The Keynote Curators Podcast

Disengaged, disconnected, and thriving. Yes, you read that right. You can be all three. But how on earth, you might be asking yourself, can an event professional avoid burnout – never mind, thrive! – when constantly engaged, connected to technology, wearing multiple hats, and not getting the recommended hours of sleep per night? You won’t want to miss my conversation with Nicole Brusewitz, with whom I go back over 15 years. As you’ll hear, Nicole refers to our listening audience as “unsung heroes,” and I couldn’t agree more. But I consider Nicole one, too. She’s helped thousands of financial services professionals grow as leaders by creating engaging educational experiences that provide impactful personal and professional development opportunities. Anyone who’s attended one of her growth-mindset-inspired programs will tell you that her style ignites courage and direction and moves people to act. Preventing burnout is something Nicole champions for all event professionals. Burnout can happen when you like what you do but are too depleted and have nothing left to give – when you’re engaged and exhausted, dedicated and depleted. Workloads are higher than ever. Decision fatigue is real. Learn how to manage your energy and avoid getting your foot stuck on the gas pedal.

Sharon Gai is an incredible figure, and I was honored to sit down with her recently to talk about her culturally diverse journey to becoming a sought-after B2C retail expert. Priding herself as a woman of color, Sharon brings to the stage diversity, international experience, and unique stories of innovation from an e-commerce and retail perspective in China. An expert on artificial intelligence, e-commerce, and digital transformation – topics that are top of mind for every business today – Sharon helps "stuck" organizations become more innovative, resilient, and culturally intelligent. Her popular TEDx Talk explores the importance of having a culture-fluid mindset, and her book Ecommerce Reimagined aims to satisfy the growing need of entrepreneurs and businesses hoping to tap into China's market. Don't miss our in-depth conversation as Sharon talks about building brand loyalty with the emerging Gen Alpha population, digital strategies event professionals can employ at events to enrich audience experiences, future trends of AI, and more. #womeninbusiness #innovation #AI #technology #keynotespeaker

Today, we're celebrating our 50th podcast (whoop whoop!) with the incredibly intelligent (and humble) Gene Marks, trusted business advisor to small and mid-sized businesses, acclaimed author, and featured columnist to publications including Forbes and Entrepreneur. Gene will tell you that as a small business owner, he's "suffering through all the same sh$t as every business owner." The stuff he talks about is selfishly motivated, which makes his messaging even more authentic. He's got skin in the game, speaking intentionally and personally about the issues that small and mid-sized business owners face daily. Gene reveals secrets from in-depth interviews with CEOs and business executives about how they navigate the financial, economic, and technology issues affecting their companies and talks about the actions they (and your audience) can take to continue to grow and profit. Don't miss our in-depth conversation as Gene advises event professionals about what audiences want to hear, reveals the secret sauce of long-standing successful companies, and shares his thoughts on AI's strengths and weaknesses. You won't want to miss the Bill Gates encounter at the end!

Jim Carroll is one of the world's leading global futurists – a trends, transformation, and innovation expert. He helps leaders achieve their goals by sharing industry-specific insights about trends that matter and aligning them with a disruptive, fast-paced future. For 35 years, he's presented to audiences including The World Bank, NASA, Deloitte, and Pfizer, and he has no desire to slow down. His research and insights about future trends and long-standing experience working with event professionals have made him a highly sought-after keynote speaker. Listen in as we discuss everything from AI to innovative thinking to virtual events. How does he see technology trends fitting into the events industry? How has he seen emerging technologies like ChatGPT applied at events, and what does he think of them? Are robots eventually going to take over the world? Find out what Jim thinks, and let us know if this global futurist keynote speaker can prepare your organization and clients for the future.#futurist #keynotespeaker #eventprofs #meetingplanner #conferenceplanner

If you ask a professional photographer what the best camera is, chances are they'll tell you, "The one you have in your hand at the moment you want to capture a shot." After all, the carpenter, not the hammer, creates the masterpiece. Photos can provide a powerful stimulus and tell a story without using spoken or written words. We say, "A picture is worth a thousand words," for this reason. In today's digital age, everyone can access a great camera through their cell phone, and content creation is widely available. Fusing the unique perspectives of an event photographer and the event attendee is an art form where some photographers excel. 🎧 Don't miss my conversation with Andrew Shafer, a brilliant photographer and digital artist who's been capturing images for almost two decades. As the owner of Andrew Shafer Visuals, he's worked with businesses and organizations like Cvent, DirectTV, Marriott, and Victoria's Secret to create visual assets that tell a story and promote ideas, products, and people. 💡 As Andrew shares, the best photographer becomes an extension of your team, gets to the heart and soul of your event, creates content that can be leveraged in other ways, and tells a story without using any words. #eventphotography #photographer #eventplanner #meetingplanner #conferenceplanner

