One of the things I often struggle to articulate well enough is the importance of understanding how you fit into the bigger picture.

Then I stumbled on this golden insight from Nile Rogers on the Louis Theroux podcast…

What I love about this quote is that it demonstrates the importance of knowing your perfect place.

It’s a perfect example of non-status-led positioning and if you want to get booked to speak at one of the most exciting conferences in the calendar you need to understand where you fit.

I share this because positioning yourself as a headline speaker for the main stage is the ultimate tell to an event organiser - it screams amateur.

This is why pitching for the right kind of slot and positioning yourself properly on LinkedIn and your website is so important.

The twist? This tactic doesn’t diminish your expertise; it demonstrates it.

It’s not a downgrade. It’s a booking strategy.

So… what type of speaker are you?

Here are the most common speaking roles at conferences. Let’s take a look at them from the lens of the people curating the conference:

1. Opening Keynote
   
   Purpose: To set the tone, hold the audience and signal calibre of event
   Organiser requirements: Authority, vision, credibility
   Typically selected: Industry heavyweights, thought leaders, bestselling authors, senior execs with a big picture, future facing view
   

2. Closing Keynote
   

   Purpose: To leave the audience feeling something
   Organiser requirements: Energy, emotion, memorability

   Typically selected: Celebrities, athletes, big-personality storytellers, motivational speakers with a strong emotional range
   

3. Main Stage Speaker

   
   Purpose: Depth and insights
   Organiser requirements: Depth, clarity, relevance to the core theme

   Typically selected: Subject-matter experts, founder-operators, thought leaders with lived experience and a clear point of view
   
   

4. Track/Breakout Session Speaker

   
   Purpose: To deliver tactical value to a niche or role-specific audience
   Organiser requirements: Domain expertise, practical content, relevance to track theme
   Typically selected: Specialists, consultants and up and coming thought leaders with hands on credibility

5. Panellist

   
   Purpose: To add contrast, challenge ideas and create dynamic conversation
   Organiser requirements: Diversity of thought, clarity and brevity

   Typically selected: Emerging voices, experienced execs, founders with well-formed opinions and the ability to listen as well as speak
   

6. Fireside Chat Guest
   
   Purpose: To get insights through real, unscripted conversation
   Organiser requirements: Authenticity, depth, relatability

   Typically selected: High-profile leaders, exited founders, creatives or investors who prefer conversation over presentation
   

7. Workshop Facilitator
   
   Purpose: To provide a space to learn by doing
   Organiser requirements: Structure, interaction and clear takeaways

   Typically selected: Facilitators, coaches, consultants trainers with a proven method and the ability to guide a room confidently

8. Moderator (Panels and Fireside Chats)

   
   Purpose: To guide the conversation, manage time, and bring out the best in others

   Organiser requirements: Sharp facilitator, great listener, confident but low-ego

   Usually selected: Journalists, podcast hosts, broadcasters, speakers with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to shape a compelling narrative on the fly

And then, of course, we have the person who holds it all together.

9. MC/Host

   Purpose: Set the energy, make the audience feel seen, make the speakers feel special, maintain the sense of theme, connect the dots (not just on stage, backstage too).

   Organiser requirements: Charisma, adaptability, presence, humour, an acute sense of timing

   Usually selected: Professional hosts, comedians, performers, speakers with a finely tuned ability to read a room, respond in real time and elevate the audience experience without making it about them.

My hope is that by reading through these, there’ll be some roles that scream a perfect fit for where you are on your journey right now and others, well, not so much.

And that’s the point.

A smart speaker application is a strategic one.

Instead of punching above its weight and crossing fingers, it plays to your strengths and makes selecting you feel like a no brainer.

The best bit? Nail the engagement and you’ll build trust, and that’s what this game is about in the long term.

It’s been amazing watching a number of MicDrop’s members successfully implementing this strategy at some of the UK’s biggest conferences, SXSW, London Tech Week and next week at Cannes Lions.

Behind the scenes, we’re building some conference specific application assistants that help our members:

1. Identify whether they should be applying at all 🧩
   Given where they are in their journey (we don’t do spray and pray)

2. Pin down the perfect type of talk 🎯
   For the engagement

3. Craft an outstanding speaking application 🤩
   So they actually stand a chance of landing the gig.

To find out more about joining us in October, click here (our prices are increasing on July 1st).

Alex