For years, the process of finding a speaker for a conference, corporate event, or podcast followed a familiar, often frustrating, script. An organizer would tap their personal network, scroll endlessly through LinkedIn, send a flurry of emails, and make countless phone calls, hoping to stumble upon the perfect voice. It was a time-consuming game of digital roulette, reliant more on serendipity than strategy. But everything is changing. Digital platforms for searching speakers https://speak-up.pro/en that work as a marketplace make the process much easier and faster. 

But a quiet revolution is underway, reshaping the very foundations of public speaking and expert sourcing. The future is not in the noisy, unfiltered streams of conventional social media, but in purpose-built digital platforms designed for one thing: creating meaningful, professional connections between those who have stages and those who can command them.

This shift marks a move from searching to discovering. It’s the difference between sifting through a bustling, chaotic bazaar and walking into a meticulously organized library of expertise. The tools of this new era are not just convenient; they are fundamentally changing how we define and access thought leadership.

The End of the Endless Scroll: Why Social Media Falls Short

LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social networks have long been the default tools for organizer outreach. They provide a vast pool of potential candidates, but that is precisely their weakness. The sheer volume is overwhelming, and the architecture is built for broadcasting, not for curated discovery.

The challenges are manifold:

• The Noise-to-Signal Ratio is Abysmal: An expert’s LinkedIn profile is a marketing tool, often buried under a cascade of posts, comments, and updates from their entire network. Finding a speaker requires wading through irrelevant content to assess a person’s true suitability.
• Discovery is Accidental, Not Intentional: Organizers typically find people they already know, or who are already prominent. The hidden gems—the emerging experts with groundbreaking ideas but smaller followings—remain hidden.
• A Lack of Critical Information: Social profiles rarely list speaking fees, specific talk topics, past engagement videos, or verifiable testimonials from other event organizers. This necessitates a lengthy back-and-forth to uncover basic logistical details.
• It’s Incredibly Time-Consuming: The process is manual, inefficient, and drains resources. What should be a strategic task becomes a chore of cold outreach and guesswork.

The Platform Advantage: Precision, Efficiency, and Trust

Digital speaker platforms have emerged as the antidote to this inefficiency. They are not merely databases; they are intelligent marketplaces built on the principles of transparency, specificity, and mutual respect. Their advantages are transforming the workflow for both organizers and speakers.

1. The Gift of Time (and Sanity)
   The most immediate benefit is the massive reduction in time spent on sourcing. Instead of dedicating weeks to the hunt, organizers can generate a qualified shortlist in hours, or even minutes. Advanced filters allow for drilling down by expertise, industry, location, fee range, speaking style, and past client reviews. This turns a subjective, sprawling task into a targeted, data-informed process.
2. A Universe of Expertise at Your Fingertips
   These platforms aggregate thousands of speakers, creating a centralized, searchable repository of global talent. This democratizes access, allowing a niche podcast or a regional conference to book the same caliber of expert as a major international event. The focus shifts from “who you know” to “what you need to know.”
3. Informed Decision-Making Through Rich Profiles
   A platform profile is a speaker’s professional storefront. It goes far beyond a LinkedIn bio, featuring:

• Curated Talk Titles and Descriptions: Specific, ready-to-present topics.
• Professional Video Reels: Critical for assessing presence, style, and audience engagement.
• Unambiguous Fees and Conditions: Clear pricing structures and logistical requirements.
• Verified Ratings and Reviews: Candid feedback from other organizers provides an invaluable layer of trust and reduces perceived risk.

4. A Two-Way Street of Accountability
   The review system benefits both parties. Organizers can make confident choices based on peer validation, while speakers are motivated to maintain a high standard of professionalism. Simultaneously, speakers can often review organizers, fostering a culture of mutual respect and ensuring that event hosts also honor their commitments.

The New Workflow: How These Platforms Function in Practice

The true genius of these platforms lies in their dual-functionality, serving the distinct needs of both organizers and speakers with elegant efficiency.

