Speaker Directory [event_speakers]

Shortcode4 Min.Updated: October 2, 2026

With [event_speakers] you embed all participants as a portrait grid or a list – the classic “Our speakers” page. A click on a tile opens the speaker detail view.

The speaker directory as a five-column grid: portrait, role, name, position and company.

Building an “Our speakers” page

1
Create a page
Pages → Add New, e.g. “Speakers”.
2
Add the shortcode
A “Shortcode” block with [event_speakers]. Without options, all publicly visible speakers appear alphabetically (by sort name) in five columns.
3
Narrow down
With parent_id="123", only people appearing at this event or one of its sessions count. role="host" shows a single role.
4
Choose the display
layout="list" instead of tiles, columns="4" for a tighter grid. On tablets and phones, the column count is reduced automatically.

Who never appears

Speakers with the visibility “Only inside events” never appear in the directory – they have no page of their own either.

Shortcode parameters

Parameter	Default	Effect
`parent_id`	(all)	Only speakers appearing at this main event or one of its sessions. Post ID or event ID.
`role`	(all)	One or more roles, name or slug, comma-separated: `role="speaker,dj"`.
`layout`	`grid`	`grid` (portrait tiles) or `list` (rows as on the session detail page).
`columns`	`5`	Grid columns, 1 to 6.
`orderby`	`name`	`name` (uses the sort name if set), `role`, `company` or `random`.
`order`	`ASC`	`ASC` or `DESC`; no effect with `random`.
`limit`	`0`	Maximum number; 0 shows all.
`include` / `exclude`	–	Only or without these speakers (post IDs, comma-separated).
`show_role`, `show_position`, `show_company`	`true`	Hides the respective line on the tile (`false`).
`link`	`true`	`false` shows tiles without a link to the detail view.
`detail_view`	(setting)	`page` or `modal` – for this directory only.
`show_events`	(setting)	Shows or hides the “Appearances” section on the detail view.
`smart_events`	(setting)	`true`: hide past appearances while upcoming ones exist; `false`: always both.
`show_booths` / `smart_booths`	(setting)	The same for exhibitor booths (with the exhibitor plugin).
`empty_text`	(empty)	Text when no speaker matches. Empty outputs nothing.

Examples

[event_speakers parent_id="123"]
[event_speakers parent_id="123" role="workshop-leader" layout="list"]
[event_speakers columns="4" orderby="random" limit="8" link="false"]

No typing

The shortcode generator has the “Speaker directory” type with all fields.