emPower Breakfast | How to Handle Objections

Chris Sund Speaking at the emPower Breakfast in Bellevue, Nebraska

Chris Sund delivered a high-impact keynote at the emPower Breakfast, bringing together professionals and leaders from across the community for a morning focused on growth, leadership, and real-world application. Hosted at the Beardmore Event Center in Bellevue, Nebraska, the event created an energizing environment for connection, learning, and practical development.

Chris’s session, How to Handle Objections, focused on one of the most essential skills in leadership, sales, and communication today. Whether in the workplace or everyday life, objections are constant. The ability to respond effectively often determines outcomes, relationships, and long-term success.

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About the emPower Breakfast

The emPower Breakfast is a community-driven leadership event designed to bring together professionals who are committed to personal and professional growth. The event features speakers who deliver practical insights, actionable strategies, and real-life experiences that attendees can immediately apply.

With a focus on connection and development, the emPower Breakfast continues to serve as a platform for leaders and emerging professionals to strengthen their skills, expand their thinking, and build meaningful relationships.

Keynote: How to Handle Objections

In this session, Chris Sund challenged attendees to rethink how they view objections. Instead of seeing them as barriers, he reframed them as opportunities to build trust, uncover deeper needs, and create better outcomes.

Drawing from his experience in leadership and healthcare staffing, Chris shared practical tools that can be applied across industries. The session focused on both external objections, such as resistance from others, and internal objections, including self-doubt and hesitation.

A core part of the keynote included the LAARC Method:

Listen
Acknowledge
Ask
Respond
Confirm

This framework gives professionals a clear, repeatable approach to navigating difficult conversations and gaining alignment.

Chris also emphasized four key principles that elevate every interaction:

Patience
Focus
Tone
The Golden Rule

Together, these strategies help individuals stay composed, communicate clearly, and lead with intention even in high-pressure situations.

What Attendees Said

“Having Chris Sund as a Sarpy County Empower Breakfast speaker was a breath of fresh air. As a fairly new Area Director of the Sarpy County Empower Breakfast but a long time event planner I was on the lookout for a dynamic featured speaker and was fortunate enough to have Chris Sund come into my life and be my February speaker and talk to us about “Handling Objections In Everyday Life”. Before I heard him I thought, “Hmmm, nice title, I wonder if he’ll deliver any new ideas.” He was amazing! He brought up all the things that make us all a little (or a lot) crazy and gave us new ways of handling objections. Definitely a great start to a day. I would always be happy to recommend Chris.”

– Paula Steenson, Empower Breakfast

“I had the pleasure of hearing Chris speak at an Empower Breakfast for Handling Objections. Having started a brand new role in Business Development recently, the timing was perfect! Chris is a great story teller and shared how he was persistent and determined to get what he wanted in his career. The Lucky Bucket story is comical, but also illustrates how persistence and doing your research can help you win. I found the focus on “the pause” and how we speak, resonated and caused me to pause. “How you talk matters…” This was an interesting highlight – and though, simple enough, powerful. Tone, words and even our body language while listening – all lead us to the next conversation in business development.“

– Michelle Belsaas, 5280 PMO

What Attendees Gained

Attendees left the session with practical tools they could immediately apply in their roles and daily interactions.

How to handle objections with confidence and clarity
Ways to turn resistance into productive conversations
Techniques to improve communication in challenging situations
Strategies for gaining buy-in and influencing outcomes
Tools to overcome internal objections and take action

Event Impact

The emPower Breakfast provided an engaging environment where attendees could reflect, learn, and grow alongside peers. Chris’s session sparked meaningful conversations around communication, leadership, and personal development.

By focusing on real-world application and relatable scenarios, the keynote resonated with professionals across different industries and experience levels.

Bring This Keynote to Your Organization

Chris Sund is a keynote speaker and leadership expert who helps organizations improve communication, strengthen leadership, and drive performance. His sessions are designed to be practical, engaging, and immediately actionable.

If you are looking to equip your team with tools to handle objections, lead better conversations, and achieve stronger outcomes, this keynote is built for you.