Conference producer
You need a program that sells tickets — the call has to attract recognizable speakers, not just willing ones.
How to run a call for speakers
A call for speakers is the cheapest way to fill a program with people who actually want to be there — and the fastest way to bury your team in unusable applications. Most calls collect a name, a talk title, and a paragraph, then leave the committee guessing whether the person can hold a room. The fix is upstream: say precisely what you are looking for, ask for the few things that predict a good session, and decide how you will score before the first application lands. This guide covers the full timeline for organizers, and answers the question speakers arrive asking too — how to find and win these calls.
QUICK ANSWER
A call for speakers is an open invitation for people to propose themselves as presenters at an event. Running one takes five stages: publish topics and criteria, collect structured applications, score them against a rubric, notify and confirm those you pick, then collect bios and materials. Unlike a call for abstracts, it recruits the person rather than reviewing written research.
WHO THIS IS FOR
Running the call?
The same five stages look different depending on which seat you are in — match the guide to the problem in front of you.
Education / content committee
Applications arrive uneven and off-topic — the criteria and form decide review quality before anyone starts scoring.
Speaker operations
Selection is where the work starts — confirmations, bios, headshots, AV needs, and deadlines all land on you.
Chapter or community lead
You run a call every cycle with a volunteer committee and no budget — it has to be repeatable without a platform contract.
LANDSCAPE
How teams run a call for speakers
Match the tooling to how many applications you expect, whether a committee scores them, and what has to happen between selection and show day.
| Vendor | Best when | Tradeoffs | Pricing note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email + a spreadsheet | Under ~40 applications, one decision-maker, and a program small enough to hold in your head. | No scoring trail, no blind review, and every selected speaker gets re-keyed into whatever runs the program. | Staff time only; no platform fee. |
| Form builders (Google Forms, Typeform) | Collection is the entire problem — structured fields, one deadline, and a decision made in a single meeting. | Review happens in an exported sheet, reviewer assignment and scoring are manual, and nothing carries to next year. | Free to low-cost per form. |
| Speaker-sourcing platforms (Sessionize) | Developer, tech, and community conferences that want distribution to an existing speaker audience alongside the call itself. | Strongest for the submission and selection window; program operations, materials chase, and marketing live elsewhere. | Free for many community events; paid tiers for commercial conferences. |
| Suite modules (Cvent, Cadmium) | The call rides along on a registration suite the organization already licenses and the default workflow fits. | Form and scoring changes route through vendor configuration, so committees wait on queues in the busiest weeks. | Bundled into suite licensing. |
| Sessionboard | The call is the front door to a real program: application forms the committee edits itself, scored review with assignment rules, and selection flowing straight into speaker portal, materials, scheduling, and promotion on one record that persists across years. | Built for programs with genuine review and speaker operations — a single-track meetup does not need it. | Licensed by meeting and volume. |
BEFORE YOU DECIDE
Buyer checklist
- Does the announcement say what a strong session looks like, with example topics — or will vague themes attract pitches you cannot use?
- Does the form ask for the few things that predict a good session (a specific takeaway, format, prior speaking evidence) rather than just a title and bio?
- Is the window realistic — four to eight weeks open, with decisions before speakers commit their calendars elsewhere?
- Have you written the scoring criteria before applications open, so decisions survive a rejected applicant asking why?
- Can you spot sales pitches disguised as sessions, and have you said in the announcement that they will be declined?
- Is there a plan for the people you decline — feedback, a smaller slot, or a panel seat — so they apply again next cycle?
- At selection, do confirmations, bios, headshots, and AV requirements flow from the same record, or does a second data chase begin?
- Does the speaker history persist so next year's call starts with people you already know are good?
Frequently asked questions
What is a call for speakers?
An open invitation for people to propose themselves as presenters at an event. Organizers publish the topics, formats, and dates they are looking for, collect applications through a form, score them against criteria, and select a lineup. It is also called a call for proposals or a call for presenters.
What is the difference between a call for speakers and a call for papers?
A call for speakers recruits the person — common for keynotes, panels, and industry conference tracks, where prior speaking ability matters. A call for papers or abstracts asks for the content first as a written proposal reviewed on merit, standard for scientific and academic programs. Many conferences run both against one program timeline.
How long should a call for speakers stay open?
Four to eight weeks is typical, with the deadline three to five months before the event so selection, confirmations, and travel booking all have room. Expect most applications in the final seventy-two hours no matter how long the window is.
What should a speaker application form ask for?
Session title, the specific thing an attendee will be able to do afterward, preferred format and length, topic track, a short bio, and evidence of prior speaking such as a recording or past event. Ask about commercial interest directly, and collect anything the program needs later so you are not chasing it in month three.
How do you choose between speaker applications fairly?
Write the criteria before the call opens — relevance to the track, clarity of the takeaway, evidence the person can deliver, and lineup balance — then score every application against them, ideally with more than one reviewer. A written rubric is what lets you answer a declined applicant honestly.
How do speakers find calls for speakers?
Through event websites directly, speaker platforms and listing sites, association and chapter newsletters, and community roundups in their field. If you are applying, follow the stated format exactly and lead with the concrete takeaway rather than your biography.
Is there software for running a call for speakers?
For small calls, a form and a spreadsheet genuinely work. At volume, or when a committee scores applications, you need assignment and scoring in one place — Sessionize is strong for sourcing and selection in tech and community events, suite modules like Cvent depend on vendor configuration, and Sessionboard runs the call plus everything after selection on one record.
Should you pay speakers who apply through a call?
Practice varies by field: association and community events often cover travel only, while commercial conferences pay keynotes and not breakout speakers. Whatever you do, state it in the announcement — unstated compensation is the most common reason a selected speaker withdraws late.