the Keys to Confidence
Erik’s in-demand keynotes combines storytelling, hard facts, and humor to turn leadership insights into actionable steps.
KEYNOTE TOPIC
The Three T’s of Confidence: Enhance Leadership Skills by Transforming Fear Into Fuel
Develop genuine self-trust with practical tools and scientific insights.
Perfect for leaders and team members looking to grow into leadership roles.
Leadership confidence is becoming one of the biggest problems in the modern workplace. Research suggests that a majority of leaders, up to the C-suite level, lack confidence in their ability to handle challenges and lead their teams through major changes. This can be summed up as a strong fear of failure and an inability to step outside the comfort zone.
These confidence issues trickle down to the team dynamic as a whole. In fact, a recent Gallup poll shows that only 21 percent of employees strongly agree that they trust their organization’s leadership team.
Here’s the good news: Confidence can be developed!
By digging into simple strategies I call The Three T’s of Confidence with thorough research, relatable storytelling, and quick partner activities that put ideas into action, I can show you how to:
- Get comfortable stretching beyond your comfort zone
- Clarify your story about yourself
- Transform your fear of failure and change into fuel for the future
Because the truth is, the greatest moments in your life happen outside your comfort zone.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Find Your Confidence
Uncover and address common barriers to self-assurance, reshaping your perception of true confidence.
Empower Your Team
Adopt new perspectives that invigorate and sustain your team, preventing burnout and enhancing your working dynamic.
Put Words Into Action
Integrate the Three T’s into your daily leadership for lasting, practical confidence.
KEYNOTE TOPIC
Storytelling for Leaders: Creating Memorable Meetings and Powerful Presentations
Turn every conversation into an opportunity to connect and inspire.
Perfect for leaders wanting to enhance their presenting and speaking skills.
Our brains are wired for stories. Science proves it: Rich narratives engage several areas in the brain, stimulating emotions, sensory experiences, and social cognition. That’s what makes stories more memorable than dry facts. And the good news is, it’s usually more fun to present a story than list a bunch of statistics.
Whether you’re delivering a presentation, pitching an idea, or enhancing your personal brand, mastering the craft of storytelling is crucial for capturing attention, influencing others, and inspiring action.
Through interactive activities, real-world examples, and expert guidance, you’ll learn to harness your unique experiences to communicate authentically and powerfully. These are applicable skills you can use starting today to elevate your presentations, sales conversations, internal events, and even daily interaction.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The Power of Storytelling
Recognize why storytelling effectively engages emotions and enhances audience retention.
Crafting Compelling Narratives
Learn to structure your stories effectively using storytelling frameworks.
Identifying and Developing Core Stories
Explore the four essential stories every organization needs: Who we are, where we’re going, how we prove it, and what we’ve learned.
KEYNOTE TOPIC
Making Public Speaking Fun: Habits for Communicating with Confidence
Transform the way you communicate with practical skills and applicable next steps.
Perfect for anyone looking to grow confidence in their speaking and communication skills.
Only 10% of people feel confident in their communication skills. Or, to paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, people fear public speaking more than they fear death.
Public speaking is a vulnerable act that opens you up to rejection, judgment, and ridicule. Our brains hate those three things. Public speaking is a skill, and like all skills, there are no shortcuts to develop that skill in a quicker time. But there is a way to transform your fear into the fuel that powers effective communication and influential presentations.
This session works through essential communication components, including:
- Organizing your thoughts for maximum impact in speeches and conversations.
- Visual and vocal delivery skills with an emphasis on the power of body language and using voice modulation and strategic pauses to captivate an audience.
- Nerve management and easy ways you can handle your jitters and deliver with poise. You’ll walk away with a revitalized approach to communication — one that’s confident, powerful, and joyous.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Effective Thought Organization
Learn to structure your thoughts, arguments, and speeches for the greatest impact.
Visual and Vocal Delivery Techniques
Explore how verbal and non-verbal communication can captivate and engage your audience.
Nerve Management
Get practical tools for managing anxiety and speaking confidently.
KEYNOTE TOPIC
Redefining Communication: Own Your Message, Own Your Story, Own Your Courage
Unlock the doors to enhanced productivity and leadership with actionable communication strategies.
Perfect for team members looking to improve or enhance their communication skills.
Studies show that communication affects employee engagement, workplace culture, productivity, and client relations. But here’s a scary statistic: 86 percent of employees and executives identify poor communication as a major workplace problem. That means the majority of your team feels they are not communicating effectively with each other. How are your communication issues impacting your organization overall?
This session will get at the core of your communication challenges and reveal how fear can mute even the most competent communicators. Together, we’ll:
- Examine the common fears associated with communication through quick, hands-on partner activities.
- Explore how the why behind your words is just as crucial as how you deliver them.
- Make the three key rhetorical strategies of logos, pathos, and ethos easy to understand — so you can walk away with practical tools and immediate next steps to reshape communication in all areas of your life.
This is your chance to revolutionize your communication style and transform your fear into fuel.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Communication Barrier Busters
Identify and tackle the real obstacles to effective communication in both personal and professional settings.
Smart Communication Tools
Master innovative techniques for authentic and influential communication.
Confidence Building
Elevate your speaking style and improve confidence in all areas of your life.
KEYNOTE TOPIC
Navigating the Cave: Embracing Your Fear and Deepening Your Self-Understanding
Turn your mental health journey into a powerful story of healing and transformation.
Perfect for anyone interested in exploring mental wellness and physical and emotional well-being.
Mental health conditions affect 1 in 5 Americans every single year, with anxiety disorders being among the most common issues. And yet, 6 in 10 Americans seek no treatment or support for their conditions. Studies show that many people still view mental illness as a negative thing that should never be openly discussed.
We often see our mental health struggles as just that — struggles. There are times in our lives that seem impossible and feel exceptionally dark. And it’s made even worse when we treat our struggles as a shameful secret.
But here’s the truth: It’s in the darkness that we learn who we are, what we can do, and how much we can overcome.
In this keynote, I’ll share my personal story of how my relentless pursuit of excellence came at a high cost to my well-being. Together, we’ll explore how mental health issues can be reframed not as setbacks but as challenging adventures that lead to deeper self-understanding and resilience. You’ll leave feeling empowered to:
- Embrace your own story of struggle and resilience and find the power in your life experiences.
- Use your voice for positive change.
- Take meaningful steps toward mental wellness, starting today.
As Joseph Campbell said, “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Reframe Mental Health Challenges
Recognize hidden opportunities within personal struggles, viewing them as catalysts for growth rather than setbacks.
Develop Practical Wellness Strategies
Get actionable tools and daily habits that support stress management, burnout prevention, and long-term mental health.
Cultivate an Adventure Mindset
Embrace your challenges as a pathway to deeper self-discovery, unlocking personal insights and renewed perspective on life’s obstacles.
See more of erik on stage
Erik blends insight, data, and humor to turn big leadership ideas you can put into motion. Right now.
