Choosing the best keynote speaker to deliver a commencement address for your college or university can be a tall task! How can you ensure that their presence and message will resonate with the student audience? What advice could a celebrity possibly give that will cut through life’s noise leaving a lasting impression on your graduates?

Instead of focusing on booking the most popular or trending speakers, understand how the right speaker can impact your students. Your first choice speakers won’t always be available, but there are always great alternatives. For example, a renowned political leader could talk about her struggle to represent people, or an expert on the world’s economy might speak on his climb to the top.

Of the multiple kinds of keynote speakers, perhaps the most versatile are political speakers. They possess the ability to speak to multiple audiences in a multitude of settings, and they can come with perks like book signings or meet and greets. In the eyes of the audience, the perceived value of a political keynote speaker goes beyond their actual presentation, which is why they are a little more expensive.

Political speakers typically don’t come cheap. Obviously, they’re adept enough in the political realm to gain votes, but the real trouble area is in their particular preferences. Do they prefer to have a driver, or do they prefer to drive themselves? Do they have a security team? These pieces of information are essential in providing the best experience for your political keynote speaker, which is critical to fostering the relationship with that speaker for any future events.

As an event planner, your ability to effectively plan and prepare for an event is one of the reasons why they are successful. For months, you’ve been working through the details of getting people registered, acquiring exhibitors and sponsors, managing attendees’ dietary restrictions, and a whole lot more.

As your event draws nearer each day, and as more people get involved, it’s your responsibility to communicate your plan to your speaker, to your staff, and to your attendees in a way that makes your event go off without a hitch.

You’ve booked your keynote speaker, and your event is coming up. You’re beginning to schedule your speaker’s travel plans, and you’re curious about whether or not they will make a short layover. What do you do?

In today’s hyper-digital world, it can be hard to understand the difference between authentic content and sponsored content. As a public speaker, people expect your ideas, writing, and speeches to be authentic. Writing editorial content, appearing on TV shows, or hosting a radio show that will not be used for sales-related purposes is a great way to market yourself and create a higher demand as a keynote speaker.

Speaking about a cause that’s close to your heart can captivate an audience. Speakers who are passionate enough about a cause can inspire their audience to take part in it. Based on the words and performance of an impactful speaker, audience members are able to discover their real potential. In recent years, no one does this better than artist and keynote speaker, Erik Wahl.

Companies without a digital presence are destined to fail. One of the top priorities of any organization should be on their website. It’s often the first thing people check to confirm your credibility. A high-quality website can keep your audience connected to your company, your industry, or it can inspire people to follow you as a speaker or motivator.

Speakers are in high demand right now. Every high school graduation, corporate event, industry conference, or other major occasion often requires some kind of keynote speaker. Just about anyone with both a reliable internet connection and an interest in that speaker can book those speakers. Tenacious and tactful event planners can make sure a speaker will be there on a certain day at a certain time, but how can they make sure that their event will have a good showing?

In a world of marketers, it’s important to get your name and face out there as much as possible. The information age has given anyone the power to be an expert on just about anything. This presents a challenge for keynote speakers: how do you present yourself as an authority?

One of the best ways to establish credibility is by publishing a book. These days anyone can contribute to a blog, but putting the time and research into a published work means that you have influence in your respective industry.

As a professional speaker, your duty is essentially “speak to serve”, meaning the objective is not to benefit yourself but to benefit your audience. Being an effective keynote speaker rests on your ability to inspire, motivate, and effectively persuade your audience to act on your ideas. Include these 6 strategies to your public speaking to help you give your absolute best to your audience every time.