The Assembly They Are Still Quoting In May.
A school-wide assembly built on the ten principles of the bestselling book You Are Capable of More, written to hold a room that did not choose to be there.
You already know how this usually goes. The bell rings, eight hundred students file into bleachers, someone taps a microphone, and by fourth period nobody can tell you what it was about. Chris Sund builds the assembly backward from that problem. Not more energy. Not a bigger production. One idea students have felt their whole lives, given a name, and one move small enough that the kid who was not listening can still make it.
An assembly does not fail because the speaker was boring. It fails because nobody in the bleachers was given anything to do with it.
My KC Live, KCTV5 Kansas City →Watch him work before you book him.
Chris has been on morning television in six markets, on the radio, and in Forbes, Inc., and the Midlands Business Journal. Every appearance is collected in the media hub with video and transcripts, which means your principal, your activities director, or your booster club can see exactly how he holds a room before anyone signs anything.
Four reasons the last one did not stick.
Nobody books a bad assembly on purpose. They just book one that was built for the wrong thing, and the pattern repeats every year.
- It was built to produce a feeling. Feelings evaporate by the end of the day. A decision does not. The assembly is written to end with a specific action rather than a mood, which is the whole difference between a good hour and a memorable one.
- It asked for too much. A speaker who tells eight hundred students to change their entire life gets zero of them. One small ask, achievable this week, gets a real number of them.
- It was aimed at the front three rows. The students already leaning forward were never the problem. The talk has to earn the back row, and it is written assuming they arrived skeptical and are allowed to be.
- It gave them nothing to say afterward. If students cannot repeat the idea in one sentence at lunch, the assembly did not happen. Comfort ceiling. Hidden gear. Language is what survives the walk back to class.
On how the assembly gets built
How the forty-five minutes actually runs.
The shape stays the same. The stories change depending on your school, your grade levels, and what your administration says is happening in the building right now.
Earn the room
No warm-up, no icebreaker, no asking a gym to make noise. He opens with something specific enough that the students who had already checked out look up, and honest enough that they decide he is not going to waste their time.Name the ceiling
The comfort ceiling gets introduced with a story rather than a definition. This is the section students quote afterward, because most of them have been living under one for years without a word for it.The inner voice
What a person says to themselves in the ninety seconds after a mistake, and why that ninety seconds decides more than the mistake did. Athletes lock in here. So do the students who have quietly stopped raising their hand.The hidden gear
The capacity that is already there. Not a pep talk about potential, but an honest look at what they have actually been giving and what is still sitting unused.One move
The whole thing narrows to a single, specific, small action every student in the room can take before the week is out. They leave with one thing, not ten, which is the only reason any of it survives past lunch.Four movements. Ten principles.
The assembly runs the same architecture as the book, which is what lets a follow-up session or a copy in a student's hands continue the work instead of repeating it.
The Foundation
Ownership and time. Where a student decides what is actually theirs to move, and how much runway they still have.The Breakthrough
The comfort ceiling and the inner voice. The two that carry the assembly, and the ones students bring up in the hallway afterward.The Standard
Truth over praise, and the hidden gear. What opens up when a student asks for an honest read instead of a comfortable one.The Purpose
Finishing, and leaving people better. The close, and the movement that tends to land hardest with seniors.It works wherever you can fit them.
No production requirements, no tech rider, no setup that eats your morning. If your students can hear him, the assembly works.
Bleachers and bad acoustics
The hardest room in any building and the most common one. A handheld or lavalier mic through your existing system is all that is needed. He works the floor rather than standing at a podium, which is most of how a gym gets held.The easiest version
Fixed seating, decent sound, sightlines that already work. If you have one, use it. Nothing else about the assembly changes.Smaller schools, multiple runs
For buildings without a large enough space, running the assembly twice by grade level often works better than cramming everyone in once, and two runs in a day cost less than two separate visits.Ten principles. Ten chapters.
The assembly covers the arc. A copy in their hands works each one.
