How to Run a Call for Speakers (With Template)

A call for speakers is how most industry, association and community events fill the bulk of their program. Instead of inviting every speaker personally, you publish what you are looking for, let practitioners propose sessions, and choose the strongest. Done well, it surfaces new voices and fresh case studies. Done badly, it produces a pile of sales pitches, a committee that cannot agree, and applicants who never hear back.

The difference is almost always in the setup. A call that states exactly who the audience is, which formats you need and how proposals will be judged gets better submissions and is far easier to review. Before you write a word of the announcement, agree these points with your program committee:

• Tracks or topics, each with a one-line description of the audience and level
• Session formats you will accept, such as 45-minute talks, panels, workshops or short lightning talks
• How many slots you have per track, so you know roughly how selective you will be
• What speakers receive: complimentary registration, travel support, a fee, or none
• Who reviews, who decides, and whether review is blind
• Your rules on vendor pitches, co-presenters and repeat speakers

If your event is academic or clinical and needs formal abstracts with peer review, the mechanics are the same but heavier; see how abstract management software handles that cycle.

Work backwards from the date your program must be public, usually when registration marketing needs session titles. The example below assumes a 12-week cycle from opening the call to publishing the program. Stretch or compress it, but keep the order and protect the review weeks.

Promotion decides the quality of the pool. Beyond your own list, ask last year's speakers and session chairs to forward the call to two people they would like to hear, share it through partner associations and member communities, and post a reminder in each track's specialist channels. If a track is thin at the halfway point, approach practitioners directly and invite them to submit through the same form, so every proposal is still reviewed on equal terms.

The session proposal form is where most calls go wrong: either too thin to judge, or so long that good practitioners give up. Ask only for what reviewers will actually use, plus what you need to publish the session later.

• Session title, with a character limit
• Session description for the program, with a word limit (often 100–200 words)
• Track or topic, from your list
• Session format, from your list
• Learning outcomes: two or three things attendees will be able to do afterwards
• Audience level: introductory, intermediate or advanced
• Speaker name, job title, organization and email for each presenter
• A short speaker bio, or a promise to supply one if accepted
• Prior speaking experience, with a link to a recording if available
• Whether the session promotes a product or service the speaker sells
• Consent to publish the description and speaker details if accepted

Keep the bio short at proposal stage and collect the full version only from accepted speakers; our speaker bio template gives presenters a format to follow.

Use this call for speakers template as your announcement email and the introduction on your submission page. It also works as a call for proposals template if you replace speaker language with proposal language throughout.

Subject: Call for speakers: [EVENT NAME] [YEAR] is open until [DEADLINE]

[EVENT NAME] returns to [CITY / VENUE] on [EVENT DATES], bringing together [AUDIENCE DESCRIPTION, e.g. facility managers and operations leaders]. We are looking for practitioners to share what is working, what is not, and what they have learned.

We want sessions on:
- [TRACK 1]: [ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION]
- [TRACK 2]: [ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION]
- [TRACK 3]: [ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION]

Formats we accept:
- [FORMAT 1, e.g. 45-minute talk]
- [FORMAT 2, e.g. 60-minute panel of up to 4 speakers]
- [FORMAT 3, e.g. 90-minute hands-on workshop]

What selected speakers receive: [e.g. complimentary full registration for each presenter]

How we choose: every proposal is scored by at least [NUMBER] reviewers on relevance to the audience, practical takeaways, originality and speaker expertise. [Review is blind: reviewers do not see speaker names.] Sales pitches are not accepted.

Key dates:
- Call closes: [DATE, TIME AND TIME ZONE]
- Decisions sent: [DATE]
- Speaker confirmation due: [DATE]

Submit your proposal: [SUBMISSION LINK]

Questions? Contact [NAME] at [EMAIL].

A shared rubric turns opinions into comparable scores. Give reviewers the rubric with their assignments, ask them to score each criterion from 1 to 5, and hold a short calibration session where everyone scores the same three proposals and compares notes.

• Have at least two reviewers score every proposal, and look again at any with widely different scores
• Hide speaker names when you want to reduce bias toward familiar faces
• Let reviewers flag conflicts of interest and reassign those proposals
• Treat scores as input: the committee still balances tracks, formats, regions and new versus returning speakers
• Keep a ranked waitlist per track for the inevitable withdrawals

How you communicate decisions shapes whether people apply again. Send every decision on the same day, from a real reply-to address, and keep each email specific.

1. 1

   Accepted

   Confirm the session title, format, date if known, and what happens next: the confirmation deadline, the speaker agreement to sign, and the bio and headshot you need.

2. 2

   Waitlisted

   Say plainly that the proposal is strong but there are no slots yet, and give the date by which you will confirm either way.

3. 3

   Declined

   Thank them, say how many proposals you received if you are comfortable sharing it, and invite them to apply next year. Include a reviewer note if your committee wrote one.

4. 4

   Follow Through

   Track who has confirmed, signed and sent their profile. Chase gaps weekly until the program is published, and move to the waitlist promptly when someone withdraws.

Subject: Your session has been accepted for [EVENT NAME] [YEAR]

Hi [FIRST NAME],

Thank you for submitting [SESSION TITLE]. The program committee has accepted it for the [TRACK NAME] track as a [FORMAT].

To confirm your place, please complete the following by [CONFIRMATION DEADLINE]:
- Sign and return the speaker agreement: [LINK]
- Send a speaker bio of up to [NUMBER] words and a headshot: [LINK]
- Confirm or update your session title and description

We will share your session date, time and room by [DATE]. Questions? Reply to this email or contact [NAME] at [EMAIL].

[YOUR NAME]
[PROGRAM COMMITTEE / EVENT NAME]

Once speakers confirm, their details need to live somewhere your team and your attendee app can both use. A speaker management tool keeps profiles, sessions and changes in one record instead of a spreadsheet.

• Opening the call before tracks and formats are agreed, then changing them mid-call
• Asking for long documents by email instead of a structured form
• No stated policy on product pitches, so reviewers argue about each one
• Extending the deadline repeatedly, which teaches applicants to submit late
• Releasing decisions in dribbles, so applicants compare notes and assume the worst
• Forgetting to collect consent to publish the session description and speaker details