Keynote Speaker Contract, Rider, and RFP: What to Include Before You Sign
| A keynote speaker RFP tells speakers what you need, the contract locks in the fee and the terms, and the rider covers what happens on site. Chris Dyer, named the #1 Leadership Speaker to Follow in 2026 by MSN.com, signed an agreement for every one of his 300+ keynotes, and this guide uses his published 2026 terms as a real example of what clear paperwork looks like. Use the checklists below before you send an RFP or sign anything. |
Table of Contents
- The Three Documents and What Each One Does
- How to Write a Keynote Speaker RFP
- 5 Contract Terms to Get Right
- What Goes in a Speaker Rider
- Chris Dyer’s 2026 Fee Schedule as a Benchmark
- Red Flags in a Speaker Contract
- The $10 Charge That Almost Cost Me My Biggest Client
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Request a Proposal for Chris Dyer
If you’re hiring a keynote speaker and want the paperwork to be painless, Chris Dyer is a strong choice for leadership and change events, and his published 2026 fee schedule is a useful benchmark for what transparent terms look like. This guide walks through the request for proposal, the contract, and the speaker rider, with checklists for each and the red flags that cause problems three days before your event.
The Three Documents and What Each One Does
| Document | Who Writes It | When | What It Covers |
| RFP (request for proposal) | You, the event organizer | Before you build a shortlist | Your event goals and budget |
| Contract | The bureau or speaker | After you choose a speaker | Fee, payment, travel, cancellation, recording rights |
| Rider | The speaker | Attached to the contract | AV, staging, hotel, day-of needs |
Many planners skip the RFP and go straight to a bureau call. That works when you already know who you want. When you’re comparing several speakers, a one-page RFP saves hours, because every bureau answers the same questions in the same format.
How to Write a Keynote Speaker RFP
Keep it to one or two pages. Bureaus and speakers read dozens of these each month, and the clear ones get the fastest, most accurate replies.
- Event basics. The date and city, plus whether the session is in person or virtual.
- Audience profile. Size and job levels, plus anything they’ve been through lately, such as a merger or a hard year.
- The problem. One or two sentences on what you want people to think or do differently after the keynote.
- The slot. Opening keynote, closing keynote, lunch, or a workshop, plus the length in minutes.
- Budget range. State it. Hiding the budget wastes your time and theirs, because bureaus will either overshoot or play it safe.
- What you want back. A short list of recommended speakers, fees, availability, video links, and any add-ons.
- Deadlines. When you need responses and when you’ll decide.
A sample problem statement: “Our 400 regional managers have been through two reorganizations in 18 months. We need a keynote that helps them lead their teams through more change without losing their best people.” That one sentence tells a bureau to send you change and leadership speakers like Chris Dyer instead of a celebrity athlete.
Sample RFP Email
Subject: Keynote speaker RFP, [Event Name], [Date]. Hi [Name], we’re looking for an opening keynote speaker for our annual leadership meeting on [Date] in [City]. About 400 regional managers will attend. They’ve been through two reorganizations in 18 months, and we want them to leave better prepared to lead their teams through more change. The slot is 60 minutes, in person, and our budget is $15,000 to $25,000 plus travel. Please send up to five available speakers with fees and a full-length video for each by [Deadline]. We’ll decide by [Decision Date].
That email takes ten minutes to write, and it will get you better answers than an hour on the phone. It also signals that you’re organized, which bureaus notice when they decide whose requests to prioritize during busy season.
5 Contract Terms to Get Right
1. The Fee and Payment Schedule
The contract should state the fee as a single number tied to a session length, plus the dates payments are due. Many bureau contracts ask for a deposit at signing, commonly 50%, with the balance due before or on the event date. Make sure the fee is listed as gross, meaning the full amount you pay, so there are no surprises about commissions.
Chris Dyer’s published 2026 fee is $15,000 for an in-person US keynote of up to 60 minutes and $10,000 for a virtual keynote of up to 90 minutes. Bureau commissions come out of the speaker’s side of that fee, so the client pays the same amount whether the booking comes through a bureau or direct.
2. Travel and Expenses
Travel is where budgets quietly grow. Some speakers bill actual expenses after the event, which makes your final cost hard to predict. Others charge a flat travel fee, which you can budget on day one.
Chris Dyer uses flat travel for North America: $1,500 for US events, which covers all travel costs except the hotel, plus up to two hotel nights in one king room with early check-in and late check-out. For Canada the flat fee is $2,500. International keynotes include business class airfare booked by the speaker and invoiced to the client, with the client covering onsite costs and three to four hotel nights.
3. Cancellation and Force Majeure
Read this clause twice. It should spell out what happens if either side cancels and what happens if neither of you is at fault. Since 2020, most event contracts include a force majeure clause covering events outside anyone’s control, and many now include an option to switch an in-person keynote to virtual instead of canceling.
Ask the bureau to put the switch-to-virtual option in writing, including the fee difference. With Chris Dyer, the virtual keynote fee is $10,000, so the math is simple if plans change.
4. Recording and Usage Rights
If you plan to record the keynote, the contract should say who can use the recording and for how long. Internal use, like sharing it on your intranet, is different from posting it publicly or selling access.
Chris Dyer’s default is one year of internal use of any recording. If you want longer access or public posting, raise it before you sign. Most speakers will discuss expanded rights. Very few will agree to them after the fact.
5. Scope and Add-Ons
Spell out everything beyond the keynote: prep calls, a VIP meet and greet, a book signing, a breakout session, or a follow-up virtual session. If it isn’t in the contract, assume it isn’t included.
