# Corporate event speaker: when networking is the main goal

Author: Marin Niehues, Stage Starter · Published: 2026-10-02
Topic: Becoming a Speaker (https://www.stage-starter.de/en/blog/topic/becoming-a-speaker/)
Source: https://www.stage-starter.de/en/blog/corporate-event-speaker-invitario-study/

Invitario, a provider of attendee management software with offices in Berlin and Vienna, published the [fifth Invitario event study](https://invitario.com/invitario-eventstudie-2026-veroeffentlicht/) on 1 October 2026, based on a survey of 171 event managers in Germany and Austria carried out between June and August 2026. The respondents' companies now hold a median of only 15 business events a year, down from 20 in 2024, and six in ten say their event budget is flat despite rising costs. For two thirds, networking is the main goal of their events, above all with existing customers. For you as a speaker, this means there are fewer programme slots at corporate events, and that a talk counts most there when it gets guests talking to each other. We look at how to position yourself for customer events and companies' expert evenings, and how to reach the marketing and event teams who decide on the programme.

**Key points at a glance**
- The respondents' companies hold a median of 15 business events a year, compared with 20 in 2024.
- 14 per cent plan fewer events in 2026, compared with 8 per cent in 2024.
- For 3 in 10 respondents the event budget is falling in 2026, and for 6 in 10 it is flat.
- For two thirds, networking is the main goal, and the most important audience is existing customers.
- A third are planning more in-person events than last year, while virtual and hybrid events continue to decline.

## The Invitario event study 2026: companies are planning fewer business events

Invitario has published its event study every year since 2022, and the 2026 edition surveyed people who are responsible for business events in companies. According to the [study page](https://info.invitario.com/eventstudie-2026), the survey was open to anyone and anonymous, so the results are not representative. Invitario analysed the data together with Dr Andreas Baierl of the Department of Statistics and Operations Research at the University of Vienna.

The most striking figure concerns the number of events. According to the press release, it has fallen steadily since 2024 from 20 to 15 events per company per year, measured as the median. At 14 per cent, almost twice as many respondents as in 2024 plan fewer events this year, up from 8 per cent back then, and for a third, multi-day events have become shorter.

Behind this lies pressure on budgets. 3 in 10 respondents have to manage with a smaller event budget in 2026, and for 6 in 10 the funds are flat even though costs are rising. One in two feels greater pressure to justify business events internally, and for half of them their own workload has grown over the past twelve months.

**What the Invitario event study 2026 measures**
- 15 | business events per company per year as the median, after 20 in 2024
- 14 % | plan fewer events in 2026, compared with 8 % in 2024
- 53 % | use networking events, and just as many hold events for employees
- 87 % | expect business events to stay as important or become more important

Respondents still have few doubts about the format itself. 87 per cent expect business events to remain as relevant or to gain in importance, and Invitario co-founder Stefan Grossek sums it up like this:

**Business-Events bleiben für Unternehmen das zentrale Kommunikationsinstrument. (Business events remain the central communication tool for companies.)**
-- Stefan Grossek, co-founder of Invitario, in the press release on the study

## Networking as the main goal: what corporate events expect from speakers

The formats respondents use most are networking events and events for employees such as team building or incentives, each at 53 per cent. For two thirds, networking is still the main goal of business events. According to the study, the focus is on maintaining relationships with existing customers. In line with this, a third are planning more in-person events than last year.

The press release says nothing about speakers or talks. What follows is our assessment. For the host, a customer event or a partner day is a tool for looking after customers. Guests come to meet people they know or ought to know, and the talk provides the occasion they talk about afterwards. At an industry conference, a programme committee judges you mainly on the quality of your content. At a corporate event, the event team also has to answer a question internally when it justifies the event: did the guests talk more with each other and with the host after your talk?

**At a corporate event whose goal is networking, the host judges your talk by whether their customers then get talking with each other and with the host's team.**

As the number of events falls, so does the number of programme slots. When a company cuts dates, the figures in the study suggest that the meetings with existing customers are the most likely to survive, and that is the audience the host values most.

## Corporate event talk: how to position yourself as a speaker who sparks conversation

Everything starts with the topic. Find the question that is currently on the minds of your host's customers, and build your talk so that it structures this question and leaves enough open for people to carry on at the standing tables. With a talk on supply chains at a logistics provider's customer event, you have reached your goal when guests compare their own experience of supply bottlenecks over dinner and bring in the host as a conversation partner.

