A keynote in

public speaking Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...

is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework for the following programme of events or convention agenda; frequently the role of keynote speaker will include that of convention moderator. It will also flag up a larger idea—a literary story, an individual musical piece, or event. At political or industrial conventions and expositions and at

academic conference An academic conference or scientific conference (also congress, symposium, workshop, or meeting) is an Convention (meeting), event for researchers (not necessarily academics) to present and discuss their scholarly work. Together with academic jou ...

s, the keynote address or keynote speech is delivered to set the underlying tone and summarize the core message or most important revelation of the event. Keynote speeches are also given at the graduation and commencement ceremonies of

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, and major

high schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

, usually by accomplished academics or celebrities invited by the student body. These speeches are often called a commencement speech. Keynote speakers are often selected to raise interest in a particular event, such as a conference or large meeting sponsored by a corporation or association, and draw attendees to attend that program. Selecting a keynote speaker who is well known for their expertise in a particular field, or who has wide name recognition due to other accomplishments, will probably raise enthusiasm among prospective attendees for a meeting or conference. Increasingly the word ''keynote'' is being used as a synonym for

plenary session A plenary session or plenum is a session of a conference or deliberative assembly in which all parties or members are present. Such a session may include a broad range of content, from keynotes to panel discussions, and is not necessarily r ...

or "invited talk", with some conferences having an ''opening keynote,'' a ''closing keynote,'' and many other keynotes. A keynote speaker may work independently or be represented by a speakers bureau. In the event that a speaker is represented by a traditional speakers bureau, a commission, typically 25%–30%, is due; however, this is traditionally and ethically absorbed by the speaker rather than the client so that the fee remains flat and transparently priced to the client. The term ''keynote'' comes from the practice of

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

, such as

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

or barbershop singers, playing a note before singing. The note played determines the key in which the song will be performed.

In the United States

Some of the more famous keynote speeches in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

are those made at the party conventions during Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns. Keynote speakers at these events have often gained nationwide fame (or notoriety); for example,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and have occasionally influenced the course of the election. In the commercial arena,

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...

delivered influential keynote speeches at

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

product, system and service launches, and former presidential candidate

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

delivered a keynote address which was edited into the documentary film '' An Inconvenient Truth''.

References

{{reflist Literary motifs Speeches by type Musical keys