Charles Leon

If there is one skill that differentiates an individual or a company, it is the ability to think creatively and critically. We need to use these skills in order to be able to innovate and achieve full potential. The ability to innovate, in every field and in every way, is the competitive advantage. Design thinking is skill you can learn with the right techniques.
These highly charged and visually exciting talks are a step-by-step guide to unlocking the tools of creative potential that exist in all of us. The talks fuse the years of experience of running design companies combined with recent advances in the knowledge of the neuroscience of how our brains work. These talks are entertaining, visual, practical, challenging and inspiring.
The creative toolbox, is applicable to all problem-solving and can transform the way you think. Creative thinking is a skill that paves a pathway to living a creative life. These are life-skills.
Talk Outline:
* The myth of Creativity
* Creativity is a skill
* Creative Confidence
* Story-building
* Mindset
* Disruptive Patterns
* Making Time
* Deconstruction
* Defining the problem
* Thinking Errors
* Changing Habits
* The 4 Quadrants
* Embracing Failure
* Attitude
* Generative Thinking
* Convergent and Divergent Thinking
* Playfulness
* Visualization
* Toolkits
* Action
* Planning
* Time
* Emotional Intelligence
* Team Building & Leadership
* Resources
* Future Vision
* Optimism
* Purpose
* Fun and Joy
* Live the life!

International Speaker on Creative Process and the Designer’s Mind.
Charles Leon is a Speaker on the Art and Science of the Creative Mind.
Charles is a past President of the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID) and board member of the International Federation of Interior Architects and Designers (IFI)
His talks are a practical and visual combination of Design Theory, Creative Theory and Practice and Neuroscience.
Charles started his career as a theater designer and soon moved into Feature Films and runs successful and acclaimed design consultancies in Hotel, Spa and Residential Interior Design and Architecture.
Charles also lectures on design theory, innovation, emotion and the workings of the designer’s mind. His talks blend design, neuroscience, economics, politics, philosophy and current affairs to provide a new, powerful and persuasive way of understanding the creative mind and the role of design in our lives.
Charles pursues many diverse interests including rock climbing and mountaineering, writing, sketching, triathlons, philosophy, motorbikes and skiing.

Talks normally last for 40 minutes and I allow about 10-15 minutes for questions.
I always like to arrive a little early and check that everything works OK.
A good size screen is essential. The talks are very visual.
A good sound system with head mic so that hands are free.
A good lighting system so that the speakers face and body are visible to the audience.
Preferably a raised stage.
A lecturn is nice, but not essential.
I will provide my own laptop, but I am happy to use local setup, but will want to test presentation before talk.
Recently used sli.do in a presentation, which allows questions to be posted whilst speaking. This was very successful and helped with audience participation.