"Circus is what real life should be like. It's sincerity, feeling, emotions. All real. There are no lies in circus. There are artists working together to give a smile."
Princess Stephanie of Monaco
STORYTELLING KEYNOTES OFFERING
Sylvain Gauthier offers two distinct keynote category options centered around his expertise in entertainment, project management and strategic storytelling.
When your attendees harness the power of story, they walk away with actionable strategies for business growth and personal success.
Productivity , Motivation
"The Story Behind the Spectacle: Narrative Frameworks for Building Sustainable Excellence"
"Orchestrating Multiple Storylines: The Narrative Art of Leading Multidisciplinary Teams"
Project Management
"From Deliverable to Unforgettable: Transforming Projects Through Strategic Storytelling"
"Rewriting the Future: A Narrative Strategy for AGI-Powered Project Management"
KEYNOTES #1
"The Story Behind the Spectacle: Narrative Frameworks for Building Sustainable Excellence"
"Every standing ovation starts with a story structure. Discover how the world's most iconic creative companies—from Cirque du Soleil to the Olympics—use narrative architecture to build 40-year legacies instead of one-hit wonders."
In this keynote, you'll discover:
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The Three-Act Structure of Organizational Excellence: Why sustainable creative companies follow the same narrative arc as great stories (Setup, Confrontation, Resolution)—and how to apply this to your business
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Character Development for Teams: How Cirque du Soleil uses "character transformation" principles to turn talented egos into ensemble excellence (the same technique that keeps audiences engaged keeps teams aligned)
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The Conflict Resolution Paradox: Why the best creative stories embrace constraints and conflict—and how to architect productive creative tension without drama or burnout
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The "Wow Moment" Story Engine: The entertainment industry's secret for systematically designing unforgettable moments through narrative pacing and emotional architecture
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Dual Narrative Design: Why world-class companies tell two simultaneous stories—one for customers, one for employees—and how to craft both experiences as complementary narratives
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Scaling Your Story Without Diluting It: How to grow from boutique to enterprise while maintaining your narrative identity (your origin story becomes your scaling strategy)
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The Retention Story Arc: Why top talent stays when they see themselves as essential characters in an ongoing narrative, not interchangeable players in someone else's production
KEYNOTES #2
"Orchestrating Multiple Storylines: The Narrative Art of Leading Multidisciplinary Teams"
"When engineers meet acrobats, when artists meet accountants, you don't just get chaos—you get competing narratives. Learn how to harmonize multiple story perspectives into a single, breakthrough performance."
In this keynote, you'll discover:
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The Bilingual Storyteller Framework: How to translate between "artist narratives" and "engineer narratives"—because every discipline tells stories differently, and leaders must speak all the languages
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The Crisis Story at 3 AM: When tech week disasters strike, here's the narrative decision framework—what plotline do you preserve, what do you adapt, and what unexpected twist do you embrace?
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Creative Constraint as Story Catalyst: Why the most memorable innovations came from the toughest restrictions (real examples of how limitations forced better storytelling in Olympic ceremonies)
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Managing the Hero's Journey (When You Have 50 Heroes): How to honor individual artistic vision while maintaining a unified narrative without becoming the villain in everyone else's story
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Casting Your Ensemble: The counterintuitive staffing principles for building high-performing multidisciplinary teams (hint: it's about narrative fit, not just technical skill)
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The 40% Plot Twist: How implementing story structure actually made Cirque's creative teams more satisfied and productive (discipline doesn't kill creativity—it gives it a compelling arc)
KEYNOTES #3
"From Deliverable to Unforgettable: Transforming Projects Through Strategic Storytelling"
"Project managers deliver outcomes. Entertainment producers craft experiences people retell for years. Learn how to do both—by mastering the narrative frameworks behind opening ceremonies, Cirque du Soleil spectacles, and $250M productions."
In this keynote, you'll discover:
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The Producer's Story Mindset: Why entertainment producers think in narrative arcs instead of Gantt charts—and why every successful project needs both the structure AND the story
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The Fourth Dimension: Narrative Impact: Beyond scope, time, and budget lies story—the hidden element that determines whether your project gets forgotten or becomes the case study people reference for years
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The Opening Night Story Pressure: How immovable deadlines with public consequences force you to think like a storyteller (because you only get one chance to nail the narrative)
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Stakeholder Story Orchestration: Why managing stakeholders like an orchestra conductor—giving each their moment while maintaining the overall narrative—delivers better results than traditional management
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The Rehearsal Narrative: How entertainment's "tech week" approach eliminates launch chaos by treating rollout as the final act of a well-rehearsed story
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Creative Constraints as Plot Devices: Why producers embrace limitations that project managers fight—because constraints force innovation in the story
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The Standing Ovation Story Test: A simple narrative framework for evaluating whether your project will truly succeed (does it have a beginning, middle, end, and emotional payoff?)
KEYNOTES #4
"Rewriting the Future: A Narrative Strategy for AGI-Powered Project Management"
"AGI will fundamentally rewrite the project management story within 5 years—but you don't have to wait for the next chapter. Learn the proven 5R narrative framework that's already transforming project timelines by 46% using today's AI tools."
In this keynote, you'll discover:
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The 5R Story Framework: A systematic narrative for transitioning from traditional PM to AI-powered management (Requirements, Resources, Research, Replace, Rollout)—think of it as your transformation story arc
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The AGI Timeline Narrative: What's really coming, when it's coming, and how to position yourself as the protagonist (not the victim) in this industry transformation story
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The Plot Twist in Your Portfolio: Real case study showing 46% faster projects and 28% cost reduction—proof that embracing the AI narrative early changes your ending
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The Tool Replacement Story: How to identify which PM tools can be replaced by AI right now (and which ones create the most dramatic impact with minimum disruption to your current narrative)
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Portfolio Story Management: How to prioritize AI adoption for maximum compression with minimum effort (every implementation is a mini-story with setup, conflict, and resolution)
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The Turing Test Story: Can stakeholders tell which deliverables were created by AI? (Spoiler: They can't and shouldn't—because the story quality matters, not who wrote it)
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From Agents to AGI: Your Character Arc: Understanding where we are on the AI evolution curve and how to script your professional development for each stage of the story
All keynotes can be customized to fit the audience and industry needs. All keynotes can be delivered in-person or virtually.
Storytelling Keynotes are designed for:
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Corporations
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Nonprofits
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Educational institutions
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Professional tradeshows
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Seminars & conventions
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Conferences