THE WONDER EFFECT KEYNOTES
DON'T JUST GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO LISTEN TO.
GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EXPERIENCE.
Jim Lenz creates interactive keynote experiences that capture attention, spark curiosity, deepen connection, and help people see possibilities they may have been overlooking.
DIFFERENT KEYNOTES. ONE POWERFUL IDEA.
Every audience is different. So is every challenge.
But beneath Jim's keynote experiences is the same fundamental belief: there is often more potential in people, teams, and organizations than we currently see.
Attention helps us notice it.
Curiosity helps us discover it.
Care helps create the conditions for it to emerge.
This is The Wonder Effect.
ENGAGE.
SHIFTS PERSPECTIVE.
BUILD AUTHENTICITY.
IMAGINE NEW FRONTIERS.
THE WONDER EFFECT
How Attention, Curiosity, and Care Transform Learning, Leadership, and Human Potential
SIGNATURE KEYNOTE: THE WONDER EFFECT
How Attention, Curiosity, and Care Transform Learning, Leadership, and Human Potential
What if wonder isn't something we have to wait for? What if we can create the conditions for it?
In this highly interactive keynote, Jim Lenz explores the powerful relationship between attention, curiosity, and care—and what happens when we deliberately bring all three into the way we learn, lead, work, and connect.
Through unexpected moments, audience participation, stories, and shared discovery, people don't simply hear about The Wonder Effect. They experience it.
Audiences will explore:
• Why attention has become one of our most valuable—and contested—resources
• How curiosity changes the questions we ask and the possibilities we see
• Why care influences connection, learning, and human potential
• How small changes in the conditions we create can change what becomes possible
THE WORKFORCE WE HAVEN'T FOUND YET
Unlocking Human Potential Through Attention, Curiosity, and Care
Organizations often ask where they will find the people they need next. This keynote asks a different question:
What potential are we failing to see in the people already around us?
In this interactive keynote, Jim Lenz explores how attention, curiosity, and care can change the way organizations think about talent, learning, workforce development, engagement, and opportunity.
Rather than looking only outward for the workforce of the future, audiences are challenged to look again at the people, potential, experiences, and possibilities that may already be around them—but have gone unnoticed, unexplored, or underdeveloped.
Audiences will explore:
• How attention influences who and what we notice when we think about talent and potential
• How curiosity can challenge assumptions about where talent comes from and what people are capable of becoming
• Why care matters in creating environments where people can learn, contribute, grow, and see a future for themselves
• How leaders and organizations can begin asking different questions about workforce development, opportunity, and human potential
YOUR EVENT ISN'T GENERIC.
YOUR KEYNOTE SHOULDN'T BE EITHER.
Every audience walks into the room with a different story, challenge, and opportunity.
Jim works with event leaders to understand the people in the room, what matters to them, and what the organization hopes will happen after the applause ends.
The result isn't a presentation dropped into an agenda. It's an experience designed for the moment—and the people in it.
DIFFERENT STAGES. SAME QUESTION.
What makes people lean in?
For more than three decades, Jim Lenz has explored that question across an unusually wide range of people, places, and experiences.
He has worked with learners from early childhood through higher education; front-line employees, emerging leaders, executives, CEOs, and boards; and organizations spanning education, healthcare, financial services, identity, agriculture, food and fuel, professional associations, nonprofits, startups, and global industries.
His roles have been just as varied—educator, learning designer, association leader, global education and workforce development leader, podcast host, facilitator, science entertainer, and professional magician.
Yet across classrooms and conference rooms, boardrooms and live stages, podcasts and professional education, one question keeps resurfacing:
What captures attention? What awakens curiosity? What creates meaningful connection? And what helps people see something they couldn't see before?
Those aren't separate chapters of Jim's career. Together, they're the experiences that shaped The Wonder Effect.
Educator
podcast HOST
speaker and experience creator
Workforce & Global education Leader
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE ROOM MATTERS
A Wonder Effect keynote isn't something an audience simply watches. People participate, laugh, think, question, connect—and experience the ideas for themselves.
Testimonials
“Jim is a true professional! Not only did he engage and wow our audience with his program, he made sure he understood our goals for the event and incorporated authentic commentary that connected with the mission of our organization. Several guests told us after our event that Jim's program was one of the best parts of the evening!”
Denise Wittstock
Chief Executive Officer
Big Brothers Big Sisters Wisconsin Shoreline
Big Brothers Big Sisters Wisconsin shoreline
“We just had the most fabulous and entertaining of our long running gala events. Jim Lenz was over the top! We loved it! The audience would do anything to see him in a second showing.”
The Rhinelander Rotary 2025 Gala
Rhinelander rotary Club
“We just had the most fabulous and entertaining of our long running gala events. Jim Lenz was over the top! We loved it! The audience would do anything to see him in a second showing.”
The Rhinelander Rotary 2025 Gala
Rhinelander rotary Club
“Our employees and their guests were delighted by the performance Jim gave. Interacting with the audience kept everyone on their toes and laughing out loud. I personally appreciated the fact that Jim had taken the time to understand our company and found a way to weave bits of relatable information into his presentation. We highly recommend Jim Lenz!”
Greenstone Financial Services
WHAT COULD CHANGE IF WE DESIGNED FOR WONDER?
The best keynote doesn't end when the speaker leaves the stage.
It changes what people notice.
The questions they ask.
The way they connect.
And what they believe might be possible.
Bring The Wonder Effect to your next event.
It reshapes daily perceptions.
It sparks better debate.
It unites the collective.
It expands the horizon of what is likely.
Secure The Wonder Effect for your next date.