How to Choose the Right Keynote Speaker for Your Event

Choosing a keynote speaker can feel like a pretty simple decision.

Find someone with an impressive résumé. A recognizable name. A good highlight reel. Someone who has done something extraordinary.

Those things matter.

But they aren't what makes someone the right speaker for your event.

We've spent a lot of time around speakers, audiences, event organizers, and people with incredible stories. And one thing we've learned is that the person with the most impressive title isn't always the person who will have the greatest impact on a room.

The right speaker is the person who can connect.

Start with the audience, not the speaker

Before you start looking at names, ask a different question:

Who is sitting in the room?

A keynote for 1,000 sales leaders should probably feel different from a conversation with a group of educators, veterans, executives, entrepreneurs, or young professionals.

What are they experiencing right now?

What are they struggling with?

What do they care about?

And, maybe most importantly, what do you want them talking about when they leave?

It's easy to get excited about someone's accomplishments and forget about the people who are actually going to hear them.

Start with the audience.

Then find the person who belongs in front of them.

Look beyond the résumé

We represent people who have done some remarkable things.

They've led at the highest levels of the military. Built businesses. Coached teams. Worked in national security. Overcome enormous challenges. Led organizations and communities. Created audiences of their own.

Those experiences give someone credibility.

But credibility gets you onto the stage.

Connection is what makes people listen once you're there.

Some of the most powerful moments we've seen haven't come from someone's biggest accomplishment. They've come when a speaker is willing to talk about the failure before the success, the uncertainty behind the decision, or the moment when things didn't go according to plan.

Audiences can tell when they're being spoken at.

They can also tell when someone is genuinely speaking to them.

There's a big difference.

Know what you want the keynote to accomplish

“Motivate the audience” isn't much of an objective.

Almost every event wants people to leave feeling energized.

Go one level deeper.

Maybe your organization is going through significant change. Maybe you're trying to build better leaders. Maybe your people need to think differently about resilience, teamwork, culture, innovation, purpose, or performance.

Maybe they've simply heard enough polished corporate presentations and need something human.

The clearer you are about the outcome, the easier it becomes to choose the right person.

A great keynote shouldn't just fill 45 minutes on the agenda.

It should contribute to why you brought everyone together in the first place.

Don't confuse a great story with a great storyteller

There are a lot of people with incredible stories.

Not all of them should be keynote speakers.

Being great on stage is its own skill.

Can the person tell a story without making themselves the hero of every part of it?

Can they read a room?

Can they make people laugh?

Can they make them think?

Can they take experiences that may be completely different from the audience's lives and make the lessons feel relevant to them?

That's where the magic happens.

You shouldn't have to share someone's background to see yourself somewhere in their story.

Authenticity matters

We probably use the word authentic too much these days.

But we haven't found a better one.

People know when they're getting the rehearsed version of someone. They know when every sentence has been polished until there's nothing human left in it.

The best speakers we've worked with know their message, but they don't hide behind it.

They're willing to be funny. Vulnerable. Imperfect.

They're willing to admit they didn't always know what they were doing.

Because none of us do.

That doesn't diminish their credibility.

Usually, it strengthens it.

The biggest name isn't always the best choice

There's nothing wrong with bringing a recognizable name to your event. Sometimes that's exactly the right decision.

But name recognition and audience impact aren't the same thing.

We've seen people you've probably never heard of completely change the energy in a room.

That's why we believe the better question isn't:

“Who's the biggest speaker we can get?”

It's:

“Who's the right person for these people, at this moment?”

Those can lead to very different answers.

Find the right fit

At Liberty Speaks, we don't believe people are defined by the titles they've held.

The interesting part is usually what happened along the way.

The wins. The failures. The decisions. The relationships. The things that went wrong. The lessons they had to learn the hard way.

Those experiences are what allow a speaker to connect their story to someone else's.

So when we're helping an organization find a speaker, we're looking beyond the bio.

We're thinking about the audience.

The objective.

The room.

And the conversation you want people to still be having after the event is over.

Because ultimately, choosing a keynote speaker isn't about finding the most impressive person.

It's about finding the right person.

Looking for a speaker for your next event? Explore the Liberty Speaks talent roster or tell us a little about your audience and what you're trying to accomplish. We'll help you find the right fit.