Thought Leaders aren't enough. Keynote speakers should be leaders of thought.

Companies have high hopes when they invest in keynote speakers.

Many of them want to unite their teams, galvanize action around a new initiative, inspire change, or rally a huge user conference of attendees behind their product. 

Naturally, companies often think that all of their goals rest with securing a thought leader in their field.   

But here’s a newsflash: the conventional wisdom is wrong.

In the short amount of time of a keynote speech, a thought leader isn't enough to manifest actual change. What companies need are leaders of thought.

The difference between a thought leader and a leader of thought:

We’re all familiar with the concept of thought leaders.

They’re well-respected and influential in a specific industry or field, with reputations burnished by the knowledge they share. These individuals can create an impact through their ideas, and they’re often sought after for insights by other professionals in their field.

Thought leaders are lionized for their knowledge, but they don’t necessarily have the unique talents required to actually change hearts and minds. Sure, they may be the top expert in their field, but that doesn’t mean they have the ability to persuade and inspire an audience.

Leaders of thought, on the other hand, 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.

True leaders of thought are not only top authorities in their field, they also make it their mission to help people apply that knowledge within their lives. They possess the rare skills to scale their expertise and make it applicable to different industries, roles, and professions. And, importantly, they have the unique ability to captivate an audience and motivate them to take action.  

A leader of thought has the ability to alter beliefs, bring clarity, introduce something fundamental, and impart something that is remembered and referenced time and time again. They’re driven by a core belief that the knowledge they share during every keynote has a starting point but no fixed end point.

Why?

Because the end is what each individual attendee chooses it to be, and that will be different for every single person.

Traditional thought leaders may be experts, but they often make the audience “come to them” to absorb canned information that is delivered in a uniform way.  

In contrast, a leader of thought is someone who meets the audience where they are, then conveys knowledge in profound and customized ways. Leaders of thought relate to the challenges and mindsets of each audience, rather than expecting the audience to relate to them.

The ability to command attention and galvanize buy-in from an audience is what makes a leader of thought so fundamentally different and more impactful than a traditional thought leader. 

Leaders of thought are performers and master storytellers.

Buyers tend to underestimate the importance of performance ability in keynote speakers, but this quality is critical for a successful keynote. 

While many motivational speakers play the part of being inspirational, a true leader of thought isn’t playing a gimmicky game of pretend; they’re authentic performers with mesmerizing storytelling abilities. Many of them have a background in performance arts of some sort, but their exceptional stage presence isn’t about acting, it’s about channeling a real connection. 

Leaders of thought are not just thought leaders, and they aren’t glib showmen, either. They are substance AND style, content AND delivery, steak AND sizzle.

The best keynote speakers are those who understand their role and have a process in place to execute it effectively. They know how to prepare for client meetings, capture vital information, and adjust their sessions to meet specific goals without selling from the stage.

While being a natural speaker is vital, it isn’t enough on its own. Speaking is an art and a science that requires years of honing. And I would estimate that 80% of the keynote speakers out there have not actually mastered the craft of speaking.

What sets leaders of thought apart from traditional thought leaders is their ability to articulate, inspire, direct, align, and assimilate knowledge to an audience. They are deeply informed on their topic, but they’re also able to shape the person who receives the information, making a difference in their outlook.

Leaders of thought lead an audience to an outcome, becoming enlightened to how something new or better or different can either affect them or how they can affect someone or something else by becoming aware of it. True leaders of thought know that the audience is part of the equation. 

An expert may be an indisputable thought leader, but if they can’t effect change within others, they’re not equipped to be a powerful keynote speaker. Instead, they’re bound to be just another talking head.

What to expect from a superior keynote speaker?

We live in an age of information overload.

With technology flooding every aspect of our lives, bringing knowledge in from the outside has lost its currency. What’s valuable isn’t the “What is” anymore - it’s the “How to” that people crave.  

Up until recently, information was traditionally left in the hands of an authority. In our world today, it’s the leaders of thought who command the authority, because they are the sherpas who can lead audiences to the “How to.”  

Great leaders of thought come onstage with a bang and quickly affect the way an audience thinks about a subject, and themselves within it. This type of exceptional keynote speaker has a very clear understanding of the responsibility placed on them.

They approach chaos as nothing more than unpredictable order, and they know that it’s up to them to realign the landscape of their clients. They share not just something new, but also share the “why” something new is important and how it affects the audience.  

How can you identify a leader of thought when it comes to keynote speakers? 

While thought leaders can provide valuable guidance and advice to those around them, leaders of thought are driven by a passion to actually make a difference.

They're often the ones who have taken risks and made bold decisions to achieve their goals, inspiring others in their field to do the same.

Leaders of thought will collaborate with you, and maybe a random sampling of attendees, to validate and clarify the content of their keynote ahead of time.

They will deeply understand your company through their own research, hitting specific criteria.

They then apply that knowledge to the topic and develop creative content and applicable context to the keynote, all of which leaves the audience wanting more. 

Thought leaders and leaders of thought both provide value, but when it comes to keynote speeches, only a leader of thought has the ability to command the room and manifest change. 

Also read: How to choose a keynote speaker for your company event

The internet is littered with speakers whose phenomenal marketing make them highly visible, making it tough to discern the difference between a terrible speaker, mediocre speaker and a virtuoso at the craft of speaking.

By understanding the difference between these two types of keynote speakers, companies can better identify their own goals and shape their search for the best keynote speaker for their needs.