Hiring an Outstanding Keynote

Lessons on how to get everyone at a meeting buzzing!
By Meghan McCartan, Principal McCartan & Company Headlining a meeting with a dynamic keynote speaker can have untold benefits--if you choose the right person, you'll see registrations skyrocket and every seat will be full! Starting out an agenda, even one tailored closely to a very tight curriculum, with a speaker who can excite and motivate your audience can set a tone for the entire meeting that almost dictates whether it's viewed positively or negatively. Think back to the last great meeting or conference you went to--if it was a good one, you no doubt walked away with some tips on best practices or cutting-edge ideas. You got some great networking in. Maybe the location was a real plus. But what really stands out, and what you (and your fellow attendees) remember, is a motivational, interesting, or one-of-a-kind presentation by someone you might not normally get a chance to hear from.
 
On the flip side? A speaker that sets the wrong tone or is somehow out of step with the message and image of your company can negatively impact an otherwise carefully planned and executed agenda. If buzz over breakfast or lunch is "Can you believe what so-and-so said?" the negativity has a chance to spiral and all of  a sudden a well-crafted meeting has an edge of something that went not-quite right.
Over almost ten years of working with some outstanding speakers and some I'd like to forget, I can offer a few ideas on how to choose someone great.

Find resources you can trust.

As a rule, most "big name" speakers go through speaker's bureaus...and one great tool is to develop a relationship with several of these organizations. I have two people who I trust implicitly to tell me who's new, who's hot, who'd fit well with my agenda--and who I should steer away from. The best speaker isn't always the most expensive, and some people who you think would be outstanding...sometimes aren't. My two go-to guys, at two well-connected speakers bureaus, are able to get me anyone I want (even "exclusives"). They keep me up-to-date with new entries onto the speaking circuit without sending me an overwhelming number of sales solicitations. They know the type of meetings I've run, tend to know my audience, and can suggest several names across an agreed upon budget within several hours of my inquiry. It's their job to be expert in who's out there.
Try: I work closely with the Washington Speakers Bureau, as one of my main sources of info--and they have a great site for surfing through photos and bios to get ideas. Even if I don't see someone featured who is of interesst, the speakers they have can trigger the thought of someone else. And they truly represent some of the best speakers out there. www.washingtonspeakers.com

Think outside your industry.

Many of my conferences have been financial-services based, but when attendees are hearing literally hours of content geared around regulations and the economy, they often want to hear something else from a keynote. My all-time favorite speaker, backed up by unanimously outstanding reviews of his energetic presentation, is Duke's Mike Kryzewski--Coach K. What can a college basketball coach "teach" a bunch of financial planners? A great deal, it turns out--about teamwork, working with different types of people, and about how everyone counts. And with a speaking style that gets everyone engaged and involved, Coach K is able to deliver his message in a way that's not patronizing or too basic--instead, you leave his talk feeling that you've been both entertained and enlightened. The secret? Solid content backed with professional delivery--and obvious time spent in preparation. With a message tailored to each group no one feels that they're being talked at--instead, they're talked to.
Try: Look at conferences within your industry to see who's speaking--and follow up with your peers to find out what they thought. I never mind a call from someone planning a meeting, asking what I thought of someone who's spoken for me--and I'm always honest in my recommendation or my "warning", for lack of a better word. Industry publications often publish calendars of events--for instance, Investment News has a calendar of public and private events for the financial services community, which can give you great ideas of who's "hot" on the circuit right now. Their calendar's available on http://investmentnews.com; a simple google search can probably give you additional ideas of "big events" going on in your industry.

Always try to spend some time before your event with your speaker.

The best speakers won't mind--in fact, will encourage--a quick call prior to their talk to get an idea of the audience and any thing they should mention or avoid mentioning. Perhaps there's been a difficult merger, or a problem issue--you wouldn't want a keynote speaker to unknowingly bring that "hot potato" up from the main stage. And some audiences are more conservative than others; my worst speaker experience came when a keynote spent well over half of his time telling dirty jokes from the dais to a group of fairly conservative officers of the company. And they weren't even current dirty jokes! We'd tried to prepare him with an audience profile and a red flag should have been raised when he didn't seem interested...but as the old adage goes, you can't script live television, and the same goes for a keynote address in front of hundreds.
Try: Have the basic information on your company ready in an easily digestable, condensed format for your speaker to review. If possible, personally pick him/her up from the airport or at least their hotel room--I spent 30 minutes in a limo with General Norman Schwarzkopf and was shocked at how much information he was able to take from me and insert, with context, into his presentation. Many speakers are of course quite busy with their "Non Speaker" career; thus, the easier you can make it for them to get the basics on what you'd like to cover or who your audience is, the more you'll find they are able to relate. Again, going to a great speaker's bureau site, like Washington Speakers Bureau, will give you information and forms on what speakers are looking for to help you best prepare them. As for folks that go "off the reservation"--my only advice is to book two great speakers for a single meeting so you can turn your attention to the second speaker!

