Who is the best keynote presenter you have ever heard or used? Here's what meeting planners told us (listed alphabetically).
Simon Bailey (achieving individual and organizational brilliance; simontbailey.com)
Tony Bennett (business speaker, individual and organizational effectiveness; tonybennett.org)
Ken Blanchard (customer loyalty, employee engagement, leadership, organizational change; kenblanchard.com)
Walter Bond ("The Accountability Leader"; walterbondseminars.com)
Nancy Goodman Brinker (founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure; premierespeakers.com/nancy_brinker)
Marcus Buckingham (executive coaching, strengths-driven performance, leadership; tmbc.com)
James Burke (science/technology historian, TV personality; k-web.org)
Charles Carroll (chef, culinary leadership/teamwork, career development; chefcharlescarroll.com)
Dr. Lowell Catlett (futurist, economist at New Mexico State University; lowellcatlett.com)
Dr. Stephen R. Covey (author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and others; stephencovey.com)
Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire (retired Canadian senator/military official, human rights activist; romeodallaire.com)
Mike Ditka (former coach of NFL's Chicago Bears; mikeditka.com)
Dr. Sophia Dziegielewski (social work, human behavior, health care; siripro.net/SophiaBio.htm)
Ryan Estis (sales strategies, leadership skills; ryanestis.com)
Durwood Fincher ("Mr. Doubletalk," humorous take on corporate culture, customized for client; doubletalk.com)
Frances X. Frei (professor, Harvard Business School, specialist in service excellence; drfd.hbs.edu/fit/public/facultyInfo.do?facInfo=ovr&facId=6587)
Nancy Friedman ("The Telephone Doctor," motivational business topics; telephonedoctor.com/keynotes.php)
Patricia Fripp (executive speech coach, presentation-skills trainer; fripp.com)
Dr. Benny J. Gallaway (marine ecologist; gulfbase.org/person/view.php?uid=bgallaway)
Tim Gard (humor as a business skill, professional enthusiasm; timgard.com)
Christopher Gardner (rose from being homeless to best-selling author/entrepreneur; chrisgardnermedia.com)
Bill Gates (Microsoft chairman; microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg)
Rudy Giuliani (former New York City mayor, speaks on politics, leadership, crisis management; washingtonspeakers.com/speakers/speaker.cfm?SpeakerId=3337)
Barbara Glanz (improving employee morale, retention, productivity; barbaraglanz.com)
Dr. Al Gobar (real-estate economist; gobar.com)
Doris Kearns Goodwin (presidential historian, political news analyst; doriskearnsgoodwin.com)
Al Gore (45th U.S. vice president, author of An Inconvenient Truth; harrywalker.com/speaker/Al-Gore.cfm?Spea_ID=649)
T. Scott Gross (performance management consultant; tscottgross.com)
Erin Gruwell (educator, inspirational speaker, author of The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them; freedomwritersfoundation.org)
Jeremy Gutsche (creativity, leadership and innovation strategy; jeremygutsche.com)
Keith Harrell (motivational speaker, "attitude coach"; keithharrell.com)
Lou Heckler (motivational, management training, customer service; louheckler.com)
Regina Herzlinger ("The Godmother of Customer-Driven Health Care," Harvard Business School; reginaherzlinger.org)
Art Holst (former NFL official, speaks on business topics, motivation, change, football; artholst.com)
Lou Holtz (retired football coach, sportscaster, author; washingtonspeakers.com)
Brian Jones (laws of dating, building better relationships; gettingtheloveyoudreamabout.com)
Dewitt Jones (professional photographer, speaks on creativity, passion and vision; dewittjones.com)
Leland Kaiser, Ph.D. (health-care futurist; kaiser.net)
John Kasich (candidate for governor of Ohio; kasichforohio.com)
Don Keady (CEO of Australian Institute of Sales, Marketing & Management; aismm.com.au)
