Choosing a keynote, and what the 3D experience does for your room.
I have sat on both sides of the stage. For twenty years I was the one choosing speakers, and I learned how often a big name delivers a forgettable hour. Audiences have seen every slide deck and heard every summit story. What they remember is an experience that was built for them.
So when I prepare for an event, I start with one question: what will people still talk about on the drive home? It is rarely a statistic. It is a moment that surprised them, a story that felt like it was about them, and an idea they could use the next morning. Every keynote I deliver is built backwards from that moment.
That is why I moved my keynotes into three dimensions. No slides, no screen. Holograms appear next to me on stage, and the room steps inside the story instead of watching it from the back. That is the 3D immersive experience, and it travels as a plug-and-play setup, so your AV team is not left building anything from scratch.
Two keynotes run in that format. Forever Human is about the human edge in the age of AI: the moves a machine cannot make, and how your people get better at them. The Power of Choice is about the small, daily choices that decide how others see you and whether they choose you. Both are also available as traditional keynotes when the room or the budget calls for it.
This is where I write for the people who plan events: how to find the right keynote speaker, what makes an opening or closing keynote work, what sponsors actually need, and what really happens when you put a 3D immersive keynote in a ballroom. Plus a few candid notes from inside the speaking industry, including what it takes to be inducted into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame.
That honor matters to planners for one reason: it is awarded by peers, not bought. The National Speakers Association reserves it for a small number of professional speakers, and being a Hall of Fame speaker sets a standard I hold myself to every time I walk on your stage.
A keynote your audience experiences instead of watching slides. In mine, 3D holograms appear on stage next to me, projected onto a nearly invisible net, so the room sees objects, people and ideas in the space around me. Nobody needs a headset. See it for yourself on the Experience page.
Both of mine: Forever Human and The Power of Choice. Each one is also available as a traditional keynote, and both are tailored to your industry and your audience.
Most ballrooms and general session rooms work. The tech is on me: I bring the plug-and-play setup and your AV team handles the rest. We check ceiling height, stage depth and room layout together during planning.
It depends on the format, the venue and travel. I break down the cost factors in How much does a hologram presentation cost? The humans on my team will give you an exact quote for your date.
Start with what you want people to do differently after the session, then look for a speaker who customizes for your audience instead of repeating the same talk. Ask for full-length video, not only a highlight reel, and talk to the speaker before you book. My checklist is in How to find the perfect keynote speaker for your conference.
It is the highest lifetime honor of the National Speakers Association, awarded by a council of peers for excellence in professional speaking. Only a small number of speakers have been inducted since it began in 1977. I wrote about what it takes from the inside in What it really takes to become a CPAE Hall of Fame speaker.
Both work, for different reasons. An opening keynote sets the tone and gives every later session a shared reference point. A closing keynote decides what people take home. Here is how to choose: Opening keynote or closing keynote?
