9 Things you NEED on your Speaker Sheet

We’ve recently been helping a lot of clients who are keynote speakers with their speaker sheets and have decided to share some best practices with you – you’re welcome 🙂

What’s a speaker sheet, you ask? It’s a one- or two-page summary of who you are, what you speak about and why the event planner reading it should hire YOU.

You should treat your speaker sheet as a condensed resume of your speaking experience. And just like a resume, there are some things that make certain speaker sheets better than others. In this post we’re sharing the top 9 things that you should always include in your speaker sheet!

1. Name and Headshot

Just like a resume, your name and headshot should be the first things that grab the eye!

Top tips:

• Budget to have a professional headshot taken – you can’t compare the first impression someone gets from a professional headshot vs. a selfie-style cell phone photo
• Do you do more than just keynotes? Add in all your job titles so that the person can see the bigger picture of who you are! E.g. Author, Keynote Speaker, Consultant, Change Manager etc.
• If you have a logo, be sure to add this in a prominent place in the top half of your speaker sheet, so that it’s one of the first things people see

2. Tagline

Think of a tagline as a one-sentence description of the value you add with your presentations. This should be general enough to be applicable to all your keynote topics, but specific enough that it sums up exactly what you’re all about.

Here are some examples:

• “Empowering small businesses through outcomes-based marketing”
• “Grow your leadership skills with improved communication”
• “Improve productivity by managing stress”

3. Short Bio

What is a speaker sheet without a bio?! It’s essential that you inform the reader about your background and, most importantly, why you are qualified to educate an audience.

Here are some tips to make sure your bio tells your story without becoming too long-winded:

• Start with talking about the problem that you are addressing with your presentations
• Include who exactly you are speaking to – job sector/industry, gender (if relevant), geographic location etc.
• Expand your education, experience and credentials that qualify you to solve this problem
• Explain HOW you solve the problem/what value you add
• Add any further (relevant) accolades
• End off with one or two sentences about you personally

4. Top Keynote Topics

Your speaker sheet should give the reader an idea of the types of topics that you talk about. As a speaker sheet is normally only one or two pages, you might not have the space to elaborate on ALL of your topics. So including 2-3 of your most popular keynotes is a good solution.

List the topic title and provide a short description of each. You can even list a few key takeaways the audience can expect from each keynote.

5. Contact Info and Social Media Handles

It’s pointless to go to all the trouble of creating a killer speaker sheet if the reader has no way of contacting you!

Adding your social media handles will give the person quick access to your social media presence, which will further show them who you are and what you are all about.

A page footer is a good place to include your contact info and social media handles.

Be sure to include:

• Telephone number
• Email address
• Website URL
• Social Media platforms and handles

6. Testimonials and Client Logos

Most people consult reviews before deciding to buy a new product, and this is exactly the same for your speaker sheet! Event planners want to know what your past clients think of you. Include noteworthy testimonials from clients in your target industry. This shows that you are a trusted expert and builds your reputation.

If you’ve presented to a few recognizable companies, think about adding in their logos to further show off your credentials and skills.

7. The Value You Add

If you have the space, add a list of the key takeaways you will leave audiences with. This shows the reader (at a glance) what your unique selling points are, what value you add and what audiences can expect.

You can phrase the heading in a variety of ways, such as “Peter will show you how to…”, “Audience members will learn to…”, or “Find out how to…”

8. Action Photos!

Including action photos of your past presentations has a two-fold function. Firstly, it shows people that you’ve spoken to audiences before, and secondly, it helps to break up what could otherwise be quite a text-heavy document. Remember to only use high quality pictures to balance out blocks of text!

9. A Design that Suits your Brand

This is such a no-brainer for us, but you need to make sure that the design of your speaker sheet suits your brand! Look at the colours, fonts, images, and graphic elements used on your speaker sheet and align it to your overall brand.

You should aim to have continuity between your website and your speaker sheet. It causes confusion when the reader goes from your speaker sheet to your website or social media and feel like their looking at a completely different brand. Plus, it just looks that much more professional to have strong brand alignment overall!

Use your speaker sheet as an at-a-glance resume and send it to event planners and sales reps or share it on social media. The great thing about having a digital speaker sheet is that you can embed the hyperlinks to your website, email address, social media accounts, videos etc. so that all of this extra information is available with a single click!

That’s it from us! We hope this post has been helpful for you if you’re looking at a blank page and have no clue where to start with your speaker sheet!