How Can You Connect People to More People?
Talkward Live Personal Communication Training
Support wellbeing and collaboration by making awkward subjects—depression and anxiety—easy to talk about
Keynote Talk from a TED Speaker
Share laughs and relatable insights through Bill’s energizing journey from isolation to connection
Remote Team-Building for a Virtual Workplace
Create deeper bonds between teammates while they build new skills in Story Design and Telling
Talkward Live Virtual Workshop
Bring Connection to Your Coworkers
Let’s make talking about depression and anxiety so much fun that people who’ve been happy and well-adjusted all their lives will feel like they’re missing out.
Let’s rebrand depression and anxiety!
This fast-paced, engaging virtual workshop makes awkward subjects—depression and anxiety—easy to talk about. You’ll build an effective communication toolkit that you can access whenever needed.
After completing the workshop, you will have tools to help you:
- Listen and respond comfortably to a coworker talking about their depression/anxiety
- Let somebody with depression/anxiety know you are on their side
- Avoid common pitfalls that may annoy many people with depression/anxiety
- Know when and how to initiate a conversation about somebody’s depression/anxiety
If you personally experience depression or anxiety, and choose to talk about it at work, you will gain tools to help you:
- Present your condition(s) in a casual and positive way
- Make it easy for coworkers to hear you and react with support
- Get coworkers to see how they benefit by knowing about your condition(s)
About your Hosts
Bill Bernat is a speaker and author (Talkward: The Joy of Connecting With Coworkers About Depression and Anxiety) who is focused on helping create more moments of happiness that occur when people connect.
Bill got his start in IT working for NASA and ended it working 16hr days at a successful dot-com. He had a parallel odyssey through depression, addiction, social anxiety, and other islands of growth.
After becoming a high achiever in the field of self-destruction, he built a new life clean (11yr). He learned how to live well with his bipolar 2 condition. He developed a new career in technology marketing, helping a tiny startup to seven years of consecutive growth.
Bill became a speaker (TED) and comedy storyteller (The Moth Radio Hour). He has spoken at Ignite Seattle and been featured by Goalcast. He performs an award-winning comedy show about depression and anxiety in the US and Canada, and has made numerous radio and television appearances.
Caroline Garry is a Texan who finally found the Pacific Northwest in 2016. She is a business owner of a healthcare consultancy specializing in human-centered design with an emphasis on customer experience, brand strategy, service design and systems thinking.
Caroline is passionate about two things: being a mom to her 4-year-old son Marshall, and advocacy. Caroline has lived with obsessive compulsive disorder and general anxiety disorder for over two decades, and began publicly speaking about her fight with mental health in 2018. She is a seasoned public speaker and has made numerous media appearances in advocacy.
Talkward Live is available for bookings worldwide using our technology (Zoom) or any solution your organization prefers.
Hire Bill to Speak at Your Event
What people are saying
Through a brilliant blend of poignant vulnerability and side-splitting humor, Bill will open your audience’s eyes to some of humanity’s most important challenges – the beautiful mess it means to be human. He makes sensitive material accessible, opens minds and hearts, and builds bridges in the process. A no-brainer to have in your speaker line up.
Bill’s stories invite audiences to view stigmatized, hard-to-approach topics like depression and mental health with lightness and hope.
Bill’s TEDx talk was graduated to TED (ted.com), and now has over 1 million views.
Bill’s one-man comedy show, Becoming More Less Crazy, won Best of the Seattle Fringe 2017.
Bill has one mission in life. To create more moments of happiness that occur when people connect, particularly around depression and anxiety. Over 50% of Americans will be diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or a similar condition in their lifetime (US Center for Disease Control).
We are all impacted directly or indirectly, yet most of us are afraid to talk about it. We don’t know what to say or how to say it, so we often say nothing or brush it off. Bill helps people connect by bringing joy to the discussion of his journey through depression, addiction, and social anxiety to living well.
Bill worked in IT for many years before forging a new career in tech marketing. So he knows business world’s challenges and its rewards as only an insider can. Bill helps businesses succeed by creating a more open culture that inspires good people and engenders collaboration.
Bill makes talking about depression and anxiety easy because it’s fun and good for business.
TED speaker Bill Bernat is a recovering addict living with bipolar condition who specializes in teaching people how to talk about mental health. With relatable humor, Bill’s engaging workshops and keynote speeches deliver potent information to boost connection, collaboration, and success.
As tech industry veteran, Bill is also an accomplished comedy storyteller (The Moth Radio Hour), inspirational speaker (Goalcast), and award-wining playwright (Becoming More Less Crazy).
To bring Bill’s lightness and insights to your organization or event, contact us at Stay Awesome.
Take a Storytelling Workshop
What people are saying
Bill is a trustworthy and empathetic facilitator for both new and seasoned storytellers to workshop with. He knows how to get his students to the heart of a story, and how to leave an impact on their audience.
Bill makes it easy and fun for almost anyone to find a meaningful story from their life and tell it well the first time.
Storytelling is an ancient and cutting-edge way to highlight a personal achievement, share a transformational experience, or just make people laugh. You may hesitate to tell your stories because you’re afraid you don’t know how to craft and tell them well. Bill makes it simple and fun to sound like a seasoned storyteller your first time telling.
When your team takes a virtual storytelling workshop, you get to learn about your coworkers because you’ll all be writing your stories together. A typical progression is two one-hour group coaching sessions. Bill will provide some storytelling basis, and help you pick, write, and practice stories that will keep listeners riveted. Then you’ll have a virtual storytelling show for your team or a broader group in the company.
People have so much fun working on personal stories together! Plus, here’s how you sell it to your boss: content.
It’s bonding and tam building, but it also creates content your company can use. Every story can be entertaining and can also highlight career accomplishments. You may find your manager, your HR department, or even the marketing folks want to share you story.
Bill is offering free infographics to help anyone craft and tell a story well.
To talk to Bill and learn more about arranging a custom teambuliding workshop, email or call.
Bill’s story “Oreo Relapse: was featured on The Moth Radio Hour, syndicated on over 200 NPR stations. It was also featured separately on Seattle’s KUOW.
Level Up with a Personal Speaker Coach
What people are saying
Bill helps people untangle their truth. He helps them gain the clarify and confidence to change lives with their stories.
Bill was certified as Living Proof Advocacy speaking coach in October 2018.
Give a talk that makes people talk (and act)! Whether your are presenting about mental health or want to tackle another subject altogether, professional guidance can make you shine. TED speaker and certified Living Proof Advocacy™ speaker coach Bill Bernat offers individual coaching and group trainings to help you:
- Engage people. Get your audience’s attention from the start and keep it.
- Look and sound great. Display professional polish and confidence even if you feel nervous.
- Get results. Motivate people to take action.
Coaching and training sessions can be done in person or virtually. Bill can also write and edit your speech for you, or help revise a talk for greater impact. Contact us to learn more.
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Contact Bill / Stay Awesome
About Stay Awesome Media LLC
Stay Awesome makes well-being entertaining to help create a more open culture around mind health.
(425) 310-2458
bill@stayawesome.com