Managing Speakers
Speakers are the presenters, panelists, and facilitators who deliver content at your event. This guide covers how to add speakers to your event, assign them to sessions, and manage their profiles.
Prerequisites
To manage speakers, you must be:
- An Admin or Organizer for the event
- Working with a published or draft event
Understanding Speakers in Atria
In Atria, speakers are users who have been:
- Added to your event with the Speaker role first
- Then assigned to one or more sessions with a specific speaker role
A user becomes a speaker when you:
- Invite them with the Speaker role, OR
- Change an existing attendee's role to Speaker
You must give someone the Speaker role before you can add them to sessions as a speaker.
Adding Speakers to Your Event
Before you can assign someone to speak at a session, they need to be in your event.
Method 1: Invite as Speaker
- Go to Event Admin > Attendees
- Click Invite Attendees
- Enter their email address
- Select role: Speaker
- Send the invitation
When they accept, they'll have the Speaker role and can be assigned to sessions.
Method 2: Change Existing Attendee to Speaker
- Go to Event Admin > Attendees
- Find the person in your attendees list
- Click the menu icon (three dots) next to their name
- Select Change Role
- Choose Speaker
- Confirm the change
They now have the Speaker role and can be assigned to sessions.
Give the Speaker role to anyone who will be presenting, moderating, or on stage. This gives them access to backstage chat and marks them as a speaker in your event.
Assigning Speakers to Sessions
Once someone has the Speaker role in your event, you can assign them to specific sessions.
From the Session Manager
- Go to Event Admin > Sessions
- Find the session you want to add a speaker to
- Click on the session card or use the menu
- Click Add Speaker or Manage Speakers
- Select the speaker from your event's speaker list
- Choose their speaker role for this session
- Optionally set their display order
- Click Add
From the Speakers Manager
The Speakers Manager has a "Manage Sessions" button, but currently this just takes you to the main Sessions page. You'll need to use the Session Manager to assign speakers to sessions.
The "speaker role" (host, keynote, moderator, etc.) is specific to each session. The same person can be a keynote in one session and a panelist in another.
Speaker Roles
When assigning a speaker to a session, choose the role that describes their participation:
| Role | Description | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Host | Session facilitator or host | MCs, session chairs, hosts |
| Keynote | Featured keynote speaker | Main speakers, headliners |
| Speaker | Standard presenter | Most presentations, talks |
| Moderator | Panel moderator or facilitator | Panel moderators, discussion leaders |
| Panelist | Panel participant | Panel members, discussants |
Role Display Order
Speakers appear in this order on session pages:
- Host
- Keynote
- Speaker
- Moderator
- Panelists
You can also manually set a custom order (see Speaker Ordering below).
Speaker Profiles
Speaker information comes from their user profile. This includes:
Profile Information:
- Full name
- Profile avatar (customizable SVG avatar, like a flat cartoon character)
- Bio (if privacy settings allow)
- Title and company (if privacy settings allow)
- Custom speaker title (optional override for sessions/speakers pages)
- Social links (if privacy settings allow)
How Titles Display:
- Regular title and company: Shows on attendees/networking pages
- Custom speaker title: If set, shows on session pages and speakers page instead
About Avatars: Currently, Atria uses customizable SVG avatars (similar to Miis or cartoon characters) that users can personalize on their profile page. Profile photos may be added as an option in the future.
How to Update Speaker Profiles:
- Speakers update their own profiles through Profile Settings
- Privacy settings control what information is visible
- Encourage speakers to fill out their bios and adjust privacy settings as they wish
Speaker profile data respects privacy settings. If a speaker has hidden their title, company, or social links, that information won't appear even though they're a speaker.
Speaker Ordering
Control the order speakers appear on session pages.
How Speaker Ordering Works
Speakers are ordered by:
- First by speaker role (Host → Keynote → Speaker → Moderator → Panelist)
- Then by custom order within each role
This means:
- You can reorder speakers within the same role (e.g., adjust which of 5 panelists appears first)
- But role hierarchy always takes priority (moderator will always appear above panelists)
Custom Ordering
To manually reorder speakers:
- Go to the session page or session manager
- Find the speaker list
- Drag and drop speakers to reorder them within their role
- Changes save automatically
You can edit speaker order:
- On the session page (if you're an admin or organizer)
- In the session manager
When to use custom ordering:
- Organizing panelists by speaking order
- Highlighting the main presenter among multiple speakers
- Arranging speakers for visual balance
Conflict Detection
The system warns you when a speaker is assigned to overlapping sessions.
