How to Write a Speaker Bio for Any Event in 2024

An authentic speaker is a great way to attract more event attendees and make your event captivating.

But only if you know how to capture the reader’s attention with an attention-grabbing speaker bio. The average attention span is down to a mere 47 seconds, so you don’t have long to capture interest with your bio! 

Sometimes, your public speakers will write their own bios. Other times, you’ll want to craft your own or modify theirs (with permission!). At Eventbrite, our tools have helped thousands of event organizers and event planners put on fantastic events all over the world. This detailed guide goes over some key best practices for writing good speaker bios. It also includes some examples of speaker bios for inspiration.

Looking to write your own bio for an upcoming speaking gig? Most of these tips apply to you, too! 

5 Tips for Better Speaker Bios

1. Start with the speaker bio basics

2. Highlight your guest speaker’s accomplishments

3. Share a unique perspective

4. Cater to your audience

5. Keep it brief

How to write a speaker bio 

Whether you’re hosting a roundtable discussion or a keynote speaker event, you should highlight your speakers as much as possible. 

It all starts with a compelling speaker bio, which you can also use in your event marketing efforts to attract more attendees.

We’ll cover all the details below, but here’s how to write a speaker bio at a glance:

  • Cover all the essentials
  • Highlight the speaker’s accomplishments
  • Share a unique perspective
  • Customize the bio to your audience
  • Keep it brief

Before you start writing, check if your public speakers have their own bios drafted. If you’re hosting a professional event, for instance, add a speaker bio audit to your corporate event planning checklist. If the bios read well, double-check them against the tips and guidelines in this article. If not, keep reading for tips on writing great speaker bios from scratch. 

Short-form and long-form bio options 

The length of a speaker bio depends on the channel you’re using it for. In some cases, you may want both a short-form and a long-form bio option. 

For example, short-form bios are perfect for social media, promotional materials, and event descriptions. Long-form bios are better suited to your event website or in longer speaker profiles where you have more room.

There’s no definitive length for a bio, but here are some general guidelines:

  • Short-form: two–three sentences (40–60 words)
  • Long-form: three–eight sentences (60–160 words)

Speaker-provided bios may run a bit long. If you need to shorten it for promotional purposes, keep the most important information in the “speaker bio basics” list below. 

💡Pro tip: Whenever you edit a bio that a speaker has written, it’s a good idea to run it by them first. You don’t want to offend a speaker by changing their words without permission! 

Speaker walking on stage
Ladies Get Paid / Get Money, Get Paid / Brooklyn, NY

5 Tips for better speaker bios (plus examples!) 

These actionable tips will help you level up speaker biographies for your next event. Use these strategies to catch readers’ attention and, ultimately, get more people to your events! 

1. Start with the speaker bio basics 

Make sure your bio covers key information about the speaker. Focus on what’s most relevant to your audience and event type. The bio should typically include at least one of the following categories:

  • Education
  • Professional and performance experience 
  • Background
  • Achievements

Remember, a bio is an overview of the speaker’s background, experience, and expertise. After reading it, attendees should have some idea of what the speaker brings to the table and what makes them so special that you hired them.

Bios don’t need to follow a particular order and can also be more focused on the specific talk or presentation the speaker is planning. These bios help readers understand what they might learn at the talk. Talk-focused bios should still include some background on the speaker, however.

Depending on the tone of your event, you can add creative flair or play it straight with a listing of education and credentials.

Examples

This speaker bio example comes from the 2022 Folorunso Alakija Distinguished Lecture on Religion in Africa hosted by the Harvard University Center for African Studies. At the event, lecturer J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu’s bio first described his position before including additional experience.

Bio for Harvard speaker

What works well: This bio provides a detailed list of the speaker’s past experience. It also shows experience that’s highly relevant to the event’s theme (Religion in Africa). While this bio is a bit heavy on background info, the depth makes sense for an academic audience hosted at Harvard. 

In contrast, check out this example from the Photographic Resource Center’s Speaker Series in nearby Brookline, Massachusetts. This bio focuses less on academics and more on what’s relevant to the speaker’s presentation.

