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6 Tips for Working with Keynote Speakers
Keynote speakers draw people to events and have a massive impact on the overall energy and experience of attendees. Keynote speakers are also an investment, and there are ways to maximize the impact of your speakers at an event. Through managing Zingerman’s keynotes at hundreds of events over the last decade, I have seen my fair share of conference room carpets and gatherings come to life.
Here are some of my best tips to get the most out of your keynote speaker, your audience, and all the work you put into an event.
1. Before hiring a keynote speaker, think about your audience and what they need to hear
When a speaker at a conference or learning event shares information that is useful and relevant to the audience, it resonates with them. Get real about the challenges your audience faces and find a speaker who can use real-world experience to speak to their challenges.
Think about who the group will relate to. Your inspiration may come from books, podcasts, and articles they listen to and circulate around. Try to match the energy of your audience when selecting a presenter. That being said, sometimes a speaker that is out of the box is exactly what the group needs! Bringing a dynamic speaker from a food business into a room of lawyers can shake up expectations and perspectives that can get them to take the message more seriously.
2. Set your speaker up for success!
Sharing why you believe a speaker’s message will resonate with your audience will help them to use their expertise and real-world examples to get your attendees thinking and working differently. Communicate your audience demographics and event outcomes early, and ensure your speaker is flexible and able to incorporate relevant stories and examples. Most keynote speakers have tried-and-true outlines as a place to start. Speakers who know their strengths will give you the best results if you allow them to customize their existing content, instead of asking them to start from scratch.
3. Give your audience context for the speaker and their message
When you’re introducing your speaker, don’t read their bio. Tell the audience why you wanted this person to speak. You still want to build some credibility – and more importantly, you want to relate the speaker to your audience. Reading someone else’s words or a list of accolades won’t quite captivate your audience. Instead, answer questions like: Why are you excited for them to hear this speaker/message? How does this speaker’s message relate to the audience and the bigger picture of the day? and What are you hoping they’ll take away?
Bonus point for answering any of these questions in your event marketing, too!
4. Reinforce the message in the moment
Research has found that if people have a chance to reflect and consider how they’ll use what they’ve just learned, they are significantly more likely to retain the information. So once the speaker concludes their keynote and the applause dies down, invite the emcee (or you!) to step onto the stage and share a couple of highlights and maybe even a personal take-away.
Next, ask the audience to reflect on what they found most impactful or useful from what they just heard and encourage them to share their thoughts with each other. This can be done in the moment by giving the audience a few minutes to turn to someone nearby, or it can be given as an assignment for their upcoming break. Giving attendees more to dig into will strengthen their learning and your investment!
5. Follow up on the message and outcomes – don’t let the energy dwindle!
After your conference or learning event, provide additional resources that build on the speaker’s message and enhance your audience’s experience. We’re big fans of sharing supplemental resources after events. Ask your keynote speaker if they have anything they’d like to share with your audience as part of your follow-up communication with attendees. Encourage participants to act on one thing they learned once they go back to work. Some of the most impactful results come from building on content in subsequent events, where teams report out on what they applied and how it’s working for them.
6. Invite keynote speakers to stay
They may not be able to be a full participant in the conference, but if they’re able to sit in on other sessions, meet participants in the halls, or even share a meal together it can result in a more impactful experience for both the speaker and the attendees. They can incorporate what they heard into their own session, bringing in highlights from other keynote speakers and strengthening the relevance of their content.
