I’ll be honest — this is one of the things I’m most passionate about. Because a great brief can be the difference between a speaker who delivers a good presentation and one who absolutely blows your audience away.
And it’s something I love helping clients with, because often it’s not something people have given a lot of thought to. Not because they don’t care — but because nobody ever told them what a truly great brief looks like.
So let me change that.
The most common briefing mistake I see
It’s really common for clients to send a speaker a one-page document with the event date, location, audience size, and a topic. And honestly, it’s a great starting point.
But there’s so much more a speaker needs to truly shine.
That basic info is the skeleton of a brief. What takes it to the next level is the full picture — the context, the emotion, the goal. A speaker needs to understand not just what your event is, but why it matters.
What a great brief actually looks like
When I work with clients at Tier One, I always get on a call before anything else. And here are the questions I ask every single time:
What’s the theme of your event? Not just the title — the feeling you want to create. Is it about resilience? Innovation? Culture change? The speaker needs to weave their content around your theme, not deliver something generic they could give anywhere.
Who is in the audience? Age, industry, seniority level — it all matters. A room full of frontline retail staff needs a completely different approach to a room full of C-suite executives. The best speakers tailor everything to the room. But they can only do that if you tell them who’s sitting in it.
What do you want the audience to feel when the speaker walks off stage? This is the question that tends to stop people in their tracks — in the best possible way. Inspired? Challenged? Emotionally moved? Ready to take action? Get clear on this, because it shapes everything.
What’s happened in your business or industry lately? If your team has just been through a restructure, a speaker who talks about embracing change lands very differently than one talking about peak performance. Context is everything.
Where does the speaker sit on the run sheet? Opening keynote energy is completely different to closing keynote energy. If they’re speaking after lunch (the graveyard slot, as we call it), your speaker needs to know that so they can bring the room back to life.
Have you had speakers before — and what worked or didn’t? This one is gold. If a previous speaker was too corporate, too heavy, too long — tell us. It saves everyone from repeating a mistake.
It’s really common for clients to send a speaker a one-page document with the event date, location, audience size, and a topic. And honestly, it’s a great starting point.
But there’s so much more a speaker needs to truly shine.
That basic info is the skeleton of a brief. What takes it to the next level is the full picture — the context, the emotion, the goal. A speaker needs to understand not just what your event is, but why it matters.
What a great brief actually looks like
When I work with clients at Tier One, I always get on a call before anything else. And here are the questions I ask every single time:
What’s the theme of your event? Not just the title — the feeling you want to create. Is it about resilience? Innovation? Culture change? The speaker needs to weave their content around your theme, not deliver something generic they could give anywhere.
Who is in the audience? Age, industry, seniority level — it all matters. A room full of frontline retail staff needs a completely different approach to a room full of C-suite executives. The best speakers tailor everything to the room. But they can only do that if you tell them who’s sitting in it.
What do you want the audience to feel when the speaker walks off stage? This is the question that tends to stop people in their tracks — in the best possible way. Inspired? Challenged? Emotionally moved? Ready to take action? Get clear on this, because it shapes everything.
What’s happened in your business or industry lately? If your team has just been through a restructure, a speaker who talks about embracing change lands very differently than one talking about peak performance. Context is everything.
Where does the speaker sit on the run sheet? Opening keynote energy is completely different to closing keynote energy. If they’re speaking after lunch (the graveyard slot, as we call it), your speaker needs to know that so they can bring the room back to life.
Have you had speakers before — and what worked or didn’t? This one is gold. If a previous speaker was too corporate, too heavy, too long — tell us. It saves everyone from repeating a mistake.
Give them access to your world
The best speakers I’ve ever worked with go above and beyond when they’re well briefed. They’ll research your company, watch your internal videos, speak to a handful of your team members beforehand, and craft something that feels like it was written specifically for your audience — because it was.
But they can only do that if you open the door. Share your internal comms. Invite them to a team meeting. Send them customer feedback. The more a speaker understands your world, the more powerfully they can speak to it.
One more thing — brief them, then trust them
I’ve seen clients over-brief to the point of scripting. They want to approve every slide, tweak every story, control every word. And I understand the impulse — it’s your event, your audience, your reputation on the line.
But here’s what I know after watching over 500 speakers live on stage: the magic happens when a speaker has enough structure to feel confident, and enough freedom to be themselves. Micro-managing kills the spark.
Brief them brilliantly. Then let them do what they do best.
The bottom line
A keynote speaker is only as good as the information they’re given. The best brief I ever received as a client was two pages long, full of heart, and told me exactly what the audience had been through that year and what they needed to hear. The speaker that day moved people to tears — in the best possible way.
That’s what a great brief makes possible.
If you’d like help putting together a brief for your next event — or want to chat about finding the right speaker — reach out to us at Tier One. We’ll make sure every detail is covered.