How to deliver an amazing keynote presentation

by Jaimie Abbott

Delivering an amazing keynote presentation sounds so easy in theory. You’ve got excellent public speaking skills and confidence, so what else is left? However, there’s so much more to getting people to listen to you for more than a few minutes. If you want to deliver an amazing keynote presentation that increases your positive reputation in the world of public speaking, here are some great tips.

1. Start with an opening that bangs.
The opening section is that part of your presentation where your audience is listening with rapt attention. At this point, they are trying to decide if you’re worth their time or they’re better off spending more time on their smartphones. And this is your opportunity to make a lasting impression. Many speakers waste this time on appreciation and trying to get as comfortable as possible on the stage. But that would only make your audience uncomfortable. If you want your keynote presentation to be fantastic, you should start with a bang. Get them engaged with humorous storytelling or a shocking fact that leaves them reeling with several questions in their minds. You could even open directly with a question where your audience is allowed to give opinions, and that gets them engaged early. But that doesn’t mean your preliminaries should be longer than necessary. Your first 20 minutes on stage is when you get to enjoy a lot of goodwill, and you should capitalise on it to prolong this for as long as you can. 

2. Be as human as possible.
Never distance yourself from your message. If your audience cannot connect with you, they definitely won’t be able to connect with your message as well. No one wants to listen to you talk about an issue they can’t relate to or use big words that make your audience wish they had a dictionary. So, if you want to make your keynote presentation one to remember, then you have to relate to your audience like you’re having a casual conversation with friends. Be you. Infuse sentences that show that you’re human. It could be a one-liner talking about the butterflies you get from coming on stage. You can link your talk to references about your family, which will say a lot about your trustworthiness. And this is where transitions and strategic pauses come in. “What lesson can you draw from this?” followed by a pause grabs attention. Transitions like, “so, here’s what you should know” tells your audience that it’s time to tune in, especially if they have been a little lost before that moment.

You need to remember that it’s not about you but the audience. They’ve paid a high ticket price to listen to a paid speaker, and it has to be worth their while. The speech has to transform, inspire, entertain or motivate them. When preparing your keynote presentation, the important questions are, 

“How does this benefit my audience?”

“How can I make this keynote presentation worth their time?”

3. Use memorable lines
What do most great speeches have in common? There are always a few lines carefully delivered that strike the audience more than others. Think about Martin Luther’s speech. Many people won’t forget the speech because of the memorable line “I have a dream”, one of the best aspects of this fantastic presentation. This also applies to the 1961 inaugural address by John F. Kennedy with the famous lines, “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what can do for your country.” So, summarise your keynote presentation into some lines that can easily become the anthem of your speech, lines that resonate more with your audience and hit an emotional spot. Towards the end of your keynote presentation is also a great time to input analogies and metaphors. Most importantly, you don’t want to bore your audience. So, keep your speech as short as possible. These are some of the best tips that great speakers have used to capture their audience with the power of words and made them more successful as paid speakers.