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:
Fostering a Culture of Innovation through the Power of Play
Every organization wants creative people, yet without intending to, too many organizations are actually fostering cultures that stifle creativity and innovation, rather than feeding it! How can organizational leaders shift this trend?
In this interactive talk I explain the essential elements of a culture of innovation: one that fosters creativity from the ground up, through every layer of the organization. You’ll get to experience, with hands-on activities, how the strategic use of play can transform the culture of your organization.
Changing culture doesn’t happen overnight, but with mindfulness and commitment from all levels of leadership, it can be done, and it’s worth it. Don’t you want your organization to be a breeding ground for innovation?
You’ll learn:
- How creativity and innovation are interrelated.
- The essential elements of a culture of creativity/innovation.
- Specific tips for helping your team think more creatively.
For Creatives & Students:
Secret Weapons for Resistance Fighters
We’ve all hit up against “creative block” at one point or another, mired in “the Resistance.” These internal monsters are a creative’s worst enemy, threatening to shut us off from our creativity. Thankfully, I’ve developed a passel of playful, paradigm-shifting secret weapons that I’ll share, with help from my trusty ukulele. Integrate these simple principles into your life and Resistance and “creative block” don’t stand a chance, so you can get back to the business of creating.
You will walk away:
- With a new, empowered way of thinking about your own creative expression and output.
- Knowing that you are fully creative, and fully entitled to create.
- Inspired to try things you might have been scared of trying before.
Play: The Missing Ingredient & Your Secret Weapon
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.
Melissa’s Bio
Melissa Dinwiddie is chief instigator and lead facilitator of Creative Sandbox Solutions™, a creative consultancy that helps organizations build cultures of creativity and innovation through the strategic use of play.
She delivers kickass workshops and keynotes to corporations, conferences, high schools and colleges; hosts creativity retreats; runs an online community for women; and is the author of The Creative Sandbox Way™: Your Path to a Full-Color Life.
A former “non-creative” person and recovering perfectionist, Melissa is on a mission to change the conversation around creative expression and play, because not only does creating make you feel more alive — it’s how you change the world!
She shares her writings, artwork, and music on her blog, Living A Creative Life (recently awarded a Top 20 Doodle Blog on the planet), where you can also find her Creative Sandbox Way™ podcast.
If you don’t count her first oral report in fourth grade, Melissa entered the world of public speaking with a bang, when she co-delivered her undergraduate valedictory address to an audience of over 2,000 students, faculty, and families in a packed Zellerbach Auditorium at U.C. Berkeley.
A handful of years later Melissa was leading hundreds of congregants in three-hour High Holy Days services every fall for her lay-led Reconstructionist synagogue. Years of training as a jazz singer, singer/songwriter, and improviser have honed her skills as an entertainer, but her favorite performances are those that do more than entertain: they transform.
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
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