Program Planner DOCS & HELP
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Creating & Managing Speakers

Module4 Min.Updated: October 2, 2026

Manage persons once centrally, utilize them everywhere across your schedule — with crisp portraits, dedicated profile pages, and an automated roster of all appearances.

Core Philosophy

One person, one record — referenced everywhere. Previously, speaker names were plain text fields inside each event. If someone gave three talks, their name had to be typed three times. Now you create the speaker once — with portrait, biography, and social links — and simply associate them with each session. Any profile update reflects across the entire website instantly!

What Changes for You

Feature Previously Now with Speakers Module
Persons per Session Exactly one person Unlimited, reorderable via drag & drop
Storage Location Plain text on the event edit screen Dedicated record under Events → Speakers
Portrait & Bio Not supported Featured image, short excerpt, and full rich-text biography
Profile Page Only an external link URL Dedicated view via standalone permalink page or modal pop-up
Appearances Overview Nowhere to be seen Automatic roster of all appearances (Smart Events), grouped by upcoming and past
Calendar Search Only found the first name Finds all contributors, plus titles and organizations
Import & Export Single text column Additional speakers column and dedicated speaker CSV import

Creating a Speaker (7 Steps)

  1. 1
    Open Menu

    In your WordPress admin, navigate to Events → Speakers and click Add New.

  2. 2
    Enter Full Name

    Enter the speaker's name in the title field.

  3. 3
    Upload Portrait Photo

    Assign a Featured Image in the sidebar. Square photos (1:1) look best. Portrait orientation is automatically styled with a soft mirrored backdrop on full screens without cropping.

  4. 4
    Configure Speaker Details

    In the Speaker Details metabox, enter default Role, Professional Title, and Company. All are optional and can be overridden per session.

  5. 5
    Links & Social Channels

    Fill in external profile URLs, language, and up to 25 social platforms (LinkedIn, X/Twitter, GitHub, Instagram, YouTube, Website, Email, etc.).

  6. 6
    Set Sort Name

    Enter the Sort Name (e.g. „Doe, Jane“). Used for alphabetical last-name indexing without showing up in the frontend.

  7. 7
    Publish

    Click Publish to save the profile.

A speaker’s edit screen: name, description and the “Speaker Details” box with role, position, company, profile URL, language, sort name and visibility; the portrait on the right.

Three Switches Often Overlooked

Setting Function Recommendation
Visibility Public Detail View creates a public page. Within Events Only suppresses the page: the record auto-fills session fields, but cannot be clicked or browsed in the directory. Set internal stage hosts or staff to Within Events Only.
Linked Exhibitor Only active when the Exhibitor Plugin is running. Multiple booths can be connected. The first acts as company; all are displayed as booth cards. Ideal for trade shows connecting booth locations with keynote speakers.
Plural Name for Roles When editing a role taxonomy, provide a plural form (e.g. „Speakers“, „Musicians“, „DJs“). No automatic 's' is appended to maintain multilingual accuracy. Always specify plural labels in role settings.

Assigning Speakers to Sessions

  • Open the session editor. The metabox is titled Persons / Roles (optional).
  • Auto-suggest: Type at least two characters in the Name field. Finds published, draft, and private profiles, or enter a numeric ID.
  • Pill UI: Selecting a match adds them as a pill. Clicking × unlinks the profile while keeping the name text intact.
  • Multiple Persons: Click „Add Speaker“ to append rows. Drag the left handle to reorder. The top row is the lead speaker displayed in header cards.
Two Rules That Save Hours of Work

1. Inheritance Instead of Copying: Role, position, and company are not copied into the session row. They appear as grey placeholders (e.g. „— Director (from speaker) —“). If left empty, the frontend dynamically pulls live data from the speaker record!

2. Pre-fill with Confirmation: When associating a speaker for the first time, the plugin prompts to copy profile URLs and links. OK overwrites existing fields, Cancel only fills empty fields.

People on a session: every row is linked to a speaker record (pill with image and number). Empty fields show in pale text what comes from the record.

Click Target: What Happens on Name Click?

Selection Destination Best Used When
Automatic (Default) Speaker page, fallback to profile URL, then exhibitor Recommended for 95% of use cases
Speaker Details Always opens the speaker's detail view Focus is on the individual's profile
Exhibitor Details Always opens the linked trade show booth When directing traffic to expo booths
Profile URL External website URL For celebrity guests with personal portals
No Link Plain text, unclickable For individuals requesting privacy