Are you planning your next big event? Along with the overwhelming rush of getting all the details and guest speakers in line, you may be wondering how many keynote speakers you need. This decision will dramatically impact your budget, so it's best to decide early on.

Live events need to push people past their day to day problems and help audiences surpass limitations. To do this, you need the right experts, strategically placed on your agenda.

If you are planning something great for the audience, you want something unique. Hiring keynote speakers for your event is crucial, not only for the sake of spreading information and inspiration but also because it is the best way to keep your audience engaged. That plenary keynote speaker position holds the power of making your event a hit.

Industry or annual events are an essential time to lift people. It would help if you found the right balance between content, humor, and inspiration. On most schedules, I think motivational messages need to be strategically placed in about 25% of your event.

Some events routinely hire several top motivational speakers to keep the agenda engaging. Other meetings will strategically place keynote speakers where the audience needs a boost. Traditionally a keynote speaker opens a conference and closes the event. You can also hire a motivational speaker as a luncheon plenary speaker or an after-dinner keynote speaker.

Take a look at these pointers below to help you decide how many keynote speakers you need.

REVIEW YOUR BUDGET 

If you are planning on hosting a small, low-key event, it is most cost-effective to get only one person to do the job for you. A top keynote speaker can open a conference, build excitement, and be the closing keynote speaker. But if you have planned an event that spans several days, the ideal option would be to keep your schedule uplifting with more than one plenary speaker. But let's not get carried away, review how much you are willing to spend on your event. For sure, plenary speakers are not cheap to hire, so make sure that you take a look at how much you can spend on keynote speakers. If you do hire a keynote speaker through a speakers bureau, they charge a 25-30% commission, so it's more cost-effective to go directly to the speaker. A good general formula to refer to is big events + big bucks = bigger names. 

DON'T FORGET THE SPONSORS

If your budget doesn't allow for significant expenses, your sponsors might be willing to provide funds to hire a keynote speaker. The more sponsors you have, the more keynote speakers you can hire. The advantages of sponsorship are in the opportunity to align with the key speaker ( and their message).

HOW LONG IS THE EVENT

Now, this is crucial. When events are long, people tend to lose interest, and you could experience attrition. Extended events require more interesting, entertaining, and stimulating content to keep audiences engaged. The best learning experiences will craft a schedule that mixes emotion with content.

Thus you need the keynote speakers to engage audiences or make things lighter and more fun. The longer the event, the more you will need to balance your schedule. You can arrange small intervals of the guest speakers to switch the program up.

Also, with more extended events, it's a smart idea to keep your audience involved, so hire interactive guest speakers.

AUDIENCE SIZE: SMALL OR HUGE?

If the crowd is large, you can usually afford more keynote speakers. Because the plenary speaker speaks to the entire audience, you also save yourself organizing numerous breakout guest speakers. This way, the attendees can also help in publicizing your event, when you announce next year's event, they will be the first to register. 

WHAT CONTENT NEEDS TO BE DELIVERED

If there are only a few key messages that your event needs (to be delivered in the plenary session), one person might be able to provide it marvelously! But if there are more industry, inspirational, or soft skill messages that your audience craves, whoever best fits your event and that message, that is who you need. 

 You can do this, all my wishes!