Dr. Luana Marques Speaking Topics

• The Bold Move: Three Simple Science-Based Steps to Move Boldly Through Change

  Change is hard, and seemingly more prevalent than ever. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, companies throughout the world have shifted the way they work, and millions of individuals have changed jobs. On the home front, transitions in relationship status, friendships, and living situations happen multiple times throughout our lives. Each transition—even the best kind—creates stress and instability that threatens wellbeing. Moving forward requires identifying the habits that hold us back and employing skills to get where we want in life. This action-oriented presentation on The Bold Move™ empowers audience members to overcome the one common obstacle preventing them from reaching their goals so they can move boldly through change, discomfort, and stress.

  This keynote is ideal for individuals, leaders, and teams that are:

  • Struggling to be their best at work and at home.
  • Passionate about achieving their goals, but feel stuck, drained, and stressed.
  • Searching for proven skills to navigate change.

  Audience Outcomes:

  • Learn how the biological system designed to keep us safe can increase discomfort and stress.
  • Identify the one common obstacle that prevents us from reaching our goals.
  • Understand how to turn anxiety into power by changing the way your brain processes information.
  • Discover your personal compass to help you navigate through the choppy waters of life.
  • Develop a personalized action plan to manage stress, combat avoidance, and enhance your performance.
  • Be inspired and empowered to make your next bold move.

• Bold Work: Transforming Workplace Anxiety into Your Superpower

  An overwhelming 83% of US workers experience work-related stress, causing a significant impact on businesses due to missed workdays and healthcare expenses (American Institute of Stress, 2022). Many employees believe that eliminating anxiety and stress will improve their performance. However, Dr. Luana challenges this belief by identifying the actual enemy keeping employees stuck psychological avoidance. Drawing from her Harvard-based research, Dr. Luana provides actionable strategies that empower employees to overcome psychological avoidance and harness their anxiety to drive productivity and success.

  This keynote is ideal for individuals, leaders, and teams that are:

  • Experiencing ongoing workplace stress, anxiety, or burnout.
  • Passionate about achieving their goals, but feel stuck, drained, and stressed.
  • Searching for proven skills to increase workplace productivity and improve performance.

  Audience Outcomes:

  • Learn about the most common hindrance to work performance psychological avoidance.
  • Gain a clear understanding of how avoidance is impacting your productivity.
  • Discover evidence-based strategies to overcome psychological avoidance and turn anxiety into power.
  • Develop a personalized action plan to manage workplace stress, prevent burnout, and enhance your performance at work.

From Stress to Success: Transforming Team Anxiety into a Competitive Advantage

With workplace stress costing US employers more than $300 billion in productivity loss, absenteeism, turnover, medical expenses, and legal fees (American Institute of Stress, 2022), managing anxiety becomes paramount to cultivating high-performing teams. The capacity of team leaders to skillfully navigate their groups through everyday workplace challenges and transitions is vital to an organization's success. In this keynote, Dr. Luana leverages her extensive research and clinical expertise to help leaders identify the real source of stress – psychological avoidance – and provides science-driven strategies to overcome it. By tailoring her teaching to address the distinct challenges each group faces, Dr. Luana will help teams foster resilience and build cohesion.

This keynote is ideal for managers and team leaders that are:

• Experiencing stress, burnout, and anxiety.
• Seeking to increase the productivity and impact of their team.
• Guiding teams through change.

Audience Outcomes:

• Understand the critical role of resilience in managing change and stress within teams.
• Learn to identify signs of psychological avoidance within your team and implement evidence-based strategies to overcome it.
• Develop a comprehensive action plan to maintain team performance during periods of transition and stress.

Power Moves: A Senior Leader's Guide to Transforming Anxiety into Organizational Power

Leaders today are grappling with unprecedented challenges. From adapting to rapid technological changes to managing multi-generational workforce dynamics, leaders face constant pressure that can foster stress and anxiety. A study by Harvard Business Review (2021) revealed that 96% of senior leaders reported feeling 'burnt out' to some degree, with a third describing their burnout levels as extreme. In this transformational keynote, Dr. Luana demystifies the role of psychological avoidance in decision-making and leadership effectiveness, equipping leaders with her scientifically proven, 3-step strategy to harness anxiety as a catalyst for innovation and progress. With her transformative insights, leaders can reshape their leadership style to create a culture of resilience, creativity, and growth.

This keynote is ideal for individuals, leaders, and teams that are:

• Passionate about performing well, but feeling stressed, stuck, or drained.
• Seeking to increase their impact and promote organizational growth.
• Leading organizations through challenging times, transitions, or workflow changes.

Audience Outcomes:

• Understand the impact of psychological avoidance on decision-making and leadership effectiveness using cutting-edge research and real-world data.
• Learn how to identify and overcome avoidance in leadership, applying evidence-based strategies to harness anxiety as a driving force for change.
• Develop a comprehensive plan for cultivating a bold leadership style that sparks innovation, strengthens culture, and boosts revenue.

Boldly Go Transforming Anxiety into Academic Success

Anxiety is a significant mental health concern among students. With three in four students reporting anxiety (Lee et al., 2021), there is a prevailing belief that anxiety is the primary hurdle to academic success and personal development. Harvard-based psychologist, Dr. Luana enlightens her audiences to the fact that it is not anxiety per se, but rather psychological avoidance, that prevents students from unlocking their full potential. In this transformative keynote, Dr. Luana introduces her comprehensive 3-step method to help students and educators understand and overcome psychological avoidance. Drawing upon her extensive experience working with students in both private and public schools across the globe, she empowers participants with science-driven skills to elevate academic performance, enhance resilience, and adeptly navigate personal and professional growth with a newfound sense of confidence.

This keynote is ideal for students that are:

• Feeling unfulfilled, stressed about school, or anxious about their future.
• Passionate about achieving their academic goals. \
• Seeking lifelong skills to reach their full potential.

Audience Outcomes:

• Understand how psychological avoidance is impacting student performance and personal growth, leveraging the latest scientific research and real-world data.
• Learn to identify and overcome psychological avoidance using science-based strategies to transform anxiety into a tool for academic success.
• Develop a personalized action plan to manage stress, overcome psychological avoidance, bolster resilience and promote academic achievement.

Bold Steps Beyond the Cap and Gown: Transforming Anxiety into Action for a Powerful Future

Graduation is a time of celebration, accomplishment, but also significant uncertainty. A study by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found that nearly half of recent college graduates felt "a great deal of stress" and uncertainty about their future (2021). It's easy to assume that the stressful unknown is the primary roadblock to stepping into the future with confidence. Harvard-based psychologist Dr. Luana debunks this commonly held belief and enlightens audience the true obstacle to taking the next step in life – psychological avoidance. In this empowering keynote, Dr. Luana equips the graduating class with her scientifically proven, 3-step method to transform anxiety into action, turning uncertainty into a stepping-stone for personal and professional growth.

This keynote is ideal for students that are:

• Uncertain about their future.
• Transitioning into post-graduate life.
• Seeking lifelong skills to navigate change, tame anxiety, and move boldly toward their goals.

Audience Outcomes:

• Understand the impact of psychological avoidance on navigating postgraduation life decisions, drawing upon scientific research and real-world data.
• Learn to identify and overcome psychological avoidance, utilizing science-backed strategies to transform anxiety into a tool for taking confident action.
• Create a personalized roadmap for navigating the thrilling twists and turns of post-college life, building resilience, and setting the stage for a future filled with success.