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Episode 15

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Published on:

29th Dec 2025

Episode 15: What You Need To Know To Be A Successful Keynote Speaker In 2026

In this year-end episode of The Speaker Path, Brian Miller, Ioana (Jo) Jongsma, and Francisco Mahfuz unpack the most important industry trends shaping the speaking world in 2026, and what they mean for professional speakers.

Drawing on recent reports from AAE Speakers Bureau, Freeman, and Skift Meetings, the conversation reveals a striking disconnect between what event planners believe creates peak moments and what attendees actually remember.

Key Takeaways:

1. The “peak moment” gap

  1. ~78% of event planners believe attendees experience a peak moment
  2. Only ~40% of attendees report actually having one

Planners believe peak moments come from:

  1. Keynote speeches
  2. Opening and closing galas / celebrations
  3. Surprise or “wow” elements tied to theme or location

Attendees report peak moments coming from:

  1. Relationship-building with vendors and peers
  2. Real conversations and networking

2. AI content is becoming an “authenticity red flag”

  1. Audiences disapprove of AI-written content in live settings
  2. “AI-free” is emerging as an authenticity marker (similar to organic or handcrafted)

3. Event planners are younger, newer, and overwhelmed

  1. Many planners are early-career or newly assigned
  2. Speakers who are easy to work with and proactive gain an advantage

4. Budget pressure is reshaping speaker selection

  1. Rising event costs (venues, production, services) are pushing organizers away from expensive “big name” speakers and toward proven value, flexibility, and multi-format usefulness.

5. Micro-events are exploding

  1. Smaller, curated events (≈10-100 people) are increasing, and changing the speaker’s role.
  2. These require facilitation,real time interaction, and intentional experience design.

Read the industry reports here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tuMFmJ3a87GV6NHMWCCI_iZWRy0x7lrX?usp=drive_link


Watch the Episode 15: https://youtu.be/d1HPKu6lH-Y


The Speaker Path® Podcast is produced by Clarity Up LLC, a boutique message design firm that teaches smart people how to explain their big ideas to the rest of us.

Connect with our experts:

  1. Brian Miller ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianmillerspeaks/ )
  2. Ioana (Jo) Jongsma ( linkedin.com/in/ioana-jongsma/ )
  3. Francisco Mahfuz ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/fmahfuz/ )


🔗 Links

Work with Us: https://www.clarityupconsulting.com/

Join The SpeakerPath Community: https://thespeakerpath.com/

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About the Podcast

The SpeakerPath®
Ideas don't speak for themselves. People do.
Discover the art and business of professional speaking. Your host is Brian Miller, a former magician turned international keynote speaker and award winning speechwriter, who now runs Clarity Up, a message design firm that teaches experts how to explain their big ideas to the rest of us. Joining Brian is his team of world class consultants, including Francisco Mahfuz, a storytelling specialist, and Ioana (Jo) Jongsma, a presence and performance coach. Together, they'll explore the vast and nebulous world of professional speaking, both on and off stage.

About your hosts

Francisco Mahfuz

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Story Specialist & Lead Consultant

Francisco Mahfuz has always loved speaking, even before he had anything useful to say. He's been telling stories in front of audiences for a decade, and even became a National Champion of public speaking.


Today, he’s a keynote speaker and storytelling coach trusted by global organizations to inspire teams and individuals to communicate more effectively through intentional storytelling, and his clients include PepsiCo, HP, the United Nations, Santander and Cornell University.

He's the author of "Bare: A Guide to Brutally Honest Public Speaking”, the host of The Storypowers Podcast, and he teaches communication at IESE, one of the top 10 MBAs in the world.

Francisco is certified to take clients through Conquer the Red Dot®, and also supports The SpeakerPath™ by helping program participants find, clarify, and tell their stories.

Brian Miller

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Founder & Principal Consultant

Brian Kenneth Miller abandoned a PhD track in analytic philosophy to do card tricks for a living. Today he is one of the most sought-after voices in multiple fields, from corporate culture to public speaking to message clarity.

With a career spanning 18 years and five continents, Brian has honed his skills in engaging and transforming audiences worldwide. He’s worked with hundreds of teams as small as 4 and as large as 100,000, plus as a private consultant for dozens of industry experts.

Brian’s work has touched fields as diverse as education, cybersecurity, psychology, marine biology, the law, professional sports, marketing, healthcare, wealth management, climate communication, animal rights, data analytics, and mental health.

As a human connection specialist, he has profoundly influenced organizations and educators, helping them create cultures where every individual feels heard, understood, and valued. His influential TEDx talk, 'How to Magically Connect with Anyone,' has garnered over 3.6 million views, igniting a global conversation about the essence of human connection.

Today Brian is the founder of Clarity Up LLC, where he is still the principal consultant. There, Brian and his team teach experts, leaders, and speakers to clarify their communication, earn buy-in from the people who matter most, and drive action on their Big Ideas.

Brian’s philosophy is, "everything that can be said, can be said clearly,” - and he holds himself, his team, and his clients to that highest standard.

Ioana (Jo) Jongsma

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Ioana (Jo) Jongsma
Presence & Performance Specialist
ICF Associate Certified Coach
Gestalt Professional Certified Coach

Ioana (Jo) Jongsma is an introvert who loves Public Speaking - and is on a mission to help leaders and experts have Speaking experiences that they absolutely LOVE.

Jo has been helping speakers find their words since 2008.
To date, she has worked with over 400 leaders, experts, founders, and policymakers of 47 different nationalities and across industries ranging from Tech, FMCG, Pharma, and Energy to Finance, Logistics, Agribusiness and European Commission Agencies.
She has also supported 24 speakers at 9 TEDx Events across Europe, the US, UK and India.

Jo's belief is that talent is overrated. Public Speaking and Leadership Presence are not just for the lucky few. Anyone can be a compelling communicator, once they understand themselves – their brain and body – and get their biology to work for them, rather than against them.

Jo is a NeuroMindfulness Master Practitioner certified by the Neuromindfulness Institute and a Gestalt and ICF Certified Coach.

Jo is the Presence and Performance Specialist at Clarity Up LLC.
As part of The SpeakerPath™️, she helps program participants express themselves confidently, authentically and with impact.