A great keynote speaker can transform a good event into a great event. Event planners understand the importance of booking a speaker who can share new insights with their audience, leave them inspired and motivated, and make the event memorable. From industry influencers, policy makers, and media personalities to thought leaders, business strategists, and inspirational figures, speakers come in all forms, but the ones that are experts at engaging and motivating audiences share many of the same traits.
What sets LAI Live apart is that we are part of the the Leading Authorities speakers bureau business and work alongside seasoned event programs consultants who connect groups to the most sought-after speakers in the world and help get them booked for their events. Partnering with our speakers bureau colleagues has given us the opportunity to work alongside keynote speakers at events we've produced for our clients and share our own firsthand insights of the top five qualities that make for a successful speaker.
1. Connects Their Talk to the Event's Theme
Having a keynote speaker customize their messages, stories, and delivery to support the theme and goal of your event or your industry will ensure an audience connection. This can reinforce the important messaging you want your audience take away when the curtain closes on your event.
2. Relatable to Audience
Does the speaker’s story resonate with your attendees? They can be a subject matter expert in the industry or share an inspirational story, but their message may not stick with audiences if they fail to speak in a way that is relatable to those in attendance. The best speakers are able to use their stories to build a connection with attendees, get them to engage with the content, and inspire them to consider ways they can implement any takeaways or action steps into their professional or personal lives.
3. A Dynamic Presentation Style
A speaker’s presentation style is very important. You want their presentation to be dynamic. If they are charismatic storyteller, they will not need visual supports, but some speakers may benefit from graphic or video support to share their message. A speakers presentation should feature vivid photos and large text with just a few facts — items that will cause the audience to take out their phones to grab a few photos of the content being shared. Presentations that are overly detailed with small print, and that lack storytelling and dynamism, will lose the audiences attention quickly.
4. A Flair for Humor
Laughter is the best medicine. A speaker that can include humor into their presentation will keep the audience engaged. Keep in mind that the speaker shouldn't sacrifice their content for comedy. Sometimes, less is more when it comes to humor in keynote talks, but getting a few laughs out of the audience, especially early on in the session, is a great way of capturing the audience's attention and holding onto it.
5. Add-On Features/Flexible
Is the speaker willing to participate in other events outside of their keynote speech? Meet and greet with your VIPs, book signing at your booth, a smaller workshop as a ticketed event — these follow-up events will keep audiences are excellent supplements for audiences to continue to engage with a speaker following their talk. .
LAI Live Can Help You Plan Your Next Event
Working on an event? The LAI Live team can help. Contact us to get started.
- Give us a call at 202-783-0300
- Shoot us an email at Contact@LAIEvents.com
- Chat with a member of our team right now
And, if you're interested in booking a speaker for your meeting, check out the Leading Authorities website to find a speaker that's the best fit for your event.