GET TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MY
SPEAKING
Alan’s current speaking activities include keynote speeches at large conferences, association meetings, and corporate events; and fulfilling requests to speak about his book: THE CONNECTION CHALLENGE®: HOW EXECUTIVES CREATE POWER and POSSIBILITY in the AGE of DISTRACTION
Alan Cohen is a keynote speaker and executive communication coach who helps leaders create trust, belonging, and authentic communication inside organizations.
Connecting with any group brings the conversation to a whole new level. Although the main part of any speaker engagement is lecture, it is essential to challenge and engage people into the conversation directly in a large or small group. I will help individuals to navigate their own stories within the larger group. Key speaking topics focus on leadership and connection.
Which topics speak to you and your organization?
Taking the connection challenge
Human Connection in an AI World
The connection killers
These speaking engagements can be customized or adapted as needed
Frequently Asked Questions
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Alan Cohen speaks about human connection in an increasingly distracted, polarized, and performance-driven world. His work focuses on helping leaders, teams, and communicators create the conditions for trust, belonging, collaboration, and meaningful communication.
His keynotes and workshops often explore themes such as:
Connection and belonging in the workplace
Leadership communication and emotional intelligence
Storytelling that inspires action
Communication in the age of AI
Psychological safety and trust
Burnout, overload, and disconnection at work
Public speaking and executive presence
Purpose-driven leadership
Building stronger cultures and communities through communication
His signature message is rooted in the idea that many communication problems are not simply “people problems” — they are condition problems.
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Alan is especially well-suited for audiences that rely heavily on communication, collaboration, leadership, and relationship-building.
Best-fit audiences include:
Corporate leadership teams
Communications and PR professionals
Marketing and branding teams
Associations and conferences
Healthcare organizations
Nonprofits and mission-driven organizations
Educational institutions
HR and people/culture teams
Entrepreneurs and business owners
Sales and client-facing professionals
His presentations resonate particularly well with organizations navigating rapid change, AI disruption, burnout, hybrid work, or cultural fragmentation.
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Alan offers flexible formats depending on the event and goals.
Typical keynote lengths include:
30-minute keynote
45-minute keynote
60-minute keynote
75–90 minute keynote with Q&A or audience interaction
He also offers half-day and full-day workshop experiences.
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Yes. Customization is a central part of Alan’s process.
Before an event, he typically learns about:
organizational challenges
audience composition
conference themes
communication dynamics
leadership goals
industry context
He often incorporates:
organization-specific language and examples
audience interaction
relevant case studies
customized stories and exercises
pre-event stakeholder conversations
The goal is to create an experience that feels relevant, conversational, and deeply connected to the audience in the room.
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The Connection Challenge is both Alan’s book and the foundation of much of his speaking work.
At its core, the framework explores why people and organizations struggle to feel connected — even in a hyperconnected world.
The central idea:
Modern systems often reward speed over presence, efficiency over humanity, and performance over belonging.
The framework focuses on three essential dimensions:
Connection to Self
Connection to Others
Connection to Purpose
Alan explores how leaders and organizations can create the conditions that allow trust, curiosity, communication, and belonging to thrive again.
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Absolutely.
Yes.
Alan frequently speaks about the human side of communication in the age of AI.
Rather than focusing primarily on technical AI tools, he explores questions such as:
What becomes more valuable as AI becomes more common?
How do leaders stay human in increasingly automated environments?
How do trust, curiosity, empathy, and storytelling evolve?
What kinds of communication cannot be commoditized?
How do organizations avoid becoming performative or disconnected?
His perspective is especially relevant for leaders and communicators navigating rapid technological change while trying to preserve authentic human connection.
Popular workshop topics include:
Storytelling for leaders
Executive communication
Signature talk development
Emotional intelligence in communication
Public speaking and presentation skills
Team connection and trust-building
Communicating during change and uncertainty
Thought leadership and personal brand storytelling
His workshop style is highly interactive, practical, and discussion-driven.
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Collaborative, honest, and straightforward. We're here to guide the process, bring ideas to the table, and keep things moving.
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Alan has worked across a wide range of industries, including:
Public Relations and Communications
Marketing and Advertising
Healthcare
Financial Services
Technology
Education
Nonprofits
Media and Entertainment
Professional Associations
Corporate Leadership Development
Organizations and brands connected to his work include:
Bloomberg
American Express
NBC
Edelman
MetLife
Scholastic
He is also known for his work helping launch the Harry Potter book series in the U.S. during his time at Scholastic, an experience he often references in conversations about shared purpose, storytelling, and cultural impact.
TESTIMONIALS
“
Alan delivered a great keynote. His topic was connection—and that’s exactly what he delivered. He engaged the audience throughout the entire talk, which not every presenter can do. His stories made people laugh and helped us understand the importance of connection.
JASON CARLTON
Event Producer, PRSA Utah
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"Alan is incredibly engaging—he hooks you right in. As someone who values connection, I came in open-minded, and he delivered both powerful storytelling and actionable takeaways. His breakdown of personality types really helps you understand workplace dynamics and how to navigate them."
LAURE BROUGH KLARMAN
Marketing & Communications at Intermountain Health
“
As the ambassador of my company’s Diversity and Inclusion Team, I was tasked with finding a speaker to inspire our sales team in our current environment, while at the same time encapsulating the celebration of the LGBTQ community during Pride month. I was fortunate to come across Alan Samuel Cohen. Alan made a seamless connection with current events (Covid-19, Black Lives Matter Movement and the celebration of Diversity) to his experience, making his talk very relevant to our team. If you want to inspire, encourage and engage your team during this challenging time, I would highly recommend Alan.
TED GLAZA
Sr. Market Development Manager, Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals
“
Alan is a dynamic speaker and seasoned communications expert… captivating, engaging, and can really motivate an audience. He’s committed to helping professionals and entrepreneurs leverage their social networks as early in their careers as possible, and dedicated to helping them become successful. I would recommend him to speak at any conference or meeting where a dynamic and knowledgeable speaker is needed.
LUCI CHAPLIN
Chair, Institute of Management Consultants USA Conference
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As part of our Diversity and Inclusion speaker series, Ipsen hosted Alan to speak to the power of a shared purpose in navigating through the most chaotic times in business and in life. Alan’s talk provided examples where professionals, including first responders and his husband who runs an emergency room in a NYC hospital, have been able to perform the impossible through a sense of shared purpose. Our attendees absolutely loved Alan’s conversational tone and it was the perfect message to be delivered during LGBTQ+ pride month and Covid-19. He is one of those presenters attendees just love to listen to!
DYLAN LEONARD BROWN
Human Resources, Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals
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We hired Alan Cohen as one of our speakers for a breakout session and he spoke about “Turning Client Connection Killers into Connection Thrillers,” from his book, The Connection Challenge, and the audience loved it. We got raving reviews and a 96% response on the conference… Alan’s session certainly helped achieve that. I would recommend hiring Alan Cohen for your next event.
HENRY DeVRIES
Chair, Institute of Management Consultants USA Conference
see alan in action
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