Keynotes
Watch Michael delivering a Keynote Speech (edited highlights)
Please Keep Quiet and Listen
Life is fast paced, busy, permanently interrupted by technology, messages, documents, updates, and a need to respond. The most powerful thing we can do for someone is listen to them, without distractions, without the fear of being judged. The skill is listening, really listening to someone, and this talk will explain the basics on how to listen to someone, and how we must retain the art of listening. Please keep quiet and listen.
Back to the Boot Room
The power of being able to speak openly, honestly, without judgement is powerful, but sadly rare. The Boot Room, developed at Liverpool in the 1960's is revered to this day, as it was a source of ideas, honesty, friendship, all with the aim of the team doing well. There were no distractions, no technology, but everything stemmed from those conversations. We need the boot room more than ever and this keynote will describe the impact of the boot room and how and why you can develop your own safe environment for your team.
Show Some Emotion
We are living, breathing, emotional human beings and it makes us unique and special. Sometimes it is good to show emotion, in public even, even on the biggest stage in the way Jurgen Klopp has as Manager of Liverpool, or the England cricket team when winning the World Cup. We have been taught to always be calm, in control, but sometimes you simply have to let it out, in the right way obviously. This talk explains how being emotional can work for you, and the effect it can have on others.
Why Do I Keep Beating Myself Up?
If we talked to others in the way we talk to ourselves, we wouldn't hold down a job or position. We beat ourselves up over the small things, as well as the major errors, often with disastrous results. Why do we do this? This talk will explain why we are so hard on ourselves, often at the worst time possible, and how we can learn to treat ourselves in a more balanced way, especially under pressure.
Get Used to Losing
We are continually being told how to be successful, winners, fulfil potential and seize the day. Of course we want to be successful but if everything came easily, how would we learn anything? Life is often about losing, sport is about losing, but how you handle losing is the determining factor, not always the result on the day. We have to get used to losing, as we all lose, often, and we should not be embarrassed by it. This talk demystifies losing, and how useful it can be, if channeled correctly.
Why Did I do That?
We are normally logical, rational, sensible people, but sometimes we literally lose it. We are hi-jacked and then regret our irrational behaviour, why do we do that? This talk will explain how we behave irrationally, just when we want to be calm and sensible, but more importantly, how we can prevent it in the future.
Play Like a Child
Remember playing in the garden or park as a child and not worrying about whether you won, lost, or even made a fool of yourself? What stops us playing like a child, with that sense of freedom and innocence? This talk examines how we can rekindle that mindset, which requires practice, but often with stunning results.
Why Don't We All Just Get On?
Even the most successful teams can fall out, argue, yet manage to succeed. The problem is some teams and groups fall out, often over the small things, but don't make up, and the results are often disastrous. Tension in teams is healthy, it is when we are most productive but the key is not to let it get personal, then it's finished. This talk brings to life how to manage the small things to prevent teams falling out, as the big picture will often take care of itself.
Sleeping Like a Log
Everything begins and finishes with a good nights's sleep, it is often that simple. The trouble is we have disregarded sleep as we have lit up the dark, remain connected when we should be winding down, and everything subsequently dips, and I mean everything. This talks focuses on why we need sleep, how we can sleep better in this hyper connected era, and the affects if we compromise on sleep.
How Did We Manage to Get Here?
Often we hear people or teams say "I can't believe we've done this", but it is completely believable as the process led to the outcome. And that process was a series of small, achievable, even enjoyable goals, but the problem is we are obsessed with the outcome. This talk addresses the simple but crucial art of goals, targets and progress, which leads to the desired outcome we all crave.
Your Guardian Angel of Performance
Remember when you felt really confident? In control? Feeling as if you could not make a mistake? Your Guardian Angel was looking after you and it felt marvellous. But remember when you felt lacking in confidence and even the most simple task seemed herculean? It almost makes you wince but that is when your Guardian Angel really looked after you. This talk examines how to build and maintain confidence and how to retrieve it when it suddenly goes missing, just when you need it most. Confidence is a matter of preparation and will, so is hard earned, we will examine how to do this
I Don't Even Recognise Myself
Our behaviour is often inappropriate and irrational when tired or stressed, but we don't address the root cause of stress. What causes stress? Why can't we spot it? Why do we try to ignore it? This talk does not ignore it as the causes of stress will be explained and simplified, as will how to deal with stress and keep it all in perspective.
Positive Power of Being Negative
We are told to always be positive, but for some that is not how they think or behave. Some elite performers are almost driven by the fear of failure which is very different to lacking positivity. This talk explains the positive power of negative thinking and how the fear of failure can be a huge motivation when used in the right way.
Stop Showing Off
Leadership is not for everyone as it brings pressure, responsibility, scrutiny and can be draining. But when you become a leader, you don't need to show off, if anything, the opposite is true. This talk explains how leadership is changing, what people now want from leaders, and it is not what you think.