I’ve listed below the descriptions of workshops that I enjoy presenting.  All of these topics can be custom designed to fit your time and location needs.  Most can be offered in a 1-3 hour block of time. I love doing these presentations and always keep as my goal that participants will literally "walk away changed" such that they can apply what they have learned later the same day to whatever situation that fits for them. Please contact me and let's collaborate on how I might offer a presentation for your organization, church group, or educational setting.  

"The ballroom was filled with over 500 people. From the back of the room, Kris made her way down the center aisle, silently dragging a heavy gunny sack filled with labeled bricks. The audience turned and watched, intrigued, giggling and laughing with anticipation of what was about to happen. Kris took the stage and she took command. We listened, we laughed, we nodded with recognition as Kris described each one of us as if her talk was written for "me." She blended true stories with poignant principles, and in doing so, left us all changed - a little more at peace, a little lighter and a little wiser. Her motivational speaking is more than motivating. It is moving. The listener is moved - to understand differently, to feel differently, and also to act differently. Indeed, we all walked away changed "

- Mary Maulsby

How to ‘Deal With’ Anything and Everything in Life in Only Six Steps
This signature presentation recognizes that, while we are all exhorted to “deal with it,” nobody really knows exactly what that entails. In this comprehensive treatment of “dealing with it,” participants will be guided through a six-step process that systematically recognizes, evaluates, and addresses everything one might have to deal with in life – from a minor fender bender to the major loss of a loved one. Most of us have unwittingly stockpiled “issues” and baggage that now interfere with our ability to fully enjoy a carefree life in the present. Participants will walk away with a simple process to effectively “deal with” life events so that the burden of those events is not carried into the future.

These workshops can be tailored to your situation, with some flexibility for the duration and number of participants. Please contact me to discuss your needs. I am delighted to work with you to create a memorable experience that will truly allow your audience to “walk away changed.”

Mindfulness in Business: Or, Don't Just Do Something, Sit There!
Mindfulness in the Workplace
What's all this business about mindfulness and what does it have to do with me? Learn what mindfulness is and isn't. This session includes simple techniques and nuanced adjustments to everyday activities that will help you be calmer, more focused, more productive and, well, happier. Discover innovative ways to incorporate mindfulness at work to improve leadership skills, emotional intelligence, employee morale, and productivity. Come prepared to relax, laugh, and enjoy the company of your peers who want to learn a simple, yet profound way to improve well-being and job satisfaction.

The Psychology of Leadership Qualities
Personality Traits of Exquisite Leaders
An internet search of the qualities most needed in leadership positions yields numerous articles and books proposing the "Top Ten Leadership Qualities." Many of these lists have overlapping descriptors of the best leaders. This session takes a look at the psychological underpinnings of those qualities. What do they have in common? When uniquely viewed from the psychologist's perspective, these leadership characteristics demand a common thread. Gain personal insight about the healthy person within the successful leader and discover the common thread.

Stress Inoculation Training for First Responders
An Innovative Alternative to Critical Incident Stress Management
This is not Stress Management training. This is not Critical Incident Stress Management training. Stress Inoculation Training is based on the premise that no particular situation is stressful in and of itself; stress is in the eye of the beholder. It seeks to reach the preventative root of stress, rather than just the surface elimination of critical incident stress or sub-acute chronic stress. This seminar seeks to accomplish two goals: first, to assist the participant in recognizing the beliefs, attitudes, and even worldviews that one can choose to hold that might mitigate the stress, indeed, the trauma that is commonly experienced in EMS work; secondly, this session will describe a Six-Step Process that incorporates an Adaptive Belief System in order to “deal with” specific critical incidents. Finally, a healthy, balanced philosophy of EMS work will be proposed and practiced. This workshop is beneficial for anyone in the pre-hospital services field. It can easily be adapted for professionals in other careers. Participants will walk away with an entirely new belief system that is balanced and therefore, maximizes field performance and career longevity.

Presentations for Faculty

Everybody Present: Mindfulness in the Classroom

“The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will. No one is master of himself if he has it not. An education which should improve this faculty would be the education par excellence. But it is easier to define this ideal than to give practical directions for bringing it about.”