Own It. Every Day.
What changes the moment a student decides the result is theirs to move.Time Is Your Edge
The advantage available to anyone willing to use the hours they already have.The Comfort Ceiling
How to find the level you settled at and choose a new one on purpose.Train Your Inner Voice
What you say to yourself in the ninety seconds after a mistake, and how to make it work for you.Relentless Improvement
Take the lesson and keep moving. The past is for lessons, not for residence.Seek Truth. Not Praise.
How to find the people who will tell you the truth, and what opens up when you do.Unlock Your Hidden Gear
The capacity that is already there, waiting on an honest look at what has been given so far.Lead Before You Are Asked
Why the most trusted student in any building got there without a title.Finish What You Start
How to stay in it through the exact point where things usually get set down.Leave People Better
The part that outlasts every result on the list above it.Every student can leave holding it.
An assembly gives a student forty-five minutes. A copy gives them all ten principles, in order, for as long as they want it. Schools regularly send seniors, student leaders, or an entire class home with one.
You Are Capable of More: A No-Excuses Guide to Becoming Your Best Self. An Amazon bestseller from Game Changer Publishing, with a foreword by Ben Newman.
Part memoir and part playbook. Ten chapters across four movements, written plainly enough that a sixteen year old can read it without a teacher translating it. The free companion toolkit includes a discussion guide, a self-assessment, and a thirty day challenge a whole class can run together, and none of it is gated behind an email address.
The feedback speaks for itself.
His engaging style draws the audience into the conversation, creating a relaxed atmosphere that encourages learning and reflection. You leave not only inspired but equipped.
Chris energized the room, sparked conversations, and encouraged connections throughout the event, with a lasting impact on our future leaders.
Chris was an outstanding speaker and a highlight of our event. He took the time to deeply understand our organization and thoughtfully personalized every moment.
Chris is a thoughtful, intentional leader who understands the influence he carries. His message challenged me to think differently about how I lead, serve, and influence others.
Chris would be an incredible addition to any live audience. Each time he finds a unique way to connect on both a personal and professional level, keeping everyone engaged and attentive.
His engaging style draws the audience into the conversation, creating a relaxed atmosphere that encourages learning and reflection. You leave not only inspired but equipped.
Chris energized the room, sparked conversations, and encouraged connections throughout the event, with a lasting impact on our future leaders.
Chris was an outstanding speaker and a highlight of our event. He took the time to deeply understand our organization and thoughtfully personalized every moment.
Chris is a thoughtful, intentional leader who understands the influence he carries. His message challenged me to think differently about how I lead, serve, and influence others.
Chris would be an incredible addition to any live audience. Each time he finds a unique way to connect on both a personal and professional level, keeping everyone engaged and attentive.
Assemblies already on your calendar.
He is not a former athlete telling old stories.
Chris Sund is an executive leader, keynote speaker, and bestselling author of You Are Capable of More.
As President and COO of Uniti Med, GQR Healthcare and Nebula, he helped grow Uniti Med 10x in two years and earn the number three ranking on the Inc. Regionals list among the fastest growing companies in the Midwest, while the organization earned Fortune Best Workplaces recognition and Great Place to Work certification three years running.
He is a father of three, a Maxwell Leadership Certified speaker, trainer, and coach, Vice President of the NATHO Board of Directors, and the founder of Amplify Speakers. He speaks to students as someone still doing the work rather than someone recounting it, and he does not pretend the version of high school he went through is the one your students are in.
Details your team will ask for.
Principals and activities directors ask these.
How much does a high school assembly cost?
How long should the assembly be?
Will it hold a gym full of teenagers?
What do you need from us technically?
Can we run it twice for different grade levels?
Is the content appropriate for all students?
Our budget is tight. Is there a way to make this work?
Can you add a staff session or team talk the same day?
How far in advance should we book?
How do we start?
Other ways schools book him.
Same framework, built for the specific room you are filling.