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You have until the 30th of April to enter The Speaker Awards 2026
19 World Class Judges
9 Categories to showcase your skills
The Exclusive Opportunity to Elevate Your Speaking Business
The Speaker Awards celebrate the world’s most outstanding speakers, those who captivate, inspire, and leave a lasting impact, whether on stage or online.
These awards are a standing ovation for the professionals who dedicate themselves to sharing knowledge, telling powerful stories, and transforming audiences through their words.
But this is more than just an awards ceremony.
It’s a platform to elevate your professional profile, gain industry recognition, and open new doors in the world of professional speaking.
It's also a chance to connect with fellow speakers, share experiences, and grow together in a community that values excellence.
The Speaker Awards celebrate professional speakers who set the standard for excellence, those who truly inspire and engage their audiences.
If you are a keynote speaker, industry expert, thought leader, or storyteller who delivers powerful messages, talks and creates real impact, these awards are for you.
Whether you own the virtual stage, captivate live audiences, or shape industries with your insights, the Speaker Awards recognise those professional speakers who are the route to mastering the art of speaking and inspire others to do the same.
If you are a professional and want to gain further industry recognition, and take your speaking to new heights, enter The Speaker Awards.
The Speaker Awards will give you incredible exposure to our database and following of more than 100,000 people so you will expand your reach and get known faster. When you win or are shortlisted make sure you maximise PR exposure and update your marketing materials with the award logo including business cards, website, literature, email and sales material.
An award win, short-listing or nomination can act as a 3rd party endorsement for your business. A win can give you as a speaker the approval from your peers and people in the industry, it will show you that your activities are valued and is a sign of quality for potential bookers, events, conferences and for your customers. It can be part of your sales pitch and help you stand out from the other people in your space. It can also help relationships with people in your industry.
You will be able to leverage the Speaker Awards to get higher paying gigs. The Speaker Awards is not like any other fake awards. It is a testament of your skills, passion and dedication to your craft and the clients you serve with your talks. The awards will push your Speaking forwards. Increase morale, get you doors and exposure you have always wanted.
Awards celebrate hard work and success and are great PR opportunities. It’s fantastic to be recognised so it’s important to make sure that people know what you as a speaker have achieved. Winning a speaker award can open doors to new contracts and those that might have been shut in the past.
The process for entering a speaker award can often make you stop and look at your speaking from a different perspective, how far you have come and in a friendly way compare yourself to other speakers. You’ll need to make sure that you stand out from others. This will help you think about ways you could be doing things better, identify areas for improvement and is one of the ways your speaking and you could benefit. That could be more valuable than the prize itself.
Awards recognise the hard work, the time invested and achievements you have gained as a speaker. Winning one can help boost your morale and improve motivation, it can help you find that extra motivation. It will shine a light and get you focused on what’s great about the work you do and you can feel proud to be a part of it.
You have until the 30th of April to enter The Speaker Awards 2026
This category recognises a speaker who inspires audiences through powerful ideas, authentic storytelling, and compelling delivery. Judges will review submitted speaking footage to assess the speaker’s ability to uplift, energise, and move an audience to think differently or take action.
In this category, we focus on TEDx presentations by the speakers released between March 2023 to April 2026. The judging centres around the originality & significance of the content. Given the typical TED talk format, the manner of delivery, storytelling, vocal tone, confidence, impact, vulnerability, and audience engagement play pivotal roles in the assessment process.
This category focuses on the showreels of the speakers. You will be evaluated primarily on how effectively your showreel highlights your expertise and content, considering the visual aspect, technical quality, overall production, and professionalism.
This category is designed specifically for newcomer speakers in the year 2023/2025. The evaluation will primarily consider how the submitted video showcases your expertise and content, with a focus on your delivery, emotive communication, audience engagement, and connection.
In this category, we focus on the live-speaking event footage submitted by applicants. The evaluation considers your live delivery of content, delivery techniques, energy, emotive communication, audience engagement, and the establishment of a clear connection with the in-person audience.
This category is determined by our panel of judges, who assess the winners and highly commended speakers from all categories.
Their entries will be evaluated based on the scores they received for each category they won or were highly commended for.
This category recognises an outstanding speaker who has demonstrated exceptional expertise, insight, and influence in the fields of artificial intelligence and/or future technology. This award celebrates those who push the boundaries of innovation and inspire the next generation of technological advancements.
