Have you ever been bored or confused at a public talk because of all the technical jargon? May be the speaker droned on like buzzing fan putting you soundly asleep. Or maybe after the talk, you didn’t see how you could use or act on the information in any meaningful way?
I promise that you will never leave one of my talks feeling that way. In fact, I will guarantee that I will refund my speaking fee (excluding travel expenses) if you feel that 1) my talk was too technical for the audience to understand, 2) I am dull or boring, or 3) the audience leaves without simple and practical tools to put into action.
Why would I make such a guarantee? Because I am so passionate about presenting great talks that I wouldn’t agree to give a talk if I felt I couldn’t make the topic understandable, interesting and useful. If graduating from MIT taught me nothing else, it’s that being the top expert in the world on a subject in no way makes you the best person to communicate the topic, especially to non-experts.
What Audiences Are Saying
“AMAZING LECTURE! Every part was fascinating!” PA student
“Dr. Carroll is a wonderful presenter.” PA student
“Dynamic!” attendee, Teen Brain talk
“This was the best session I went to! Have this presenter back again!!!!” – attendee, Teen Brain talk
“Best of all the presentations.” Attendee, Teen Brain talk
A Little Bit About Me
While I gave a few speeches in high school and college, I really got started as a public speaker when I was an intelligence officer in the US Air Force. The Air Force, in its infinite wisdom, assigned a physics major to the staff of the three star general in charge of 1/4th of the combat aircraft and bases in the US Air Force, as a briefer. Intelligence briefers are kind of like TV news anchors for the military, except that our stories are highly classified and focused on military and political topics.
As a briefer, I had to present formal talks, two to three times a week to the 3 star commander, the 2 star vice-commander and an entire room full of colonels. To say I was anxious was an understatement. However, after about a year of facing all those senior Air Force officers multiple times a week, I eventually relaxed and actually started to enjoy public speaking.
Now, 20 years later, public speaking is one of my favorite things to do. Whether I’m in front of thousands or live TV or just a few students, I am having fun and making it fun for my audience. Even more than just making it fun, I break down highly complex and technical subjects in medicine, neuroscience, psychology and psychiatry so everyone can understand and grasp the key elements. I have a saying, “If you can’t explain it to a 5 year old, you don’t really understand it!”
My Most Requested Talks
This is a fun, “TED” style workshop that uses humorous pictures rather than text to show how the teen brain is still developing and how its incomplete development determines the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of teens. While the workshop covers technical subjects such neuroanatomy and neurodevelopment, it does so in a clear, non-technical fashion to make the material accessible to everyone, not just mental health professionals. Participants often feel afterwards that they are able to “get” teenagers and feel more comfortable working with them both at home and in professional settings.
As the resident ADHD expert at my medical school, I have lectured dozens of time to a variety of professional audiences from medical students to primary care physicians to professors of psychiatry and psychology. However, this lecture on ADHD is designed for public audiences and gives a thorough, but understandable introduction to both pediatric and adult ADHD. I’ve presented it to dozens of audiences from the general public to principles and teachers to concerned parents. Through the use of props and dramatic demonstrations, I show how the ADHD mind works and how ADHD is not so much a disease as a normal variation like being really tall or short. I also present both drug and non-drug treatment options in a balanced way.
This is perhaps my most popular workshop since I often get requests to give over and over again to the same groups every year or so. It is an invaluable training that teaches the secret, but easy to use, techniques top psychiatrists rely on to manage extremely manipulative people. The workshop uses the 13 official personality disorders as a basis for understand abnormal behavior. From that basis it covers the common manipulative strategies difficult people use and how to defeat them. Then it builds on these common situations to address the secret strategies world-class manipulators use to control you. After you thoroughly understand these ultimate strategies, I teach judo like techniques that throw the manipulator off their game and provide an impenetrable defense that keeps you calm and safe. This workshop is critical for anyone working in a customer service capacity or with clients.
My Video Clips
In addition to my public and academic lectures, I often get invited to do health and wellness segments on a local TV station. Here are some of my segments so you can see my speech and presentation style:
How to Help Kids Set Goals
Helping Children Cope with National Tragedies
Protecting Yourself From Online Dating Scams
Upcoming Engagements
Recent Engagements (Partial List)
May 4th, 2019 – Assessing Suicide in Children and Teens, Presbyterian Pediatric Behavioral Health Symposium
September 21st, 2018 – Autism Spectrum Disorder, NM Academy of Physician Assistants Annual Convention
December 12th, 2017 – Treating ADHD in the Primary Care Setting, Paradise Hills Primary Care Grand Rounds
November 3rd, 2017 – Update on Behavioral Health, Leadership NM Annual Conference
September 22nd, 2017 – The State of Behavioral Health, NM State Leadership Conference
August 16th, 2017 – Managing Difficult and Manipulative People, UNM Emergency Psychiatry Grand Rounds
May 20th, 2017 – How to Marry the Person You Were Meant For, EastWest Bookstore, Palo Alto, CA
March 14th, 2017 – Surviving Difficult and Manipulative Parents, Presbyterian Pediatric Grand Rounds
February 25th, 2017 – The State of Behavioral Health Care in New Mexico, Leadership NM Annual Local Government Leadership Conference
February 5th, 2017 – How to Marry the Man You Were Meant For, Bookworks Bookstore, Albuquerque, NM
Check My Availability
Contact me to see if I am available to speak at your event. In addition to the topics mentioned above, I also have talks prepared on a variety of mental health, parenting and wellness topics such as depression, anxiety, Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia/psychosis, PTSD, disruptive behaviors, dyslexia, eating disorders, chronic pain, unexplained medical symptoms, autoimmune encephalitis and even psychoneuroimmunology.
In addition to modifying one of my current talks to your audience, I can also create a custom talk for your event so just tell me what you want, what you really, really want ; ) I do accept corporate sponsorships for my talks, which may be an option if you are working with a limited budget for you event.