When most people think about booking a keynote speaker, they envision a polished professional delivering an inspiring presentation from the main stage. And while securing world-class conference speakers is certainly at the heart of what speakers bureaus do, it’s really just the tip of the iceberg.
Planning an event means orchestrating dozens of moving pieces — from booking the right speakers and coordinating entertainment to managing logistics and maximizing attendee engagement. Whether you’re looking for the right keynote or for help building a comprehensive event experience, that’s where a full-service speakers bureau like Speakers Spotlight comes in. Our expert team connects you with an incredible roster of speakers and entertainers who offer creative solutions that can elevate your conference and create lasting impact.
Below, we explore just some of the innovative services and unique offerings that Speakers Spotlight and our talented roster provide to streamline your planning and help bring your event vision to life.
Quick Overview: Services Beyond the Keynote
When you work with Speakers Spotlight, you gain access to comprehensive event solutions — entertainment, keynote add-ons, workshops and webinars, VIP experiences, creative formats, and complete event curation.
All event coordination services included at no additional cost to you.
Entertainment That Energizes Your Event
Alongside education, entertainment serves a strategic purpose at events — it energizes crowds between sessions, facilitates connection through a shared experience, and provides the variety that keeps attendees engaged throughout your program. From cocktail hour entertainment to main stage performances, here are just some of the options available through our roster.
Mentalism and Mind-Bending Acts
Professional mentalists and illusionists create unforgettable moments where entire rooms experience something inexplicable. These performances work as intimate roaming entertainment during cocktail hours, compelling transitions between sessions, or show-stopping main stage features.
Speakers Spotlight represents award-winning performers like Yan Markson, whose elegant mentalism turns skepticism into astonishment; David Gerard, who blends mind-reading with magic in highly interactive formats; Wayne Lee, whose comedy hypnosis show creates hilarious team-building moments; and David Ben, celebrated as “one of the finest magicians of his generation.”
Live Comedy
Laughter is a powerful tool for breaking down barriers and building connections. A well-placed comedy set can energize a room after lunch, provide relief during content-heavy sessions, or serve as the perfect nightcap to your conference.
Our roster of versatile comedians creates custom performances for their audiences, including Graham Chittenden, Kate Davis, and Susan Stewart. Many of our corporate comedians, like Julie Kim and James Cunningham, also excel as event hosts and emcees — expertly guiding your event with humour and professionalism. We also work with skilled improv comedians like Jessica Holmes, Naomi Snieckus, and Sandy Jobin-Bevans.
For something truly unique, consider The Debaters Live! — a 60-70-minute show combining stand-up comedy with a hilarious debate on topical issues, with host Steve Patterson and rotating headliners.
Cooking Demonstrations
Want to add flavour to your event? Celebrity chefs and culinary experts deliver interactive cooking demonstrations that engage multiple senses — working well as team-building activities, networking icebreakers, or entertaining interludes that create memorable experiences.
Chef Matt Basile leads engaging demonstrations while sharing stories from his culinary adventures disrupting the food industry. David Rocco offers everything from curating a special menu and hosting your event to leading interactive cooking challenges that promote teamwork and creativity — the perfect way to energize your team through food, communication, and collaboration.
Ready to add entertainment that energizes? Explore our full roster of entertainers or contact us to discuss which options best fit your event.
Keynote Add-Ons That Amplify Impact
Sometimes a keynote is just the beginning. Strategic add-ons transform a single presentation into an immersive experience, giving attendees multiple ways to connect with a speaker and create moments they’ll remember long after the event. Below are just a few examples of the additional value our keynote speakers can bring.
Unique Speaker Experiences
Some of the best keynote add-ons are the most personal — experiences that connect directly to a speaker’s unique story and expertise.
For example, Graham Sherman, founder of Tool Shed Brewing Company, can host beer tastings. He brings his entrepreneurial journey to life through the products he brews. While Olympic gold medalist Jon Montgomery brings his medals for attendees to hold and try on — creating unforgettable photo opportunities — and leadership expert Tina Varughese leads energizing Bollywood dance sessions that break down barriers and get your team moving.
