4 Things You Need to Know Before Booking a Keynote Speaker
If you are tasked with booking a keynote speaker for your event, you’ve found the right place! Our bureau features 8 unique speakers who specialize in our foundational theme, Human Connection. We will talk more about us here on the blog, but today we are here to provide a helping hand for professionals who are on the search for a keynote speaker. There are a few considerations that you must make before booking a keynote speaker, and that’s what we plan to cover today!
Being a successful keynote speaker is not a simple task! Keynote speakers are forced to first capture their audience’s attention, build trust and connection in a matter of seconds, and demonstrate an extensive ability to share quality lessons through powerful storytelling. This is why it’s important to have a plan when assigned the role of booking a keynote speaker. Event and conference organizers should consider asking these things when looking at professional keynote speakers.
Here are 4 Things You Need to Know before Booking a Keynote Speaker
Who Is the Audience?
The first thing to consider is the event itself, and more importantly, the humans who will be in attendance. Not every keynote speaker is right for your event. The right speaker for a fundraising gala may not be the right speaker for a team-building event. A conference keynote speaker in technology and AI may not be the right speaker for a sales and marketing seminar. In order to understand if a keynote speaker is right for your event, consider your audience. Your audience will want someone who is engaging, warm, inspiring, and who will teach them something they haven’t thought of before.
You must anticipate the needs, wants, and expectations of the audience.
Where is the Proof of the Speaker’s Expertise?
A Keynote speaker can be a helpful tool for any business or organization, but only if they are good at what they do. Keynote speakers have the ability to seamlessly connect with a crowd of strangers and help them open their mind's eye to things they never considered before. This ability doesn’t grow on trees; however, keynote speakers get good at it from experience. This comes from reps and is proven through reputation. Expertise doesn’t always mean they’ve performed their keynote in front of millions of people over 200 times a year, either. If you want to know if someone is a good keynote speaker, look at what others say about them!
Expertise in keynote speaking can be heard the loudest in the testimonials and responses from the people who have seen them speak.
Does the Keynote Speaker Understand Your Goals?
Different keynote speakers specialize in different things, but some can mold and adapt to just about any type of event. One of the core benefits of working with Human Connection Speakers Bureau is that our roster comprises keynote speakers that can adapt to different organizations and types of events, because our foundational element is something simple, yet complex– human connection. This means it doesn’t matter what industry or group your organization is, we have a speaker who can satisfy your needs because we all focus on finding out what YOUR goals are and WHY YOU need a keynote speaker in the first place.
Whether it's growing sales, building a better team, inspiring connections, or just engaging and entertaining your audience, a quality keynote speaker will dive deep into the reasons why you’re looking for one.
Does the Speaker Provide a Solid, Actionable Takeaway?
The last thing you should ask a potential keynote speaker is what they feel is the actionable takeaway that your audience will benefit from the most is. This means the “promise” of the speaker, the solution to the thing you are seeking to accomplish. The takeaway. There are performers who do keynote presentations, and then there are keynote speakers who provide results. Knowing the difference is key. In order to know what takeaway you want your audience to have, you need to assess the reason behind the speaker in the first place.
A good keynote speaker won’t only leave your audience in a fresh state of mind, but they will fulfill the promise of seeing your organization the way you do, and helping you to change it.
Hopefully, this helps you on your search for the perfect keynote speaker for your event! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out! Our team is composed of keynote speakers from many different backgrounds, by design, all the while fostering a new frontier for keynote speakers and public speaking, Human Connection. No matter what problem, issue, or focus that you want your audience to open their minds to and solve, together, we are here to help! Let’s get started!