Why Are You Looking for A Mediocre Motivational Keynote Speaker? - Funny Motivational Keynote Speaker Brad Montgomery

Brad laughing with happy audience member

Why Are You Looking for A Mediocre Motivational Keynote Speaker?

Many of my clients seek mediocrity when it comes to booking a keynote speaker. What!? I know…it’s crazy. Let me explain.

Meeting planners have a lot at stake when they select a keynote speaker. If their speaker bombs it affects more than the unhappy audience. They have to explain why they picked such a turkey. No planner want’s to answer the question, “What made you think this lousy speaker would be a good choice”?

Enter mediocrity. It sounds crazy, but I’m convinced that my clients first want to do no harm with their speaker choice. If the keynote speaker is good enough to get reasonable evaluations, and nobody has any major issues with the speaker it’s a win. If the general reaction from the speaker is, “Yeah, he was ok,” then the planner won’t get into trouble.

But note the irony: success here is a speaker who comes in with marginal evaluations. Not amazing..but not bad. We are miles away from a home run you’ll-never-top-it performance.

How weird is it that in this industry it is a fairly low bar? Was the speaker ok? Good enough? Yeah? Well good for you. It’s crazy…I think planners should demand more. Forget mediocrity…let’s go for outstanding.

I imagine most of my clients would disagree with me. And they should. And to be fair I’m over simplifying the process. Of course everybody hopes for the best. The very best. But the fact that we so readily accept mediocrity is fascinating, crazy, and very disappointing.

I believe my job isn’t to be “good enough”. Or to earn evaluations that are high enough that nobody is unhappy. My job is to absolutely rock an audience in a way that everybody congratulates my client for picking the perfect speaker. The speaker that they’ll never forget. The speaker that will make next year’s speaker look bad by comparison.

Looking for a speaker who your audience will rave about? A speaker that makes them shout “Down In Front!” A speaker who makes you look like the hero of your event? Heck yes! Call me…let’s talk about customizing a keynote for your event that makes you the star.

Brad Montgomery strives for excellence in each keynote address he delivers. Book Brad today to create a memorable meeting that audiences will be talking about long after they leave the conference.