{"id":6940,"date":"2018-02-21T21:41:03","date_gmt":"2018-02-21T21:41:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/?p=6940"},"modified":"2022-11-18T16:58:03","modified_gmt":"2022-11-18T16:58:03","slug":"what-is-a-keynote-address","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Create A Captivating Keynote Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

“Let every man or woman here, if you never hear me again, remember this, that if you wish to be great at all, you must begin where you are and with what you are . . . now.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

~Russell H. Conwell \u201cAcres of Diamonds\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, I have delivered many keynote presentations. But I haven\u2019t come close to the record set by legendary speaker Russell Conwell back in the late 1800s. Conwell delivered one captivating keynote speech<\/a> \u201cAcres of Diamonds\u201d 6,152 times! Now there\u2019s a guy who stayed on message.<\/p>\n

He pulled this off before the invention of cards<\/a> or Southwest airlines. The speech generated millions of dollars. Conwell funneled that money into his ream\u2014building a college for underprivileged but deserving students. He raised nearly six million dollars\u2014that\u2019s like 3.2 zillion dollars today. The university he founded, Temple University in Philadelphia, is still thriving today.<\/p>\n

Conwell became famous as a lecturer. His keynote<\/a> message was delivered as part of a traveling tent show that visited towns in America\u2019s heartland, presented musical performances, plays, political speeches, and spellbinding storytelling. Russell Conwell\u2019s \u201cAcres of Diamonds\u201d talk was part sermon, part drama, part stand-up comedy, and always entertaining. He never got tired of delivering his \u201cAcres of Diamonds\u201d message. Each time he shared it, he made it seem like it was the first time he had ever given the speech.<\/p>\n

What was the main idea behind his famous keynote speech?<\/h2>\n

Conwell told about a farmer who lived in Africa. The farmer was tired of farming\u2014it was such tedious, hard work\u2014and he became obsessed with the quest to find diamonds instead of raising turnips. Vast quantities of diamonds had been discovered on the African continent. This farmer was convinced that mining diamonds was a much better kind of work that digging turnips. He sold his farm. He left his family and friends and wandered all over the African desert.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the sad part . . .
\nYears slipped away. The poor farmer never found the diamonds he longed for. He ended up completely broke and miserable. He threw himself into a river and drowned.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the amazing part, and the lesson:
\nMeanwhile, the new owner of his farm picked up an unusual looking rock and put it on his mantle as a conversation piece. A visitor came by, and when he saw the rock, he nearly fainted. He told the new owner of the farm that the crazy-looking rock on his mantle was actually a diamond. A very large diamond! It would, in fact, prove to be the biggest diamond that had ever been discovered. The new owner of the farm said, \u201cReally?\u201d The whole farm is covered with them.\u201d And indeed it was.<\/p>\n

The farm turned out to be the Kimberly Diamond Mine . . . the richest diamond mine the world has ever known. The original farmer was literally standing right on top of his own \u201cAcres of Diamonds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the point of Russell\u2019s legendary keynote speech: Everything you are looking for is right under your nose! You are smack in the middle of your own \u201cAcres of Diamonds\u201d right where you are now.<\/p>\n

Magicians are known for closely guarding secrets. Some magicians say, \u201cThe best way to hide a secret . . . is to put it in print. The idea is that people don\u2019t notice what is in plain sight. Here\u2019s a true story about a magician friend of mine: Dana Daniels is an award-winning comedy magician. He does a hilarious act with \u201cLuigi\u201d . . . his \u201cpsychic parrot.\u201d
\nBack before 9\/11, when you could actually get through airport security without having to undergo a colonoscopy, Dana wanted to save the hassle of traveling with Luigi in a birdcage. So, he resorted to smuggling. He thought it would be a fun challenge. Dana hid Luigi in his inside coat pocket.<\/p>\n

When Dana checked in at the baggage counter, the ticket agent looked at him and said, \u201cOne bag to check in?\u201d Dana said, \u201cYes, sir.\u201d The man then asked, \u201cYou want to check in the parrot?\u201d Dana thought, How does he know I have a parrot? Did he see my show last night? He he was bewildered, so he thought he\u2019d just blow it off an said, \u201cWhat parrot?\u201d The ticket agent looked up at him and said, \u201cThe one on your shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

“If you\u2019re looking for a helping hand,
\nthere\u2019s one at the end of your arm.”
\n~Yiddish Proverb<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

One of my own favorite keynote messages is entitled: It\u2019s Right Under Your Nose! The main idea, inspired by Russell Conwell\u2019s \u201cAcres of Diamonds\u201d is that what you are looking for may be hiding from you in plain sight.
\nYour best opportunities are right in your own backyard.<\/p>\n

The big \u201cbreak\u201d you are looking for . . . the job you really want . . . the love you are seeking . . . the extra income you need . . . the friends who will care abut you . . . it\u2019s ALL right under your nose.<\/p>\n

