What's going on, guys? Welcome back to another episode of the speaking sessions podcast, and today I want to talk to you about the difference between a keynote talk and a signature talk or keynote speech. In a signature speech and this is a question I got the other day and it got me thinking, because in the industry, keynote speech is typically referred to as the last speech of A conference, which is usually something that's honored in a, just a place that you're closing out the whole conference. So usually it's the spot that most speakers want to be. And, as I started digging into this, because industry standard, that's just what it is, and Whether you are keynote speaker, signature speaker, just speaker in general, at the end of the day it doesn't affect your speaking. But it got me thinking. You know what? It's probably a good idea to know what that means exactly, and so the industry actually has this wrong.
Philip SessionsYour keynote speech, or a keynote speech, actually is the very first speech, or should be the first speech, and by definition, that's what it is. Because of the keynote and when we know if we know anything about music or if you know anything about music, the key is what the song is going to be in, and so I key note Is the tone for the whole conference. So you have somebody coming in there that's loud and energetic and they talk about a certain topic. That's setting the tone for the rest of the conference, and so you want to make sure that keynote speaker is actually setting the tone for the whole speech and the whole conference. And so we get this wrong often times in the public speaking space. I say we because I have been there until I decided to do research and look it up. So go do your own research. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter too much. But if you are creating your own events, you need to think about this. Or if you're a speaker as well, do you want to be the person that sets the tone for the whole conference, which honestly sounds a lot cooler than Wrapping up the whole conference? Ok, I'm going to come in at the end and I'm going to put the nice little bow on top of the whole present there on top of the whole conference.
Philip SessionsSo keynote while in the industry it's typically looked at as being the speech at the very end of a conference, is actually supposed to be one that sets the tone at the beginning, which to me is just really cool thing that you can be the person that sets the tone. So I'm in my head. I'm like, oh, I want to be the keynote speaker now, the real keynote speaker, me, that first speaker to set the tone for the whole conference. Come out there with a bang and get everybody really excited and talk about a topic that's going to be pretty much what's covered as a whole and overarching theme for the whole event.
Now a signature talk, on the other hand, which is really just a speech somebody just decided to create. Signature talk is your specialized speech, the speech that you specifically talk about, because, as a speaker, you can talk on plenty of topics if you really want to. But there's one talk that we call your signature talk, which is your talk that you are really good at. That you're well known for. That's what most people will bring you in for and such your signature talk being that thing that you are known for.
Philip SessionsAnd the keynote speech is simply setting the tone for the whole conference, even though in the industry it's typically known as the last speech wrapping up the whole conference, and so I don't have a definition for that or a term for that necessarily, although the industry will say that's the last speech.
Philip SessionsBut by definition and what really makes sense from a musical perspective, as we think about our voice, that is a instrument of sorts, is not a tone necessarily, but you do have tonality in your voice and the way you use your voice will impact people. So it makes more sense that the keynote speech should be at the beginning instead. So if this was helpful for you, if this is something new that you learn that you didn't realize that and you've also thought the same thing, that the keynote speech was the last speech and now you're realizing, oh, it's the first speech, then share with somebody else that maybe has not known that as well. At least just tell them. But would love if you actually shared this episode with them to let them know where a keynote speech actually is and what the difference between a keynote and a signature speech is.