Arguably one of the most important elements of any event is your keynote speaker. Their job is not only to engage your audience but to drive home your event theme while also inspiring your audience.
Without a story framework, however, the power of that presentation and the ensuing breakout sessions may not have the reach and power you need to move your audience to action or even fully engage them.
Corporate Engagement
According to Allied Market Research, the U.S. corporate event market is growing fast and is expected to bring in $510.9 billion by 2023, up from $90.3 billion in 2020—showing us just how successful these events can be for brands and their employees. But planning an event takes thought and time, and with a 2022 Gallup Poll finding that 68% of employees were either actively disengaged or neither engaged nor disengaged (only 32% were actively engaged), corporate events are critical to today’s corporate workplace—but they need to be successful.
Keynote Speakers Inspire
We’ve talked about the importance of implementing an event strategy framework when planning events to better consider your goals, outcomes, and your vision for a successful event. The same is true when it comes to your speaker. Taking the time to ensure their presentation is targeted and reaches its full potential should be a vital piece of your strategy—especially since you’ll be relying on your keynote to provide the first impression and dictate the overall flow of your event.
Creating an Event Story
A powerful presentation takes time to plot. Like a story, it has a beginning, middle, and end, just like your overall framework. And every story offers up an adventure, as well as an award—meaning your speaker’s message should convey a positive action in line with your company goals that provides a greater payoff. You also want your speaker to be personal and passionate about the topic, so making sure you find a person aligned with your goals is mission-critical.
By carefully choosing your speaker, communicating the message you want conveyed, and ensuring both you and your speaker have the time to create and edit their speech into the powerful motivator it’s meant to be, you can create a cohesive event with an intentional design that will inspire your attendees.
This is also true for your breakout sessions, which give your attendees time to discuss and delve into the greater meaning of your event and overarching idea. You of course want your attendees to make the most out of these sessions. To do so, you’ll want to make sure they’re planned with intention and ensure your event sessions correlate to your speaker and overall theme to engage attendees on multiple levels.
Reaping the Benefits of a Framework
The benefits of a well-executed keynote breakout session include better attendee engagement, targeted content that shows you understand your attendees and how they think, and a means to share your mission and vision.
The bottom line? By implementing a story framework into the process, you can ensure your speaker and sessions impart your message so that it continues to resonate with your attendees long after the event.
Up-level Your Event Content & Delivery
