COLIN C. THOMPSONMINDSET & MENTAL FITNESS

KEYNOTE SPEAKER · COACH · TEDx SPEAKER

Challenge
your thinking.
Change how
you show up.

Mindset and mental fitness keynotes that challenge people to recognize what holds them back, respond with intention, and take ownership of what comes next.

Invite Colin to Speak Watch Colin Speak
TEDxICF Professional
Certified CoachCertified Positive
Intelligence Coach
Colin C. Thompson speaking at an event

SELECTED EVENTS & SPEAKING CONTRIBUTIONS

TEDx
TEDx ShiBoCun Road
UXPA Cleveland
World Usability Day
TiD Innovation Conference
TiD Innovation Conference
Toastmasters International
Toastmasters
BizWorld
BizWorld
The Expatriate Center 3E
The Expatriate Center
Black Blockchain Summit
Black Blockchain Summit
Excellence Convention
Excellence Convention

MINDSET & MENTAL FITNESS

When the pressure rises, your patterns show up.

Overthinking. Self-doubt. Reacting before you have had time to choose. The thinking that helped you get here can also hold you back.

Colin challenges audiences to notice those patterns, question familiar limits, and take a more intentional next step—in their work and their lives.

SIGNATURE SPEAKING TOPICS

A different perspective. A practical next move.

Keynotes and interactive sessions shaped around your audience and the challenges they face.

01 / MENTAL FITNESS

Harmony in Chaos

Strengthen your mental fitness when life demands more.

Mental fitness develops through practice, including the small frustrations of everyday life. Using relatable stories and guided reflection, Colin explores how to notice automatic reactions and build the ability to respond more intentionally when pressure rises.

What your audience will explore

  • Recognizing the mental patterns that fuel stress and self-doubt.
  • Interrupting automatic reactions before they take over.
  • Choosing how to respond when circumstances feel beyond their control.
Discuss this topic for your event ↗
02 / MINDSET & POSSIBILITY

Your Future Is
Bigger Than You Think

Challenge the thinking that limits what comes next.

What if the future you are working toward is being limited by the way you see yourself? Through an imagination warm-up and his Four I’s approach, Colin challenges familiar assumptions and helps audiences connect a bigger possibility to a practical next step.

What your audience will explore

  • Distinguishing old thinking from real possibility.
  • Recognizing assumptions they have accepted as facts.
  • Choosing a concrete step toward a bolder future.
Discuss this topic for your event ↗
03 / ENDURANCE, MINDSET & ACTION

50 at 50:
What It Takes to Keep Going

Lessons from the journey. Choices you can apply to your own.

Documentary & keynote in development

Preparing to cover 50 miles for his 50th birthday challenged more than Colin’s physical endurance. It challenged his self-talk, habits, expectations, and willingness to accept support. Drawing on that experience, this developing keynote explores what it takes to pursue a meaningful goal when the path is harder than expected.

What your audience will explore

  • Recognizing when their inner conversation is making a challenge harder.
  • Aligning everyday habits with the goal they say matters.
  • Adapting their pace and approach—and accepting support along the way.
Enquire about the developing keynote ↗

WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER

Keynote speaking

A focused message that challenges familiar thinking and opens up a different perspective. Combining personal stories, direct questions, and practical reflection, Colin connects mindset and mental fitness to the pressures your audience faces.

For conferences, company events, and leadership gatherings.

Interactive workshops

Give people time to work with the ideas. Through guided exercises, discussion, and reflection, participants examine their own patterns, explore different responses, and identify actions they can apply beyond the session.

For teams and groups ready to turn awareness into practice.

Facilitated conversations

Create space for a meaningful exchange. Colin guides conversations that help people consider different perspectives, examine assumptions, and connect what they hear to their own experience and choices.

For group discussions, panels, and reflective team sessions.

Onsite & virtual

Choose the delivery format that fits your audience. Sessions can be delivered in person or online, with the approach and level of interaction adapted to the setting, group, and objectives.

For audiences gathering in one room or joining remotely.

50 AT 50 · DOCUMENTARY IN DEVELOPMENT

The distance was physical. The lessons went further.

Fifty miles for a 50th birthday. Sixteen weeks of preparation. A personal challenge that became a lesson in how to think, adapt, and keep moving with support.

Training did not go neatly to plan. There were difficult starts, setbacks, changing conditions, and moments when Colin had to confront whether his habits supported the goal he had set.

The story follows more than the miles. It reveals the conversation in his head, the choices behind his preparation, and the people who helped change the experience along the way.

Audiences do not need an endurance goal to recognize those moments. They show up whenever we pursue something meaningful and discover that intention alone is not enough.

THE INNER CONVERSATION

Notice how you speak
to yourself.

A difficult moment can become harder when self-criticism takes over. Recognize the story you are telling yourself and choose a more useful response.

THE WAY FORWARD

Adjust the approach.
Keep the purpose.

