This section has everything you need to know (and download) to consider Rohit for your event or to promote his involvement if you’ve already booked him. All resources on this page can be used freely.
WATCH ROHIT SPEAKING
RESOURCES FOR EVENT PLANNERS
QUICK DOWNLOADS
USEFUL DOWNLOADS
See the list below to download bios in multiple lengths, headshots, book cover images, promotional materials and anything else you need!
Keynote Topic Descriptions (docx)
Rohit’s Bio in multiple lengths (docx)
1 pager to pitch Rohit to your team (docx)
Guide to Non-Obvious 7 Minute Meetup (pdf)
what does rohit talk about?
THEMES: MINDSET + CREATIVITY
How to be a Non-Obvious Thinker (and See What Others Miss)
Break free of conventional thinking and be more creative
What is the secret to being more innovative every day? For the past decade, Rohit Bhargava has advised some of the most pioneering organizations in the world from NASA to Disney on how to see what others miss. This keynote will reveal his signature four-step method to having better ideas. The future belongs to Non-Obvious Thinkers and this is your guide to becoming one yourself.
THEMES: TRUST + STORYTELLING
NON-OBVIOUS SECRETS FOR BUILDING TRUST IN AN AI-DISRUPTED WORLD
Stand out as more human to win the future in a disrupted world
In a disrupted world, who will win the future? For the last decade, Rohit Bhargava has studied human behavior, storytelling and persuasion. As AI fundamentally resets daily work and life, only the trustworthy will survive. In this keynote Rohit will reveal the modern secrets of effective leadership and trust-building. The people who understand people always win. This keynote will teach you how to be one of them.
THEMES: TRENDS + FUTURIST
7 Non-Obvious Trends Shaping the Future Normal
Anticipate the future and learn to leverage world changing trends
What are the non-obvious trends shaping the future? For the past decade, Rohit Bhargava has been on the front lines of studying the future. Based on his latest research, this keynote combines trend predictions with real life stories. This is a pull-no-punches, always entertaining, constantly surprising, highly actionable (and deeply non-obvious!) glimpse into what the future will look like … and what you can do to win.
THEMES: MARKETING + SALES
The Art and Science of Non-Obvious Marketing (In a Skeptical World)
Be more believable, build trust and stand out from the competition
We are living through a modern believability crisis. To win in a skeptical world, you need to be more human. This funny and insightful keynote from award-winning marketing expert Rohit Bhargava will reveal the five secrets for earning attention in a world filled with distractions. Through a digestible collection of purposeful stories, Rohit will shine a spotlight on what actually works to command attention, build loyalty and generate real results.
WHAT EVENT PLANNERS ARE SAYING
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Over and above being a fantastic speaker, booking Rohit also means you get a partner.
PAUL TREANOR
Event Planner
Rohit was fantastic on stage and great to work with! Our crowd loved him!
Christina Baur
National Restaurant Association
Rohit should think about marketing himself not just as a 'speaker' but as an 'experience', and a great one at that! He has amazing energy, a great sense of humor, and very relevant and interesting messages to share.
DAWN DOVEY
Sage Hospitality Group
Rohit Bhargava has a rare ability to make big ideas feel accessible and actionable. His insights on innovation, trust, and the future of business resonated deeply with our audience.
Buddy Rizer
Loudoun County Economic Development
Rohit is a perfect combination of professionalism and knowledge!
Paul Vogelzang
Chief Digital Officer
I’ve been hearing nothing but positive feedback on Rohit’s talk.
Becca White
Our community has been raving about Rohit and his message. While he hit relevant topics like AI and marketing, it was his humanity and ability to connect with people that won everyone over!
Mitch Whitten
Visit Fort Worth
Rohit was terrific! 94% top two boxes which is phenomenal. And he was great to work with, which I so appreciate! We’re already talking about where we’ll use him next …
Event Planner
Large Global Bank
I had the pleasure of working with Rohit Bhargava as a keynote speaker for a large international event at the MGM in Las Vegas. Rohit provided an exceptional experience from start to finish – customizing his approach, participating in brainstorming sessions, meeting audience members in advance for context on what would be meaningful to them, and ultimately tailoring his talk to be incredibly relevant to the audience. Rohit captivated the crowd on stage and he immersed himself off stage by attending the Expo, mingling with the crowd and signing books. No stone unturned, post event, Rohit launched customized landing pages with valuable business tools and a recording of his talk to help keep the momentum going. Overall it was a comprehensive, first-class experience and I hope to have the opportunity to work with Rohit again.
CATHY SERGIO
Event Planner at Big Red Rooster Agency
WHAT AUDIENCES ARE SAYING
Engaging and made me forget I was tired. Awesome session!
Melissa
HP Global Conference
Outside the box. Really made me think deeply.
Ryan
Pizza Hut Summit
He’s no Beyonce, but still worth standing in line for!
