Posts Tagged ‘celebrity speakers’
What’s the Point of Celebrity Speakers?
The authority of celebrity is unquestionable. They sell magazines, newspapers and they encourage us to switch on and tune in day by day. They sway the clothing consumers wear, the products consumers buy plus the food we buy, or don’t. What exactly, then, is the purpose of the celebrity speaker in our undoubtedly fame obsessed culture? Surely the numerous more subtle endorsements, or rather the more conventional kinds, for example TV advertising campaigns and the like, are a reasonable intrusion into and influence on our lives without the famous turning celebrity speaker at everything from political rallies, to shop openings to charitable dinners?
The celebrity speaker is increasingly prevalent and potent. Whether it’s of their own accord or because of a big hire fee, it’s more normal than ever before to find some celebrity or other at events. Prominent cases of famous people turning speaker are that of Bob Geldoff and his army of celebrity crusaders with a conscience, using their celebrity and influence to boost awareness of the circumstances of the starving.
More recently than that, celebrity speakers have been observed playing more of a political role. There’s Jamie Oliver and his one-man battle on junk food and even more recently there was the case of Arlene Phillips engaging in governmental politics as the dance tsar.
Irrespective of whether we like it or not, then, the celebrity speaker is more prominent today than ever before. No longer do stars only sway fashion and beauty; today’s celebrity speaker has a strong message. What use for the celebrity speaker? The young look up to celebrities and in many cases the more senior people among us have to admit to being a little interested in what they have to talk about. Their celebrity is alluring plus they are role models, no matter if we like it or not. So if the celebrity speaker will be able to push forward a charity’s cause, send out a clear message to boost the nation’s wellness or stir up a little interest in politics, then surely they’ve got a place. And not only a role: a responsibility, to make use of their sway sensibly.
University Degree Ceremonies And Keynote Speakers
After a number of years studying at university, when you attend your graduation ceremony both the graduates and their parents will be full of pride. The work put in to achieving a degree means walking into a successful career, job prospects that a non-graduate could have or a life changing experience at the very least. The ceremony should celebrate the achievements of the attendees, and well chosen keynote speakers are one of the best ways that this can be done.
I do not think that a university life is for everyone, and I do not mean to sound like a snob, but picking a keynote speaker who has not been to university is the wrong decision for ceremony organisers to make. They simply do not have the knowledge to be able to relate with the attendees, because life during the years you away at university is something completely different if you choose to go straight into a career once you have finished school.
There is an independence that comes with university. You live far away from home; have to live with people you might not like, become financially smart as soon as you start working out how much money you need to earn on top of your loan if you want to have a full social and academic life. All of these things can only be learnt whilst at university.
When you decide to go into a proper job straight after leaving school, most people still live with their parents for a few months, even years and they have their washing done for them and meals cooked, you have a stable wage which university students do not have and if you do move out you choose the people you are living with. And contrary to most people’s beliefs, those who do go to university mostly pay for the experience themselves by getting a part time job. Working through the holidays and paying of their loan once they have left.
And so when graduation ceremonies are being planned, the keynote speakers should be chosen on their experiences, including attending university themselves. If they have not been they will not be able to give a speech that targets their audience.
Deciding On Keynote Speakers For Higher Education Degree Events
After a number of years studying at university, when you attend your graduation ceremony both the graduates and their parents will be full of pride. The work put in to achieving a degree means walking into a successful career, job prospects that a non-graduate could have or a life changing experience at the very least. The keynote speakers that are chosen to talk at the event should thus be chosen to reflect this achievement.
Now this may sound like snobbery, but I do not believe that a keynote speaker should be invited to speak at a graduation ceremony if they have not experienced the same academic life as those receiving their degree. They simply do not have the knowledge to be able to relate with the attendees, because life during the years you away at university is something completely different if you choose to go straight into a career once you have finished school.
University life makes you more independent. You are faced with situation where you might be forced to live with people you do not get along with, you have to make new sets of friends and you have to be financially organised to be able to budget your loan or get a part time job to help with living costs. All of these things can only be learnt whilst at university.
When working straight out of school you often live with your parents for a few months or even years until you are earning enough to pay for rent, you choose your flatmates when you do move, and so long as you are earning a big enough wage, you do not have the financial worries of students at university. And unlike popular conceptions, most university students have to pay for the privilege of going to university themselves by getting a part time job and paying their loan off when they finish.
And so when graduation ceremonies are being planned, the keynote speakers should be chosen on their experiences, including attending university themselves. Otherwise their audience will be given a speech that has not resonance with their own lives for the past three years.