Nikki Stone
- Olympic Gold Medalist,
- Award-winning Motivational Speaker
- Best-Selling Author
Nikki Stone Speaker Biography
At the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, Nikki Stone became America’s first-ever Olympic Champion in the popular and electrifying sport of aerial skiing. What made this performance so unbelievable, was the fact that less than two years earlier, a chronic spinal injury prevented her from standing, much less skiing off a 12-foot tall snow jump that launches aerialists 50 feet into the air.
Nikki’s accomplishments span far beyond the sports world as she is also a Magna Cum
Laude graduate of Union College and a Suma Cum Laude masters graduate—and Masters Student of the Year in Health Science—at the University of Utah, she trains other Olympic athletes in speaking skills and she has authored the best-selling book, “When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How to Stick Their Necks Out”. Because of her indpeth experience, the United States Olympic Committee invited Nikki to work with all of the winter Olympic athletes on their mental strength as they arrived at the Olympic Games.
With a successful competitive, educational and professional background, Nikki has learned to verbalize the tools needed for success and she takes guests on a dynamic, entertaining, and emotional journey with exclusive, interactive, hands-on and relatable sport and performance psychology skills. Nikki shares the important life lessons on leadership, resilience in the face of adversity, believing in ourselves, finding focus, taking risks, adapting to change, commitment to meeting and surpassing competition and using teamwork and support. Some of her clients include John Hancock, Merrill Lynch, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, American Express, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Procter and Gamble, Morgan Stanley, AT&T, Visa, 3M, New York Life, Johnson and Johnson, Hilton Hotels, Anheuser Busch, 3M, and many more. All of Nikki’s attendees walk away with a number of specific empowerment action steps to help them reach their pinnacle performance. Through surveys following her presentations, 100% of her attendees have found value in her speech and 100% would like to hear her speak again. Audiences love hearing this award-winning inspirational speaker and learning how they, too, can stick their necks out to reach outstanding accomplishments.
As a motivational speaker, Nikki Stone captivates audiences with her compelling storytelling and profound insights into peak performance. Drawing from her own trials and triumphs, she empowers listeners to tap into their inner strength, embrace adversity as a catalyst for growth, and strive for excellence in every endeavor. Her dynamic keynote presentations resonate deeply with diverse audiences, from corporate leaders seeking to foster resilience within their teams to individuals navigating personal hurdles.
Book this SpeakerSpeech Topics
The Champion’s Path to Leadership and Drive
The Strategies and Tools for Everyone to Be a Champion and Increase Productivity and the Bottom Line
Champions are crafted through discipline, perseverance, and an unyielding commitment to excellence—traits that Nikki Stone personified in her Olympic journey. In this keynote, discover how to harness these qualities to foster a culture of high performance and leadership within your organization. Nikki imparts how the relentless pursuit of goals underpins strong leadership, especially under pressure.
- Attendees will learn how to:
- Embrace change and drive innovation without losing momentum.
- Integrate critical success factors from sports into business dynamics.
- Utilize champion-level tools to rejuvenate and advance after setbacks.
- Develop robust goals that amplify profit margins.
- Strategically plan and seize new opportunities in your field.
- Cultivate passion and leadership to bolster retention and engagement.
- Promote personal accountability for collective success.
- Master stress management techniques for high-stakes environments.
- Navigate and succeed in competitive landscapes.
Nikki’s engaging narrative provides a blueprint for translating athletic success into business achievements, inspiring participants to explore their maximum potential.
The Art of Adapting to Change & Adversity Comeback
The Strategies and Secrets to Resilience, Revival, and Renewal
Resilience is the hallmark of both Olympic champions and top-tier professionals. Nikki Stone showcases the art of bouncing back from challenges through a focused, disciplined approach to personal and professional hurdles. Her keynote unpacks the power of resilience, using her story of a remarkable comeback from potential career-ending injuries as a foundation.
In this presentation, Nikki elaborates on:
- Establishing a crystal-clear vision and unwavering focus on objectives.
- Encouraging relentless perseverance towards achieving these objectives.
- Sustaining a champion’s mindset, even under adverse conditions.
- Building a supportive network to foster success.
Nikki’s journey—ignoring the advice of over ten doctors who suggested she quit—culminates in her winning America’s first gold medal in aerial skiing. She translates these experiences into a framework for attendees, emphasizing how to craft a leadership path marked by resilience, strategic planning, and team support.
Learn how to thrive amidst adversity and inspire a culture of persistent excellence and innovation within your organization.
Building a Winning Team
How To Create a Results-Driven Team With Purpose, Focus, and Balanced Leadership
In this compelling keynote, Nikki Stone draws parallels between the high-performance environment of Olympic teams and successful business teams. She outlines how the principles of Olympic-level teamwork—clarity in roles, effective communication, and mutual support—can be transformative when applied to corporate settings.
Key takeaways include:
- Implementing effective leadership and participatory styles that enhance team dynamics.
- Identifying and aligning with the needs of team members.
- Communicating visions clearly to ensure comprehensive understanding and engagement.
- Extracting and optimizing the best qualities from team members.
- Building trust and empathy within teams to foster a supportive work environment.
- Crafting strategies for inclusive participation and commitment.
- Utilizing differences as strengths to enhance team performance.
- Effective feedback mechanisms to nurture growth and improvement.
- Leveraging diversity to forge innovative solutions and creative problem-solving.
Nikki’s strategies focus on elevating individual contributions that, in synergy, enhance the overall performance and satisfaction of the team. Her approach helps organizations cultivate teams not just equipped to achieve but to excel with a sense of pride and ownership.
