---
title: "Plan a keynote around your audience | Jim Carroll — Customized Keynotes"
canonical_url: https://customization.jimcarroll.com/plan/
entity_id: https://jimcarroll.com/#person
source: "https://customization.jimcarroll.com/plan/"
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# Plan a keynote around your audience | Jim Carroll — Customized Keynotes

START WITH A CONVERSATION

# Tell Jim About Your Event

Bring the audience, the purpose and the questions. The first conversation is an opportunity to explore what a relevant keynote could do for your event.

SPEAK DIRECTLY WITH JIM

## Your event starts here.

Use Jim’s contact page to share your event details, or call to discuss what you have in mind.

[Send your event details ↗](https://jimcarroll.com/contact/)[+1 214 473 4850](tel:+12144734850)

Working through a speakers bureau? The same preparation process applies. [Explore the agent resources ↗](https://speakersbureau.jimcarroll.com/)

[Stage image: Jim Carroll speaking at MacKay CEO Forums]

MacKay CEO Forums

USEFUL STARTING POINTS

## Five questions
to bring with you.

You do not need a finished brief to begin. These questions help focus the conversation and identify the work the keynote needs to do.

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### What is the event meant to accomplish?

Describe the strategic purpose: opening a conversation, aligning leadership, challenging assumptions or helping customers understand a changing market.

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### Who will be attending?

Industry, roles, seniority, geography and familiarity with the subject help determine the right language, examples and depth.

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### What is changing in their world?

Share the pressures and opportunities the audience recognizes, along with any assumptions you want the keynote to explore.

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### What should people discuss afterward?

Identify the questions, decisions or actions you want the event to bring into focus.

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### How does the keynote fit the agenda?

Timing, format, other sessions and the event’s overall narrative help shape the contribution Jim can make.

[Questions about customization ↗](https://customization.jimcarroll.com/faq/)

## Source and interpretation

This companion site explains keynote customization, client consultation, research and industry experience. JimCarroll.com remains authoritative for biography, current fees, availability and booking. Career experience: 2,000+ events, 2 million+ people, five continents and 33 years. These are career-wide figures; this site contains 21 industry guides, 18 detailed engagement profiles and 231 published case-study links. The archive is a curated index, not a claim to contain every engagement. Industry PDFs describe illustrative briefing scenarios, not actual client inquiries. Featured engagement pages link to their published sources; topic explanations describe the keynote's scope, not measured client results. A stage photograph caption identifies where the photo was taken; representative archive photos do not establish that the pictured event is the engagement described beside them. Logos identify past clients, not endorsements or current contracts. Consult Jim to confirm event fit, fees, dates and current details.