Corporate events are a massive investment in your company and in your position within your industry. Planning and hosting an event is an untold amount of work, and the question of whether it will pay off or not is contingent upon the educational and inspirational content of your speeches, workshops and sessions.
Of course, the keynote address sets the whole tone of your conference. How, then, do you make the right choice of a keynote speaker? There are hundreds of keynote speakers, all with specialized thematic material and varying styles of communication.
If you follow these three steps in your selection of a leadership keynote speaker, you will be sure to choose one who will advance your plans for your corporate culture.
Assess Your Goals
To choose the right keynote speaker, you must first make sure that you yourself understand your goals for the event.
The best keynote speaker in the world won’t help your company much if their talking points do not align with your goals for your corporate culture. But in order to ensure that a given speaker will match your needs, you first need to have a clear vision. Where do your want your company to be in five years? How can this event and its keynote address advance that goal?
Be accurate and thorough as your define what you are seeking, and you will have a good basis for comparing different possible speakers.
Find A Speaker Who Matches Your Needs
Once you have a vision for your needs, you can start your research for a speaker who aligns with your stated requirements.
Don’t necessarily chase trends. Just because a speaker who is popular this year happens to be available on your date does not mean that he or she will be the right fit. Instead, vet their keynote topics and see if they actually fit your vision.
If in doubt, go ahead and reach out! The speaker will also benefit from being able to match your theme and desires, so send them a synopsis of your intentions for your event and ask how they think their keynote will add to your conference.
Check Reviews and Testimonials
Once you have found some keynote speakers who seem like good fits, see what you can do to verify this. Find mentions of the speaker in corporate newsletters and blog posts; read their reviews–both on their site and on neutral sites like Google and Bing.
Sometimes a keynote speaker gives one impression in their description of their address, but you may find that the reviews show a very different outcome.
Choosing a leadership keynote speaker is a very important decision that can significantly impact the success and overall message of your event. Give yourself ample time in the planning process so you aren’t rushing to book just anyone who can show up, potentially settling for a speaker who doesn’t fully align with your objectives. Before reaching out to potential speakers, take the crucial step to clearly define exactly what you want to achieve with the keynote address.
Go beyond simply wanting a motivational speech; identify the specific leadership skills, principles, or industry insights you want your audience to gain. Consider the desired tone, the level of audience engagement you envision, and any specific themes or challenges you want the speaker to address. Once you have a clear understanding of your needs and goals, finding the right speaker who resonates with your audience and delivers the intended impact will become much more straightforward, and ultimately, everything else will fall into place more effectively.
