Keynotes

Listed below are sample topics Sue speaks on in the areas of

• A New Slant on Mental Health and Well-Being
• Self-Care: Looking After Myself So I Can Work with Others
• Laughter and Humour
• Building Trusting Relationships
• Learning to Love the BUMPS

Sue’s high-impact keynotes, workshops and laughter classes are in demand by a wide variety of audiences where she cleverly combines laughing with learning—a foolproof recipe for a meeting room, living room, classroom or a bored room. Her messages combine research-based knowledge and practical strategies to take action and implement these ideas.  Courage is critical to take the risks necessary to make changes in established cultures.

Interactive workshops can be designed for a couple of hours to a half day to several full days. Sue will tailor a keynote or interactive workshop to the needs of your group focusing on the key aspects of her books or to suit a special request you have. A series of workshops over time is ideal as it give participants time to work with the concepts and apply the strategies with coaching and networking.

Please fill out the Contact Us form to start the discussion of your ideas and needs.  Have a look through the ideas below for inspiration.

When Sue speaks to a group this comment is often made – “You need to share this message with the other people in our organization!” Sue works with a wide variety of audiences in the educational, corporate and community world.

Speaking About Happiness, Laughter and Humour

Sue cleverly combines key messages from her two books Kidding Around: connecting kids to happiness, laughter and humour (2013) and Laughing Matters: Strategies to Build a Joyful Learning Community (2006).

• The benefits of laughter for adults and students
• The Happiness Scale – the power of positive psychology
• Perfecting your own sense of humour
• Laughter in the workplace and learning communities
• Laughter and leadership
• Laughter and trust – the relationship between the two
• Top Ten Life Tips

We’ve learned more about happiness in the last ten years than in the previous one hundred years. This practical workshop will provide an overview of the recent research on happiness, laughter and humour while participants tickle their funnybones experiencing juicy activities they can use with their students, their families — and for their own wellness too.

Speaking About Trust

Trust building keynotes or workshops focus on finding the courage to increase the level of trust you have in yourself, with others and among team members to build productive relationships. Increases in student achievement are directly correlated to levels of staff trust and commitment.

Trust is critical in leading learning communities. In this interactive and reflective session, Susan helps individuals and teams improve trust levels based on current research and focuses on: the barriers of distrust; building personal and interpersonal capacity within and among the administrative team and the staff; sequenced practical strategies and activities, with increasing levels of risk, from toxic distrust to early trust to healthy mature trust and the nature of professional learning in a trusting culture.

Participants will leave with a plan to improve relationships, teamwork and increase student achievement.

These are some of the themes around issues of trust and relationships that Sue speaks about

• Leading With Trust: Breaking Through the Barriers of Distrust
• Adding Trust to Grow Healthy School Cultures
• Leading With Trust: Learn and Practice Team Strategies
• Leading With Trust: Dealing With Self-Trust and Personal Issues
• Leading With Trust: An Overview of the Research and Strategies
• Putting the Real Issue on the Table

Laughter Class Experiences

Susan is a warm and funny ‘laugh-pert’ and Certified Laughter Leader – Expert Level with the World Laughter Tour. (Her husband calls her ‘certifiable’ at times.) Sue is also a Gold Member of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. She customizes her sense of humour to what your group needs – corporate, educational, community, retiree or seniors (who are young at heart).

• Laugh away your stress
• Prevent hardening of the attitudes
• Enjoy some new “laugh exercises” in a safe environment
• Learn about the benefits of laughter
• Experience mind-body balance

Learning to Love the BUMPS for new and experienced leaders

Spend an innovative day examining real life issues and problems that participants are struggling with in order to find solutions that are immediately useful. Come and compare your expectations of the job, the expectations of others and the reality.

• Network and talk with colleagues
• Focus on interpersonal trust issues, curriculum issues and management issues
• Learn from the experiences of the presenters and the group members
• Experience a workable problem and conflict solving model
• Work in collaborative learning groups