From AI breakthroughs reshaping the workforce to global political shifts and somehow….a Louvre heist? 2025 was a year that kept us on our toes. As we step into 2026, the world of speaking and events is evolving right alongside it - more strategic and more intentional than ever before.
Each year, we review our events database to find insights and trends from the past 12 months. This year, we analyzed more than 2,500 events to uncover what's working, what's changing, and what it all means for PR teams, speakers, and event organizers heading into the new year.
How has event seasonality changed?
Although the world of events is busy all year round, there are times when more events take place, calls for papers (CFPs) are open, and speaker invitations happen. Here is a snapshot of 2025 event seasonality trends by month, highlighting high-volume periods for events, CFPs, and secured opportunities for our speakers.
This data shows a clear trend in event and speaking seasonality. As we’ve seen year-over-year, the first major spike occurs between March and June, and the second spike occurs between September and October. Down periods occur in July/ August and December/January when things slow down for various holidays and vacations. An interesting observation this year is that the spring season keeps ramping up in event volume. While the fall remains a strong second wave, the total event numbers are staying more consistent year-over-year.
One category that does not follow this trend? Speaking opportunities secured. cred sources thought leadership engagements for speakers consistently throughout the year.
What other trends are top of mind?
Drawing from lessons learned and trends from the past year, here are a few key trends that will impact speaking and events this year:
Outreach quality > quantity: With more than 100 new tech unicorns minted in 2025, fueled by the AI revolution, there are a lot of exciting and emerging thought leaders on the speaking circuit. And with that, agenda slots are more competitive than ever. Success in 2026 will come from strategic relationship-building and targeted pitching. This means PR teams need to do their homework - researching event themes, past speaker lineups, and specific session gaps - before hitting send. Beyond the biggest of headliners, organizers are prioritizing speakers who can prove their relevance with concrete examples, as well as a strong online presence and speaking samples.
Human connection = the differentiator: As “sloppy” AI content floods social feeds and automated tools become ubiquitous, attendees are craving authentic human experiences more than ever. We expect events to lean heavily into facilitating genuine connections - e.g. structured networking sessions and interactive roundtables. Event organizers recognize that their competitive advantage lies in curating experiences that feel refreshingly human in an increasingly digital landscape.
Speaker assets for amplification are becoming non-negotiable: Event planners recognize that empowering speakers with high-quality promotional materials extends their event's reach and impact far beyond the conference floor. This includes providing custom graphics, quote cards, and short videos optimized for social sharing pre-event, as well as high-quality session recordings for all stages (not just the main stage) post-event. This investment serves everyone - speakers gain valuable content to build their profile, and organizers benefit from organic amplification that reaches new audiences.
To learn more about what’s top of mind for event organizers - check out the recent 2025 trends and recap blog by our event management team. Spoiler alert: some major takeaways from the last 12 months include the rise of micro events, the growing importance of pre-event engagement, and evolving expectations around attendee touch points.
Spring is the season for events and speaking. If you're a PR team or speaker planning your year, now is the time to start thinking about speaking placements.
Interested in working with cred on your speaking or event program in 2026? Get in touch! Want to keep up with more speaking and event trends like this? Subscribe to our newsletter.
