Keynote Speaker Duncan Stevens

Duncan Stevens is a behavioural psychologist, keynote speaker and author who has spoken to over one million people across 30+ countries. A former Royal Navy officer and winner of the Zayed Award for Speaking, he created the MAGIC Wheel of High Performance™, the framework behind his keynotes on leadership, change, collaboration and performance psychology for organisations like Nike, Deloitte, Microsoft and Coca-Cola. Learn more on the about page.

Duncan speaks about high performance psychology, leadership under pressure, navigating change, resilience, collaboration, influence and persuasion, and the human side of AI. Every keynote is built around practical tools people can use the moment they leave the room, not just inspiration for the afternoon.

The MAGIC Wheel of High Performance™ is Duncan’s proprietary model, built from 15 years working with Olympians, Fortune 500 leaders and high performing teams. It’s structured around five pillars, Mastery of Self, Accelerated Growth, Grit and Mental Toughness, Inner Drive, and Co-Creation, each broken into specific principles teams can apply straight away.

Duncan isn’t a motivational speaker borrowing the language of psychology, he’s a trained behavioural psychologist who spent years as a Royal Navy officer before building a 15 year career studying what actually drives performance under pressure. Audiences get science backed frameworks delivered with the energy of a great stage performer, not a lecture and not a pep talk.

Duncan is best described as a keynote speaker and behavioural psychologist rather than a traditional motivational speaker. His sessions bring genuine energy and stage presence, but every idea is grounded in psychology and performance research your team can actually put into practice afterwards.

Yes. Duncan researches your audience, industry and event goals before writing a single slide, so the examples, language and takeaways match what your people are actually dealing with. This is standard for every booking, not an add-on. Get in touch to talk through your event.

Yes. Alongside his keynotes, Duncan runs standalone workshops and keynote plus workshop combinations on leadership, influence, collaboration, resilience and applying the MAGIC Wheel of High Performance inside your business. Many clients book the keynote to open an event and the workshop to make it stick.

Yes. Duncan’s AI keynote focuses on the human side of the shift, judgement, creativity, trust and collaboration, rather than technical hype, helping leaders and teams stay valuable and adaptable as AI changes how work gets done.

Yes. Duncan has delivered keynotes and workshops across more than 30 countries, including the UK and Europe, the Middle East, North America and Asia, and is experienced working with global, multicultural, senior corporate audiences.

Duncan has worked across finance, technology, healthcare, energy, retail, professional services, engineering, automotive and pharmaceuticals, adapting his content to the real pressures of each sector rather than delivering a one size fits all talk. See the full list on the industries page.

Duncan is the author of Effective Influence and Everything You Need To Win: The 23 Principles of High Performance Psychology for Business and Life. Both books expand on the ideas behind his keynotes, covering influence, mindset, resilience and behaviour change in more depth. See both on the books page.

Send an enquiry with your event date, location, audience size and the outcome you want from the session. Duncan’s team will check availability, recommend the right keynote or workshop format, and set up a briefing call to shape the session around your audience before you commit to anything. Start on the contact page.

As a premium international keynote speaker with 1,000+ events delivered and a client list including Nike, Deloitte and Coca-Cola, fees depend on location, format and audience size. The fastest way to get an accurate figure is to send your event date and brief through the enquiry form and Duncan’s team will come back with a proposal.