As technology improves, the cost of virtual business keynote speakers continues to decline. A speaker can make their address from anywhere in the world, at any time, and be heard and seen perfectly from your event venue at a fraction of the cost of flying in a speaker for an in-person address.
Besides the obvious advantages of cost and flexibility, virtual speaking just keeps getting more amazing features. Interaction has become possible fairly recently, allowing Q and A sessions and polling of conference attendees; the address can also easily be recorded, allowing attendees to revisit certain moments and continue to glean wisdom after the event has passed.
With these advantages, is it really worth it to hire an in-person business keynote speaker? Some say absolutely not, that all the same impacts can be achieved via virtual keynotes. This article will present reasons why event planners should perhaps not be quite so quick to discard the time-honored keynote address.
Personal Connection: An Underrated Aspect of The Keynote Speaker’s Influence
A keynote address boils down to just words that are heard by a room full of people. Does it really matter if the speaker is actually present?
Many studies show that it does. People engage more easily with an address given by someone who is actually present, and are more likely to receive a lasting positive impression from a speaker who isn’t on a screen.
It is very difficult for a speaker to project the same authority and charisma through a screen as they can in person.
Remember, too, that many people spend hours each day listening to people talk to them through a screen. How much difference does every video they have watched in the last few days actually create in their life?
Using a virtual speaker runs the risk of the listeners just remembering the address as another video they watched. Screen fatigue can be detrimental to how people receive influence, even from the best speaker.
Technical Challenges: Issues Inherent In Virtual Speeches
However amazing the technical advances that allow virtual keynote speaking, there can always still be difficulties.
Interruptions in connectivity or glitches with the AV equipment can create frustrating delays and awkward pauses in the process.
Time zone differences may force the speaker to give their address very early in the morning or in the middle of the night, which can impede their performance. This has the potential to impact their ability to deliver their best performance, which can in turn hamper their influence.
And a great speaker relies on listener feedback and real-time interaction with the audience to keep the audience engaged and themselves on the right track. Being unable to read the audience’s body language can remove their opportunity to pivot if they are pursuing a line of logic that isn’t working, or possibly to the speaker doubling down on a joke that just isn’t funny to the current crowd–something that is awkward and distracting for everyone involved.
In-person business keynote speakers may be becoming more rare, but they are definitely still worth the money and effort–and they always will be.
