Frequently asked questions about Amanda Gore

Amanda Gore is a CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame leadership keynote speaker, executive retreat facilitator and author. She is one of fewer than ten people in the world to hold the CPAE, CSP and Global Speaking Fellow designations, and has delivered more than 1,500 keynotes for more than 2 million people in more than 20 countries. Her method, Amanda Gore JQ®, gives leaders and teams practical tools to turn fear into trust and build cultures where people feel safe, valued and want to stay.

Amanda Gore began her career in Australia with a bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy and a major in psychology, specializing in sports physiotherapy, occupational health and ergonomics. After 10 years of clinical practice, she became a wellness consultant, then moved into communication and performance. She has worked in wellness for 40 years. She completed her Master Practitioner certification in neurolinguistics with John Grinder, co-founder of NLP, and studied non-verbal communication and group dynamics with Michael Grinder for 30 years. She still spends a third of every year studying neuroscience, emotional intelligence and quantum physics.

Amanda Gore was inducted into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame by the National Speakers Association, one of only a handful of speakers from outside the US to receive it. She has been a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) since 1996, and is a Global Speaking Fellow and a Certified Virtual Presenter (CVP). Professional Speakers Australia named her Keynote Speaker of the Year in 2009 and Educator of the Year in 2021, and made her a Life Member in 2022. She opened Influence 2025, the National Speakers Association’s annual convention, and Real Leaders magazine named her one of the Top 50 Keynote Speakers in the World in 2022. Meeting planners voted her Best Speaker in the Meetings Media Planners’ Best Bets awards (2006), International Speakers Bureau named her one of its Top 10 Favorite Speakers (2007), and Speakers Platform named her a Top 5 Speaker in Motivation/Inspiration (2011). In 2026 she spoke at MPI’s World Education Congress (WEC).

Yes. Amanda Gore is the author of five books: The Office Athlete, Stress Busters, You CAN Be Happy (translated into 10 languages), Joy Is an Inside Job (first published as The Gospel of Joy) and What If You Knew What to Ask? She is also a Huffington Post columnist.

Leadership, joy, burnout, perspective, sales and culture. Her keynotes include Radiate Joy: Be the Best Boss They Ever Had, It’s Not What You Say. It’s What They Hear., The Connected Team, Buyers Feel It First: How Top Performers Win Trust and Close More Deals, From Burnout to Joy and The Perspective Payoff. She also leads deep-dive workshops and facilitates executive retreats.

Amanda Gore offers five workshops, each going deeper than a keynote: The Neuroscience of Leadership and How to Present So Your Message Lands (Leadership); The Amanda Gore JQ® Lab: Joy Under Pressure (Culture & Teamwork); Buyers Feel It First: Deep Dive (Sales & Customer Experience); and The Joy Formula (Joy, Burnout & Resilience). Each one can run on its own or alongside a keynote.

See all keynotes and workshops →

Amanda Gore JQ® is Amanda’s method for bringing joy into the way people lead, work and sell. JQ stands for Joy Quotient. The method helps organizations move from fear-based performance, where people hide mistakes, avoid honest conversations and quietly burn out, to joy-driven performance, where people feel safe enough to speak up, valued enough to contribute fully and clear enough to make good decisions under pressure. It’s a practical skill set, with tools leaders can use in their very next meeting.

F.A.R.K. is one of the core tools in Amanda Gore JQ®: a quick way to catch a fear-driven reaction before it takes over a decision or a conversation. F is Focus and feelings: notice what you’re focusing on and what you’re feeling. A is Awareness: the pause that turns a reaction back into a conscious choice. R is Reframe: see the situation in a more useful way, and remember what really matters. K is Knowing, kindness and kudos: act on what’s actually true rather than the story fear was telling, treat people with kindness, and give credit where it’s due. It takes about sixty seconds and works in real meetings, under real pressure.

Amanda Gore changes how people feel, and that’s what changes behavior and results. Every keynote blends research with humor, story and full audience interaction, rather than slides and lecture. She studied the process of communicating with Michael Grinder for 30 years, so she reads the room as she speaks and adjusts in the moment to keep people engaged and connected. That’s why audiences quote her lines back to her years later.

Yes. Amanda’s work draws on neuroscience, neurolinguistics, emotional intelligence and non-verbal communication, and on research into engagement and performance. Engaged teams deliver 23% higher profitability and up to 51% lower turnover (Gallup, Q12 Meta-Analysis), and positive brains are 31% more productive and 37% better at sales (Shawn Achor, The Happiness Advantage). She delivers the science with humor and story so it lands and sticks.

Clients describe more energy, stronger connection and changes that last. After Amanda’s keynote, BMW Group Financial Services reported insurance income up 36% on the same quarter the year before, and its first-ever month with more than 1,000 ancillary policies. The President of the Million Dollar Round Table said that in 29 years of hearing the world’s best speakers, none had received three standing ovations like Amanda.

