like the speaker and feel safe with the speaker will they sit back, relax, and absorb the speaker’s content. Underwood also says a good speaker gets only a “good” evaluation. A great speaker gets a “wow” evaluation. He thinks speakers are elevated to greatness if they:

• Provide fresh content that “connects the dots in a way audience members may never have considered.”
• Exude a flawless use of the language, including proper syntax and semantics. Most people don’t use the language properly, so it enhances the speaker’s credibility when they do. But flawless use of the language does not mean “big, fancy words.” In fact, just the opposite. An exceptional keynote speaker uses words everyone can understand and uses them properly.
• Provide excellent and intimate eye contact, and include a lot of warm smiles, while pausing at the right times.
• Exhibit skilled use of humor. This is not easy when the speaker doesn’t truly “know” the audience, so choose a speaker who, like a skilled stand-up comic, has a lot of presentation experience and has clearly agonized over every word and, especially, every piece of humor.

“With great speakers, their love of their topic oozes from every pore,” Underwood says. “And audiences instantly sense the speaker’s joy. It is a vibe that great speakers emit. Also, audiences recognize great speakers by the speaker’s ability to be totally focused on the audience. Great speakers are at peace with themselves. They know their topics and how to present them. They don’t have to think about themselves. And so they can direct all of their attention to pleasing the audience. Once you’ve seen a speaker like this, you thereafter recognize it instantly.”

Virtual Keynotes

It’s been over a year since the world of meetings and events went “virtual” and meeting planners, and their subsequent keynote speakers, must remember that most of the universe is now sick of staring at their screens for virtual-learning webinars. “With that said, and after a year of ‘virtuals,’ speakers must move their PowerPoint slides along at a quicker pace than in a ‘live’ program. They must keep their voice and energy level high, which is naturally more difficult when sitting than standing,” Underwood says. “And the equipment must be absolutely top-shelf.”

Some speakers are incredible on stage, but frankly, have a difficult time bringing the same energy to the screen. “Just like Broadway actors aren’t necessarily suited to being movie actors and vice versa, make sure you’re properly vetting your virtual speakers to guarantee they have the equipment and energy to rock your virtual meeting,” Feldman says. With no banquet room in which to “look around,” with no other people to glance at “live,” and with only the speaker’s head and shoulders on-camera along with the PowerPoint slides, the speaker’s voice becomes more important in a virtual meeting or event.

Also, some speakers exude energy at “live” events only by striding back and forth on the stage or by wildly gesturing with their arms. They can’t do this as much in a webinar, so if you saw a speaker’s YouTube video and they looked really energetic as she pranced around the stage, remember that she may not be able to replicate that style in a virtual event. It is also best that a virtual keynote speaker is, first and foremost, tech-savvy and is not challenged with delivery via camera. As Awwad notes, there is no immediate feedback to a keynote, so a chosen speaker needs to be really comfortable in that environment. “I always recommend a moderator that can monitor Q&A or live polling assistance with a keynote, allowing them to focus on content delivery and be completely supported by a moderator for technical assistance and audience connection,” Awwad says.

Every speaker has different preferences. For Feldman, virtual events without interactivity are incredibly challenging. “I love utilizing the chat functions, encouraging audience participation whenever possible, and also doing ‘fireside chats’ that get more raw and are incredibly relevant and actionable for audiences so they leave with immense value,” Feldman says.

Experts agree that virtual events are very challenging because, depending on the platform being used, the speaker may not be able to see or interact with the audience. If they won’t be able to interact, how are they making up for this key component of keynotes? “Has the speaker worked to transform his energy and body language to fit the virtual platform? Energy must be higher and body language must be in view to be effective. Many speakers use gestures and mobility to enhance their presence,” Henderson says. “Have they transformed their style and presence for the limitations of the screen? Planners should schedule a video call with all potential speakers to see how they come off on camera. If you don’t like their presence on a video call or they are sitting in the dark with crackling sound, chances are you won’t like them as your keynote.” If a virtual event is new for your audience, this is a great time to change up the type of keynote. Henderson suggests that if you usually have a CEO from within your industry, try someone who is more on the entertaining spectrum.

Resources Aplenty

When a planner is exploring the keynote topic for the event for their client, they first need to speak with their client to discuss potential speakers who are well known and closely tied to their topic. “Especially with virtual events, it is vital to have a speaker providing the value based on the event topic,” Lutkus says. Otherwise, there are multiple resources that meeting planners can use to find a memorable keynote speaker, including colleagues within the industry, industry organizations in which you are a member, speaker’s bureaus and social media. Contact others within the industry and request references as well.

“Speakers who use booking firms generally charge a hefty fee because they are splitting the fee. Look for whether a speaker aggregator is a service where the speaker pays to be listed or whether the agent chooses the speakers they represent,” Henderson says. “If the site is a ‘pay to play’ scenario, the quality or their real keynote experience may be questionable. And depending on the contract with the booking agency, you may be able to approach bigger names directly through social media and skip the ‘middleman.’”

Don’t have a huge budget? Henderson says there are many Toastmaster-type speaking clubs who usually list their speakers. If you want someone local, visit your local TEDx site and see if there is anyone who piques your interest. “The biggest mistake I see is event professionals going off the speaker reel alone. Every speaker will have a great speaker demo and fantastic testimonials,” Henderson says. “Go to their YouTube channel and look at a broader scope of their work or longer clips. How is their body language and energy? Do they have variety in their talk? Are they relying too much on reading slides? Call up the organizations they have listed. Did they really keynote or were they in a breakout room or the emcee? Were they courteous, punctual and met deadlines along the way?”

Beyond YouTube, speaking bureaus such as Harry Walker, Premiere Speakers and Speakers’ Spotlight are excellent places to start. Similar to a real estate agent, these bureaus charge nothing to the buyer, and instead earn a commission. “This means you have an insider working on your behalf, free of charge,” Feldman says. “They’ll also help handle the contracts and communication so everything is as smooth as possible, and you can spend your time on your event instead of coordinating speaker logistics.”   C&IT