What's Changing for Event Planners and Audiences? by Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta When people ask me if I am a Motivational Speaker I always answer that I definitely motivate audiences to stand up and be accountable. Be proactive. Deal with change. Increase their sales. Rev up performance. Attract more customers. Lead with integrity. Collaborate more. And be a role model. But I am NOT a “rah-rah, dream your dream, you can have whatever you want with the right attitude” kind of speaker. Why? One is because that type of motivation is not long-lasting. It's a quick fix in a world Read More
Get Your Team Out of the Funk!
Get Your Team Out of the Funk!
Wondering how to infuse your team with a little humor and insights that can help break the tension and turn up morale and productivity? I've got you! Read More
HAPPINESS is FLAWSOME!
HAPPINESS is FLAWSOME!
Learning to Celebrate Your Imperfections by Motivational Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta Perfection? Overrated. Unreachable. Exhausting. Impossible. Obsessive. Look, I’m not saying don’t stop reaching for more. Far from it. But no one—NO ONE—is perfect. Happiness is getting to that point in your life where you can say, “I don’t have to have it all, do it all, be the best,” and being all right with that. You know, there’s a very real difference between getting it perfect and giving it all you have. Happiness is about realizing that mistakes are part of life’s crazy plan so we can learn Read More
15 Things to Quit Today to Stop Making BAD Decisions
15 Things to Quit Today to Stop Making BAD Decisions
By Motivational Keynote Speaker and Human Behavior Expert Connie Podesta Bad choices? Sure, we all make them. Hopefully as we get older (and sometimes wiser) though, we figure out that we can do better than that. If you’re ready to start making BETTER choices, let’s take a look at the top 15 things to quit starting today. Quit avoiding reality. Too many people live in an “if only” or “I wish” fantasy world—and not in the reality of what is actually going on at this moment!Be honest with yourself. Making choices based on what you wish would happen or should happen or might happen is Read More
Delivering the Content People Need Right Now
Delivering the Content People Need Right Now
By Hall of Fame Speaker Connie Podesta Change is tough. Change on a global scale that has literally hit home and business in every conceivable way? Can stop people – teams – and companies in their tracks. So, how do we get people to lean into their inherent resilience? To get out of fear that is playing in their heads and back to leading, servicing, connecting, selling, and communicating in new and adaptive ways? We add a little psychology into the mix. We teach them that change is what we do – and do well – as human beings. We gift them with tools and insights and strategies that Read More
Pandemic Fatigue and Your Team
Pandemic Fatigue and Your Team
By Hall of Fame Speaker Connie Podesta Johns Hopkins. UCLA Health. Psychology Today. World Health Organization. Just about every mental health professional in the world right now is helping people navigate Pandemic Fatigue. It’s real. It’s draining. And it is likely to be around for a while. As leaders, now is the time to be proactive about fueling your team’s mental well being with empowering tools, training, support systems – and a little levity. Gagandeep Singh, MD, a psychiatrist at Banner Behavioral Health Hospital in Scottsdale says, “A good laugh can help lighten the mood Read More
Creating an Incredible Virtual Experience
Creating an Incredible Virtual Experience
By Connie Podesta, CSP, CPAE, Hall of Fame Speaker When a pandemic forced event planners and leaders to cancel all live events almost overnight, it was hard to even imagine what the future would look like. I totally get it. As someone who makes a living speaking to conventions packed with hundreds and thousands of people, often shoulder- to-shoulder, I feel your pain, and your frustration. Social distancing has seriously thrown a big global wrench into all our calendars. The big question for most became – “Now what?” Lockdowns, shelters-in-place, and shuttered stages aside, what hasn’t Read More
Six Dare to Be Different Tips for Speakers
Six Dare to Be Different Tips for Speakers
How to Give a STANDOUT Presentation by Motivational Speaker Connie Podesta Believe it or not, after more than 30 years in this business, speaking to more than 60,000 people a year, I still get nervous. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. (How many of you feel the same?) I always want to have that little fear-factor edge that keeps me on my toes and never lets me take my job or my audiences for granted. But, I have learned to conquer the major fears and keep cool, calm and collected. Stage fright is just part of it though – right? You may be worried about your message. Will it hit Read More
Quit Being a Victim
Quit Being a Victim
By Connie Podesta, Hall of Fame Speaker Straight talk? If you’re 25, 65+ years old or anywhere in between and you’re still blaming your parents for a few (or many) things you believe are responsible for the condition of your life right now – then you’re totally on the wrong path. Now I’m not saying to discount any negative childhood messages or experiences. I’m definitely 100% an advocate for children who’ve been through trauma and I know what that means moving into adulthood. What I am saying is that when you reach the age of adulthood, it’s time to use your awareness of what you’ve been Read More
Quit Underestimating the Importance of Childhood Messages
Quit Underestimating the Importance of Childhood Messages
By Human Behavior Expert & Hall of Fame Speaker Connie Podesta Straight talk? If you’re 25, 65+ years old or anywhere in between and you’re still blaming your parents for a few (or many) things you believe are responsible for the condition of your life right now – then you’re totally on the wrong path. Now I’m not saying to discount any negative childhood messages or experiences. I’m definitely 100% an advocate for children who’ve been through trauma and I know what that means moving into adulthood. What I am saying is that when you reach the age of adulthood, it’s time to use your Read More