FAQ

Opening Keynote:

“As your opening keynote, I take the time to research my audience so that as an opening keynote I am relevant, fun, and energizing. That energy is then carried on by the participants throughout the rest of the conference. With me as your opening keynote, you can count on me to set the stage for the rest of your meeting and start your event with lots of laughter, much to think about, and make this conference one of the most memorable they have ever attended.”

Closing Speaker:

“As a closing speaker, I work to incorporate the event theme, significant events that occurred during the conference and much more into this closing. One of my main goals in a closing is to provide the audience with a revitalized “call to action” they take back with them when they return home to do that “voodoo they do so well.” Invite me to do your closing if you want your conference to end on a very high note with everyone glad they stayed until the very end of your event.”

Keynote:

According to Wikapedia, a keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes the main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address because the keynote establishes the framework for the training that follows. In my 20 years in the speaking industry I believe that a keynote or general session only differs from a breakout or training program because of two factors, depth and duration.

Duration:

Most keynote addresses are 45 minutes to 90 minutes long (although there is no rule limiting it to a certain duration). In a relatively short period of time, the keynote speaker has to establish rapport, educate, entertain the audience, and leave them wanting more. Due primarily to the intentionally short duration, a keynote is also meant to inspire the attendees to want to be at the event and stay there from start to finish. It should also give them a “call to action” to want to learn, interact, and bring home tools from the event that can improve sales, overcome negativity, or help them do their everyday duties better. Once I get an audience laughing, they are ready to hear my message or any message and because they are laughing, they want to also try it themselves to duplicate the experience. One of my goals is to have the audience laughing during my event from start to finish.

Depth:

The keynote speaker must know their subject inside and out, and be able to offer insights or possible actions that are easy to understand and hard to forget. This is often accomplished with humor, personal stories, or unusual accomplishments. Most attendees are looking for a “black belt” in a subject from the keynote speaker. By that, I mean they want a shortcut to something so significant it’s like being able to get a black belt in karate in an hour instead of years of hard training. The limited time should not be a hindrance to the keynote however, it is what it is. For me, this means that I want my audiences to desire to be able to use humor as a business skill the way I do, to become more resilient and resourceful. I put them on the path to accomplish this. I will be really funny on stage, but I don’t want them to become comedians at work. Instead, I want them to improve their ability to be able to act and not react to everyday situational stressors using my techniques. I’m always working to improve my ability to communicate on stage and am considered one of the leading authorities on the use of humor as a business skill.

By the way, if an event is held over a longer period of time, it is not unusual to have a different keynote speaker for each day of the event. Just for fun, the term ‘key note’ is reported to come from the practice of a cappella singers, often barbershop singers, playing a note before singing. The note played determines the key in which the song will be performed.

The keynote or general session speaker should be able to incorporate your event theme, terminology and have a strong working knowledge of the work they perform and the challenges and obstacles they face daily. Before every event you will have opportunities to Skype or conference with Tim to discuss how he can best tailor his message to your group.

Several terms are used interchangeably with keynote such as plenary and/or general session, but the main point of distinction is that like the keynote, no other optional training or events are scheduled against it. All the attendees are expected to attend it without having any other options.

Plenary Session:

Although the term “plenary speaker” seems to also be used interchangeably with keynote speaker most of the time, in my opinion, that speaker either was or is a prominent authority within a specific field or area of expertise, or can provide special skills that are necessary to a specific industry. I’m often referred to as a plenary speaker when I speak at Human Services events since I’ve worked within that industry for decades as a front line caseworker, a fraud investigator and a “Fed” with USDA Food and Nutrition Service as a management analyst and now as a member of the speaker hall of fame.

General Session:

In addition to an opening or closing keynote speaker, you may also want to include events within your agenda where everyone is expected to attend. These are often referred to as a “general session.” I’m sometimes used as a general session speaker after lunch when everyone may be a little tired. Most speakers dread the audience after lunch when they are full and tired, but that doesn’t faze me. They may be a little low on energy when they start, but are fully reenergized by the end of my “general session.”

Regardless of the term you decide to use, I can help you decide how I best contribute to your event and tailor my program to your attendees.

National Speakers Association. Founder: Cavet Robert, CSP, CPAE.

Since 1973, the NSA has been providing services and benefits to both aspiring and established speaking professionals. The NSA is the top echelon of organizations for professional speakers of all kinds. It offers the most comprehensive resources and education to advance the skills, integrity, and value of its members. Networking with like-minded entrepreneurs, NSA members are offered the tools, opportunities, and critical support to become the best of the best in their chosen field of focus. The NSA is the speaking profession’s international measure of professional platform competence.

Certified Speaking Professional designation granted by the NSA.

