A keynote speaker usually addresses the central theme or message of the gathering. A keynote aims to provide insights, inspire the audience, and establish the tone for the entire event.
What exactly is a keynote speaker and do they add any value to your event? Read this article to learn more!
A keynote speaker is defined by Cambridge Dictionary as a ‘person who gives the keynote address at a large meeting’. Keynote speakers are known to give either an Opening Keynote or a Closing Keynote at a conference or business event.
A keynote speaker usually addresses the central theme or message of the gathering. A keynote aims to provide insights, inspire the audience, and establish the tone for the entire event.
This article on keynote speaking covers the following sections:
The business event scene in Singapore
What makes a great keynote speaker
What are the usual choices for keynote speakers for your business event in Singapore?
What is the advantage of hiring a professional speaker from Singapore for your event in Singapore?
What is an opening keynote speech?
What is a closing keynote speech?
About Mark Stuart: Keynote speaker based in Singapore
5 Reasons to Choose Mark as Your Keynote Speaker
In-Person Keynote Speech Package
Virtual Keynote Speech Package
Hybrid Keynote Speech Package
Looking for a keynote speaker for your event?
The business event scene in Singapore
Singapore’s pro-business environment makes it the ideal choice for many regional business events. With world-class facilities, infrastructure and award-winning venues, Singapore is a compelling choice for event organisers.
According to an article in Meetings Conventions Asia, “Singapore is now poised for a strong recovery over the next few years as a result of the combined efforts between the authorities and MICE industry, and the country now looks to becoming a global Asia node for business tourism”.
On top of Singapore’s ambitions to lead Asia in business tourism there is also support for business events – making it a popular choice for event organisers.
According to the Visit Singapore website, “event organisers, businesses / companies / associations in the Meeting, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) sector may apply for a scheme to gain support for their business event from Visit Singapore. Events will be considered based on several factors including its content, brand and delegate profile (foreign visitorship)”.
What makes a great keynote speech?
A keynote speech should have the following characteristics.
A great keynote speaker can usually deliver on these 6 characteristics of a good keynote speech.
1) The right keynote speech sets the tone and theme of the event A professional keynote speaker is able to listen to the event organisers’ theme and vision for the event.
His or her keynote speech should then be customised by the keynote speaker to set the right tone and be appropriate for the theme, and the expected audience.
Some examples of popular themes at business events include Learning Agility, The Future of Work and more. A keynote speaker should be able to customise certain parts of his or her keynote speech to match the event organiser’s theme of the event.
2) A confident and proficient keynote speaker engages with the audience – whether in-person or virtually
The right keynote speaker is confident, and proficient with audience engagement at the event. Knowing how to engage with the audience is a skill that many professional keynote speakers have as they work consistently on this craft.
Some tools used by a keynote speaker for eliciting audience feedback or interaction include having open questions, interactive polls and a post-keynote Question and Answer session.
Some tools for audience interaction used by a professional speaker includes Menti, Slido and Kahoot.
3) A great keynote speaker knows how to attracts the interest of the audience
A keynote speaker can also captivate the audience with a skilfully-written and delivered speech, professionally-designed slides and confident delivery of the content.
A professional keynote speaker who understands the profile of the audience can cater the content of the keynote speech bearing in mind the audience demographics, job role and industry.
4) A keynote speaker should use case studies and examples in a speech
A great keynote speaker is also well-versed with structuring the keynote speech with interesting learning points, case studies and examples that illustrate the key points of the speech and is relevant to the audience.
For example, a professional keynote speaker at a maritime-themed conference could use case studies and examples from leading companies in the industry.
5) A keynote speech should include call-to-action and key takeaways A keynote speech with call-to-action and key takeaways can also inspire the audience into action.
Just a handful of key takeaways delivered by a keynote speech can be extremely effective in helping the audience learn something new and interesting at the conference, making the event a memorable talking point for months to come.
6) An experienced keynote speaker can adapt to unexpected conditions and pivot
An experienced keynote speaker can also adapt to unexpected conditions of the business event – whatever they are.
