The 25th anniversary party for Keppler Speakers was a star-studded gala event, where attendees didn't mix and mingle so much as collide and spark. Held at the Newseum in downtown Washington, D.C., on a beautiful April night, just two days before the sleek, new $450-million building was scheduled to open to the public, the event was limited almost exclusively to Keppler staff and speakers. And what a guest list that made for.

Over there was F.W. de Clerk, Nobel Prize winner and former president of South Africa. Over here was NPR's Nina Totenberg. And Jean-Michele Cousteau, the second-generation undersea adventurer. And Captain Jim Lowell, in a rare public reunion with Fred Haise, his fellow hero astronaut from the Apollo 13 mission, and their Mission Control flight director, Gene Kranz. And Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who seemed happy not to be left alone for a single minute. U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao popped in and out. Sen. George McGovern circulated at the welcome reception. David Baldacci, the best-selling author, took a bow, and so did John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted." On the video screen, checking in remotely, were Edward James Olmos, Cal Ripken Jr., and President George H.W. Bush.

The Great Hall of News, the six-story atrium at the heart of the Newseum, thrummed with energy. Tables were draped in the warm red and cool white of the Keppler logo, and garnished with an elegant buffet prepared by Wolfgang Puck, whose restaurant The Source occupies three stories in the Newseum. A four-piece band played, and the names of Keppler's entire portfolio of speakers looped around the room in an endless news crawl. In every corner, under every light, people who get paid to talk seemed happy to chat - and listen - in equal measure. Sarah Weddington, the attorney who 35 years ago made her name arguing the Roe v. Wade case before the Supreme Court and today is the most-booked speaker in Keppler history, called it "the best dinner party you could go to."

Taking it all in was mind-boggling. What could bring this group together outside of a Salvador Dali painting or a bizarrely inspired dream? Jim Keppler himself had a theory about that. "The greatest possible source of satisfaction, in this and every other profession, is knowing that you've made a difference in the world," said Keppler, who launched Keppler Speakers in 1983. "And we have done that." Addressing his speakers directly, Keppler said: "What you do is, you change lives. In the hustle and bustle of your daily lives, you may not see that. But we do."

Later, Convene caught up with some of the party's attendees and asked them to reflect on their time spent on the dais. Here, we offer two speakers' responses. The rapper and the mountain climber may be as distinct from one other as each group they address, but their commitment to providing a memorable experience for their audience is equally strong. Look for more speakers' reflections in an upcoming issue of Convene.

CHUCK D
rapper, founder of Public Enemy

Do you prefer to speak to larger or smaller audiences?
Like performing music on tour, I learned that each offers its own unique experience. The larger audiences are appreciated because of the fact that young people are looking to fill their time with some information, wisdom, and experience they hopefully can add for themselves from someone who is more than twice their age like myself. In these days of mass distraction, any focused campus energy is appreciated. Smaller audiences allow you to get more intimate and involved, although I have a tendency to try to make 1,000 and more feel like they can get a picture and autograph just the same, post-lecture.

How important is it to customize a speech for each audience? How do you go about doing that? I feel it's very important to know where I am, as well as to deliver some commentary relevant to the school, region, or demographic I am speaking to. Plus, it's my method of putting myself in their seat as I am talking. No "big me, little you" talk. I try to relate my lecture to topics they're automatically into. I consider my talks vibe sessions and conversations, not really lectures.

What type of response are you looking for from your audience?
I mix things that the audience is into, and mix it with humor when it's necessary, and logic and reason across what I am talking about. My topic - "Rap, Race, Reality, and Technology" - involves key themes that have a youthful, worldwide intrigue. However, it is key that my delivery is as riveting as the subject. The subject and the person got them through the door; it's just as important that the personality and the language keep them there. Often a bad word will be uttered - but within complete context of the subject. It's my advantage over academic teaching. You know you've achieved a successful lecture when you've been there two hours, few have left, and there's a long line for Q&A, pictures, autographs, and one-on-one talk.

What was your most memorable speaking engagement?
Over my 10 years with Keppler, I have a 97 percent success rate, so the ones I consider memorable were the few I could not get off the ground. It happens sometimes, but I'm on a good streak now. It's not because of me - it's the topic. The fact that I've spoken to four college generations is memorable. If I picked a unique one, it would be Trinity College in San Antonio, where I was given a one-hour limit, which is rather difficult sometimes. I clocked in at 59 minutes, and Theo Moll, vice president of Keppler's college and university division, said I needed to have a one-hour, "less-is-more" speech prepared at all times. I worked hard at it.

