Recently I was contacted by a student in the Philippines about how to give a keynote speech, and what a keynote speech even was. How he found us, I have no clue. But here is my response:

What is a Keynote Speech

A keynote speech is a product that you deliver to a customer while looking them in the eye. That’s why it’s terrifying for a lot of people to get in front of an audience and speak for an hour. Because people are using your product right in front of you.

A keynote speech is a speech; but it doesn’t always have to be. The main point of a keynote speech is to get a message across to an audience. However you do that is up to you. That’s what’s beautiful about the art.

A keynote speech is usually utilized in a conference format. It’s usually the main attraction. Because it’s the main attraction, keynote speakers have to be really, really good at what they do. You know if you’re good judging by the amount of people desperate to talk to you afterwards, the emails you receive, the instant jump in traffic from your website,

A keynote speech is an honor to the speaker. I think a lot of people who give keynote speeches forget that. Many view the opportunity as another stop in the schedule, another few thousand in the pocket, another day’s work well done. It’s really an opportunity to impact someone in the audience for an hour, a week, a month, a year, a life. A keynote speech has the potential to shape the framework of how someone thinks and approaches a certain topic. That’s powerful.

How to Give a Good Keynote Speech

First, know the natural flow of a keynote speech. It starts out with a narrow tunnel of information, gradually expanding into a plethora of information, and then narrows back down again into what was just said.

The best advice I’ve ever gotten on giving a keynote speech is, ‘Tell the audience what you’re going to say. Tell them. And then tell them what you said.’ That’s the framework for a whole speech.

Another good thing to keep in mind is that most people remember how you made them feel, not what you said.

The Do’s and Don’ts

Do get all the information you can possibly get. You need to do a big interview. Find out who the audience is. What are they expecting to learn? How long do you have? What time of day is it? Will people be eating lunch? How many people will there be? Where are they from? And many, many more questions.

Don’t wait until the last minute. Good keynote speeches go through a process of practice, trial, and error. The content has to be created, practiced, and then tried out on an audience. I don’t care if the audience listening to your speech is a hamster. Delivering it to someone other than yourself makes you realize how effective that component of the speech may be.

Do dress nice. Don’t go over your allotted amount of time. And be grateful that you’re able to give a keynote speech.

Today I arrived at Fairfax High School in Laveen, Arizona and delivered a Pursue the Passion keynote speech to 100 freshman high school students in the theater. And then I did the same speech again for six different periods, with a total of twenty-four different classes in attendance.

There were some things I observed during the course of my presentation as freshman filtered in and out to hear me talk about Pursue the Passion. I want to share the five top things I’ve learned about this mysterious, hard to reach age group of 14 and 15 year olds.

I hope this list entertains you, or at least helps you if you ever have to deliver a speech to freshman.

1. Freshman are clueless, yet, they think they know it all.

Without having any work experience, or really any applicable experience at all, freshman have a blind fearlessness about them that makes them think they can be a CEO right after high school. I had some freshman raise their hand when asked if they thought they could be a CEO in four years. Then one freshman who was raising their hand asked me what a CEO was.

2. Freshman are some of the most sexually charged people I’ve ever come across.

Since today was Wednesday, I asked the students what ‘Wednesday’ is commonly referred to as in working America. The answer, I said, ‘is Hump Day.’ This ‘hump day’ comment struck the freshman as wildly funny. All momentum the presentation had was halted as girls whispered in ears of their neighbor and the boys hooted and exchanged high fives. All because of ‘hump day.’

Yeah, you should have seen them when I mentioned I interviewed a Playboy photographer. I almost lost them.

3. Freshman think Facebook is for old people.

Yeah. It’s true. I asked the audience how many people had a facebook account, and I just about lost whatever ‘hip’ credibility I could have pulled off in front of an audience I was a decade older than. A few blurted out that you’re old if you’re on Facebook. Remember when Facebook was just for college kids? Ah, those were the days.

The mentioning of Myspace on the other hand quickly allowed me to regain their trust.

4. Freshman are like baby fainting goats.

Adult fainting goats are goats that are paralyzed for two to three seconds when they become fearful. They get a boost of adrenaline and they faint. Sometimes they fall down. It’s very comedic.

The baby fainting goats on the other hand do not faint. That’s because they never have fear, therefore, they never have the boost of adrenaline that paralyzes them.

