The right type of speaker for your corporate meetings

The term “corporate meetings'' has all the appeal of a Dilbert cartoon. And yes, they can often be a drag, but they shouldn’t be.

Corporate meetings are an essential and inevitable part of any company’s operations, an opportunity for stakeholders to engage, communicate, and collaborate on important goals and objectives. 

Done well, corporate meetings can play a critical role in shaping the strategic direction of a company, unveiling opportunities for growth, improved performance, and new initiatives.

Given the upside benefits, most companies hire keynote speakers for these events. The goal is  to burnish their meeting with a speaker who possesses the expertise, experience, and charisma to captivate the audience and leave a lasting impression. 

So what, exactly, are we talking about when we talk about corporate meetings? 

In short: Any type of internal company event where a portion of the company comes together. (But not the entire company - that’s an all-hands meeting, which is a separate beast altogether.)  

Also read: The 10 types of leadership meetings that matter most 

Corporate meetings run the gamut, including but not limited to:

• Annual marketing meetings
• Meetings for engineers
• Meetings for functional groups
• Meetings for specific divisions of the company
• Meetings for a certain level of employee, like the legal team or all executive assistants

The specificity of corporate meetings can be a blessing and a curse. 

On one hand, since the audience has a shared focus and common attributes, you’re able to shape the event around a targeted topic and framework. 

On the other hand, the threshold for success is higher than your average event. This is especially true for attendees who've attended countless of the same meeting type before and feel like they’ve seen and heard it all.

Since corporate meetings have a more discerning audience, they can be monotonous and meaningless if attendees can’t take anything substantial away from the event. Organizers must be extra careful to keep sessions lively and engaging throughout, helping attendees stay alert and remember the most important points of the meeting. 

That requires more than endless urns of coffee.

Here’s where the qualities of your keynote speaker are crucial. Compelling keynote speakers know ​how to keep attendees motivated, taking a chosen topic and crafting their message in a way that captures the audience's attention, keeps them focused, and spurs them to take action.

A talented keynote speaker makes an impact that lasts well beyond the session. They’re skilled at using stories, humor, and personal experiences that make your event more real and resonant.

A memorable keynote speech can go on to be referenced in months or years to come, reinforcing your brand and your association with the event. 

This is why it’s so important to bring in not just a thought leader but a leader of thought. 

While thought leaders are lionized for their knowledge, they don’t necessarily have the unique talents required to actually change hearts and minds. Leaders of thought, conversely, are those rare keynote speakers who possess a unique blend of expertise, the ability to contextualize that expertise for each audience, and the extraordinary performance abilities needed to truly connect with every attendee.

Read more: Thought leaders aren’t enough. Keynote speakers should be leaders of thought.

The opportunity with a corporate meeting is your captive audience. They have to show up.

Yay? 

Yes, yay. This attendee obligation offers an advantage when it comes to choosing your keynote speaker. It means that you don’t need your speaker to be a draw. When name recognition isn’t mandatory, you can focus on your message. 

That starts with defining the throughline of your event.

The throughline approach is a mindset shift for the organizer. It’s an invisible thread that binds your event together. 

The throughline comprises the unique elements that are critical to the very heart of your event story. These elements should remain the same throughout a given story, and in this case your event. 

But beware the looming landmines. 

If your speaker for the captive audience of your corporate meeting flops, even just one time, your audience’s attitude will curdle into a sour stew going into your meeting next time. All of your work on nailing the throughline will be for naught if your hired keynote speaker ruins it all with one ineffective performance.  

And that icky energy not only sucks the air from the room; it’s as contagious as ebola.

Negative mindsets infect everyone around them. And an audience filled with crossed-armed, eye-glazed, tuned-out skeptics makes it harder for your next speaker to earn trust and engage the room, leading to a downward spiral where failure begets more failure.

The opposite, however, is also true. If your speaker nails their keynote and delivers a moment of true impact that reverberates long after your event is over, then your audience will look forward to your next event. 

A successful speaker won’t just tell stories and talk to the audience; they’ll convey high-level frameworks and inspirations that make people feel that the conversation is with them. The sophisticated ideas that are imparted will spur attendees to make their own conclusions about how these concepts apply to them personally.

