Ximena Vengoechea

Experience the life-changing power of resting your mind, body, and spirit. Based on her forthcoming book, rest expert and author Ximena Vengoechea guides audiences through proven methods for relaxation and renewal, including meditative activities, sound, visualizations, time in nature, and more. In this signature keynote, she’ll share restful practices to incorporate into everyday life. She’ll also offer guidance on how to set healthy boundaries and overcome obstacles preventing meaningful rest in a world obsessed with productivity. And she’ll share her own journey in finding ways to live a more restful life. This talk is a necessary antidote to burnout culture and an invitation to find joy, balance, and energy through the transformative power of rest.

In this keynote based on her book, Listen Like You Mean It, Ximena Vengoechea reveals tips and tricks for how to be a more effective listener, including how to cultivate a listening mindset, how to identify unmet needs in conversation, and how our own default listening mode can get in the way of connecting with others. Audience members will leave understanding the most common obstacles to effective listening as well as Silicon Valley tested tips to improve their communication, collaboration, conflict management, and interpersonal relationships. This talk is relevant for interpersonal relationships in a variety of settings—in the workplace, at home, among friends, family, etc.

Many of us struggle with what Buddhists call “monkey minds”: over- active minds that are restless, distractible, and unfocused. These active thought patterns—a mix of mundanities, negative self-talk, and self-doubt—can make it challenging to let go and relax. Thinking can quickly turn into overthinking: questioning, spiraling, ruminating, and getting stuck in unhelpful, and unrelaxing, thought patterns. In this talk, rest expert and author Ximena Vengoechea shares powerful techniques to quiet your mind wherever you are. Audiences will learn how to turn down the noise in our heads, make space for serenity, and begin to find peace of mind.

When was the last time you played? If you’re like most of us, it’s probably been a while. Many of us stop playing as we grow older: Who has time for a drawing class or bike ride when a deadline is looming? Who can curl up with a good book when the kids need their lunches packed and clothing washed? Responsibility, that hallmark of adulthood, regularly stops us from making time to de-stress and play. Yet contrary to popular belief, play isn’t just for kids. In this talk, Ximena reminds us of the many benefits of play, from creativity to relaxation and a stronger sense of self. She outlines the play-rest connection, and how play can be a meaningful form of rest and recovery. She also helps us to reconnect with our childhood play impulses, and rediscover the activities in which we are free to play and be ourselves. This talk is a chance to rekindle hobbies, pastimes, and games long forgotten in the name of relaxation, ease, fun, and joy.

As gatherings happen through the intermediary of technology and as a world that is permanently broadcasting thwarts our ability to listen, Ximena Vengoechea equips audiences with tools and techniques for tackling the difficult conversations we need to have. In this workshop style session, she outlines the environmental, topical, and relational hurdles keeping people from becoming empathetic listeners and helps audiences cultivate a listening mindset. What is the right setting for a difficult conversation? How can you manage taboo topics? And how can you gracefully exit or hit pause when a conversation crosses a boundary? Ximena will equip audiences with tools and techniques for tackling the difficult conversations we need to have.