Payment is quite often a difficult conversation between conference organisers and speakers with many having no set arrangements relying instead on negotiations as the program unfolds.
From a conference organiser’s perspective there’s a constant tension between programming speakers who are known drawcards, speakers who are somehow linked to sponsor arrangements and speakers who will deliver great content AND budget.
More often than not this means the speakers with shorter timeslots, or less ‘pulling power’ will not be paid unless they have extraordinary negotiating skills.
Most conferences offer ‘exposure’ as a reward for attendance and many also ask speakers to cover travel, accommodation, meals AND sometimes even ticket costs.
Late last year we put out a call to several other social impact conference organisers, and also some of our alumni speakers to (a) to call BS on the notion that exposure is enough and (b) to discover how we can add value within a very tight budget framework.
The conversation was productive.
We know we need to find a balance. While Social Impact in the Regions experimented with various arrangements in our first year Coffs Harbour, in 2024 we knew that in order to grow we simply did not have the budget to pay speakers.
And, there’s also a thought bubble which is still forming that is somehow aligned to everyone having the same status and position at the event as a means of creating a community – maybe sometimes you have wisdom to share as a speaker, maybe you share in a different way but everyone has something to contribute. How do we acknowledge that? (we are working on it).
Nevertheless, in 2024 we offered all speakers a free ticket valued at $1,650 (except those who only had 10-minute slots who had heavily discounted tickets or speakers whose corporate budget allowed for a conference donation). While this alleviated our thoughts on the matter to some degree, it still didn’t feel entirely right.
The call to other social impact event organisers speaks to our principle around building community. It’s a collective problem that more people than us need to solve. And besides, it provided an opportunity to have a great conversation with some really awesome folks.
We agreed it would pay to consider the conundrum through the lens of value exchange rather than payment. We also agreed that we aren’t trying to blow up the speaker market (which would be silly given most of us are also speakers), what we are doing is trying to create an equitable space that allows our events to continue long into the future.
The initial conversation generated the following suggestions and we will continue to explore these through 2025 ready for a rollout in 2026 – hopefully in collaboration with several other conferences. (learn how you can be involved below).
Suggestions thus far:
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Networking with Purpose: We tossed around ideas to boost the value for our speakers, like giving them access to delegate info for marketing and setting up targeted networking lunches. It’s all about creating those meaningful connections between speakers and attendees.
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Balancing the Budget: We chatted about the budget differences between keynote and other speakers. While we have no intention of disrupting the ‘speaker market’, we are thinking of ways to educate our audience on valuing all speakers equally and offering perks to keep costs in check while building connections.
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Alumni Power: We are looking for ways to tap into our alumni network to add value to our regional social impact initiatives. for the Ready Communities / SIITR team this means staying in our place-based lane and staying away from the intermediary gigs so we can refer them on and we are already actively doing this. It could mean many other things in the future.
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Certifying and Sharing: We’re exploring the idea of certifying events that align with our community-led, purpose-driven ethos. Plus, creating a cohort of community events to share resources and speakers could really amplify our impact.
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Speaker equity: While it’s a reality that some speakers will just pull in a crowd we also see that we have a role in educating audiences to just value the experience.
Please keep comments flowing and we’ll add to this as we go. You can comment via this post, on socials or email us kerry@readycommunities.com.au
What’s Next:
- We’ll socialise the conversation and see what pops up
- We’ll keep the conversation going among as many social impact and other conference organisers that would like to join in (reach out if you’d like to know more)
- We are looking for partners who would like to provide things like discounted flights, car hire, accommodation and other treats for speakers. Is this you? Get in touch.
- A toolkit of value propositions for speakers is in the works.
It’s just the beginning of our journey to reshape speaker engagement and compensation at our social impact conferences. By focusing on value exchange and equitable systems, we’re aiming to create a more inclusive and rewarding experience for everyone involved. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue this exciting conversation!
