For the past 17 years, Speakers’ Spotlight has brought some of the best keynote speakers from across the country to speak at IncentiveWorks. This year, we were proud to sponsor leadership and performance expert Dr. JP Pawliw-Fry as the opening keynote who shared insights into how we can turn pressure into a competitive advantage.

Event management was named one of 2017’s top 5 most stressful jobs by Forbes, making JP’s keynote, Performing under Pressure: The Science of Doing Your Best When it Matters Most a must-see session.

Some key takeaways from JP’s talk:

• Change your mindset. We are defaulted to view pressure moments as a crisis. Instead, re-frame them into opportunities by making sure you set aside time to prepare yourself as well as your materials.
• Walk into pressure moments expecting to be imperfect. Don’t be so hard on yourself! Expect to be imperfect so that if a mistake happens the moment still feels like a success instead of a failure.
• The top 10% of high performers share the following qualities: They are imperfect, can receive criticism without being defensive, can admit a mistake, and engage in difficult conversations.

JP used a case study of Daisy Cakes founder Kim Nelson and her appearance on the hit TV show Shark Tank throughout his presentation. He wrapped up his talk with a surprise appearance, welcoming Kim to join him on stage! Plus, she brought some of her delicious cake to share with the audience.

We were glad to see that JP’s presentation resonated with the audience as they shared their favourite quotes and insights via social media.

“The 3 characteristics of pressure” @Incentive_Works #IWShow Interesting conversations at Dr. JP Pawliw-Fry’s Keynote pic.twitter.com/xep1XDD521

— Jessica Symons (@JessicaC_Symons) August 14, 2018

“People over prepare their presentation materials but under prepare themselves in delivering their presentation”. Nature of Pressure @DrPawliwFry #IWShow

— France Marleau (@FranceMarleau) August 14, 2018

Pressure diminishes our ability to perform, judgement, decision-making #iwshow #KeynoteSpeaker @DrPawliwFry

— Teresa Rempel 陳佩紅 (@trempel5479) August 14, 2018

We also arranged the appearance of celebrity chef Lynn Crawford, sponsored by Ottawa Tourism. She did a hilarious Q&A on stage and hosted her very own mini Iron Chef Canada inspired competition. When Lynn asked how the competitors were handling the pressure, the winner quoted advice from JP’s presentation — keep a cool head, and don’t let your high emotions show! She certainly turned that pressure moment into an opportunity.

We’re looking forward to next year’s event, renamed and rebranded as Canada’s Meeting and Events Expo!