If you are like most, you aren’t exactly sure what business keynote speakers are or what they do. You may think they are motivational, inspirational, breakout, industry experts, closers and more, but you would likely be wrong. Because it is tricky to determine what a speaker will do because each is different, it can be difficult to get a definition of their duties. However, business keynote speakers must capture the meeting’s essence, highlight it to an audience in a short period and command the audience throughout the period. In order to do this, the speaker must research the industry, your audience and the issues at hand.
Capture Essence
Whether your meeting is about boosting sales or boosting morale, your speaker must understand what you need. This means you will need to explain what you are wanting and what your business does. You’ll probably need to provide information about your audience, as well. However, you can’t step on the toes of your business speaker and must allow them to be themselves and create their speech the way they see fit. This can be tricky for many companies, because they want a planned speech that they can approve of before the event, which isn’t how keynote speakers handle their work.
Highlighting
Once they have done research on your company, the audience and the topic at hand, it is time for them to highlight it to their audience in a very short time frame. Most speeches last about 45 minutes, though some may last an hour. If questions are allowed at the end of the speech, it will likely mean a shorter speech to allow for the added question time. They must fill the speech with a lot of meaningful bits of information that your audience and you will appreciate and use.
Short Time Frame
You may find that having your speaker during dinner works well for your schedule, but remember that people will be talking, eating and enjoying the company of others during the event. It may be more beneficial to schedule the speaker before dinner or a few hours after dinner so that people have time to relax, as well as learn. You may also want to ask the speaker when they would prefer to do their speech, which will make them feel heard and more comfortable and will make the timing seem better for everyone involved.
