Imagine you’re in a conference room with 200 other people. The speaker clicks to slide two and begins reading bullet points off a PowerPoint slide. People start pulling out their phones at the five-minute mark. At the ten-minute mark, conversations begin happening around the room. By the end of the presentation, the applause is polite.
This happens at conferences all over the world. Attendees forget most talks within a week. It’s rarely because the speaker lacked expertise. Instead, it’s because expertise alone doesn’t hold a room.
Event planners know this risk intimately. Book the wrong type of speaker, and your attendees will walk away bored. Book the right type of speaker, however, and attendees will continue talking about the presentation for months. That’s exactly the kind of impact Samurai Success helps organizations create.
What Separates a Trainer From a Keynote Speaker
A trainer is someone who teaches skills to a group of people, while a keynote speaker changes the energy in a room.
Trainers are incredibly valuable resources. For instance, they help attendees walk away with specific skills by guiding them through detailed frameworks. That’s why breakout sessions exist. They provide attendees with more personalized and actionable information. A trainer, however, works with the energy already in the room. A keynote speaker, in contrast, changes it. An engaged group of attendees remains engaged, and a room of disengaged attendees remains disengaged.
A great keynote speaker can change the mood of the entire room. As a result, these are the talks that leave people energized and ready to act. This doesn’t mean trainers have no place at conferences. It simply means a great speaker has a different set of skills than an expert at a breakout session. That distinction matters, because general sessions exist to inspire large groups of people at the same time.
The 4 Pillars of a Great Keynote Speaker
Great speakers share four pillars in common, no matter the topic or industry they’re in. Use these pillars as guidelines, and you’ll be able to identify a great leadership keynote speaker long before they ever get on the stage.
The First Two Pillars: Hook and Empathy
Pillar #1: The Irresistible Hook
The speaker has three minutes to grab the attention of the entire room. Some accomplish this through an interesting anecdote. Others, meanwhile, use a thought-provoking statement. Some simply stand tall and project their voice to command attention.
What they don’t do, however, is thank the organizers for the opportunity to speak, then read off slides in a monotone voice. That might feel safe, but it’s a surefire way to lose an audience. Therefore, pay attention to what a speaker does in their demo reel during the first three minutes. You’ll be able to tell almost everything you need to know about the next 45 minutes.
Pillar #2: Deep Empathy for the Audience
Generic speeches are easy to spot. In fact, everyone in the room can tell when a presentation has been given dozens of times before.
For example, imagine a speaker gave the same presentation to a completely different industry, with only the logo swapped on the opening slide. The audience would notice almost immediately. A great leadership keynote speaker, therefore, invests time and energy to research the company and audience they’ll be speaking to. As a result, they address specific issues relevant to that group.
The Final Two Pillars: Simplicity and Delivery
Pillar #3: Actionable Simplicity
Complicated frameworks do not resonate with audiences. Simple frameworks, on the other hand, stick in attendees’ minds. Great speakers take a complicated topic and simplify it. Specifically, they boil it down to something an individual can summarize in one sentence. This becomes the takeaway attendees remember long after the event ends. If an attendee can’t summarize a presentation in one sentence on the way out, it didn’t resonate with them. That’s true no matter how much applause the speaker received.
Pillar #4: Masterful Delivery & Stage Presence
What the speaker says only tells half the story. How they say it, however, delivers the other half.
Great speakers use pauses for dramatic effect. In addition, they change up their cadence to keep the audience engaged. Their body language also reinforces the message with every movement. Together, these techniques create the energy that fills an auditorium. As a result, they inspire attendees to take action long after the session ends. Someone with natural charisma can command a room with relative ease. Someone who lacks stage presence, on the other hand, will struggle to deliver the same message effectively.
Red Flags: Signs You’re Booking the Wrong Speaker
Watch for these warning signs when reviewing a potential speaker for your event:
- They can’t clearly explain how their talk is different from other speakers in the same niche
- Their demo reels follow the exact same format across different audiences and industries
- They ask for your audience demographics but have no takeaways for different types of attendees
- They struggle to name the one takeaway they want attendees to remember
- They don’t appear as energetic on a sales call as they do in their promo video
Any single one of these could be a warning sign. Together, however, they almost always indicate a speaker won’t perform well.
What to Ask Before You Book
Great keynote speakers aren’t difficult to find. They’re only difficult to identify. Before you book your next event, therefore, ask every candidate this one question: “What takeaway do you want attendees to remember, and how will you make sure they actually remember it?”
Anyone who struggles to answer this question probably shouldn’t speak at your event. Anyone who answers confidently, on the other hand, has already shown they know what makes a great speaker.
Samurai works with organizations that want more than a great presentation; we want a room that walks away completely transformed. Book a free strategy call with David Olcott to find the perfect leadership keynote speaker for your next event.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes someone a good keynote speaker?
A good keynote speaker entertains and educates their audience. They grab attention at the beginning, know their audience well, and end with one clear takeaway the crowd can walk away with.
How is a keynote speaker different from a trainer?
A trainer teaches a person or group a particular skill set. A keynote speaker, on the other hand, makes the audience feel excited and motivated to change their behavior after hearing the speech.
How do I know that they will customize the talk to my company or organization?
They should research who you are and the difficulties you face beforehand. If they don’t know anything specific about your company, assume they’ll give your audience the same presentation as any other.
What questions do I ask the speaker before booking them?
Ask what one thing they want the audience to remember after hearing their presentation. Also ask how they intend to customize it for your line of work. A vague answer means it’s best to look elsewhere.
Why are most keynote speeches boring?
Most speakers rely heavily on the text on their slides rather than engaging the audience. Knowing the topic well simply isn’t enough on its own.