Conference Keynote Speaker and Breakout Session Speaker Programs

Conference Keynote Speaker and Breakout Session Speaker

Don Crawley is an award-winning conference keynote speaker and breakout session leader. The conference programs listed on this page are perfect for IT conferences because they relate to IT people and they’re highly interactive.

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Check out Don’s online, on-demand IT Customer Service Training at CompassionateGeek.com.

Keynotes | Breakouts | Training

Conference Keynote Speaker and General Session Program

Don is a conference keynote speaker who is perfect for technical audiences because his presentations are filled with compelling stories, relatable examples, and interesting audience interaction.

How to Be a Compassionate Geek

Customer Service Secrets of Successful IT Pros

Audience: IT Professionals

Successful customer relationships make for successful businesses and careers. Organizations that care deeply about their people and performance are no longer satisfied with merely “Checking the Box”. Instead, they are transforming their organizational culture by changing hearts and minds. Successful companies focus on compassion, caring, empathy, and respect for their customers and employees. Read More…

Breakout Session Leader Programs

Don is the perfect breakout session leader because his sessions are tailored to IT audiences. The topics are important and relevant and his content is compelling.

The 5 Principles of IT Customer Service Success

How to Build Great Relationships with Customers and Coworkers

Successful tech teams know it takes more to succeed than just technical skills. Your organization’s ability to excel is based on its competence and the right kind of culture. People skills actually can be taught and learned. Read More…

How Leadership Affects Customer Service and How Customer Service Affects Your Bottom Line

Business loss due to poor customer service is estimated at up to one trillion dollars per year. Customer retention is driven by customer service. Solve customer service problems and you’ll improve customer retention. (Often paired with Solving Real-World IT Customer Service Problems) Read More…

Breakout: Solving Real-World IT Customer Service Problems

Work with your peers in this highly interactive session to solve real-world IT customer service problems. Brainstorm with others who understand your challenges. Gain new ideas to help you succeed. (Usually paired with How Leadership Affects Customer Service and How Customer Service Affects Profitability) Read More…

Getting Your Message Across: Presentation Skills in a Virtual World

Public Speaking Training for IT Pros

Presentation skills have always been crucial to your career success; they’re even more so in a virtual world of Zoom, WebEx, GoTo, and Teams. No matter how good your ideas are, you still have to persuade others of their value. Learn to present well and people will pay attention to you. Read More…

Practical Emotional Intelligence for IT Professionals

Successful IT careers require intellect and people skills. IQ allows you to perform the tasks of your job, and Emotional IQ guides your people skills. This breakout is about how to use EIQ to get along with others. Read More…

Conflict and Resolution

How IT Pros Can Manage Workplace Conflict

Conflict is a fact of life, especially in the workplace. The key is knowing how to successfully manage it. In this breakout, IT pros (and others) will learn how to manage and resolve conflict in the workplace, whether with an end-user, a coworker, or anyone else. Read More…

What to Do When the Customer Isn’t Right

We’ve all heard the expression, “The Customer is Always Right”. The problem is that customers aren’t always right and sometimes they’re just flat out wrong. This session is all about dealing with customers, whether they’re right or wrong. Read More…

How to Say “No” Without Alienating the Customer

Much as we might want to accommodate every customer request, sometimes it’s just not realistic. Regardless of the specific issue, sometimes we have to say no to our users or other customers. The key is finding a way to do so which doesn’t alienate your customer or coworkers and preserves the relationship. Read More…

Stress Management and Self-Care for IT Professionals

Positive Techniques for Dealing with Stress

Are IT jobs stressful? Have you ever had an email server fail? Or a printer fail? Or a CRM application freeze? How about losing Internet access? Obviously, your job in IT can be very stressful. Your success in dealing with stress lies in how you respond to it. In this session, you will learn tools for dealing with stress on the job and in life. Read More…

How to Be a Better Listener

How Being a Great Listener Builds Great Relationships with Customers, Coworkers, Vendors, and Everyone Else

Being a good listener gives you a competitive advantage. Most people don’t listen to understand and remember what the other person is saying. When you listen well, you’ll automatically build better relationships with customers, coworkers, and vendors.
Read More…

How to Deal with Difficult End Users and Other Customers

Let’s face it. Sometimes, we have to deal with a customer who’s just really difficult. Perhaps they’re demanding, complaining, or tyrannical. Maybe they act inappropriately or they’re dishonest. Regardless, they’re difficult, but they’re a paying customer. In this session, you’ll learn valuable techniques for dealing effectively with a challenging customer. Read More…

How to Build Great IT Teams

Form a high-functioning team by aligning around clear goals, use Compassionate Geek concepts to build great working relationships among team members, and reduce or eliminate ambiguity around team member roles. Learn the top five critical success factors in building high-performing teams. Read More…

Don Crawley, Author of The Compassionate Geek

For more than 40 years, Don Crawley has worked with technology, from broadcasting to automation systems to data networks. A former IT trainer and consultant, he is an award-winning conference keynote speaker and the author of eight books for IT professionals including The Compassionate Geek. He’s especially good at helping IT teams work together so they can get things done for customers and your team.

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