You've learned something worth sharing. Maybe there's a room that needs to hear it.
Every business journey creates lessons.
Southampton Business Award brings together people with stories, ideas, experience and expertise worth sharing. If you have something that could help someone in the room think differently, see an opportunity, avoid a mistake, take action, or simply say “I needed to hear that”, we'd like to hear from you.
If people remembered one thing from you, what would you want it to be?
What kind of speaker could you be?
Choose the one closest to you.
Where could your experience add value?
Six quick questions, about a minute. We'll show you the formats and subjects that could suit you. No email needed to look, and nothing here is a confirmed slot.
What best describes you?
Choose one.
There's more than one way to have a voice.
Not everyone wants a keynote. Which formats run depends on each year's programme; the team will tell you what could suit you.
Keynote
One idea. One stage. One memorable message.
For speakers with a strong central idea or story.
Panel
Bring your perspective into a bigger conversation.
For experienced professionals with a specialist viewpoint.
Fireside conversation
Sometimes the best stories come through questions.
An interview-style conversation about experience, leadership or a business journey.
Masterclass
Turn expertise into something people can use.
Practical, educational delivery.
Roundtable
Smaller room. Deeper conversation.
A facilitated specialist discussion.
Interview
Tell the story behind what you've built.
A guided conversation about your journey.
Podcast / video
Take the conversation beyond the room.
Where the awards produce recorded content.
Host / moderator
Help great conversations happen.
For experienced facilitators and industry leaders.
Why put yourself forward?
Share what you have learned
Someone else may be facing the problem you already solved.
Your experience could help another business leader see a challenge differently.
Give something back
Knowledge becomes more valuable when it travels.
Use your experience to contribute to the wider business community.
Build meaningful authority
Don't tell people you're an expert. Give them something useful.
A strong contribution can show expertise more naturally than a sales pitch. It is not a promise of any commercial outcome.
Start better conversations
A great talk doesn't end when you leave the stage.
It can lead to questions and conversations with people interested in the subject.
Meet other thinkers and doers
Sometimes the person you need to meet is already in the room.
Speakers share the occasion with leaders, finalists, partners and guests. Introductions are never guaranteed.
Tell the story behind the title
People connect with people before job titles.
Speaking makes space for the lessons, decisions and experiences behind your professional profile.
What we're looking for
We're looking for value, not a sales pitch.
The strongest speakers don't spend their time telling an audience how good their company is. They give the audience something:
If people leave knowing more than when they arrived, the speaker has done their job.
I have something useful to shareYou don't need a talk title yet.
Start with what you've lived, learned or discovered. We'll suggest a few directions it could take.
1. What is it about?
2. Which question sparks something?
Not a professional speaker?
You don't have to be a professional speaker to have something worth saying.
Some of the most useful business conversations come from people who spend their lives:
building, leading, selling, creating, investing, managing, solving, failing, recovering, learning.
We're interested in what you can bring to the audience, not simply how many stages you've stood on.
See if my experience could fitThe quality bar
The stage has a responsibility to the audience.
Speaker opportunities are curated. The team considers:
Relevance
Experience
Subject expertise
Audience value
Originality
Format fit
Communication ability
Event requirements
Availability
Commercial conflicts where applicable
The awards team keeps discretion over speaker selection.
Where your expertise could fit
The subjects Southampton Business Award recognises through its own award categories.
Leadership & CEO
Decisions, direction and leading people through change.
147 related categories, for example Ethical Leadership Excellence Award
Entrepreneurship
Starting, building and keeping going.
13 related categories, for example New Business of the Year Award
Growth & Scale
Turning ambition into sustainable progress.
4 related categories, for example Scale-Up Business Owner of the Year Award
Sales & Commercial
Winning customers and building revenue.
6 related categories, for example Sales Director of the Year Award
Marketing & Brand
How brands earn attention and trust.
71 related categories, for example Emerging Social Media Firm of the Year Award
People & Culture
Teams, workplaces and the people who make them work.
