Blog

A relentlessly upbeat session in front of people who watched colleagues leave in March will land as management not paying attention. Here's what works instead.

New Zealand speakers consistently outperform in Australian rooms. Here is why the trans-Tasman booking works, and what to sort out before you make it.

Your sales managers were promoted for being good at selling. Nobody taught them to lead. That's usually the actual problem.

From the inside, disruption doesn't feel like disruption. It feels like a series of reasonable decisions. Gus Balbontin was making them at Lonely Planet.

If your theme could be pasted onto any other conference in the country, your speakers have nothing to work with.

Thirteen days in an ice cave at 23. Everest at 47, on a leg that snapped at 6,400 metres.

Jimmy Spithill stopped racing in October 2024 and now runs a SailGP team. What that changed in his keynote, and how to check whether a sports speaker's material is current.

R U OK? Day 2026 is Thursday 10 September. The barrier isn't awareness, it's hesitation: 1 in 4 people don't ask even when they suspect something's wrong. What a good session actually covers, what belongs in the brief, and when to book.

Video calls didn't kill body language. They cropped it at the collarbone, broke eye contact, and nobody was ever taught to compensate.

An athlete can tell you what the peak felt like. A coach has to explain how it was built and rebuilt after it broke. Bennett's 21 seasons, Henry's reappointment after 2007, Hansen's exit after 2019 and why the loss is the useful part.

Australia has no shortage of former prime ministers available to speak. What makes Sir John Key different is that he spent two decades pricing risk in financial markets, including years in Sydney, before he ever had to make a decision about one.

The most powerful speaker for your event might not be listed online. Here's why fresh, real-world voices often deliver the most impact — and how to find them.

Booking the wrong speaker can drain energy, budget, and credibility. Here’s what it really costs – and how to make sure you get it right next time.

A great speaker isn’t always the right speaker. Here’s why audience fit matters more than fame — and how to make the right call for your next event.

Before you book a keynote speaker for your Aussie event, ask these 3 smart questions. Save your time, your budget — and your reputation. No fluff. Just real advice.

Australia has plenty of speaker agencies. So why launch another? Because we’re doing it differently – with honest advice, handpicked speakers, and zero fluff.

We are beyond excited to congratulate Sam Bloom on her recent fourth World Para Surfing Championship.

We're thrilled to share an exclusive interview featuring two of our esteemed speakers, Kerri Pottharst and Trudi Nelson.

We're excited to announce the expansion of Essential Speakers into Australia!