The Key to a Great Keynote Speech

A keynote speech is a powerful thing. It's a reproducible, universally applicable presentation that inspires, educates, coaches and, perhaps most important, entertains. There are so many group environments and milieus which need great keynote speeches, whether they be corporate, small business affiliated, tied into special interest groups, governmental or what have you. Whether you are already pursuing a keynote speech endeavor, have a successful keynote-delivering business or are just thinking of entering the keynote arena now, there is almost undoubtedly room to up your keynote game and make your keynote speech the most powerful, unforgettable and outstanding live (or filmed) experience it can be.

The not so secret weapon in a fantastic, Grade A keynote speech, regardless of the environment or audience? Humor! Sharp, original, contextually appropriate humor. Whatever your keynote speech is about- be it computer software, banking, outdoor adventuring or international infrastructure development- a tightly written speech with crisp pacing, plenty of personality and tantalizingly interesting sidebars and real-world examples, and JOKES. A whole bunch of laugh-out-loud punchlines. It's been proven in studies, as well as obvious anecdotal experience, that a strong sense of humor mixed into a speech, be it inspirational, educational, or for training purposes, makes the audience members want to hear what's coming next, personally like the speech giver, and remember the contents of the speech. For a keynote speech specialist this is pure gold.

It takes absolutely nothing away from a great keynote speech deliverer to get some help with their keynote from a seasoned professional comedyspeech writer. A corporate comedy specialist with a background in comedy in an entertainment context is a good bet to add the kinds of sharp, effective funny lines that will turn a pretty good keynote into a sparkling diamond that will get the highest reviews, the best word of mouth an the most re-bookings.

In this era of edutainment- yup, that's actually a popular term!- make sure you have the entertainment mixed in with your education. And that means making them laugh in order to be taken seriously.