When your audience feels excited about your meeting, the enthusiasm and constructive energy that they bring to your next meeting will create a positive momentum that makes it easier for you to build on your past success. 

What kind of speakers work best for corporate meetings?

Let’s explore the best types of speakers for the most common kind of corporate meetings.

Bear in mind that across all types of speakers, you are always looking for a leader of thought, those rare individuals who are celebrated as experts in their field, are known for their innovative ideas, and can deliver an outstanding performance onstage that connects those ideas with the experiences of the audience.

Leaders of thought are recognized for offering unique perspectives that challenge traditional ways of thinking and giving your attendees practical and actionable takeaways. They speak compellingly on a wide range of topics like innovation, teamwork, and communication, and while they might be household names like Brene Brown, they can also be huge social media influencers like Vanessa Van Edwards or lesser known but widely respected thinkers like Shane Snow.

As you suss out the needs for your corporate meeting, consider these different types of speakers:

Subject matter experts (SMEs) are individuals who are highly knowledgeable about particular topics, and they can help your audience to learn more about their areas of expertise. Having spent years studying their fields and conducting research to build a comprehensive understanding of their topics, SMEs are likely to have a deeper level of knowledge than your average presenter. This means that they can speak with a high degree of granularity and hands-on knowledge about subsets of different industries or technologies or hyper-specific sub-topics; answering questions, providing insights, and clarifying points that may not be readily apparent to others. Since SMEs have spent a great deal of time thinking and researching particular topics, they will often have distinctive perspectives and can offer new and fresh insights into a granular subject.

Speakers on trends and futurism are equipped with an in-depth analysis of industry trends and can predict what the future looks like for particular businesses. These speakers bring a comprehensive knowledge of how different kinds of industries function, the uniqueness of each sector, and the pain points and successes that organizations in each of those sectors face. Speakers on trends and futurism keep up with advancements in technology, market dynamics, and new ideas that impact businesses. Their deep understanding gives them an informative take on the potential challenges that a particular organization faces and the ability to see potential solutions to overcome these obstacles.

Motivational/ inspirational speakers fire up audiences and inspire them to be better in some way. One of the hallmarks of a great motivational speaker is their ability to deliver a compelling and engaging story that connects with the audience. Rather than presenting a dry, academic lecture, motivational speakers use narratives, anecdotes, and real-life experiences to drive their message home. They know how to capture the audience's attention, keep them engaged, and leave a lasting impact through the power of storytelling. Good motivational speakers don’t just impart a story, though - they help the audience understand how this story applies to them. When attendees connect the dots to their own lives, they walk away from the meeting proud about the reflections they have made about themselves and inspired to take action. 

Instructional speakers can provide a valuable learning experience for the attendees by teaching them some sort of a skill. Instructional speakers share their knowledge and experiences in their respective field, making this relevant to the goals of the meeting, and breaking down complex concepts and terms into easy-to-understand language. Instructional speakers often design activities that give the attendees a chance to apply their freshly acquired knowledge, perhaps . including Q&A sessions, group discussions, or other interactive activities. These methods enable the audience to internalize information better and leave with a deeper understanding of the topic.

Underlying message speakers are brought in to be an outside voice for a concept that the company is championing, providing a new perspective on problems that may have been plaguing the organization. They bring in their expertise, knowledge, and experience to provide a fresh angle on old problems, perhaps focusing on the company's culture, leadership, or employee morale, challenging the status quo and inspiring discussion on new ideas. 

These are fluid categories, with overlap between different types of speakers for corporate meetings. No matter how talented a speaker may be, if they’re placed within an incorrect context, they’ll likely fall flat. That’s why you must have a rigorous dialogue with your speaker beforehand and they should be asking a lot of questions about your company. Success is achieved by understanding the role you want a speaker to play in your corporate meeting and clearly communicating this to them so that they can be a catalyst for improvement and change at your corporate meeting. 

A great speaker will erase any connection between your corporate meeting and Dilbert. Instead, talented speakers can establish a new model of inspiration, guidance, and motivation that pumps your team with can-do energy.