There are hundreds of great Canadian keynote speakers available. But in order to find a corporate keynote speaker who’s going to make a big splash at your event, here are eight key tips to keep in mind, questions to ask a potential keynote speaker, and tips to implement – before, during, and in follow-up to your search.
- Before You Start Looking for a Corporate Keynote Speaker
Develop a Detailed Overview of Your Goals – You should never start your search with the goal of simply finding somebody to fill your guest speaker slot. Instead, the goal should be to find a speaker who aligns with the theme and objectives of the event. So, before you start looking around for a corporate keynote speaker, it’s important to understand exactly what you’re hoping to achieve by partnering up with them. This could be things like:
- Adding credibility to your event
- Assisting with event promotion (this is a common need since 36% of event marketers cite increasing event registration as their biggest challenge, according to Bizzabo)
- Increasing audience engagement
- Generating buzz and excitement
- Reinforcing the theme of your event
- Providing your audience with important takeaways
- Offering insights, fresh ideas, and new perspectives
- Sharing skills and educating guests
- Conveying an understanding of a new product, service, or industry
- Boosting morale
You should also consider the flow of your event in order to identify the right speaker. For example, a kick-off speaker who opens up the event should be able to convey the big picture, setting the tone and outlining goals for the day. A midday speaker needs to be energetic and dynamic in order to revive and reenergize the audience – especially after a lunch break. The closing keynote speaker has to be able to pull together the key messages from the entire day which means they will need to be flexible in their content and able to adapt on the fly.
By closely considering and understanding your exact goals, you can more easily narrow in on the right partner.
- Consider Your Audience – On the flip side of that coin, it’s equally important to understand who your audience is so that you can identify what will check their boxes when it comes to a speaker. Take a look at:
- Your Audience Demographic: Are these seasoned businesspeople? A group of international young urban professionals? Edgy innovators brimming with new, outrageous, cutting-edge ideas? The people in the room will dictate the type of speaker that will work best for your event – whether it’s a young, trendy speaker, or a notable expert with vast experience. For instance, a marketing-focused audience might be more engaged by a celebrity speaker while an audience of medical professionals might be more interested in hearing from a leading, highly recognized scientist or doctor.
- What Your Audience Might Want: What types of lessons would they like to learn? Are they going to be in search of specific or technical information they can take away and put into action immediately? Or are they looking for something that provides broad insights and provokes new ideas? What are the issues or concerns they want to address or problems they want to solve? Are they in search of an intense and thought-provoking session, or an uplifting and light-hearted one? Understanding what your audience wants will help guide you in the right direction when it comes to finding a keynote speaker that brings value to your guests.
- The Size of Your Audience: How big is your audience? This will impact the type of speaker you should look for. For example, a smaller crowd made up of attendees might enjoy a more interactive session, such as a discussion format. On the other hand, a larger crowd may be more interested in listening intently to a speaker who imparts their wisdom and knowledge in a one-way fashion.
- Your Audience Demographic: Are these seasoned businesspeople? A group of international young urban professionals? Edgy innovators brimming with new, outrageous, cutting-edge ideas? The people in the room will dictate the type of speaker that will work best for your event – whether it’s a young, trendy speaker, or a notable expert with vast experience. For instance, a marketing-focused audience might be more engaged by a celebrity speaker while an audience of medical professionals might be more interested in hearing from a leading, highly recognized scientist or doctor.
- Outline a Budget – This is one of the biggest factors you need to consider when you begin your search for a corporate keynote speaker. According to Bizzabo, event planners allocate an average of only 10% of their event budget to speakers. According to Forbes, speakers in the Canada and the United States can command anywhere from $2,000 to $30,000 and beyond, with well-known speakers and celebrities generally starting off at the $50,000 mark. So, this might narrow the scope of your search significantly depending on the size of your event and budget.
It’s also critical to ensure you don’t neglect “unexpected” expenses, including flights, hotels, on-ground transportation, per diems for meals, and even riders –items that speakers might want to have on-site, including everything from specific snacks and beverages to green room requirements and lighting and A/V specifications. It’s wise to play it safe and budget high when it comes to speakers, even if you don’t end up needing it all.
