The Keynote Curators Podcast
by Seth Dechtman - The Keynote Curators
The Keynote Curators Podcast brings the most current and engaging topics from the best keynote speakers in the world.For two decades, The Keynote Curators have worked with event, meeting, and conference professionals to guarantee they hit a home run when it comes to the main stage.Find out for yourself why planners choose The Keynote Curators to deliver results and make planning a breeze. Contact our office today.VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://thekeynotecurators.com/CONNECT WITH US: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2883493/
Episodes
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199. Becoming the Type of Leader People Want to Follow with Simon T. Bailey
Hope isn’t a feeling. It’s a behavior only the top leaders have, especially when people aren't sure about what comes next. Leadership expert Simon T. Bailey doesn’t define hope as believing everything will work out. It’s helping people see what they can control. And giving them the confidence to...
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198. How to Master Change Leadership (Without Burning Yourself Out) with Cheryl Cran
Not every workplace roadblock needs a new tool, process, or platform. Sometimes the problem is simpler. Two people don’t trust each other. Someone needs to be right. A leader isn’t listening. A difficult conversation keeps getting avoided. On this episode, change leadership expert Cheryl Cran and…
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197. Why Team Culture Beats Raw Talent Every Single Time with David Burkus
When was the last time someone disagreed with you in front of your entire team? Corporate culture expert David Burkus says your answer tells him a lot about your company. Because trust isn’t something leaders announce. It shows up when someone takes a risk: Shares the weird idea. Admits they…
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196. How to Master AI to Deliver High-Value Results with Sam Richter
AI will replace your job. Sam Richter says yes. If you define your job as updating the CRM, building the deck, writing the first draft, or finding information, AI is coming for a lot of it. But if you define your job by the value you create? That’s a very different conversation. On The Keynote...
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195. Real Change Starts by Embracing Your Emotions, with Cassandra Worthy
Here’s some unusual advice: embrace change and take rejection personally. Feel the frustration. The anxiety. Then get curious about what it’s trying to tell you. That’s the heart of Cassandra Worthy’s approach to change. On The Keynote Curators Podcast, Cassandra and I talk about using difficult...
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194. Ways to Strengthen Your Workplace Culture, with Danny Goldberg
Ask your leadership team, “How’s your company culture?” and their response will probably be, "Great.” Now ask the employees. That’s where things get interesting. Danny Goldberg talks with both groups before his keynotes. And 9 times out of 10, he finds a gap between the culture leaders believe...
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193. Customer Experience Strategies that Actually Work with Brad Cleveland
Easy is hard. For the customer, great service should feel almost invisible: A short wait. A useful answer. A bot that knows when to hand you to a human. A problem that doesn’t happen again. Behind that simplicity? Training. Staffing. Better systems. Clear values. And a willingness to actually…
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192. Your Career Could Show Up Where You Least Expect It with Melissa Proctor
Forget the career ladder. Melissa Proctor prefers the jungle gym. Sideways. Backward. Up. Over. Into a role you never planned on taking. Her own path started as the Miami Heat’s first ball girl, folding towels, sweeping floors, and talking to everyone in the building, and eventually led to the...
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191. Build a Business Culture People Want to Work For with Chris Dyer
Want to know what your business culture is really like? Don’t read the values on the wall. Watch what happens when someone makes a mistake. When life gets messy. When a new employee walks in. When a leader has the chance to trust instead of control. That’s the real test. On this episode of The...
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190. Networking the Way It's Meant to Be Done with Laura Schwartz
You never know when a simple conversation with the person next to you might change your life. That’s the kind of networking that Laura Schwartz believes in. Not collecting contacts. Not scanning the room for the most important person. Not asking, “What can you do for me?” But instead: What can I…
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189. How to Design Memorable Events with Carrie Davenport
An event has two agendas. The one you print: Keynote. Breakout. Lunch. Panel. Reception. And the one people remember: The conversation during the coffee break. The person they met between sessions. The room that made them want to stay. The speaker who gave everyone something to talk about...
