Private Talks: Created for Forums, not stages.

This is not a keynote.

Keynotes are for stages. For applause. For takeaway slides you never look at again.

Private Talks are different. They are built for Forums. Rooms bound by confidentiality. Rooms where vulnerability is valued, not hidden. Rooms where no one needs to pretend they have it all handled.

I created Private Talks for the conversations that never make it into a conference program. The conversations leaders have when the doors are closed, when the cameras are off, and when the real questions finally come out.

I know these rooms because I have been in them. I am a past member of both EO and YPO, and I served as a YPO Forum Moderator for three years. For more than 35 years, I have owned, advised, coached, and turned around businesses across industries. I have spoken to entrepreneur groups on five continents and written two books on business and life lessons drawn from those decades. Every Private Talk is informed by that lived experience.

Who it is for

Private Talks are for EO Forums, YPO Forums, and Vistage groups that want to address what is really happening in the lives and businesses of their members.

Sometimes, not everyone in the Forum is struggling. But if even one or two members are privately facing a serious challenge, the whole Forum feels it. True Forums want to help those members find clarity, make better decisions, and regain their footing.

A Private Talk creates that chance.

It helps the member in trouble without making them feel singled out, and it gives the rest of the Forum a way to contribute in a meaningful way.

These are conversations for leaders who have slipped into silence. Leaders who carry decisions that cannot be voiced in board meetings. Leaders who need to explore what it means when winning no longer feels like winning.

How it works

• Private and prepared: Before we meet, I send each member two short but powerful questions. Their answers shape the talk so it is specific to their reality, not a generic lecture.

• Intimate and interactive: I weave the group’s answers into the discussion so every member hears themselves reflected in the conversation.

• Zoom or in-person: Many Forums now meet virtually. This format works equally well in both settings.

• No recording. No slides. No audience. The talk exists only in the moment, leaving behind the clarity and decisions it sparked.

Why it is not a keynote

Keynotes are about telling a story to hundreds or thousands of people. They are designed to inspire the many.

Private Talks are about creating the right conversation for the eight people in this room. Face to face. They require a different skillset:

• Listening in layers: Hearing what is said and what is not said.

• Reading the room in real time: Knowing when to push, when to pause, and when to ask the question that changes everything.

• Synthesizing on the spot: Taking threads from multiple voices and pulling them into a single, clear path forward.

Keynotes give you content to think about later. Private Talks give you conversations that change you in the moment.
In a keynote, you're the audience. In a Private Talk, you're participant.

A keynote might move you.

A Private Talk will change what you do next.

Core Private Talk Titles

Each Talk is adapted to the group’s needs, but these are a few examples of what we can explore:

• The Lies We Tell Ourselves: How to identify and destroy the invisible beliefs that are slowly killing what you built.

• The Person You’ve Become: What happens when the real obstacle is the person in charge.

• When Everything Looks Fine From The Outside: What to do when no one will say it out loud and how to stop the spiral fast.

• The Loneliness of Leadership: Why carrying everyone else's certainty is killing you and how to lead without losing yourself.

• Escaping The Loop: How to escape the treadmill of success and find infinite growth within the business you already built.

Why Forum leaders book Private Talks

• They want a conversation their members will never forget.

• They want a way to help the members who need it most without putting them on the spot.

• They want their members to walk out clearer, more confident, and ready to act.

• They want to provide something no big-stage speaker could deliver, because this was built for them.

Booking

Private Talks are referral-only. There is no form and no calendar link.

If you lead an EO, YPO, or Vistage Forum and want to explore bringing me into your group for a the most private of talks, contact me directly:
hm@privatework.co

There is no fee for an initial conversation. If it is not a fit, I will tell you directly. If it is, your Forum will have an experience they cannot get anywhere else.