5 Ways Smart Speakers Will Win in 2026
Hello friends!
We’re catching our breath after another incredible week at IMEX 2025 in Las Vegas, the heartbeat of the global meetings and events community. If you’re not familiar with it, IMEX is the gathering place for the people who hire you: meeting planners, event organizers, and corporate decision-makers. 2025 had record attendance with 17,000 attendees and 5,000 exhibitors.
This year, the conversations centered around one clear theme: We’ve entered the Experience Age. Here are the hottest insights that will shape your speaking business in 2026 (and how smart speakers can act on them):
🎯 Experience Is the New ROI
Event organizers are shifting their focus from tracking Return on Investment (ROI) to Return on Experience (ROE), focusing on how the event experience impacts attendees, rather than just its cost.
Smart speakers will start measuring and communicating their impact. Use audience feedback, stories, and follow-up surveys to demonstrate that your presentation had a tangible impact. Consider how to build interaction into every presentation. Think live polling, breakout discussions, small group challenges, or micro exercises.
🔥 Peak Moments Drive Loyalty
Freeman’s research found that 85% of attendees are more likely to return after experiencing a “peak moment,” an emotionally charged, memorable highlight. The twist? Only 40% say they’ve actually experienced one.
Smart speakers will craft keynotes to boost attendee engagement. Design a single “goosebump moment” that audiences remember long after the event ends.
🧠 Real-Time Audience Analytics Are Here
Event industry companies are piloting new facial-analysis technology to measure audience engagement — in real time. It reads facial cues like interest, curiosity, and energy to gauge connection.
Smart speakers will start paying more attention to your audience’s energy and facial expressions NOW to be ready for this technology. Be prepared to adjust your pacing, tone, or story during the presentation in response to the audience’s live engagement. When speaking at an event with this technology, request the data for your presentation to analyze and refine it.
🤖 AI Was Everywhere
Meeting Pros are leveraging AI across all areas of their business, including speaker vetting and search.
Smart speakers will enhance their eSpeakers profile, as most major AI LLM platforms are incorporating your eSpeakers profile into their searches when recommending speakers. Upgrade to PRO to max out your marketing visibility and feed the AI LLMs. (Large Language Model)
📈 The Meetings Outlook for 2026
The industry’s mood? Very confident. More meetings are being booked, especially internal team gatherings. Planners are upbeat but watching costs closely.
Smart speakers will seize opportunities to deliver measurable experiences that audiences feel, not just attend. Offer flexible, value-based packages, combining multiple modalities of services to serve the audiences before, during, and after the event, and emphasize measurable outcomes.
🧭 The Takeaway
The next 18 months belong to Experience-Driven Experts who:
✅ Craft interactive, emotionally resonant presentations
✅ Measure and prove Return on Experience (ROE)
✅ Finesse their presentations using audience facial analytics
✅ Leverage CRM + marketing automation to stay connected after the event
“The future of speaking isn’t about delivering information — it’s about designing experiences that move people to action.” – Dave Reed, eSpeakers
If you’re ready to create that kind of impact, the tools inside eSpeakers PRO + HighLevel CRM can help you do it, from post-event automations to engagement tracking and personalized outreach.
✨ Ready to maximize your Visibility and Marketing? Upgrade to PRO + HighLevel CRM now →
So there you have it — your fresh-from-IMEX look at what’s ahead for the meetings world and the speaking business in 2026. We’re excited about where the industry is headed — and even more excited to help you grow with it.
Here’s to creating experiences that last long after the applause.
Warm regards,
Joe Heaps, Dave Reed, and Roxy Snyder
eSpeakers.com
Primary sources:
– American Express 2026 Global Meetings & Events Forecast
– Freeman 2025 Experience Trends Report
– Live presentations from various other industry leaders and suppliers
