Celeste Headlee Speaking Topics

• Using AI While Maximizing Human Potential

  AI doesn’t have to be a rival. It can be a collaborator.

  Nearly 90 percent of businesses believe AI will be an important part of their success, but more than 60% are scaling back their investments in AI. The smartest leaders will implement AI strategically and intentionally, without risking a big investment that doesn’t pay off or, worse, increases costs and reduces productivity. AI is not profitable yet, but savvy leaders can use this new tool without losing the trust and innovation that comes from a skilled workforce.

  This tech is brand new and at this point, it’s unclear how it will function within business environments. There are a lot of possibilities and smart leaders will invest in what works, while protecting their company’s human assets – capitalizing on the power of AI while protecting the skills that are unique to human beings, like communication, creativity, ethical judgment and adaptability.

  Celeste Headlee offers tangible help for leaders at all levels to avoid the pitfalls of AI implementation by highlighting what AI can do – crunch data at incredible speed, pattern and image recognition, real time translation, and predicting outcomes – and what it can’t. Our species communicates with more sophistication, nuance, and emotional intelligence than any other. It’s crucial that we protect human communication and focus the power of AI on the tasks at which it excels.

  Get past the hype to an honest understanding of how AI can help, and how you can protect your business from data security threats, trust issues, tech hallucinations, and broken communications.

• AI and Communication

  Using AI with intention and care to embrace the benefits without eroding critical human connection

  AI has the potential to dramatically change the way we communicate, for better and worse. That means we all must use AI in an intentional way, to make use of the benefits without allowing it to negatively impact our connections.

  Celeste Headlee notes the benefits include:

  • One of the biggest benefits in AI communication is in breaking the language barrier, allowing those who do not speak each other's language to communicate in an authentic way.
  • AI software can also be designed to inject more positive language into any conversation, making the humans who communicate with a bot feel more upbeat.
  • It can also increase the speed of communication, which can be crucial in emergency situations, but also benefits organizations who rely heavily on customer service.

• Ten Ways To Have Better Conversations

  Celeste Headlee’s "Having Better Conversations" presentation focuses on the science-based fundamentals of communication and includes thought-provoking topics like the smarter you are the worse you are at communicating. This highly motivational talk, with 10 practical lessons, is designed to inspire self-confidence and introduces strategies for enhancing personal and professional relationships by simply becoming better at having conversations.

  Celeste's workshop offers concrete actions to improve attendees' conversational skills and to broaden their view of what constitutes a good (and civil) conversation. Having a conversation is like playing a game of catch. Communication has increased in our technological age, but meaningful conversation has plummeted. If a conversation is one-sided, the ball drops. When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations

  • and that most of us don't converse very well. Celeste knows the ingredients of a great conversation; honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. She argues that listening is the true power of what separates those of us who can gain a competitive advantage in whatever it is we are trying to achieve. Knowing what conversational tool should be used (and when) is critical to cultivating relationships.

• Leading/Building Team Culture in the “New Normal”

  Navigating the recent/current events radically changing an already fast-evolving work landscape

  Melding insights from both We Need to Talk and Do Nothing, team culture workshop(s) are tailored to meet a company’s specific structure (fully in office workforce, fully remote workforce, combination of the two), Celeste addresses topics including:

  • Work from home stress – how work stress actually increases in a work from home scenario noting studies that reveal going into an office can provide employees with stress relief and the importance in any transition to a work from home structure to address the increased chances for burnout
  • How to communicate remotely and maintain morale and team cohesion

    • i.e., transactivity

  • How to remain productive despite the distractions of home

    • accountability of team members, etc.

  • How to give feedback to remote workers in a constructive way, how often to check in
  • Scheduling your workday to increase productivity
  • Small changes that have big impacts when it comes to creative problem solving and streamlining processes
  • How to structure a conference call to keep them short and effective

• Do Nothing

  Breaking away from overworking, overdoing, and underliving

  Celeste Headlee’s Do Nothing examines the cult of productivity addressing long-held assumptions about time use, idleness, hard work and habits that are ultimately doing us harm, providing tangible to reverse the trend that’s making us all sadder, sicker and less productive, to return to a way of life that allows us to thrive. In her Do Nothing focused workshop(s) tailored to meet a company’s specific structure (fully in office workforce, fully remote workforce, combination of the two), Celeste addresses topics including:

  • Burnout – what it is, how to recognize it, actionable ways to avoid it
  • Work/Life Balance
  • Productivity – including the myths about it and ways to TRULY be more productive

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