For the Organizer: From Passive Search to Active Request

1. The Targeted Search: An organizer begins by using the platform’s sophisticated filters. Need a female AI ethicist based in Europe, with a fee under $10,000, who is fluent in English and has experience with virtual summits? The platform delivers a curated list, complete with all the necessary information to make a comparison.
2. The Public Request: This is the game-changer. If the perfect speaker isn’t immediately found through search, or if an organizer wants to see who is available and interested, they can post a detailed request. This “Call for Speakers” outlines the event’s theme, audience, date, budget, and specific requirements. This flips the model from hunting to being found. Qualified speakers who match the criteria can then proactively apply, often introducing organizers to exceptional talent they would never have discovered on their own.
3. Seamless Contact and Booking: Once the right match is identified, the platform facilitates the connection through secure messaging systems. Many platforms also offer tools for contract management, payment processing, and scheduling, creating a seamless, end-to-end experience that keeps all communication and documents in one place.

For the Speaker: A Stage for Their Expertise

For speakers, these platforms offer liberation from relentless self-promotion on social media.

1. Creating a Focused Profile: Speakers can build a detailed profile that highlights exactly what matters to an organizer: their niche expertise, their speaking experience (from keynotes to workshops), and their specific conditions (in-person, virtual, travel preferences, fees). This acts as a 24/7 pitch, targeted at the right audience: professional event organizers.
2. Being Discovered by the Right Opportunities: Instead of relying on their network, speakers become visible to a global market of organizers actively looking for their skills. They can be found through search algorithms and can proactively apply for events that align perfectly with their brand and interests via the public request feature.
3. Building a Verifiable Reputation: Each successful engagement, followed by a positive review, builds a speaker’s credibility on the platform. This digital track record becomes a powerful asset, making it easier to secure future, higher-profile, and better-paid speaking opportunities.

The migration from social media to specialized digital platforms for speaker discovery is more than a trend; it is a maturation of the industry. It reflects a desire for quality, efficiency, and meaningful connection over brute-force networking.

The future of public speaking is not about who has the loudest voice on social media, but about who has the most relevant message for a specific audience. It’s a future where technology handles the logistics of discovery, freeing both organizers and speakers to focus on what truly matters: crafting powerful, impactful moments of shared learning and inspiration. In this new landscape, the right voice for your stage is no longer a hidden figure in a crowded feed, but a readily discoverable partner, waiting for the right opportunity to be heard.

In today’s world, where we’re constantly plugged in, it’s easy to think that truly unwinding means putting our devices down completely. But the truth is, you don’t have to go offline entirely to find peace and relaxation.

The challenge is learning how to switch off from the constant buzz of notifications, emails and social media while still using your devices in ways that support your wellbeing. It’s also about balancing screentime with other hobbies.

Low-effort, high-reward hobbies

You don’t need to take up something elaborate or time-consuming to get a sense of relaxation. For example, colouring in an adult colouring book can be a surprisingly therapeutic way to disconnect. It requires just enough concentration to pull you away from your phone but not so much that it feels like another task. Or you could try knitting or simple jigsaw puzzles.

The beauty of these hobbies lies in their simplicity. You can fit them into any part of your day and do them at your own pace.

Playing for fun

Remember the days when you played games just for the fun of it? In a world where everything seems to come with a goal or outcome, it’s refreshing to bring back play for play’s sake.

You don’t need to commit to competitive gaming. Sometimes, simple activities like a casual game can be an ideal way to let your mind switch off. It’s light-hearted, fun and offers a break from your regular digital routine. Online bingo is easy to play, requires minimal brainpower and doesn’t drag you into any high-stress scenarios.

The key to unwinding here is the lack of pressure. Play simply for enjoyment, without worrying about winning or impressing anyone.

Evening rituals

Establishing a relaxing evening ritual is one of the best ways to gradually transition from the fast pace of your day to a peaceful night’s sleep. The aim is to create a routine that signals to your body that it’s time to unwind, without digital distractions.

Set a time to switch off your devices. Instead of scrolling through your phone, choose a book, listen to calming music or meditate for a few minutes.

Balancing online and offline hobbies

Finding the balance between online and offline hobbies is essential to staying mentally healthy in a hyperconnected world. It’s easy to get caught up in the vast world of digital entertainment, but it’s also important to make space for offline activities that can recharge you in different ways.

Incorporate something tactile into your routine, like gardening, cooking or painting. These offline activities pull your attention away from screens and offer a much-needed sensory experience that helps you reconnect with the present.

