How to Choose the Perfect Keynote Speaker

Choosing the perfect keynote speaker for your event can be a challenge. Getting the right speaker to make your conference a success depends a lot on knowing what you want to achieve. Keynote speakers can speak on a wide variety of subjects and can be used to entertain, educate, or motivate your audience. In order for all your hard work and planning to pay off, it’s important to get a guest speaker that compliments your evening.

There are many factors to take into consideration before you contact a professional speaker’s agency to book a keynote speaker. For example, you need to know that your speaker has the right credentials, they will complement your brand, and know what you hope the audience gains from the event.

In this article, you will learn the essentials to help you choose the right keynote speaker. You will also find out the importance of researching your guest speaker before the event.

Choosing the Perfect Keynote Speaker

The following guidelines will help you know what to look for in your guest speaker and how to pick one that will boost the success of your corporate event.

Know what your audience needs

One of the best ways to choose the best speaker for your conference is to think about the needs of your audience. The success of your event will depend on whether the needs and expectations of your audience are met. Each audience is different and different speakers will affect audiences in different ways.

Consider the demographics and interests of your audience. For example, will most in the audience be industry insiders, or will there be a mix of people? If there is a mix of people in the audience (for example, employees with their partners attending), then your choice of speaker would be different than if it is just your company’s employees at the event.

Know your budget

Another important factor that will impact your choice of speaker is your budget. You need to match the value of the speaker with the value they provide to your audience. To work this out, you should calculate a “value-per-person.” So, if you are hosting a large event with a guest speaker, your budget could be proportionally higher than if your event is a small, scaled-down one.

Remember, that the catering is usually the biggest expense of your event, however, it is usually the guest speaker that everyone will remember the most.

Along with the budget for hiring your speaker, you also need to take into account any extra charges like the speaker’s accommodation and travel to and from the event.

Identify the type of keynote speaker you want

Once you have an idea of your budget and who will make up your audience, you should turn your attention to the type of guest speaker you want. Just because you can pick a sports personality guest speaker or well-known celebrity, doesn’t automatically meant that they will be the best speaker for your event.

There are a few different kinds of speakers to choose from:

• Industry professional. Choosing an industry professional is a great choice of speaker if you want to motivate or educate your staff. However, the speaker needs to be aware of the latest industry trends and have a good working knowledge of the specific industry.
• Celebrity guest speaker. Celebrities are usually the most expensive kind of speaker to hire for your event. However, they can provide the wow factor for your audience. They are also the perfect choice of guest speaker if you have a “mixed” audience. Celebrities can be used to motivate your audience, entertain them, or encourage them to do something.
• Motivational speaker. If you have an event planned around a specific theme, then a motivational speaker is a good choice. Motivational speakers usually blend their own experiences with entertaining stories to help motivate your audience to action.

Research your keynote speaker

Now that you have established the type of speaker you want for your event, it’s time to narrow down your search to a few candidates. You can search online for speakers or contact an agency. For example, you could narrow your search using a few keywords to get a shortlist of speakers.

When you have a few speakers in mind, you need to do some research to make sure that they will do a good job. You should look for speakers who are confident, charismatic, knowledgeable and speak with clarity.

You will then need to read reviews, look for videos of their speeches you YouTube, or find their presentations online. This will be the best way that you can know if the speaker you choose for your event will be the best suited.

At Successful Speakers, we are here to help you make the job of choosing the perfect keynote speaker for your even easier. We can help you find the best kind of motivational speaker, industry professional, or celebrity to make your corporate event a success and one to remember.