Joining the podcast from Copenhagen, Denmark, was professional keynote speaker, Samuel Scott. With a background in journalism and marketing, Samuel turned his professional attentions to being a keynote speaker in 2016, where he delivers marketing truths “with the mindset of an expert trade journalist with nothing to sell.” Commenting on the rarity of attaining a keynote speaker with absolutely no agenda, podcast host, James, advised that organisers should be conscious of hiring speakers who may have bias/other intentions. Agreeing, Samuel explained, “if you bring on someone who works for a marketing agency, they will be promoting the services that the agency provides.” Particularly if the speaker is not being paid, they will attempt to gain some benefits from the session by pitching their company or services. Approaching a speech with no side agenda allows speakers to offer nothing but honest opinions and assessments. This is not only picked up on by the audiences, but the event organisers as well. Delivering speeches puts one in a unique position of influencing and informing large numbers of people. This makes fact-checking absolutely vital. Even stats and data can be interpreted differently by two different people depending on their bias so keeping your information as neutral as possible allows audiences to form their own opinions on it. Samuel also advised not to turn your back on your audience to read from the screen behind you. If necessary, keep a monitor in front of you to refer to. This constant turning suggests to your audience and employers that you are underprepared. If you think you have a relevant discussion topic and would like to feature on one of our podcast episodes, please email [email protected].

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.