ATTENDEE
SXSW Austin
Great session for getting out of your head!
PATRICK
Coca-Cola / The Table
A session that cuts through the noise!
CAROL
National Association of Realtors Event
Super engaging with lots of great tips!
KARLA
LinkedIn GTO Conference
Book Rohit! Everyone needs to hear him once!
ANNIE
American Marketing Association Event
MORE NON - OBVIOUS EXPERIENCES
The Non-Obvious 7 Minute Meetup
Designed to help attendees make more authentic connections with each other, this meetup transforms event experiences.
The Non-Obvious Rapid Fire Session
A high-energy QA session designed to go after Rohit’s keynote where he answers audience questions with 20 seconds on the clock for every answer!
The Non-Obvious Dinner
These dinner gatherings challenge people to share their biggest non-obvious idea for changing the world—and everyone votes for the winner.
The Non-Obvious Pajama Party
A fun light-hearted way to bring people together—this has become our signature event at SXSW and an attendee favorite.
Want more information on these bonus experiences or interested in booking Rohit for your next event?
SHHHH, THIS IS WHAT MOST SPEAKERS DON’T TELL YOU!
After speaking at hundreds of events, Rohit has seen the good, bad and ugly. Finally this year, he decided to compile his best and worst experiences into this non-obvious collection of do and don’t “secrets” for event planners & strategists. Feel free to share these tips … or keep them to yourself.
DOWNLOAD SECRETSAMA – ASK ME ANYTHING!
Q: What makes Rohit different from other speakers?
Good first question! Two things make me different. The first is that I always share non-obvious, non-cliche, and actionable ideas. From attendees, the two pieces of feedback I hear all the time after one of my talks is that they are HIGH ENERGY and ACTIONABLE. I don’t use canned presentations and always tailor my talk for specific audiences. The second thing is that I REALLY partner with an event team to make their event successful. Everything from helping people connect at the event to promoting the event ahead of time.
At the event itself, I am always approachable off stage and make a point to be PRESENT at an event (instead of running to and from the airport). When I commit to an event, I am invested in doing everything I can to help make it successful, and always seek out innovative ways to deliver more value for an audience.
Q: How do I know Rohit understands my audience, region or industry?
Thanks to the past 15 years working in consulting groups and agencies, I have experience in almost every industry you can imagine. Here’s an example of some past audiences: medical device makers, CPAs, enterprise sales leaders, jewelers, rural broadband technicians, media executives, small business owners, higher education administrators, vodka producers, oil & gas industry executives, economic development boards, national governments and many others.
For the past decade, I have never been focused on a single industry vertical or topic. As a result, the perspective I bring to your event is based on *some* industry knowledge of your space, combined with the ability to make relevant parallels to other industries and an informed outside perspective to your event.
Q: How customized will Rohit’s talk really be?
As you might expect, I do have some prepared stories that I reuse. Honestly, that’s better for everyone – since most event planners don’t want completely untested material. My aim is always to pair stories which have been tested to resonate with a live audience together with new original content. How much exactly is customized? I’d say most of my presentations have about 20% new and original content tailored specifically for an audience. That’s a guess, since we all know that 36% of all statistics are completely made up anyway … 🙂
Q: Is the pen really mightier than the sword?
While scholars have debated this question for many years – as an English major in college I have always believed in the power of stories to change culture. Swords don’t inspire people. Unless they are written into stories where they are pulled out of stones by kings.
Q: What types of events has Rohit spoken at?
I have performed on the big stage in front of audiences of 10,000+ financial planners as well as led a private executive trend briefing for a small room of 8 Latin Music executives right before a private performance by Latin superstar Juanes. I am also a regular at SXSW, where I once followed Elon Musk as a Featured Speaker (crazy story!) and have been invited to speak over the past decade at large and small events in 32 countries across the world.
Q: How big, exactly, is Rohit’s ego?
I’m glad you asked! Speakers naturally have larger than normal egos, otherwise they wouldn’t thrive on the time they spend on stage. So, yes, I do have an ego — but it is not fragile or demanding. I never expect anyone to treat me like royalty and I always take the time to listen and learn from the people I interact with. And above all else, I aim to remain down to earth, approachable, and live up to what my business card promises … that I am indeed a nice guy.
Aside from making me easy to work with, it can be a lifesaver in the stress-filled environment of live event production. Need to find five extra minutes because your program is running long? No problem, I can shave a bit of time off my talk to get you back on schedule. Your MC had a last-minute flight cancellation? I can jump in to ad-lib and fill the spot. Looking for a speaker willing to try your sponsor's small batch tequila right before heading to the stage? I am up for it ... and yes, these are all REAL situations from past events. Ok truthfully, I might have volunteered for that tequila tasting. The bottom line is, I am ready to partner with your team to do whatever it takes to make your event successful.
Q: What is the Non-Obvious 7 Minute Meetup and why is it so popular?
