Kit Welchlin

Kit Welchlin

Kit Welchlin began public speaking at age 9 in 4-H. Purchased his first manufacturing company at age 21, and by 26 was CEO of 3 manufacturing companies in three states.

Kit has B.S. and M.A. Degrees in Speech Communication. He has delivered more than 3,500 presentations to more than 500,000 people over the past 29 years.

In 2014, Kit was inducted into the Minnesota Speaker Hall of Fame and in 2018 earned the Certified Speaking Professional designation from the National Speakers Association. In 2020, Kit earned the Certified Virtual Presenter designation from espeakers.
Audiences learn strategies for effective communication, leadership development, and stress, time and procrastination management.

Most Requested Programs

Embracing the Changes Caused by COVID-19
Whether you are facing change in your professional or personal life, you need to be equipped with the techniques to master change and minimize the damage of stress caused by change. It is critical to know how to stay calm and rational, even during a pandemic. Learn the 3 key drivers of change, recognize the 4 stages of transition, identify the mistakes we make when facing change and transition, consider 13 new work behaviors to become a quick-change artist.

Managing the Stress Caused by COVID-19
Nearly half of the nation’s workers say job stress is destroying their mental and physical health and eroding their productivity. In order to enjoy good health and feel a sense of well-being, you must have a good balance with professional productivity, personal recreation, and positive relationships. Balance the quickness, quantity, and quality of your life. Learn the 3 stages of stress, the 3 stages of burnout and the 30 proven techniques to relieve stress.

Applying Emotional Intelligence for Career Success
The most effective professionals have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence. The qualities that make up emotional intelligence – self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill – enable the most successful professionals to raise their own and others’ performance to a higher level. Learn how to enhance your personal brand, understand your emotions and respond professionally, incorporate perception checking and keep conversations civil, motivate yourself and others and build a supportive communication climate.

Leadership: It's Not Just Positional; It's Personal
Position power is the extent to which leaders have rewards, punishments, and sanctions. Position power comes from the organization. Personal power is the extent to which you can gain the confidence and trust of those people that you’re attempting to influence. It’s the cohesiveness or commitment between leaders and followers. Effective leaders are communicators and build and sustain both positional and personal power. Learn the 6 criteria of personal credibility, the top 10 characteristics of effective leaders, how to select appropriate situational leadership styles and how to take charge and grow winners

Handling Difficult People: De-escalation Strategies
It is estimated that 20-21% of our population can be classified as difficult people. No matter where you go, there will be at least one to handle. Difficult people look for your buttons. They don’t just push your buttons; they punch them! Identify the “nasty people” and learn how to stop being manipulated by them without becoming one of them! Learn, the 4 reasons why people become difficult, the top 10 different types of difficult people, the five action steps to respond rather than react, the 5 stages in controlling your emotions and responding appropriately, and 50 strategies to deal with the truly ruthless.

Testimonials

Kit's keynote on "Chaos and Change" was the perfect message for my meeting attendees. His delivery was engaging, insightful and contained key takeaways on how to deal and adapt to change in what is often a very chaotic world. Kit's very easy to work with and I highly recommend him. - Stephanie Menning, CAE, IOM, Executive Director, Municipal Utility Contractors Association

“Thank you, again, for presenting at Midwest Energy Association’s Executive Summit in San Antonio a few weeks ago. We received a lot of positive feedback and wanted you to know that we appreciate you sharing your time and expertise.” - Jenica Hickey, Director, Midwest Energy Association

We really appreciate that Kit was able to speak with such candor to our audience. Many were enthralled and hoped they would have a chance to review his session to pick up all his words of wisdom. I was concerned that as we took a lunch break we would lose some of our audience. The few that didn't come back contacted me to apologize. While I would have much preferred to see Kit in person, he made the best possible use of our virtual platform. I could see the other moderators and speakers while he performed and his humour was very well received. My phone was also buzzing with texts during his session; I received a lot of great comments and ? for our choice of keynote speaker! We had a great follow-up session today, everyone was mindful of their listening skills and respect for each other. Great job Kit! - Kelly Chambers, Executive Director, Alberta Seed Growers

“Thank you for a fabulous presentation at our Leadership Development conference.
You are a dynamic speaker -- it was obvious that you had done your homework,
because your customized presentation really hit home. Months later, staff are still
talking you and are practicing the things that they learned at the event!” - Lisa K. Krause, Service & Staff Development, Mayo Health System

Here are the comments from the attendees: Great lecture – excellent speaker! Very good seminar!!! Fantastic! Great presentation! Very entertaining AND informative. Very funny! Entertaining, important topic to cover. Nice job! Reminds me of Jim Carey! Speaker is very engaging. Liked the class involvement/tasks to have the class work together; mixes in video & group activity. -Shawna Owens, Manager of Continuing Education, Michigan Dental Association