Our judges will evaluate 5-minute video story submissions, which can be either filmed specifically for the application or from a previous event. You will be assessed on your ability to captivate, evoke emotion, and enthrall your audience as a speaker. Your skill in using storytelling narratives as powerful tools for connection.
These judges will evaluate the bookability of each speaker based on their submissions. You will be assessed on the quality of your showreel, video footage submitted, your stage delivery, and the judges' assessment of how likely it is for you to secure paid speaking engagements.
This category recognises an exceptional speaker who has demonstrated outstanding thought leadership, inspiring audiences with innovative ideas, deep expertise, and forward-thinking perspectives. Honouring individuals who challenge conventional thinking, pioneer new ways of thinking, drive meaningful conversations, and shape the future of their industry, and or society.
The recipient of this award is someone who has played a significant role in shaping the landscape of speaking, whether through mentorship, innovation, advocacy, or by establishing new standards of excellence. This award stands as a testament to a lifetime of dedication, influence, and inspirational leadership, honouring an individual who has not only achieved personal milestones but has also uplifted the community of speakers, setting a benchmark for future generations.
Production Quality: The video submitted has high quality sound, video and editing.
You have until the 30th of April to enter The Speaker Awards 2026
Fred Afrifa is an international keynote speaker and co-founder of Believe in Greatness. A former national sprint champion and BBC Apprentice candidate, he now works with organisations across the UK helping leaders communicate with clarity, confidence and impact. As a Speaker Awards judge, Fred brings the perspective of a high-performance speaker who understands what truly connects with audiences on stage. This is his first year judging
Having spoken on stages worldwide alongside leaders like Carrie Green, Lewis Howes, UK Dragons Den and Social Media Moghul Steven Bartlett, Deenita understands exactly how the skill of speaking can elevate an individual’s Personal Brand and position them as the expert in their niche. She has also been a judge for five years running.
Michelle Raymond is a leadership strategist, HR futurist and international speaker with over 25 years advising organisations in complex, high-accountability environments. Founder of The People’s Partner LLC, she works with global organisations to strengthen leadership and talent strategy. As a Speaker Awards judge, Michelle brings a sharp eye for credibility, insight and real-world impact on the audiences speakers serve. This is her forth year judging.
Made famous by her role as the highly driven runner-up of series four of ‘The Apprentice’ She beat 40,000 candidates to reach the final and this experience inspired Claire to set up her own business ‘School Speakers’. It is now the UK’s No 1 speaking agency working with schools, colleges and universities to provide talks to students. This is her third year as a judge.
In 2024, Rikki received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the Speakers Awards and was inducted into their Hall of Fame, recognition for a lifetime spent championing speakers.Rikki brings both a judge’s eye and a speaker’s heart to the conversation, having also judged Toastmasters contests and PSA Speaker Factor over many years while also winning major speech contests personally. This is their second year judging
Dominic started as a speaker consultant back in 2014. He has since risen the ranks working as a consultant at London Speaker Bureau since 2021. Dominic has enjoyed working with many speakers across all sectors, at all levels from grassroots to the legendary Will Smith. Dominic is also an Audiobook Narrator, Producer and Voiceover Artist. He has been judge for 2 years
David Stollman is a serial entrepreneur and speaker industry leader, co-founding successful ventures including CAMPUSPEAK Agency and EVERGREEN Speakers. Over three decades he has spoken on more than 800 college and university stages, reaching over one million students across North America. Today he focuses on launching and developing speakers, bringing deep industry insight and a talent-spotting eye as a Speaker Awards judge. This is his first year judging
Andromeda Talent was founded by Kaye Freeman in 2018 when she saw a gap in the Speakers and Personal Appearances market for a more bespoke, personal approach to sourcing, suggesting and booking Talent, one that grew out of her Talent Management background and offers a one-stop shop for organisations across the UK, Europe, Australia and North America. It's her third year as a judge.
Speaker, Host, TV Personality and Investor. Helen has spoken at and hosted many events. Recognised for her regular appearances on many Sky TV shows including Property Elevator, Property Graduate and Venture Visionaries. She’s also a seasoned judge for many industry awards bringing her unique blend of stage and screen expertise to the Speaker Awards. This is her third year with us.
Anthony has been speaking for over a decade and is an active member of the PSA, Professional Speaking Association. He’s spoken all over the world in front of audiences of up to 4,000 people… some events with up to 11 different interpreters at the back of the room. This is his fourth year as a judge.
You have until the 30th of April to enter The Speaker Awards 2026
You have until the 30th of April to enter The Speaker Awards 2026
