To me, Outspoken means being fearless and not worried about criticism and noise. It means speaking your truth and being willing and able to back it up. It means believing in your idea, your work, your worth. Speak. Express yourself. Be proud of your research, your experiences, your ideas. Don’t be hindered by or afraid of ruffling feathers.

We wouldn’t have made it to our fifth anniversary without you. We challenged ourselves in 2016 to build an agency that looked and acted differently than what we had been witnessing in the industry, and we hoped we’d gain support in doing so. Your business and your continued support show that more of this is needed—more diversity, more equity, more inclusion, more balanced representation on stages and on screens. Let’s keep being outspoken and sharing diverse ideas with your audience. We look forward to our next five years of working together with your organization, however turbulent the waters may be. Looks like we can get through pretty much anything together! But, we think we all deserve some smooth sailing for at least a little while, right? Cheers to that, and the next five years.

The entire brainstorming process for our Oath to both our Clients and our Speakers was a fun practice in fully formulating what we stand for as an agency, but the Speaker Oath, in particular, was even more exciting because one of our speakers was actually facilitating the conversation. We were so lucky to have Soon Yu guide us through this process to help differentiate ourselves from our competitors and friends at other agencies. When we sign a speaker, we are committed to advocating for what they stand for. We commit plenty of "sweat equity" building out their speaking brand, prospecting new clients that we feel would be a great fit or are on their goal list, and giving space to hit the reset button if we’re not getting it right.

We know the speaking industry could be a lot like high school cafeterias—spaces filled with cliches and stereotypes and people who have a lot of opinions about which speakers are the best. But, we’re here to change that. At Outspoken, we value diversity. We think all our speakers deserve a place at the table and are committed to finding the best, most exciting talent to add to our ever-growing roster. Click the links below our map to explore our speakers’ areas of expertise!

Transparency is at the forefront of how we run our agency. When it comes to quoting fees and expenses—we like to be upfront about all of those details. And sometimes we might not have a speaker on our roster who is going to be the best match for you. In those instances, we collaborate with other agencies to find you the right match (referred to in the industry as co-brokering). Some agencies split commission with us, and others want us to add onto the fee. In the adding on situation, it would be more economical for you to go through the other agency (than through us). We never practice the “adding on” approach when an agency wants to co-broker with us (as we believe this disincentivizes collaboration within the industry and lacks transparency). If another agency forces us to add-on a commission for their speaker, we’ll tell you and give you the option to work with the other agency. Think of it as Buddy in Elf when he’s directing parents to different stores that have better deals on toys. Building trust with our clients is worth more to us than losing a deal, and, it’s just the right thing to do.