How To Research Your Keynote Speakers For Your Events

You've decided you're ready to host a virtual event.

And you've started to think about the many different pieces you'll need to coordinate in order to pull the whole thing together! One of these very important to-do list items will be choosing a keynote speaker for your event!

If you're not sure what a Keynote Speaker is and how they differ from your guest speaker lineup, read this post called What's A Keynote? And Why You Need One.

In this post, I'm going to walk you through how I research Keynote Speakers for my events. 

How To Research Your Keynote Speakers

Okay, so you've created a list of speakers who you think would be great for your event and now, you're wondering which one (or ones) might make great Keynote Speakers and help you to set the tone of your event!

If this is where you're at, it's time to block out some time to do your research!

Researching Keynote Speakers is going to go a step further than what you've probably done for your guest speaker list!

We want to make sure that these speakers, not only are the best and most prepared but we also want to be certain that they can deliver the energy, information, and of course, the inspiration you need for your attendees. 

Your keynote(s) are front and center and you'll want them to pack a big punch! So it's time to make a separate list of the people you think will make great keynotes for your event! 

Look at your main speaker list, and pull everyone who you noted as being part of your first round for pitching! These are the people will be researching! This is where we'll start and of course, you'll want to keep yourself organized with all the information we're going to be pulling together to help you make this important decision!

Keynote Key Information

There are a few pieces of information you'll want to make sure you research for your Keynote potentials, even if you haven't all of this information for your main speaker line-up.  

• Main Types of Social Channel Content
• Ways They Engageme and Frequency
• How Often Do They Post Each Type Of Content
• Previous Presentations Given At Other Events
• Speaker Products & Services 
• Speaker Freebies That Are A Good Fit

You'll also want to consider the following questions for each speaker. And you can easily write notes for each of the inside your speaker notes section if you're using our Airtable base included inside the Summit Host Starter Kit!

• Is this speaker a known expert or influencer in your industry? 
• Do they command respect and have an engaging stage presence? 
• Have they given previous keynote speeches? And if so what do you think of their presentation style? 
• Do you feel comfortable having this speaker be the face of one of your most important sessions?
• What size audience does this speaker have and are they active/engaged? 
• Does this speaker have supporting products, services, or additional resources that fit well with the topic of your event?

Happy Planning!