Five Tips to a Good Keynote Speaker

Making a speech is fun, especially if the speaker isn’t afraid of crowds, or is familiar with the crowd and knows how to engage the crowd. Sounds like the perfect scene. But suppose a few of these positive points are missing? What then?

Well, the speech can still be massively successful. A good keynote speaker doesn’t let ‘a not so perfect’ scenario ruin the day. Confidence, an upbeat demeanor and a few good pointers help significantly.

Myths & Secrets of Great Keynote Speakers

First of all, let’s begin by saying shy people can make successful speeches. That fact that only loud rambunctious personalities can dominate the speech scene is a false narrative. If an individual has a desire to make a speech, they can make a speech. And a memorable successful one at that.

Here’s what experts don’t understand, watching a somewhat shy person get comfortable and open up is very illuminating. It’s like rooting for one the person that was bullied all his life. This speaker will always be absolutely the best in comparison to the others. Because he/she would be seen as defying all odds.

Knowing the crowd is not as important as one would think. Every crowd has basically the same different personality type. The guests that laugh at everything. The ones that laugh at nothing. The ones that were asked to attend, but really don’t want to be there. And the ones that would rather be no place else.

The usual mix will pretty much be the same. However, the speaker does need to know what these people have in common. Are they all members of the same club? Do all the guests live in the general proximity?

Or are they all from different parts of the world? Do they all work for the same firm? If so, is the firm successful or is it struggling? Throw in some humorous off key jokes about that specific point. Make the group feel relaxed. A comfortable atmosphere is much better than a tense one.

Five Secrets to Keynote Speaking

Each keynote speaker has their own basic rules of success that they live by. What works for one, may not work for another.

But below are some tips that could work for just about anyone.

1. engage the audience
2. focus
3. give correct information
4. be detailed when matters
5. watch your time

Make the audience feel engaged. Engagement is a good thing. Interacting with the crowd, builds excitement and enthusiasm.

Ask different members what position they hold within the company? Compare the positions to each other. Once the ice is broken and the audience is engaged, it is a lot easier to start discussing the topic of the day.

Once the discussion moves onto the topic, remain focused. Focusing on a particular subject isn’t always easy. Especially if there are other pressing topics that also need to be discussed.

For example, if the speaker needs to delve into the financial situation of a charity, he/she would need to discuss the new volunteer positions. Even though volunteers are crucially needed, that part of the discussion can wait. So make it a point to do just that.

When discussing money, be sure not to rattle off numbers that are incorrect. Do it in a paced detailed manner, perhaps utilizing charts etc. Studying and going over such critical information. It can be surprising to know how many people may be taking notes and will perhaps use these numbers in other future discussions.

When speaking be aware of the time. Especially if there are a few more subjects that need to be touched on. Never assume that there is plenty of time left. Continue to go over each subject in a moderate way.

The most successful speakers will touch on all topics. Once all the topics have been discussed then they would proceed to elaborate on the initial ones. It will feel like a relief, because now, the stress has been reduced and the initial subjects can be explained in much more detail.

Richard Buckley