- William James, Philosopher, Psychologist (1842 – 1910)

This session will “give practical direction for bringing it about” in the living laboratory of the classroom. After all, master teachers are mindful teachers. Often, we don’t have the spare time to add mindfulness training or meditation practice to the formal curriculum. However, we can teach it indirectly by modeling it and incorporating examples while teaching the established course content. A brief introduction to Mindful Self-Compassion and its applications to reduce test anxiety will be included. Participants will walk away with an understanding of what mindfulness is, its benefits, and several concrete teaching practices that can be utilized in their classrooms.

Mindful Self-Compassion to Reduce Test Anxiety
During this innovative workshop, participants will receive an overview of test anxiety and why faculty are invested in minimizing it for students. Traditional test anxiety workshop content will be reviewed and shown to be only minimally adequate. Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) and its benefits will be outlined and then its applications for reducing test anxiety will be demonstrated. Specific and easy techniques to reduce test anxiety will be provided. This content is appropriate for parents, tutors, school counselors, teachers, and students. Participants will walk away with new insights about mindful self-compassion and how it can be implemented to improve one’s quality of life as well as one’s performance in all types of situations.

Five Learning and Memory Concepts to Improve Student Success
Educational Psychology research has much to inform the teaching professor about selective approaches to maximize student success. In this session, five learning and memory concepts will be explained. Specific examples of their application will be provided. The concepts that will be covered are cueing, the testing effect, semantic encoding, rehearsal peer teaching, and the spacing effect. When these five concepts are incorporated through teaching techniques, learning and memory potential increases. Participants will be guided through an example of how to coordinate the teaching process to include these five powerful concepts. This content is geared toward tutors, K-12, and college teachers. Participants will walk away with five research-supported teaching practices which, when taken together, create a powerful synergism for maximum learning and retention.

The Lighthearted Professor: Positive Psychology for the Master Teacher
The new field of Positive Psychology has much to inform the college professor about desirable traits and behaviors of the master teacher. This session, of value to faculty at all levels of experience, will identify the character strengths recommended by positive psychology that are also traits identified in the literature as being descriptive of the master teacher. The focus of master teacher traits will be the findings based on the use of the Teacher Behaviors Checklist – TBC (Keeley, Smith, and Buskist, 2006). Particular attention will be given to the qualities of humor, optimism, creativity, approachability, and enthusiasm. Questions and discussion will be encouraged, and then small groups will generate suggested teaching practices that will reflect these five qualities and support the creation of a positive classroom. Teachers at the K-12 and college-level will find this workshop beneficial. Participants will walk away with several concrete ideas that can be incorporated into their current classroom teaching style.

The Test Performance Reflection Exercise… or… Why Did I Get That One Right and Why Did I Get That One Wrong?
What do your students do with their multiple-choice tests when you hand them back? Do they hold their breath, glance at the score, make a facial expression and then stuff it in their backpacks? Perhaps you go over the correct answers. At best, students may notice what they got wrong … and then stuff it in their backpacks. Few of them recognize what a great opportunity they have to analyze why and how they got certain questions right and certain questions wrong. This award-winning Test Performance Reflection Exercise guides the student through the process of recognizing the influence of five factors that contribute to their test performance. Those factors are: Mental/Physical State, Degree of Test Anxiety, Preparation, Study Skills, and Test-Taking Skills. This seminar will define the five factors and walk the participant through the process of administering this learning tool. Students will dramatically increase their understanding of how and why they perform on multiple-choice tests and therefore will be able to recognize areas for improvement. This workshop is beneficial for tutors, K-12, and college teachers. Participants will walk away with a copy of the Test Performance Reflection Exercise and an understanding of its benefits and administration guidelines.

How to Apply Psychological Concepts to Improve Learning, Memory, and Test Performance
An understanding of pertinent learning and memory concepts can greatly improve the efficacy of both teaching methods and student learning processes. This “Best Practices” summary offers concrete suggestions and their rationale for improving textbook reading, note-taking, studying, test-taking, and perhaps most importantly, maintaining a positive attitude through it all. We will begin with a short discussion about common student misconceptions about learning. Then, a review of memory concepts related to learning and memory will be covered. Finally, based on a Best Practices review of the literature, a “How To” section will cover specific suggestions about how to: Read a Textbook, Take Lecture Notes, Study, Take a Multiple-Choice Test, and Have a Great Attitude While You’re At It! This workshop will be beneficial for high school and college students and teachers. Participants will walk away with research-based specific tips to improve the overall success of students.