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188. The Case for Creating Better Problems with Jason Feifer
Bad problem: How do we avoid change? Better problem: How do we get good at what comes next? That distinction sits at the center of my conversation with Jason Feifer, editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur magazine. Jason’s argument is refreshingly freeing: progress doesn't mean finally arriving at a…
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187. What It Takes to Build Real Relationships with Liz Bohannon
We've gotten very good at being independent. Building careers. Managing calendars. Solving our own problems. Maybe too good. Because somewhere along the way, a lot of successful people ended up surrounded by people... and still lonely. This week on The Keynote Curators Podcast, Liz Bohannon...
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186. Every Story Is Worth Telling with Robert X. Fogarty
A thousand people can share a room and still feel invisible. That's the real challenge of an event. Not getting people through the door. Helping them truly see one another once they’re inside. This week on The Keynote Curators Podcast, renowned photographer Robert X. Fogarty explores why the...
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185. The Self-Talk You Need to Achieve Peak Performance with Jannell MacAulay
Three realities about peak performance everyone eventually faces: • Plans will change. • Your attention will wander. • You will miss shots. The question is not whether those things happen. It’s what your mind does next. This week on The Keynote Curators Podcast, Dr. Jannell MacAulay explores how...
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184. Why Leaders Need to Plan for the Future with Nikolas Badminton
Somewhere along the way, long-term thinking got demoted to a luxury. A lot of companies now call three years a strategy. Five years feels ambitious. Ten years sounds unrealistic. And that shrinking horizon changes everything. This week on The Keynote Curators Podcast, Nikolas Badminton makes the...
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183. What Real Resilience Looks Like, with Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe
You can usually spot the people who need this conversation most. They're the ones saying: “I’ll rest after this week.” “I just need to get through this month.” “Things will calm down soon.” But soon has a way of never arriving. This week on The Keynote Curators Podcast, Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe...
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182. Build a Business Culture That Lasts with Robert Spector
Success can be a dangerous thing for a business. It can make leaders comfortable. Slow. Certain the old formula will keep working. This week on The Keynote Curators Podcast, Robert Spector, the world’s leading independent authority on the iconic company Nordstrom, shares what keeps companies...
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181. How Staying Curious Can Help You Drive Innovation with Diana Kander
A packed calendar can look like progress. Until you realize it is full of things that used to matter more than they do now. This week on The Keynote Curators Podcast, best-selling author and innovation consultant Diana Kander explores how zombie work, outdated habits, and overloaded schedules...
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180. The Science Behind Leveling up Your Communication Skills with Melina Palmer
Most leaders don't have a communication problem. They have a human problem. They keep acting like people make decisions logically. Like vague language is harmless. Like friction is normal. Like trust can survive confusion. It can’t. This week on The Keynote Curators Podcast, Melina Palmer unpacks...
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179. How Clear Communication Elevates Customer Service with Barbara Khozam
Customer service is rarely won in the big moment. It’s won in the pause before you respond. In the tone you choose. In whether the other person feels heard, respected, and understood. Today, I’m talking with Barbara Khozam about customer service, communication, respect, and why listening is still...
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178. Business Authenticity Starts With Knowing Yourself, with Kevin Boehm
Success can be one of the easiest places to hide. Behind the wins. The promotions. The applause. The next big goal. Until one day you realize you've built a remarkable career... but never stopped to build yourself. This week on The Keynote Curators Podcast, James Beard-winning restaurateur Kevin...
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177. Leadership Strategies to Thrive in Uncertain Times with Meridith Elliott Powell
The more uncertain things get, the tighter most leaders squeeze. That's usually when things start breaking. Today's podcast guest, Meredith Elliott Powell, challenges one of leadership's most expensive habits: trying to control what can't be controlled. Because people don't need more management...
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176. Simple Habits that Make Your Productivity Feel Effortless, with Porter Knight
Productivity has a branding problem. Most people think it's about doing more. It's not. It's about making fewer decisions, reducing mental clutter, and protecting your attention from everything competing for it. This week, I'm talking with productivity expert Porter Knight about workplace...
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175. How to Build a Business That Speaks for Itself With Scott McKain
What makes a business memorable nowadays? Not louder branding. Not bigger claims. Not another round of attention-seeking. This week, I’m talking with Scott McKain about distinction and customer experience, and why the businesses that last are the ones that stand for something. He makes a sharp...
