Inviting Andy to Speak

What is your availability for public speaking?

I am fully booked through 2025. My partners and I at Praxis evaluate invitations on a quarterly basis about 9-12 months ahead (so we’ll make decisions for the first quarter of 2026 in March 2025). I give strong preference to invitations that aren’t just “hit-and-run” speaking to large audiences but include intensive personal interaction with smaller groups, especially young adults who are intentional about their own and others’ growth.

Are you available for online events?

I am available for a small number of live and interactive online events (no prerecorded talks). I will consider invitations for online events on a monthly basis up to three months before the event date.

How much do you charge?

My speaking fee (payable to Praxis) is $6,000 for the first day and $3,500 for each additional day; plus travel expenses (based on lowest non-stop economy class airfare from PHL, plus ground transportation—I do not bill for meals en route or other miscellaneous expenses).

My speaking fee for online engagements is $1,000 for the first hour and $500 for each additional hour.

These amounts are the same everywhere I go, with two exceptions. For a few specific long-standing Praxis partners, we charge a lower daily rate. And for churches and ministries in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, where we’ve chosen to focus my volunteer efforts, I never charge at all.

(For a bit more on the philosophy behind my speaking fees, see my post from 2011, “Why I Charge So Much, and So Little, to Speak.”)

Events that require travel across more than one time zone from Philadelphia generally need to be at least two days in duration.

Do you work through a speakers’ bureau?

I work directly with event organizers through the whole planning process so we can communicate and coordinate most effectively. No agents are involved. The best way to begin the conversation is normally with email to andy at praxislabs dot org.

What topics do you speak on?

Speaking for me is like playing with Legos. Legos come in kits designed to build specific things—an X-wing fighter, a train, a whole city—but all the pieces usually end up in one big blue box.

I have a lot of different Lego pieces in my big blue box. Works of art. Pieces of music (both performance and participatory—Bach, the blues, and black gospel). Key ideas from my books. And stories of creativity, innovation, and flourishing from every cultural sector. I’ve used them to build everything from 20-minute talks to two- and three-day conferences (and for that matter, week-long graduate-level courses).

But the real fun of Legos is working with a friend to build something you’ve never built before. So I welcome the chance to think creatively together about how to serve your group or team.