Meeting Planners

A Presenter Who Will Partner With You

If you are looking for an enlightening, engaging presenter, consider Leslie Charles. She knows how to connect the dots between the external forces that influence internal behavior and complicate personal relationships, at work, at home and in between.

Leslie has always customized and personalized her material to make it relevant and compelling, combined with current, up-to-date material as new trends or crucial events emerge.

She will inquire about your organizational mission and culture, leadership styles, levels of teamwork, and what keeps you up at night. She will ask you to outline your desired objectives and outcomes, designing content that meets your needs.

Leslie will ask about internal relationships, what you do best and what areas most need attention. She will ask about favored learning styles, internal language, norms, memes and any areas of sensitivity; what to say, and even what to avoid.

During the media blitz for her Why Is Everyone So Cranky? book, one journalist noted, “This author has her finger on the pulse of our society.” Well, Leslie still does, that’s her job. And she wants to know the pulse of your organization or team.

Leslie’s motivating spirit sparks her desire to leave a lasting impression. She loves to keep audience members thinking about the event after it’s over by providing unique follow-up reminders and reinforcement. If you are willing to distribute her missives, she will do the rest.

Leslie naturally models the material she delivers because she lives it, remaining fully present in front of her audience, providing a solid statement about her authenticity. And she is funny!

My Commitment To Clients

Your reputation hinges on the quality of speakers you select. I best serve you by serving my audience members, hoping they recognize the work you invest in a meeting or event.
I show respect for you by customizing my material to fit your culture, people, and what they face every day. I will also interview selected individuals to discover needs and concerns firsthand.
Pairing the right speaker with the right audience and event is a huge responsibility. If I’m not the right match, I will let you know and be happy to assist you in finding someone else.
I pledge to keep my content up to date and relevant, to realistically reflect the world in which you live and work so audience members can easily identify and apply what I present.
To help my audience members retain the key points I present, I will provide handouts or tip sheets if you are willing to duplicate and distribute them the day of our event.
Because I want my presentation to have a lasting impact, I will send a few follow up reminders to audience members (at no charge) if you are willing to distribute them.
My career was built on repeat business, referrals and word of mouth, a testimony to the quality of my work. I intend to be so effective you will want to work with me again.
If you would like to add a post-session support system to extend the learning experience beyond our event, I can do it for an agreed upon specified period and a nominal fee.
Media Appearances

Event Materials

Headshots
Click on one of the images below to download a high resolution photo.

Introduction

This is a sample introduction only. Leslie always creates an original intro for each engagement, never a “standard” one.

She will provide you with a ONE-MINUTE intro specifically designed for your purposes.

Leslie keeps her intros compact, informative and relevant, usually with a hint of humor, centered around the criteria of:

  • Why this topic?
  • Why this speaker?
  • Why this audience?
  • Why at this time?
sample introduction

LESLIE’S INTRO (No need to memorize; simply read as is. Thanks!)

When asked: What do you most like about your work? The most common reply is, THE PEOPLE!

When asked: What do you LEAST like about your work? The most common reply is
(please pause for a moment…) THE PEOPLE!

People, pressure, ongoing change adaptation, and overload… these are among the challenges you face in your work today.

And that’s why Leslie Charles, your session leader, was asked to be a part of our Global Summit.

While Leslie still lives in her hometown, she is a nationally recognized author and award-winning professional speaker with three decades of experience

She is the author of 7 books, one of which put her in the media spotlight for over two years and positioned her as an expert on stress

You may have seen her on national TV, heard her on NPR, read about her in magazines or a USA Today cover story—

Leslie says she’s a celebrity NONE of us have ever heard of!

But she has a mission of making this a kinder, gentler world, one person at a time — starting with herself.

Here to remind us that LIFE IS NOT A DURESS REHEARSAL…

Please help me welcome — LESLIE CHARLES!

Bios

Brief Bio
Leslie Charles, acclaimed author and award-winning speaker, offers compelling content, real-life stories and refreshing humor to her audiences. Thanks to her book, Why Is Everyone So Cranky? Leslie enjoyed two years of media attention. Combining practical ideas, insightful tips and inescapable truths with a light touch, she encourages audience members to laugh at life, but mostly at themselves. Leslie brings hope, humor and healthy options for facing life’s current challenges without demanding a miracle makeover. Dedicated to helping people capitalize on their inborn skills and natural abilities, she offers common sense strategies that make it more possible to “stick their landing” instead of feeling stuck.
extended Bio

NOTE: This bio is intentionally long and not expected to be used in its entirety. For your purposes, feel free to select whatever information or sections you consider most relevant for your event and audience.

Leslie Charles is an award-winning speaker and nationally acclaimed author, bringing over three decades of expertise, experience, and authenticity to each presentation. Leslie states that we are “imperfect people living, loving, and pursuing our livelihoods in an imperfect world.” This leaves a lot of room for each of us to upgrade our personal and professional relationships, work environments, and even our communities.

Leslie offers how-to strategies for maintaining balance, energy, and optimism to offset the stress of navigating a turbulent social landscape and complicated work-life demands. Blending confidence with humility, Leslie offers a bold message of personal accountability bolstered by unique strategies for re-engineering our perceptions and everyday practices.

Her critically acclaimed Why Is Everyone So Cranky? received over two years of national media attention; network TV and cable, Bloomberg and NPR, magazines and newspapers, including a USA Today cover story. Leslie speaks with gentle authority on what it takes to live and work with enthusiasm, integrity and resilience to prevail over adversity or setbacks. As a self-professed late bloomer, she is living proof that “adversity and opportunity are constant companions” and we all have the potential to transform who and what we are. Thanks to her ongoing commitment to learn, grow, and change, Leslie brings hope, humor, and healthy options for facing the challenges of our contentious society.

Now working on her eighth book, Leslie continues to inspire and activate audiences with an entertaining, insightful and invigorating message. Her tagline is “Keep your spark lit . . . so you can rise and shine.” Leslie’s mission is to help people lead happier, healthier, more productive lives so they can put out the flames when things go up in smoke, and instead, reignite the fire of their passion that burns within. Perhaps some of her success is because Leslie not only talks about good ideas for living a healthier, happier life, she practices them.

Client credits include NASA, the National Institutes of Health, government and educational institutions, health care and social services agencies. Leslie is especially drawn to audiences that work in high pressure environments. For 15 years, she was the closing speaker at the Melanie Ilene Rieger Conference Against Violence for survivors of homicide and the professionals who support them. Her job was to address their trauma and grief while giving them the gifts of laughter and comfort. Leslie has worked with administrators, association executives, team leaders, support staff, mental health and medical professionals, victim advocates, first responders, law enforcement and more.

Speaking Samples

Play Video
presentation
Interview with Leslie

What Clients Say