Speaking

Speaker, author, and consultant Dr. David Zierk has been there.

He knows how frustrating it can be to have clear and attainable goals while your team has too many personal agendas that cause great people to function poorly together.

Book Dr. Zierk for your next event or a team consultation

Dr. David Zierk bio

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Dr. David Zierk Intros

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"Dr. Zierk's work is extremely insightful, well thought-out, yet practical and useful not only in personal relationships at home, but also in professional relationships at work."

"Dr. Zierk's work not only has helped me personally change my life, and my kids' lives forever, his book, Mind Rules, has helped me better understand relationships like I never had before with my mom, sister, and boss."

About Dr. Zierk's approach

"There is only one thing we all need that we can't give to ourselves, and that's connection."
-David Zierk

As humans, we share three things in common:

We are all, more or less, insecure and selfish.

To alleviate our insecurity and minimize our selfishness, we need to belong and be accepted and respected.

To grow and develop, we need each other.

These three tenets are the building blocks of Dr. Zierk's focus on relationship intelligence with your audience and your teams.

Learn more about relationship intelligence

Relationship intelligence is the ability to meet your needs by learning the lessons that conflict has been trying to teach you. Yes, you read that right. Conflict is the most valuable source for understanding and mastering the art of deep and lasting connection. It can be argued that without conflict, we never really get to know each other.

In moments of connection, we enjoy a natural state of balance and closeness. Vulnerability becomes our superpower that strengthens the bond, allowing us to be our true selves.

In moments of disconnection, the experiences of distress and defensiveness take over, our minds fill with uncertainty, and volatility replaces vulnerability.

Relationship intelligence helps us identify and understand the life lessons that have been trying to teach us, which enables us to strengthen our relationships while improving self-mastery and well-being.

The core principle of Relationship intelligence revolves around the simple truth that "we need each other." Tightly fused by this organizing principle is the fact that relationships meet our most basic human needs. Relationships define who we are and how we perceive our surroundings and ourselves, give purpose and direction to our lives, and inform us where and to whom we belong. Simply stated, relationships make life worth living.

Relationship Intelligence (r.IQ) was developed to help people effectively manage conflict, meet their needs, and experience improved trust, commitment, and intimacy in the relationships that matter most.

Knowing what we need is the first step. The second step is to learn how to meet our needs. This process involves understanding that our responsibility is to teach others how to love us. In turn, we find it in our hearts to learn how to love another person.

As the founder of r.IQ: Relationship Intelligence Center, Dr. Zierk is committed to helping people understand the importance of not doing life alone and learning how to move toward others by choosing to be vulnerable, build trust, speak the deep truth, and understand the resolute strength associated with commitment and connection.

Keynote & workshop topics for teams

Turn Conflict Into Connection

Audiences and corporate clients love this topic because Dr. Zierk helps attendees discover that their role in conflicts is not just the key; it's the treasure map to better relationships.

Reveal conflict styles

Given all that we know about how critical our relationships are in the workplace-the majority of people leave their coworkers, not their jobs-means that we must upskill our relationship intelligence (r.IQ). In other words, turning conflict into connection.

Through interactive exercises, shared expertise, and assessments, Dr. Zierk reveals audience conflict styles and helps them take the early critical steps to build bridges of connection. Clients who book Dr. Zierk for follow-up sessions can facilitate their team's growth, exercise their conflict-into-connection muscles, and form sustainable r.IQ habits.

Takeaways: Master the art of transforming workplace tension into stronger professional bonds. Attendees will have an understanding of how to:

Identify their unique conflict patterns and learn how these patterns impact workplace relationships, enabling them to adapt their approach for better team dynamics.
Apply Dr. Zierk's proven "Bridge-Building Framework" to transform confrontational situations into opportunities for deeper connection and mutual understanding.
Implement practical strategies for real-time conflict de-escalation and relationship repair, resulting in improved team collaboration and reduced workplace turnover.

Each takeaway blends concrete skills with measurable business impact, reflecting Dr. Zierk's expertise in turning theoretical concepts into actionable workplace improvements. Want to boost your team's relationship intelligence and create a more connected workplace? Book Dr. Zierk for your next event.

Mind Rules

Dr. Zierk's newest topic: knowing how "the mind" works places you in a powerful position to better understand how "your mind" works. In turn, the odds vastly improve so that you become the person you were always meant to be. Sounds amazing, right?

Learn unspoken but internalized rules

Together with keynote audiences and workshop participants, Dr. Zierk helps us understand the rules that govern our minds. These unspoken, yet extremely persuasive internalized rules, if understood, provide you with a spectacular advantage for boosting your state of being, navigating the world around you, and moving you productively forward.

Audiences call Dr. Zierk's Mind Rules message "a key to unlocking the mysteries behind how we think, what holds us back and why."

Takeaways: Attendees will be able to:

Decode their internalized mental rules and thought patterns, enabling them to consciously reshape limiting beliefs into empowering mindsets that drive personal growth.
Apply Dr. Zierk's Mind Rules Framework to identify psychological barriers and implement targeted strategies for breaking through self-imposed limitations.
Leverage neuroscience-backed techniques to rewire their mental habits, resulting in improved decision-making, enhanced resilience, and accelerated goal achievement.

Ready to unlock your mind's full potential and empower your team to do the same? Book Dr. Zierk for an enlightening exploration of the rules that govern our minds and shape our success.

Mutuality

Trust is square one, and Dr. Zierk reveals how to rebuild it when it matters most. Drawing from his groundbreaking work in restorative justice and relationship psychology, Dr. Zierk shows audiences how to transform damaged relationships into stronger connections than ever before.

The 5 components of building trust

Through compelling case studies and interactive exercises, participants discover Dr. Zierk's proven TRUST framework. This revolutionary approach helps individuals and organizations repair trust breaks through actions, not just words. Dr. Zierk's message resonates because it acknowledges a fundamental truth: While trust takes years to build and seconds to break, it can be rebuilt with the right tools and mindset.

Takeaways: Master the science of trust restoration. Attendees will be able to:

Apply the TRUST framework to systematically rebuild damaged relationships, transforming surface-level apologies into meaningful actions that demonstrate genuine change.
Implement the three critical factors of relational psychology to repair trust breaks in both personal and professional contexts.
Create sustainable trust-building habits that strengthen team dynamics and establish a culture of psychological safety and authentic connection.

Ready to transform your organization's approach to trust and conflict resolution? Book Dr. Zierk to unlock the power of square one.