Rich Kizer & Georganne Bender (business success, branding, customer service, generational differences; kizerandbender.com)
Keith Krach (business entrepreneur, technology pioneer; keithkrach.com)
Mike Krzyzewski ("Coach K," Duke head coach, motivational/sports themes; coachk.com)
Paul Laudicina (A.T. Kearney chairman, global business policy isssues; www.atkearney.com/index.php/About-us/leaders.html)
Jay Leno (humor, entertainment; allamericanspeakers.com/speakers/Jay-Leno/1851)
Allison Levine (team captain for the first American Women's Everest Expedition; daredevilstrategies.com)
George Lucas (sales consulting, training and recruitment; lucasselect.com)
Clay B. Marsh, M.D. (pulmonary disease expert, Ohio State University; internalmedicine.osu.edu/603.cfm)
Josh McDowell (Christian faith, humanitarian efforts; josh.org)
Dr. Johnny Miller (motivational/inspirational topics; drjohnnymiller.com)
Mike Mullane (U.S. astronaut, author; mikemullane.com)
Dr. Kjell Nordstrom (business speaker and author on corporate strategy, leadership and globalization; internationalspeakers.com/speaker/546/kjell_nordstrom)
James Oberstar (Minnesota congressman, transportation policy expert; oberstar.house.gov)
Sarah Palin (governor of Alaska 2006-2009, Republican vice-presidential nominee 2008; washingtonspeakers.com/speakers/speaker.cfm?SpeakerID=6467)
Dawn Penfold (meetings industry career specialist; meetingjobs.com/index2.php?aff_id=&page=aboutUs)
Bertrand Piccard (balloonist, topics on pioneering spirit, overcoming stress, finding inspiration; bertrandpiccard.com/eng/index.php)
Charlie Plumb (former Navy fighter pilot/POW; charlieplumb.com)
Colin Powell (retired Army general, U.S. secretary of state 2001-'05; washingtonspeakers.com/speakers/speaker.cfm?SpeakerId=974)
Aron Ralston (rock climber who amputated his own arm; aronralston.blogspot.com)
Mike Rayburn ("World's Funniest Guitar Virtuoso," blends music and comedy; mikerayburn.com)
Susan RoAne (motivational business topics, how to work a room, connecting with people; susanroane.com)
Tony Robbins (motivational speaker on achieving one's dreams; tonyrobbins.com)
Patricia Russell-McCloud, J.D. (work/life balance, education, diversity, leadership; prussellmccloud.com)
Mark Sanborn (leadership development; marksanborn.com)
Tim Sanders ("The People-Centric Business Expert," CSR/sustainability, leadership; timsanders.com)
Eric Schlosser (author of Fast Food Nation; barclayagency.com/schlosser.html)
Norman Schwarzkopf (retired U.S. Army general/Gulf War; www.parliamentspeakers.com/Speaker/Norman+Schwarzkopf++General)
Dave Schwensen (communication/presentation skills, personal creativity, humor; davepresents.com)
Bradley Seitz (CEO of Topaz International, business travel topics; etopaz.com/team.html)
Randy Siegal (fostering dynamic leadership; buildyourleaders.com)
Sam Silverstein (helping businesses create a culture based in accountability; samsilverstein.com)
Jack Sims (marketing, business growth, brand awareness; goldstars.com/speakers/sims_jack.html)
Stan Slap (corporate strategist, business speaker; www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers.aspx?name=Stan+Slap)
Michael Tchong (future trends, insipiration; ubercool.com)
Richard Thornburgh (lawyer, governor, former attorney general; apbspeakers.com/speaker/richard-thornburgh)
Phillip Van Hooser (leadership development strategist; vanhooser.com)
Erik Wahl (artist, presents on untapped potential, leadership, empowerment; theartofvision.com)
Mikki Williams (work/life balance, change, communication skills, creativity; mikkiwilliams.com)
Larry Winget ("The Pitbull of Personal Development"; www.larrywinget.com)
Bill Whitley (attracting and engaging clients, achieving top sales performance; billwhitley.com)
Peter Yesawich (chairman and CEO, YPartnership advertising/marketing/PR agency; ypartnership.com)
Zig Ziglar (motivational speaker, performance trainer; ziglar.com)
Gayle Zinda (cancer awareness, motivational messages; gaylezinda.com)