“Most of the impact of a keynote happens long before anyone steps on stage.”
That idea sat at the heart of The Speaker Briefing.
Bringing together a full room of event professionals, four standout speakers, and a shared focus on improving how events are planned and delivered, the afternoon was built around one goal — helping teams get more impact from their speakers.
Across the day, our guest speakers shared powerful stories and perspectives, while the education sessions (delivered in partnership with AV1) focused on practical, behind-the-scenes thinking.
The result was a session designed not just to inspire, but to give attendees ideas they could take straight into their next event.
If you couldn’t make it on the day, here are some key takeaways and a short highlight reel.
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Inspire Speakers – Keith Harwood
In 2026 the speaker market has never been noisier. How do you cut through the noise to find the one best fit for your event?
Great briefs help secure great speakers. Do you truly understand your audience and what they want to know, think and feel after a hearing a keynote speaker
Bad briefs are like the participants on Married At First Sight (”I want a husband who is 6ft 5 inches tall, has 6 pack abs, earns $1 million a year, wants kids and is emotionally intelligent). We call this a unicorn – it doesn’t exist. And it wastes time.
High profile international speakers generally start at $AUD20,000 for virtual engagements and over $AUD100,000 for live in person engagements in Australia.
Make sure you have any additional requests ready up front e.g. promo video; social media posts; vox pops; meet and greets.
Contracts – the 4 must checks:
- Cancellation clause
- Use of image term
- Recording terms
- Intellectual property rights
Change – e.g. innovation; Artificial Intelligence; future of work; generations.
People – e.g. leadership; teams; culture, psychological safety; men’s health; menopause.
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In-room speakers can rely on audience energy, but in virtual settings, production quality carries the entire experience.
The small details matter: microphone choice, slide control, walk-on cues and foldback all directly impact speaker confidence and delivery.
Rehearsal is critical, especially when speakers are using their own devices or presenting virtually.
For virtual speakers, always run a pre-event test in the same location and on the same internet connection being used on the day.
Running presentations locally (with production control) ensures smoother playback and reduces risk, particularly for video content.
Camera, lighting and audio setup are just as important as content when presenting remotely. Poor setup can undermine even the best speaker.
A strong speaker experience is built behind the scenes, from prep rooms and briefings through to stage setup and transitions.
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