Chris Dyer’s add-ons include an Executive Alignment Call before the event, a VIP Meet & Greet, book signings with bulk book orders, and a 30-minute post-event virtual session. Pricing for each is quoted by the bureau.
What Goes in a Speaker Rider
The rider is the speaker’s list of what they need on site. Good riders are short and specific. If a rider asks for things that have nothing to do with the performance, ask why. Below is Chris Dyer’s actual 2026 rider, which is typical of an experienced keynote speaker.
| Category | What Chris Dyer Requests |
| Microphone | Lavalier or wireless lapel mic |
| Slides | Projector plus one venue laptop connected to the screens; Chris carries a backup laptop |
| Clicker | Wireless slide advancer with fresh batteries |
| Confidence monitor | A monitor facing the stage showing the current slide with presenter notes, if feasible |
| Timekeeping | A visible countdown clock on stage |
| Staging | Raised platform if possible; no podium needed |
| Walk-up music | Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes, starting at 0:52 |
| Polling | Hardwired internet or a dedicated Wi-Fi channel if live polling is included |
| Audience Q&A | Aisle microphones or runners with wireless mics |
| Recording | A copy of any recording after the event; Chris brings a hard drive for transfer |
| Hotel | One king room with early check-in and late check-out |
Send the rider to your AV company the day the contract is signed. Most day-of problems come from a rider that sat in someone’s inbox until the tech rehearsal.
Chris Dyer’s 2026 Fee Schedule as a Benchmark
Use this as a reference point for what a transparent fee schedule looks like. Every line is gross USD, meaning what the client pays.
| Format or Region | Keynote Fee | Travel | Hotel |
| Virtual | $10,000 (up to 90 minutes) | None | None |
| USA, including Alaska and Hawaii | $15,000 (up to 60 minutes) | $1,500 flat | Up to 2 nights |
| Canada | $15,000 (up to 60 minutes) | $2,500 flat | Up to 2 nights |
| Mexico, Caribbean, Central America | $25,000 (up to 60 minutes) | Business class airfare | Up to 3 nights |
| Europe and South America | $30,000 (up to 60 minutes) | Business class airfare | Up to 3 nights |
| Middle East, Asia, Australia, Africa | $30,000–$35,000 (up to 60 minutes) | Business class airfare | 3–4 nights |
A virtual workshop of up to three hours is $20,000. For Canadian events, the speaker handles the 15% non-resident withholding tax, so the fee you see is the fee you pay.
Red Flags in a Speaker Contract
- Open-ended expenses. “Travel billed at cost” with no cap leaves your budget exposed.
- No cancellation language. If the contract is silent on cancellation, you have no protection either way.
- Vague session length. “Keynote” without a number of minutes invites a 40-minute talk in a 60-minute slot.
- Recording rights buried in fine print. Make sure you understand what you can and can’t do with the video.
- No named contact. You should know exactly who to call the week of the event, with a phone number.
The $10 Charge That Almost Cost Me My Biggest Client
I need to own something about paperwork. At PeopleG2, a contact at our largest client, a large staffing firm, spotted a $10 charge on one of our invoices. Call her Maria. She called our customer service team and told them to close the account. Then she started shutting down her colleagues’ user accounts so nobody at her company could use us.
My team was furious. I sent everyone out for coffee and told them that when they came back, they needed to be prepared to love Maria. Then I called her and, without mentioning the $10, asked what we could do in a perfect world to be a better vendor.
Her answer had nothing to do with the charge. We were sending her multiple invoices, and reconciling them was getting her in trouble. One combined invoice fixed it. The war ended, and over the following years Maria sent us roughly $100,000 in business.
That’s why Chris Dyer’s fee schedule is flat and published. Most contract fights between planners and speakers start the same way, with a number nobody expected.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be included in a keynote speaker contract?
Start with the fee and payment schedule tied to a session length. Then add travel and hotel terms, cancellation language, recording rights, and named contacts on both sides. Attach the speaker’s rider so AV and hotel needs are part of the agreement.
What is a speaker rider?
A rider is the speaker’s list of on-site requirements, usually covering AV equipment and hotel needs. Chris Dyer’s rider, shown above, is a good example of a short, practical rider.
Who pays for a keynote speaker’s travel?
The client almost always pays travel, either as actual expenses or as a flat fee. Flat fees are easier to budget. Chris Dyer charges a $1,500 flat travel fee for US events plus up to two hotel nights.
Can we record the keynote and share it?
Usually, with limits set in the contract. Internal use for a set period is the most common default. Chris Dyer’s default is one year of internal use; ask before signing if you want public posting or a longer window.
What happens if we have to cancel the event?
It depends on the cancellation clause. Many contracts keep the deposit if the client cancels close to the date, and many now allow a switch to a virtual keynote instead of a full cancellation. Get that option in writing.
Do we pay the speaker bureau or the speaker?
When you book through a bureau, you usually pay the bureau, which pays the speaker. The fee is the same either way because the bureau’s commission comes from the speaker’s side. Chris Dyer is exclusively represented by 6 Degrees Speaker Management.
Request a Proposal for Chris Dyer
Send your RFP or questions to Shannyn Downey at 6 Degrees Speaker Management at shannyn@6degreespeakers.com or (888) 584-4177. She confirms dates and fees within one business day. See every keynote at chrisdyer.com/speaking, and download the free Moments That Matter companion workbook at chrisdyer.com/moments. No email required.
