Keynote speaking

Keynotes on leadershipunder pressure.

Every keynote is shaped around your audience and your goal, with practical tools your people can use the same day.

Funny, honest and useful. 3 things I have been called.

Book Deano Workshops and retreats
Deano Sutter

Built for your audience

Keynotes45 to 60 minutes
WorkshopsHalf day or full day
Retreats12 hours, over 2 days to a week
AnywhereIn person or virtual

The keynotes

For the big room.

45 to 60 minutes. For sales kickoffs, conferences, leadership summits and all-hands.

Deano Sutter on stage giving his Life is a Game keynote in Mexico City
Signature keynote

How to Winthe Game of Life.

Ask any room if they would rather work or play, and everyone picks play. This keynote shows your people how to treat their work, and their life, like a game they can win. It is funny, fast, and full of stories they will repeat at dinner.

The 3 keys

  • 1Stay in the game. You can’t win a game that you’re not playing.
  • 2Obey the rules. The brain is geared for survival, not success.
  • 3Play your own way. You can lose without being a loser.
Sales kickoffsConferencesAll-hands
More keynotes
Leadership

The Hidden Edge

Why repeated reactions become reputation, and how to train a better one.

The edge nobody sees is what your leaders do in the seconds after someone pushes their buttons. That reaction is automatic. It is a Pressure Reflex™. And the people around them remember it long after they forget the strategy.

Perfect for: leadership summits, executive offsites, sales kickoffs

Your audience will learn
  • The hidden reflex that takes over when pressure hits, and how to spot their own.
  • What that reaction is costing them in trust, deals and reputation.
  • How to stay present, keep every option open, and respond instead of react.
Reactivity

False Alarms

How to stop being so reactive.

Your brain has a smoke detector. Its job is to keep you safe, and it is very good at it. The trouble is that it goes off for burnt toast the same way it goes off for a fire. This keynote shows your people how to tell the difference.

Perfect for: all-hands, manager meetings, client-facing teams

Your audience will learn
  • Why smart, capable people overreact, and why it is not a character flaw.
  • How to tell a real threat from a false alarm in the moment.
  • How to recalibrate the alarm, so it fires for the fire and not the burnt toast.
Resilience and change

The Wreck That Unwrecked My Life

What a motorcycle wreck taught me about rebuilding.

In 1 night I almost lost my life, and I almost lost my leg. I did lose my mobility for the better part of 2 years. I lost my company. I lost all of my savings. This is the true story, and what it taught me about rebuilding when everything falls apart at once.

Perfect for: companies in change, all-hands, association events

Your audience will learn
  • How to take full responsibility for your life without taking all the blame.
  • How to let people help, when everything in you resists it.
  • The first steps to rebuild when the plan is gone.

Also available as a book talk: How’s Mom? Leading and caring under real pressure, from 18 months as my mom’s full-time caregiver.

From leaders I have coached

What changes after the work.

Before, I was hitting the same limits in my reactions and decisions. After this work, I now trust myself under pressure and show up differently.
Gary Pearl
Gary PearlExecutive Producer, “Jane the Virgin”
Before, I was feeling inadequate, defensive, and stressed. After, I was achieving the best possible outcome I had prepared to achieve.
Andrew Pettit
Andrew PettitStrategic Advisor & Board Member, Palantir Alum
My mindset is forever different. I shed 40 lbs, rebuilt my energy, improved my relationships, and joined a founding team building a new biotech venture.
Bryan Vought
Bryan VoughtBiology Leader, Organoid + Stem Cell Innovation

Podcasts and interviews

As heard on.

The Evolved Sales Leader Prelude to Positivity Dying Out Loud The Storylux Podcast Grief Club Gratitudespace Radio
MAX & Friends 2 episodesListen to part 1 ↗Listen to part 2 ↗
The Now With Nat Happily Ever After The McCord List
Have a show?I say yes to good conversations.
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For event planners

Everything a planner needs.

Short bio

Deano Sutter is a keynote speaker and the founder of Pressure Reflex™. He has raised millions, been worth 8 figures and gone bankrupt. He has run marathons and triathlons, and spent 6 months in a wheelchair after a major motorcycle wreck. He equips leaders and teams to stay present when pressure hits, keep every option open, and respond instead of react.

Stage introduction

“Our next speaker has raised millions, been worth 8 figures, and gone bankrupt. He has run marathons and triathlons. He has also survived a major motorcycle wreck, spent 6 months in a wheelchair, and another 18 months recovering. Through all of it he discovered something. When pressure hits, every one of us has a hidden reflex that takes over. Today he is going to show you what yours is, and what to do about it. Please welcome the founder of Pressure Reflex™ and the Pressure Reflex™ Training System, Deano Sutter.”

Room and tech

An AV operator on site, with these minimums:

  • A wireless microphone. A headset or clip-on is best.
  • A screen or projector that can run a slide show from a laptop.
  • A sound system that plays audio from the laptop.
  • A slide clicker.
  • 15 minutes in the room beforehand for a sound and slide check.

Good to know

  • Keynotes run 45 to 60 minutes.
  • Workshops run a half day or a full day.
  • Retreats run 12 hours of teaching, spread over 2 days or up to a week.
  • Every session is shaped around your audience after a planning call.
  • In person or virtual. Based in Dallas, Texas. Travels anywhere.
  • Rates depend on the format. Ask and I will send them.

Book Deano

Let’s talk.

I’m excited to connect. Let’s see if we’re a fit.

  1. 1You pick a time. Tell me what you are looking for.
  2. 2We talk for 20 minutes on Zoom. We discuss what you need and see if we are a fit.
  3. 3We set up a plan. Built for you personally, or for your event and your audience.

Got it

You’re booked.

I look forward to it.

  1. 1Add it to your calendar. Use the calendar buttons on this page.
  2. 2Check your email. Your confirmation and your Zoom link are on the way.
  3. 3We talk for 20 minutes. We discuss what you need and see if we are a fit.
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