Editorial & trust standards
Our editorial standards, in the open.
Booking a keynote speaker is a real financial decision, so what we publish has to be trustworthy. This page sets out how Headliner compiles a speaker profile, how we handle fees, who stands behind the work, and how we fix mistakes. It is the standard our whole site — every profile, guide, and shortlist — is held to. For the research method in more depth, see our research methodology.
Last updated: July 2026
How we compile a speaker profile
Public sources, cited, checked, and dated
Every profile in our speaker roster is built to the same four rules.
01
We build every profile from public, verifiable sources.
Each speaker profile is compiled from public, verifiable material — official sites, published interviews, books and recorded talks, reputable press, and public event records. We do not publish a claim we cannot trace to a source, and we do not present private or scraped personal data as fact.
02
We cite our work and keep it current.
Our researched guides carry a numbered list of the public references behind them, so any reader can check the reasoning. Profiles are stamped with an “Updated” date and refreshed on a schedule — priority pages most often — because roles, recent work, and availability all change.
03
We fact-check against the primary source before we publish.
Speaker content is written to a documented dossier standard and checked against the primary source before it goes live. We would rather ship fewer pages that are accurate and accountable than a wall of unchecked, machine-generated text.
04
We shortlist through a rigorous, data-informed process.
When we recommend speakers we do not send a catalog dump. We study the audience, the agenda, and the outcome you are after, then match speakers on genuine fit through a rigorous, data-informed shortlisting process — and we show the reasoning behind the names.
How we handle fees
We never invent a number
For public figures we show a cited public fee range or “Fee on request” — never a made-up figure. A real speaker fee moves with the date, the format, travel, and negotiation, so quoting a stale number for a named person would be misleading. When our guides discuss pricing, they give researched tier ranges and the methodology behind them, not a specific fee for a specific individual.
Availability is confirmed per event, and we never imply an exclusivity we do not have. The accurate figure for your date and format is always a current, confirmed quote — which is one message away. For how the market breaks down, read our guide to what a keynote speaker costs.
Who stands behind the work
Named accountability, not anonymous text
Our researched articles carry an author credit and a separate “Reviewed by” credit — not an anonymous byline. Authorship sits with the Headliner editorial team, and reviews are performed against the documented process on our methodology page.
When we designate a named editor for a section of the site, that person will be credited by name, with their real background — because a credential is only worth something if it is real. We will not attach a fabricated author or an invented job title to a page to look more authoritative than we are.
What we will not do
The trust signals we refuse to fake
We do not fabricate testimonials, invent awards or memberships, display “as seen in” logos we have not earned, or manufacture a relationship with a speaker we do not represent. We do not invent fees, and we do not imply exclusivity we do not hold. A false trust signal is the fastest way to lose trust — so if we cannot show it truthfully, we do not show it.
Corrections
Found something wrong? Tell us.
We work hard to be accurate and we still get things wrong sometimes — a fact moves, a role changes, a source turns out to be mistaken. When it happens we want to fix it quickly and openly.
If you spot an inaccuracy on any speaker profile or article — including a speaker or their representative who wants a detail corrected — let us know and we will review it against the public record. When a correction is warranted we update the page and revise its “Updated” date. We would always rather be corrected than be wrong.
Report a correctionStandards you can check. Speakers you can trust.
Tell us about your event and we’ll come back within four business hours with a researched, best-fit shortlist — with the reasoning shown.