Attendees love the idea of networking sessions at an event, but most people struggle to make authentic deeper connections. When the conversations stay on the surface, the networking is forgettable. The Non-Obvious 7 Minute Meetup is my solution, where I teach attendees a new way to start conversations with a different question: what’s something non-obvious about you? As part of a keynote talk, I am happy to host this session (no extra fee) and at over a dozen events it has been rated one of the favorite moments by attendees at any session.
Q: I know it’s not legal (or nice) to ask, but what is Rohit’s nationality and accent?
Don’t worry, I’m not offended! The short answer is – my accent is what one event planner described as “Global American.” In other words, I was born in India but moved to America when I was very young and grew up there. Then after graduating I moved to Australia for five years where I traveled extensively across Asia. As a result, I definitely have an American accent, but I tend to speak more clearly (and slower!) than most American speakers and more than once have been rated as the #1 speaker at global conferences because of my ability to use more international English, avoid hard to understand slang or America-centric stories, and handle the complexity of live translation.
Q: What if I need a 36 minute talk EXACTLY?
Ok, chances are you probably don’t. But no matter how long of a time slot you have open – that time is precious and there is nothing worse than a speaker who kills the flow of your schedule by going over time. You can expect I will stick EXACTLY to my time on stage (I often close with 20 seconds left on the clock!) and keep your event running smoothly.
Q: How often does Rohit speak at events?
In a typical year – I will usually deliver between 20 and 30 talks on stages around the world. This is on the lower end for professional speakers – and the reason is because I prefer to balance my speaking with my publishing, teaching and consulting work. I speak at events I have a passion for – but will sometimes decline a speaking opportunity or refer a fellow speaker if it’s not the best fit. Most of all, I do not speak so often that I’m likely to get burned out or force myself to resort to delivering canned, uncustomized talks.
Q: My audience has never heard of Rohit – isn’t that bad news?
Not necessarily! At many of the larger 4000+ person events I speak at, I may not have the same name recognition as a celebrity like Jay Leno or former NFL Quarterback, but I am regularly brought on at huge events as a second or third keynote speaker that can deliver an unexpected point of view. Not to put too much of a spin on it, but if your audience isn’t familiar with me – you can be the one who “discovered” me.
Q: What will Rohit never, ever do in a million years?
I pride myself on being flexible, but there are a few things you can expect me to never do. The first is that I’ll never use bullet points or pre-designed templates for my talks. I can use a customized branded cover, but my presentations are highly visual and don’t work on other templates. The second thing I’ll never do is sell from the stage. No one likes that.
Q: What if I need something other than a keynote presentation?
If you are looking for something more customized or interactive, I will often facilitate masterclass style sessions or immersive workshops. For teams that want something other than a solo keynote-style talk, get in touch and we can talk about how I might customize something to fit your needs.
Q: Can Rohit deliver the same energy in a virtual keynote session?
Over the past five years, Rohit has done more than 100 virtual sessions from his professional home studio. With updated stories (sometimes pulled from that morning’s news!), a charismatic delivery style, unique elements like a “choose your own adventure” format, hyper-lapse video, and audience polling – Rohit’s virtual keynote sessions are highly engaging and guaranteed to be MUCH more than just a traditional keynote talk delivered to video. Best of all, they are delivered in a friendly style that feels more like sharing a coffee with the audience ... with stellar audio and video quality, of course.
Q: What are Rohit’s travel requirements?
I live in the Washington DC area and travel from either DCA or IAD airports. For international event planners, I am a dual citizen of the United States and Australia. Please contact my team for information regarding travel fees for your specific event, as they may vary according to destination and time commitment.
Q: We don’t pay our speakers – most of them agree to speak for the networking and visibility. Does Rohit do that too?
I completely appreciate that model of event – but the truth is I have been doing less and less of these. The main reason is because speakers who focus on this type of event aim to use their time on stage to drive their own business opportunities. I know this because it’s what I used to do when I had a day job working at a large agency. My only goal now is to make sure your audience gets the most value … and not generating leads for myself. For that reason, with a rare exception, I typically don’t participate in events that are networking only.
Q: We are a nonprofit or educational institution – can we get a discount?
I would love to try and make something work and support nonprofit groups as often as I can with mentoring or presentation at their events. Two causes in particular that I believe in and frequently support are helping to mentor and support more women in business, and encouraging more young people to be entrepreneurs or choose careers in business and marketing. If your event or audience fits either of those categories – you have a better than average chance that I may be able to make something work. Just get in touch and I’ll be happy to see what I can do to support your efforts.
Q: What’s something non-obvious about Rohit?
You might have seen in my bio that I “actively hate cauliflower.” It is true that I generally find it disgusting … but that’s not the real reason why I choose to elevate it and make it a part of my bio. If you want to know the full story, you can read my cauliflower confession here >>