Marty Wilson, a Certified Speaking Professional and former Australian Comedian of the Year, and Michael Arnot, founder of Encore Speakers with decades of experience booking thousands of keynotes, are the founders of the Mainstage Academy. Together, they assist experts, authors, and industry leaders in building commercially sustainable professional speaking businesses.

Following their attendance at the National Speakers Association (NSA) Influence conference in Austin, Texas – an event gathering nearly 900 international speakers – Marty and Michael reviewed the state of the global speaking market on the That’s Audacious podcast with Lauren Clemett, who is one of the Mainstage on-faculty coaches. Their observations highlighted a profound disconnect between how speakers view the industry and how the corporate speaker booking market actually operates.

The initial situation across the speaking landscape reveals widespread confusion. Many speakers mistake their peer groups – associations, speaker networks, and annual conventions – for the actual industry. In reality, the true industry consists entirely of the paying clients: corporate event planners, executive committees, and business operators who invest in event talent.