

While there are skills you can cultivate that will qualify you to become a sought-after keynote speaker, there are some skills you can’t simply learn. They are a company’s or organization’s representative and are hired to deliver a talk that sets the stage for the rest of the speakers who follow. The job of a keynote speaker isn’t just to entertain and engage. When it comes to becoming a great keynote speaker, you’ll need more than just talent. Or at least challenge others’ preconceived notions and get them to rethink. No matter the speech material, a speaker who conveys realness and passion is more likely to convince others of their point of view. Great speakers have a personality their audience can connect with. When asked what the most important elements of any speech are, John Kennedy’s speechwriter, Ted Sorenson, said, “‘Brevity, levity, and charity.’ He believed that if you can make people laugh, you have an unfair advantage over speakers who can’t.” They’re comfortable with small silences and can easily wait while the crowd laughs at something funny before carrying on with the speech. They make eye contact with everyone in the crowd. More than just comfortable, great speakers look like there’s no place they would rather be.
#KEYNOTE SPEAKER HEALTHCARE FULL#
It’s not impossible to overcome a fear of public speaking, but the best public speakers are those who are clearly comfortable facing a room full of strangers. While it’s punishing on the speaker with glossophobia, it can be excruciating to be in the audience and watch someone who is clearly uncomfortable delivering their message. More people are afraid of talking in public than they are afraid of heights, bugs, snakes, drowning, or claustrophobia. Glossophobia is the fear of public speaking fully 75% of the population struggle with it. You shouldn’t struggle with glossophobia. Let’s start with what makes a good speaker before we get to what makes a good keynote speaker. But if you have a natural aptitude and love of speaking publicly, you may grow to be an in-demand speaker and find yourself delivering the message your client hopes to get across at their event.

Of course, keynote speakers are at the top of the game regarding public speaking. And if you think you just might have what it takes to set the tone at an event, I’ve researched everything you’ll need to know about becoming a great keynote speaker. He says that excellent keynote speakers will have “the ability to enthrall their audience with their mellifluous speaking and sound stories.” Speaking mellifluously was probably not a trait and talent any of us thought might be handy to have when we were working through medical school and our residency program!īut now that many of us have years of work and life experience under our belts, taking that expertise and turning it into a side hustle is a great way to become an entrepreneurial MD. John Mattone, one of the world’s top executive coaches and leadership speakers, writes that a keynote speaker “sets the pitch for a seminar, convention, or technical meeting–similar to how the oboe (the instrument least affected by ambient conditions) sets the pitch for tuning an orchestra.”