The National Speakers Association honors only the top 10% of professional speakers with the CSP designation. To earn this designation, one must demonstrate exceptional competence in professional standards which include platform skills, business management, continued education and association participation. Meeting planners and event planners enjoy added assurance and confidence when hiring a Member of NSA who has earned the CSP and CPAE titles.

Air Travel*: From Portland International Airport.

Lodging*: Non-smoking, single occupancy, 2 twin or 1 king bed, with late arrival guarantee in a quiet area (away from vending machines & elevators).

Timing: Tim likes to travel to the event site the day before the event.

*Whenever possible Tim likes to book his own air and hotel reservations. Please contact him if you would like to make other arrangements. For evening events please contact his office.

Tim has more than 20 years of experience as a professional speaker and trainer.

Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and member of Speaker Hall of Fame (CPAE).

Selected by Meeting Planners Magazine as “Best main stage speaker, ever!”

Performs over 80 events annually, world-wide.

Travels over 100K miles per year.

Clients include mid-sized to Fortune 100 companies as well as Federal Government and Human Services Agencies.

Government Sole Source Provider Status: Tim has been a case worker, fraud investigator and FED.

Author: Interviewing with Style, Motivational Leaders, Just Plane Funny, Humor Me, My Policy Manual

Recipient of recognition awards from the Indiana Chapter of International Association of Personnel in Employment Security, The National Eligibility Workers Association, The State of Florida, The Wyoming Department of Family Services, The Social Security Administration, The United States Naval Reserve, Fitzsimons Hospital, State of Arkansas, U. S. Post Office and many, many more.

U.S. Navy Veteran: 1972-1976 USS MIDWAY CVA 41.

Tim discusses job stress, solutions, prevention and management. As a consultant, Tim finds the client’s stressor and demonstrates to employees how to use humor at work to maintain individual and team productivity. Humor is simply the combining of ideas not normally associated with one another. It’s not limited to telling jokes or pranks, if you harness the power of laughter with your Comic Vision TM you learn to see situational stress differently. Instead of reacting to the stress, you act and use your Comic Vision™ to defuse the stressors.

When you shift your perspective, you change your experience. Tim Gard shares his unique insights on how to shed light on creativity and possibility.

Tim demonstrates how to deal with difficult employees and bosses, virtually impossible workloads, effective multi-tasking at a variety of levels and ways to deal with exceptionally challenging decisions. As an eligibility caseworker, Tim had to routinely deny benefits to people who were needy, but were not eligible for benefits. This means he has first-hand experience in the everyday and not-so-everyday, challenges employees face. As a fraud investigator, Tim deepened his experience and ability to cope with and manage workplace stress.

Tim began his career with social services as an Eligibility Technician (ET) in Kalispell, Montana. It was while working with the Montana Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services that he began to develop training to help fellow eligibility workers deal with stress, burnout and compassion fatigue inherent to their jobs. He discovered in those early training sessions that sharing his own good humor and enabling the group to develop a Comic VisionTM of their own proved to be a very effective. It’s a fun way for people to deal with and even avoid the sometimes intense, personal and professional stress most people encounter. He later developed and shared training programs on such topics as “How to Deal with Welfare Fraud Personally and Professionally”, “Interviewing Techniques” and “Field Interviews/Home Visits”. When Montana implemented an investigator program, Tim became one of the first Eligibility Investigators in the state. In 1989 he moved to Denver, Colorado to join the staff of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) as a Program Reviewer. While with FNS, he continued to lecture and consult on interviewing, stress reduction through humor and self-esteem at local and national conferences. In February 1994, Tim resigned from FNS to devote all his #me to training and seminars.

Eligibility Technician, state employee: Montana Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, Kalispell, Montana. As a past eligibility caseworker with the Montana Department of Human Services. He has years of experience in performing eligibility determinations by interviewing applicants for assistance. He also has first hand experience in eligibility for the food stamp program, TANIF programs, Medicaid and General Assistance programs.

Eligibility Investigator, Montana Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, Kalispell, Montana. State employee: He was responsible for investigating and pursuing welfare fraud cases for both civil and criminal resolution and trained new investigators statewide. When Montana implemented an investigator program, Tim became one of the first Eligibility Investigators in the state. He later was the primary field trainer for new investigators and wrote both the field interviews and home visit sec#ons for the state training manuals. He was invited to lecture and train at state and national conferences on fraud investigation, stress reduction through humor and team development in social services environments at the the request of USDA FNS. As one of the first front-end investigators in the United States, Tim developed forms and procedures so effective that they are s#ll in use in the state today.

Management Evaluation Reviewer, United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Denver Colorado. Tim performed management evaluation reviews of the food stamp program at a federal level for Utah, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Iowa, as well as North and South Dakota. Tim moved to Denver, Colorado to join the staff of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) as a food stamp program reviewer. He also served on interagency task forces on welfare reform, electronic benefit transfer systems and federal income tax refund offset programs.

For more information on Tim’s Government oriented programs, please visit Government & Human Services.