Productivity Centre

I was sitting in a hotel lobby in Dubai last month, scrolling through my calendar for 2026. sixty-three confirmed speaking gigs. Another dozen in negotiation. My fee higher than it's ever been.

And here's what hit me:

Not a single one of those bookings came from cold outreach.

Not one came from a fancy marketing campaign.

Every single booking—every single one—came because someone saw me speak, or knew someone who saw me speak.

After 25 years on the professional speaking circuit across 70+ countries, I can tell you the uncomfortable truth: 95% of my bookings come from someone in the audience seeing me deliver.

The other 5%? They came from people who watched my showreel and thought, "That's exactly what we need."

Your stage performance is your real marketing. Everything else—your website, your AI prospecting, your social media presence—exists to get you on more stages where more people can see you work.

But here's where it gets interesting.

AI is fundamentally changing how speak...