What event planners check before they book a speaker
Before they book a speaker, event planners check nine things, usually on the speaker's own website: a short video of you on stage, topics framed as outcomes, proof you fit their audience, past events, testimonials from other planners, a fee signal, how to check a date, a downloadable speaker kit with travel and AV needs, and whether you are easy to find. If any of these is missing, the planner moves to the next name on the list. Most of them take minutes to check, and planners rarely decide alone, so your site has to answer the same questions for a whole committee.
That last point matters more than most speakers think. In the 2024 Speaking Industry Benchmark Report from AAE Speakers, reported by PCMA's Convene, fewer than 8% of event organizers said they make booking decisions alone, and nearly 70% said two to five people are involved (PCMA). Your website is the thing the planner forwards to the people who were not in the room when your name came up.
How do event planners find speakers in the first place?
Mostly through people they trust, then through search. In BigSpeak's 2024 Keynote Speaking Industry Report, 67% of respondents found speakers through a bureau they already work with, 67% through personal recommendations, 52% by seeing the speaker at another event, and 49% through Google or Bing. Only 5% named an AI recommendation (BigSpeak).
Even a referral ends in a search. Someone hears your name at lunch, types it into Google, and lands on your site. The same report found that 80% of bookers start looking at least two months before the event, so your site is doing this work long before anyone emails you.
What are the nine things a speaker website needs?
1. A speaker reel they can judge in 30 seconds. Planners watch the video before they read the bio. The National Speakers Association's guidance is a reel of three minutes at most, with no single clip longer than about 20 seconds, and it notes that viewers often know within 30 seconds whether they are interested (NSA). BigSpeak suggests two to three minutes and says plainly that content beats polish: "People are convinced by your expertise, not how slick your reel is" (BigSpeak). Put the reel on the first screen of your home page and your speaking page. Keep a link to one full-length talk below it for the planner who wants to see you hold a room for 45 minutes.
2. Topics written as outcomes. A planner is buying a result for their audience, not a title. "The Resilient Leader" tells them little. "How frontline managers keep teams through a reorganization, with three scripts they use on Monday" tells them what the audience walks away with. For each talk, give the title, one sentence on the problem, three takeaways, and the formats you deliver it in (keynote, workshop, panel, virtual).
3. Proof you fit their audience. In the AAE Speakers survey, the planners' top complaint about speakers was that speakers don't understand the audience, named by 19% (PCMA). Say who you speak to: industries, seniority, typical audience size. "Sales kickoffs for B2B software teams of 200 to 2,000" helps a planner say yes. "Audiences of all kinds" makes them guess.
4. Past events, and logos only with permission. A list of real events with the year and the audience is strong proof. Logos are stronger, but only use a company's logo when they have agreed in writing. A planner who recognizes a logo will sometimes ask a colleague there, and a logo that was never approved costs you more than a plain text list would have.
5. Testimonials from planners, not just audience members. "Life-changing talk" from an attendee is nice. "She was on time, did the pre-event call, adapted the talk to our safety theme, and our post-event survey scores were the best of the conference" from a meeting director answers what the next planner is worried about. Use full names, titles and organizations where people agree. Testimonials must be real and reflect the person's honest opinion; the FTC's guidance states that "an endorsement must reflect the honest opinion of the endorser" (FTC).
6. A fee signal. Planners work to a budget, and they want to know if you are in it before they spend time on you. In the AAE Speakers survey, the average keynote budget was $22,449, and 47% of organizers budgeted $10,000 to $50,000 (PCMA). You do not have to print an exact number. Bureaus such as All American Speakers show fee ranges like "$10,000 - $20,000" as a guideline and ask for event details for an exact quote (All American Speakers). A line such as "Keynote fees typically start at $X; virtual and workshop formats available" filters out the wrong enquiries and reassures the right ones.
7. A way to check a date and book. The planner's first real question is "Are you free on March 12?" Give them a short booking form that asks for the event date, city, format, audience size and budget range, and say how quickly you reply. The Speaker Lab names fast responsiveness as one of the things planners judge during booking, so a form that goes to an inbox nobody checks costs bookings. If you work with a bureau, say so and say which, so the planner knows who to contact.
8. A downloadable speaker kit, with travel and AV requirements. The committee wants something to attach to an email. A one-sheet should stay close to one page, front and back at most, with a photo, a short bio, topics and audience, two or three strong testimonials, and contact details (The Speaker Lab). Add a fuller kit: headshots in high resolution, an introduction script the emcee can read aloud, and your travel and AV needs. BigSpeak advises planners to budget for round-trip airfare, ground transport, hotel and meals, plus technical needs such as lavalier microphones and screens (BigSpeak). About 80% of speakers in the AAE survey said travel is not included in their fee (PCMA), so say how you handle it: a flat travel fee, actual costs, or included within a region.
9. Being findable. If 49% of bookers use Google or Bing to find speakers, your site has to show up when someone searches your name, your name plus "speaker", and your topic plus "keynote speaker". That means a page per talk with plain titles, your city and the regions you travel to, a clear page title and description, and structured data that tells search engines and AI assistants you are a person who speaks on specific topics. AI recommendations were only 5% in the 2024 data. When a planner does ask ChatGPT or Google's AI for a shortlist, the speakers who get named tend to be the ones whose sites state plainly what they speak about and for whom. Our guide to getting recommended by ChatGPT covers how that works.