The structure follows from this. Plan a compact version of 20 to 25 minutes for a corporate event, because a third of respondents say multi-day events are getting shorter, and an evening format rarely leaves more room. End with a question that stays on the last slide and that every guest can answer for their own company. If the host plans tables or groups, give them two discussion questions to put out there. A moderated [Q&A](/en/blog/why-the-q-and-a-matters/) is often the bridge into networking at corporate events and gives guests their first talking points while still in the room.

The line between expertise and advertising demands particular care here. The guests are your host's customers, and a talk that promotes your own offer disturbs the host's relationship with them. How audiences draw this line is described in [Expert talk or sales pitch](/en/blog/expert-talk-or-sales-pitch/). Your visibility grows in the conversations after the talk, when guests approach you with a question about your topic.

## Who decides on speakers at corporate events

Industry conferences usually choose their speakers through a programme committee that reviews submissions to a call for papers, while corporate events almost never use this route. There, the marketing or event team decides, often together with sales, and invitations come about through personal contacts and direct enquiries. How to approach organisers without a call for papers is covered in [Contacting conference organisers directly](/en/blog/contact-conference-organisers-directly/).

For half of the respondents the workload has grown, and for 2027, 40 per cent name efficiency gains and process automation as their priority. An enquiry that saves such a team work therefore stands a better chance than one that first triggers follow-up questions. Send one page with a title and a short description, name the question guests will discuss after your talk, and add a short text the team can use in its invitation.

The easiest way onto these stages is through companies that already know you. If your own clients hold events for their customers, you are a familiar name to them with a topic that suits their market. The same applies to partners with their own partner days.

## A calculation with open assumptions: how many corporate events are open to you

The study measures the number of events among respondents, so here we apply it to your market as an assumption. Assume that 30 companies in your field hold business events for an audience that suits your topic. At 20 events per company, that would be 600 dates a year, and at the new median of 15 you arrive at 450. If one in ten of these dates includes an external expert talk, your possible opportunities fall from 60 to 45 a year, a quarter fewer.

From this you can derive a working plan. Assume you want to give six talks at corporate events a year, and one in eight event teams you approach directly invites you. Then you need 48 enquiries a year, or four a month. With an assumed 60 guests per event, you stand in front of 360 people a year whom each host has invited as their most important customers. All of these values are set by us, and you should measure them against your own experience. The effort stays manageable. Your audience also arrives already sorted, because the host has chosen the guests by criteria that matter to you as well.

## Five steps to your talk at a corporate event

1. Choose your hosts: List the companies whose customers suit your topic, and start with those that already know you.
2. Align the topic with the audience: Phrase the question that is currently on the minds of this host's guests, and build your talk around it.
3. Prepare a compact version: Have a 20 to 25 minute version ready that ends with an open question for the networking.
4. Send your enquiry with material: Put the short description and discussion questions on one page, together with an invitation text.
5. Follow up after the event: Send the host a short summary with the questions from the room for their own follow-up, and get in touch with the guests you spoke to, as described in [Follow-up after a conference](/en/blog/follow-up-after-a-conference/).

**Stage Starter and your route onto the stage**
At Stage Starter we develop your positioning and your talk with you and research the stages that suit your topic and your ideal clients. In the Managed Services we submit in your name and follow up until you are on stage. In the coaching programme our Stage Experts support you in live calls, and our network of speakers and entrepreneurs recommends one another. Marin Niehues, the founder of Stage Starter, has received more than 100 invitations on six continents. In an [initial consultation](/en/erstgespraech/) we work out which route suits you.

**The Invitario event study 2026 describes companies that hold fewer business events and focus them on networking with their existing customers. Speakers who build their talk as the occasion for these conversations and send event teams an enquiry with ready-made material fit into this planning, even if there are fewer dates overall.**

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the Invitario event study 2026?

It is the fifth edition of the annual study by the software provider Invitario among event managers in Germany and Austria. 171 respondents took part in the open online survey between June and August 2026, and the results, which are not representative, were published on 1 October 2026.

### How many business events do companies hold each year?

According to the study, the median is 15 events per company per year, down from 20 in 2024.

### Does the Invitario study say anything about speakers?

No. The press release contains no information on speakers or talks. Everything said about them in this article is our assessment of the figures on event goals and budgets.

### How do I get to speak at a corporate event?

Through a direct enquiry to the marketing or event team, because corporate events almost never run a call for papers. It works most easily with clients and partners who already know you.

### How long should a talk at a corporate event be?

The study does not give talk lengths. In our assessment, a version of 20 to 25 minutes works well, because it leaves enough time for the networking that two thirds of event teams name as their main goal.