Dawn Smith: Keynote Speaker on Relationships, Burnout, ADHD, & Career Transitions
Speaker. Coach. Disruptor.
Dawn is passionate about supporting individuals and couples in navigating major chaos, conflict, and transition points with practical tools to effect clarity and change in minutes a day. She uses her background with ADHD and anxiety, and in couples’ research and the neuroscience of habits to offer relatable talks with real solutions. She has spoken on the 2024 TEDx stage on disrupting outdated relationship myths, and to a roster of clients including UNICEF, Team Rubicon, VISTAGE, Creative Mornings, the Georgia Hospitals Association, and more, on mastering chaos and changing the world in twenty minutes or less a day.
Dawn has helped thousands of professionals in high-stress industries navigate major transitions effectively through her speaking engagements and coaching. Her unique style combines warmth and compassion with concrete, neuroscience-based methodologies that are proven to support quick and sustainable change towards greater efficiency, productivity, impact, and growth.
SIGNATURE SPEAKING TOPICS AND TAKE-AWAYS
THE 20-MINUTE SOLUTION
The 20-Minute Solution: How to Master Effective Decision-Making and Major Transformation in Minutes a Day.
Overwhelmed? Stressed? Ruminating? Feeling paralyzed with options, or stuck at a crossroads? This is a time of unprecedented intensity globally and locally. There’s a good chance you’re in an industry facing rapid transitions, requiring effective decision-making quickly.
This session gives teams neuroscience-backed frameworks for composure, communication, and critical thinking when the stakes are high, leaving audiences with concrete strategy for tackling major goals and transitions in just 20 minutes a day.
IDEAL FOR: Leadership offsites, strategy teams, and corporate retreats.
Key Takeaways:
✦ How to clarify and break down goals into manageable steps.
✦ Techniques to bypass neural resistance and adopt new habits.
✦ A proven system for making meaningful progress daily.
✦ Get clear on your goal and where it can take you
FROM BURNOUT TO BREAKTHROUGHS
From Burnout to Breakthroughs: Masterful Tools for Productivity, Clarity, & Peace
Stressful times in the world, our communities, our relationships, and our workplaces can all affect our levels of burnout, impacting our energy and productivity. High-stress transitions or moments of chaos can derail even the most driven individuals. This talk equips participants with tools for mindfulness, focus, wellbeing, grounding and clarity - usually in under ten minutes a day. Dawn also shares decision-making strategies that emphasize efficiency, balance, and actionable progress.
Perfect for high-performing teams, leaders in transition, or anyone ready to shift from survival mode into sustainable success.
Key Takeaways:
✦ Clarity Under Pressure – Master radical decision-making that cuts through the noise.
✦ Time & Energy Hacks – Practical strategies to get more done—with less stress.
✦ Mindfulness in Minutes – Effective techniques to quickly reset focus and restore calm.
Dawn presented at the 2025 NYC Global Love Institute Conference
DISRUPTING OUTDATED RELATIONSHIP MYTHS
Regardless of background, culture, or ethnicity, couples often face
strikingly similar challenges: feeling unheard, unappreciated, and
disconnected. Many wonder if they “have what it takes” to make their
relationship thrive. Grounded in science, this talk dismantles seven
common relationship myths, replacing outdated advice with tools rooted
in habit formation and neuroscience. Gain clarity on which dynamics can
be resolved and practical solutions to improve communication, trust, and
intimacy in just minutes a day.
Key Takeaways:
✦ The 7 relationship myths causing more harm than good.
✦ The neuroscience behind better connection and communication.
✦ Actionable tools to rewrite scripts and build deeper trust.
POSITIVE DISRUPTION
Real Strategy for Daily Balance, Efficiency, & Change
In times of major overwhelm, chaos, or transition, how can you make effective choices in the moment, and harness major ideas in a tangible, efficient, and manageable way? In this talk, Dawn shares tools for effective decision-making in times of high-stress, and ways to think big but work small. Learn to set up a course for major shifts to unfold effectively, without falling back into patterns and paradigms that no longer serve the current paradigm.
Takeaways:
✦ Radical Decision-Making: How to make decisions in the moment that are not based on external or short-term influencers
✦ Efficient Scheduling: Learn the most effective schedule for efficiency and wellbeing
✦ The Makeup of an Ideal Road-Map for Major Change: Learn how to incorporate relevant actions, motivation and accountability into a road map for change, to help ensure progress
DAWN INSPIRES CLARITY AMIDST CHAOS
"Dawn had the attendees participating, laughing, and committing to making changes in their every day lives..."
--NADINE WALLEY, HOTEL EQUITIES
Creative Mornings Virtual Talk (International, 500+ Attendees) Explanation of how small steps can work more effectively than big moves.