Design of a Keynote: Prep & Storytelling

Elliott Masie Prepares for SHRM Talent Conference in Vegas on Monday

Colleagues often ask how I prepare, design and frame a keynote for a large event. So, here are the details of my process for my session next Monday at the SHRM Talent Conference in Las Vegas:

Start with the Title!

• The title for a Keynote starts the design process. Attendees may know the speaker’s name or reputation. But, many will read the one line title and it starts to frame their CURIOSITY coming to the speech. Here is the graphic that SHRM shared about my opening keynote: “Crossroads for Talent, Smart Tech and Learning”

  

  The words were intentional:
  - CROSSROADS - As the opening Keynote, my goal is to increase their curiosity about both my message - but also the broad conversations for the event with thousands of HR, Talent and Learning managers. I use “Crossroads” to explore different perspectives about core issues - rather than present my view of what is coming to the Talent field in the coming months and years.
  - SMART TECH - While we will be exploring AI, I didn’t want to limit the speech to just what AI is in April 2024. So, SMART TECH allows our conversation to include AI, Robotics, AR/VR, Chatbots and technology that is just around the corner. Plus, AI as the sole item makes the session sound like hundreds of sessions offered at events.
  - TALENT & LEARNING - Many of the thousands of the attendees’s job title includes Talent, HR and Learning. SHRM is playing an influential role in all of these fields - so my use of these words is inclusive of the wider spectrum of roles. If I just used Learning, many Talent colleagues might feel that wasn’t aimed at their role.

Design Exploration and Dialogues!

• Conversations: When invited to do a keynote, it is important to have a deep conversation about why you were invited and what the hosts want as an outcome. I had several conversations with my colleagues at SHRM about the direction of the event and started to build a framework for my session.

• Full Conference Program: Reading the expanding program https://conferences.shrm.org/talent-conference-expo/full-schedule that was designed and published allowed me to hone the focus of my remarks. My design process is to differentiate the keynote from other sessions - while being a bridge to the full conference experience.

• Talking with Participants: Many colleagues on LinkedIn reached out to me when the announcement about my upcoming keynote was made. We chatted about their expectations for the event and how “technical” their expectations were for the content.

STORYTELLING!

• A Keynoter is a Storyteller! My role is to be a trustable Storyteller to the thousands in the audience. I should create and share a story that has examples, questions, perspectives and even interaction to engage the audience’s minds and curiosities.

• The Keynote Needs a Story Arc! Please don’t start with a joke from a “speaker’s joke handbook”. Instead, build an ARC that takes the participants on a journey through the content and context of the keynote.

• Even a Bit of Music! Since I am also a Broadway theater producer, I bring some music to my Keynotes. The SHRM audience will hear the walk-on music as I come on stage (Simply the Best) and I will use 20 seconds of a song from “Wicked” - to encourage the participants to balance the excitement and the unknowns of AI - as they hear “Defying Gravity”.

• Reach all Parts of the Room and Virtual! Since I don’t use a podium, I walk across the stage and talk to the full room, not just the front rows. Watch the heads of the audience as an indicator that your colleagues sitting in the back and side are also engaged. SHRM has some wonderful “image magnification” to help audience members sitting anywhere or participating on-line feel close.

• Engagement and Interaction! Twice during my keynote, I will ask the audience members to have a short (90 second) conversation with a colleague near them. I will ask the folks in Las Vegas to stand and dialogue about a HR, Talent or Learning task they would love to see “Optimized” by Smart Tech, And, the audience online will have that dialogue in their chat. These short engagements and interaction are so powerful - not meant to be an “ice breaker” but a “context builder”.

• The Root of HaHa is AhA! Rather than use jokes, I bring some relevant humor into a Keynote. I will expand on the risk of “AI Washing” by pointing to a press release from a company announcing a new product, an AI Pillow. Things that are true and very often amusing and humor brings a humanity to the conversation.

• Empathy! My design must include Empathy that acknowledges the wide range of aspirations or fears about new technologies. Will they eliminate our jobs? Will new skills be required? Will the workplace be different as technology evolves roles and processes. Empathy is not Sympathy! It is honoring the complexity of the times ahead and how we are often rattled by the process.

Small Details Matter!

• Delightful Host! SHRM runs large and impactful events. They provide support and readiness to me, as a keynote. Sound checks, design of my few graphic slides and minute by minute agenda for what happens for 36 hours before the session.

• What to Wear? I love to wear bright colorful jackets for my keynotes. I will have a favorite Orange Jacket. The SHRM team has picked background color graphics for the displays in my session that augment the orange.

• Makeup & Hair! When your face is magnified by high definition video, it is great to get a last minute prep. There is a make-up artist backstage to make my face and hair ready for the event.

• Monitors for Speakers! There are several large monitors that the speaker can see with any graphic slides and some prompting notes. And, my obsession is to end within 10 seconds of the final countdown clock.

• Mingle and Linger Afterwards! It is so important to be available for participants to interact with the speaker after the Keynote. It is a great time to hear their stories, reactions and questions.

With all of this preparation, there is 1 more important element:

FULLY ENERGIZED!

When walking on the stage of a session that I will lead for a group with either 30 or 5,000 people, my last and most important step is to be FULLY ENERGIZED. I will build my energy to be physically ready for 50 minutes of session leadership. I wear comfortable shoes and get ready for the introduction and walk-on music. I take a deep breath and appreciate the honor of being on the stage in front of amazing new colleagues. You feel the energy of the speaker in a first 3 minutes!

I am heading to Las Vegas in a few days to be both a speaker and a learner at the SHRM Talent Conference. If you are coming, please send me an email to emasie@masie.com and there are still a few virtual spaces available for registration (http://www.shrm.org)

Thanks to SHRM for the invitation and I will share my experience at the event in the my next NOTES.

Yours in Learning,

Elliott Masie
MASIE Learning Foundation
emasie@masie.com
www.masie.com

PS: There are just 5 spaces open in our AI & Learning LAB on April 24 and 25 in Saratoga Springs, NY. Info at: http://www.masie.com