Highlights from NSBest – Icons, Influencers & Rising Star speakers for your 2017 events
This year marked our seventh annual Engage Speaker Talks showcase and once again the event took another step forward by making our Alberta debut with NSBest Calgary. All three events were highly successful, bringing forward plenty of inspirational mornings to audiences around Canada. Our best speaker showcase yet, the events offered a diverse mix of speakers who shared valuable insight and their “Canada 150” with our valued clients. If you didn’t get a chance to see either event in person, we’ve got a full digest for you: 
*Eric Termuende | Founder of DRYVER
Eric encouraged our audience to rethink work. With technology now enabling a work/life integration, work is all consuming. He offered six key takeaways for organizations: 1- Stop Generalizing; 2- Articulate values & experiences; 3- Clearly understand your culture; 3- Build community; 5- Tell stories; and 6- The individual is greater than the cohort. *Eric was also featured at our #NSBest Vancouver Event. 
Amanda Lindhout | Kidnap Survivor, Bestselling Author & Journalist
Amanda shared a powerful message of hope, forgiveness, peace and reconciliation. She touched on her experience living with PTSD and how it’s important to find something to be grateful for each and every day. Amanda’s hardships have shown her that the human spirit has an enormous determination to survive.
Here’s our #NSBest Calgary Storify:
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Bobby Umar | Leadership & Personal Branding Coach
Bobby played a dual-role at #NSBest Vancouver: Not only did he host our event, but he also delivered a mini-presentation on networking and social media. He showed us how communities can be built up really fast if you are the one willing to lead it. Bobby encouraged us to embrace video as the future of content. He also offered us a peek into his social media toolkit showing us some of the online resources he uses to help connect with his network. *Bobby was also featured at our #NSBest Toronto Event.
Peter van Stolk | Founder of Jones Soda & CEO of SPUD
Peter shared some candid business lessons from his success and his failures. His positive, and frank, discussion really resonated with the audience. He urged attendees to view business as an agent of positive change. Peter said the most important factor in marketing and brand building is understanding the future instead of simply reacting to the present.
Dr. Carin Bondar | Biologist & Television Personality
Carin’s talk focused on biology and how it shapes the way that we are and the things we seek as humans. She also took inspiration from both her involvement in Stephen Hawking’s Discovery program and her new book Wild Sex and gave our audience some insight into the science behind first impressions and making connections.
Rex Murphy | Social Commentator & Distinct Canadian Voice
Rex brought forward his infamous intellect and biting humour to deliver our audience an inspiring Canada 150 presentation. It was a masterclass in storytelling, touching on everything from the culture of his home province of Newfoundland to the glue that binds us as Canadians. He showed us all how Canadians step up to help in whatever situation or circumstance is impeding them.
Here’s our #NSBest Vancouver Storify:
Orlando Bowen | Gamechanger & Former CFL Linebacker
Orlando brought the energy up in his role as Host/MC for our Toronto morning event with his gracious stage presence and warm, friendly attitude. He gave us a little audience team building, kept us focused, tied all the speakers together with his short interstitials and reinforced the key takeaways from the day. 
Nova Browning Rutherford | Personal Development Coach & Regular Guest on CTV’s The Social
Nova’s presentation focused on self-care, an important topic within the workplace where 1 in 4 workers identify work as the #1 source of stress. She argued that your people create your corporate culture and set the tone, so make sure you don’t overlook them! Nova provided us with three key tools to help in developing better Mental Health: 1 -Be thoughtful and present in the things you do; 2 – Take the time to decompress; 3- Find the right balance & make time for yourself outside the workplace. She argued we need to eliminate the negative self-talk and become advocates for ourselves. 
Jesse Wente | Broadcaster, Advocate & Pop Culture Philosopher
Jesse’s presentation focused on Canada 150 & Reconciliation. He argued that Canada needs to take this chance & get our national self-realization right. Jesse outlined the potential for our future and some of the historical problems facing Indigenous communities. He believes we, as a country, need to get a little more comfortable with discomfort. Jesse argued that our government will not be the ones to lead change, people will. We can all help lead change by: seeking out indigenous art, reading the 94 Truth & Reconciliation Commission recommendations; and doing the small things in our day-to-day which can lead to big change. 
Jennifer Moss | Workplace Happiness Expert
Jennifer’s presentation brought forward some valuable insight on Workplace Happiness. She argued that there is a direct correlation between a healthy, productive workplace culture and a company’s bottom line. Jennifer noted how work-life balance has now been replaced by a work-life continuum so choosing happiness is fundamental in how we think about our lives. She concluded her talk by discussing how after experiencing hardships, we can often choose to experience post-traumatic growth vs dealing with post-traumatic stress. 
Jon Montgomery | Olympic Gold Medallist & Host of The Amazing Race Canada
Jon’s presentation focused on his inspiring journey from a small-town kid from Manitoba to Olympic Gold Medallist and becoming the host of the most watched television show in Canadian history. He encouraged our audience to live life outside their comfort zone: If it scares you, it’s a good sign! It means you’re invested. Jon stressed the importance in confidence and how it stems from the belief that our goals are achievable. He believes collaboration and teamwork lead us to life’s victories.Here’s our #NSBest Toronto Storify:
Event Reviews:
“I had a great time and felt inspired by the line up of speakers you had – I loved the event” -Virgin Mobile Canada
“What a fantastic event! so happy I could be a part of it! Great location, great speakers, great team, everything was fantastic! Loved it!” -President, Global Planning Source Inc.
