In brief: Every speaker builds a mental list of what doesn’t work — the wrong venue conditions, the organizer who undervalues you, the engagement type that never lands right. Negative criteria is that list, made deliberate. This post covers how to apply it across the decisions that matter most to your speaking business: evaluating opportunities, choosing production partners, identifying which markets and clients to pursue — and which to pass on quickly without second-guessing.
The Power of Negative Criteria: How Speakers Make Better Decisions Faster
Are you stuck on a decision? It happens to all of us. Whether it’s something small like where to eat, or something major like choosing a new role or bringing on a business partner, decisions can tie us in knots.
One way I’ve learned to cut through the noise is by using something I call negative criteria.
Most of the time, when we’re making a decision, we focus on the positives: What do I want? What are the best-case scenarios? What would make this a good choice? That’s helpful, but it’s only half of the picture.
Negative criteria flips that around. Instead of starting with what you do want, you make a list of what you absolutely don’t. The dealbreakers. The red flags. The things that make something a non-starter.
And the funny thing is, you already do this instinctively.
Think about lunch. You might not know what you’re craving, but you know what you’re not in the mood for: “Definitely not Thai. Not Italian either. And since I’m vegan, not a steakhouse.” Just like that, you’ve narrowed the field without even realizing it.
The same principle works for bigger, more complex decisions — including the ones that define your speaking business.
A Hotel Lesson in Nova Scotia
Years ago, I was traveling often for work and staying in Halifax. I discovered quickly that not all hotels are created equal. For me, sleep was a non-negotiable. If I couldn’t get a quiet night, the next day’s work would be shot.
So I started keeping track of noisy hotels: the ones with thin walls, bad insulation, or constant hallway commotion. Over time, I realized I didn’t need to find the perfect hotel. I just needed to rule out the ones that were on my “never again” list.
Eventually, I found one hotel that was newer, well-insulated, and blissfully quiet. The decision became easy because I’d already eliminated the bad options with my negative criteria.
If you speak regularly, you already know this feeling. The venue that books you into a room next to the loading dock. The event where the agenda is running 45 minutes late before you even take the stage. The organizer who assures you the AV will be fine, right up until it isn’t. Over time, you build a list — not always consciously — of the conditions that make a good performance nearly impossible. That list is negative criteria. The speakers who build it deliberately are the ones who stop repeating the same expensive mistakes.
Evaluating Speaking Opportunities
The same logic applies when you’re deciding which engagements to pursue — or accept.
It’s easy to get pulled toward an opportunity because it looks good on the surface: a recognizable organization, a flattering ask, a date that works. But surface appeal isn’t fit, and the cost of a wrong-fit engagement isn’t just the day itself: it’s the prep time, the travel, the date blocked on your calendar that could have gone to something better.
Speakers who’ve been at this long enough have usually learned their negative criteria the hard way. The audience composition that means your message won’t land no matter how well you deliver it. The organizer who treats speakers as a line item rather than a partner. The event type — the obligatory after-dinner slot, the conference where you’re one of fourteen speakers in a single day — where the conditions for impact are structurally poor.
Building your negative criteria for engagements before you need it means you’re not making emotional decisions under time pressure when an inquiry comes in. You have a filter. You can evaluate clearly and move on without second-guessing. For a deeper look at how to apply this to specific opportunity types, the how to find and evaluate speaking opportunities post covers the full framework.
Business Decisions: From Insurance to the Speaking Industry
In business, I’ve used this approach countless times.
I once worked with a client in the insurance industry who was evaluating entry into a new market. They already had a sense of what the positives might be, but as we worked together, we layered in negative criteria. What would make a market unattractive? What would signal unacceptable risk? What were the conditions that would cause them to walk away? By building those criteria upfront, the executive team had a much more objective process. Instead of getting lost in excitement or hypotheticals, they could look at the data and say with confidence: “This market clears the bar” or “This one doesn’t.”
The parallel for speakers is direct. You’re evaluating markets too — industries, organization types, event categories — and the question is the same. Not just “where do I want to play?” but “where do I definitively not want to play, and why?” A speaker who’s decided they won’t work with organizations below a certain size, or in a specific industry that conflicts with their values, or at events where the speaker fee is clearly an afterthought, has made their pipeline decisions easier for every future opportunity that comes in.
Hiring a Production Partner
This approach can be powerful in the most important vendor relationships you build as a speaker.
Consider hiring a media production company to build your reel. You could create a long wish list: great storytelling, strong editing, experience with speakers, competitive pricing. But you could also cut to the chase with negative criteria. No experience with live event footage? That’s a no — studio-only production teams rarely understand the energy of a keynote and it shows in the final cut. No references from other speakers? No. A process that doesn’t include a review stage before final delivery? No. No experience in adjusting audio that is less-than-ideal to make sure you have a great final product?
Those lines in the sand protect you from a costly mistake and a reel or event full keynote video are among the most important marketing assets you own, if not the most important. The wrong one follows you for years.
The same logic applies to bureau relationships, event partnerships, and anyone else you’re considering bringing into your business in a meaningful way. The negative criteria are often what protect you from the relationships that look good on paper and drain you in practice.
Jonathan Dunnett is a Council of Competitive Intelligence Fellow and keynote speaker business development coach. He helps established speakers build strategic, relationship-driven pipelines using the same intelligence frameworks Fortune 500 companies use to win competitive deals.
Why Negative Criteria Works
Negative criteria doesn’t just make decisions faster. It also makes them less emotional.
When you’re stuck, emotions can cloud your judgment. But a list of non-negotiables is grounding. It reminds you: these are the things that don’t work for me. If I see them, I can move on without second-guessing.
It’s not about being negative — it’s about being clear. It’s about reducing your cognitive load to make better, more systematic decisions that work for YOU.
So the next time you’re wrestling with a decision, ask yourself: what are the things I absolutely don’t want? Write them down. Use them as your filter. And watch how much easier the decision becomes.
If you’re ready to apply this specifically to building your ideal client list — the organizations you want on your radar and the ones you want to screen out quickly — that’s exactly what customer criteria for speakers covers. It’s the natural next step from here.