CLARITY Insider: What Should You Want From Keynotes?
- Peter McLean
- Nov 12, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 4, 2025
One of the most important things you can do as an event sponsor is to decide what outcome you want from a Keynote.
Do you want your audience to be challenged, to make sense of everything they’ve heard, to be motivated to act, inspired, encouraged—or even intentionally made uncomfortable so they think differently?
What do you actually want them to do when they walk away?
As an organiser, you also often want to just be able to say: "That went well, people are happy and it's over with!" Success.
But identifying the outcomes before the event turns "went well" into "made a difference".
Achieving Tipping Points With Remarkable Results
For one senior-executive event I spoke at, the sponsor told me, "If we can get even 25-30% of the audience getting value and improving the way they engage, that's a win".
This audience was exclusively senior executives, which makes engagement all the more difficult. If you've been in a room full of CEOs, you know what I mean.
We far exceeded the benchmark! Between the Keynote and my follow-up workshop, we created multiple concrete discussions and outcomes.
At least 90% of those attendees left with great outcomes that not only included frameworks and motivation, but clear avenues for growth and immediately practical steps they could undertake the next day.
That was an overwhelming success achieved within a couple of hours! Plus, with follow-up opportunity for all involved.
Not every single person will choose to engage. As the saying goes,
"You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time."
People have other things going on in their heads, it's not the right time, they're too tired, they are not ready, they just simply may not like how the speaker approaches the occasion. Some are just simply grumpy, proud or disengaged no matter what. That's okay. People have free moral agency. Live with it.
The goal is to make the kinds of tipping points we achieved.
Partnership, Not Just A Performance
I say "we achieved", because in all of my work I am partnering with my client to deliver a desired result. It's far more than a "gig", but an opportunity to help shape great outcomes for the client and audience - the best result we can.
That's what I'm in this industry for: to serve by leading through my speaking.
It's this kind of manner that you should want from a Keynote Speaker. You are asking the speaker to deliver something of benefit for you and your audience. You are not asking for the speaker to show off or satisfy his or her own vanity or need for applause and affirmation.
You are asking speakers to give you a great service and a great result, at times making everyone comfortable and happy and at other times making them uncomfortable and unhappy but thoughtful, because it is necessary for the end outcome.
What You Need To Aim For In Keynotes
Be clear on the result you want. These prompts can help:
Primary outcome (1–2): e.g., behaviour change, decision clarity, create shared language, challenge behaviour or mindset, unite together, denote theme
Moment of truth: What will attendees decide in the room?
Concrete next step: What do you want them to do within 48 hours?
Signal of success: What would convince you it worked (beyond applause)?
Elaboration: Add a worksheet, brief, or workshop to further the discussion?
When you’re clear on outcomes, you’ll be clearer on whom to book and how to design the session.
Lead with CLARITY™. Design for results.
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If you'd like help sharpening outcomes before you book the room or the speaker, I'm happy to offer a no-obligation consultation.
Contact: www.petermcleankeynotes.com/contact (mention this article).
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