The Association of Briefing Program Managers is a professional association for those in and associated with the executive briefing industry.
Top innovation keynote speaker James Taylor inspires members of
executive briefing industry association
Comprised of Fortune 500 Member Companies from around the globe, ABPM (the Association of Briefing Program Managers) champions and provides resources for the development of briefing programs and professionals as strategic resources vital to the success of their organizations. Member companies include Adobe, Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Dell, Google, HP, Intel, Microsoft, Salesforce, and SAP among others. Each year ABPM holds a Spring Conference and previous keynote speakers have included Ron Tite, Mark Bowden and Simon Sinek.
ABPM invited James Taylor to give a motivational opening keynote on the first day of the conference. They wanted a speaker that was inspirational but could also create a highly customized and visually engaging keynote. In attendance would be member briefing teams holding positions including Briefing Program Directors, Managers and Coordinators as well as those responsible for User Groups, Customer Advisory Boards and Client Facing Events.
The objective of James’ keynote was to inspire attendees and help them envision what the future of in-person, virtual and hybrid executive briefings might look like. James’ role was to set the tone for the week long conference and provide an energetic, insightful and motivational presentation.
The theme of the event was ‘Next Normal’ and following the pre-event call with the client James designed a highly tailored keynote that focused not just on the move from in-person to hybrid briefings, but on the importance of the role of the briefing professional as ‘curators of conversations’. A key motif throughout the keynote was the idea of Briefing Centers being the 21st Century ‘Third Place’, a place where innovation, creativity and deals happen.
To research, write and deliver this customized keynote James Taylor’s went through the following eight-step process to ensure the presentation was tailor-made for the client:
1. Call with ABPM Executive Team to define keynote objectives and event themes
2. Call with ABPM Advisory Team to better understand member challenges/opportunities
3. Call with a longtime ABPM member to get perspective on changes within the field
4. Call with a new ABPM member to identify the value of association membership
5. Keynote walkthrough with ABPM Executive Team for final adjustments (6 days before)
6. Technical check with event production team (5 days before)
7. Filming and delivery of pre-recorded keynote as a safety (4 days before event)
8. Live Keynote and Q&A
As the time for James’ presentation was relatively short (50min) it was decided not to do any breakout sessions and instead hold a separate 60min Q&A an hour after the keynote itself. The Q&A was moderated by a member of the APBM team and enabled members to interact and get feedback from James. The successful virtual keynote presentation combined detailed industry research, industry insights, visual narrative storytelling, and big picture ideas. The keynote was highly rated by association members and several members requested James to speak at their upcoming virtual events.
“James Taylor was a perfect Keynote speaker. He did his homework and applied his expertise to our world.”
– ABPM Conference Attendee Evaluation Quote
“In my 20 years of planning ABPM Conferences and working with keynotes to help them understand our unique audience, I’ve never seen a keynote prepare at the level James did. All that preparation showed during his keynote; it was full of relevant and entertaining stories as well as highly visually engaging. Our members were blown away.”
– Elizabeth Simpson, President, ABPM
Client:
The Association of Briefing Program Managers is a professional association for those in and associated with the executive briefing industry.
Audience:
Executive Briefing Professionals, Sales Directors, Marketing Directors
Country:
Virtual
Challenge:
To inspire and provide insights on the future of executive briefings
James Taylor’s Solution:
- James Taylor provided a tailor-made inspirational keynote to help association members envision what the future might look like for their industry.
- James motivated 300 association members around the ideas of hybrid briefings, creativity, the third place, and growing sales in the next normal.
- His virtual keynote combined an inspiring and motivational presentation style with highly-visual video animations as well as a Q&A session to keep audience engagement high throughout.
James Taylor’s Solution:
- James Taylor provided an interactive virtual presentation which blended the traditional keynote style with an interactive training workshop.
- James motivated Accenture’s MD’s and VP’s by sharing with them actionable insights around the ideas of curiosity, resilience, adaptability, collaboration, creativity, and caring.
- His virtual keynote combined an inspiring and highly-visual motivational presentation style with live polling, breakout sessions and Q&A’s which engaged the attendees throughout.