The problem is that when I speak at schools, regardless of the lecture time, it ends up being a three-hour experience. Although the talk at Trinity was one hour, the aftermath in the hallway was still two hours. Remember, this is not the MTV generation; that was the '90s. This is the Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, social-network, picture-phone generation. So people want to take pictures, not just get an autograph, and I oblige them.

ALISON LEVINE
extreme adventurer & leader of the first American women's Everest expedition

Do you prefer to speak to larger or smaller audiences?
I prefer any audience that is willing to sit through my entire talk! But if I had to pick one over the other, I guess I prefer a bigger audience, because it's harder for them to hit me with rotten tomatoes - they need a better arm since the rooms are larger and the seating is set farther back. Just kiddin'.

I do actually like bigger groups, because the larger audiences just have an energy that isn't always present with a group of 20 or 30. A huge part of my presentation is humor, and larger audiences tend to really laugh out loud where the smaller ones are often "laughing on the inside" or might be afraid to laugh at something that is "a little edgy," and I'm standing up there thinking, "Hey? Did you guys get that? That was funny! Hello?" And the larger audiences usually have more sophisticated staging/lighting/decor, which adds to the energy and atmosphere and gets people in the mood. And it keeps them in the mood for hours. Like Viagra.

How important is it to customize a speech for each audience? How do you go about doing that? Because every audience is different, I customize every single talk. I don't have a standard presentation. I want to make sure that I address things that are pertinent to that particular audience and to their industry. I do a conference call with the meeting planners and/or end-client to make sure I deliver a message that is right on target. I want to make sure my main points gel with the objectives of the meeting.

Sometimes the goal of the meeting is to get people fired up about the new fiscal year, a new product launch, or a revenue goal the company is striving toward. Sometimes the point of the meeting is to celebrate who they are, where they work, and a job well done. Other times the main objective might be to regroup after a crappy year, layoffs, bad press, restructuring, etc. It's always different, so I adapt my message to go along with the objectives of the meeting.

I want them to walk away and say, "The things she brought up were exactly on target for what we are dealing with in our lives/jobs." I worked in corporate America for many years and heard many speakers who had accomplished incredibly impressive things, but afterward everyone walked out and thought, "Well, good for you, pal, but I pretty much want to hang myself in my cube every day, and what do you know about that?"

What type of response are you looking for from your audience? How do you know when you've achieved it?
Of course, the standing ovation is nice, but what I am really looking for are signs that the audience is with me every step of the way throughout my talk. I know that I am really connecting with them when I look out and see people's heads nodding throughout the talk. I know that they probably aren't even aware that they are looking up at me and nodding as I am speaking, but this is really what I am looking for as far as a sign that they are processing everything.

What was your most memorable speaking engagement?
That's easy. I don't think I will ever have one that sticks with me like the Promotional Products Association International conference in Vegas in 2006. The group of 6,000 had just heard Cal Ripken speak and were expecting to listen to Carolyn Kepcher - star of NBC's "The Apprentice" and executive vice president of the Trump Organization at the time - the next morning at 8. Carolyn called in sick the afternoon before she was to speak, which sent the meeting planner scrambling to find a replacement. Late that afternoon I got a call from Keppler asking me if I would be interested in speaking at an event at 8 the next morning in Vegas. To a crowd of 6,000. Who were expecting Carolyn Kepcher and had no idea she was going to be a no-show. To me, this was the ultimate challenge - go in and try to wow an audience who had paid money to hear someone else and would have no idea they were getting a last-minute stand-in until I walked out on stage.

I arrived in Vegas around midnight and stayed up the entire night preparing my presentation. My goal was to have the audience walk away thinking, "I am so glad Carolyn called in sick, because this woman was better!" I spent the night and early-morning hours Photoshopping Donald Trump and Carolyn Kepcher into my slide show, reviewing online video from "The Apprentice," and coming up with material I could use to tie a lot of Carolyn Kepcher/Donald Trump jokes into my talk. Pulling an all-nighter paid off, because I got a standing ovation from the crowd and was the highest-rated speaker at the event. PPAI's meeting planner was so happy that he started calling various speakers bureaus and telling them about my 11th-hour performance. The next week my phone started ringing off the hook. The lesson I took away from that one was to treat every single meeting like it is a make-it-or-break-it event. Because you just never know what is going to come from it.

Christopher Durso is executive editor of Convene.