should the presenter be able to give it again??
I know that this is a rant — but am just wondering about 2 things.
1. The price that is paid for keynoters
2. And the fact that MANY are repeating information that has not only been presented before BUT that is available now by way of YouTube, elluminate archives, or ustream.
I can only guestimate that a keynote speaker makes about $5000 per keynote….could be less, could be more. $5000 is the only one I know for sure because the keynote speaker told me that in conversation.
Hmmm, $5000 for 60 minutes to 90 minutes of information is……interesting.
But then, what do you get for the $5000?? What would you expect?
I will let you speculate on that answer, because we all have probably a variety of thoughts…..but then I have to wonder……
If you, as a presenter/a keynoter, already have your content archived and you are giving the same presentation — I mean the EXACT same presentation — what is the necessity of your being there on the stage…..if we can just hit PLAY and let the audience watch your speech?
It then makes me wonder this….
What does an “in-the-building” speaker need to provide that just hitting “play” will not provide?
I am still in contemplation on this one…..lots of thoughts…….some contradictary thoughts as I work my way through this………..
but I wonder, and I invite you to wonder with me………..
why are we paying HUGE amounts of money for the presence of someone to present in person, if we can get their content for free online?
Thanks for helping me think.
Jen
Hi Jen,
I’m with you. I understand that someone who is an expert is going to talk about their area of expertise. Some of this may repeat what they’ve said before. But they can tailor it. I just heard a live talk that repeated a TED talk I’d already seen. At the end though, the speaker talked about how a school had taken a chance on him and described how, and what the impact had been on his life and career as a result. If he had started with that, I would have listened to the entire talk with a new set of ears.
Hey Jen,
I believe that keynoters and outside consultants play a KEY role in school change. Organizations are complex systems full of inter-dependencies and politics. Often times there are agents of change within the organization, but they can’t afford to cash in political capital by serving as the “lighting rod.” Outside facilitators and consultants have the luxury of being free of these inter-dependencies and political connections within an organization. They can say the things that the organization needs to hear, move us out of our comfort zones, challenge us, etc…and then leave. Perhaps they shouldn’t recycle their message, but until our communities get comfortable with online/asynchronous learning, there is little reason for a presenter to alter his/her presentation.
I wish we didn’t have to spend this kind of money on outside facilitators and could, instead, develop a platform for regular conversation, discussion and disagreement within our organizations…but most school organizations aren’t quite there yet.
Matt
I have always disliked the idea of keynote speakers who go from place to place delivering what amounts to the same talk.
They do it because you can over time develop a very fine-tuned talk, with good slides and graphics, collected over time. But it takes on the appearance of a concert – an in-person presentation of pre-recorded material.
I’ve always tried to deliver a different talk each time. For me my presentations posted on my website are an important record, so that I can rediscover what I actually said on a given day. Even so, though, viewers will see a lot of repeated themes an ideas. So in a way the repetition is unavoidable.
Of course, I’m not a pro, and I don’t get $5K per talk, so I can get away with delivering a product that is less polished and professional, and to experiment and take chances in my talks (I actually prefer that, and one reason for not turning pro is my dislike of pressure to deliver “value for $5000″ that people expect).
1…because people might stop letting their presentations get recorded for free…
2…Matt said it very well…
3…keynoters who don’t customize in some fashion are like teachers who don’t change lessons from year to year …
Two things come to mind here. First, man people like to go to concerts, even though the artists usually play music they’ve already recorded, and/or certainly will record. The songs may not or may not be free, but once we’ve purchased that recording we can listen to it over and over, and play it for our friends, too. How different is a keynote speech? It does seem a much better value if the keynoter in fact customize his/her presentation for the specific audience; and, it would certainly add great value if the Keynoter did participate in some kind of Q & A or panel discussion following their speech.
Personally, I have not had the pleasure of being at too many large conferences with keynote speakers. But I did enjoy the ‘live’ keynote addresses, much as I might enjoy a musical performance. And, at one such conference the Keynoter also participated in the conference by conducting one of the sessions. I do feel that made their particularly well earned. Perhaps that will be the case more often in the future.
It was a busy weekend for educational conferences. There was a large one in New York City … Celebration for Teaching & Learning, the CUE conference you attended, and I was at a relatively small gathering in Wappinger Falls which had no keynoter, but lots of interesting sessions and a great crowd of educators. As you alluded to, sometimes it is the people we meet and the conversation we have that make attending such conferences truly valuable.
