Talks & Keynotes
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Beyond 'Smart': Why the Smartest Cities of the Future will be the Inclusive Cities
Topics covered: Today’s most ambitious smart city projects | Future thinking about smart cities and innovation | Quotes from city leaders and leading vendors in some of the world’s smartest cities | Most common smart city projects | Common issues and opportunities faced by today’s smart cities
Formats offered: Keynote; Short presentation; Facilitated panel discussion
The Next Disruption: An Exclusive Sneak Peek at the Technology of the Future
Topics covered: Cutting-edge preview of the tech trends shaping the future, based on the latest insider conversations and tech trends reports; Thought leadership about how these tech trends will impact the audience sooner than they think; Relevant research into digital transformation, innovation, and disruption
Formats offered: Keynote; Short presentation; Facilitated panel discussion
Broadband Access and Startups: How connectivity and access can propel—or prevent—startup innovation
Topics covered: Today’s most ambitious smart city projects | Future thinking about smart cities and innovation | Quotes from city leaders and leading vendors in some of the world’s smartest cities | Most common smart city projects | Common issues and opportunities faced by today’s smart cities
Formats offered: Keynote; Short presentation; Facilitated panel discussion
Curating a Professional Online Presence with Social Media
Remember: The time to build your network is not when you need your network!
Description: Not only can a professional online persona help connect you with your professional goals (from internship hunting to job placement), but it can also help you collaborate with those in and outside of your field, stay in touch with students and professors, learn about conference and presentation opportunities, and more.
Whether you’re pursuing academia, industry, or public service, social media can be a valuable tool. You can harness social media’s networking power—without spending too much time and energy—to launch with your career and research goals.
Formats offered: Training session, workshop
Report Writing | Proposal Writing
Focus areas: How to write professional reports | Research to show that anyone can be a strong writer | Secrets to the writing process | Fundamentals of the writing process | Report structure or Proposal Structure | Tips for writing high-quality reports or proposals | How to write and edit reports, proposals, and technical documents
Formats offered: Training session, workshop
Presentation Training
Focus areas: Feel more confident whenever you speak | Strategies for professional presentations | Audience awareness and presentation development | Presentation structure | Tips for delivering high-quality presentations
Formats offered: Training session, workshop
Stop Giving Women Advice: The hidden danger of unsolicited advice and its effect on women
Description: The year my business started making six-figure annual revenue, I was constantly hearing from others that I needed to be more confident, or more assertive—and in the big world of startup culture, it made me feel about an inch tall.
After years of research, I've learned that I'm not alone—women are more likely to receive unsolicited advice than men are, and it can have an incredibly damaging effect on our confidence, our performance, and our relationships. In this talk, we'll explore unsolicited advice from a neuroscience perspective, and talk about ways you can re-channel others' unnecessary feedback into fuel for your fire.
Formats offered: Keynote
Change Perceptions to Change Reality: Know How Female Leaders Are Perceived
Description: If perception is reality, perceptions of female leaders matter. Many perceptions are wrong—even unjust—but awareness can equip you to set expectations, battle stereotypes, and advocate for women in business. Join us and learn insightful—even inciting—data on perceptions of women leaders, and what you can do in the face of those perceptions.
Formats offered: Keynote; Short presentation; Facilitated panel discussion
Forget the “Grind”: Let’s talk about fortitude
Focus areas: The “hustle and grind” culture prioritizes work over all things and sees work as facetime and hours spent. But does it work? Are those who are burning the candle at both ends really more successful? This talk is a review of where we are now and a dream for where we could be instead — a look at the current effects of hustle culture and a vision for what could be better, with real strategies that help us prioritize wellness (and research to help show why this works).
Formats offered: Keynote, Short Presentation
The Art and Practice of Resilience
Focus areas: Resilience isn’t something you have—it’s something you grow. This empowering session combines storytelling, neuroscience, and proven leadership strategies to help participants grow their own resilience plan, which includes methods for intention and practice going forward. In this exploratory session, participants will have a chance to consider what resilience means in their lives—and what skills they already have that can help them to be resilient during difficult times.
Formats offered: Keynote, Workshop
How Do Adults Learn?
Focus areas: How do adults learn, and how should learning strategies change when they’re applied to adults (rather than to kids)? A review of the key strategies in adult learning research, plus an overview of how companies, brands, consultants, and leaders can better apply the principles of adult learning theory in their work.
Formats offered: Keynote, short presentation, training session, workshop
Applying the Science of Learning to Business Outcomes
Focus areas: How learning transfer could be key to capturing your clients’ attention, and why strategies that work for the best college professors might work in your board room
Formats offered: Keynote, short presentation, training session, workshop
Entrepreneurship and Mental Health
Description: What does mental health look like in today's "hustle" culture? According to a study by the National Institute of Mental Health. 49% of entrepreneurs deal with mental health issues directly. But for many entrepreneurs, traditional mental health resources - like HR Departments or paid leave - are not available. What lessons can we learn from successful entrepreneurs who have prioritized mental health? How can this community support the unique mental health needs of entrepreneurs?
Formats offered: Keynote; Short presentation; Facilitated panel discussion
The Failure that Saved My Business: How my lessons-learned could save your next project
Description: The authentic story of the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, the painful lessons learned along the way, and ultimately, the success story of how I pivoted after failure and carved my own path forward.
In this talk, we focus on failure - the lessons we can learn from it, and the stories we can tell ourselves when we’re in it. I also share my personal story - how I started my self-funded company, grew it to half a million in annual revenue in only three years, then almost lost everything.
Formats offered: Keynote, short presentation
The Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship in the Age of Digital Transformation
Focus areas: Equipping the next generation of entrepreneurs with the fundamentals they need to harness disruptions and tech trends in their startup ventures
Formats offered: Keynote, short presentation, training session, workshop
The Ally Strategy: How to Include, Empower, and Ignite Allies
Description: How can YOU as a leader help others feel comfortable to stand up, speak up, and be counted as an ally? Learn new strategies for recruiting and empowering allies, with the goal of a safe, engaged culture. Help everyone in your organization feel comfortable using their voice to stand up for others.
Formats offered: Keynote; Short presentation; Facilitated panel discussion