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174. Build Trust and Good Communication to Create a Better Workplace, with Minda Harts
Trust rarely breaks all at once. It erodes in the pauses, the missed follow-through, the joke that lands wrong, the voice that never speaks up. This week, I’m talking with Minda Harts about trust, communication, leadership, and what it takes to build workplaces where people feel respected,...
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173. Create a Customer Experience People Love with Stephen Yalof
The product is rarely the product. Your customer experience is. This week, I'm talking with Stephen Yalof, CEO of Tanger, about why the businesses winning today aren't selling things. They're creating places people want to belong. Because nobody drives across town for a transaction. They drive...
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172. The Resilience Mindset That Can Carry You Through Anything, with Nicole Malachowski
The moment that changes your life rarely feels like certainty. More often, it feels like doubt. This week, I'm talking with Nicole Malachowski about resilience, leadership, and what happens when life stops following the script you wrote for it. Because courage is not the absence of fear.…
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171. Why Having Patience Matters to Achieve Your Goals
Most people quit the mountain long before the mountain beats them. Not because they're weak. Because they're impatient. This week, I'm talking with keynote speaker Ed Viesturs, the first American to climb all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks without supplemental oxygen. His journey took nearly...
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170. The Human Skills That Matter Most in an AI World with Shawn Kanungo
AI is not the strategy. That's the problem. This week, I'm talking with Shawn Kanungo about what happens when companies obsess over AI tools before they understand the actual problem they're trying to solve. Because AI will not save a broken workflow. It will just help you break faster. For event...
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169. Why True Resilience Starts with Your Core Values, with Sean Swarner
Some mountains are made of rock. Others are made of fear, loss, and doubt. This week, I’m talking with keynote speaker Sean Swarner about resilience, mindset, values, and how to keep moving when the climb feels impossible. Because most people don't fail at the summit. They freeze staring at the...
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168. Turning Change Into Opportunity with Ryan Estis
Opportunity doesn't usually show up looking calm. It usually arrives disguised as pressure. This week, I'm talking with keynote speaker Ryan Estis about leadership in a world where burnout is high, engagement is low, change is constant, and AI is moving faster than most teams can process. Because...
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167. Using Creativity to Transform Workplace Culture, with Nir Bashan
Creativity isn't extra. It's how good teams get unstuck. This week, I'm talking with keynote speaker Nir Bashan about creativity as a business tool, not a personality trait. Because innovation usually doesn't die from lack of talent. It dies from bad language, stale thinking, and teams that stop...
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166. The Adventurer's Guide to Building Resilience with Squash Falconer
Resilience isn't grit for show. It's judgment under pressure. This week, I'm talking with keynote speaker Squash Falconer about the kind of courage people romanticize and the kind that actually keeps you alive. Because adventure isn't just about going. It's about knowing when to pause. When to...
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165. Exploring Your Everyday Creativity with Fredrik Haren
Creativity isn't a gift reserved for artists. It's a way of seeing. Of working. Of understanding yourself. This week, I'm talking with creativity explorer and keynote speaker Fredrik Haren about why creativity is less about talent and more about mindset, practice, and perspective. At a time when…
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164. How Boundaries Can Unlock Your Creativity with Sheri Jacobs
To best express your creativity, you don't need more options. You need to set better boundaries. This week, I'm talking with keynote speaker Sheri Jacobs about why innovation usually dies under too much freedom, too many tools, and even too little clarity. Because "be creative" sounds…
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163. Buid Resilience to Rebuild Your Life, with Travis Mills
Some people talk about resilience like it's a mindset hack. Keynote speaker Travis Mills had to rebuild it from the ground up. Today, I'm talking with retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills about surviving an IED explosion in Afghanistan, becoming a quadruple amputee, and choosing to live…
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162. How Good Stress Can Improve Your Health with Jess Krasno
Stress can be a healing tool... When you choose it on purpose. This week, I'm talking with keynote speaker Jeff Krasno about the kind of stress that builds health instead of draining it. Jeff used the principles behind his book, Good Stress, to reverse his diabetes, lose 60 pounds, and reclaim…
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161. The Science of Sleep & Better Habits with Dr. Jade Wu
Sleep doesn't need more gadgets. It needs less panic. This week, I'm talking with Dr. Jade Wu about the biggest sleep upgrade most high achievers ignore: your relationship with rest. Because "sleep hygiene" can turn into performance anxiety fast. And anxiety is not a bedtime routine. For event…
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160. The Human Side of Creativity with Abigail Posner
Creativity gets expensive when technology loses its humanity. This week, I'm talking with thought leader and keynote speaker Abigail Posner about the real engine behind great ideas: understanding people first. Because data can show you behavior. But creativity starts deeper... With the little…
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159. Small Actions That Build Real Courage, with Julian Pistone
Courage comes alive the moment fear meets purpose. I'm talking with keynote speaker Julian Pistone about courageous leadership in a world that rewards clear decisions, deeper purpose, and meaningful actions. Through cinematic storytelling, global field research, and grounded neuroscience, Julian...
