By Mark Sanborn and Tom Connellan

Picking a keynote speaker is both tough and important. 

Tough because it's your reputation on the line. Participants remember a great keynoter long after they’ve forgotten all the meals. Naturally, they also remember if the opening keynote was less than they would have hoped.

And important because your keynoter sets the tone.  Whether it's a sales meeting, convention, business meeting or tradeshow, a keynote speaker sets the tone. He or she is responsible for "bringing it all together" into one unforgettable presentation. Anyone can give a speech. Fewer can give a good one, and even fewer can deliver the keynote your attendees deserve.

So what do you look for after you’ve checked the references and watched the videos. We have eight factors for you to consider. But before you look at them, mentally answer this question, "What actions, reactions, thoughts, and feelings do I want the speaker to invoke in the audience?" It's the same question movie producers must ask before they start their task. Once you have the answer to that question, turn to these nine factors.

1. Good speakers imitate - great keynote speakers innovate.

While imitation may well be the sincerest form of flattery, your audience deserves better. Avoid speakers whose presentations follow the "political analyst" format. You know the type. Some politician finishes a speech and then for the next ten minutes the talking heads come on and repeat what you just heard. A great keynote speaker doesn't repeat the authors she has read or the expert he has heard, he or she brings new ideas or familiar ideas expressed differently.

Instead, they shift the listeners’ sense of reality. Their unique insight and knowledge should present a whole new way of looking at the subject matter. Maybe they bring some controversy to the forefront. Maybe they have a bestselling book that covers a well-known topic from a different and enlightening point of view. But however they do it; they do bring innovative ideas and approaches to your meeting.

2. Good speakers talk about what they have learned - great keynote speakers talk about what the listener can learn.

W. Mitchell, one of the top keynote speakers in the world, said "when I'm at my very best, I'm putting up a mirror for the audience". We can't think of a better way to say it. If you're looking for an unforgettable event, then your keynote speaker must have the skills and persona to convert their stories and content into the audience's story and content. They must be able to take the "I did" and turn it into the "you can".

By definition, a keynote presentation is delivered to an audience. A great speaker, however, engages the hearts and minds of the audience in a fashion that has them experiencing the presentation as an internal dialogue - one that moves them to close the gap between what they've heard and what they'll do with that information.

It's about a whole lot more than making them feel good about themselves. It's about having the audience march out of the meeting saying "I'm going to make something happen today." That's the mark of an unforgettable speaker.

4. Good speakers impress - great keynote speakers influence.

Anyone with an interesting story or experience can leave an audience impressed. After all, how many of us have played professional sports, climbed Mt. Everest, or driven in the Indy 500? Impressing an audience is all about flash but that fades in a few days. A great keynote speaker has the traits of a mentor or coach. They have the skills to make your audience think: "I want that to happen in my life" – and the skills to get your audience to go out and do it.

5. Good speakers know the story - great keynote speakers are the story.

Does the speaker you're considering walk the walk as they talk the talk? A great speaker draws from their own personal wellspring of knowledge. They've been in sales. They did the research. They started a company. They went through chapter 7. In other words, they don't tell a story from a narrator's point of view; they tell a story from the reservoir of their own personal experience. There is no substitute for accomplishment. Look for speakers who have real-world experience in the areas they address.

6. Good speakers entertain - great keynote speakers entertain but also enrich.

If you want to entertain an audience, hire a comedian. If you want to have a hand in changing the lives of your audience, hire a great keynote speaker. There is nothing wrong with hiring a comedian. In fact, it may be a great idea. It's just that they serve a different function than a keynote speaker - especially one who enriches the audience by filling them with the tools and determination to reach new levels of performance. This is not to suggest that a keynote speaker should not be entertaining as well as enriching. Certainly, the chances of your audience remaining awake long enough to actually become enriched will depend upon your speaker's ability to entertain. Your great speaker will know how to balance entertainment and enrichment.

7. Good speakers tailor - great keynote speakers integrate.

Becoming familiar with the audience is a start, but any speaker can do that. Reading the client's annual report is a start, but any speaker can do that. Learning five buzzwords helps, but any speaker can do that.

Great speakers relentlessly pursue the basics, but also go far beyond. They learn - at a gut level - their audience's hopes, fears and day-to-day challenges. They make sure that the message of their keynote ties in with what has happened before and what will happen after on the program. Their presentation fits the flow of the meeting and doesn't sound like it was delivered the week before to an audience at the Elk's lodge. Understanding the client's objectives and then using the tools at the speaker's disposal creates a "one size fits one" presentation.

8. Good speakers inspire - great keynote speakers inspire and instruct.

Desire is motivating. Desire and inspiration are powerful. Desire, inspiration and knowledge are unstoppable! A good speaker may be able to build desire. They might even be able to provide inspiration. A great speaker takes both of these concepts and wraps them in a blanket of instruction. The end result is an audience that not only wants to do something, but knows how to do it as well.

What it all means.

You have a much harder task in front of you than your speaker does. You have content, style, budget, and other considerations to balance in picking just the right person.

But once you choose the right one, he or she will do their part and it will seem effortless. Having delivered thousands of keynotes between us, we're confident that these eight characteristics of a great keynote speaker will help you in your final selection process; and, since your job does involve balancing so much, we decided to call upon one of America's greatest speakers and motivators, Abraham Lincoln, for some closing thoughts. He had three questions that he required himself to answer about every speech that he gave:

1. Does it educate the mind?

2. Does it touch the emotions?

3. Does it challenge the will?

That's the thought we'd like to leave you with. Which one of the speakers you're considering will succeed in educating the mind, touching the emotions, and challenging the will?

© 2005 Mark Sanborn and Tom Connellan. Mark and Tom are top-rated keynote speakers whose clients include Dell, GE, FedEx, Washington Mutual, Harley Davidson and Costco.