Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

We all understand the value a high-profile keynote speaker can bring to our conferences and trade fairs but choosing the right speaker can sometimes be a challenge.

Here are a few suggestions worth considering:

Industry

The speaker should understand your industry. Generic topics are often interesting and fun but the overwhelming need of your audience is information that is specific and related directly to their issues. For example, check out  UFI’s 77th congress lineup, http://www.ufi.org/singapore2010/, what they have created is a program that draws from both academic and industry speakers to create a great balance of information.

Flexible

The speaker should be willing to tweak the presentation to current and relevant trends and issues that your attendees are facing.

Track record.

Ask where the speaker has spoken and what were the results.

Culture

The speaker should understand the specific nuances of a country and culture. Ask if the speaker is willing to adjust to the audience.

Motivations and inspirational

Will the speaker leave the audience inspired to take on new challenges?

Budget

Is the speaker affordable? This includes the speaker’s fee plus all the related costs such as transportation and hotels.

If you have gone through the process of finding good keynotes perhaps you will add some additional criteria. Also, who have you used and who would you recommend?