Meeting Planners Favorite Speakers? Who is the best keynote presenter you have ever heard or used?

Meeting Planners Favorite Speakers?

Who is the best keynote presenter you have ever heard or used?

Here's what the top meeting planners in the U.S. 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)

C.J. Good (author, life and wellness coach, humorous, motivational, inspirational & keynote speaker,  “Resilience, Resistance, or Reinvention: Choose Your Path,” (sustainablecontentment.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)