The Art of the Ask Keynote
Nobody gets what they don't ask for.
A keynote experience that helps people make clearer asks, enlist the right people, and turn individual effort into shared action.
Spoke in all 50 states and 3 countries.
What planners and audiences say
Leila captivated a diverse audience of young scholarship recipients, their parents and guardians, corporate donors, educators, and board members. Her message was clear, concise, passionate, and challenging.
Samuel D. Rowe Jr.
Board Member, English Language Learners Foundation
I had the pleasure of hearing Leila Kubesch speak at the ICRA Women Entrepreneur Gathering. Her ability to break down complex ideas into clear, actionable steps made the session incredibly valuable for everyone in the room. I would highly recommend her to any organization or event looking for an inspiring voice in the space of entrepreneurship, leadership, or digital communication.
Salma Banu
Founder, She Wears Desi
Leila was a fabulous presenter. Through the use of humor and real-life examples, she was energetic and impactful from beginning to end. The content was filled with memorable, well-illustrated golden nuggets throughout. I feel confident that I can easily implement what I learned when I return to my desk.
Tali Lindberg
Founder, The TALI Method
Leila’s message was so well received. She was incredibly kind and inspired us all to ask, “what’s another way?” The genuineness of her presentation was truly appreciated.
Laura Saylor
Planner, Mt. St. Joseph Pre-Service Teacher Conference
Asking is how work stops belonging to one person.
Leila's work sits at the intersection of communication, collaboration, and shared ownership. When people know how to ask well, responsibility expands, resources surface, and important work stops depending on one person carrying everything.
The Ask is a leadership skill.
Better asking changes what becomes possible. Organizations stall when needs stay unspoken, responsibility concentrates, and capable people keep carrying work that should have been shared.
What changes after the keynote?
The Art of the Ask is built around a shift audiences can use when they return to work.
Before
- People carry problems alone.
- Requests are vague, delayed, or never made.
- A few people quietly carry disproportionate responsibility.
- Ideas stall because nobody asks for what is needed.
After
- People make clearer asks.
- Teams identify resources beyond their immediate circle.
- Participation becomes easier.
- Responsibility becomes more shared.
Communication keynote speaker for the opening and the closing.
One keynote opens possibility. The other closes the event with laughter, dignity, and a memorable framework people carry home.
The Art of the Ask
Why do capable, committed people hesitate to ask even when the work is too important to carry alone? Leila turns that question into a practical, interactive keynote about communication, partnership, resourcefulness, and action.
Participants also learn the M.A.G.I.C.™ method for turning insight into action within the week. Opening keynote, 45 to 60 minutes. Also available as a half day or full day workshop.
Book The Art of the Ask
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S.O.C.K.S.
A laugh out loud closing keynote built on a framework people actually remember. It begins with a well meaning gift of warm clothes to a struggling seventh grader that was misunderstood and rejected, and the humbling lesson underneath it about dignity, agency, and the distance between what we offer and what people actually need.
Closing keynote or awards banquet. 60 minutes available on request. Customizable with a sock detail made for the room.
Book S.O.C.K.S.
Audiences remember what changed in the room.
Humor opens the door. Participation makes the lesson stick.
Energy matters. Participation matters more.
Humor gets people listening. Participation gets them practicing. The goal is a skill people can use after the event.
Bring Leila to Your EventKeynote plus breakout: one speaker, two sessions
Open with The Art of the Ask keynote. Follow it with a breakout that goes deeper on making the ask through social media, voice and visibility, and storytelling online. Attendees hear the idea in the main room and practice it the same day. Your team plans one speaker, one contract, and one travel booking.
Check AvailabilityWorkshops where people practice the skill in the room.
These sessions give participants room to practice and to work with their own material. Everyone leaves with something they can use the same week. Most planners pair the opening keynote with one of these and close the event with S.O.C.K.S.
Building Confidence and Collaboration Using Improv
Applied improv as a practical tool for listening, building on other people's ideas, and collaborating in real time. Leila trained in improv and comedy at The Second City and The Annoyance Theatre in Chicago, where she also performed, and brings that training into leadership and organizational settings to lower defenses and get people participating.
- Listening and building on other people's ideas
- Collaborating in real time across roles and personalities
- The psychological ease that lets people contribute ideas without fear of getting it wrong
75 minutes to a full day. Team building, staff retreat, or pre conference session. In person only.
The Wrong Eyes Don't Buy or Buy Into!
Posting is not marketing. A working session for organizations with no marketing department: how to find the stories already happening inside your organization, build a posting rhythm you can sustain, and use practical AI without flattening your human voice. Leila wrote the book on this, Tech-No to Tech-Pro, an Amazon number one new release.
- Find the stories already happening inside your organization
- Build a posting rhythm you can sustain
- Practical AI without flattening your human voice, with consent, dignity, and privacy guardrails for regulated fields
60 to 180 minutes. Breakout session or workshop format. Hands on. Participants bring their own material.
How an engagement works
The Art of the Ask was built by doing the work.
The Art of the Ask came out of real asks made in aviation, in organizations with nothing to spare, and on stages in all 50 states and three countries.
On the ramp
In aviation a missed ask is a safety event. Leila learned early that a clear request, made on time, protects people.
Ideas that became shared projects
A Japanese garden, a documentary quilt, and a television program happened because the ask invited partners in and the idea stopped belonging to one person.
A budget of zero
Her first program budget was cut to zero. Every resource that followed came from an ask made well.
Tested in rooms nationwide
Refined across keynotes and workshops in all 50 states and three countries, for the U.S. Department of State, SHRM, associations, and government teams.
Built to earn its place on an important stage.
Practical
Audiences leave with language and a framework they can use immediately.
Participatory
The room experiences collaboration firsthand, interactive without forcing or embarrassing participants.
Customized
Stories, examples, and applications are adapted to the organization, audience, and purpose of the event.
