Are Summits Worth Your Time?

It really is amazing to think about how much public speaking has evolved since the advent of the internet. 20 years ago, speaking opportunities were in-person opportunities. Now, in the 2020s, there are all kind of speaking opportunities and platforms to choose from.

One type of speaking opportunity that seems to have exploded over the past couple of years is being an expert speaker for a summit. What’s a summit?

According to an article I read online by exhibit experts Hill & Partners, a summit is an event organized around a curated collection of experts within a specific topic, who have been invited to share their expertise with the summit’s audience. There are in-person summits, but there are many more virtual summits taking place these days.

Summits are interesting because unlike conferences and conventions that are usually hosted and sponsored by big name organizations, summits can be hosted by a single person. Summits can also be hosted by local organizations for the purpose of sharing speakers with great messages with their local community.

Summits take shape the same way conferences, conventions, and trade shows do. After the topic/theme/scope of the event is chosen, they determine the logistics of whether their event will be: an in-person live event; a live but virtual event using a platform such as Zoom or Webex; or an event that releases pre-recorded expert presentations over the course of a few days.

Once the logistics have been mapped out, it’s time to find speakers. As you already know, events look for speakers in a variety of ways. One way is with a “call for speakers,” which is an open invitation for speakers to submit an application to be considered as a speaker for an upcoming event. Sometimes, a summit will provide specific paperwork that all speakers need to complete to be considered. Other times they will provide a list of items the speaker needs to submit to be considered.

These days, that list usually includes providing a video of the speaker speaking, so the summit organizer can get an idea how the speaker will come across to an audience. I’ve even seen cases where the event will use the speaker’s video as a way to promote their talk.

Are there reasons why you should be on the lookout for summit speaking opportunities? Definitely!

• Summits are very popular, which means there are more summits looking for speakers.
• You get free exposure to every other summit speaker’s audience.
• The audience has pre-qualified themselves by signing up, so you’ll be speaking to people who are genuinely interested in the content you’re sharing.
• Summits can have very large audiences, which means the odds of someone discovering you and your content, and inviting you to speak at their next event increase.
• Speaking at a summit provides another opportunity for people to find out more about you when they Google your name.

I hear you…. You’re saying WOW, this is a great idea! But how do I find out more about summits (and conferences—because why limit yourself to one type of venue!)? You start with a simple broad online search. For example, search “summits in 2022,” or “conferences in CT in 2022.” Now you have pages of links to check out. Obviously, this is just a starting point, but from there, you’ll be able to vary your search according to your finds.

Also, as I mentioned, many summits are put together by a single person who cares deeply about the topic of their summit. So, at the very least, if you reach out to that person, expressing an interest in being an expert speaker for their next summit, you might end up connecting with someone who shares your interest in helping people solve their problem. Sounds like a win-win to me!