Well, as many of our readers may have guessed, there is no Commodore 64, no slide rule, and no complex algorithm that we use to identify the 10 most booked corporate and association speakers. The list is developed over the course of the year, as a result of our interactions with thousands of meeting planners, executives, and speakers. While there is no real “science” behind our selections, there is one common denominator: all of these speakers give at least 100 commercial presentations during the course of the year. On the intangible side, they tend to be asked for by name, are rarely available when we check their speaking schedules, and their speaking fees are continuously on the rise.
A couple of notes before we begin:
- These are all popular world-class speakers, but it does not mean that they are the right fit for every meeting or organization. Consult with a Speaker Bureau you trust before scheduling one of these speakers to make sure they can achieve your goals and desired outcomes
- Charlie Cook is exclusive with Leading Authorities International. They are your best source to schedule Mr. Cook.
- The reader can gather more detailed background, contact, and booking information for these speakers by clicking on the links provided.
Josh Linkner – “Last year’s ASAE Keynote List. This year’s Most Booked List”
Magic Johnson – “Triple-double on the court and on stage”
Mel Robbins – “A recognized authority on leadership development, employee engagement, and motivation
Jim Knight – “Hard Rock energy comes to the corporate stage”
Charlie Cook – “Iconic Political forecaster in high demand during election year”
Captain Scott Kelly – “Back on Earth and at the podium”
Daymond John – “Shark Week is not just for Discovery TV”
Alison Levine – “Top of the Everest Speaking Mountain”
Mike Abrashoff – “Third year in a row on ‘The List.”
Erik Wahl – “The 3 E’s: Energy, Entertainment and Education”
Conclusion:
Of course, it is impossible to identify the 10 most booked speakers on the speaking circuit, but you would have a hard time arguing with any one of the aforementioned speakers. The real trick is to target who will be on this list next year before it happens.
One speaker we feel to be a strong candidate is visionary corporate social entrepreneur Derreck Kayongo. In addition to being a compelling, engaging, and high-impact speaker, he will give the closing keynote session at the 2016 ASAE Annual Meeting this August in Salt Lake City. If past performance of ASAE speakers is an indicator of future corporate and association speaking demand, look for Derreck Kayongo to make this prestigious list next year.
Gary McManis & Jay Conklin
Incorporate your hashtag on your event website, in promotional communications and even some unconventional locations, like inserting it into your email signature—just like anything else, the more exposure a hashtag gets, the better the chance that people will use and remember it.
Use social platform(s) to offer early registration discounts or reveal exciting news, like announcing who the keynote speaker(s) will be. Ramp up anticipation with a few intriguing posts about how excited you are to reveal who the keynote will be—everyone likes a little surprise and delight.
Maximize the power of your audience by making your hashtag easily visible and encourage sharing.
Video from the event can (and should) be used long after the closing keynote—whether it is to evoke the excitement of the event for those who attended, offer an opportunity for those who couldn’t attend to be part of it, or start to amplify next year’s event. And with platforms including 
to network, discuss business practices, strategize for business growth, and preview speakers tied into the meeting theme “Disrupt, Innovate, Thrive.” The latter is of particular relevance to the reader of this blog, who is tasked with evaluating and scheduling professional speakers. IASB can have their pick of the world’s leading speakers, as an invitation to speak before these high-powered speaker “agents” can result in increased income and demand on the association and corporate speaking circuits. Below are the speakers selected to present at the 2016 IASB Annual Convention. They represent a combination of established speakers, celebrities, and up-and-comers:
the motorcycle, but in order to share the benefit of the contest with their full membership, they requested that The Speaker Experts sponsor a speaker for their next event whose fee is comparable to the cost of the motorcycle. The Speaker Experts know a lot more about speakers than air-cooled engines and Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection, so we were delighted to take them up on their request!
The Speaker Experts 