What Makes A Great Keynote Speech?

We recently undertook an event with one of our clients, the legendary BBC’s World Affairs Editor John Simpson CBE.

I watched as John delivered his keynote speech to a spellbound audience. They hung on every word. Their eyes never left him for a moment. Not one person left the room for a quick ‘comfort break’ despite John’s session being almost an hour. There was a noticeable silence hanging over the delegates, only broken here and there by the odd, seasonal sneeze or cough. They were the rabbits caught in the headlights and, only once he delivered his final word, was there movement and sound as the whole audience, as if one, stood and applauded. It was indeed a sublime moment.

John was followed by the Chairman of the company who, regrettably, had almost the opposite reaction. His speech was no less important and possibly of even more relevance to the gathered delegates but they were not listening. They shuffled. They popped out. They mumbled to each other. One even slept.

I found it fascinating that two powerful people could both speak to the same audience within minutes of each other and get such opposing reactions.

The thing was John’s speech was brilliant and the Chairman’s was not. So what was it that made John’s so very good? I spoke with John after the event and discussed how he goes about crafting his keynote.

This was John’s response, advice and tips:

The first thing is that John always wants a 30 minute call with the event organisers are least two to three weeks before the event to discuss their expectations, audience, purpose of the conference, what the delegates had been doing the night / day before, where they had come from, how long the conference lasts, etc.

John feels that knowing your audience is key to drafting the speech. It is equally important to not talk above them as it is to not talk below them. He believes it is critical to engage with all of them and to portray yourself as the most humble / least qualified person in the room. They may believe differently but that is for them to decide and not you to tell them.

Whilst it is important that the keynote should have, as any story, a beginning a middle and an end John says that it must remain dynamic. He does not like using slides nor does he use an autocue as he feels it prevents him having the ability to adapt and would encourage him to deliver a speech more than once. John insists that each speech should be bespoke and tailored to the event needs.

John uses a ’stand up’ comedian as an example of judging audiences. The comedian always comes out and tells four or five jokes in quick succession. Each joke has a different theme - maybe political, non-pc, sporting, topical, whatever and whichever one gets the best response sets the comedian’s theme for the performance. John says that a good keynote speaker should be no different. Within a few moments of taking to the stage and engaging with the audience the speaker should, be able to see what sort of approach and delivery will work best. There is a huge difference between talking to an audience at a daytime convention and the same audience after dinner later the same day. Both should be entertainment but each requires a different delivery and theme.

The most difficult delivery for John is having to sum up a whole international incident in an unbiased and informative manner that can be fully explained in a 3 minute slot on the BBC’s Ten O’clock News. John feels that to be given half an hour makes it a lot simpler and an hour easier still. As Mark Twain once said “If you want me to give you a two-hour presentation, I am ready today. If you want only a five-minute speech, it will take me two weeks to prepare.”

Most of John’s keynotes involve world affairs, political risk, the Middle East, China, unrest, terrorism, national security, trade risk, leaders he has met and related topics. Whilst he crafts his speech far ahead of the event he always leaves room to include the most recent events right up to the time he goes on stage.

John likes his presentations to be part of the overall event so always wants to find out what has been said previously and who will be speaking later. He feels it important to be able to tie his speech in to the whole fabric by saying things like “as Harry mentioned to you earlier . . . . “ or “as George will be discussing later . . . “. He says it makes him seem part of the structure and a more comfortable fit with the company and audience.

Whilst John doesn’t think that delivery is everything he says that it really does account for a lot. “You can have the best speech in the world, filled with vital facts and amazing information but if you deliver it badly, rushed, mumbled, nervously it will not work whereas a fairly average content can enrapture an audience if delivered with sincerity, gravitas and confidence.” John says that the pauses between the words can say more sometimes than the words themselves.

One of John’s tips is to take things slowly. “When anyone walks onto a stage they get an adrenaline rush. That is like switching on a turbo in the body” says John. “This makes people babble at speed their turbo charged system can understand but, to an audience who are in non turbo mode, it comes across much too fast”. John’s tip is to start talking at a pace that seems very slow to you as this will the right speed to the audience.

John not only delivers outstanding keynote speeches but also does some very good coaching and media training.

If you would like advise or either please let me know.