Speaking From the Heart
Imagine the scene: Someone has just tapped her glass for silence, introduced the keynote speaker for the celebration dinner, and he begins speaking. After a few minutes a couple of folks start texting. Others are whispering. Some are picking at their deserts or getting up for more booze.
Why? This guy is a top-rated speaker in his field! Maybe he is a highly-sought-after motivational speaker. Maybe he is one of the best-informed in his area of expertise. However, he is not appealing tonight.
Maybe it’s because after so many years of dinner-desert-keynote speaker, something needs to give. There are only so things you can say about “motivation,” and only so many ways to say them. Many planners have turned to comedians instead of professional speakers and had a higher level of success, but not all humor will appeal to everyone. Retired politicians have made a few professional addresses as well, but again, our polarized society can make an engagement like that a disaster.
One thing you should ask yourself if you are arranging for a speaker is this: Does it have to be a “motivational” speaker? And in some sense isn’t every speaker motivational to some degree? Does it have to be a speaker who knows something about the conference subject?
While the answers to some of those questions may often be “yes,” it’s the ones you can answer “no” that will give you the greatest challenge and bring the greatest reward, even though they also carry the greatest risk.
