How Does Someone Become a Keynote Speaker?
If you’ve ever watched a TED Talk before and been mesmerized by the speaker’s communication, you were probably thinking, how did they manage to get this job? Whether it's a TED Talk, a business conference, an industry convention, a leadership summit, or a nonprofit fundraiser, keynote speakers are hired to lead these events, inspire, and educate you. Leaving the audience with challenging narratives and ideas that make you think hard about life is what Human Connections Speakers is all about!
We have some of the best keynote speakers you will find, but becoming a professional keynote speaker doesn't just happen overnight for our own speakers. It requires a lot of experience that comes from relating to the people they speak to all the time. We are here to explain how it all works and where you can become someone like our very own.
In this blog, we will run through all the necessary steps you should take to learn about what it takes to become a professional keynote speaker.
Becoming an Expert in Something Worth Hearing About
The most successful keynote speakers come from speaking on topics that everyone has heard a speech about. Doesn’t matter if it’s sports, research, business, science, education, mental health, or something as important as business leadership. Here’s the thing… those are all topics you’re used to, but the best speakers find a unique way of telling a story about it that stands out from the rest. TED Talks are some of the best speeches in the world for that reason!
Event organizers are looking for speakers who can provide great insights that are backed by real-world experience. Before someone is hired, you see them spend years building up as much knowledge as possible, solving big problems, or accomplishing something noteworthy within their field. Industry experts consistently emphasize that genuine expertise comes before stage presence.
Developing Your Public Speaking Skills
As you can guess, the knowledge you accumulate over the years is not enough to make it in this business. Professional keynote speakers are also well known for being confident in themselves to speak in front of hundreds, thousands, sometimes millions of people, depending on HOW GOOD your speech is and if it goes viral. Your communication skills have to be refined to tell an engaging story. Some of the ways you can do it are by:
Simplify a complex topic to make it easier to understand
Read the room (literally) to see how people are reacting to you
Deliver the speech like it wasn’t scripted
Capture their attention immediately to begin
Finish with an inspiring takeaway that leaves people thinking about it
You can get better at this through constant repetition, just like with any activity you want to improve in. Great speakers do this through volunteer work, speaking at universities in front of college students, a webinar, local businesses, and more. Keep up with consistent practice and take feedback where it’s warranted, and that’ll get you to where you want to be in this profession.
Education Can Help, But There’s a Caveat…
If you want to get an education from this through college, there isn’t really much of a degree to work for that will help you get into this specific profession, but some professions, depending on your degree, can help you attain great communication skills. It can be in business administration, communications, medicine, law, psychology, or marketing.
However, conference and event organizers will typically care far more about what a speaker has accomplished than what degree they got their bachelor's for. For example, a person working in one profession may have a very different educational background, yet all become sought-after keynote speakers because of their expertise and ability to communicate it effectively. And guess what? That’s what our speakers at Human Connections represent perfectly!
Darryll Stinson is a former D1 athlete and suicide survivor who has won awards for his work as a speaker when talking about mental health and leadership. He represents that approach well! The same goes with Brian Miller, who is a former magician turned human connection specialist. Brian has excelled in everything he’s worked on and brings it with every speech he’s a part of.
If you want to learn more about all of our speakers at Human Connection Speakers, read about them on our website! If you have any questions about this topic or are looking to book a keynote speaker for your event, give us a call, and we will get back to you as soon as we can!