What Causes a Conflict
A conflict occurs when:
- A speaker is assigned to multiple sessions
- Those sessions are on the same day
- The times overlap
Example conflict:
- Session A: Day 1, 10:00-11:00, Speaker: Jane
- Session B: Day 1, 10:30-11:30, Speaker: Jane
- Conflict! Jane can't be in two places at once
How to See Conflicts
In Session Manager:
- Sessions with conflicts show a warning badge
- Hover or click for details
In Speakers Manager:
- Speakers with conflicts show a warning indicator
- Click to see which sessions conflict
Resolving Conflicts
To fix a speaker conflict:
Option 1: Change session times
- Edit one of the conflicting sessions
- Adjust start/end times so they don't overlap
- Save the changes
Option 2: Move session to different day
- Edit the session
- Change the day number
- Save (conflict disappears)
Option 3: Remove speaker from one session
- Go to the conflicting session
- Remove the speaker from one of them
- Assign a different speaker if needed
The system only detects conflicts on the same day. A speaker can have sessions at 10:00 AM on Day 1 and 10:00 AM on Day 2 with no conflict.
Removing Speakers
Remove from a Session
To remove a speaker from a specific session:
- Go to the session page or session manager
- Find the speaker in the speaker list
- Hover over the speaker
- Click the trash can icon that appears
- Confirm
The speaker is removed from this session but remains in your event with the Speaker role.
Remove from Event Entirely
To remove someone from your event completely:
- Go to Event Admin > Attendees
- Find the speaker
- Click the menu icon
- Select Remove from Event
- Confirm
If you remove a speaker from the event entirely, they're automatically removed from all their assigned sessions. They'll lose access to your event and will need to be reinvited if you want them back.
Finding and Searching Speakers
In Speakers Manager
- Go to Event Admin > Speakers
- Use the search bar to find speakers by:
- Name
- Company
Filter and Sort
Sort by:
- Name (A-Z or Z-A)
- Number of sessions
- Role
View:
- Desktop: Table view (compact, shows more info)
- Mobile: Card view (visual layout optimized for mobile)
Best Practices
Adding Speakers
Before your event:
- Invite all confirmed speakers early
- Ask speakers to complete their profiles (bio, photo, social links)
- Remind speakers that their profile is public
During speaker management:
- Use descriptive speaker roles that match their actual role
- Check for conflicts before finalizing the schedule
- Communicate schedule changes to affected speakers
Speaker Profiles
Encourage speakers to:
- Customize their avatar on their profile page
- Write a bio
- Include their title and company
- Add social media links (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)
- Adjust privacy settings to control what information is visible
Session Assignment
Tips for assigning speakers:
- Assign hosts and keynotes first
- Check availability before assigning to multiple sessions
- Use the conflict detector to catch scheduling issues
- Consider speaker energy levels (don't overbook)
Common speaker role patterns:
- Solo presentation: One "Speaker" role
- Panel discussion: One "Moderator" + 3-5 "Panelist" roles
- Fireside chat: One "Host" + one "Speaker" or "Keynote"
- Workshop: One or two "Speaker" roles
Troubleshooting
Can't Add Speaker to Session
Problem: Speaker doesn't appear in the "Add Speaker" list
Solutions:
- Verify they're invited to the event and have accepted (all users must accept invitations)
- Check they have the Speaker role (not just Attendee)
- If they're an Organizer or Admin, they may need the Speaker role too
- Make sure they aren't already added to this session
Speaker Profile Information Missing
Problem: Speaker bio, company, or other info not showing
Solutions:
- The speaker needs to fill out their profile
- Check their privacy settings - they may have hidden this information
- As organizer, you cannot override privacy settings
- Ask the speaker to update their profile and adjust privacy
Can't Remove Speaker from Session
Problem: Remove button is grayed out or unavailable
Solutions:
- Check that you're an Admin or Organizer
- Refresh the page and try again
- The speaker may already be removed
Conflict Warning Won't Go Away
Problem: Changed times but still seeing conflict warning
Solutions:
- Refresh the page to see updated conflict status
- Verify the times actually don't overlap anymore
- Check that you saved the time changes
- Look for other sessions - there might be a third conflicting session
Related Topics
- Creating Sessions - Set up your event schedule
- Managing Roles - Understanding event roles
- Inviting Attendees - How to invite speakers
The easiest workflow is: 1) Invite all speakers to your event first, 2) Create your full session schedule, 3) Then assign speakers to sessions. This lets you see all speakers and all sessions together, making it easier to spot conflicts and plan assignments.