Managing a growing speaker lineup can quickly get messy when every presenter is lumped under a single "Speaker" label. Custom Speaker Roles let organizers replace that one-size-fits-all label with precise, event-level roles, such as Moderator, Panelist, Emcee, or Track Chair and assign them to speakers on a per-session basis. This gives you full control over how your talent is showcased and grouped on the Event App.
Why use custom speaker roles?
Custom roles let you:
Group speakers by function instead of a generic list, so attendees immediately understand who's moderating, presenting, or chairing a track.
Highlight lead presenters by controlling the order speakers appear in, both globally and within a session.
Keep every speaker's profile accurate, since the same role applies consistently across sessions.
Custom Speaker Roles are managed at three levels: Event, Session, and People.
How do I set up roles for my whole event?
Go to Sessions ➡️ Sessions settings ➡️ Speaker roles in your Studio organizer center.
A default Speaker role is created automatically. You can edit, delete, or add custom roles (e.g., Facilitator, Co-Author, Keynote).
Each role has two names: a Session Speaker role name (shown next to a presentation) and a Profile Speaker role name (shown on the speaker's own profile).
Drag and drop roles to set their global order. This order applies across every session on the Event App.
Translate role labels into all active event languages.
Deleting a role that's already assigned to sessions triggers a safety alert. Confirming the deletion removes that role assignment from both the affected sessions and the speakers' profiles.
How do I assign roles to speakers in a session?
Go to Sessions ➡️ [Select a Session] ➡️ Speaker role.
Assign exactly one role from your event-level list to each speaker in that session.
Drag and drop speakers within a role group to set their order and highlight your lead presenters.
Use the Manage Role shortcut to jump back to event-level settings if you need to create a new role on the fly.
How do I manage a speaker's roles across multiple sessions?
Go to People ➡️ [Speaker's profile] ➡️ Speaker to.
View and assign any event-level role to a speaker across multiple sessions at once.
Add, remove, or reorder the sessions tied to each of their role groups.
What will attendees see on the Event App?
On the session detail page:
Speakers are grouped under their role headers (e.g., all Moderators listed together, all Panelists listed together).
Roles with no one assigned are hidden automatically. If only one person holds a role, the app shows just that speaker and their title.
Speakers are sorted first by your global role order, then by the speaker order you set within each session.
On a speaker's profile page:
The "Speaking at" and "Is attending" sections are mutually exclusive. If someone is speaking at any session under any custom role, their standard "Is attending" list is hidden so their sessions take focus.
A speaker holding different roles across sessions (for example, Keynote for one session and Moderator for another) will see both sessions listed under their respective translated role blocks on their profile.