The world is changing at the speed of ChatGPT. It took 75 years for the telephone to reach 150 million users. ChatGPT? About two months. Companies that crave expert guidance to navigate the quickly changing digital landscape turn to Terry Jones. “The last 25 years have been about who can build things the cheapest. The next 25 years will be about who can build things the smartest.”A disruption expert, Terry is best known for founding Travelocity and serving as founding Chairman of Kayak. Today, he’s the managing principal of ON Inc., a consultancy founded to help companies during their transition to a digital economy. Terry is an authoritative voice in the world of entrepreneurship and disruption and a thought leader on innovation in today’s digital world. Don't miss our in-depth conversation as he explains how disruption and innovation are two sides of the same coin, why curiosity and failure are secret weapons of success, and why the best ideas at your company are at the bottom. Learn how AI is being deployed to help companies streamline corporate travel booking, predict consumer behavior patterns, and deliver you a piping hot pizza in three minutes. #disruption #innovation #AI #technology #keynotespeaker

🎧 Event professionals, have we got a treat for you! ⚡️ This week’s podcast guest, Julius Solaris, has been described as one of the most influential people in the events industry in the past decade and was recently named a “Meetings Industry Influencer” by Meetings and Conventions magazine. 🤩 Founder of the popular blog EventMB, one of the most trusted resources in the events industry before it was sold to Skift Meetings in 2019, Julius’s content has influenced a generation of event planners and event technology companies. 📝 He’s currently the founder of Boldpush, a management consultancy agency that helps companies leverage the power of content, events, and community to dominate their market. The platform’s all-access membership also provides event professionals with exclusive masterclasses, event recordings, executive decks, strategic tools, timely industry research, and more. ✨ He's sharing his perspectives on the event industry, and revealing why experience matters more than ever and why content must spark discussion and connect people. What roles will AI play at events? Why is now the best time to embrace event technology? What key industry topics are trending now? Why does Julius feel his calling in life is to prepare event professionals for the next big unknown? ⬇️ Don’t miss this insightful conversation with one of the premier influencers in the industry. #events #eventsindustry #expert #eventexperience #eventplanning 

Today’s special guest on The Keynote Curators Podcast is Karith Foster, a diversity engagement specialist, and CEO at Inversity™ Solutions. We sat down recently to discuss diversity, inclusion, and equity and why the DEI conversation needs to go beyond sexuality, gender, and ethnicity. Terrified of not addressing the topic within your organization? Or saying the wrong thing if you do? Diversity doesn’t have to be an uncomfortable topic. It can even be a humorous one. Karith Foster draws from her experience as a Fortune 500 human resources executive administrator and a 20-year stand-up comedian to turn an often touchy subject into an approachable one. Her evolutionary Inversity™ Solutions method encourages people to discover what unites them instead of discussing what divides them. DEI shouldn’t be about quotas or optics. It’s about creating a healthy culture where people are encouraged to be reflective, engage in conscious conversations, and find common ground through laughter.  A firm believer that humor can heal division, Karith wants to revolutionize how society addresses diversity, mental wellness, and leadership issues. Her motto is “Laugh. Think. Grow.” With laughter, walls come down, engagement is sparked, and horizons are broadened. People are open to new experiences, new people, new cultures. Tune in to hear how this diversity-done-differently specialist ignites real conversation that has the power to change lives, create connections, and strengthen relationships.#DEI #diversity #equity #inclusion #leadership

Change signifies something scary for many, a risky departure from the familiar into the unknown. For Mark Schulman – world-renowned drummer, author, motivator, and captivating storyteller – change symbolizes growth and opportunity.  🤩 A believer that “creativity and sustainable solutions cannot be cultivated in an environment of fear and pessimism,” Mark Schulman knows that to be creative, you must be willing to go off script, change and take risks. Those who take the leap, know the safety net will appear and they’ll be richly rewarded for their courage and conviction. 🤟 Described as “Tony Robbins meets Bono meets Ringo Starr,” Mark Schulman has performed for over one billion people worldwide as the drummer for some of the most iconic music acts of all time, including P!NK, Billy Idol, Foreigner, and Cher. Today, he’s taking his high-energy performance on the road as a highly sought-after inspirational keynote speaker, incorporating business philosophy and innovative strategic content with engaging multimedia and drum performances.  🎧 Don’t miss my inspiring conversation with Mark Schulman as we talk about everything from the power of attitude and the ability of a keynote to change the world, to the opportunities that arise from improv, the three steps to top performance, and his exciting career playing for some of the biggest names in music. #performance #creativity #attitude #peakperformance #keynotespeaker

How customers complain about your business has changed. The “guest relations” philosophy has shifted dramatically with the rise of social media. If customers aren’t happy, they won’t tell 10 people – they’ll tell millions – and the imprint online will be permanent. Today’s podcast guest, David Avrin, is a highly sought-after customer experience expert and bestselling author who’s helped organizations around the globe future-proof their businesses, understand their customers better, and become ridiculously easy to do business with. In today’s fast-evolving digital world, the customer journey – messaging, social interactions, sales process, post-sale marketing, and customer support – must be exceptional, or people will go elsewhere. Clever messaging can’t mask lackluster customer service, and a friendly customer experience no longer outweighs a quick and convenient one. David opens up about the importance of high-value keynote presentations with actionable takeaways, the changing customer service and experience landscape, the pros and cons of AI in the customer experience journey, and the ROI a great speaker rep will deliver by curating the right speaker with the most impactful message for your event.#customerexperience #customerservice #cx #customerjourney #customerservicemapping #customerfeedback #whycustomersleave #businessspeaker #businessconsultant #businessowners #bestmotivationalspeakers #motivationalkeynotespeaker #keynotespeaker #eventplanner #meetingplanner #eventplanning