Erica Dhawan

Speaking topics

Presentations listed below include in-person and virtual keynotes, as well as workshops, fireside chats, and other presentation formats.

• Get Big Things Done: The Power of Connectional Intelligence

  We typically associate success with speed and smarts. But in today’s hypercompetitive world, even those gifts aren’t enough. Collaboration expert Erica Dhawan argues that the game changer is a thoroughly modern skill called Connectional Intelligence (CxQ). As radical a concept as Emotional Intelligence was in the 90s, Connectional Intelligence is turning people into superconnectors who accelerate innovation, break down silos, and foster breakthrough impact.

  This dynamic, engaging, high-energy, fast-paced session will help participants understand the practice of using connectional intelligence as the key to purposeful collaboration, resilience, and business success. Attendees will shift the notion of collaboration from more meetings and emails to productive engagement that improves speed and quality of service, increases subject matter expertise and specialist sharing across silos, reduces cross-team dysfunction and delay, and eliminates duplicative work. Attendees will learn new insights and tools to accelerate the connected power of teams, become more agile and innovative, and drive breakthrough ideas and outcomes.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Discover new ways to lead, inspire, and communicate with diverse teams through uncertainty.
  • Learn how to keep cross team collaborations aligned, build trust, and foster motivation.
  • Gain specific actions to inspire teamwork, innovation, resilience, revitalization, and results-driven progress.
  • Behaviours to understand and build trust and connection, no matter the distance.

• Collaborate Faster and Further, Together

  Email replies that show up a week later. Video chats full of “oops… sorry, no you go” and “can you hear me?!” Ambiguous text messages. Is it any wonder communication takes us so much time and effort to figure out? How did we lose our innate capacity to understand each other?

  Humans rely on body language to connect and build trust, but with most of our communication happening from behind a screen, traditional body language signals are no longer visible — or are they? In this presentation, Erica Dhawan combines cutting-edge research with engaging storytelling to decode the new signals and cues that have replaced traditional body language across genders, generations, and culture.

  In person, we lean in, uncross our arms, smile, nod, and make eye contact to show we listen and care. Online, reading carefully is the new listening. Writing clearly is the new empathy. And a phone or video call is worth a thousand emails. The bestselling author of Digital Body Language, Dhawan will supercharge your teams with collectively understood rules that foster connection, build trust, and drive innovation.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Understand your collaboration style and the digital body language signals you may be broadcasting (even if you don’t intend to!).
  • Create cultures of clarity across email, phone, IM, text, video, and even live meetings.
  • Develop a collaboration strategy that fosters valuable relationships, both in-person and online.
  • End cultures of useless meetings, missed deadlines, and digital misunderstandings.

• Win Together: Build Resilient and High-Performing Teams in the Age of AI

  This isn’t your ordinary keynote; it’s a front-row seat to the future of inspiration and impact in the age of AI. Wall Street Journal bestselling author and award winning keynote speaker Erica Dhawan promises not just a talk but an immersive experience, where the secrets to unlocking peak performance and team spirit are revealed in the new world of work. Get ready to be captivated, motivated, and equipped with the tools to bring out the best in yourself and those around you.

  Discover the exact strategies to build 21st century teams that defy the odds, whether it’s how to be a better leader in the AI revolution or turn challenges into triumphs in the digital-first world. Spoiler alert: AI won’t replace us, but leaders who master it will redefine the game. A globally recognized teamwork expert, Dhawan provides actionable insights, equipping attendees with the knowledge and strategies to not only adapt to the changing landscape but to thrive in it.

  Key takeaways:

  • How to build trust in times of change: Learn proven techniques to foster trust within teams amidst constant digital and AI transformation.
  • How to thrive amid uncertainty: Gain actionable tips to enhance engagement, minimize friction, and confidently navigate the unpredictable terrain.
  • AI as a leadership tool: Recognize AI as an asset rather than a threat, and harness its capabilities for organizational success.
  • Cultivate team spirit: Uncover strategies to enhance collaboration, experimentation, and camaraderie within your teams.

• Concrete Empathy: A Playbook for Leading Modern Teams to Innovation

  We live in a culture defined by a distinct empathy deficit: The boss who expresses displeasure without giving valuable feedback. The mansplaining colleague who has no interest in the opinions of others. The team member who spends most of the meeting texting and answering emails. Why is empathy today at such a low point? Fewer face-to-face interactions, an ever-accelerating pace of change, and an increasing number of matrixed teams working remotely.

  In this presentation, attendees will learn practical ways to activate concrete empathy to create cultures of psychological safety, employee engagement, well-being, and innovation.

  Learning outcomes:

  • Discover simple ways to signal understanding and empathy across difference and distance.
  • Learn rules of thumb to avoid misunderstanding, ambiguity, and conflict.
  • Gain tools to foster innovation and create lasting relationships both within your organization and with clients, customers, and other key stakeholders.

• Selling Value in a 21st Century Marketplace: The Power of Connectional Intelligence

  Selling value in a 21st century marketplace demands a significant transformation in go-to-market strategies and a profound evolution in salespeoples’ omnichannel communication skills and competencies. With up to 70% of sales interactions virtual-first, we can no longer rely solely on the lean-in, handshake, and eye contact. Today, reading virtual cues carefully is the new listening and writing emails clearly is the new empathy.

  Erica Dhawan, author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling books Get Big Things Done and Digital Body Language, is the go-to expert on helping salespeople become superconnectors; to help them decode the new signals and cues of prospects and customers by mastering the power of Connectional Intelligence. In this keynote, learn the differences between the buyer’s brain during virtual interactions and in-person meetings, how to tackle the unconscious cognitive bias in both in-person and digital sales interactions, and how to elevate your presence and increase your level of influence using omnichannel communications. Salespeople will leave blown away by how to better connect with customers, build stronger relationships, and drive sales success in the modern age.

  Key takeaways include:

  • Decipher digital and in-person body language: Master the ability to read and respond to the subtle cues of your prospects and customers, both online and offline.
  • Optimize omnichannel communications: Embrace and effectively utilize a variety of communication channels, tailored to your prospects’ and customers’ digital and generational preferences.
  • Craft personal and emotional experiences: Create compelling virtual experiences that keep prospects engaged and eager for more in-person and virtual interactions.
  • Balance real-time and asynchronous communication: Strategically use real-time interactions (live meetings, phone, video, chat) and asynchronous methods (email, text, social media) to maximize engagement and productivity.