One day I was rushing off to the airport to catch a flight. I couldn\u2019t find my cell phone. I was hunting everywhere for it, while talking to my friend about it . . . on my cell phone.<\/p>\n

We tend to look everywhere else for what we already have in hand.
\nMy wife and I took a bunch of nine-year-old boys to the movies for our son James\u2019 birthday party. ON the ride home his best friend Ryan suddenly burst into tears. \u201cOh no! I left my iPod in the movie theater!\u201d Are you kidding me? We were almost home and guests were waiting for us at our house.<\/p>\n

We called Ryan\u2019s mom and left her a message, \u201cYou need to go to the movie theater. Ryan left his iPod there!\u201d We called the theater and (after listening to the recording of the eighteen movie screenings,) asked the manager to search our seats. \u201cPlease help us find this little boy\u2019s treasured electronic device.\u201d Ryan was in the car, crying. The kids felt it was an emergency. WE MUST FIND RYAN\u2019S iPOD.<\/p>\n

We pulled into the driveway, got out of the car, and Ryan instantly stopped crying. He said, \u201cOh. Cool. It was right here in my back pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in your back pocket? Who is already in your address book? What opportunities are awaiting you\u2014in your own backyard?<\/p>\n

As the wise philosopher, Justin Bieber, once sang, \u201cThe grass is greener . . . where you water it.\u201d When you notice, choose and cultivate what you have, something powerful happens. Your attention moves from looking for what\u2019s \u201cout there\u201d to realizing that what you are looking for is right here.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Adam Christing<\/a> is a popular Event MC and Funny Motivational Speaker. He is the author of Your Life is a Joke: 12 Ways to Go from Ha Ha to AHA! (For more information go to Adam Christing’s Website<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Let every man or woman here, if you never hear me again, remember this, that if you wish to be great at all, you must begin where you are and with what you are ….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,32],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6940","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-inspiration","8":"category-keynote-speaking"},"yoast_head":"\nHow To Create A Captivating Keynote Speech | Adam Christing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We tend to look everywhere else for what we already have in hand. Advice from popular Event MC and Funny Motivational Speaker Adam Christing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Create A Captivating Keynote Speech | Adam Christing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We tend to look everywhere else for what we already have in hand. Advice from popular Event MC and Funny Motivational Speaker Adam Christing.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Adam Christing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-21T21:41:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-18T16:58:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/look-confident-when-giving-a-speech.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adam Christing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adam Christing\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/\",\"name\":\"How To Create A Captivating Keynote Speech | Adam Christing\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-21T21:41:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-18T16:58:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b8d14707474924ab57c03fa58ae2dce4\"},\"description\":\"We tend to look everywhere else for what we already have in hand. Advice from popular Event MC and Funny Motivational Speaker Adam Christing.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How To Create A Captivating Keynote Speech\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/\",\"name\":\"Adam Christing\",\"description\":\"Keynote Speaker Inspiring Laughter & Life Change\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b8d14707474924ab57c03fa58ae2dce4\",\"name\":\"Adam Christing\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4274bc12c1d25c5d8acf3c8fa323b21e8d1b9e685a537d956f702c5aef65a64d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4274bc12c1d25c5d8acf3c8fa323b21e8d1b9e685a537d956f702c5aef65a64d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adam Christing\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How To Create A Captivating Keynote Speech | Adam Christing","description":"We tend to look everywhere else for what we already have in hand. Advice from popular Event MC and Funny Motivational Speaker Adam Christing.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How To Create A Captivating Keynote Speech | Adam Christing","og_description":"We tend to look everywhere else for what we already have in hand. Advice from popular Event MC and Funny Motivational Speaker Adam Christing.","og_url":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/","og_site_name":"Adam Christing","article_published_time":"2018-02-21T21:41:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-11-18T16:58:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/look-confident-when-giving-a-speech.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Adam Christing","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adam Christing","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/","url":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/","name":"How To Create A Captivating Keynote Speech | Adam Christing","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-02-21T21:41:03+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-18T16:58:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b8d14707474924ab57c03fa58ae2dce4"},"description":"We tend to look everywhere else for what we already have in hand. Advice from popular Event MC and Funny Motivational Speaker Adam Christing.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/blog\/what-is-a-keynote-address\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How To Create A Captivating Keynote Speech"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/","name":"Adam Christing","description":"Keynote Speaker Inspiring Laughter & Life Change","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b8d14707474924ab57c03fa58ae2dce4","name":"Adam Christing","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4274bc12c1d25c5d8acf3c8fa323b21e8d1b9e685a537d956f702c5aef65a64d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4274bc12c1d25c5d8acf3c8fa323b21e8d1b9e685a537d956f702c5aef65a64d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Adam Christing"}}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/look-confident-when-giving-a-speech.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peGnpl-1NW","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6940"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9086,"href":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6940\/revisions\/9086"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchristing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}