Leadership keynote: 6 criteria for choosing the speaker for your convention
A talk can become the moment everyone talks about after a convention, or an hour of polite attention quickly forgotten. The difference rarely depends on the speaker’s fame, and much more on six simple criteria.
In brief
- Start from the message you want to convey, not from the speaker’s name.
- Prefer real, documented examples to unverifiable anecdotes.
- An audience that takes part remembers far more than one that only listens.
- A talk gains from being followed by a workshop or a serious game.
1. A message aligned with your event
Before choosing a speaker, state in one sentence what you want the audience to remember. “Speak up when something is wrong”, “decide together without knowing everything”, “coordinate better across departments”: a precise message lets you judge whether a talk really delivers.
2. Credible examples
The best talks rely on real cases documented by reports or studies: aviation accidents and successes, crisis management, research on teamwork. An audience of professionals quickly spots an embellished anecdote; a sourced case carries authority.
3. An audience that takes part
We remember what we have felt ourselves. An attention experiment lived in the room, a show of hands, a communication exercise in pairs: a few minutes of interaction are enough to turn listening into experience.
Example
In Simons and Chabris’s “invisible gorilla” experiment, about one viewer in two fails to see a gorilla crossing the scene while counting basketball passes. Lived by the audience, it makes clear in two minutes what a long speech about attention cannot.
4. Fit with your audience
An executive committee, a sales force and technical teams do not expect the same thing. A good speaker takes the time for a preparation call to choose examples and parallels suited to your sector.
5. A link with daily work
Every story should end with a simple question: what about us? Without this bridge, the audience admires the story but changes nothing in its practices. With it, people leave with concrete reflexes.
6. A possible follow-up
A talk opens a reflection; a workshop or a serious game lets people put it into practice. In a seminar day, combining both creates a shared vocabulary and commitments the team can follow over time.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How long should a plenary talk be?
45 to 60 minutes for a keynote. An interactive talk needs about 1 h 30 to leave room for experiments and discussion.
Should we plan time for questions?
Yes, at least ten minutes. That is often when the audience connects the talk with its own situations.