Bio for Claire Beckette photographer

What works well: This speaker’s biography sparks the reader’s interest by describing a unique project from their past. This approach can be more effective for a general audience that may not be as interested in a speaker’s education or professional accolades. 

2. Highlight your guest speaker’s accomplishments

A speaker profile should highlight the speaker’s key personal and/or professional achievements. 

The main idea is to frame the bio to reflect your speaker as a subject matter expert. If bio space is limited, highlight the achievements that most closely relate to your event’s themes and topics. Try to also pair them with interesting biographical tidbits that can set your speaker apart.

Example

This example comes from Samy’s Camera and CinemaWorks’ Beauty and the Art of Posing workshop in Los Angeles. At the event, featured speaker Tracie Maglosky’s speaker bio example starts by listing her profession and colors it with “award-winning.” 

Bio for Tracie Maglosky photographer

What works well: This bio makes good use of authority signals by outlining the major publications that the speaker has been featured in.

3. Share a unique perspective 

What makes your speaker different? And why should your audience listen to them? Think about what makes your speaker stand out from the sea of keynote speakers in their industry. Then, focus on highlighting this in their bio.

Maybe your speaker is a best-selling author. Or perhaps they overcame significant hardship in life in the pursuit of their dreams. Beyond accolades and achievements, think about what makes your speaker truly unique. 

Example

This example comes from Glasgow International LLC’s Deeper Than Motivation Experience with Jovan Glasgow in Dallas. Here, Glasgow’s bio begins simply with his experience, then adds color by touting his reputation and listing key accolades. 

Bio for Jovan Glasgow entrepreneur

What works well: This bio highlights the speaker’s achievements and accolades in the professional speaking world. But it also sparks interest with unique phrasing like “soul-awakening” and “empower”. This speaker’s bio is well-balanced and paints an intriguing picture of the speaker. 

4. Cater to your audience 

The bio for a conference speaker at a B2B event should be very different from a speaker at a spiritual gathering, for example. While crafting bios, know who will be reading your speaker’s bio, and make adjustments based on what might intrigue them. 

Think of yourself as a matchmaker, connecting your speaker to your audience. If your speaker has a personal anecdote or story that’s relevant to what you’re discussing, mention it in the bio to spark interest.

Example

This example comes from the Naperville Business Network’s November meetup near Chicago. At the event, the bio for speaker Mario Lambert put the emphasis first on positivity and philosophy before mentioning credentials. 

Speaker bio for Mario Lambert

What works well: This speaker’s biography draws the target audience in perfectly by highlighting the speaker’s strategies for improving organizational outcomes. Instead of just a list of accolades, this bio is inspiring and previews what attendees can expect to learn. 

5. Keep it brief 

The speaker profile should offer a glimpse of your guest speaker’s background and expertise. But it should also be quick and easy to read. 

There’s no firm rule here, but keeping bios between 50 and 100 words is often ideal. You can also have both short-form and long-form versions. Short bios should be used in most places, while longer profiles can be posted on your event website or the speaker’s portfolio.

Example

Legendary athlete and motivational speaker David Goggins keeps things to the point in his bio:

Bio for David Goggins athlete

What works well: This is short and sweet but still does a good job of encapsulating the speaker’s incredible background. It highlights aspirational achievements that are a good fit for David’s motivational speaking audience. 

How to tailor speaker bios to the event type 

You’ve already learned the importance of customizing speaker profiles to your audience. But how do you actually do this? Here’s what to consider.

  • What are your attendee demographics
  • What is the average education level of your audience? 
  • Are attendees coming to your event to learn, grow professionally, or just be entertained?

The main two variables are how detailed you get with your bios and the components you highlight.

If you’re hosting a professional science conference, for example, it’s likely your average attendee will be very well-educated. This means that speaker bios can be more detailed — and should include relevant scientific accolades.

Alternatively, if you’re hosting a community festival, your target audience will likely be more diverse. Keeping bios simpler is best here. Instead of the speaker’s achievements, focus on what the audience will get out of attending the presentation. 

Plan your next event with Eventbrite.

