I’ve occasionally made predictions for the new year in public speaking.  When I went back to check on recent years, I realized I had given up predicting the future during the pandemic, because, well, who the heck knew?  But we’re post-pandemic now, or almost, or beginning the end of the pandemic, or something like that, so it’s time to raise my head up out of the foxhole, look around, and duck back down to make these predictions again.  Caveat:  if I actually knew the future, I would be handicapping the 2024 US presidential race rather than predicting trends in public speaking.  So, these are guesses only.  And that you can bank on.

First, the return to in-person speaking will accelerate. Barring another pandemic or a resurgence of the currently ebbing one, the hunger for people to hit the road, get to elegant venues, and meet their potential customers, colleagues, friends, frenemies, and competition will finally overcome all the caution, budget-cutting, and travel restrictions of the last few years.  Already I’m seeing venues begin to fill back up.  Buy your tickets early; airline travel is going to be hideously overcrowded until they hire enough crew and gas up enough planes to handle the load.

Second, speakers will get younger and more diverse.  We’re in the midst of a sea change or a generational shift in the speaking population.  The future favors you if you are under 45, you have a deeply personal, authentic story to tell of overcoming hardship, and you can couple that with some insights into triumphing over a business challenge.  The pandemic will turn out to be a broom that swept the stage clean and created space for the next generation.

Third, speakers of any demographic who can explain technology will find ready audiences.  We are about to jump into a new era of change brought about by AI, big data, and robots.  Have you been waiting a long time for Jetson World?  Well, your wait is almost over, and you’ll want to hear speakers able to weave a convincing story about it.  When I first started my business, in 1997, tech people said that fusion was a generation away, and always would be.  And they said we hadn’t seen anything yet as far as technological change.  I think (in spite of recent announcements about the former) both are still true. When your personal robot first serves you high tea (with the crusts cut off) you’ll thank me for the advance notice.

Fourth, we hit Peak Incivility a little while back and the world will become both more elegant and more civil.  The opposite is the obvious call, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that there will be a return to manners. For speakers that means dressing well, refraining from swearing from the stage, and avoiding off-color comments.  What the heck, if enough people call for a politer discourse, it will happen.  So don’t wait for someone else to ask you. Go first.

Fifth, HR speakers will finally begin to get the respect they deserve.  With a permanent war on talent, and a need for speakers to explain young workers to old bosses, this is an historic time to be explicating the changes in the workforce to the world in speeches that address the concerns of both management and labor.

I’ll check in on myself at the end of the year to see how I did.  What is your crystal speaking ball telling you?  What do you see as the trends for 2023?