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 I’m easily impressed by algorithm quirks. But because of the timing. And the timing is everything right now. This topic is getting more traction than I have seen since I wrote my first book “Some Assembly Required: How to Make, Keep, and Grow Your Business Relationships” in 2005
This Topic of Human Connection Is About to Explode
For twenty years I’ve been standing on stages talking about relationships, trust, and human connection as competitive advantages. For most of that time, I’ve had to make the business case from scratch. “Soft skills” got eyerolls in boardrooms. Networking was seen as something you did when you needed a job, not a discipline you practiced every quarter.
That’s changing fast. And the evidence is stacking up in a way that’s hard to ignore.
Look at what’s being published in 2026 from major publishing houses and credible authors:
- Adam Grant — Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World (October)
- Angela Duckworth — Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best (September)
- Ryan Roslansky & Aneesh Raman — Open to Work — already a New York Times bestseller (March)
- Kate Murphy — Why We Click: The Emerging Science of Interpersonal Synchrony (January)
- Dan Coyle — Flourish (February)
- Brené Brown — Strong Ground (2026)
- Marcus Buckingham — Design Love In (Harvard Business Review Press)
- Asif Sadiq — Belonging at Work (August)
- John Burrows & Seth Rachlin — Social Capital at Work (November)
That’s not a trend. That’s a wave.
The research community, the publishing world, and the mainstream business conversation are all landing in the same place at the same time: the human side of work isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s the thing in our tech overloaded world.
I’ve Been Here Since 2005
I started speaking professionally on this topic in 2005. Not because it was trendy… it wasn’t. Because I believed it mattered and I couldn’t stop talking about it.
Since then I’ve delivered more than 1,200 keynotes. Written 12 books on relationships, networking, and human connection. Hosted hundreds of podcast conversations with business leaders. Gave two TEDx talks. Earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation from the National Speakers Association.
The whole time, the topic was considered “soft.”
I’m not complaining. But I will say this: the people calling it soft were wrong, and the research catching up to that conclusion is satisfying in a very specific way.
Why the AI Search Result Is Actually Meaningful
Google’s AI doesn’t randomly pull names. It’s synthesizing information from across the web: websites, articles, directories, reviews, content… and surfacing sources it considers relevant and authoritative for a given search.
Showing up when someone searches “human connection speaker” means the body of work is registering. The 1,200+ presentations. The books. The podcast. The blog posts. The LinkedIn content. All of it is compounding.
That’s how visibility works. It’s not one viral moment. It’s consistent presence over time in a specific lane, until the algorithms (and the humans) start associating your name with your topic.
What This Means If You’re Planning an Event
If you’re a meeting planner, conference organizer, or event professional looking for a speaker on human connection, trust, relationships in the workplace, or the human side of AI… this is the moment. The topic has never had more relevance, more research backing it up, or more audience appetite.
I’ve been doing this work for two decades. I know how to make it land with a room.
The keynote I deliver isn’t a research summary. It’s applied. It’s built around a framework: The Human Interaction Blueprint™. It that gives audiences something concrete to take back to work. And I stay for the whole event, not just my session.
If you’re looking at your 2026 or 2027 conference program and thinking this topic belongs on the agenda, let’s talk.
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Thom Singer, CSP, is a keynote speaker on human connection, trust, and relationships as competitive advantage. He has delivered 1,200+ presentations, written 12 books, and is the host of the Making Waves at C-Level podcast. He is also CEO of the Austin Technology Council.