Allison Graham

Allison Graham

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Toronto, Ontario

Peak Performance and Profitability WITH Mental & Emotional Well Being Expert - Consultant, Author

Allison Graham is a dedicated advocate for helping ambitious professionals enhance their performance, productivity, and profitability while prioritizing mental and emotional well-being. As a renowned keynote speaker, consultant, and author, she empowers individuals worldwide to reevaluate their approach to stress, emphasizing not just its management but its prevention. Allison Graham has authored several books, including 'Take Back Your Weekends: Stress Less, Do More, Be Happier' and 'From Business Cards to Business Relationships: Personal Branding and Profitable Networking Made Easy!' Her upcoming book, 'The Stress Illusion: Defy the Lies Making Life Harder Than It Needs to Be,' is already creating a buzz as a game-changer in the stress conversation. Her groundbreaking insights and innovative tools have earned her recognition in industry circles, where she has collaborated with esteemed North American brands and influential associations, as well as in the national and international media, with appearances on Global Television, CBC, Fast Company, CTV, and Breakfast Television, among others.

ALLISON GRAHAM BIOGRAPHY

Allison Graham has focused her career on transforming professionals’ approach to revenue generation for over a decade. She is fiercely committed to crafting and sharing resources that show ambitious professionals how to optimize performance, productivity, and profitability while still honouring mental and emotional health.

Combining lived experience, up to date research and the ability to understand the complexities and challenges that lead to stress and burnout for leaders and employees, her message is deeply rooted in the respect that the bottom-line responsibilities need to intersect with a fulfilled and engaged leadership team and workforce.

She has garnered the attention of national and international media outlets as a thought leader for the connection between work life balance, wellness and peak performance. You might recognize Allison Graham from her appearances on Global Television, CBC, Fast Company, CTV, and Breakfast Television, to name a few.

In 2009, Allison Graham faced a critical crossroads when her neurologist recommended, she go on disability due to post-surgical nerve pain. Fueled by the fear of career loss, she committed to pioneering stress-reduction techniques tailored to her unique challenges.

This crisis catalyzed a journey into comprehensive research and experimentation, leading her to innovative approaches for managing ongoing nerve pain without sacrificing her professional goals. Allison Graham navigated through substantial life challenges that have given her unique insights into the resilience, managing change and the mindset and behaviours that impact our health.

Challenging the conventional wisdom on stress management, Allison argues that the conventional approach is flawed. Despite societal awareness of increasing stress and burnout, traditional advice seems to be ineffective. Drawing from her 17 years of studying mainstream advice and her own experiences with burnout and chronic pain, she identifies what she terms as The Stress Illusion.

Her groundbreaking work urges professionals to minimize stress creation as a preventative approach to their work and personal lives. Her methodology allows clients to reclaim control over their lives, renew their passion for their work, and focus on what genuinely matters for themselves and their peers.

A dedicated researcher, Allison Graham has invested thousands of hours into reading, interviewing experts, and challenging prevailing personal development advice. She offers her refined strategies to those who are already on the self-improvement path but are seeking deeper, more meaningful conversations and solutions.

Allison Graham is the author of the influential book “From Business Cards to Business Relationships: Profitable Networking & Personal Branding Made Easy,” which has set the stage for her contributions to the fields of sales and networking. These insights laid the foundation for her second book, “Married My Mom, Birthed a Dog: How to Be Resilient When Life Sucks,” which provides actionable strategies for managing adversity without derailing one’s career.

Her forthcoming book, ‘The Stress Illusion: Defy the Lies Make Life Harder Than It Needs to Be is already being hailed as a game-changer in the conversation around stress.

Driven by client stories of burnout and stress, Allison is on a mission to simplify life’s complexities. Her approach is often described as ‘tough love wrapped in an empathetic hug.’ She has a knack for identifying behavioral patterns and helping individuals navigate their priorities with confidence.

