Fredrik Härén believes in the potential of humanity and the power of ideas

The Swede Fredrik Härén (51) is a global speaker on topics such as creativity, innovation, embracing change and the importance of a global human mindset. His counter has reached more than two thousand speeches in 67 countries on six continents. He holds lectures in twenty to thirty countries every year. He has ten books to his name, including One World One Company, Developing World and the successful The Idea Book with a listing in 100 Best Business Books Of All Time. Fredrik Härén spends most of his time in Singapore.

What's your message?

“My inner theme as a speaker is “Humanity to the Power of Ideas”, which means that I believe in the potential of humanity and the power of ideas. In the past 25 years I have studied, written and talked about creativity, change and the need to have a global human mindset.” “What I want to convey is that in a rapidly changing world, we will have to be more creative in order to take advantage of all the opportunities that are opening up. And, if we look at the whole world with a more open mind, we can pick up ideas better.” “I am very passionate about helping as many people as possible to reach their full creative potential. At the moment I'm doing research for my new book “The World of Creativity”. This is about what we can learn about creativity from others and from other cultures in the world. If interested, you can find all this information on: www.TheWorldOfCreativity.com”

How does your audience respond to your message?

“I was once called an inspirational kick-in-the-butt. As far as I am concerned, this is the best compliment I have ever received. After all, my aim is to inspire the listening audience and at the same time challenge them in their convictions, just enough to get them to change for the better.”

What's your specialty?

“Because I have received many invitations to come and speak in 68 countries so far - from North Korea to South Africa – and being on stage in dozens of countries every year, I have become good at composing speeches that are interesting and engaging enough to appeal to a wide audience. This is of course perfect if you are a guest at international conferences with visitors from many different countries and from different cultures.”

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“In 2017, at the Global Leadership Summit event in Chicago - 10,000 visitors, 150,000 viewers via live video, more than 400,000 people via video link – I was the only speaker representing Europe and Asia. People from more than 120 countries were part of this event, one way or another. I was able to share the stage with famous speakers such as Marcus Buckingham, Angela Duckworth and Sheryl Sandberg.”

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How do you connect with your audience?

“Good question! One of my strengths as a speaker is my ability to build a relationship with my audience. I do this by making them feel that there is no difference between them and me; we are simply all the same.” “I always add a good dose of humour to my presentation, too. Laughing together is the best spontaneous interaction. What I want to achieve is that the visitors do not feel as if they are sitting in a theatre watching a performance but are present at a stand-up comedy show, without the fear of being called upon by the comedian, by the way.”

What's your favourite place?

“I love to speak in places like Bali and Phuket where the audience always seems to be in a relaxed and happy state of mind.”

What initiative from organizers would you appreciate?

“I really think it would be better to turn that question around to: what can speakers do to make life easier for event organizers? Personally, I don't expect anything from the person organizing the meeting. And, I’d like to be, and I’ll always try to be someone who’s easy to work with.” “One of the things I really hate are speakers who call on the audience to connect with them on social media or become followers. That has a lot to do with the fact that these people are working on a database from the speakers' podium. And hate is something you can write in capitals.” “On the other hand, I also think that many listeners want to connect with the speakers but don’t have the guts to connect or don’t find the time or whatever. In other words: if conference organizers want to mention a speaker's social media links in their programme booklet and/or if speakers show this on the introductory screen at the start, they should certainly do so. Perhaps it’s even better to do this at the end so that the audience can connect without feeling they disturbed the speaker's lecture. Personally, I would never present my social media links in a speech.”   Fredrik Härén writes blogs about professional speaking on www.professionalspeaking.com.