This is the fourth post in a series of six.

One of the consistent surprises for me in the keynote speaking world has been the reluctance of speakers to engage in significant audience interaction, despite the real benefits to both audience and speaker in doing so.  Some speakers want to give their canned speech and leave, of course; it saves wear and tear on the speaker.  Speaking can be a grueling profession and minimizing the interaction with audiences is one way to save on the gruel.

Other speakers don’t want to introduce the element of chaos that bringing an audience into a talk will potentially create.  What if they ask a question I can’t answer – or don’t want to answer?  And some speakers want to keep control of timing and agenda and don’t want to relinquish either to an unruly mob.

But those speakers are all missing the bigger point.  If you are speaking about a serious topic with the ambition of changing the world – of spreading your message as far and wide as it will go – then allowing the audience to get active in some way will ensure that they buy in to — and remember — your messages rather than simply hearing it and moving on to the next thing.

So in this, the fourth of six posts, I’ll continue to identify ways in which you can think about engaging the audience effectively for their benefit and for the propagation of your message. Once again, I’ll phrase the interactivity challenge as a question.

What does your audience value?  And what can you surprise and delight them with? If you understand your audience’s hopes and dreams, it’s relatively straightforward to discover what they value and give them a chance to accomplish something in the moment along those lines.

Setting up something of significance may take more effort and time than can be accomplished within the confines of a keynote speech, so you may have to get your audience to sign up or vote ‘yes’ for something that will take place later.  Or you might coordinate with the conference organizers or meeting planners to offer a connection of some kind with a person of significance to members of the audience.  Or an activity that has value for them. One of the great advantages of the hybrid world we live in now is that you can engineer a cameo appearance of someone who has cachet with your audience with relatively little difficulty.  To make it straightforward for you and exciting for the audience, you might pre-record a message, say, from Richard Branson to play to a roomful of entrepreneurs.

Music has a special role in this sort of moment because it plays right to our emotional centers.  Figure out how to bring music into your keynote in a way that is relevant to your message and to the audience and you will give the audience an especially meaningful experience.

The essential model of the keynote has for far too long essentially been one person standing on a stage and talking to an audience.  To that model speakers often add PowerPoint slides or video – but rarely anything else.  What props, moments, additions, stunts, scenes, characters, guest appearance, and so on can you engineer?  Can you give your audience an opportunity to engage with a charitable organization that has special meaning for them?  Focus your offering on what the audience values and you will wow them and create a memorable experience for all.