When you land your first big speaking gig, one of the first things your event planner will ask for is a headshot and bio. Composing a bio for a conference is an important way to attract audience members to your talk. It also contributes to marketing for the event itself. Are you worried about coming up short when faced with this task? That’s why we’ve gathered a variety of great conference speaker bio examples just for you. Use these bios drawn from our own students and coaches at The Speaker Lab for inspiration as you get ready for your next speaking engagement!
Event bios can be tricky because you often have a word limit, whereas on your speaker website you have free reign to pick and choose how much and what information you include. Furthermore, if you offer a variety of options on your speaker menu, the bio you use for one talk/audience might not be well suited to the others.
If the program will be appearing online ahead of the event, your conference speaker bio also plays a role in event promotion. Helping draw attendees to an event with your effective bio will endear you to conference event planners and gain you a positive reputation in the speaking world. While that may seem like a secondary concern, it plays an important role in building your network.
What Makes a good Conference Speaker Bio?
As a refresher, we covered the ins and outs of writing a solid speaker bio here. And we’ve provided several templates for different kinds of speaker bios here. (Remember: we always recommend maintaining a longer “master bio” which you can edit and pare down to make shorter bios for conferences, speaker proposals, social media, and more.)
The most important factor that makes or breaks any speaker bio is your audience. Always keep your audience (and the event) in mind when you write a speaker bio for a conference. Are they professionals, creatives, executives, parents, entrepreneurs? Is this a connection and community oriented conference or one focused on presenting data-driven research without all the fluff? Even if you keep the same basic info, subtle adjustments to tone and the order you present information can make a huge difference! Our examples cover a variety of industries and event types so you can get a feel for how to change things up based on your client and audience.
Before we get on to our conference speaker bio examples, let’s review our open-ended template.
Conference Speaker Bio Template
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- Open with a positioning statement aligned with the conference theme that establishes your expertise.
[Name] is a [seasoned expert] who [does interesting and important things in your industry].
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- List the career highlights that are relevant to your talk.
[Name] has [X years, decades] of experience doing [what your audience does or wants to do].
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- Include a taste of your mission and vision–your “why”–to pique the audience’s interest.
During [life or career experience], [Name] realized that [thing that made you decide to speak]. Now, [Name] does [what you do for a living] to [transformation you hope to achieve].
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- If relevant: end with a personal fact relatable to your audience. (Leave this out if the conference atmosphere is particularly academic, data-driven, or otherwise impersonal).
[Name] enjoys trying new foods, like [signature dish of the city hosting the conference].
The conference speaker bio examples we’ve shared below are from students, alumni, and coaches of our TSL programs. You can listen to even more testimonies from our students and friends who have made their mark on the speaking industry on our podcast.
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1. Dominique Luster
Dominique’s bio introduces her multi-faceted platform in one powerful positioning statement. She describes how her career opened her eyes to the historical realities that inspired her to become an educator. Finally, she finishes strong with her mission. No personal details? no problem! Being short and to-the-point suits the professional and academic setting of this university employee conference. If Dominique’s talk sounds interesting, you can listen to her most recent appearance on the TSL podcast on speaking in the DEI space here.
2. Dr. Peggy DeLong
Check out the bio Dr. Peggy DeLong uses for an event at a lodge/spa/retreat center. Her words are perfectly aligned with an event aimed toward individuals seeking personal awakening and creative reconnection. She introduces her unique personal brand right away. Then she elaborates what exactly it is that “The Gratitude Psychologist” does. A list of her books follows, showing her expertise in her field. Finally, she ends with several personal details that relate to the types of people who would attend events in such an atmosphere. Prominently displayed on their website, her bio functions not just as an advertisement for her own presentations, but also as marketing for the venue. By contributing to the credibility of their speaking and events program, Dr. DeLong’s credentials might convince a hesitant customer to book a weekend at the lodge. Dr. DeLong recently shared her mission of gratitude on our podcast–listen here!
3. David Palmiter
Dr. David Palmiter’s bio for a medical society conference is credential-oriented and to the point. He hones in on his psychological expertise after describing his jack-of-all-trades career. Given the serious topic of his panel on substance abuse, an emphasis on professional qualifications is necessary and appropriate. But this conference bio isn’t entirely dry and technical, as it includes how Dr. Palmiter’s interest in magic connects to his desire to change people’s lives. Dr. Palmiter shared some of his magician’s wisdom on our podcast–listen here.
4. Chris Failla
This profile for a networking event is a great example of a conference bio that combines brevity and thoroughness. Chris elucidates his credentials in the field and specifies the transformation he has wrought that is similar to what attendees will be looking for. He finishes with some personal notes, appropriate for an event that includes lunch and a happy hour where lots of small talk will be happening. While it’s short and to-the-point, you can tell from Chris’s bio that he’s a mission-driven guy, as he shared on our podcast.
5. Shailesh Ghimire
This conference speaker bio from TSL alum Shailesh Ghimire is a great example of how to pack quite a punch with as few words as possible. In three sentences, Shailesh lets attendees at this dental industry continuing education event know exactly what they can expect to gain from his marketing presentation. 1. He has extensive experience in his field. 2. He can distill digital marketing concepts so they are easily digestible for non-marketers. 3. He will be concise and avoid rambling or jargon. If you’re working with a really strict word limit, try to focus on setting realistic and helpful expectations. Shailesh shared how he built a business out of his lifelong speaking passion on our podcast recently. Listen to his inspirational story here.
6. Anne Marie Anderson
Anne Marie Anderson’s conference bio for a women’s leadership symposium begins with a bang. Hard to beat three Emmys! It follows with a description of the transformation she effects through the keynote she is offering. Then, she covers all the experience and methods that go into her mission. Because Anne Marie has such an outstanding career outside of the motivational speaking realm, her bio serves to explain how her experience in broadcasting applies to her audience. Anne Marie talked to our team about her amazing career and “building an audacious mindset” on the podcast right here.
7. Amy Fuentes
Are you trying to come up with a paragraph that convinces people to come to your workshop? Here’s a conference speaker bio example for you. Amy’s presentation at an upcoming women’s leadership conference is accompanied by an extremely mission-oriented conference bio. Given the event’s focus on inspiration and empowerment, this is a shrewd strategy to encourage people to come to her breakout session. Listen to Amy’s testimony of how she felt called to empower women through her speaking platform here.
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8. Brittany Richmond
TSL’s very own Brittany Richmond will be presenting at the 2024 National Conference on Student Leadership. We might be biased, but we think this is an incredible conference speaker bio that exudes professionalism and authority in her field. Her introductory statement that gives you an idea of her on-stage persona and credentials. Her career path leads directly to her mission statement as well as a quick description of the many venues she has spoken for. You know exactly what you’re getting into when you listen to Britt’s presentation! Check out one of her recent podcasts with us here.
9. Dan Irvin
We’ll wrap up our slew of examples with a bio from TSL coach Dan Irvin. Dan just spoke to the American Bus Association conference in Nashville. His conference speaker bio hits all of our template requirements, leaves you full of excitement for his session, and offers a dose of relatability. A positioning statement that captures his personality and the transformation he offers starts us off. Then Dan covers his career background which qualifies him especially for work with leaders and executives. He describes his mission (at least for this talk): getting you back on track when you lose sight of your goals while having fun along the way. And he squeezes in a reminder that he too has a family to come back to at the end of this event. Dan shared several of his systems for success with us this year on an episode of The Speaker Lab podcast.
Conclusion
Writing a conference bio is just one of the steps in the long process of finding, booking, and completing a paid speaking engagement. If you want more tips and guidance throughout this process, get in touch with our team here.