If you enjoy your online hobbies but feel the need to take a step back, try limiting screen time or setting specific boundaries around how long you’ll engage in digital activities.

BNP Paribas is preparing a major reshuffle of its insurance footprint in Belgium, announcing a €3 billion two-part transaction that will lift its stake in Ageas — the country’s largest insurer — to 22.5% from 14.9%.

The move, confirmed by both companies on Monday, positions Europe’s biggest bank by assets as the dominant anchor shareholder in one of Belgium’s most influential financial firms.

At the center of the deal is a swap that effectively consolidates Ageas’ control over its core insurance engine while giving BNP Paribas a firmer hold on the parent company. BNP Paribas will sell its 25% stake in AG Insurance to Ageas for €1.9 billion. To simultaneously deepen its influence at the group level, the French bank — acting through its insurance arm, BNP Paribas Cardif — will invest €1.1 billion into Ageas at an agreed price of €60 per share.

Ageas’ stock closed at €56.9 on Friday, giving BNP a slight premium but also securing its position with enough heft to shape the company’s future.

For Ageas, this is a transformative moment. AG Insurance is the beating heart of its Belgian operations, and full control of the unit gives it maximum autonomy to push ahead with long-term strategic plans, particularly in life insurance, pensions, and corporate risk. The transaction also allows Ageas to reorganize capital allocation across the group, which it signaled by raising its 2027 free cash flow target from €2.3 billion to €2.6 billion and lifting its shareholder distribution goal from €2 billion to €2.2 billion.

BNP Paribas, meanwhile, is betting on the long runway of bancassurance growth in Belgium — a segment that combines banking and insurance products under a single distribution umbrella and has been a profitable pillar for the group for years through BNP Paribas Fortis.

“We see significant potential in the growth prospects of BNP Paribas Fortis’ bancassurance business through the partnership with AG Insurance,” CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafé said, casting the deal as a pivot toward influence rather than direct operational ownership.

The pivot includes a renewed exclusive bancassurance agreement between BNP Paribas Fortis and AG Insurance, locking in future distribution and revenue streams. On top of that, AG Insurance and BNP Paribas Asset Management will form a new investment partnership, extending the collaboration deeper into the group’s asset-gathering machinery. Ageas also confirmed the bank will gain the right to nominate one director to its board.

A Strategic Reset Years in the Making

This transaction caps years of repositioning by BNP Paribas in Belgium. The bank has steadily strengthened its influence in Ageas, becoming the largest shareholder last year after acquiring a 9% stake from China’s Fosun Group — a divestment that reflected Beijing’s tightening capital controls and Fosun’s global retrenchment.

For Ageas, the journey back to full control of AG Insurance is equally significant as the company has spent more than a decade rebuilding its global footprint after the collapse of its predecessor, Fortis Group, during the 2008 financial crisis — an event that eventually led to the breakup of the Fortis banking and insurance businesses. Ageas emerged from that restructuring carrying strong Belgian roots but with a need to stretch beyond its home market.

Monday’s deals show Ageas refocusing and strengthening at home, even as it continues running major businesses in Asia and Europe.

Financial Impact and Long-Term Implications

BNP Paribas expects the transaction to deliver a net capital gain after tax of €820 million in 2026, along with €40 million in additional recurring net income annually. Though modest in the context of a banking giant that posts several billion euros in yearly profit, the move deepens the bank’s long-term insurance profitability and secures a strategic position in one of Europe’s most robust insurance markets.

Ageas’ new cash flow targets signal confidence that greater control of AG Insurance will drive stronger returns across the group. The Belgian firm has traditionally been conservative in its forward guidance, so the upward revisions underscore how central AG Insurance is to its earnings engine.

However, the deal still needs regulatory approval and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026. If completed, it will formalize a new era in the long-running relationship between Belgium’s dominant bank and its dominant insurer — a partnership reshaped to give both sides more focus, more flexibility, and a firmer footing in a shifting European financial industry.

BNP Paribas will sit deeper inside Ageas’ shareholding structure, Ageas will fully command its core insurance subsidiary, and both will tighten their alliance in bancassurance and asset management — a structure that could influence Belgian financial services for years.