Book Signings
Many professional speakers are also bestselling authors with books associated with their keynotes. Some recent bestsellers include The Certainty Illusion by Timothy Caulfield, Run Like a Girl by the Honourable Catherine McKenna, and Unconditional by Dr. Samra Zafar.
We can help you arrange a book signing session following your plenary. It gives attendees a tangible takeaway, creates one-on-one interaction opportunities, and adds value at minimal cost. Pro tip: some clients bulk-purchase books as part of their attendee gift bags.
Meet and Greets
One of our most frequently asked questions is: do keynote speakers do meet and greets? The answer is yes, many of them do and these sessions can be customized to fit your event format, timeline, and audience size.
Meet and greets create powerful one-on-one connections between attendees and world-class speakers — whether for your entire audience or reserved as exclusive experiences for key stakeholders. Imagine your C-suite discussing leadership one-on-one with Colonel Chris Hadfield, who commanded the International Space Station. Or consider the impact meeting Olympian Tessa Virtue in-person — she consistently draws enthusiastic line-ups following her events. Similarly, former NHLer Jordin Tootoo, the league’s first Inuk player, draws crowds, connecting with attendees through his raw authenticity and stories about overcoming adversity.
Interested in adding these unique touches to your event? Contact our team to explore which add-ons best fit your speaker, audience, and event goals.
Continuous Learning
How do you plan conference programming that keeps attendees engaged? The answer lies in extending learning beyond the main stage. A great speech plants powerful ideas — workshops and follow-up programming help them take root. Many of our conference speakers can build on the momentum of their presentation through comprehensive workshops, follow-up webinars, interactive breakout sessions, and ongoing accountability touchpoints that help audiences translate insights into action.
Breakout Sessions
Beyond their main presentation, several of our expert speakers can also lead focused breakout sessions that explore key components of their presentation in greater detail and allow for more interaction.
And just as our keynote speakers can deliver these smaller, intimate sessions, Speakers Spotlight can go beyond booking your main stage talent. We can help you curate your complete conference program — helping you strategically select speakers whose messages provide the professional development your attendees are looking for and that align with your event goals.
Workshops and Follow-Up Webinars
As a complement to their keynote, many of our speakers can offer hands-on workshops in both an in-person or virtual format, that dive deeper into their methodologies, allowing teams to practice new skills, work through real-world scenarios, and ask questions in real-time. Others provide follow-up webinars or lunch and learns weeks or months after their event to help reinforce key concepts as teams begin implementation.
Custom Follow-Up Programming
With every organization having their own unique challenges and goals, our speakers can create tailored post-event programming designed specifically for your needs — whether that’s executive roundtables where leadership discusses strategy applications, ongoing accountability check-ins to monitor progress, custom workbooks and action plans for your teams, or recap content that reinforces key messages.
Speakers Spotlight can help coordinate these bespoke sessions — such as Ron Tite’s Activation Growth Lab — to ensure they fit your timeline, budget, and organizational priorities.
Looking to create a complete learning journey for your attendees? Our team can help you design custom follow-up programming that fits your organization’s unique needs.
Event Enhancers That Create Magic
Sometimes the most unforgettable moments happen off-stage. Event enhancers tap into your speaker’s celebrity status, unique talents, or personal experiences to create exclusive touchpoints that make attendees feel valued through special access and unexpected interactions with world-class talent.
VIP Events
Our industry experts and inspirational speakers can often participate in extended VIP experiences in addition to their presentations to create truly special moments for your most important stakeholders.
Picture your top sponsors sitting down for an intimate dinner with economist Todd Hirsch, discussing market trends and economic forecasts in a relaxed, conversational setting. Or your C-suite attending a private reception with Olympian Sarah Wells on sustaining high performance or a renowned leadership thought-leader like Hamza Khan. These exclusive events — from sponsor dinners to executive breakfasts — reward key stakeholders with special access to world-class talent.
