Inspiration That Lasts Longer Than the Applause.
An inspirational speaker for corporate events, conferences and association meetings, for rooms that need hope and perspective they can still feel in March.
Chris Sund is the author of You Are Capable of More and a working executive who has watched ordinary people do remarkable things once someone helped them see what they were already capable of. His inspirational keynote is built on that belief, and on stories that are true, specific and close enough to your audience’s own lives that they keep thinking about them on the drive home and for a long while after.
Motivation gives people energy for a day. Inspiration changes how they see their own story, and that tends to stay with them for years.
Two different jobs, and it helps to know which one you need.
Planners often search for both terms as if they meant the same thing, but they answer different needs. A motivational keynote is about energy and action, the push to go and do something now. An inspirational keynote is about hope, perspective and meaning, the quieter shift in how people see themselves, their work and the people beside them, which is the kind of change that tends to last.
- Hope that is grounded. Not a promise that everything will be fine, but true stories of people who were capable of more than anyone, including themselves, had noticed, told in a way that lets the audience recognize themselves in them.
- Perspective on the hard season. When a team has been through layoffs, a merger, staffing shortages or a long grinding year, inspiration helps people see where they have been and why the work still matters, without pretending the hard parts did not happen.
- Meaning in ordinary work. Most people do not need a bigger purpose handed to them from a stage. They need to be reminded that the small moments they already create for coworkers, customers and patients are where meaning actually lives.
- Belief in the people next to them. The best inspirational keynotes change how people see each other, not just themselves, and that shift in a room is what leaders notice in the weeks after the event.
If your event needs energy and a push toward action, Chris also speaks as a motivational speaker, and many planners pair the two by asking for an inspirational opening with a practical, motivating close.
Most people already sense there is more in them.
In a survey for his book, Chris asked more than two hundred working adults whether they were capable of more than they were currently doing.
said they are capable of more. The hope is already in the room; an inspirational keynote helps people trust it enough to act on it.
working adults surveyed for You Are Capable of More, across industries, roles and stages of career.
people in the largest room Chris has spoken to, at the Definitive Healthcare sales kickoff in Boston.
The moments that call for inspiration, not volume.
Inspirational keynotes work best when the people in the room need to feel differently about their work before they can do it differently.
After a hard year
When a company, hospital or association is coming out of a difficult stretch and people need perspective on what they carried and why it mattered.
Recognition and awards nights
When the evening is about honoring people, a keynote that helps everyone see the meaning in their work makes the honors land with more weight.
Opening a conference
An inspirational opening sets the tone for the whole program, giving attendees a reason to lean into the sessions that follow.
Milestones and new chapters
Anniversaries, rebrands, new leadership or a new strategic plan, where people need to believe in where the organization is headed.
From a story they recognize to a belief they can keep.
The keynote follows a simple arc, and the stories change for every audience after a planning call with your team.
Start with a real story
Chris opens with something true and specific, often from his own years of hiring and promoting people, so the room settles in and starts listening for themselves.
Name what people quietly believe
Most people sense they are capable of more and rarely say it out loud. The keynote names that feeling gently, without judgment, so people feel understood rather than lectured.
Widen the lens
Chris shows how ordinary people became leaders before anyone gave them a title, including the way his own teams choose leaders by asking who already makes the people around them better.
Connect it to their work
The ideas are tied to the everyday moments in your audience’s jobs, so the inspiration has somewhere to go on Monday.
Leave them with one thing to hold onto
Each person leaves with one belief about themselves or their team that they did not walk in with, and a simple way to keep it in front of them.
One story audiences often carry home is about promotion. When Chris fills a leadership role, he likes to say the interview was last year, because the people who earn the role are usually the ones the team already trusts and follows, long before there was a title on offer.
Programs that work as an inspirational keynote.
Every program can be shaped toward hope and perspective. These are the ones planners choose most often for an inspirational slot.
You Are Capable of More
The heart of the book: the gap between what people do and what they are capable of, told through stories that leave a room hopeful.
Healthcare and ServiceThe Power of Small Moments
Built on the CARE framework: how small, everyday moments decide whether people feel seen, and why they matter more than they look.
LeadersYou Are Capable of More: Leadership
For leaders who want to see more in their people and help them see it too.
TeamsYour Team Is Capable of More
What changes when a group starts believing in each other, not just in themselves.
CultureYou Are Capable of a Better Culture
The SPARK framework for building a workplace people are proud to be part of.
One message, the size your event needs.
Inspirational content works as a keynote, a breakout or a workshop. Most planners book the keynote and add a workshop for leaders the same day.
Keynote
The main-stage session for the full room, built around your theme and your audience.
Breakout
A smaller room and a deeper dive, often paired with a keynote earlier in the same program.
Half-Day Workshop
The room does the work: people talk, write and commit, and leave with something on paper.
Full-Day Workshop
A full working day for a leadership team or a group that wants the material practiced, not just heard.
In their own words.
What an inspiration it was to see Chris present the keynote at the recent AOHP national conference. His content was engaging, relevant and informative to the health care space. Chris has a straightforward approach offering several nuggets that can be taken back to work to implement right away! I highly recommend Chris as a presenter!
