Most speakers are leaving money — and bookings — on the table simply because they're not collecting data. In this episode, professional speaker and Talkadot co-founder Arel Moodie reveals why audience feedback is the single most powerful tool for booking more speaking engagements, and how a free software tool makes collecting it effortless. Arel has spoken to more than 750,000 people across 48 states and 5 countries, and he built Talkadot specifically to give speakers the kind of third-party-verified social proof that event planners actually trust.
Peter and Arel walk through why event planners need data before they'll commit to booking, when and how to deploy your survey so audiences actually complete it, how to use feedback to identify blind spots in your presentation, and how to capture leads directly from your audience — automatically, the moment you leave the stage. Whether you're just starting out or have years of experience, this episode delivers a practical, no-cost strategy that can transform your speaking business one talk at a time.
Welcome to Public Speaking with Peter George. Do you want to be calm, confident, and credible every time you speak in public? Then stay tuned as we discuss public speaking tips, techniques, and tactics that help you increase your impact, influence, and income.
Arel Moodie is the Disney+ host of Family Reboot, a bestselling author, and a professional speaker who has spoken in 48 states and 5 countries to over 750,000 people while generating millions of dollars from his speaking business. He is also the co-founder of Talkadot, a free software tool designed to help speakers collect audience data, gather testimonials, pull leads, and book more speaking engagements. Here's my conversation with Arel Moodie.
Why Data Is the Missing Piece for Speakers
Peter: How can speakers make it easier for event planners to say yes to booking them?
Arel: Think about how people make buying decisions today. If you jump on Amazon, the first thing you look at is reviews. If you're booking an Airbnb, same thing. Reviews are third-party verifications from people who have no skin in the game. Every speaker website says I'm the greatest speaker in the world. No one ever says they were 15th best at a conference. So how do we help event planners say yes? Start gathering quantitative data — one-to-five-star reviews — along with qualitative feedback. That separates you from everyone else.
Understanding the Event Planner's Perspective
Arel: If an event planner books you and you fail, they could lose their job. So they don't want to hire someone unless they feel an overabundance of confidence. They need objective, third-party-verified data — not just your word for it. Think of it this way: if you needed to hire a babysitter and you couldn't get a recommendation from a friend, would you choose someone with zero reviews or 7,000 five-star reviews? That level of verified social proof is completely missing in the speaking industry.
The single best way to book more speaking engagements is to have someone in your audience who can book speakers — so you speak.
How Talkadot Works
Arel: With Talkadot, all you do is get a QR code we provide and insert it into your slide deck. Right before your closing, ask your audience: by a show of hands, how many people felt this presentation was valuable? When hands go up, they have the highest level of reciprocity for you. Then say: the greatest way to pay me back is to let me know what you thought. Pull out your phones, scan the QR code — it takes less than two minutes. We have a pre-built survey so you don't have to worry about building it. It automatically turns your answers into a report for you. And it's 100% free.
Why Right Before Your Closing — Not the Very End
Arel: We've had over 75,000 surveys taken, so we have a lot of data on what works. If you do a survey at the very end, people are clapping — they're not going to stop, pull out their phone, and scan a QR code. It has to be right before your closing. You can also tee it up earlier in the talk by promising to give something away — a PDF, a resource, a section of your book — to everyone who takes the survey. Now you've given them a reason to act.
Using Data to Improve and Avoid Blind Spots
Arel: I was giving an analogy in my talk about obesity and personal responsibility. When I started using Talkadot, someone gave me feedback that they felt I was fat-shaming. That was absolutely not my intention — but I wondered how many people had thought that and never said anything. I changed the example to heart disease. I've never gotten a critical comment on that part since. There are lots of things that could get us canceled that aren't our intentions. Data helps you find those blind spots before they find you.
Peter: I get two things from this. One, you can go to a meeting planner and say: I have data. Two, if I know what questions Talkadot is asking, I better make sure my presentation actually answers them — which makes my talk better, which gets better reviews, which gets me more engagements.
Arel: That is a high-level secret most speakers miss. If the host is doing the evaluation, you don't know what they're asking. But if you're using a consistent survey, you know the metrics. So you engineer your talk to score well on those metrics — and that makes you a dramatically better speaker than someone who's just word-vomiting and hoping for the best.
Lead Generation Built Into Every Talk
Arel: Our survey flow asks: do you book speakers? If yes, we capture their information. If no, we skip those questions entirely. So right when you finish speaking, you don't just have data — you have a list of every person in the audience who raised their hand and said: yes, I want to book you. And it's all automatic.
Getting Started with Talkadot
Arel: Go to talkadot.com — that's T-A-L-K-A-D-O-T — and create your free account. We run onboarding calls every week. And for listeners of this show: when asked how you heard about us, say Peter George. We'll upgrade you to a Pro account for 30 days and give you a discount if you decide to upgrade.
Thank you for listening to this episode of Public Speaking with Peter George. Are you ready to be calm, confident, and credible every time you speak in public? Then visit petergeorgepublicspeaking.com and let's make it happen. I'll see you next time.
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