16 related categories, for example Business Finance Team of the Year Award
Finance & Investment
Money, risk and investing in growth.
19 related categories, for example Accounting Firm of the Year Award
Technology & AI
What technology is changing, and how.
15 related categories, for example Iconic Technology Influencer
Innovation
New ideas that made a real difference.
9 related categories, for example Business Innovator of the Year Award
International Business
Taking a business across borders.
6 related categories, for example International Development Director of the Year Award
Customer Experience
Why customers choose, stay and recommend.
39 related categories, for example Customer Service Excellence Award
Property & Construction
Building, developing and investing in places.
37 related categories, for example Property Director of the Year Award
Sustainability & Impact
Doing right by people and planet.
32 related categories, for example Emerging Social Media Firm of the Year Award
Professional Services
The advisers businesses rely on.
11 related categories, for example Fast-Growing Law Firm of the Year Award
From idea to stage
- 1
Tell us about you
Your experience, expertise and professional background.
- 2
Tell us what you could share
A story, idea, lesson, expertise or perspective.
- 3
We review the fit
The team considers relevance, audience value and possible formats.
- 4
Explore the format
Where there is a potential fit, we talk through keynote, panel, interview, workshop or another format.
- 5
Shape the contribution
Agree the subject, the audience and what they should take away.
- 6
Prepare
Confirm the format, logistics and expectations.
- 7
Share something worth remembering
Give the room something it will use.
The moment on stage is short. The idea can travel much further.
Before
Shape the idea.
During
Own the moment.
After
Keep the conversation moving.
Beyond
Let the idea keep travelling.
What people ask before they put themselves forward
Do I need to be a professional speaker?+
No. We're interested in what you can bring to the audience, not how many stages you have stood on. Communication ability and suitability still matter, and the team considers both.
Do I need a talk title?+
No. Start with what you have lived, learned or discovered. The talk builder on this page suggests directions, and the team can help shape the contribution with you.
What formats are there?+
It depends on each year's programme. Keynotes, panels, fireside conversations, masterclasses, roundtables, interviews and recorded content are all possibilities; the team will tell you which are running and which could suit you.
How long would I speak for?+
That depends on the format and the programme for the year. The team confirms timings before you commit.
Can I promote my business?+
The strongest speakers give the audience something useful rather than a sales presentation. Your experience and your organisation are part of your story; a pitch isn't.
Is there a cost to speak, or a fee?+
Speaking is considered on its merits, independently of sponsorship or other commercial relationships. Any arrangements for a particular opportunity are agreed with you directly.
How are speakers selected?+
Opportunities are curated on relevance, experience, audience value, originality, format fit, communication ability, event requirements and availability. The awards team keeps discretion over speaker selection.
What happens after I put myself forward?+
The team reviews the fit and gets in touch personally. Registering interest or submitting a profile is not a confirmed slot.
Still exploring?
Register speaker interest
A short form. Tell us who you are and, in a line or two, what you could share. The team will be in touch.
Ready?
Submit my speaker profile
Seven short steps. A speaker reel is optional, never required.
Other ways to be involved (speaking is considered on its own merits)
Also interested in judging?
Explore judgingRepresenting an organisation?
Explore partnershipWant your brand more involved?
Explore sponsorshipServices relevant to the community?
Explore supplyingSpeaking, or another way to share what you know?
Speakers give the room something useful from the stage. If what you bring fits better somewhere else, every route has its own page.
Know someone?
Who has something the room needs to hear?
The founder with the story they never tell, the leader who turned a business around, the expert who makes the complicated useful. Send them this page; they decide whether to put themselves forward.
Someone in the room may need what you already know.
The lesson you learned the hard way.
The decision that changed your business.
The mistake you wouldn't repeat.
The framework that finally worked.
The perspective your industry needs to hear.
You don't need to arrive with a perfect keynote. Start with:
“I have something worth sharing.”
We'll explore whether there's a room, an audience and a format where it could add value.
What could I talk about?