I’ve sat through some spectacularly bad keynotes.

Like the time this guy spent 27 minutes telling stories about climbing mountains as a metaphor for business success, and I’m sitting there thinking “my team needs tactical help with project management, not inspirational platitudes about perseverance.” Cost us $15K plus travel. Nobody remembered a single useful thing from his talk.

So yeah, I have opinions about vetting speakers.

Most event planners I know are so overwhelmed with logistics — venues, catering, AV setups, registration software that keeps crashing — that they pick speakers based on a slick sizzle reel and a couple of testimonials. Then they cross their fingers and hope it works out.

Here’s what you should actually be asking.

Their Background and What They Know

What’s your primary area of expertise?

Watch out for speakers who list eight different topics they can speak on. “I do leadership, innovation, sales, customer service, team building, change management…”

That’s not expertise. That’s someone who’ll say whatever you want to hear to get the booking.

You want somebody who’s gone deep on one thing. Who’s obsessed with it. Who can talk about it for hours without notes because they’ve lived it and studied it and probably annoyed their friends at dinner parties talking about it.

Have you presented to groups like ours? Give me examples.

A speaker who killed it with a room full of Silicon Valley tech founders might completely whiff with your audience of manufacturing plant managers or hospital administrators. The energy is different. The references land differently. The problems they’re facing are different.

I need names. Company types. Audience sizes. Industry specifics.

If they get vague here, that’s telling you something.

What happened at those events? Any proof it worked?

I don’t want to hear “everyone loved it” or “got a standing ovation.” Cool. People are polite. They clap.

What I want to know: Did anyone change how they do their job afterward? Did the company see results they could tie back to what was said on stage? Or did everyone nod along for 60 minutes and then go right back to doing exactly what they were doing before?

There’s a huge difference between an entertaining talk and a talk that matters.

Can I talk to some of your previous clients?

And then actually call them. I know, it feels like homework. Do it anyway.

Ask what went wrong. What they wish they’d known beforehand. Whether they’d hire this person again. The stuff that doesn’t make it into the polished case studies.

How They Build the Presentation

What are you trying to accomplish when you speak?

This is where you separate people who have a point from people who just have a TED talk they’ve memorized.

Good speakers will tell you: “I want people to walk out with a three-step framework they can use Monday morning” or “I want to shift how they think about failure in their organizations.”

Bad speakers will say something vague about “inspiring transformation” and you’ll realize they don’t have a clear goal beyond getting through their slides and collecting their fee.

How do you customize this for different groups?

Swapping out the company logo on slide 3 doesn’t count.

Real customization means they’ve talked to people at your organization. They understand your specific challenges — not just generic industry challenges. They’ve adjusted their examples and case studies to match your context.

If they offer a “quick 15-minute chat the week before,” that’s not customization. That’s checking a box.

How do you keep a mixed audience engaged?

Because your audience is never homogeneous, right? You’ve got senior leaders who want strategic thinking sitting next to individual contributors who need practical tactics. Optimists and cynics. People who read business books for fun and people who think this whole event is a waste of time.

How does the speaker handle that range? Do they have a strategy or are they just hoping their usual shtick works for everyone?

Their Performance Style

What happens during Q&A?

Some speakers are great when they’re delivering prepared material and then completely fall apart when someone asks something they weren’t expecting.

Others are at their best in Q&A because they’re not performing anymore — they’re just talking about stuff they know.

If your format includes Q&A (and maybe it should, depending on your goals), you need someone who can handle it without getting defensive or giving non-answers.

How do you prepare for an event?

The best speakers I’ve worked with treated prep like they were training for something important. They interviewed people at our company. They asked about current projects and pain points. They showed up knowing our world.

The worst ones? Sent a pre-event questionnaire we filled out, then clearly didn’t read our answers.

You can tell the difference in the first five minutes of their talk.

Do you give people something to take home?

A one-pager. A framework. A reading list. Something.