The speaker website checklist
Use this to audit your own site. Check it on your phone as well as your laptop, since a link forwarded by a colleague is often opened on a phone.
| What planners check | What good looks like | Common miss |
|---|---|---|
| Speaker reel | 2 to 3 minutes, on the first screen, best clip first | A 20-minute talk with no short version |
| Topics | Title, problem, three takeaways, formats | Clever titles with no outcome |
| Audience fit | Named industries, roles and audience sizes | "I speak to any audience" |
| Past events | Real events with year; logos only with written permission | Logo walls nobody approved |
| Testimonials | Planners and executives, full names and titles | Anonymous, attendee-only quotes |
| Fee signal | "Fees typically start at" or a range | Nothing, so planners assume too expensive |
| Availability and booking | Short form: date, city, format, audience, budget; reply time stated | Only a generic contact form |
| Speaker kit | One-sheet PDF, headshots, intro script, travel and AV needs | No download, or a 12-page brochure |
| Findable | Ranks for your name and topics; a page per talk; structured data | One "Speaking" page with everything on it |
What should be on the first screen?
Your name, what you speak about and for whom, the reel, and a button to check a date. That is it. A planner who lands on your home page from a colleague's text message should be able to watch 30 seconds, read one line about your topics, and tap "Check availability" without scrolling. Everything else, the bio, the books, the podcast, can come after.
For a working example, see the speaker website we built for Olia Stasiuk. For a longer walk-through of page structure, read how to build a speaker website that gets booked.
What makes planners leave a speaker website?
- No video, or a long one. The Speaker Lab lists demo videos over five minutes among planner deal-breakers (The Speaker Lab).
- A site that is really about something else. If your coaching program, course and book all compete on the home page, the planner can't tell if you speak at all.
- Silence after the form. No reply within a day or two reads as how you will behave before the event.
- Old proof. A testimonial page that stops in 2019 makes planners wonder what happened since.
- Nothing to forward. If there is no PDF and no single link that says everything, the committee meeting happens without you.
What a website can't do
A good speaker website will not replace a strong talk or a good reputation. Most bookings still start with someone who saw you speak or heard about you from a colleague. What the site does is stop you losing the bookings those referrals send you, and give planners who find you through search enough to put you on a shortlist. We can't promise a number of bookings, and nobody honest can.
How Project 66 Studio can help
We build speaker websites with the reel up front, a page per talk, a booking form and a downloadable kit, and we set them up to be found on Google and by AI assistants. A new website or rebuild starts from $799, and a speaker reel edited from your footage starts from $149 per minute; we confirm the final price before any work begins. See our work for personal brands, check pricing, or start a project.
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Questions people ask
How long should a speaker reel be?
Aim for two to three minutes. The National Speakers Association suggests three minutes at most with individual clips of about 20 seconds, and BigSpeak recommends two to three minutes. Lead with your strongest clip, because planners often decide within the first 30 seconds, and link a full-length talk separately.
Should I put my speaking fee on my website?
You don't need an exact number, but a signal helps. A line such as "keynote fees typically start at" a figure, or a range like the ones speaker bureaus show, lets planners check their budget before they contact you. In the 2024 AAE Speakers survey reported by PCMA, the average keynote budget was $22,449.
What goes in a speaker one-sheet?
A photo, a short one-paragraph bio, your topics and the audiences you serve, two or three strong testimonials, and contact details. Keep it to one page, front and back at most. Put travel and AV requirements, high-resolution headshots and an emcee introduction in a fuller speaker kit alongside it.
Can I show logos of companies I have spoken for?
Only with their written permission. A list of real events with the year and audience is good proof on its own and needs no approval beyond accuracy. A logo used without permission can cost you trust with exactly the planners who recognize it.
How do event planners find speakers?
Mostly through bureaus and recommendations, then search. In BigSpeak's 2024 industry report, 67% found speakers through a bureau they already use, 67% through personal recommendations, 52% by seeing the speaker at another event and 49% through Google or Bing. Even a referral usually ends with a search for your name, so your website has to answer the planner's questions.
Do speakers need to include travel costs in their fee?
Most don't. About 80% of speakers in the 2024 AAE Speakers survey said travel is not included in their fee. State on your website how you handle it, for example a flat travel fee, actual costs, or travel included within a region, so planners can budget.
Read next
- A speaker or author website that gets booking enquiries
- A speaker website rebuilt around every side of the work: Olia Stasiuk
- We asked 7 AI assistants 41 buyer questions. Here's what decides who gets named
Sources
- Survey Explores Speaker and Planner Dynamics, PCMA Convene (read 26 Oct 2026).
- BigSpeak Keynote Speaking Industry Report 2024, BigSpeak Speakers Bureau (read 26 Oct 2026).
- How to Make a Speaker Reel That Attracts More Opportunities, National Speakers Association (read 26 Oct 2026).
- What All Keynote Speakers Should Have in Their Demo Reels, BigSpeak Speakers Bureau (read 26 Oct 2026).
- Speaker Bureau FAQs for Meeting Planners, BigSpeak Speakers Bureau (read 26 Oct 2026).
- Fee Range, All American Speakers (read 26 Oct 2026).
- How to create a speaker one sheet (with examples), The Speaker Lab (read 26 Oct 2026).
- What Event Planners Look for in Speakers, The Speaker Lab (read 26 Oct 2026).
- FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking, Federal Trade Commission (read 26 Oct 2026).