Keynote Speakers
Dr Patrick Dixon - Lectures
World-class keynote speakers are very rare. Awful keynote speakers are unfortunately very common and dreaded by conference participants everywhere. You can usually tell if a keynote speaker is going to shine in less than a couple of minutes. What makes a good keynote speaker?
With a great keynote speaker there's an immediate total emotional and mental connection, a stage presence, an energy which captivates, the whole auditorium lights up. Being a keynote speaker is not a logical or rational thing only. You can watch videos of keynote speakers and try to analyze style or content but there's something else going on. In fact videos are a very poor tool to capture the experience of being part of a live audience that is being "worked" by a pro. It's almost mystical - the connection of one person with hundreds or thousands is the primary characteristic of a world-class keynote speaker.
People relate to people, and at the end of the day that's what really counts.
Great Keynote Speakers - what are they like?
 | Keynote speakers grab attention. |
| Keynote speakers have provocative ideas which last. |
| Keynote speakers give people hope and boost morale. |
| Keynote speakers change the lives of those they meet. |
| Keynote speakers communicate the most complex ideas in a single phrase. |
| Keynote speakers take the wider view - setting the tone and perspective for everything that follows. |
| Keynote speakers entertain as well as inform. |
| Keynote speakers create a buzz, and boost conference morale. |
| Keynote speakers are intensely interested in other people. |
| Keynote speakers are warm and confident in what they are saying without being arrogant. |
| Keynote speakers are flexible: your event's success is more important to them than their great ideas. |
| Keynote speakers work closely with organizers to make the message fit well. |
| Keynote speakers are good team workers. |
| Keynote speakers pay the closest attention to detail to get it right. |
Future of Technology and Management
Keynote by Dr Patrick Dixon for 2,000 clients of Fujitsu Siemens - CEOs and CIOs. Next generation use of technology and why the future is about emotion. Lifestyle choices, fashions, fads and the demographic time-bomb. Slides of multimedia presentation and one hour Video.
So how can you tell in advance who is going to be a great keynote speaker and who is going to be a total disaster?
Important tests for potential Keynote Speakers
| Audition them on the phone |
| Do they listen? |
| Do you like them? |
| Do they really get what you are trying to do? |
| Do their ideas really fit your keynote theme? |
| Are they persuasive, getting your attention? |
| Can they communicate powerfully in a direct and simple way? |
| Do you think you can work with this person? |
| Have you talked to others they have worked with? |
| Has anyone actually heard them give a keynote speech at an event? |
| Have you at least seen a keynote video? |
| Have you looked at the slides from a sample keynote presentation? |
| Do they give keynote speeches at a lot of events like yours? |
| Do they speak well of other contributors or slag other people off? |
| Are they rigid or accommodating? |
| Do they have a sense of humour? |
| Do they have an agent representing them, with a strong reputation, as a further badge of quality and guarantee of past success? Perhaps a well established company like Leigh Bureau? |
| Have you searched the web using the speaker's name to see what others are saying about them? Remember your conference delegates may well do the same. |
| Do they have a high profile on the web? |
| Have you searched press files to see how often they are quoted? |
Common mistakes people make about Keynote Speakers
Just because someone is a Professor or the author of a book does not necessarily mean they are great in front of an audience. Many of the world's best and most original thinkers are hopeless in front of a sizeable audience. And successful Chairmen or CEOs of companies can be an even greater risk as keynote speakers: they got to be where they are for many reasons, but rarely because they are primarily great conference communicators. And even if they are, you may find you are getting little more than a long commercial, albeit for free. Celebrities from film, TV or sport can be wonderful entertainers, especially at a lunch-time or dinner session, but you may be disappointed if you expect great numbers of sharply relevant insights into business success. Politicians are professional speech-givers, but you can land up with a party-political broadcast unless they are recently retired.
Keynote conference speaking has become a specialty area in it's own right in recent years, almost an art form , with a select group of practitioners dominating the world stage at corporate events. It is a now a distinct profession, with various entry paths, many of them eclectic.
And the qualification? There is of course only one: the ability to delight an audience.
Dr Patrick Dixon is often described as Europe's leading Futurist, and is a renowned keynote speaker addressing audiences of up to 4,000 people a time in up to three countries a week. He works extensively with Fortune 500 companies at the most senior levels and has been ranked amongst the 20 most influential business thinkers worldwide.
More than a million video views by some of the 11 million different visitors to our sites, here or on our YouTube Channel or on Google Video. Dr Patrick Dixon has spoken at events in 53 countries.
Short YouTube clips of different conference videos on various issues:
Economics, Finance & Financial Services
Banking - many of Patrick's clients are global banks
Economics issues - Patrick creates a big picture of global trends
Insurance - Patrick has worked with many of the world's largest insurers
Sub-prime crisis – what next?
