Now a dirty little secret about the keynote business. 

I’ve had the good fortune of traveling North America for the last 5 years giving keynotes to all sorts of audiences. Whether it was Google, an NFL team, a Fortune 50 brand or somewhere in between, I’ve also witnessed other keynote speakers from all walks of life deliver different types of keynotes along those stops.

From Paralympians to big swinging Wall Street executives to inspiring business women to celebrity CEOs, like a mosaic, I always take something away from other keynoters I meet on the road which helps me improve my style, my pacing, my craft and my story. 

My personal speciality is understanding the right story that needs to be unveiled to a specific audience. 

To get there, I run a series of conversations to understand the story of the company (or industry) as it resides today so I can help shape the story of tomorrow. One lesson I’ve learned from studying story-structure; every great story ever told — at all times — must provide snippets of commentary that point the story forward.  This is no different than what should be unveiled across a constructive 60 or 90 minute keynote. 

And, to be a bit courageous, this is where I’d like to see more work from some of my fellow keynote speakers. 

Some of whom I mentioned above are great at story. 

Others? 

They have become more story-yellers than story-tellers. 

To me, it’s quite telling that the true power of story-telling isn’t telling (or yelling) at all.

But let’s digress for a moment.

First, please understand I’ve never seen myself as a “motivational speaker”. 

I am, in fact, a conversational speaker. 

While I hope I inspire because, let’s be real…”no feel, no deal”, I’m more interested in making sure I do what’s necessary to take the audience on a journey dripping out the right components of the story at the right time. 

Of course, part of this might FEEL like a magic trick:

• It takes cliff hangers. Like the “it’s quite telling that the true power of story-telling isn’t telling at all” I left you hanging for now on the above.
• It takes humanizing yourself. Where did I have to make a hard choice? Where can I make fun of myself? Where did I make a mistake? Am I real?
• It takes deep study. You have to understand how the story is presently unfolding in the lives of the audience if you dare meet them where they are. 
• It takes participation. Remember, nobody wants a story-yeller talking AT them for 90 minutes, Make it participatory.
• It takes laughter. The fastest path from taking an audience out of their head and below their neck is through humor.
• It takes a learning opportunity. What can you teach the audience about themselves that was just underneath the surface until NOW?  

There’s one other element I personally believe it takes and it’s a dose of reality for anyone who hasn’t done the “body-jumping” work. To body-jump is to jump into the body of those in the audience. What is life like for them at this present moment? Is there fear in the company? Are they stressed because of politics? Is there something happening at home? Do they feel like you’re going to be “just another keynote”? 

My philosophy of keynotes starts by understanding the state of the people in the room. Once you know what their story is then you can start to unveil where you hope the story goes next.

This would be a good time to share that I don’t believe I will say anything in a keynote that will convince YOU to change your mind. Again, I am not out here “story-yelling” with the intent of changing you! That said, I may share something that gives YOU enough to convince yourself. Changing behavior is hard. I don’t believe I have that power over anyone. But perhaps I’ll share just enough where, in your mind, you will consider convincing yourself that something might be different than what you first imagined. 

This tactic is not story-telling. 

It’s more like story-unveiling. 

If you knew my parents, then you’d know my style. 

My father is a lawyer. He spent a career remaining disciplined about dripping out snippets of information at the right time to bring a jury along. You don’t pass go on a certain part of the story until a certain point of the story has been established. Only once it has been established can the story point forward to the next point, Then the next. And the next. This is an incredibly thoughtful process. It’s more chess than it is checkers and it takes maniacal preparation to take the jury where you hope to take them. I do believe that keynote speakers should treat their audiences a bit like a jury. Just not the way juries are conveyed in movies. You have to remain human yourself. This is where my mom comes in. 

My mother was a third grade teacher. She brings the sweetness, the humanity, the patience, the simplicity, and the optimism. To feel a third grade teacher read a book to 15 third graders sitting in a circle is all you need to know. Everyone in that circle is engulfed in the story. They feel comfortable in that moment. They are sitting cross-legged enjoying the story which is all my mom wanted in that moment. She’s PART of the circle. Not above it. Not separate. Mom brought the patience, the warmth, the comfort, and the tact. 

If you poured a cocktail of these two humans together, that is my style. 

The true power of story-telling isn’t telling at all.

It’s story-unveiling. 

Drip by drip, with the audience right there by your side, sitting in a circle, convincing themselves of where this story needs to go next.

One final thought to consider. 

I had mentioned above that keynote speaking can feel like a magic trick. When you see an exceptional magic trick, you want to see the trick again. 

But to the magician, it’s not a trick. 

It’s a skill that has been worked so intently that it feels like a trick. 

The Magician knows how to make you feel. 

Every keynote speaker should study the Magician. 

Now, to be clear, I couldn’t do a single magic trick if I tried.

As a compensated observationalist, I have learned enough to know that Magicians are really in the transportation business. 

A great keynote speaker is too.