Duncan Stevens Closes the Scotland Food & Drink Conference With a Lesson in Influence
With Duncan Stevens, behavioural psychologist, keynote speaker and best-selling author
OUTCOME 1
A room ready to act
Delegates left the closing session with food for thought and a shared aim to lead with more influence.
OUTCOME 2
Influence over force
People began to see influence as something they can build with practice, not a knack some leaders have.
OUTCOME 3
Ideas to use tomorrow
Practical concepts on influence and effectiveness that delegates could use back at work straight away.
THE CHALLENGE
The Scotland Food & Drink conference needed a closing keynote that sent a diverse room home with fresh ideas.
The closing slot at a conference is a hard one. Delegates at the Scotland Food & Drink conference came from businesses, public bodies and industry groups, and they’d already sat through a full programme of talks. The organisers wanted the final keynote to leave that mixed audience thinking, not reaching for their coats.
They asked Duncan to speak on maximising your influence, with practical ideas on leadership and effectiveness that anyone in the room could use, whatever their role or sector.
DUNCAN’S SOLUTION
A closing keynote on influence that mixed behavioural psychology, practical concepts and a room that joined in.
Before the conference, Duncan spoke with the organisers to learn who’d be in the room, how the day would run and what a closing keynote needed to leave behind.
He built a 45-minute keynote on maximising your influence, using on-stage behavioural psychology demonstrations to keep a diverse audience involved and make each idea easy to remember. Every concept tied back to leadership and to increasing influence and effectiveness, so delegates had something practical to take home.
THE RESULT
A conference that finished on a high, with delegates keen for more of Duncan’s work.
Ramona Branza of the Scottish Government said Duncan closed the event beautifully and gave everyone food for thought. She praised how he captivated a diverse audience while sharing insightful messages on leadership and influence, and said she’ll look for similar events. In the survey, 98% of delegates said they’d recommend Duncan.
The audience survey below shows how the session landed with the people in the room.
Closing an event and want your audience acting on it? Check Duncan’s availability or explore his Influence and Persuasion keynote.
THOUGHTS FROM DUNCAN
The best closing keynote leaves people with one clear idea to use the next day.
Closing a conference means following everyone else, so I don’t try to out-shout the day. I aim for a few clear ideas that people can use at work the next morning. With influence, that usually starts with listening: understand what matters to the other person, then make your case in terms they care about. Small changes in how you ask can change the answer you get.
The Scotland Food & Drink crowd were curious, generous and quick to engage, and I’d love to work with them again.
HOW SCOTLAND FOOD & DRINK'S DELEGATES RATED DUNCAN'S INFLUENCE KEYNOTE
98% of Scotland Food & Drink’s conference delegates would recommend Duncan, and 98% are extremely or highly likely to use his takeaways. The words they used most to describe the keynote were inspiring, practical and entertaining.
Survey of conference delegates, completed straight after the closing keynote.
LIKELIHOOD TO USE DUNCAN'S TAKEAWAYS
HOW LIKELY ARE YOU TO RECOMMEND DUNCAN
ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE DUNCAN’S KEYNOTE
Want your own audience leaving an event ready to influence more effectively? Talk to Duncan about your conference.
SEE WHAT OTHER CLIENTS ARE SAYING ABOUT DUNCAN'S KEYNOTE:
“It is evident that Duncan has a passion for delivering outstanding results and look forward to partnering again!”
Jenny Tsimpouka
Events Co-ordinator, CEO Clubs Greece
“His speech was very motivational and inspirational and the entertainment part was just mind-blowing!”
Tonya Winders
CEO, GAAP Barcelona
“I would highly recommend Duncan to anyone looking for an amazing speaker who can inspire and motivate diverse audiences!”
Natasha Amurao
Event Organiser, Abu Dhabi
“His content was delivered perfectly. Exactly what we were looking for! Actionable takeaways for everybody!”
Ashleigh Goodchild
Director, PM Collective
Popular Keynote Topics
Duncan Stevens is a behavioural psychologist, high performance expert and globally recognised keynote speaker. He inspires and educates leaders and teams at conferences around the world, in person or virtually.
His award-winning keynotes cover high performance, change, collaboration and influence.
Turning High Potential Into High Performance: Duncan’s signature keynote gives leaders the behaviours and mindsets to deliver strategic goals, drive change, inspire teams and strengthen culture.
The High Performing Team Advantage: An inspiring, entertaining keynote that gives teams the tools to collaborate better, drive marginal gains, take ownership and thrive through change.
Practical strategies to navigate uncertainty, overcome resistance, build resilience and create a culture that adapts quickly when things change.
Proven strategies to break down silos, build trust, share ownership and help teams achieve more together than they ever could alone.
How to build a culture where people want to perform at their best, using the 8 Pillars of High Performance Culture.
Built on Duncan’s best-selling book Effective Influence, this talk shows audiences how to build trust, communicate with impact, shape decisions and inspire action.
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Duncan’s helped global organisations like Scotland Food & Drink lift their teams, their culture and their bottom-line results. Let’s do the same for your event.
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