The keynote speaker sets the theme of any meeting or conference. They are the ones who take you or your client’s “vision” and put it into words, laying the groundwork for things to come. So, finding the right speaker is very important to your success.
6 Questions to Ask Yourself When Selecting a Keynote Speaker
Who is your target?
Before you even begin the hunt, you need to have a clear understanding of your event’s objective and the audience, and then decide on the type of person that will connect with them and the material. Do you need a popular businessperson or a politician? Motivational speaker or movie star? Sports player or guitar player? Author or entrepreneur? Once you have that nailed down, hopefully you’ll have some talent in mind; if not, you’ll want to begin searching local speaker bureaus to get keynote speaker ideas. A top speaker bureau in New York City is Leading Authorities, Inc. (LAI), which allows you to search by name, keyword, topic, and type. Of course, speakers may fly in from anywhere, so if you have the budget you shouldn’t limit yourself geographically. The Premiere Speakers Bureau allows you to search for a keynote speaker globally, and you might also want to consider searching professional social sites such as LinkedIn for influencers within your industry.
What is your budget?
This is all over the map, to be quite honest. Celebrities, whether in movies, television, sports, or music, can range anywhere from a few thousand all the way up to a million dollars for A-listers. Professional keynote speakers and motivational speakers may be in the $10K-$40K range, while speakers who are not household names but still hold an impressive resume in a certain field may ask anywhere from $250-$500. It should be noted that depending on the event you’re putting on, sometimes you may luck out and find a keynote speaker who will greatly reduce or even waive their fee (for example, an event for a charity that’s near and dear to their heart).
What is your time frame?
If you’re looking to capture celebrity talent or a well-known professional keynote speaker, you’d better hope your event is at least six months out, otherwise you’re likely to have a hard time snagging them (or it’ll cost you an even prettier penny). For lesser-known speakers, a month or two is usually enough. But with everything, the sooner the better so you don’t wind up scrambling to fill the space with someone who doesn’t fit the bill just because all other options have been exhausted.
Will your keynote speaker deliver something unique?
Some keynote speakers have a boilerplate speech that they use at just about any event. A few names may change, a couple of sentences may be rearranged, but for the most part, their speech can probably already be found at some other event on YouTube. So, it’s important to discuss with a speaker the intention behind your particular event, and ask them what they will bring to the table. Unless they’re working for free, don’t be afraid to ask; you are paying them, after all.
Will your keynote speaker meet-and-greet with your attendees?
Sometimes you want your keynote speaker to stick around for a while. Depending on their celebrity, it may be to shake hands and sign autographs, or it could just be to join at an after-hours networking event. If this is important to you, you’ll want to get their commitment so you don’t wind up with a speaker who is out the door once they’re off the stage.
Will your keynote speaker help bring in an audience?
You may be booking someone for a set audience, in which this doesn’t really apply. But if you’re planning an event without a guest list, and are hoping that a professional keynote speaker will reel people in by name alone, you may want to think again. Their presence needs to be promoted, and it’s likely you can’t promote them all by yourselves. So, you’ll want to ensure your keynote speaker will help by reaching out on their social media networks and possibly getting other industry influencers involved. This little caveat may help justify their price. With these questioned answered, you should feel much more confident that you’re going to be bringing in the right keynote speaker for your event (if you have a set guest list in advance, you can also solicit ideas from attendees to gauge their interests and expectations using an online survey channel like Survey Monkey). One last consideration for your keynote speaker conference? Every great event needs some great audio and visual and communication equipment. One Way Event Productions provides just that, and we guarantee we can make your keynote speaker look and sound great when they step on stage. To learn more, contact us today.
