Book Melissa as Your Speaker
Melissa will charm and delight your audience, while inspiring and empowering them to take action. Here’s a little taste:
Speaking Topics
For Corporate Audiences:
It Pays to Play at Work
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, but just as important as play after work is play at work. If this sounds crazy, you won’t want to miss this talk to find out why play is your 21st Century secret weapon, and how you can use it to improve productivity and benefit your organization.
You’ll learn:
- Why play is not what you might think
- Research-backed reasons play is good for us
- The 3 ways to incorporate play at work
Format: Keynote, Workshop
Target audience: Corporate Directors, HR Directors
Unlocking Influence: The Playful Path to Powerful Leadership Communication
Have you ever tried to get people onboard with an idea, but gotten crickets in response? The ability to influence others, so you can make an impact, may feel like a mysterious X-factor, but really, it’s a combination of learnable skills. In this session, Melissa shares the 6 key skills anyone can develop to have greater influence in life and work, and how her F.U.N. Method™ of active-learning not only keeps learners engaged, but helps them remember better, too. You’ll walk away with tools you can use right away in life and work!
You’ll walk away:
- Understanding the skills you need to have greater influence
- More aware of your unconscious, reflexive “no” response
- With an activity you can do with your team, to help them apply empathy to communicate more effectively
Format: Keynote, Workshop
Target audience: Research Managers, Engineering Managers, Scientists, Women Leaders, or anyone with expertise that’s hard to communicate to others
For Creatives & Students:
From Stuck to Unstoppable: The Power of Play in the Creative Process
Spending time on creative things is frivolous and self-indulgent, right? WRONG! In fact, it’s world-changing.
You don’t need to find the cure for cancer or end war as we know it in order to change the world for the better. Discover why your creative play and self-expression is a world-changing act, whether you’re an amateur or a professional. You’ll never look at playtime the same way again!
You’ll learn:
- 5 reasons why putting time into creative play is world-changing.
- The surprising way that creative play affects the brain.
- Simple and effective tools for breaking free of creative blocks and resistance.
Format: Keynote, Workshop
Target audience: Students, Artists, Photographers, Writers, Crafters, Makers…
Melissa’s Bio
Melissa Dinwiddie, M.Soc.Sci., is a Creativity & Innovation Speaker and Consultant who helps leaders blast through creative roadblocks and build thriving cultures of innovation…all through her proprietary F.U.N. Method™. She draws on her 27 years of creative expertise, including her background as a professional artist and trained improviser and jazz singer, to design interactive, playful programs that clients rave about because they acquire new skills and behaviors and build connections while having a blast. She’s had the pleasure of transforming teams at organizations such as Google, Facebook, Uber, Stanford Children’s Hospital, Stanford University, Intuit, Salesforce, and more.
Melissa is author of The Creative Sandbox Way™, an acclaimed book on creativity that has been called “essential for the bookshelf,” “the owner’s guide for the caring and feeding of the creative spirit,” and “an adventure packaged as a book.” Founder of Creative Sandbox Solutions™, Melissa holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley, a Masters in Social Science from the University of Birmingham, England, and multiple certifications in LEGO® Serious Play®. She lives in Silicon Valley with her husband and their two rambunctious cats.
Contact Melissa today to bring her unique style of transformation to your event.
Testimonials:
“Melissa brings an irresistible energy to any stage she’s on. Her message rings true, her music connects, and her spark is contagious.”
Patti Digh
Author of Life is a Verb and seven other books
@pattidigh
“Melissa Dinwiddie speaks (and sings) with a charisma that is instantaneously inclusive, bringing her audience together in community and lighting them up. Her charm is irresistible and it is also deep.“
David Roche
International speaker and performer, author, actor, storytelling coach
“This workshop inspired me to allow myself more time to create for me, and balance that with what my customers want. The knowledge I’ve gained from this presentation is a lesson I’ll take with me wherever I go. Thank you for speaking at our school!”
Eden C.
11th Grader
“It was fantastic!“
Seshu Badrinath
VP Programming, CTPPA
tiffinbox.org
“I really enjoyed meeting with you beforehand to go over our school culture. The message you shared was really relevant to our students—we need to build in more time for creative play into our lives so it feels more real and less like a luxury. The message is incredibly important, especially for students so focused on getting good grades that they forget creative play can help them succeed in life.”
Sarah Canfield-Dafilou
Student and Jewish Life Coordinator, Kehillah Jewish High School
Contact Me About Speaking for Your Event
