THE BEST LIST OF PROFESSIONAL SPEAKERS: KEYNOTE SPEAKING PROS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Event planners making a list of professional speakers and aiming to populate conferences and rousing corporate gatherings face a fundamental needle-in-a-haystack dilemma. For many keynote presenters swarm circuits like TED, Davos and Aspen – all touting transformational talks that supposedly break paradigms. Yet when crafting a list of professional speakers finding the true golden signs requires considerable discernment and diligence to filter fools’ gold from the real nuggets that dazzle and deliver on promises of life-altering revelations.

As with any talent scout in fields like music or basketball, planners seeking communications standouts must develop keen eyes and ears. To build a successful list of professional speakers, pros here will require their own data-driven matrix to monitor keynote prospects against. For buried in the fog of similar resumes and client lists lurk the quantifiable signs a given contender just might prove worthy of the gig and massive audiences it entails.

What should this scorecard include for star presenter searches? A view to tangible social proof is a must, quantifying the precise reach a possible headliner commands through metrics like website visitors, social media followings and mailing list numbers. Rates of audience growth could equally matter when looking at a list of professional speakers to gauge relevance, more than sheer size alone. Creative output like book sales and media mentions should all be notched.

Proprietary numbers around speeches delivered, fees earned and repeat bookings from past clients also signal staying power. Especially telling are client satisfaction scores that event organizers should solicit from peers. Qualitative reference checks when assembling a list of professional speakers could reveal off-stage speaker temperament critical for high maintenance productions.

But like any top tier headhunting process, a presenter’s financial compensation makes for a pivotal data point to ascertain true market value. For literal pricelessness emerges only in fables – not industries governed by economics. Demand signaled financially around a thought lesders offers crucial third-party validation. It reflects invisible forces of gravity between attraction and authority that can’t be easily manufactured or bought. Planners assessing talent from a list of professional speakers face the ultimate Goldilocks dilemma – not too cheap as to lack exclusivity but not too expensive as to limit ROI. The “just right” speaker lies nestled quantifiably in between.

For at its core, keynote speaking remains a service like any other. Thus performance merits payment and payments reflect performance. Wattage isn’t free – as the brightest talents exact the highest fees precisely because audiences receive such luminous value per dollar in exchange. Getting what you pay holds truest for those paid to persuade. Heed the unseen forces setting speaker rates when plotting a list of professional speakers  and scouting rising stars worthy of the world’s biggest spotlights. It’s a good place to start your considerations.