Guided Networking Sessions
Maximize your speaker investment by weaving them into your event’s social programming. Select speakers can lead unforgettable experiential activities that turn networking opportunities into extraordinary shared experiences.
For example, ultra-marathon runner and adventurer Ray Zahab has led event attendees on an energizing group run. Olympic hockey champion Jennifer Botterill laced up her skates for an outdoor ice session. A stand-up comedian, event host, and keynote speaker, Jennifer Barroll emceed a golf tournament to amplify the fun and camaraderie.
Hype Videos
Build anticipation and drive registrations with a hype video featuring your event speaker. These custom videos give your audience a sneak peek of what’s to come — whether it’s the speaker sharing what they’ll cover, delivering a teaser, or offering a personal invitation. Many of our speakers are willing to pre-record tailored content to help generate even more buzz and excitement.
“Inspiring”, “Captivating”, “Dynamic” — these were the words used to describe Olympian Jennifer Botterill after her speech… the long lineup of people wanting an autograph or photo with Jennifer and her Olympic medals seemed to last forever and serves as a testament to her riveting speech and powerful impact on the audience.
Looking to add VIP experiences or creative networking to your event? Connect with our team to explore which event enhancers fit your goals.
Unique Keynote Formats
Now back to our bread and butter — the keynote. As event professionals, we’ve all witnessed the power of a good speech. A professional speaker can transform a plenary session into a life-changing moment. But if you’re looking to mix it up a bit, we can help you curate a plenary session that stands out from the traditional option.
Reimagined Speaker Experiences
We love stretching our creative muscles and adding that extra “oomph” to an event. Whether it’s an immersive keynote experience with Sébastien Sasseville or pairing speakers together for a dynamic discussion, such as Christine Sinclair with her former coach, John Herdman. Or creating a completely one-of-a-kind experience with Mike Downie, director and producer of the award-winning documentary, The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal, by following his presentation with Choir! Choir! Choir! leading the audience in an electrifying sing-along celebrating 40 years of the iconic Canadian band.
Improv-Based Sessions
Improv might seem unconventional for professional development, but it’s one of the most effective ways to teach adaptability, creative problem-solving, and real-time communication. By getting participants out of their seats and into spontaneous scenarios, improv breaks down walls and builds skills that traditional training can’t touch.
Matt Baram and Naomi Snieckus lead highly interactive improv keynotes where audiences learn through laughter, practicing communication tools and creative thinking on their feet. Colin Mochrie and Debra McGrath bring legendary customized shows proving why saying “yes and” matters in business, while Sandy Jobin-Bevans helps audiences become better communicators and collaborators through fun, hands-on, improv-based games and principles.
Live Podcasts and Debates
Have a favourite podcast? Bring it to your event! It’s a unique way to explore today’s trending topics and challenges. For example, Professor Janice Gross Stein and Rudyard Griffiths have recreated their popular podcast, Friday Focus, on stage, diving into the geopolitical and geoeconomic forces shaping our world.
Rudyard, co-founder of Munk Debates, Canada’s premier international debate series, can also moderate a Munk-style debate, bringing together key political and economic figures to discuss key issues of the day relevant to your audience. As organizations navigate ongoing economic and political uncertainty, this format has become one of the most requested keynote experiences available.
Looking for a keynote experience that stands out? Let’s create something unforgettable together.
Ready to Transform Your Next Event?
Don’t settle for ordinary when extraordinary is within reach. When you partner with Speakers Spotlight, you’re not just booking an event speaker — you’re accessing a team of experts who understand how to create comprehensive event experiences that educate, entertain, and inspire.
Celebrating our 30th anniversary in 2025, Speakers Spotlight’s experienced team specializes in matching organizations with the perfect corporate event speakers and creating customized event solutions for in-person, virtual, and hybrid formats that meet their event goals and budget needs. There is no extra cost — you pay only the speaker’s fee, with all our coordination, recommendations, and creative event design services included.
Contact Speakers Spotlight today to explore how we can help you make your next event truly exceptional. Representing hundreds of thought leaders, entertainers, and experts across every industry — let’s create something amazing together!
