How to Hire the Right Keynote Speaker for Your Corporate Event
Every year, thousands of meeting planners make the same mistake. They start the speaker search by asking, "Who would be cool to have?" instead of asking, "What does our audience actually need to walk away with?" That one wrong question leads to bloated speaker fees,...
Google’s AI Just Listed Me as a Human Connection Speaker. Here’s Why That Matters Right Now.
Something interesting happened this week... I searched "human connection keynote speaker" on Google and the AI listed me in the results. Not buried somewhere on page three, but in the AI-generated response at the top. I'll be honest: I took a screenshot. Not because...
The Skill AI Can’t Automate (And Nobody’s Talking About It)
Most organizations are racing to adopt AI tools while quietly losing something they cannot get back. The hallway conversations. The serendipitous collisions. The relationships that actually drive trust, retention, and results. We've become efficient strangers. In this...
Efficient Strangers: What We’re Losing While AI Gets More Efficient
We made a deal with ourselves when AI tools started getting good. The deal was this: let the machines handle the transactional stuff so we could focus on the human stuff. The routine emails, the meeting summaries, the first drafts nobody wanted to write anyway. Hand...
The Biggest Conference Trend of 2027 Isn’t AI… It’s Human Interaction (H.I.)
By Thom Singer, CSP | Professional Keynote Speaker & CEO, Austin Technology Council What Is the Next Big Business Trend After AI? I'm going to make a prediction that will annoy the AI-obsessed corners of the business world: the biggest topic in the meetings and...
For 20 Years They Called It “Soft Skills.” Now Everyone’s Writing Books About It.
I've spent two decades speaking about human connection, trust, and building real relationships in business. For most of that time, the reaction from a lot of people was polite but dismissive. "Soft skills." Nice to have. Not the real work. Meanwhile, every conference...
I Told Meeting Planners to Remove a Session. Here’s What They Said.
Earlier this week I posted something on LinkedIn that I expected would ruffle a few feathers. The gist: stop cramming your conference agenda with more sessions. Remove one. Replace it with nothing. Let people talk to each other. I've given over a thousand...
Nice vs. Kind
Often I hear people say some version of this: "Don't be nice. Be kind." It gets said like it is deep wisdom. Like it is some advanced leadership philosophy. Like "nice" is weak, fake, soft, or naive, while "kind" is honest, strong, and clear. I think that whole...
Human Interaction Is Not a Soft Skill, It Is the Competitive Advantage in an AI-Driven World
For years, people have treated human interaction like it is some nice extra. A bonus. A leadership add on. A warm and fuzzy concept that belongs in culture conversations, but not in serious discussions about growth, innovation, client loyalty, talent retention, or...
AI Readiness Is Not Enough, We Need Human Readiness
Why employers, associations, and communities must prepare people, not just adopt technology Artificial intelligence is changing core parts of our world, and the changes are coming fast. Every day, new conversations emerge about AI readiness, workforce transformation,...