Her ground-breaking insights and innovative techniques have connected her within industry circles as she worked with some of North America’s most respected brands and influential associations.

Allison Graham’s ongoing commitment to refining her methodologies highlights the importance of viewing personal development as a continuous journey, not a destination. Her seamless integration of professional acumen and personal resilience provides invaluable insights for anyone striving for both career success and overall well-being in complex and fast paced environments.

Videos

Podcasts

Play

Chris Voss Show

Chris Voss

Allison Graham, Speaker, Author Take Back Your Weekends
Play

Thoughts That Rock

SBC

Allison Graham | When Opportunity Presents Itself, Talk Yourself In
Play

Thrive LouD with Lou Diamond

SBC

Allison Graham - TAKE BACK YOUR WEEKENDS

Allison Graham Topic Presentations

the stress illusion - defy the lies that make life harder than it needs to be

  • Virtual PresentationKeynote PresentationWorkshop SessionHalf Day TrainingFull Day Training
  • In our fast-evolving business landscape, conventional stress management methods often fall short. The evidence is clear: mounting stress levels, rising burnout rates, and an alarming number of stress-induced absences are monopolizing headlines despite unprecedented access to techniques to foster well-being.

    Throughout this conference, as we immerse ourselves in new learning and networking, it can feel like a refreshing escape from the daily work pressures, but soon enough, you’ll be back to the grind. During this keynote, Allison Graham will address common misconceptions about the best ways to navigate stress and introduce practical approaches that focus not on managing stress, but on stopping the stress reaction in the first place so that there is less stress to manage.

    That will free capacity each day to focus on what’s important.

    This session is not merely informative; it offers a proactive approach to balancing work pressures with overall well-being. Gain a clearer understanding of stress and equip yourself with strategies that prioritize both performance and well-being.

    Allison will provide clear, actionable strategies that can be applied immediately, and will better prepare you to handle work-related challenges and to effectively integrate the insights gained from this conference. Additionally, you’ll be able to maintain and grow the professional relationships you establish throughout the conference.

    Takeaways:

    • Understand why delegating tasks, other productivity hacks, and healthy lifestyle choices are not complete answers to create breathing room in your days and discover a meaningful alternative.
    • Be able to leverage empowering stress, better ride the waves of survival stress and stop creating destructive, overwhelming stress.
    • Discover and easily be able to apply three simple techniques to neutralize destructive stress when it happens.

the stress illusion - defy the lies that make life harder than it needs to be

on the brink of burnout? don’t quit!

leading through tough times without the burnout

the problem-solving method: build resilience and amplify daily capacity

take the stress out of networking to optimize human-to-human connections

Testimonials

Allison Graham is a massive boost of fresh oxygen from the stage.

Richard Ruppell

CanSPEP
Fairmont Hotels and Resort

Allison’s keynotes offered inspiration and results that lasted long after her speech was done. For example, one of the many stories of impact included, after hearing Allison Graham speak, a leader on my team self-identified as being caught in the victim trap, recognized her tendency to complain too much, took responsibility for her negative contribution to team dynamics and committed to practicing Allison’s formula.

Sébastien Fauvel, MBA.

Hiring, Onboarding & Engagement
BMO Financial Group

Allison’s program is much more than a course in resiliency. It goes to the heart of leading and engaging team members and helping to unlock their potential in challenging times. Many of our leaders said it was some of the most practical and inspirational training they had experienced in years.

Don Ludlow

Regional Vice-President
RBC Commercial Markets

Allison Graham  was a breath of fresh air and a kick start after a long and strange, forced social hibernation. She helped our professional women’s group create an event that perfectly balanced education and inspiration! Allison is an engaging, authentic and insightful speaker. Everyone in the room was energized and motivated to implement her strategies and keep the momentum going long after the event. We all can’t wait to work with Allison Graham again!