At one point I offered anyone in the audience a job that paid $10 an hour if they could convince me to give them a job. Just about the whole audience raised their hand and screamed for me to call on them. If I were to make the same offer at a Jobing.com Career Expo to adult job seekers, I bet you I’d have to drag someone out on the floor.

That’s because adults are fearful, and freshman are not. They’re like baby fainting goats.

5. Freshman, if they had to make a priority list of what they wanted in a job, would list it like this: Money, Money, Money.

At the end of every one of the six presentations I made today, I had a short Question & Answer session. In four out of the six presentations, the first question that was asked was, ‘How much money do you make?’

This was after I spent a good five minutes telling them to go for experience and to pursue their interests instead of going out to get a job just for money. And this was also after I touched on how ridiculous 50 Cent’s song, ‘Get Money,’ really was when applied to life.

My response to the question elicited an eye roll every time: ‘If my salary were slashed in half, I’d still do this because I love what I do. That’s the point of this presentation. If you love what you do, it’s worth more than any salary could pay you. I wouldn’t go back to my accounting job if they paid me a million dollars.’

Brett Farmiloe feels really old after writing this post. But, educators seem to think that freshman still love the Pursue the Passion presentations. To bring Pursue the Passion to your school, contact Brett at brett@pursuethepassion.com. Cheers.

It was fantastic to finally bring Pursue the Passion back to Denver for the first time since our Pursue the Passion tour in 2007.  And I have to say, it was a spectacular success.  

On Thursday we spoke to over a hundred high school and middle school students at Thornton High School about life’s ultimate question, ‘What should I do with my life?’ The students were exposed to what steps they could start taking today to set themselves up for career success.   The students then got a special treat to conclude the 90 minute presentation when Pursue the Passion invited Tommy Thwaites, co-founder and President of Coda Coffee, on stage for a live interview.  Brett Farmiloe and the students interviewed Tommy about everything relating to his career journey.  The most interesting aspect of the interview, in my opinion, besides talking about a $500/ pound coffee bean derived from animal excrement, was when Tommy talked about his parent’s reactions to his career decision.  Tommy’s parents initially disapproved of his decision to quit a mechanic job to go into coffee, and then 10 years later poured their 401(k) into financing Coda Coffee.  Talk about a turnaround. 

Tommy invited us to Coda Coffee afterwards to sample some of their creations.  They have a really cool thing going on over there.  The two brothers are the co-founders, and another six equally as cool employees all partake in the coffee wholesaler’s business operations.  Every coffee lover and retailer should check them out at http://www.codacoffee.com/. 

On Friday, Pursue the Passion was invited to keynote and close the City of Englewood’s week long conference.  After the city’s employees participated in an hour long activity where they addressed questions like, ‘What are the 3 most important things in work?’ Brett and Zach took the stage and gave a thought provoking and entertaining presentation.  The City of Englewood will never be the same, in a good way. 

After Executive Director of the Jobing Foundation, Vicki Steere, dropped Pursue the Passion off at the airport, Brett and Zach did what they do best: improvise.  Faced with two hours until their flight (and what turned into being another 2 hour delay, thanks United) the camera was unpacked and improv interviews were conducted throughout the airport.  Interviewees were business travelers ranging from an educational film salesman to a IT systems repair man.  It will be a very entertaining video when it comes out.  Hopefully it will come out this week.  So stay tuned.   That was our 36 hour Pursue the Passion adventure to Denver. 

We’ll be back in the middle of February to give a keynote at the University of Colorado at Boulder and close up Colorado’s Recruitment and Retention Conference. That is, unless you bring us out to your conference or school for a speaking engagement before then. 

Brett Farmiloe and Zach Hubbell together make up Pursue the Passion.  They speak about their 16,000 mile road trip where they interviewed over 300 professionals about how to find passion in work.  Learn more at www.pursuethepassion.com, and join them on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2335089409

In their first jobs out of college, Brett Farmiloe and Zach Hubbell found themselves among the 75 million Americans who are dissatisfied with work.  They quit their jobs and embarked on a 16,000 mile, 38 state road trip to interview over 300 people about how to be passionate in a career.  

Now operating under the Jobing Foundation, Brett and Zach embody the message to pursue the passion as they inspire and motivate audiences across the country.  Their goal is to positively change the American attitude towards work.  Every presentation they deliver moves them one step closer towards achieving that goal.  

Keynote Speeches:  

Pursue the Passion (HR or Company Keynote)

Half of the American workforce is unhappy in their job.  Chances are, a number of your employees help make up this number of disgruntled workers.  

