EXPERIENCE
SPEAKER SLAM LIVE
10 speakers. 5 minutes. 1 stage. Join 200+ people for an evening of powerful stories, real emotion, and the kind of connection you don't forget.
10 speakers. 5 minutes. 1 stage. Join 200+ people for an evening of powerful stories, real emotion, and the kind of connection you don't forget.
Two minutes. Everything you need to know before your first Speaker Slam®.
Five qualifiers and the Grand Slam finals. Each competition features 10 speakers, a live audience of 200+, and a livestream for those who can't make it in person.
You'll walk into a packed room of 200+ people who are there for the same reason you are: to hear something real.
10 speakers take the stage with just 5 minutes each to share a powerful, life-altering message drawn from their own story. Some will make you laugh. Some will make you cry. All of them will make you feel something.
Four industry judges score each speech across six categories. Event producers, media professionals, speaker agents, book publishers. People who know storytelling and work with speakers every day. They're watching closely.
But the real experience is what happens in the room. You'll cheer for your favorites, connect with the people around you, and leave with more empathy and purpose than you walked in with.
Doors open at 6:30 PM. Grab food, drinks, and a seat. The competition starts at 7:30 PM sharp. Expect to wrap up around 10:00 PM.
Each speech is scored out of 100 points by four industry judges across six categories. Here's what they're looking for.
Is the message clear, concise, and meaningful? Does the audience walk away knowing exactly what the speaker stood for?
Is the story personal, vivid, and emotionally resonant? Does it pull you in and make you feel like you were there?
Did it spark insight, inspiration, or change? Does the audience leave thinking differently about their own life?
Does the speaker bring presence, originality, and power? Something that makes you unable to look away?
Was it engaging through humor, props, or performance? Did the speaker hold the room's attention from start to finish?
Did they deliver with confidence, authenticity, and control? Were they commanding without being rehearsed?
Speaker Slam® hosts five competitions every season. The top two speakers from each qualifier earn a coveted spot at the year-end finale: The Grand Slam.
That's where the best of the best return to compete for the title of Inspirational Speaker of the Year and a prize package valued up to $50,000.
It's the biggest night of the Speaker Slam® calendar. A packed house at a premium Toronto venue, the highest stakes, and the most powerful stories of the year on one stage.
You've seen what happens in the room. Now picture yourself on that stage. Season 10 applications are open.