Speaking
Along with being a creator and producer of over 50 educational and promotional film projects for higher education organizations over the past two decades, Mike is also a professional speaker and travels the country empowering others and making a difference for every person in his audience.
In 2007, Mike partnered with renowned academic and researcher Dr. Alan Berkowitz to develop the Response Ability project. Response Ability directly addresses so-called “bystander behavior” – those times when a person observes something, recognizes it to be problematic, but fails to intervene in a constructive way.
“Bystander behavior is when you see, hear or know about something happening that you feel is not right and you do nothing, say nothing,” Mike says. “Increasingly, colleges and universities are recognizing that many of the behavioral problems they struggle with could be effectively minimized by engaging bystanders—these individuals who see a problem, want to do something, but don’t.”
Mike recently published a book written by Dr. Berkowitz on his bystander behavior research. Mike has also produced an award-winning DVD programming package for college students that is being used by 36 NIC/NPC organizations and on more than 100 campuses nationwide. The Response Ability program was used in the curriculum of the 2009 Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute (UIFI) and has received the 2009 Laurel Wreath Award from the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) recognizing the impact of the program on college campuses. It has also won the Willis HRH Fellow Award from the Fraternity Executives Association (FEA).
Now, Mike is available to you and your audience understand the far-reaching impact of bystander behavior. In his interactive keynotes and workshops, he makes a direct appeal to the audience to challenge the negative behaviors they see around them every day.
RESPONSE ABILITY: Transforming Values Into Action
“Nearly every harmful incident on today’s college campus has bystanders,” says Mike Dilbeck, the award-winning filmmaker of Response Ability. “From alcohol abuse, to hazing, to gossip and hate speech, students need to know that speaking up or acting based on their values is the only real way to make the change we need.”
In his keynote and workshops, Mike is helping people from all walks of life understand how seizing upon an opportunity to act can dramatically change their community. He uses video segments from the award-winning Response Ability program to frame the discussion, giving audience members new tools for confronting harmful behavior they see from their peers.
“This is our opportunity to empower the 95-percent of people who make the right choices,” Mike says. “It’s time for them to stand up, say something, and act when they see the other 5-percent making choices that bring down their communities.”
In this challenging program, Mike reveals the barriers many of us feel when we consider whether or not to act. Using interactive methods, he gives audience members the skills and framework upon which to act when they see unhealthy or negative behavior among their peers, on their campus and in society.
The campus keynote or workshop is appropriate for all groups, and it has been especially popular for fraternity and sorority leadership training. Consider it also for residence life training, student athletes, emerging leaders events, peer education groups, wellness programs, and more. Mike can also customize this keynote for any audience, especially to address bystander behavior in the corporate culture and environment.
To see Mike in action, watch the video to the right — a 6-minute clip of highlights from a recent presentation at DePaul University. For Mike’s availability, click here to see his travel and speaking calendar.
Feedback on Mike and his program:
“This program is simply an excellent example of the kind of educational product we think everyone should ensure is presented throughout our organizations and, for that matter, on every campus.”
Hamilton “Toby” Smith, Executive Director for Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity
“Mike’s passion for the topic of bystander behavior was evident throughout his presentation. His key points were illuminated by thoughtful examples that the audience members really responded to. Mike used humor to discuss a very serious subject and that was a big success at our national convention.”
Sandy Davis, Leadership Director, Alpha Delta Pi Sorority
“Mike started a trend on our campus. We are going to continue RESPONSE ABILITY training in small groups this year and I believe that will greatly impact lasting change. The most effective part of the presentation was the defining of bystander behavior along with the video examples. Mike was awesome to work with — I couldn’t have asked for anything better!”
Tom Breunig, Associate Director of Greek Life, University of Arkansas (Fayetteville)
CAMPUSPEAK was founded in 1999 as an agency representing college speakers. Mike joined the CAMPUSPEAK team in 2009. CAMPUSPEAK works exclusively within the higher education community, serving all areas of student life including: fraternity/sorority life, residence life, leadership, athletics, student activities, judicial affairs, student governments, program boards, first-year experience, and health promotions.
To book Mike for your campus-based programs*, contact CAMPUSPEAK:
CAMPUSPEAK, Inc.
P.O. Box 440560 Aurora, Colorado 80044-0560
Phone: (303) 745-5545 Fax: (303) 745-5569
Email: info@campuspeak.com
*If you are not affiliated with higher education and are interested in booking Mike to speak, please click here to contact him directly.