A woman speaking in front of a large conference audience

Writing conference speaker bios 

A quality professional speaker biography is essential for conferences for several reasons:

  • They can help with conference marketing efforts by highlighting keynote speakers.
  • They can help attendees decide which sessions they want to attend.
  • They can highlight the authority of your event and speaker expertise.

Conferences typically have several public speakers, if not dozens. At larger conferences, there will also be some overlap in schedules — meaning guests have to make tough calls about which sessions to attend.

Here’s what you should highlight when writing a conference speaker bio:

  • Learning: Highlight what the attendees can expect to learn at the talk or presentation.
  • Expertise: Provide an overview of the speaker’s expertise and background.
  • Professional accolades: List the speaker’s current role at their organization, as well as any accolades or awards.
  • Ways to connect: List the speaker’s company website, LinkedIn profile, etc., to help attendees connect. 

With a conference speaker profile, the focus of the talk is often more important than the speaker’s background. This is especially true of popular keynote speakers that the audience will likely already be familiar with. 

For more ideas, check out the examples of speaker bios below. 

Panel speaking on stage
Eventbrite / Re.Mixer LA / Los Angeles, CA

Conference speaker bio examples 

Here are two examples of speaker bios from Engage 2024, a digital marketing conference hosted by SEMpdx. The event organizers have placed the full speaker list with bios on the event website while keeping the Eventbrite event listing simpler. 

Dave Rohrer

In-house SEO, Consultant & Public Speaker — NorthSide Metrics
X / LinkedIn

Bio for Engage Marketing Conference speaker Dave Rohrer

What works well: This bio is a good length (82 words) and covers the speaker’s professional background concisely. It also highlights his experience speaking at large conferences in the same industry, as well as his success in leading a digital agency.

Carolyn Shelby

SEO/SEM, Audience Development, Digital Marketing Strategy, Speaker, Trainer — CSHEL Search Strategies
X / LinkedIn

Bio for Engage Marketing Conference speaker Carolyn Shelby

What works well: This bio has plenty of personality to draw in the reader. It also weaves a narrative of an authentic speaker with a storied history in the online marketing industry. Instead of leading with the most impressive accolades, it tells a brief and personal anecdote that shows the speaker’s topic authority. 

Looking for even more examples of speaker bios? Look for a popular conference in your industry on Eventbrite, then check their speaker lineup. This will help you see how other speakers in your specific industry/event type are writing their bios.  

Speaker at a marketing conference
Voxburner / Youth Marketing Strategy / San Francisco, CA

Can you use AI to write a speaker bio? 

Generative AI can certainly be used to help craft speaker bios. Alternatively, you can use a speaker bio template to make things easier.

Whenever using AI, it’s crucial to have a human editor read it over to make sure everything is factually accurate. 

Here’s how ChatGPT handled a request to write a bio for Brad Pitt:

ChatGPT example of writing Brad Pitt's bio

You need to double-check all the factual information, such as the awards listed and confirm that the wording and tone are in line with your event type and audience. 

Artificial intelligence tools can also be used to help shorten bios that are running a bit long. Check out this example below.

Long-form bio:

Mario Lambert Speaker Bio

Simply copy/paste the full bio into ChatGPT or another free generative AI tool, then ask it to summarize. You can even get specific (“summarize this in two sentences”) if you need to fit a certain length requirement.  

Short-form bio (courtesy of ChatGPT):

ChatGPT example of summarizing a speaker bio

If you do use AI, it’s even more important that you then send the bio to the speaker to have them read it. The last thing you want is to list inaccurate information in your speaker profiles! 

Write better speaker bios today

These examples of guest speaker bios and tips highlight how matching the bio to your audience — and keeping it clear and brief — is essential. 

For the best results, establish the speaker’s credibility so the audience understands why their ideas are interesting. Remember to reflect on the event’s mood! A playful tone of voice works well for light-hearted topics, while a simple description of experience and education is appropriate for serious subjects.

Improving your speaker bios can boost the success of your next conference or event. For more helpful resources, use Eventbrite to plan your next conference. Eventbrite combines tools for planning, promoting, ticketing, and more into one powerful platform.