10/24/2025
Editors: Rebecca Morgan & Ken Braly
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Save the date:
- Wed., Nov. 12 — “Beyond Multiple Streams: Building a Speaking Business That Solves, Not Sells” with Scott McKain, CSP, CPAE. Details coming soon.
Miscellaneous Tips
The importance of registering your book — Brenda Bence
You may have seen the lawsuit against Anthropic, owner of the Claude AI model, who scraped hundreds of thousands of books from pirate sites. When the case went to court, the judge ruled that using pirated books isn’t fair use. There’s now a class action suit, where eligible authors may get up to $3000. However, only books registered with the Copyright Office qualify. Details
See if your book is part of the Anthropic settlement — Dan Janal
In Jane Friedman’s newsletter, she mentions that the only official database is now live that allows authors to definitively determine if their work is part of the class-action lawsuit against AI company Anthropic. If your book is listed, you can only apply to be part of the class action suit if it is registered at the copyright office. You’ll need the registration number when you fill out the application online.
Be transparent about “bestselling” — Scott McKain
The now-retired speaking superstar Larry Winget, CPAE, told me about the time the speaker before him touted his “bestselling book.” Larry is a multiple-time New York Times bestselling author. He asked the other speaker what list his book had made. “No list,” he replied. “Of all the books I’ve written, that one is my best seller.”
I’m going to take a position that doesn’t agree with most of what I’ve heard at speaker events: it’s absolutely fine to tout that you have a bestselling book on Amazon. But here’s the caveat — as long as you are transparent about the category where you achieved the status.
We all know that there are so many Amazon lists a book can sell two copies and be a “category bestseller.” However, when we say we were “#1 on Amazon,” we create the false impression that we topped their total sales chart. Most of us will never achieve that rarefied status. But if you hit #1 on the “Sales” chart, for example, why not say it? I know this isn’t the thinking in the publishing industry. And when publishers start booking me to speak or consult at my customary fee for their events, I’ll be happy to modify my introduction for them.
If I owned a company that manufactured toasters and was the #1 seller at Walmart, why wouldn’t I say that we are the top-selling toaster at the store where more people buy them? I should never say I was “Walmart’s #1 seller” — but I should tell potential customers that I was the “#1 bestselling toaster at Walmart.” Why shouldn’t that same approach apply to our books on Amazon?
Like most aspects of our business, the key is transparent and honest communication. Nothing ruins trust more than inflating credentials. However, I believe that hiding your achievements presents a false modesty that won’t help you, either.
Trends in the meeting industry — Joe Heaps
Here’s what we gleaned at IMEX 2025, the gathering place for the people who hire you: meeting planners, event organizers, and corporate decision-makers. 2025 had record attendance with 17,000 attendees and 5,000 exhibitors.
This year, the conversations centered around one clear theme: We’ve entered the Experience Age. Here are the hottest insights that will shape your speaking business in 2026 (and how smart speakers can act on them):
Experience Is the New ROI
Event organizers are shifting their focus from tracking Return on Investment (ROI) to Return on Experience (ROE), focusing on how the event experience impacts attendees, rather than just its cost.
Smart speakers will start measuring and communicating their impact. Use audience feedback, stories, and follow-up surveys to demonstrate that your presentation had a tangible impact. Consider how to build interaction into every presentation. Think live polling, breakout discussions, small group challenges, or micro exercises.
Peak Moments Drive Loyalty
Freeman’s research found that 85% of attendees are more likely to return after experiencing a “peak moment,” an emotionally charged, memorable highlight. The twist? Only 40% say they’ve actually experienced one.
Smart speakers will craft keynotes to boost attendee engagement. Design a single "goosebump moment" that audiences remember long after the event ends.
Real-Time Audience Analytics Are Here
Event industry companies are piloting new facial-analysis technology to measure audience engagement — in real time. It reads facial cues like interest, curiosity, and energy to gauge connection.
Smart speakers will start paying more attention to their audience’s energy and facial expressions NOW to be ready for this technology. Be prepared to adjust your pacing, tone, or story during the presentation in response to the audience’s live engagement. When speaking at an event with this technology, request the data for your presentation to analyze and refine it.
AI Was Everywhere
Meeting Pros are leveraging AI across all areas of their business, including speaker vetting and search.
Smart speakers will enhance their eSpeakers profile, as most major AI LLM platforms (like ChatGPT) are incorporating your eSpeakers profile into their searches when recommending speakers.
The Meetings Outlook for 2026
The industry’s mood? Very confident. More meetings are being booked, especially internal team gatherings. Planners are upbeat but watching costs closely.
Smart speakers will seize opportunities to deliver measurable experiences that audiences feel, not just attend. Offer flexible, value-based packages, combining multiple modalities of services to serve the audiences before, during, and after the event, and emphasize measurable outcomes.
The Takeaways
The next 18 months belong to Experience-Driven Experts who:- Craft interactive, emotionally resonant presentations
- Measure and prove Return on Experience (ROE)
- Finesse their presentations using audience facial analytics
- Leverage CRM + marketing automation to stay connected after the event
(Editors’ note: View this article online)
Technology Tips
Apple’s Keynote help available — Rebecca Morgan
If you want a professionally designed template, or help with only a few slides, Mike Sheley (presentationhelp@icloud.com) can help for a very reasonable price. He has gobs of helpful videos on his YouTube channel so you can see if you like his style.
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Virtual presentation opportunities are expanding. Do yours stand out from the 99% mediocre ones? Take the virtual master presenter self-assessment to see if you could become even better. If so, get notified of the next Virtual Master Presenter Course led by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC, CVP, VMP. Details. |
Topic of the Month (TOTM) — Your Input Wanted
Our TOTM is from Lorri Allen: If you’ve gone through a rebranding, do you have a checklist, timeline, or tips to share? What would you do differently next time? What did you learn?
Send your brief, pithy responses *that are different from those previously mentioned* to editor@SpeakerNetNews.com. Please put “Topic of the Month” or “TOTM” in the subject line.
I would encourage you to create a bridge for your existing audience/followers, to follow you to your new brand. Talk about the steps with your existing audience and share the what, why and when. Make them part of your process and journey.
About SpeakerNet News and the Editors/Publishers
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