Progress can include a slower pace, a rest, or a different route. Ask what will help you continue sustainably toward the goal that matters.

THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU

Let support be
part of the plan.

Encouragement and companionship changed Colin’s experience. Consider who can support your next step—and whose journey you can support in return.

The documentary is being completed. Film footage and screening details will be added when available.

Ask about 50 at 50 ↗

SEE COLIN SPEAK

When life changes,
who is in your village?

When a health diagnosis threatened his identity as a runner, Colin found himself struggling with fear and frustration. In his TEDx talk, he shares how his “village”—the people around him—helped him accept support, regain perspective, and take action.

Support is not always comfortable. Sometimes it means hearing what you need to hear, asking for help, and allowing others to challenge you. Colin closes with a question for every audience member: “Whose village are you?”

Watch the TEDx talk on YouTube ↗
TEDxThe power
of the village WATCH COLIN SPEAK ↗

FROM EVENT ORGANIZERS

The message stays with the room.

“Colin presented for the User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA) of Cleveland at our annual World Usability Day event. His presentation was insightful, serious, well delivered, and thought-provoking. I definitely recommend Colin as a speaker and would welcome him back any time!”
Joshua RandalPresident, UXPA Cleveland
“Colin C. Thompson is a thorough speaker who offered a richness of wisdom combined with a deep knowledge of his material. He imparted a contagious passion for his topic which led to thoughtful conversations for participants. Colin is a memorable speaker who truly over delivered for our conference.”
Lian FeiyangOrganizer, Quality Competitiveness Conference Beijing
“Colin is full of positivity, inspiration, motivation, good advice, a people person and great to surround yourself with. I had the pleasure to work with him many times over the past years. He coached successfully some of my community members, accepted my invitation to speak at my international Excellence Convention and even in the early morning to my community members. I always learn great things from him.”
Janine JakobCreator and Organizer, The Excellence Conference

MEET COLIN C. THOMPSON

Professional experience.
Personal perspective.
A coaching mindset.

Colin C. Thompson smiling with arms folded in a gray suit

Colin is a speaker and coach who challenges people to think differently, take ownership, and act with greater intention.

His background spans international consulting, coaching, and facilitation, including roles at IBM. He brings a practical understanding of change, cross-cultural work, and the pressures people face in professional life.

As an ICF Professional Certified Coach and Certified Positive Intelligence Coach, Colin puts mindset and mental fitness at the center of his work. His sessions combine direct questions, personal stories, and space for people to examine their own thinking.

He is the founder of Oligye Coaching & Training and a co-author on self-leadership in Voices for Leadership. His endurance experiences also inform his perspective on preparation, self-talk, adapting to setbacks, and the importance of support.

TEDx speakerICF PCCCPQC
Download Colin’s speaker profile ↓

INVITE COLIN TO SPEAK

What do you want your audience to do differently?

Let’s discuss your event, the people in the room, and the message they need to hear.

Schedule a Speaking Call contact@colincthompson.com ↗

Prefer email? Include your event date, location or format, audience, and topic of interest.

Oligye Coaching
& Training

Colin’s coaching practice supports individuals, teams, and organizations in building mental fitness and moving toward meaningful goals.

Explore Oligye ↗

Make space for your next step.

Explore the thinking that holds you back, get clear on what matters, and identify how you want to move forward.

Book a 60-minute coaching conversation

Keynote Speaker for High-Impact Events

Colin delivers keynotes that challenge how audiences think, communicate, and perform under pressure. Through powerful storytelling and practical insights—including mental fitness, resilience, and leadership—he equips people to take immediate, meaningful action.

Build Mental Fitness

Understand the mental patterns that influence thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Strengthen Self-Awareness

Recognize the habits and beliefs that shape performance and relationships.

Create Intentional Action

Leave with practical strategies audiences can apply immediately.

Invite Colin To Speak →

Leadership That Drives Clarity and Results

Colin delivers keynotes that challenge leaders to rethink how they lead in complex, high-pressure environments. By combining real-world experience with practical frameworks—including mental fitness—he helps leaders strengthen decision-making, alignment, and accountability.

Lead with Clarity

Cut through noise and uncertainty to make decisions that move teams forward.

Strengthen Accountability

Create ownership at every level—so execution doesn’t stall after the strategy is set.

Align Teams Around What Matters

Ensure leaders and teams are focused, connected, and moving in the same direction.

Invite Colin To Speak →

Workshops That Turn Insight Into Action

Colin designs and facilitates interactive sessions that create real engagement—not passive listening. Participants work through real challenges, build practical skills, and leave with clear next steps they can apply immediately.

Build Practical Skills

Develop tools and frameworks that can be applied right away.

Strengthen Team Alignment

Create shared understanding and direction across teams and leaders.

Apply in Real Time

Work through actual challenges during the session—not just theory.

Invite Colin To Facilitate →