Using materials gathered from over 300 interviews conducted with professionals passionate about their job, Brett and Zach have identified what it takes to love your work.  By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:

·       Pursue passion in life

·       Empower employees to practice passion at work

·       Revive the passion within their organization 

What Our Generation Wants  (HR or Company Keynote)

We have been categorized as spoiled, entitled, and restless.  We’ve been known to change careers every year, be driven by salary, and lack values or any sense of work ethic.  We are the future of your organization.     

Brett and Zach are two Gen Y’ers who will tell you what their generation wants.  By the end of this session, attendees will be able to: 

·       Understand why Generation Y is critical to the success of their organization

·       Attract a member of Generation Y to their organization

·       Appreciate Generation Y’s workplace beliefs, preferences, and priorities

·       Connect with Generation Y employees from their very first day at work

·       Motivate and retain Generation Y employees without breaking into the budget  

How Informational Interviewing Changed Our Lives, And How It Can For Your Students Too (Educator Keynote)

Most students don’t know what to do with their life.  One summer, four college grads sought a solution.  They road tripped across America to interview people who were passionate about their work.  These informational interviews impacted their lives, and are the basis for a program influencing 2,000 students throughout Arizona .     

At the end of this session, participants will be able to: 

·         Provide students with the tools to conduct and coordinate an informational interview

·         Effectively refer a student towards a potential interview

·         Supply students with a solution on how to turn their passion into a career

Pursue the Passion: The Journey Begins (Student Keynote)

What should I do with my life?  It’s a question that haunts the mind of every student approaching graduation. 

On a 16,000 mile, 38 state road trip, Brett Farmiloe and Zach Hubbell interviewed over 300 successful people about how they answered life’s ultimate question.  By the end of this session, students will be able to:

·       Dictate the direction they want their life to go

·       Capitalize on and create career opportunities

·       Act and apply key insight to finding passion in school and work

·       Conduct an informational interview with a professional in the community

Speaker Bios  

Brett Farmiloe is the VP, and Zach Hubbell is the AVP of Pursue the Passion. Together, they have written a book and compiled a documentary about how to find a passion in a career. They administer the PTP program and speak to students about the importance of pursuing a passion. 

Zach and Brett keynoted the Arizona SHRM conference September 3rd in front of 600 HR Professionals.  They were one of two keynote speakers (the other being the Mayor of Los Angeles) that presented to an audience of 300 at risk students at a Jobing.com Youth Experience Expo.  They have conducted many workshops for FBLA, JAG, career exploration classes, and groups of career counselors.  They continue to grow their resume every week.   

To book Brett and Zach for your upcoming conference or to get more information about Pursue the Passion, contact Brett at (602) 405-4390 or by email at brett@pursuethepassion.com 

Zach and I took the stage. We shared our thoughts, showed videos, received a couple applauses at unexpected times, and then jumped off the stage. Within five minutes, we had three new opportunities to speak at other conferences. Within the next hour, I had a guy with a beer cheers us to our goal- to effectively impact 10 million people in the next 10 years- a guy our age tell us he wanted to quit his job and pursue his passion to make a documentary film, and a foreign exchange student reenact our edgy Generation Y slide. When things died down, Zach and I went back to our hotel room and watched the sun set from the balcony.

I suppose this is the standard experience for someone who delivers a speech to an audience of 500 people, but for us, it was all new. Speaking at the AZ SHRM conference was not only our largest audience we’d spoken to, but was also our first time talking to HR professionals.

And now, two days later, amidst the praise and feedback we’ve received, the most gratifying thing is that we achieved what we set out to achieve. Hopefully our presentation will create a revival of passion throughout the Phoenix area.

Brett Farmiloe and Zach Hubbell, after their performance at AZ SHRM, are now considered ‘public speakers,’ in some worlds. They are available to speak at any conferences, schools, or companies free of charge on behalf of the Jobing Foundation.

This Tuesday at 4pm, Zach Hubbell and Brett Farmiloe, collectively known as “those Pursue the Passion guys,” will be speaking in front of close to 1,000 attendees at the AZ SHRM conference. This speech will be the first time Zach and Brett have spoken to HR professionals, and is the largest audience they’ve ever faced.

Last year they were living in an RV. The year before that they were auditing financial statements. This event is expected to be the new footprint they plan on making with the American workforce, so you won’t want to miss out.

Here’s a trailer from their documentary to pump you up. Look forward to seeing you there. Come prepared.