Coming Up with an Idea for Your Keynote

By Laura Perry, Copywriting & Editing Intern at Talent Academy

Keynote speeches are used to set the tone or underlying theme for a workshop or conference. They are usually given at either the start or the end of the day and give people something to think about during or after they leave the conference or workshop. So you want to present something meaningful and impactful right?

It can be tricky knowing where to start when brainstorming ideas for your keynote, so we’ve put together some tips to help make the process a little easier.

Know your audience

Find out what kind of people are going to be attending and figure out what is important to them. What issues do they care about? What are their age range, education, and professional background? What is going to be relevant to them? Think about how you can inspire your audience and make them agree with your viewpoint.

Find out what the event you are speaking at is about

Knowing the context that you are presenting in will help you determine what you should speak about. This will also help you to know your audience and their interests. If you can, find out who has spoken in the past at this event and what they spoke about. Look at reviews and past social media to see if their speech was well-received.

Think about what is happening in the world right now

You want to speak about something that is relevant to the world we are living in, otherwise, what’s the point? Your audience isn’t going to care about something that was in the past, they want to learn about the present and ponder the future. Thinking about old ideas in a new, and innovative way can also be interesting, to see how these have changed and might change the future.

How will you inspire your audience?

You want your audience to feel inspired and motivated to do something about your idea. So when coming up with your topic, make sure you consider how you will make it inspiring.

Speak to what you know

Consider your own life experiences and what you wish someone had told you at some point in your life. Sharing your knowledge and including personal anecdotes makes for an engaging presentation because people can genuinely relate to human experiences. It will also be far easier for you to talk about a topic that you know and are passionate about.

Once you have your idea, make sure you consider how you will structure and present your speech. It is important that you give your keynote in an interesting and engaging way so that your audience will get on board with your idea and be empowered to do something about it.

Do you have a fear of public speaking? Do you want to learn how to be a better public speaker? We have a range of online courses designed to help you improve your public speaking skills. We also offer communication and public speaking workshops, contact us for more information!