Don't break the bank for a

Great speakers can be had for reasonable fees. I've found that if you get someone who's fees are in the stratosphere, it always tends to come out and there's a level of expectation for "greatness" that is almost impossible to meet. Thus, your audience may leave disappointed even if the talk was good. It's the old bargain hunter in all of us, and the desire to not feel "ripped off". And even worse is when an attendee has paid on his or her own dime to attend an event and thinks "This is what my money went for?" Along these lines, I'm always careful when soliciting feedback from attendees on "Who Would You Like to See as a Keynote at Future Events?" The answers are not always realistic but you're setting yourself up to disappoint your consistency if you ask the question and are then unable to deliver.
Try: If you think of a big name who has an equally big pricetag, look to his/her peers. You want a sports name but can't afford tens of thousands of dollars? Look for someone with a tie-in to your organization, or better yet a charitable tie in that gets some of the funds from his/her talk--these people are often more reasonable. A political name? Simply monitoring news sites will let you know peers or those with similar views, who may be more appropriate for your group. And again, always rely on a great resource like a Speaker's Bureau --Harry Walker is another great one--to help you set realistic budget expectations.

Watch tricky schedules--and have a backup plan

Newspeople are notorious for having "outs" in their contract if a big story breaks. Many sports personalities build in similar outs. Be very aware of your contract, when signing it, and make sure that you will not be paying if someone pulls out even for a justifiable reason. But before it even gets to contract stage, you should consider the likelihood of "something coming up"--and let that dictate your choice. For instance, certain news personalities tape in New York and can do events that are fairly local if they're back in the studio on time--but depending on where you are, you may not want to have to deal with a schedule so specific. Some events are out of your control, of course; a recent speaker at one of my events had a health scare the day before she was to speak. Luckily, I'd had a great experience with another similar speaker and was able to prevail on her to step in--it never hurts to have a backup plan!
Try: 

Make sure every contract you have is reviewed from a legal perspective and is fairly worded in the event of a non-appearance, even for justifiable reasons. And stay abreast of current events and/or a potential speaker's peers to know who could step in at the last minute--even a simple Google search can give you information on where a speaker has appeared and offer links to detailed bios, and from there you can find like speakers.

Don't be afraid to ask for all you can

All of us have a bit of "celebrity gawker" in us, and you'll find that a simple photo of your audience members with a keynote is something they'll treasure and hang on their wall. Even better? A special invite-only breakfast to get the "Inside Scoop" with a small group of hand selected attendees and your speaker goes a long way to rewarding some of your most important clients or constituents. Almost every speaker will give you and additional 15 minutes or more for a photo shoot--and if it's well planned and efficiently run you can snap pictures with almost everyone who wants one. Depending on the timing of your talk, it's worth asking for your speaker to spend some time with a hand-selected group. Just be sure you get a couple folks who aren't intimidated and can get the conversation rolling!
Try: Depending on the number of photos you take, your best bet is to get a professional photographer who can set up the shots and quickly execute with a line of people waiting to step in quickly. I've found that allowing folks to have items like books, etc signed slows the process considerably so often I get the speaker to pre-sign books or bookplates and make them available to attendees, or simply say ahead of time he/she can't sign. And what about when you have all of those pictures at the end of the conference? If you can identify everyone, it makes a great "Thank you for coming" mailing; otherwise, just have the photographer upload them to a photo-viewing site and attendees can download and print their own photos.

Get as much bang for your buck as you can through promotion

Promote your keynote ahead of time--you'll get great attendance. And then don't be shy about using their material--within their specifications, of course. Many people have caveats about recording or using their presentations on sites, etc. However, I always make it a practice to include photos of the keynote in subsequent publications and write-ups of the conference, because it's something that usually has a great resonance with those who attended. And, I mention past great keynotes in discussions of meetings and conferences as a way to make each meeting stand out--and as a recruiting tool for new business.
Try: Your company website is a great place to promote your speakers and conferences. And industry websites, as appropriate, can showcase what cutting-edge or interesting speakers you're able to feature in a meeting and make you stand out from the competition. If there are "Industry Calendars", like the one in Investment News, for financial planners, you can stand out and may seem more appealing to potential recruits to your business.

• Determining a great keynote speaker can be tough--managing expectations about budget, finding someone who everyone can agree on, getting someone truly standout. Do your research ahead of time to narrow your search to 3-4 names, with brief bios, who you've already checked availability on. This list can be quickly reviewed and a decision can be made before you lose your window of opportunity.
• Don't be afraid to talk to your peers--especially in person, where they may be more candid than in writing or over the phone. Ask them who they've had who's great, who wasn't great. People love to talk about their experiences and their "bests and worsts" may trigger ideas for you.
• Keep an eye out for authors who have a good book out--may be a great speaker (though not always). Pay attention to the news to know who's hot. And attend events in person if you can--often, you can get a special invitation to see a speaker who's appearing somewhere else--which is the best way to see how they do (far better than a canned tape).
• Keep an eye out for authors who have a good book out--may be a great speaker (though not always). Pay attention to the news to know who's hot. And attend events in person if you can--often, you can get a special invitation to see a speaker who's appearing somewhere else--which is the best way to see how they do (far better than a canned tape).
• Hire an outside company who's managed events and meetings and ask them for their experience. This tip may seem self-serving--as a consultant, this is one of the things that I can help with--but obviously a company that focuses on planning multiple meetings, if they have suitiable experience, is able to work with a number of speakers and can judge more than just one-a-year.