Keynote Program

Stand and Deliver Keynotes

• Tell a story. Nothing communicates better than a real-life story — the more personal the better. Stories make facts relatable and people may remember your story better than anything else you'll say. Whenever possible, use humor (but only if you think you can do it effectively; nothing's less funny than forced or lame humor). 

• Make a point. The idea isn’t just to describe your company or job or product — it is to have a takeaway, some point or conclusion that you want the audience to remember. Consider starting with that point, then working back to it by the conclusion. 

• Don’t sell. The pros illuminate without being preachy or sales-y. If you’re trying to promote something — yourself, your company, a product or service — you’ll lose the audience. Instead, share an idea. If you do it well, it will give you far more credibility and will invite conversations that will allow you to make your pitch later on. 

• Use slides effectively. The best presentations have some slides, but not many. And those slides have relatively few, if any, words. Just a single image or a key phrase or two — not your basic bullet-point sales-meeting slides. Think about the old adage about 1 picture = 1,000 words, but not every word needs a picture. 

• Practice. Then practice some more. The best presenters don't wing it. They rehearse, fine-tune and rehearse again. Give a dry run or dress rehearsal to your colleagues, family or pets, or videotape yourself and be your own critic. The more you do it, the better it'll get. 

• Have fun! Okay, it may seem hard to do after all these tips, but if you can make it happen, you're well on your way. Audiences appreciate a presenter who truly enjoys what they're talking about. It can be contagious.

Keynote Interviews and Panels

• Make it a conversation. The best sessions are those where audience members feel like they are listening in on a private lunch or dinner conversation between two or more professionals. So, the more conversational the better.

• Talk to the moderator. You needn't address the audience directly in these sessions. It's fine to keep the conversation between you and the moderator (and other panelists, if there are any), with the audience listening in. But if you feel the need to address the audience directly, go for it.

• Keep it moving. Try to keep answers relatively short, much like you'd do in a TV interview, where long-winded answers can make for boring viewing.

• Relax and have fun! Audiences appreciate speakers who truly enjoy what they're talking about. It can be contagious. Use your keynote conversation as an opportunity to share knowledge and inspire participants.

• Slides: We do not use slides for Keynote Conversations. In rare instances, we may use one or two slides if visualizing something will help the audience understand a topic, subject to the moderator's approval.