Sabrina Lombardi

Partner
McKenzie Lake Lawyers LLP

Allison’s message was very well received and made an impact. It was topical and relevant to our management team. Her sessions continue to resonate with our team as they balance their personal well-being along with the daily client, team and office demands.

Chirag Shah, CPA, CA, MBA

Managing Partner
Southwestern Ontario | PwC

Allison Graham is a dynamic speaker who provides practical advice. Feedback from the Loyalty One / Air Miles Leadership event was extremely positive and associates put newfound skills to work! Allison Graham is the ultimate professional.

Debbie Baxter

Air Miles | Loyalty One

Articles & Media

Tired of COVID-19? Here are 5 ways to overcome fatigue

CHCH

The pandemic has taken an emotional toll on a lot of people, leading to significant mental health risks. Allison Graham, author of Take Back Your Weekends: Stress Less. Do More. Be Happier, joined Bob Cowan on Morning Live to share five ways to overcome coping fatigue.
View
The Ethical Use of AI as a Thought Leader

Choice Magazine

Whether you fear or embrace artificial intelligence (AI), its impact on your coaching practice cannot be denied. AI compels each of us to streamline our practice and differentiate ourselves from each other and from the online resources that are available to clients. My hope is that AI will inspire us to fully embrace our true essence so that we can serve clients in a way that can’t be replicated by a machine or anyone else.
View
Here's how to stop working all the time and take back your weekend

The Financial Post

Last week, we talked about when and how to unplug. This week, whether you’re back at work with reluctance or relief, let’s talk weekends. Remember those? Two years of at-home offices, late and strange hours, and not being able to get out much have blurred weekdays and weekends into one stressful, round-the-clock grind. We asked Allison Graham, executive coach and author of Take Back Your Weekends: Stress Less, Do More, Be Happier, how to, well, do just that.
View
How to make a graceful networking exit

The Globe and Mail

When I started my company, I had a breakfast meeting with a good friend who is a very successful businessman. I shared my plan for teaching people about business networking and everything the concept entailed.
View
Breakfast Television

SBC

FAST TIPS to Stop Stress NOW: Simple Changes that Work for BUSY people
View
CTV Your Morning

SBC

How to deal with the emotional toll of coping with the pandemic
View
CTV News

SBC

Dealing with Distraction in the Workplace
View

Books

Take Back Your Weekends: Stress Less. Do More. Be Happier.
Take Back Your Weekends: Stress Less. Do More. Be Happier.
If the price of success is constantly feeling overwhelming stress, that’s too much! In this book for high-performers who love their work, but are frustrated by the hectic daily grind, Allison Graham shares her easy-to-apply frameworks so that you can optimize your workweek, get more focused work...
From Business Cards to Business Relationships: Personal Branding and Profitable Networking Made Easy
From Business Cards to Business Relationships: Personal Branding and Profitable Networking Made Easy
Supercharge your Life by tapping into the greatest resource – people! In this book, published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Allison Graham provides a systematic way to skyrocket your career by creating a powerful, profitable network and shows you how to build goodwill in your community and among...

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How to book Allison Graham for an event?

Allison Graham keynote speaker is an expert presenter and has a wide range of experience speaking to a wide variety of audiences and organizations. Allison Graham delivers keynotes, workshops & training sessions. They may also host or emcee events. Hire Allison Graham from Toronto, Ontario for your event to inspire the audience to take action and make change in their work and their lives. Your workplace will benefit from our keynote speaker and their keynote talks and speeches will shift the mindsets or behaviours for the audience members in Canada. 

Interested in booking Allison Graham for an event?

Are you looking to hire Allison Graham for your event? Allison Graham Toronto, Ontario is a dynamic and engaging speaker that offers audiences researched content paired with expertise and a dynamic speaking ability. Allison Graham is also a Canadian corporate consultant and coach and facilitates workshops and training sessions for a corporate audience. Allison Graham is an expert keynote presenter and speaks on wide variety of topics. Hiring a great speaker for your event is important and working with a thought leader like Allison Graham from Speakers Canada's roster will engage audiences into the content of the presentation to bring awareness and a fresh perspective for their approach to their work and their lives. Book Allison Graham to educate, motivate and activate the audience through an interactive and entertaining presentation at corporate meetings and gatherings.