Chris Sund’s speaking engagements are truly powerful. 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 with practical leadership insights you’re eager to implement. Chris is a thoughtful, intentional leader who uses his influence to positively impact everyone he encounters.
Chris’s Leadership Experience session was one of the highlights of the CSP Conference. His ability to blend real-world experience with authentic storytelling made it relatable and impactful. He was approachable, genuine, and generous with his time. I left inspired, energized, and equipped with insights I continue to reflect on.
At the Virginia Community Healthcare Conference, Chris offered insight on how each person in an organization can help create a “stay” culture. His presentation style was informative, engaging and inspiring!
Chris Sund presented in a very professional manner and related very well to our long-term care providers. He has boundless energy and articulates his ideas very clearly. He promotes employee teamwork, leadership, and strategies for individuals to lead a more enriching and fulfilling life. He was so well received by our providers!
What an inspiration it was to see Chris present the keynote at the recent AOHP national conference. His content was engaging, relevant and informative to the health care space. Chris has a straightforward approach offering several nuggets that can be taken back to work to implement right away! I highly recommend Chris as a presenter!
Chris Sund’s speaking engagements are truly powerful. 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 with practical leadership insights you’re eager to implement. Chris is a thoughtful, intentional leader who uses his influence to positively impact everyone he encounters.
Chris’s Leadership Experience session was one of the highlights of the CSP Conference. His ability to blend real-world experience with authentic storytelling made it relatable and impactful. He was approachable, genuine, and generous with his time. I left inspired, energized, and equipped with insights I continue to reflect on.
At the Virginia Community Healthcare Conference, Chris offered insight on how each person in an organization can help create a “stay” culture. His presentation style was informative, engaging and inspiring!
Chris Sund presented in a very professional manner and related very well to our long-term care providers. He has boundless energy and articulates his ideas very clearly. He promotes employee teamwork, leadership, and strategies for individuals to lead a more enriching and fulfilling life. He was so well received by our providers!
More than a good feeling.
- A clearer view of their own potential. People leave seeing something in themselves they had stopped noticing, and a little more willing to trust it.
- Perspective on what they have been through. A hard year looks different once people can see what it built in them and in each other.
- A renewed sense of why the work matters. Especially in healthcare, service and people-heavy industries, where the meaning is real but easy to lose sight of.
- Language the team keeps using. Ideas like the comfort ceiling and leaving people better tend to show up in meetings and one-on-ones long after the event.
- One belief worth keeping. Every person leaves with one thing they want to hold onto, written down, so it does not fade with the rest of the week.
Rooms that need hope they can keep.
Where the keynote comes from.
The inspirational keynote grows out of You Are Capable of More: A No-Excuses Guide to Becoming Your Best Self, a book about the distance between who people are today and who they are capable of becoming, written with the kind of gentle honesty that helps readers see themselves more clearly.
You Are Capable of More: A No-Excuses Guide to Becoming Your Best Self was published by Game Changer Publishing in August 2026 and won the How-To category at the 2026 Paris Book Festival.
Many events give every attendee a copy, so the hope people feel in the room has something to come home with them. Signed copies and bulk pricing are available.
On stage and on air.
Conferences, companies and recognition nights
Keynotes, breakouts and workshops for associations, hospitals and companies across the country.
See the events →
Television, radio and podcasts
WOWT Omaha, 10/11 Lincoln, Bloom on WFLA Tampa, Studio 512 on KXAN Austin, My KC Live on KCTV5, Iowa Live on WOI and Dakota News Now.
See all media →
He speaks from a seat he still occupies.
Chris is not a former executive telling stories from a career that ended years ago. He still spends his weeks hiring, promoting and developing people, which is where most of his stories come from.
Chris Sund is President and COO of Uniti Med and GQR Healthcare and COO of Nebula. He helped grow Uniti Med 10x in revenue in two years, which earned a #3 ranking on the Inc. Regionals list of the fastest-growing companies in the Midwest, and the organization earned Fortune Best Workplaces recognition along the way.
He writes for Forbes and Inc., is a member of the Forbes Business Council and the Inc. Leadership Forum, and serves as Vice President of the NATHO Board. He was named a Midlands Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree and hosts the Amplify Speakers Podcast.
Details your planning team will ask for.
What planners ask about inspirational keynotes.
What is the difference between an inspirational speaker and a motivational speaker?
When is an inspirational keynote the right choice?
Is an inspirational keynote right for a corporate event?
Will it feel too soft for a business audience?
Can attendees get the book?
Where audiences have heard Chris.
Conferences, company events and recognition nights where Chris has spoken.
Definitive Healthcare SKOBoston, MA · 800+ sellersCSP ConferenceLeadership sessionAuthentica GroupConnect & Inspire
Crawford County Memorial HospitalRecognition dinner · Denison, IAGreater Omaha ChamberLeadership Exchange workshopAHCA/NCALNational associationRelated: Motivational Speaker · Leadership Conference Keynote · Annual Company Meeting Speaker · Closing Keynote Speaker · See all speaking engagements →
Bring hope that lasts to your room.
Send your dates, your audience and what your people have been through this year. You will get availability and a plan back within one business day.