Hiring the right keynote speaker for your next event can be a challenging task. In most cases you’re agreeing to pay thousands of dollars to somebody you don’t know, and sometimes all you know about them is what they’ve posted on their blog or website. Most keynote speaker demo videos are only a few minutes long, which is not necessarily a great indication of how well they’ll do on stage for 45-90 minutes. So what can you do to up the odds that the speaker you hire is going to be a great fit for you and your audience?
Fortunately, there are a few simple strategies that can help.
Know What You Want Out of a Keynote.
Different meeting planners have different goals. You may want a motivational keynote to give your attendees a confidence boost, or a technical speaker to prepare your audience for upcoming changes in your industry, or an entertaining one to set the tone for a fun and high-energy event. It’s hard to hire the right keynote speaker if you don’t know what you want that person to do for you, so make sure your goals are clear.
Pay Attention to Keynote Keywords.
A keynote speaker’s marketing materials should always tell you what subjects they focus on – innovation, customer experience, leadership, etc. – and if you can’t quite figure out what their areas of expertise are, then that should be a big red flag.
Set Up a Pre-Booking Conference Call.
Any reputable keynote speaker will be happy to talk with you before you hire them, and it will give you a chance to ask all the questions you can think to ask as well as get a sense of their personality and attitude. If you get off the call thinking that the person will be difficult to work with, can’t (or won’t) customize their talk to your audience, or otherwise unable to achieve your goals for your event, you should not hire them.
Trust Referrals from Trustworthy Sources.
Like many businesses, the speaking industry is built on relationships and reputation. So if a fellow meeting planner or one of your attendees recommends a particular speaker they’ve seen before, that person probably deserves to be on your speaker shortlist.
With a clear vision of what you want your keynote speaker to accomplish, along with some simple due diligence, you should be able to find the perfect speaker for your next event!