Known as a popular key note speaker in Canada, Allison Graham creates life changing experiences for the participants with practical insights and strategic advice they can implement right after the session. Working with a one our leading expert speaker like Allison Graham from Toronto, Ontario offers organizations a fresh perspective to assist the people of the organization. No matter if it is a government, association, or business crowd, Allison Graham is a perfect speaker for your event. Through unique practical insights for trending topics and years experience speaking to different organizations, Allison Graham focuses on changing individuals to make better decisions at work and their lives. No matter if you are holding an in person or virtual event, having an influential speaker such as Allison Graham will engage, motivate, and activate the audience to make a change in their lives and inspire action for results to meet organizational goals. Your workforce will benefit from Allison Graham's presentations and speeches, with measurable results set to shift the people of the organization and core direction of the company. Book Allison Graham speaker for your annual general meeting, conference, summit, or convention in Canada.

How much does it cost to hire Allison Graham for a keynote presentation or virtual event?

Allison Graham is an expert professional key note speaker with a lot of experience speaking and delivering engaging talks to organizations and audiences in Canada. Each of Speaker Bureau Canada's talent have different ways to assess their fees, and Allison Graham speaker fee ranges depending on the size of the audience, event format (in person or virtual), event location, and if the organization booking them is a non profit, association, government department/government agency or business/corporation. The speakers we work with are flexible with their fees, and it is important for us to learn more about your event before we approach them, as it is our role to work for you, and to help you find a speaker within budget. 

Please contact Speakers Bureau of Canada and provide us with your event details so that we can contact Allison Graham to check availability or confirm the pricing and associated costs to hire a great speaker like Allison Graham for your event. As Allison Graham's agent and as a Canadian top speaker bureau and talent agency for speakers, we are able to propose each event opportunity from each host organization's behalf to try to help you get in touch with Allison Graham and confirm them for your in person or online meeting/event. We can also provide and advise on the booking process and potentially negotiate their fee. Speakers Canada is a client focused speaker agency, and we work for you in finding good speakers for your team meetings and booking processes.

Allison Graham Disclaimer

Speakers Bureau Canada assists companies and event planning teams seeking to hire talent like Allison Graham for speaking engagements, virtual meetings, conference appearances, training sessions and workshops facilitations. Our Canadian speakers bureau does not claim to exclusively represent Allison Graham, however they are represented by Speakers Canada, and we work with them closely for their Canadian speaking opportunities and bookings. As Canada's top speaker bureau, we represent Canadian motivational keynote speakers and professional guest speakers that will be available on your upcoming events date and location that are withing the budget. Our talented bureau speaker booking agency can help find business speakers or celebrity speakers that aligns with each organization, audience, event theme and the topic themes you hope for the speaker to address in their presentation. 

When SBC receives a request to book Allison Graham we provide you with their speaker fees, travel costs and check their schedules. We work closely with the host organization's event planning team and the speaker to handle the logistics and to relay or negotiate associated costs. Our talented team members then will work with our talent directly or their agent/manager/assistant to confirm the Canadian speaker fee and travel expenses, so that event planning teams can receive an official quote for the speaker appearing at the event. Speaker fees and travel costs vary per speaker and our role is to contact Allison Graham about your event, after we have connected with the event organizers to learn all the event details and/or conference program. Each booking request is unique since session durations and audience sizes can vary which may affect the speaker's fees. If you are looking to hire Allison Graham, we recommend filling out the booking request form so a booking agent from Speakers Bureau Canada can get in touch with our talent to help you coordinate with your team to engage the speaker for a successful event.