---
title: "What to Look for on a Speaker Brief | Thomas Anglero"
description: "  Rolled-up sleeves and scars: what to look for on a speaker brief When you are scanning speaker briefs, the thing that separates a practitioner from a performer is not the job titles or the..."
url: https://anglero.com/2026/06/15/what-to-look-for-on-a-speaker-brief/
date: 2026-06-15
modified: 2026-06-15
author: "Thomas Anglero"
image: https://anglero.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/thomas-anglero-keynote-stage.jpg
categories: ["Uncategorized"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# What to Look for on a Speaker Brief | Thomas Anglero

[![Thomas Anglero delivering a keynote to a leadership audience](https://anglero.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/thomas-anglero-keynote-stage-683x1024.jpg)](https://anglero.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/thomas-anglero-keynote-stage.jpg)*Thomas Anglero on stage with a leadership audience.*

 

# Rolled-up sleeves and scars: what to look for on a speaker brief

When you are scanning speaker briefs, the thing that separates a practitioner from a performer is not the job titles or the book. It is evidence that the person has actually done something, taken a real risk, and carries the scars of it. A polished CV full of senior titles tells you they once held positions. It does not tell you they will move your audience.

## A book is no longer a mark of authority

Anybody can write a book now. People are having models write entire books for them, and [Amazon is being flooded](https://authorsguild.org/news/ai-driving-new-surge-of-sham-books-on-amazon/) with tens of thousands of them a day. So a book on its own proves nothing.

I wrote [mine](/about/) years before any of this, in the days when IBM Watson was an enterprise tool and not something on everyone’s phone. More than half of it was written on my laptop at airport gates, between keynotes, while the AI thoughts from the talk I had just given were still fresh in my head. That is not a claim of authority either. It is just evidence of having been in it. Evidence is the thing to look for.

## What actually belongs on a brief

What has this person produced? What risk did they take, and what came of it? They do not need to be a chief executive. A nineteen year old who tried something reckless and failed, but can tell you what it taught them, has more on a brief than a decorated executive who never put anything on the line. Look for rolled-up sleeves and a few scars. Someone who has lost a job, lost funding, remortgaged the house on an idea, or stayed up through the night to sell something before morning, because that is who your audience is when they are stressed and looking for answers.

On my own brief, the work I am proudest of is the handful of moments when I was [among the first to try something](/speaking-topics/) that might not have worked. Every one of them came from taking a risk, not from holding a title.

## The smooth performer is forgettable

I do not want someone slick on a stage. Smooth is forgettable. The people in your audience are carrying real pressure, and they do not respond to a rehearsed performer. They respond to someone who has been where they are and came out the other side with something to say.

## When the briefs are spread across your desk

Do not be pulled towards the most decorated CV. Look for the person who has actually risked something, because that is the one who can stand in front of a room of stressed leaders and move them. Your audience does not need another smooth talker. They need someone who has been where they are.

If you are choosing a speaker and want a fuller guide, here is [what to look for when you book](/speaker-selection-guide/). And if you want to see the difference before you shortlist, watch one talk to a room. [See what that looks like on a stage.](/media/)

## Questions this article answers

- What should you look for on a keynote speaker’s brief or bio?
- Is writing a book a sign of real authority for a speaker?
- How do you tell a practitioner from a performer on paper?

 

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*Thomas Anglero is a Strategic AI Advisor, keynote speaker and author of Intro to Artificial Intelligence. He has delivered over 450 keynotes across 30 countries for organisations including IBM, the WHO, the World Government Summit and the European Commission. He founded the IBM Watson AI Lab for Cancer at the Oslo Cancer Cluster and closed over $500 million in enterprise transformation deals as CTO and Chief Innovation Officer at Cognizant.*