Bailey Parnell

LinkedIn Learning reports 92% of executives believe soft skills like communication and collaboration are equally or more important than technical skills and yet, 89% of them still find them difficult to find in people. Soft skills are the most important skills to have and tend to be the hardest skills to learn. This gap has only been accentuated by the global pandemic. As we look to the post-pandemic future of work, and as AI and automation replace hard skills, there’s no doubt about it anymore: if you or your organization want success in the future, you must be what makes us different from AI.

You must be distinctly HUMAN. In this talk, Bailey Parnell will share insights from her years of experience owning a soft skills development company. Having served the world’s leading organizations and numerous industries – from Fortune 500 companies and startups to governments and educational institutions – Bailey has helped hundreds of people with soft skills like emotional intelligence, communication skills, empathy, and other skills that truly define our humanity. In this talk, she shares her learnings from organizations’ highs and lows, the skills that have proved the most important now and into the future, as well as an enthusiastic path forward for you to build more of these skills within yourselves.

Hybrid and remote work setups are increasingly becoming the majority in the modern post-pandemic world while at the same time, nearly 90% of all job seekers highly value “workplace culture” as vital for them. But one does not have to cancel the other out. Though we have greatly benefited from evolving technologies that have made this virtual workplace possible, there have also been some new challenges to navigate such as building a culture that radiates collaboration and inclusion for all.

Understanding how to make the most out of working in a hybrid environment will boost both our productivity and well-being as well as employee engagement and happiness. In this talk, Bailey Parnell combines her years of experience advising workplaces on culture (and the skills needed to do it well) with her background in online communication and collaboration to truly provide you with a holistic take on unleashing culture in your modern workforce. She will explore strategies for working effectively when remote and hybrid, key differences in online culture-building, action-oriented strategies for improving this yourself, and all while keeping inclusion front of mind. 

With many employers keeping hybrid and remote work setups indefinitely, people are required to be tethered to technology and online tools at levels they have not experienced before. While these tools have enabled many freedoms and benefits in the workplace and have brought us together across space and time zones, they have also come with a new set of challenges that people have simply not had to confront before.

If not experienced in this world of digital habits, employees find themselves with “tech burnout” and “screen exhaustion”, never completely recharged, and only adding to the general occupational stress that is on the rise. In this riveting keynote, Bailey Parnell combines her research in digital wellbeing with her experience advising workplace cultures to share with audiences how they can keep a healthy tech-life balance while also maintaining productivity. Whether it’s email management, instant messaging apps, ergonomics, social media, or lighting, there are many things we can do to optimize our energy, space, and time to ultimately be healthier and happier in this new world of work. To recharge together instead of powering off all at once, it begins here and now. 

Studies show the average person spends up to 6h/day on social networking sites, and even more the younger you go. While social media enables connections and collaboration at an unprecedented scale, there’s also a dark side to this networked world that’s laced with addiction, depression, harassment, and more. By every measure, social media is a risky behaviour like sex, drugs, alcohol, or even driving.

Since it’s not going anywhere, abstinence might not an option, but you can still practice #SafeSocial. How is this activity we spend so much time doing actually affecting how we think and feel? What is happening out there in the social media world and how does it influence the mental health of us and our youth? Adapted from her original TED talk with nearly 4M views, Bailey Parnell will draw from research and exclusive experience to illustrate the current social media landscape as it related to mental wellbeing, explain the effects it has on us every day, and provide 5 steps towards #SafeSocial.

There are numerous functions of the body and brain actively working to maintain stability and consistency for us. Biologically speaking, humans are not predisposition to love change, but for organizations to survive and renew in the business life cycle, they MUST change. Here lies the conundrum. As the world continues to change at a pace that feels ever more rapid than before, we must learn the skills to navigate these changes successfully – the ones not taught in school. When we are change-friendly and adaptable, our stress reduces while our wellbeing and efficiency skyrocket.

To thrive in the face of change requires the right combination of soft skills that no one knows better than Bailey Parnell. Having led a soft skills development company that works with the world’s leading organizations as well as going through many changes herself, Bailey asks audiences to invite M.O.R.E. With an actionable growth mindset, optimism in practice, resilience, and empathy (or each other), audiences will receive a playbook full of stories, studies, and experiential moments – all in an effort to help them thrive through the ever-changing landscape around them. The only constant is constant change, so it’s time to learn these skills today. 

“Critical thinking” is one of the most desired skills when hiring new employees, yet it is still not taught intentionally in schools or made a priority in corporate learning. Bailey Parnell is here to change that. When critical thinking skills are strong, you are able to break down complex problems and prevent them before they even arise. You are more independent, self-aware, and can better predict the outcomes of your actions in any given situation.

Bailey has the unique combination of understanding this concept on a scholarly level, but also the ability to break it down in an accessible and action-oriented way for your teams. Blending well-known critical thinking models and assessments with real-world exercises and stories, Bailey has audiences leaving with strategies they can use every day to think their way through any problem.

Whether you’re a manager, dealing with clients, or simply interacting with people in general, the ability to accurately understand others’ feelings, motives, and situational expectations is critical. This special skill is also known as social awareness. When paired with its counterpart, empathy, socially aware teams are better able to communicate and collaborate leading to more positive cultures and more effective employees.

So, how does this all connect to the movies? One of the ways we learn these skills is by taking in others’ stories and connecting to their emotions which can most easily be done through – you guessed it – watching movies. Music, editing, and screen acting can teach us a tonne about social awareness, and even more so now that we too live half of our lives communicating on screen. Bailey Parnell has helped the world’s leading organizations learn these skills through her soft skills training company, but she also started her career in film and television. In this unique and highly engaging talk, Bailey blends her knowledge of social awareness and empathy with her experience in film to help us build this critical skill – all while using the magic of the movies creatively!

While age is prominent on the social location wheel and experienced by everyone, it is often left out of the diversity conversation. But for the first time in history, we have 4 generations in the workplace at the same time, so this cannot be ignored anymore. From Gen Z to Boomers, as these generations eagerly grow, so does a misunderstanding and divide between them. How do we increase empathy between generations?

How do we motivate newer generations while still reaching our organizational goals? How do we bridge tech divides as the world or work moves to hybrid and remote settings? In this dynamic and hilarious keynote, Bailey Parnell explores the important defining characteristics of each generation, how to foster intergenerational understanding in the workplace, and how to successfully engage and retain these generations so that we can all feel welcome and celebrated, regardless of age. 

This is a talk for organizations and leaders who are ready to own their role in shaping society as we know it. The “public sphere” was an area in social life where individuals came together to freely exchange ideas and information. In its best form, it was also where people identified societal problems, solutions, and ultimately, it’s how society’s “culture” was formed. Most importantly, it has always been integral to democracy. The public sphere has held many forms, from coffee shops to online spaces, to water coolers, and corporate cultures. When we spend a third of our lives at work, we can’t ignore the fact that this is where most adults learn new things, expand their minds, converse with people outside of their family, and contribute to what then becomes society’s “culture”. And yes, culture includes topics like religion, politics, and all the things we’re told not to talk about! But Bailey Parnell does things a little differently at her company.

Operating at the unique intersection of successful entrepreneur and experienced academic, Bailey holds a Master’s in Communication and Culture and also leads a thriving business that teaches people soft skills like empathy and collaboration. At SkillsCamp, Bailey walks the talk by hosting public forums on issues that have no direct connection to the work, but are just as important to the culture in which her people live and operate. In this novel keynote, Bailey shows audiences how to have those difficult conversations and encourages organizations to own their role in shaping society. If you’re ready for it, Bailey is ready to help you.