Chris Grimes Facilitator, Motivational Comedian, Speaker & Coach

The What and the How of Effective Leadership: "How to communicate so that others want to listen and how to lead so that others want to follow…”

To ask the question: "What type of Leader do I want to be?" How to communicate with Impact, Presence, Clarity & Vision.

A 360 degree lens on how you are currently calibrating & communicating as a Leader. In this highly interactive keynote session, delivered in Chris Grimes' inimitable workshop style, you will explore the specific skills and behaviours required to inspire & lead others through the values that you transmit and the story that you tell to evoke LOYALTY.

"The clearer we can be about who we are and the story that we tell, the easier it is for those around us to know exactly what it is in you that they are meant to follow"

Chris Grimes has 25+ years of multi-organisational experience, facilitating and coaching to many of the top 100 companies, from Board level right through to customer facing individuals and teams.

Chris brings this wealth of experience to bear in this compelling and much in demand keynote, most recently delivered for global company Equinix in Barcelona, from where Chris returned with career best feedback and was introduced to GDA Speakers.

How to get the best from relationships around you, through the lenses of Personal Impact, Influencing, Networking & Personal Brand.

Inspired by the overarching quote: "It's All about The Relationship - Stupid!" this is highly interactive & motivational keynote session that covers all aspects of relationship building & emotional intelligence, to explore 'how we show up' each day (in life and in work) as we navigate the complexity of relationships around us.

Our whole future career depends on our ability to relationship build and network well, to build strong, long-lasting and deep relationships with all those that we into contact with, based directly on our ability to successfully impact and influence others, through the power of our Network.

A Keynote session rich in exercises, tools, tips & techniques with plenty of opportunities to be able to ‘put into practice’ what you will be learning.

“Personal Brand is what people say about you when you’re not there” Jeff Bezos

This Keynote includes an exploration of the 7 Laws of Personal Brand in order to help you define, benchmark & be clear about your own.

Chris also explores the Psychology of Influence and you will directly experience & be able to immediately apply 2 powerful models of Influencing:

“The 3 Pillars of Influence” + “The Influencing Triangle”

The Talk culminates with a practical exploration of how to develop the right Mindset to unlock the Power of Networking: To develop an appreciation of how it will directly help you in building your career and securing your future through the power & quality of your relationships.

"The bicycle chain is a great teacher. No single link is more important than any other"

A highly interactive Team Building Talk, delivered in Chris's inimitable Workshop style, drawing upon Chris's wealth of experience as a Drama Teacher, Actor & Comedy Improvisation Performer, to take a fresh and re-energising look at Team Work.

Utilising tried and tested theatre games, creative strategies & plenty of 'muscle memory' exercises to explore the nature of ensemble, the 'cogs of rapport' & the power of collaboration when your Team is galvanised in pursuance of a common purpose & goal. 

Unpacking Agile Thinking & Creativity through the lens of Comedy Improvisation and an exploration of its underlying mindset of "Yes and..."

"Yes and - yes and - yes and..."  A positive Mindset which Chris describes as being "the very building blocks of creativity".

A Comedy Improvisation Keynote Masterclass, delivered in a highly interactive Workshop style, to explore how the underlying techniques of Comedy Improvisation can transform your communication, unlock team creativity and help galvanise fresh levels of collaboration.

Chris is Artistic Director of the Bristol (UK) based & highly acclaimed Comedy Improvisation Company, INSTANT WIT.  

As Lead Facilitator with the company Chris regularly conducts residential courses for participants of all backgrounds & levels of experience under the title "INSTANT WIT Laughter Lab!".

Laughter Lab sets out explore the techniques and enjoyment of Comedy Improvisation, along with its positive and life-affirming Mindset of "yes and..."

No previous experience of Comedy Improvisation or a desire to perform is necessary. Just a willingness to take part and the desire to introduce more spontaneity, joy and laughter into your day-to-day interactions.

A Masterclass & Keynote delivered from Chris's professional Actor perspective, to explore all of the core skills & attributes that "lie under the bonnet" of how to go about delivering better, more confident Presentations.

How to be a warmer, more authentic and memorable Presenter and an even better Storyteller.

We are telling Stories constantly throughout our Business life and careers: With teams, for clients, engaging senior stakeholders, managing the motivation of others & presenting new ideas and projects.

In all of these contexts, the way that you convey your messages requires your ability to be able to ‘string a narrative’ to what is important. Helping to make what you say and crucially how you say it sound meaningful, confident and inspiring.

We will examine together the dynamics of “what you look like - what you sound like - and how you say it”, in order to be confident and remain IN CONTROL whenever your presence is required. You will also experience and be able to directly apply Chris’s favourite Storytelling model: 

‘The 3 Concentric Circles of Storytelling’.

Chris can also cover the potential “Confidence Blockers’ (and therefore how to unblock these) of what to do when we are required to Present in our non-mother tongue.

This highly interactive Keynote provides plenty of opportunity to practice as Chris takes you through, in Workshop style, an exploration of how to be a better, more confident & memorable presenter in all contexts & situations in which your "presence is required".