There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what it takes to prepare a successful keynote speech – and a successful keynote speaking career. Let me start by talking about what it is not, and then talk about what it is. First of all, a keynote speech is not a collection of clever one-liners. Nor is it an expression of a brand. Nor is it the summary of a book. It’s not a set of facts or research points that the speaker looked up in the weeks leading up to the event. It’s not primarily data, or even facts, and it certainly isn’t an encyclopedia.
A keynote speech is the distillation of wisdom, and usually the product of years of sitting with the topic, doing research, deepening experience, broadening the perspective that comes from living with the topic deeply, and learning relentlessly. We look to a keynote speaker to give us a new way to think about something. Literally, at a conference, the keynote speech should sound the keynote – that is, set up a question, or a way of thinking about something, or an insight, that gets attendees buzzing for the rest of the conference, and interacting with the other speakers and workshops in new ways.
Inherent in this approach is the idea that a keynote speaker should wear his or her learning lightly. Most importantly, a keynote speech should take its audience on a journey, from why (Why am I, as an audience member, here? Why should I care?) to how (how do I get started with this new thinking? How do I prepare to implement these new ideas?). Also, it’s an intellectual and emotional journey. A keynote speech should make its audience care about the topic as a matter of life and death. Not just a nice-to-have, but a must-have. A keynote speech should have a story arc that keeps its audience listening raptly from start to finish. Like a good movie, there should be action scenes and contemplative scenes. Drama and humor. Fun and ferociousness.
To develop a keynote speech of this caliber, you should expect to take your years of expertise and find the most resonant moments to share with the audience. What are the stories you tell yourself that orient you to the subject – the deep ways you see the topic that set you apart from other experts in the field? How did you become immersed in the subject? What are your most compelling insights? You’ll want to collect many of these, and then start to string them like a set of beads on the chain that is your story arc. The speech should make sense to a neophyte and be interesting to someone equal to you in stature in the field.
That’s a tall order, and it’s best prepared organically, not thrown together with a few slides that help you remember your key points. You should be able to give the speech without technology, in face – a great keynote speech isn’t about the slides, it’s about the insight.
What about the career of a keynote speaker? Start by defining your topic narrowly enough that you know who your audience is. It’s not everyone – that won’t attract interest. It’s a cadre of people who are likely your colleagues, your work friends, or your rivals in the field. Then start talking to your audience by figuring out where they congregate and where they get their information about the field. Begin a conversation with them, and watch your career take off.
Well said, Nick. I’m constantly amazed that people who are successful in one area – a startup founder for example, or a CEO – assume that people want to hear their wisdom so badly that they can just wing it with their keynote. I’ve seen it hundreds of times. Thank you for explaining how difficult it is to do this work and for teaching how to do it well.
Great topic, seldom addressed. Sounds like there’s a book in there somewhere.