Speaking

Speech Topics

A New View of Intelligence

In an educational system founded on rigid standards and categories, students who demonstrate a very specific manifestation of intelligence get the keys to the kingdom, while those who deviate tend to fall between the cracks. After overcoming his own struggles with how intelligence is defined, passion and perseverance for long-term personal goals are at the core of Scott Barry Kaufman’s new theory of Personal Intelligence. Kaufman elucidates that if we want to increase self-actualization in students, we need to take into account the child’s dreams, passions, and goals, and harness their greatest strengths in the service of realizing who they truly want to become. Kaufman’s research has particular implications for children who have learning difficulties, including dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and emotional and behavioral disorders, as well as other vulnerable populations, such as ethnic and racial minority students.

The Science of Thriving at Work and Growing from Setback

At work, we often feel a need to prioritize either productivity or wellbeing. But as Scott Barry Kaufman knows, these two priorities aren’t an “either or” scenario—in fact, they actually need each other. Drawn from Scott Barry Kaufman’s popular Columbia course on the Science of Living Well, this talk provides a theoretical and practical approach to well-being and self-actualization in a workplace setting. Thriving is a term that captures the optimal state of functioning of individuals, groups or organizations, with indicators such as self-actualization, meaning, engagement, health, growth, and creativity as well as other markers of being in a state of peak experience. Productivity, effective teamwork, strong leadership, and innovation are essential to the work we do. But when we prioritize basic human needs—like health, security, growth, meaning, mindfulness, self-esteem, connection, and more—our productivity, leadership, and teamwork improve in leaps and bounds. As Kaufman shows audiences, there are ways that we can cultivate a sense of well-being at work in ways that are growth-fostering and bring out the best in everyone. Drawn from his groundbreaking new research on the science of self-actualization, he’ll leave you with a new, actionable framework for enhancing productivity and wellbeing, and show how we don’t have to be set back by our setbacks, but can actually grow and thrive by leaps and bounds after trauma and setbacks. 

Releasing Flow & Creativity in the Workplace

What does it take to unlock your greatest creative potential at work and beyond? Drawing on his extensive research for the past 20 on years on what “creative people do differently”, Scott Barry Kaufman traces the main characteristics that allow creative people and creative organizations to maximize their potential. Kaufman will help people increase the chances they will get into that magical flow state — complete absorption and engagement in their tasks and activities— while at work and in their daily lives so that they can be naturally more productive and find more meaning, creativity, and purpose in their lives.