Topics
Every engagement is an opportunity to make a positive impact.
That’s why Dom ensures all sessions are tailored to the audience, the sector and the client’s desired outcomes.
These topics are areas of expertise, experience and passion. They can all be shaped around your event.
Feel free to browse below, or follow one of these shortcuts:
The Closer
End your event on the perfect note…a “locknote”.
In this video, The Closer, Dom Thurbon, explains how a “locknote” can be the perfect conference close
Looking for the perfect way to wrap your conference? Want delegates to experience what people have called “the best closing keynote I’ve ever seen” and “the perfect way to end an event”?
As a world top-10 debater with nearly two decades’ experience as a facilitator and speaker, I can help you deliver a cracker of a conference close!
I have developed an approach to closing conferences that is unlike any other. You can check out more about this unique offer, the “locknote”, here.
This one-of-a-kind conference closing experience will:
deliver a unique closing session (“locknote”) that brings together all the themes of your conference and helps people ‘join the dots’
create energy, inspiration and enthusiasm so people sprint, not stumble, to the conference finish line
ensure that delegates leave in no doubt about how much they’ve learned and how they can use what they’ve learned and apply it in their life and business
“What Dom does in his closing keynote is like magic, and for us it was no different. He delivered the perfect closing session for our 2-day event, and our attendees had wonderful things to say. He left people energized and inspired.”
“Your wrap-up presentation was exceptional”
Delegate feedback
on ‘The Closer”
“I’ve never seen anyone do anything quite like that”
Delegate feedback
on ‘The Closer”
“A brilliant and generous summation of an amazing day”
Delegate feedback
on ‘The Closer”
“A perfect closing keynote by Dominic Thurbon”
Delegate feedback
on ‘The Closer”
The truth about
the truth
How falling in love with the truth unlocks innovation, drives change and improves performance
Leadership. AI. Change. Disruption. Purpose. Sustainability.
Topics like these dominate lists of ‘top CEO priorities’. The problem is that the thing we most need to navigate these issues is in perilously short supply: telling the truth.
We live in a world where, in a fact-check of the winning 2024 campaign for US President, only 3% of statements scored ‘true’. False stories are 70% more likely to be shared on social media than true ones, and spread up to 20 times faster. An ACCC review found 37% of businesses studied were engaging in ‘concerning conduct’ when it came to telling the truth.
This would be merely a philosophical issue, except for the little problem that it turns out telling the truth is critical to sustainable performance and maximising outcomes.
So, in this dynamic, provocative, and deeply practical presentation, we will:
Explore how we came to be where we are, and crystallise the problems of a ‘post-truth’ world for staff, leaders and businesses
Show how falling back in love with the truth, individually and organisationally, can unlock innovation, drive change and produce higher performance
Offer a usable toolkit for ‘making the truth happen’ inside your business, and show how we can all play a key role
Share compelling, engaging stories and case studies of the power of telling the truth inside businesses
“Dom’s keynote was a real highlight of our Australasia conference. So much so that we booked him again immediately after, but for more time this time! He brought so much experience, insight and energy to the room.”
The human element of AI adoption
How to get beyond the hype and start extracting breakthrough value from AI
Every company is talking about AI, but they’re not all getting value from AI. Having built and sold an AI-enabled tech company, I know first hand the ones that are view AI as a people challenge first, and a technology challenge second.
That’s because with technology like AI, companies don’t change, people do.
For example, according to recent research from 2024, the companies getting the most value from AI are spending twice as much on people as they are on algos and tech. Gen AI “high performers’ do a much better job of helping everyone understand value and risks of AI in their daily job (52%) compared to those not getting value (only 21%)… this is what I mean by people first, tech second.
So, in this dynamic, provocative and practically useful session we will:
unpack the ‘why’, the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of leading edge Gen AI technologies and share compelling, industry- and role-relevant case studies of how companies are getting value
look at the human element of AI integration, and how ensure that our teams are set up and structured to adopt and get value from these new tools
unpack the practical risk management and governance mindsets and frameworks required to avoid pitfalls and perils while still making progress
Draw on Dom’s first-hand experiences building and selling an AI-enabled technology company to bring a real on-the-ground perspective the conversation
“Dom’s presentations for our senior client audience were right on brief and inspired people about the potential to unleash innovation. His dynamic style affects real attitudinal change and made him a hit with the audience.”
“Dom made us think very differently and we were all buzzing with new ideas at the end. I highly recommend Dom to work with your team – you will certainly be engaged, challenged and very creative.”
Making behaviour change happen
Using the science of human behaviour to unlock innovation, navigate change and improve results
You have a behaviour change challenge… you just don’t know it yet!!
Ever heard someone in your business say “we need to be more innovative”, “we need to respond to disruption” or “we need to do things differently”?
I’m sure you have - after all, we are doing business amidst profound disruption. About 40% of CEOs say their business will cease to exist within 10 years without radical reinvention!
But the truth is, it doesn’t matter how much you know about innovation, how many books you’ve read on AI and disruption, how many podcasts you’ve listened to on sales effectiveness… if you can’t do behaviour change, you can’t do, any of them.
Conversely, if you can master the art and science of behaviour change, you can take you and your team’s performance to a whole new level.
In this provocative and interactive session, we will:
unpack the core drivers of human behaviour, and the 5 universal responses to change you will encounter in your team
examine how organisations don’t change, people do - and how learning the art and science of behaviour change can drive your agenda
share inspiring, industry-relevant case studies and stories that are packed with usable insights and apply them to leadership, marketing, sales, change and staff engagement
unpack a toolkit we can use to be more effective in making change happen inside our organisations
“You opened the conference with a spectacular start that wowed everyone in attendance. From understanding our brief to your incredible presentation, you were fantastic to work with and we were thrilled.”
Purpose, on purpose
Making the most of ESG, sustainability and the purpose movement
The market has never been so hot for conversations about purpose, sustainability and ESG. On one level, that’s brilliant: it could herald in a new age of sustainable business and accelerate our transition to a cleaner, more just, more equitable world (and help companies innovate and transform, along the way).
On another level, it runs the very real risk of going the way that many similar conversations have gone before: more marketing and PR hype than action.
The truth is, you cannot PR your way out of a problem you behaved yourself into. If we want to get real value both as a business and as a society out of sustainability, ESG and corporate purpose, we have to turn words into action and intent into impact.
In this dynamic and engaging session, we will:
look at the value and the drivers of ‘purpose’ in business, and how you bring it to life for both customers and staff
demistify what ESG and sustainability mean for you and your team
examine mega-trends that drive both the risks and opportunities of ESG
unpack the oft-misunderstood link between ESG, sustainability and corporate ‘purpose’
develop practical, usable strategies that can help you leverage the ESG agenda to drive greater sustainability and improved performance
“Dom delivers the perfect blend of practicality and provocation. He knows how to energise an audience, and how to push and challenge their thinking so they leave not only inspired but also behaving in news ways.”
“I’ve spoken in over 40 countries at over 1000 conferences and I’ve just seen Dom. He did the most outstanding summary I’ve ever seen. Phenomenal. I’ve never come across anyone who’s done it as well.”