I really like Lynne’s comparison to a live concert. I think the presence of an important figure may draw people’s interest a little more than having a video play. Maybe there is more of an obligation to keep your attention on the speaker when they have taken the time to speak to you face-to-face. I also believe that people may take the speaker’s message more to heart with a live presentation. Whether or not the speech is repeated, people may not feel that way hearing it. They may however feel that way if they are being shown a video which clearly indicates it has been a recorded message.
Jen, This is a worthy topic and it has elicited some thoughtful comments. Let’s take a slightly different view, the view of the conference coordinators. They need to get people to attend and they need to provide a base for their vendors. They must determine the ability of the speaker to draw a crowd and produce attendance thereby giving vendors more opportunities to connect with potential buyers and so on. The people making the big bucks therefore must get very high ratings on the participant assessment cards and must have a loyal following just like a rock band. This takes lots of effort but if they want to continue to remain popular, they must avoid offering the condensed soup repeatedly. So I wonder. There must be a speaker bureau rating system which dictates the price ranges speakers can expect based on their past performances. It would be interesting to find the stats.
@Sarah –
Thank you for stopping by and extending my thoughts.
@Matt –
Perhaps, but isn’t that sad??
Should not the keynote — perhaps the leader of convention thoughts (at times) — be willing to be trendsetter and not content with being in an accepted rut??
@Stephen –
I agree that with some topics, repetition is unavoidable. On the other hand though, when we continue are talking to teachers about growth, change, and new ideas….it is important that keynotes demonstrate that as well.
I hope someday I do get to sit in the audience and hear you keynote.
@Scott –
That is something I have thought of lately. Will people stop allow recordings of their sessions?? Not sure, but you could be right.
@Lynne –
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I thought long and hard about what you had said…..and came to the decision that I understand completely your thoughts about the concert…..but I don’t go to a convention to be entertained….I do go to a concert to be entertained.
I hope that the keynote speaker and I have similar thoughts…and if I have heard him/her before, some of the conversation will be comfortable and known….but not like a “I know every word of this song” at a concert.
Smiles, I do enjoy a keynote conversation to be entertaining but I am attending to be entertained. I am attending to leave with new ideas, new vision, perhaps a bit chastisement, and urges to grow.
Good thoughts though — still thinking through your comment.
Thank you
@Ryan –
Yes. I think there is much more a connection when the speaker is in the room. And maybe my thoughts here are generated because I am so lucky to be able to participate in so much Professional Development both F2F and virtual. However, I still wonder, what the future will look like when keynoters realize that their speech can’t be repeated over 40 sessions within one year without many starting to say “been there, heard that”.
@Kathy –
There is a speakers bureau –
http://premierespeakers.com
Ron Clark, Guy Doud (two quick names come to mind)
However, I am unsure if we have an educational tech keynote list — besides perhaps this: http://www.dangerouslyirreleva.....round.html (looks like ISTE has closed the main page)
But it might be something interesting to look into.
J
Jen,
Five thousand for a well-known keynote speaker?????? I wish I could find one that worked for that fee. As the program chair for a state educational technology conference, in my seven years experience, I have only had one keynote that charged five thousand dollars……Try doubling or almost tripling that for a really well-known keynoter!!!!
Incidentally, Premier charges $15,000 for Ron Clark to make an appearance for 60 minutes!!! (That is, if you can’t talk the VP into a lower fee.)
With the economy in dire straits and speaker budgets being cut for the past couple of years, it is difficult to find speakers (keynote and featured speakers) that you can afford anymore! I know, as I am going through the process, as we speak!
Jerrie
Another thing to keep in mind is that we are not all as connected as those of us who connect through Twitter and blogs. Most of the conference attendees have no idea the keynoter has the speech on YouTube or anywhere else because they never knew the person existed or even thought of connecting to others using a tool like YouTube.
One session I’d like to see repeated even though I saw it on UStream would be the real panel debate that Will and Gary put on a few years back. Except, it needs to have a few more folks we all know and respect and it should really have some meat to the crossfire portions of it. Forget the niceties. Defend your turf as if someone in the DOE were really listening to what you are saying. Throw in a few personalities who will not get rattled under pressure and are full of thought on the subject, and I’d pay a premium to watch it. Hmmm, wonder why we don’t have that in TX one day?