Speaking
Let’s chart a new course for better, bolder conversations.
The kind of conversations that can be raw, emotional, even awkward, but where both sides can be honest and work out their differences. Through her work with governments and organizations of all sizes, she’s come to believe that anything is possible with a little dialogue!
Thanks to her fun yet pragmatic personality, Kim has become an in-demand keynote speaker at conferences and events throughout North America. Her talks take on subjects like:
Dialogue Changes Everything!
Transforming opposition to opportunity (no hugging required)
Failure and why it’s your new best friend.
Online Conversations : From 2-D tool to a 3-D expereince
In an era defined by polarization, Kim’s unique insights map out ways we can move forward together.
“I know how to turn down performance anxiety, and turn up creativity. If you want to move the immovable and solve the unsolvable, I can help.”
Suggested topics
Dialogue Change Everything!
We are living in a unique time, on one hand, communication has never been so easy, text messaging, zoom calls, video conference, Facetime, talking has never been so easy…but is it really? While the number of communication technologies expands constantly, divisive community conversations are on the rise and there is an overwhelming pattern of talking “at” people rather than “with” them.
Organizations, businesses and leaders are faced with holding and navigating tough conversations around divisive issues. So, if the quality of our conversations directly correlates to the quality of relationships, teams and decisions, it’s time to stop and take stock. Each of us contributes to this new normal, so as leaders, parents, colleagues or friends we need to consider how to best engage and interact with those around us.
This interactive session will go behind the curtain of truly effective leadership and dialogue. To explore what it takes to convene better, more connected conversations, to constructively understand our differences and as a result, build relationships and trust. Strong leaders know how to breathe new life into old problems, but they also know they can’t go it alone.
Online Conversation: From 2-D tool to 3-D Experience
COVID-19 has pushed us home to keep us safe all the while, placing us in boxes – both physical and online. Our vibrant 3-D world, especially at work, has drifted to a 2-D experience with screens, monitors and muting. But our existence DOESN’T need to be our experience! Informed leaders know, that key ingredients to success come from the relationships, connections and trust that are built between individuals and teams. So, let’s get really clear on what’s missing and how.
Dynamic, interactive and engaging online meetings, sessions workshops have never been more important. How you show up, interact with online participants, ability to “read of room” and navigate the unique needs of any online conversation, not only impacts the meeting results but also the experience people have with it.
Over the course of a fun and interactive session, the audience can expect to better understand how to:
Become an effective “leader” during online interactions.
To take Zoom from a 2-dimensional tool to a 3D experience.
Hints and tips to keep everyone focused and energized
What not to do!
“It is obvious Kim has a passion for her work. it was a pleasure to be apart of the workshop because of this. I felt even more engaged because of her high level of enthusiasm and professionalism.”
Stakeholder Engagement & “Failing Forward”
When we invite stakeholders into our decision-making processes to share what is really important to them about the issues and situations that impact their lives, livelihoods, profits, reputation, we give up a measure of control. As a result, our projects can experience delays, hurdles, strife and even unwanted media attention. How do we learn from these setbacks?
It’s often said that in our greatest mistakes lie our deepest learnings. We don’t want to hide from them, and we don’t want you to either. This talk is about coming together in failure and turning the classic self-congratulatory conference presentation on its head. Leaving our egos and shame at the door, Kim takes a fun and open approach to talking about some of the “best” stakeholder engagement failures she’s encountered in her years of experience.
This session promises laughter, relief and an open-hearted embrace of our foibles and frailties. You will also walk away with a solid foundation for what to do and what you should never ever ever do when engaging stakeholders!
All you need to bring is your honesty, integrity and compassion, as well as a few good stories about what happened when it all went terribly, perfectly wrong!
“I was incredibly impressed with Kim’s presentation skills. I believe she modeled being real and vulnerable in a way that I will never forget.”
Building Constructive, Collaborative Relationships
Shouldn’t working with stakeholders, clients, suppliers and our partners be simple? We have many common interests; a high quality project or product, a good price or profit, reasonable delivery times, a desire to meet or exceed industry standards and a positive team experience both inside and outside the organization, yet occasionally our interactions with others become plagued with opposition, disagreements, polarization, frustration and defensiveness.
So what can we do about it? Are you, your organization and industry expected to struggle through and just deal with it? To often we see organizations and individuals making this choice, consciously or unconsciously, and watch the slow deterioration of business relationships and trust that can result in increased costs, slowed productivity and delays on key deliverables.
Our extensive experience working in the field of engagement, dialogue and consultation has shown us that a different process and understanding of how to engage will garner different results. (and we promise that no hugging is required!) The theory and practice can be applied to individuals in conflict, between organizations or across industry and business relationships.
“Kim was extremely adaptive to the needs of the group. She was intuitive, articulate and motivating. One of her many strengths was how clearly she spoke with intention.”
About Kim Hyshka
Kim has over a decade of experience as a leader in community engagement, specializing in high-stakes, high-impact interventions. She’s been a transformational figure for clientele ranging from governments to global conglomerates, Indigenous peoples and NGOs. Her work creating meaningful dialogue between stakeholders has paved the way for new public policy agendas and multi-billion dollar projects, all while ensuring the needs of the community are met.
“Kim was a lot of fun and brought the appropriate amount of laughter to learning. As silly as it sounds, I don’t think I yawned once in two days.”
“Kim was extremely adaptive to the needs of the group. She was intuitive, articulate and motivating. One of her many strengths was how clearly she spoke with intention.”
