As I get ready to join hundreds of professional speakers in Austin for the National Speakers Association convention, here are the biggest hurdles I see for speakers right now:
AI has raised the bar, not lowered it. Planners are booking AI-related keynotes at record rates. Still, they report audiences are tired of software demos. They’re treating AI as a leadership and culture issue. So, the topic isn’t going away, but the shallow version of it is getting rejected fast.
Waiting to be found is a losing strategy. The speakers getting booked have built connected infrastructure – funnels, CRM automation, and post-event sequences that turn past clients into repeat business. And that can offer an “Aftercare” strategy to go deep.
Outreach needs to be strategic. Many speakers send 10-20 emails, get a little or no response, and jump to the conclusion that outreach doesn’t work. What actually works is consistent outbound marketing and follow-up.
Generic content is the fastest way to get passed over. I’ve been saying this for years. Canned, one-size-fits-all presentations drive audience disengagement. Meeting professionals expect a speaker to include industry-specific examples and internal company language, so it feels like a partnership, not a rental. Using AI for market intel makes the job of tying ideas directly to performance, change, and culture easier, not generic motivation, because decision-makers want niche experts who can help their teams act sooner rather than later.
Vetting has gotten more rigorous. A huge majority of meeting pros now require a preview call before finalizing an agreement. You should be insisting on a Discovery Call! Bureaus are checking on a speaker’s public track record before booking – positioning and reputation matter.
Discovery is becoming proactive, not just reactive. Search is shifting from someone typing a query to AI agents that monitor topics continuously. AI agents watch for relevant voices around the clock. Decision makers are starting to use agents to track speaker talent over time rather than just searching when they have a need. That means being consistently, currently visible matters more than a one-time push.
Speakers aren’t losing bookings because the market’s soft – its healthy, budgets are up (adding inflation to the equation), associations and businesses are hungry for content. Speakers are losing bookings because they haven’t built the infrastructure to be found, followed up with, and chosen: a way to be found, an outreach system that runs on discipline and consistency instead of bursts, and positioning sharp enough to speak directly to a specific buyer’s problem right now.
Copyright 2026, Lois Creamer. Lois Creamer works with professional speakers who want to book more business, make more money, and monetize their message.
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