The keynote speech is something that people often look forward to. Sometimes they get what they want, at other times they are bitterly disappointed. Here are 10 characteristics to look for in a perfect candidate.
We have all had these exciting experiences at conferences, seminars or workshops when a keynote speech was being delivered. We listened attentively, we laughed, we were taken aback, we were inspired and much, much more within a presentation that lasted an hour or even less. It was an event that stood out from the remaining ones, no matter how good they were, and we remember perfectly well until today some soundbites, catchphrases of lessons the speaker had to share.
Indeed, the keynote speech is something that people often look forward to with enormous anticipation and expect the best out of. Sometimes they get what they want, at other times they are bitterly disappointed. Here are 10 characteristics to look for in a candidate for this most anticipated presentation of a larger event.
1. Electricity counts. To give an hour-long talk to a demanding audience requires the ability to attract and retain the attention from minute one. Someone who cannot keep their listeners focused and engaged, for whatever reason, is not going to fit this job description. Make sure you choose a person who exudes positive electricity that people are easily attracted to.
2. Speeches are all about sharing ideas, so it is important to be sure that whoever gives a talk has a fair repertoire of them at hand. The audience wants to leave with a feeling that there is something new they can remember and apply.
3. A keynote speech is more than information, though. It is a bit of a leader presentation that people can relate to and go back to long after they are exposed it it. Depending on the topic, a good speaker should be able to lift people up, motivate, assuage their fears or inspire them.
4. Communication is key to delivering a compelling address. With some ideas being very complex, within abstract disciplines of economics, engineering or medicine, whoever delivers them must be able to connect intellectually without fail.
5. While individual presentations are usually about a single aspect of things, a self-contained project or one study, the job of a good keynote speaker is to take a long, global view of things. It is important that he or she can set the tone for the future.
6. Who would want to be only informed and lectured during the most anticipated talk during an event? Attendees usually seek a bit of entertainment value in keynotes, so their providers have to be showmen as much as speakers. The reason why is that the event morale is largely in their hands.
7. At one consumer electronics workshop, where the keynote touched on such issues as the chances of some lesser-known gadgets, such as a pen tablet, to make it bigger in terms of sales and prestige, the speaker made himself available to guests throughout the event. This emotional closeness and the openness to mixing and connecting with the audience are what distinguishes ordinary delegates from the main speaking guest. The keynote should resonate and energize the event throughout its duration.