Amanda Gore has spoken for hundreds of organizations worldwide, including many Fortune 500 companies. Among them: Google, McDonald’s, Disney, IBM, American Express, Microsoft, Intel, Deloitte, KPMG, Wells Fargo, Verizon, Hilton, Hewlett-Packard, Novartis, Allianz, RE/MAX, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank, AMP, Flight Centre and MetLife. She has also spoken for more than 70 YPO chapters and more than 100 associations around the world.

Amanda has 348 documented testimonials from clients around the world. As one puts it: “Amanda took the stage and dazzled us all for an hour. She has an ability to read her audience and deliver the energy and messages they need.” (Senior Vice President, Direct Selling Association.)

Read all 348 testimonials →

Meeting planners and event directors who have worked with Amanda Gore describe an engaged room and a speaker who stands out. Here is what four of them wrote.

“Amanda absolutely exceeded our expectations. She captivated the room from the moment she started and had our entire audience [of 300 field leaders] engaged throughout the session. Every single person walked away with a new perspective and something they could immediately take back and implement in the workplace. I can’t recommend Amanda enough if you’re looking for someone who can genuinely inspire your team, grab their attention, and leave a lasting impact.” (Director of Marketing & Events, Electrical Corporation of America)

“Our audience loved Amanda's message and energy. She helped make our nursing conference a great success.” (Senior Meeting Planner, American Nurses Association)

“Simply put - Amanda is amazing and a great fit for any audience! She’s engaging, easy to relate to and has a message that will resonate with any group in any market. Amanda has appeared several times at our events and the result is always the same, she’s a huge hit each time she speaks! She’s a pleasure to work with and someone I would highly recommend.” (Director of Events, Anderson Business Advisors)

“Amanda’s engaging presentation was the perfect way to end the first business day at our national conference. Thank you again for a stand out presentation. You're still the best!” (Meeting planner, national conference)

Read more from meeting planners →Read the LinkedIn recommendations →

Both. Amanda Gore joins executive retreats that organizations are already running, as facilitator, presenter or moderator, for executive teams, boards, senior leaders and sales leadership teams. She works on trust, burnout, honest communication and psychological safety, and can open a retreat with high energy, close it with real emotional impact, or be woven through the agenda. A virtual follow-up session afterward keeps the commitments alive. She has spoken for more than 70 YPO chapters and six YPO universities, where the room is full of CEOs and company presidents.

See Amanda’s executive retreat work →

Yes. Amanda offers personal coaching for anyone ready for more clarity, purpose, health and joy in their work and life, and high-level coaching for professional speakers who want to turn their speech into an experience that changes lives.

Personal coaching →Speaker coaching →

Yes. Amanda Gore speaks regularly at women’s leadership events, addressing the particular pressures women in leadership carry, including performance expectations, emotional labor, imposter patterns and the tension between authenticity and authority, with honesty, humor and practical tools.

Yes. Every keynote is built from a detailed briefing on your industry, your audience, your theme and the outcomes you need, whether that’s healthcare, financial services, direct sales, government or education. Because Amanda works with the process of communicating as well as the content, no two keynotes are the same.

Any size. Amanda Gore has spoken to small executive retreats and boardrooms, conferences of thousands, and has emceed simulcast events reaching more than 10,000 people. Her delivery adapts just as well to an intimate workshop as to a large general session.

Yes. The Watch page has Amanda’s showreel, her TEDx talk and full keynotes, and her YouTube channel has many more clips.

Watch Amanda →Amanda on YouTube →

Yes. Amanda Gore speaks at events around the world, and every keynote can be delivered live, virtually or as a hybrid experience from her own professional broadcast studio. As a Certified Virtual Presenter (CVP), she keeps the same energy and interaction online as in the room.

Fees depend on the format (live, virtual or hybrid), the location and any added elements, such as a workshop or a multi-day engagement. For a tailored quote, email amanda@amandagore.com, or call +1 469 500 4045 in the USA or +61 414 282 218 in Australia.

Click Book Amanda, email amanda@amandagore.com, or call +1 469 500 4045 in the USA or +61 414 282 218 in Australia. Booking starts with a short conversation about your event’s goals, audience and outcomes. Once you’ve booked, Amanda holds a detailed briefing by phone or Zoom so she understands your needs and who will be in the room.

As early as you can once your date is set. Popular dates book out months ahead, especially in the spring and fall conference seasons, but Amanda’s team will always do their best to accommodate shorter timelines.

Everything planners need is on the For Planners page: the Speaker Kit, and one download with the questionnaire, AV checklist, Amanda’s introduction, a holding slide and headshots. Amanda arrives as early as possible and likes to sit in on the sessions before hers, so she can weave them into her keynote. If you’d like them, she can also provide a personal video before or after your event, a meet-and-greet with your people, and an ebook of everything she covered. She encourages you to film her keynote to share inside your organization, ideally with two cameras: one on Amanda and one on the audience.