While it’s true that the bulk of bookers focus on speaker qualifications and expertise within the content they’re meant to provide, an often overlooked consideration, and one that makes just as big a difference, is energy alignment. For example, the same speaker who knocks their 8 AM keynote out of the park could completely fall flat as a breakout session speaker post-lunch. They deliver the same content, just at different levels of energetic appeal.
It’s not a matter of “high energy” versus “low energy” speakers. It’s understanding that each different type of session requires different energy outputs, and aligning speaker style to slot accordingly. When this fails, it’s not the fault of the presenter who’s supremely talented, but the atmosphere in which they’re forced to perform.
Morning Slots Require Different Sensibilities
There are few times in an event schedule where people are more discombobulated than they are early morning. They’re coming in with coffee, trying to sneak in one last glance at their email before transitioning their minds into event mode. They haven’t even warmed up as an audience yet, meaning they need much more of a warm-up to get engaged.
Thus, the ideal speaker is someone who comes off upbeat but warm-up style – not someone who is loud and turns people off, as someone who can gently guide a room to its proper energy levels before kicking things off. The last thing anyone wants to do is cannonball into a cold pool, morning speakers should understand that and meet them where they are before taking off.
Where bookers fail in aligning energy is bringing in a more contemplative, thought-provoking speaker for these spots. While it may work brilliantly in the midday and late morning timeframe, 8:30 AM will leave too many people struggling to keep their eyes open. Organizations who are seeking presenters who understand this can rely on a motivational keynote speaker who has experience working with these time slots to help streamline the finding process.
The Afternoon Slump Is Real
Anyone who’s attended conferences knows that after lunch, people disperse into networking and recede into their seats – full of food but craving a nap. This is one of the toughest slots for any speaker to accommodate.
Why? Because approaching it with enthusiasm isn’t what’s required. Often speakers come out at 1:30 with boisterous, overflowing amounts of energy appropriate for a morning keynote but get met with exhaustion. It’s not that the audience doesn’t want to hear the message – it’s that they’re not ready to meet such energy requirements with their previous state of mind.
Instead, movement works better. Getting people up and engaged is key. If any high energy exists, it comes from audience participation. Question asking and storytelling that doesn’t require laser focus works best with post-lunch speakers. The energy becomes akin to a conversation rather than a lecture, or even a master class where the intentions are more meaningful rather than rah-rah.
Yet there are speakers who struggle with this liminal space. They’re used to projecting to larger crowds and can’t find their balance until they see people’s faces. The best post-lunch presenters come in and read the room, they see when people are leaning forward and need direction or when things are fading, and they bring in engaging elements to rectify those gaps.
General Sessions vs Breakouts
There’s a clear difference between room sizes when moving away from a general session ballroom of thousands into a more intimate breakout session. A presenter who commands such space might end up being overbearing in a room of 50. Suddenly, it’s personal.
Generally speaking, breakout sessions work well for speakers who can tone down the “performance” aspect of their presentation and instead lean into expertise expansion. People signed up for that particular session for a reason. They want depth – not razzle dazzle. Thus, their energy matches more along the lines of a master class than motivational efforts.
However, some speakers who only know how to project their voice find it difficult and uncomfortable when others can clearly see their faces, and faces tell all sorts of stories! The best breakout speakers know how to pivot based on crowd energy, when they lean into engagement, and when they’ve checked out, they know how to redirect mid-sentence.
Multi-Day Events Compound Exhaustion
When certain events extend beyond a day, an added layer of potential exhaustion builds up. From day one when everyone’s excited through day three when even the best content falls flat, even the most engaged audience brings baggage with them after sitting through multiple consecutive days of similar offerings.
When slotting speaker energy levels, it’s important to account for days when attendees are inevitably going to be tired by virtue of being there. Thus, high-energy motivational speakers at the start can set the tone for excitement; however, this cannot be an overwhelming sentiment placed upon all preferred presenters first day/first time slot if they’re only going to be sitting on their hands during the last sessions without such high energy appeal.
Some event planners take what they call an “energy mapping” approach where they literally map out anticipated energy levels throughout whatever is being planned and then place speakers accordingly. For example, the morning after day one might require someone different than day two morning because at this point, the mindset has already shifted.
Virtual/Hyrbid Events Re-Energize Expectations
When screens are involved, the standards and expectations for energy change entirely. What reads passionate in person may sound aggressive on video; what sounds thoughtful in content delivery during a boardroom session appears flat on-screen.
Virtual programming lends itself better to speakers who can integrate vocal modulation and facial expressiveness; however, without it reading artificial even subtly. It’s a fine line because without real-time feedback from audiences on-screen or in-person, adjustments cannot be made mid-sentence either.
For hybrid presentations, it feels almost futile for presenters to approach a dualized experience since two audiences exist, one in person and one on a screen, and they both require different things from the topic presentation. Speakers who manage this dual focus are few and far between, and should some styles not even be hybrid? It’s worth considering.
Speaker Energy Levels Are Not Speaker Types
The problem many planners run into is assessing these as types: high-energy versus low-energy types. This is too much of a black-and-white approximation. Most quality seasoned speakers can adjust, but only if they’re aware of what they’re getting into.
The question remains whether or not these presenters have flexibility enough to accommodate whatever special time slot needs demand for them and if they’re self-aware enough to make these changes. Some are phenomenal speakers but only have one style and that’s okay – but that means placement needs to be aligned properly with those limitations.
While it’s wise to ask speakers about their experiences across various time slots, if they’ve worked post-lunch and if they’ve accommodated smaller breakouts after commanding a main stage, it’s also important to inquire how they’d differentiate themselves without needing visual aids like a demo reel gives them. Sometimes anecdotal evidence proves more beneficial.
It’s not about finding the perfect fit, for every single moment, it’s about finding what’s right based on opportunity’s various contexts. Energy alignment is merely one factor; however, it’s one that creates shifts impossible to fix via great content alone unless the right people with the right ideas are behind it to make it happen.
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