Questions to Ask Before Booking a Keynote Speaker

For Event Planners · Booking Checklist

Questions to Ask Before Booking a Keynote Speaker

Every professional speaker offers a discovery call. Most planners waste it — twenty minutes of pleasantries, a date check, and a handshake. This is the checklist for using that call properly: the exact questions to ask, what a strong answer sounds like, and which answers should end the conversation.

Copy these into your notes before the call. You won’t need all of them — but you’ll want most.

Questions about fit

• “What’s the last audience you spoke to that looked like ours?”
  Strong answer: specific roles, event type, and what that room was carrying. Weak answer: “I speak to all kinds of audiences.”
• “Here’s our one-sentence outcome for this keynote. How would you build toward it?”
  Strong answer: they think out loud about structure and stories that serve your outcome. Weak answer: they pivot immediately to describing their standard talk.
• “Who is your talk NOT right for?”
  Every honest speaker has an answer. “It works for everyone” is a sales line, not an answer.

Questions about customization

• “What does your prep process look like between signing and stage?”
  Strong answer: a discovery call with stakeholders, sometimes attendee interviews, a review of your theme and language. Weak answer: “Just send me the logo and the intro time.”
• “Can you give me an example of something you changed for a recent client?”
  You’re listening for a real, specific edit — a story swapped, a section rebuilt around a client’s challenge — not “I always tailor my message.”
• “Will you reference our theme and language on stage?”
  The keynote should hand your leaders vocabulary they can reuse for months. If the speaker’s brand always comes first, the talk evaporates when they leave.

Questions about proof

• “Can you send a full-length, unedited keynote video?”
  A sizzle reel shows editing skill. Fifteen unedited minutes shows the actual product. Any working speaker has this.
• “Can I speak with two past clients from similar events?”
  Then actually call them and ask: What surprised you? Would you book again? How were they offstage? Offstage behavior — with your AV team, your volunteers, your attendees — is part of what you’re buying.

Questions about logistics

• “Do you have an AV rider and an intro script you can send now?”
  Pros send both within a day. These small artifacts predict how the entire engagement will run.
• “When do you arrive, and will you attend any of the event beyond your slot?”
  Speakers who arrive the night before and sit in on a session beforehand consistently deliver better talks — they reference what the room just experienced.
• “Are you open to Q&A, a fireside format, or a breakout add-on?”
  Flexibility signals command of the material. Rigidity often signals a memorized script.
• “What happens if you have a travel emergency or illness?”
  You want to hear a real contingency plan — earlier flights on risky routes, a virtual backup option, a make-good policy in the contract.

Questions about money and contract

• “What exactly does the fee include?”
  Get it itemized: travel, prep calls, a breakout or book signing, recording rights, social promotion. Assume nothing is included unless it’s written.
• “How is travel billed — flat buyout or actuals?”
  A flat travel buyout protects your budget from surprises. Actuals require a cap in the contract.
• “Can we record the talk and share it internally?”
  Many speakers charge separately for recording rights. Far cheaper to negotiate now than after the event.
• “What’s your cancellation and rescheduling policy — in both directions?”
  Fair contracts address the speaker canceling, not just you.

For a full breakdown of what those fees typically look like across the market, see our honest guide to how much a keynote speaker costs.

Answers that should end the conversation

• “I don’t really do prep calls — my talk works everywhere.”
• No full-length video available, only the reel.
• References who can only speak vaguely, or none from events like yours.
• Fee quotes that shift between calls or arrive without itemization.
• Any hint of impatience with these questions. A speaker annoyed by diligence in the sales process will not get easier after the deposit clears.

Booking for a healthcare event specifically? Pair this checklist with our deeper guide on choosing a keynote speaker for a healthcare conference, and browse planner resources on the For Event Planners hub.

How Chris answers these

Fair disclosure — this checklist lives on a keynote speaker’s site, and it’s written to be one he passes. Chris Sund runs a discovery call before every engagement, sends a full-length video and references on request, arrives the night before, and itemizes every fee in writing. He speaks from a sitting operator’s chair — President & COO of two national healthcare staffing firms, scaled 12x to a #3 Inc. 5000 Midwest ranking, Best Places to Work honors — and his signature keynote is You Are Capable of More. Put him through this exact checklist via the booking page.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a speaker discovery call be?

Thirty minutes is enough if you arrive with these questions. Bring the one or two stakeholders who own the event outcome, not the whole committee.

Should we ask for a reduced fee?

You can ask about flexibility — off-peak dates, nearby routing with another event, or bundling a breakout often moves the number more than straight discounting. What you shouldn’t do is grind on price after agreeing to scope.

What if the speaker won’t do a call before we sign?

Walk away, with rare exceptions at the celebrity tier where an agent handles everything. For working keynote speakers, refusing a pre-booking conversation is the single most predictive red flag.