Technology
Technology - Patrick works with many of the world's largest computer, software, telecom, internet and biotech companies
Online communities - Web 2.0 - how online communities will drive your business
Mobile phones - future of telecom, wireless devices, virtual communities, positional advertising
Convergence and divergence - why all competitive advantage comes from divergence
RFID technology - impact on retail, wholesale, distribution and manufacturing
Health and Education
Health care - key trends in health, ageing, biotech, hospitals, clinics
Pharmaceutical industry - impact of the biotech revolution
Education - future of teaching in high schools, colleges and business schools
Leadership, Management & Strategy
Change management - a recurring theme
Risk management - preparing for the unexpected
The impact of wild cards – low probability, high impact events
Innovation - why innovation is connected to passion
Leadership - effective ways to drive organisations forward
Logistics and supply chain - critical issues in manufacturing and wholesale
Managing uncertainty - flexible, rapidly adapting leadership
Motivation - how to inspire people to make great things happen
Women at work - challenges for corporations in winning war for talent
Outsourcing - what is going to happen next
Marketing
Advertising - why traditional approaches are dead in an online world
Customers - how customer demands are changing and why
Customer focus - why many corporations need a reality check, to succeed in future
Marketing - future of marketing and brand development
Travel, Energy, Resources and Environment
Travel - future of aviation, road, rail - for business and leisure
Biofuels - food or fuel? Do biofuels have a future?
Commodities - impact of emerging markets
Energy industry - future energy for a carbon-free world
Petrochemical industry - how the industry will change and why
Climate change - why the future is about emotion, not just the science
Sustainability - what does it mean for your business?
Other Topics and Types of Audience
Real estate - key trends in commercial and residential real estate industries
Retailing - developing the customer experience
Here are some Google videos of one hour multimedia keynote presentations at conferences -
Future of phones, computers, consumer choices and lifestyle changes in emerging markets - staged multimedia event for 450 of MTN's global leadership team - South Africa 2007.
Future customer trends, consumers, marketing, products and services - event for 350 clients of Siemens, mostly Chief Technology Offices, or Chief Information Officers, from multinationals.
How the future of America will be dominated by older consumers, lifestyle choices and growth of financial and political power of senior citizens - presentation for national leadership team of AARP (American association for people over the age of 50) - 2005..
Future technology trends and what people really want - personally and in business - seminar for 25 leaders at Dimension Data in Johannesburg with video-linked audiences in three other site - 2007.
The Future of Education - lecture for 100 Head Teachers of US high schools (NAIS). What kind of education do tomorrow's citizens need? How does the way we teach people need to change? What kind of world do we need to prepare students for? - 2006.
Future trends and their impact on investment banking, fund management and related financial services - Credit Suisse seminar - 2006.
Future of Consumers, Technology and Communications - one hour presentation for 600 clients of Toshiba in Sydney. Major shift, new fashions and fads, convergence and divergence and the need to make a difference - 2006.
Future of the European Petrochemical Industry - logistics and supply chain - half hour keynote presentation for the European Petrochemical Association (EPCA). This is an example of a highly customised presentation for a specific audience - 2007.
How to Make Great Things Happen - presentation for 250 government workers organised by the Welsh Parliament (Assembly). Participants from health, education, police, fire services, social services, transport. Keys to effective leadership, change management and improved productivity - 2007.
Take Hold of Your Future - technology and other major trends affecting the future of large cororporations. Event for 2,000 clients of Fujitsu Siemens - 2005.
Futurewise - Six Faces of Global Change and the Future of Banking - keynote lecture to 400 financial intermediaries of UBS, with focus on fund management, financial services and wealth management - 2006.
Future of medicine, biotechnology, health care, the pharmaceutical industry - and related trends - biotech investors conference in Switzerland - 2003.
Future of Logistics, Distribution, Global Transportation and other Trends - client event for IBS - 2005.
Future of digital technology and other global trends - client event for 2000 CIOs and CTOs of Fujitsu Siemens on major trends and their impact on multinational business - not only in technology - 2006
Dr Patrick Dixon chairing conferences and running panel interviews
Google Zeitgeist CEO Summit - 5 minute intro of session on future of entertainment, media, advertising, online communities such as YouTube and perhaps the ultimate consumer experience - space travel with Virgin Galactic
Google Zeitgeist CEO Summit - Chairing session on future of broadcasting and the BBC - guest Mark Thompson, Director General BBC
Google Zeitgeist CEO Summit - Chairing discussion with co-founder of YouTube Chad Hurley - on meteoric rise of YouTube
Google Zeitgeist CEO Summit - Space Tourism and Virgin Galactic - Chairing session with remarkeable video of early flight, discussion and then closing with whole panel of 5 on range of issues relating to entertainment and virtual life
| < Previous | Next > |
|---|
