Your keynote speaker just canceled last minute. How will you adapt the event schedule?

First, assess the impact of the keynote speaker's cancellation on your event. Consider attendee expectations and the speaker's role in the overall theme. Was the keynote a major attraction or one of many highlights? Understanding the gap helps you plan effectively. It's crucial to communicate transparently with attendees, reassuring them that the event's value remains high. In my experience, quickly finding a replacement or adjusting the schedule can maintain the event's momentum and keep attendees engaged.

Start with the understanding that things happen, be it weather, illness or another life moment, and you might have to adapt to a last-minute speaker cancellation, whether it’s a keynote or speaker. Always have a backup plan in place, such as a panel or presentation ready on the sidelines someone from the host organization could present. Ask one or two individuals who can present relevant content they've prepared for other similar events, ensuring it's suitable for the same audience. Alternatively depending on session lengths, you can add extra Q&A time to other sessions, add an additional break, or, if necessary, conclude the event early. These strategies ensure the event remains engaging and runs smoothly, despite unexpected changes.

This happened to me when I was running the program for a big email industry event. I gave myself a moment to panic, and I believe I managed to be somewhat gracious and understanding with the speaker who cancelled - which he did over email! I then took a look at the schedule and re-arranged things so that one of my moderators could step up and deliver a Q&A style keynote. He did a great job, and we had the support and love of the audience on our side, as we were completely honest about our plans. I confess, I had a few moments of panic, but putting on a professional and confident face helped calm the situation and turn it into a win.

Usually industry events have multiple experts walking around. Would love to do a last minute keynote. There is always fun perspectives to add to the themes

The "headliner" or "featured speaker" is unique. These are usually addressed with a contract. Many headliners are booked thru an agency/agent and you need to pay attention to the contract. These contracts are called many names, including but not limited to; talent agreements, performance contracts,speaker engagement contract, or speaker agreement. The part of agreement you need to address is called a force majeure clause, or the substitution clause. A force majeure clause excuses the parties from performing their contractual obligations due to unforeseeable events. A substitution clause specifies that if the contracted talent cannot perform, the agent must find a suitable replacement to fulfill the engagement.