Looking for a fun interactive speaker?
Craig Freshley is a great speaker AND facilitator. He teaches AND demonstrates.
Your audience will hear Craig’s stories, feel his optimism, and actually experience Craig’s collaborative techniques.
Craig Freshley Speaker Reel
2-mins of fast-paced quotes and photos
Craig in Action
1.5 hours of Craig facilitating a gun forum
Popular Keynote Topics

A Model Conversation on the Stage
Show your people how to have hard conversations—by watching one happen
This unique keynote takes a bold and memorable approach: Craig facilitates a live, on-stage conversation among people with differing views on a topic chosen for its relevance and real tension. Rather than offering abstract advice, Craig demonstrates what productive disagreement actually looks like—modeling facilitation, listening, curiosity, and respect in real time. Audiences gain practical tools, deeper understanding, and the confidence that we can disagree and still get along.
Better Together
High-impact collaborative decision-making that actually works
Most groups talk about collaboration. This interactive keynote shows audiences how to do it. Through stories, demonstrations, and audience participation, Craig helps groups unlock their collective intelligence, turn conflict into forward momentum, and make decisions that stick. Participants leave energized and equipped with simple tools for better meetings and stronger results right away.
The Rainbow Rule
A step beyond the Golden Rule
What if respect meant more than treating others the way you want to be treated? In this thought-provoking keynote, Craig introduces The Rainbow Rule—a simple but powerful shift that deepens empathy, inclusion, and collaboration. Through stories, reflection, and audience interaction, participants explore practical ways to better understand and work with people who think, act, and live differently from them.
Make the Most of Every Meeting
Because meetings don’t have to be miserable
We’ve all suffered through bad meetings—and Craig uses those stories to great effect. In this lively, interactive keynote, he challenges audiences to rethink meetings. Participants learn how to reduce unnecessary meetings, generate leap-ahead ideas, and apply six essential ingredients that transform meetings into productive, engaging work sessions. Attendees leave with practical tools they can use immediately—and a new attitude about meetings.
Workshops and Training Sessions
If you’re not looking for a speech to a large audience, consider a workshop or training session designed for smaller groups. Learn about them here.
Invite Craig to Light Up Your Audience
Craig’s talks and keynote addresses are ideal for inspiring an audience, stirring their hearts and minds, and motivating them to apply Craig’s practical tips immediately. Craig tells stories, illustrates principles, and actually demonstrates practical tips.
Craig provides how-to content and inspiration from the podium, but he also leaves the podium and gets the audience involved. He likes it when things get spontaneous. Even edgy.
Craig challenges his audiences to look within. Craig leads his audiences to their own conclusions about how to improve meetings, communications, and group decisions; conclusions they become eager to act on.
Here’s what you get with each of my talks:
- Entertaining stories, laughter, and expert wisdom in simple terms
- Audience interaction, spontaneity, group facilitation
- Practical Tips that can be applied right away
- Audience members get inspired, enthused and equipped to be more collaborative
- Highlights, themes, and links provided after each session
Click here to learn why “interactive keynotes” are so important to today’s audiences
Quotes About Craig
I have received nothing but over the top glowing feedback from everyone who was there. You are worth every penny. We appreciate yesterday, and we appreciate all of the work you have done with libraries historically. Thank you for being awesome!
— Sonya Durney, PhD, MLIS, President, Maine Library Association
Working with Craig as the keynote speaker for our annual conference was a joy. On the day and in our post-conference evaluation, our participants made it clear that Craig was a great hit!!
— Caroline Oliver, Former CEO, International Policy Governance Association
Your session on collaboration and making group decisions was (again) one of our most positively reviewed sessions of the entire conference.
— Erin Peterson, National League of Cities
He is great from a keynote perspective. Your people will enjoy him. His energy is terrific, and his message is even more stunning.
— Susan Radwan, Leading Edge Mentoring
Some past keynote venues
- Amherst, Massachusetts
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Fort Worth, Texas
- Hood River, Oregon
- Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Portland, Maine
- Providence, Rhode Island
- San Francisco, California
- Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Vancouver, British Columbia
- Washington, DC