FAQs

Here's David's answers to some of the typical questions he receives. This will hopefully help you, the client, make a more informed choice.


Experience, Preparation and Planning

How much experience does David have?
David has been an entrepreneur and businessman for nearly 30 years and has been doing keynotes, training and facilitating, and coaching for over 20 years. In addition to being the president of Spark Communications Inc. David has been involved in several other business ventures. David is also on the Continuing Education Faculty of and sits on the advisory council of several colleges.
His course evaluations have always achieved high ratings.

What about preparation prior to the session?
I believe in getting to know my client and my audience. I often send out an information questionnaire prior to the session and I am usually available to meet with your planning committee or key decision makers. My aim is to customize the presentation, to address the your core issues, and fit with the convention theme. I aim to also be thought-provoking and to challenge the group to think differently.

What if something happens; we run late or need to expand the program?
Because of years of experience, I am able to adapt my presentation and/or change direction if necessary to you achieve your objectives and/or time constraints and endeavor to make it look and feel like it was a part of the program.
If one of your other speakers does not show, I am happy to fill in and I will do whatever I can to help you with your program. I've helped other speakers with their presentations and their technology challenges. Over the years I've been in the speaking business I had a great deal of experience with all sorts of challenges in the meeting industry. My aim is to make your program a success.

When does he arrive before the presentation?
I've never missed a presentation in 20+ years in the speaking business. I often use multi-media for my presentation and I will arrive in time to check out the equipment before my session (I prefer to have a minimum of half-an-hour for set up time). If the schedule requires me to do the check the night before, I will. Generally, if I am traveling across the country, I prefer to arrive the night before a presentation and I like to be able to get a sense of the audience prior to speaking.


Content and Delivery

Is he just a motivational speaker or does he have any content?
I consider myself a high-content speaker. My presentations are focused on sharing my experience and insights to help participants achieve their goals, dreams and ambitions. I'm not an Olympic athlete or a mountain climber. I haven't survived any serious physical challenges. I'm simply a business person, with many years of experience working with other business people. I've survived one depression (when the NEP hit Alberta) and one recession (1992) and I've made plenty of mistakes but I've also had a number of successes.

Is he funny?
I don't consider myself a stand up comedian like Robin Williams or Steve Martin, although I have taken training in comedy. The humour I use comes from my own "real life" experiences and I often use storytelling in my presentations. I weave humor throughout. Much of it is spontaneous reaction to the group participation. Humour helps us to have fun while learning.

You teach Innovation and Creativity, do you make us play silly games?
No. Some groups want fun activities and other's don't. The content has to have a purpose. I plan the program with my clients and tailor the experiences to meet the audience needs.

Fees

How much more do you charge if we want a keynote and a concurrent session at the same event?
I can deliver a keynote and a concurrent session, MC the event or facilitate a planning session, or provide coaching and consultation during the same day and offer you a combined fee rate.

If you are planning on developing an ongoing training program or looking to hire a speaker for multiple engagements, talk to me about how we can help stretch your dollars. For clients who book ongoing engagements we offer a multiple engagement rate.

Email us with your comments and questions. We would love to hear from you! Contact us:

T: 403.244.7450
F: 403.229.1370

128 Sandringham Road NW Calgary, AB Canada T3K 3Y5