Because here’s what happens after most keynotes: people feel energized for about 90 minutes, then they get back to their desk and the feeling evaporates. If there’s nothing concrete to hold onto, it’s like the whole thing never happened.

When a speaker says “they can just look me up online later,” what they mean is “I don’t care if they actually use any of this.”

The Practical Stuff That Bites You Later

What tech do you need?

Some speakers travel with their own production crew and need a specific lighting setup and three screens and a wireless lav mic with a fresh battery.

Others can work with whatever you’ve got.

Know this before you’re making panicked calls to AV rental companies two days before your event.

Are you available?

Sounds obvious. Ask anyway. Ask early.

The really good speakers book out months ahead. If you’re planning something for next quarter and you want a specific person, you might already be too late.

What’s your fee and what’s included?

Does the quoted price include travel? Hotel? Customization calls? Follow-up materials? Or is that all extra?

I learned this one the hard way when a “$12K speaker” turned into a $19K speaker after we added in flights, hotel, ground transport, and the “customization fee” they forgot to mention upfront.

Get it all in writing.

What if you can’t make it?

Flights get canceled. People get sick. Sometimes wildly unlikely things happen.

Professional speakers have thought about this. Maybe they’ve got a colleague who can step in. Maybe they’ll do it virtually as a backup. Maybe there’s a refund policy.

Amateur speakers haven’t thought about it at all and you’re just screwed if something goes wrong.

Whether They’ll Actually Add Value

How do you know if your keynote worked?

If they say “standing ovation” or “great energy in the room,” keep pushing.

Real answers sound like: post-event survey results, changes in behavior they’ve tracked, follow-up engagement numbers, business outcomes that happened because of what they said.

What’s happening in our industry right now that matters?

This tells you if they’ve done their homework or if they’re planning to deliver the same generic speech they give everyone, just with your industry’s buzzwords thrown in.

The answer should be specific. Current. Something that shows they’re paying attention to your world and not just recycling their standard material.

Why did you start speaking about this?

People who got into speaking because “it seemed like good money” give very different talks than people who speak because they’re genuinely obsessed with solving a specific problem and want to help other people solve it too.

You want the second type.

When Things Get Weird

What do you do when the audience isn’t into it?

Not every room is going to be receptive. Sometimes you’re speaking to people who’ve been forced to attend. Or who’ve sat through too many bad speakers. Or who are just skeptical by nature.

Experienced speakers know how to read a room and adjust. Inexperienced ones just plow through their deck and hope nobody notices it’s not landing.

Can you do virtual or hybrid, and how’s that different?

Because virtual speaking is a completely different skill set. The pacing changes. You can’t read the room the same way. Energy management is harder. What works on stage often dies on screen.

Don’t assume someone with great in-person presence will translate. Ask to see examples of their virtual work.

Extra Stuff That Might Be Worth It

Would you do other things while you’re here?

Sometimes the best value isn’t the keynote itself — it’s the workshop the next day, or the fireside chat with your leadership team, or the breakout session with your sales department.

Not all speakers do this. Some are keynote-only. But if they’re already flying out and you’re already paying travel costs, it might be worth asking about

You’re probably not going to hit them with all 19 questions in your first email. That would be weird.

But somewhere in your conversations, your vetting calls, your reference checks — you need answers to these things.

Because here’s what I’ve learned after sitting through way too many mediocre keynotes: a great speaker doesn’t just fill time on your agenda. They give your people new ways of thinking about their work. They provide tools that actually get used. They create conversations that keep going long after they’ve left.

A bad speaker just eats up budget and leaves everyone wondering why you didn’t just send a memo instead.

So do the work upfront. Ask the uncomfortable questions. Push past the polished answers.

Your team sitting in that audience deserves better than another forgettable keynote about climbing mountains.

Call or text Neal at (720)498-3275 or email neal@infinitespeakers.com to get speaker ideas.