For example – if there are AV issues or a delay in the programme, a professional keynote speaker can navigate such issues, and works with the event organiser, IT or AV team and client on making the keynote speech a success despite setbacks.
In the midst of the pandemic in 2020, many keynote speakers also had to adapt from in-person events to virtual events. Keynote speakers at the top of their game are agile and resilient in the face of uncertainty.
What are the usual choices for keynote speakers for your business event in Singapore?
A keynote speaker is typically a Professional Speaker, a politician, a top corporate C-level executive or an expert or authority in a particular business field.
While some speakers might agree to being a keynote speaker for the exposure and without any fees, this can have its drawbacks and be risky for event organisers.
An unpaid speaker might have their own motivations for speaking at a conference, upsell their products and services, or might not be the best public speakers. As a result an unpaid speaker is not usually the best choice for a large meeting or international conference.
It would also be a challenge for event organisers to request for any changes to the content or request for customisation to a keynote speech which sets the appropriate tone for the event if the speaker is giving his or her time for free.
What is the advantage of hiring a professional speaker from Singapore for your event in Singapore?
A professional speaker in comparison to an unpaid speaker – is paid in fees and just like any member of the event team works in collaboration with the event organiser or client.
A crucial question for an event organiser to ask is if the speaker is already based in Singapore. Engaging a professional speaker in Singapore is the most straightforward option for event organisers due to business, taxation and practical reasons.
Singapore has a sizeable professional speaking industry with international speakers who have regional experience, and a professional speaker in Singapore is already well-versed with hundreds of venues, their AV set-ups and other typical event conditions.
Professional keynote speakers in Singapore are also excellent in delivering a keynote speech to an international audience hailing from many different countries, especially from Asia.
A keynote speaker who is not based in Singapore would also have to be reimbursed for travel expenses if they are not locally based – and might also have requirements such as Business Class expenses, or ask to be booked into top hotels. This means that an event organiser’s budget for a keynote speech could increase dramatically.
What is an opening keynote speech?
A great opening keynote speaker can inspire the audience and open the event with professionalism – setting the tone for the entire meeting or business conference. Having a great choice for an opening keynote can also be an additional draw for audiences to come on time.
The opening keynote speech can also link some main learnings from the keynote speech to the other sessions taking place on the day, giving the audience inspiration on how they might spend their time at the meeting or conference.
What is a closing keynote speech?
A closing keynote speaker is usually engaged as a finale for the event. The role of a closing speaker is to finish the event on a high and re-engage audiences after a long day, with a sense of action, or optimism.
A closing keynote speaker can re-emphasise the theme of the event, or inspire the audience with action points. Having a closing keynote speaker can also be a draw for participants to stay throughout the event.
About Mark Stuart: Keynote speaker based in Singapore
Most of Mark’s experience has been as a Corporate Trainer in Leadership, Innovation and the Future of Work for over 650+ of his corporate and government clients, culminating in his training company Anagram Group winning the “Future of Work” award in Sep 2018.
Prior to becoming a trainer, Mark had 15 years of regional and global experience working for the world’s largest banks (Morgan Stanley, Schroders, Goldman Sachs, Abbey National and Salomon Brothers).
5 Reasons to Choose Mark as Your Keynote Speaker
1) Award-winning Entrepreneur – As Co-Founder of Anagram Group, which won the "Future of Work" award for its work in transforming organisations through Innovation and Design Thinking, Mark is a respected member of the business community
2) Certified Speaking Professional – Mark is a Certified Speaking Professional and Professional Member of the Asia Professional Speakers - Singapore and the Global Speakers Federation. This means that I abide by the ethical rules of these associations.
The Asia Professional Speakers Singapore website defines the Certified Speaking Professional as “awarded to working speakers who have undertaken an independent audit of their professionalism and business maturity”.
According to the Asia Professional Speakers Singapore website, the CSP is an international designation, the APSS CSP accreditation requirements have been designed to meet, as closely as possible, the same standards used by the other accrediting organisations (such as the National Speakers Association USA and Professional Speakers Australia).
A Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) is given to 15% of speakers globally with this qualification - the speaking profession's highest earned designation, based on revenue, bookings and performance.
Mark is one of a handful of speakers/trainers in Singapore with this qualification. You can view Mark's profile with APSS here.
3) Regional Corporate Leadership experience in Asia and Entrepreneurship Experience Mark been based in Singapore for over 14 years, where he led global teams across Asia Mark now has 11 years experience of building a successful business in Singapore and Asia.
This unique blend of both corporate and entrepreneurship experience gives Mark a great understanding of how MNCs and the business community operate. Mark is also a respected member of the business community, formerly serving as Treasurer for the Asia Professional Speakers Association.
Mark also currently serves as a Group Representative of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore, Entrepreneur Committee.
4) Corporate Leadership background from MNCs and works with over 34+ government agencies in Singapore
With over 15 years of corporate experience in leadership positions, Mark understands the challenges that leaders face.
This gives Mark insight into MNCs, how they work and what it takes to motivate and lead teams across vast regions of Asia and the complexities of driving performance and results. Mark has also had experience training over 34 government agencies in Singapore - from A*STAR to the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Defence, Mark is revered in Singapore for his knowledge and expertise in the areas of Leadership, the Future of Work and Innovation.
5) Excellent Audience Engagement
From client surveys of event organisers, over 90% of audiences rate Mark as a ‘good or excellent speaker/trainer'. Mark is proficient in engaging the audience and captivating them throughout a keynote speech using a variety of tools and techniques.
6) In-house Marketing Team
Additionally, Mark has an in-house marketing team who can assist with coming up with any images, videos or designs featuring Mark which you may require for your event.
In the past, this has included promotional videos, pre-event interviews and more.
7) Ability to pivot from in-person event to virtual and vice versa
Whether you are considering a virtual or in-person event, Mark has delivered hundreds of such engagements.
Mark can also pivot from an in-person to virtual event with little notice, as he has had experience doing this from 2020 to 2022 where business events in Singapore were in a state of flux due to the unexpected ‘circuit breaker’ measures from the government limiting the group sizes.
When you book Mark, you will receive a world-class, unique, fully-customised keynote speech for your event.
What this includes:
· A pre-keynote speech meeting or call to discuss theme of your event with our team
· A site recee pre-event to discuss logistics, timings and AV for the day
· A unique, fully customised speech for your event based on your event theme and key messages on the event day
· A branded, beautifully designed, complimentary e-book for all attendees to download at the event via QR code or through a unique web link on our website, your website or event app.
Learn more about Mark's in-person keynote speeches here.
When you book Mark as a virtual keynote speaker, his virtual keynote speaker package includes:
· A customised virtual speech / workshop
· An e-book of slides, articles, and resources for participants
· A mindmap with key highlights for all participants
Learn more about Mark's virtual keynote speeches here.
Hybrid Keynote Speech Package
A hybrid keynote speech is a speech delivered by a keynote speaker where some of the audience members are located physically in a venue and some participants are overseas – watching the event on livestream or through a meeting platform.
A hybrid speech is an increasingly popular option for event organisers who are targeting a large base of attendees in a region – for example, an event organiser could have participants in Singapore attending physically while participants from Asia are watching the event virtually from their home countries.
Mark also has experience delivering a hybrid keynote speaker and is proficient in the various meeting and livestreaming platforms.
What a hybrid keynote includes:
· A pre-keynote speech meeting or call to discuss theme of your event with our team
· A site recee at the location of the in-person keynote speech to discuss logistics, timings and AV for the day
· A unique, fully customised speech for your event based on your event theme and key messages on the event day
· A branded, beautifully designed, complimentary e-book for all attendees to download at the event via QR code or through a unique web link on our website, your website or event app.
Looking for a keynote speaker for your event? Speak to us today! Are you looking for a keynote speaker for your event?
You can click on the LiveChat feature on our Keynote Speaker website to speak directly to our Client Relations representative, or email us at enquiries@anagram-group.com to discuss Mark's availability.
We’d love to help make your event a success.
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