Rebecca knows fear. As a stress physiologist, Dr. Rebecca Heiss is dedicated to helping us overcome our instinctual limitations - the ancient, often subconscious fears that hold us back from our optimal performance and our happiest lives. Her research has been designated "transformative" by the National Science Foundation, and it is waking up audiences around the world.
As an author of the acclaimed book Instinct, founder and CEO of the leadership 360-review mobile application, icueity, and highly sought-after professional speaker, Rebecca has found her calling in helping others recognize the power of biological applications in their lives. A former educator, Dr. Heiss spent much of her earlier career in the classroom at both the high school and college levels and was recruited to be a founding member of an innovative charter school with a focus on entrepreneurial thinking and impact-based learning. Today, she shares her T-minus 3 technique to transform fear and fuel it from stages around the world as a full-time speaker and facilitator of her Fearless Masterclass. She continues her research on how we can turn trauma into Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) rather than PTSD.
Rebecca's "fear (less)" message inspires hope and actionable insights to train our brains to work for us, rather than against us in times of change and uncertainty. With surprising humor and palpable energy, no matter if Dr. Heiss is delivering virtually or on stage, she wins over her audiences with interactive, inspiring, and timely takeaways.
Rebecca lives in South Carolina with her spoiled rotten dogs named Guinness & Murphy and every day tries to live her life motto: "Spread Happy."
Keynote Topics:
FEAR(LESS) LEADERSHIP: Excelling Through Uncertainty
In this engaging keynote, Dr. Rebecca leverages decades of research into stress and human behavior to share simple, science-backed techniques for transforming fear into the fuel that will propel leaders and their teams to greater confidence, focus, and performance.
This presentation is perfect for leaders and teams:
- Feeling overwhelmed by the stress, challenge, or unpredictable change they're facing
- Ready to return to performance growth and/or concerned about how failure might be perceived
- Hoping to understand the science behind stress and anxiety better so they can know how to manage it more effectively
- Needing to come together to drive performance forward
The audience will leave able to:
- Rapidly transform stress and fear into energy that works for, rather than against, them
- Recalibrate their stress response so they can step into uncomfortable changes and challenges
- Adopt an adventure mindset that will fuel their resilience and adaptability in high-pressure situations
THE STRESS ADVANTAGE: Harnessing the Power of Stress to Boost Performance
We've experienced pandemics, supply chain issues, and uncertainty in global markets, and now it's time to get back to work. What if, instead of fighting stress, we could transform it into a competitive advantage?
In this eye-opening keynote, Dr. Rebecca reveals the secret upside of stress that the highest-performing athletes and leaders use to fuel their performance. Helping to move individuals and companies from symptoms of PTSD to PTG (Post Traumatic Growth), she shares her simple science-based framework that allows anyone to stop fighting stress and start leaning into it, improving productivity, increasing connection to others, and growing through challenges.
This presentation is perfect for any audience:
- Trying to battle increasing levels of stress, burnout, and disengagement
- Ready to return to performance growth
- Wanting to alleviate stress but wary of the traditional "stress management" techniques that only add MORE "to do's" (and stress) to their plates
The audience will leave able to:
- Understand the biological root of their stress response and recalibrate that response to work for their benefit in the modern world
- Effectively engage with their fears and reframe them as energy that can optimize performance and growth
- Adopt a simple framework for rewiring their brains so they can respond differently to challenges, reduce burnout, and restore purpose and fulfillment to their work.
FINDING FEAR(LESS): A Journey to the Most Powerful Version of Yourself
This inspiring keynote incorporates science, storytelling, and audience improv to guide participants past the "shoulds" and "not enough" in their heads to own their role as protagonists of their own lives. Using a potent combination of science and heart, Dr. Rebecca motivates anyone to become the best version of themselves - the version that their 8 (and 88) year old self would be proud of.
This presentation is perfect for leaders and teams:
- Struggling with negative self-talk and limiting expectations
- Feeling like imposters in their lives but unsure how to feel fully authentic
- Wanting to bring more purpose and meaning to the work they do
The audience will leave able to:
- Cultivate an empowered sense of self and deeper connection to others in any situation
- Understand how challenges, changes, and stress can lead to greater purpose and fulfillment in their lives
- Develop their own unique Superpower and show up "all in" as their authentic selves to help others.
"Dr. Heiss was absolutely a joy to work with! She was super communicative, professional, and forthcoming with ideas. Dr. Heiss was even more impressive in person as she brought all of the joy, energy and passion to the stage. She made scientific heavy terms accessible to all the attendees and brought all the stories to life. Her sessions absolutely rocked! In addition, she went over and above with her time and is just an amazing person. She really helped make our conference a complete success and I cannot wait to work with her again!"
"Dr. Heiss was absolutely a joy to work with! She was super communicative, professional, and forthcoming with ideas. Dr. Heiss was even more impressive in person as she brought all of the joy, energy and passion to the stage. She made scientific heavy terms accessible to all the attendees and brought all the stories to life. Her sessions absolutely rocked! In addition, she went over and above with her time and is just an amazing person. She really helped make our conference a complete success and I cannot wait to work with her again!"