30 Nov The Qualities of a Great Event Speaker
When you’re looking to hire event speakers, it’s important to understand who you’re looking for. What’s the tone you want to set for your event? Your keynote speaker should be able to create the right mood. Who does your audience want to hear from – who do they look up to? You should try to find speakers who play to the interests of your audience, and who have something insightful to say. No matter who you’re going to choose to speak at your event, there are some qualities that every good public speaker should have.
Experience is one of the most important qualities for a speaker to have; you want someone with knowledge and expertise, an innovator in their field. These folks are especially nice because they always have interesting stories, and their deep understanding of what they do can help them relay relevant information to your audience. It’s quite obvious on the face of it – you wouldn’t hire someone who has never worked in sport to speak at your youth sports conference, and someone without a grasp of finance would probably look funny trying to explain the stock market to experienced brokers.
You’ll also want a real people person; someone who is able to connect on an emotional level with your audience. That means someone who isn’t afraid to be vulnerable; to share their honest feelings about a moment in time, or an event, in a way that resonates with others. They’ll also have to be a bit tough; if the audience isn’t buying the speech to begin with, they need to be able to shrug it off. Further to that, they need to be creative; if they notice the material isn’t working for the audience, your speaker will need to be able to adapt and come up with something new that piques people’s interest.
A great speaker can create excitement. That’s because they’re passionate about what they do, and that passion shines through in what they say on stage, from the words they choose to their tone of voice. You need someone who’s expressive; gestures, inflection and facial expressions should all be at least a bit interesting, to draw attention to the stage. Someone with a good sense of humour is a good idea; getting folks to laugh is a great way to draw them in, especially if you have a few good jokes at your own expense. Even if you’re not the funniest person in the world, a sense of ease and conviviality can take a speaker a long way.
Being a great speaker is no easy task; it takes commitment to your craft, flexibility, an easygoing nature and a great work ethic. While this balance can be almost impossible to find in an average person, speaker agencies do the legwork of finding only the best speakers to help you make your events a success.