Hiring a keynote speaker for your event can be extremely daunting.

How do you know which one to choose? How do you know the speaker will deliver like they say they will? How do you know your attendees will walk away inspired?

Those are all the right questions; but, there's one question that's even more important than the rest: How can I be sure that all my attendees put their learning into practice for months after they leave my event?

That last question is why hiring a keynote speaker to inspire your audience to innovate is only half the battle. The other half is making that inspiration stick so they walk away with action items that they will act on.

This part is tricky, since no amount of hand-holding can guarantee that your attendees will even remember, let alone vow to practice, what they learn. But there are 3 simple techniques you can use as an event planner to ensure you tangibly improve the organizations of your attendees:

1. Make sure they learn a framework. Stories are the backbone of any good talk, but stories must come to a point -- a single framework that your attendees can understand and implement. This framework needs to be simple enough to remember and universal enough to apply, with huge value for implementation. For instance, the central framework of my keynote and book is the Hourglass of Honesty, which shows you how three levels of honesty come together to drive innovation and culture transformation for any organization (you can learn more by signing up for my eBook on this site).
2. Demand a visual takeaway. Once attendees have learned a simple and effective framework, they need it in a visual format that satisfies all learning types. Some will learn from reading, some will learn from listening, and some from looking at pictures -- and by having a visual takeaway like a workbook, eBook, or even a poster they can hang on their office walls, your attendees will be far more likely to absorb the information they need and remind themselves to take action.
3. Have a follow-up plan. Speaking of action, having a follow-up plan is a fantastic way for you to continue to help your attendees long after your event is over. Work with your keynote speaker on innovation to create a series of emails, social media outreach or even a short webinar series that gives attendees support while they're taking action on their own.

The last thing anyone wants is for an inspired event attendee to walk away and forget everything they learned within a month. Work with your keynote speaker to design innovative programs that help attendees get lasting value. After all, if the conference is about innovation and leadership, your efforts can lead the innovation charge!