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158. Say Hello to Your Fear and Start Living Your Dreams with Michelle Poler
Fear isn't the enemy. It's the GPS. I'm connecting with keynote speaker Michelle Poler today—founder of Hello Fears—to talk about the fear that quietly runs the show (hint: it's not spiders)… and how to move anyway with authenticity, dreams, and actual tools you can use. Because "be brave" is not…
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157. How Happiness Drives Work Performance with Jessica Weiss
😊 Happiness at work isn't a perk. It's a performance system. If your people are dragging, your culture is leaking, and your "team building" budget keeps buying snacks instead of results, this episode is your intervention. Today I'm talking with keynote speaker Jessica Weiss about happiness…
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156. Transforming Setbacks into Triumphs Using Optimism, with Jess Ekstrom
Most optimism advice treats burnout like a personal failure. Keynote speaker Jess Ekstrom knows it’s the tax you pay when you’re chasing big goals the wrong way. Today, I’m talking with the author of Making It Without Losing It (out May 5!) and a go-to voice for Women’s History Month keynotes,...
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155. Build Your Brand's Success from The Inside Out, with Denise Lee Yohn
When you think about brand conversations, you probably think of logos and taglines. You're not far off. But this conversation is about what your brand actually FEELS LIKE like to the people who touch it. Join me as I sit down with brand leadership expert Denise Lee Yohn to talk about brand...
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154. Leadership Lessons for Engaged Teams, with Adrian Gostick
Most leadership talks worship strategy decks. This conversation is about what your people actually FEEL when they work for you. I'm sitting down with bestselling author and leadership + culture expert Adrian Gostick to talk about what really drives performance in 2026: culture and empathy, not…
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153. Maximize the Value of Your Events with Rachel Andrews
If your leadership thinks events "just happen," this episode is your receipt. Because the most dangerous thing in this business… Is invisible work. Rachel Andrews is Global Head of Meetings & Events at Cvent and co-host of the Great Events Podcast—leading a 40-person team supporting ~800 events a...
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152. How Pioneers Create Their Path to Success, with Gaby Natale
🔥 If your 2026 agenda needs pioneers (not placeholders), meet Gaby Natale. Because "innovation" isn't a department. It's a decision—to see what everyone else missed and build what doesn't exist yet. Gaby Natale is a triple Emmy-winning journalist, bestselling author, and keynote speaker who's…
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151. Improve Your Communication with Kindness: Insights from Sarita Maybin
💬 If "communication" is your 2026 theme, Sarita Maybin is the cheat code. Because most teams don't have a strategy problem. They have a tone problem. In today's episode, Sarita breaks down how to say the hard thing without making it weird—or starting a slow-motion workplace fire. Here's what...
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150. Life Is Magic: Jon Dorenbos' Journey on Finding Resilience
🪄 What happens when a magician and 2x Pro Bowl NFL player teaches resilience without the usual clichés? Jon Dorenbos has lived through the kind of adversity most people can’t imagine—and turned it into a keynote that’s equal parts belly-laughs + gut-check + standing-ovation energy. In today's...
About this show
The Keynote Curators Podcast brings the most current and engaging topics from the best keynote speakers in the world.For two decades, The Keynote Curators have worked with event, meeting, and conference professionals to guarantee they hit a home run when it comes to the main stage.Find out for yourself why planners choose The Keynote Curators to deliver results and make planning a breeze. Contact our office today.VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://thekeynotecurators.com/CONNECT WITH US: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2883493/
Hosted by
Seth Dechtman - The Keynote Curators
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