- Identify Types of Speakers Who Might Work – Equipped with a comprehensive understanding of your goals, your audience, and your budget, it’s time to start narrowing down the scope of your upcoming search by identifying the types of corporate event speakers who might be a fit with your specific situation – and there are a ton to choose from. Break out a list of the different options you have when it comes to types of speakers. This could include, but is certainly not limited to:
- Ex-politicians
- TV, music, and film stars
- Media personalities
- Sports heroes – Olympic Athletes
- Inspiring people who have beaten the odds
- Entrepreneurs
- Industry experts such as CEOs and authors
While this might not tell you exactly which speakers you will pursue, it can help you rule out types of candidates that wouldn’t be a fit so that you can streamline the selection process and avoid pursuing dead-ends.
- Create an Outline to Share – Once you’ve got your ducks in a row as to what you’re looking for, it’s time to put together an abstract – more officially known as a Call for Speaker Proposals. This is a comprehensive document that you will share with potential candidates in order to provide them with all the details, right off the bat. Your Call for Speaker Proposals should include:
- Dates, times, and location
- Any travel requirements
- Event theme
- Discussion topics
- The length of the presentation you’re in search of
- Audience size and demographics
- Information about your company
- Event itinerary
- Your budget
The more detail you can provide in your Call for Speaker Proposals, the easier and more streamlined your search will be.
- During Your Search for a Corporate Keynote Speaker
You’ve planned, you’ve strategized, you’ve locked in what you’re looking for, and you’re ready to get your search underway. But here’s the big question: where do you even start? With so many options available spanning various industries, backgrounds, benefits, and expertise at a wide range of different price points, how do you go about identifying and securing your keynote speaker? Here are a few tips you can use to make it easier.
Know Where to Look – In past years, finding and securing keynote speakers was a much tougher challenge than it is today. While you still have to do a significant amount of research to find the right one, there are a ton of resources available to help make your search easier, including:
Speakers’ bureaus – These agencies will generally help you find the best possible fit from a list of the various speakers they book. They are usually paid with a percentage of the speaker’s fee so it’s just as cost-efficient to deal with them as it is to deal directly with a speaker. Check out ProSpeakers.com at 416 420 4525 as we represent all the top Speakers in Canada and can help you make sure you make the right choice. For a listing of the top 2024 leadership speakers.
- Vet Them Thoroughly
Once you’ve found some viable candidates, you’re going to with the help of your speakers agent to want to vet them thoroughly. First and foremost, make sure you’ve actually watched them in action. Check for videos on their website or social media. And if there aren’t any there, you should consider requesting them. While it’s critical to find a corporate event speaker who can put on a great performance, it’s also important to find somebody who is professional, helpful, and easy to work with. Not only are you trusting them to enhance your event, you’re also probably going to be spending a lot of time working closely with them. So, you can take your vetting process a step further by asking a few discovery questions like:
- What makes a good keynote speaker in your eyes?
- Describe a time when you turned down an event because it wasn’t a good fit for you.
- Describe how you adjusted on the fly during a keynote speech when you realized you had lost your audience.Describe the biggest mistake you’ve made at an event, and how you handled
- Can you describe your ideal event to speak at and why?
- Can you describe your favorite client and what makes them that? Can you describe your least favorite client?
- Follow Up to Your Corporate Keynote Speaker Search
Once your event is over, take the opportunity to gauge its success as well as the success of the speaker you selected. The best way to do so is to proactively seek feedback from the people who attended your event. Consider sending a post-event survey to those who attended. You can ask questions like:
- How satisfied were you with the event?
- How useful did you find the information presented at the event?
- Did you enjoy the keynote speaker? If so, what did you enjoy most?
- Do you feel you gained value from listening to the speaker?
- Have your professional skills improved because of this event and the speaker?
- How would you rate the keynote speaker? How would you rate the event?
- Was the event better, worse, or on par with what you expected?
- What advice would you give to the event organizers?
You should also check your social media channels and relevant hashtags to gauge the volume of people talking about your event. And, if applicable, examine whether there was a boost in registration or ticket sales following the announcement of the speaker.
If you’re planning a conference, trade show, full-day meeting, company retreat, or any other type of event and are looking for a way to amplify it, get in touch with ProSpeakers.com to learn about how the right team building activity can bring added value for you, your team, and your organization