PSASA Cape Town Meeting Review
Gavin Keller’s Brain Processing & Sensory Integration Keynote
By Bill Russell
10 February 2014
Gavin is extremely passionate about teaching, child development and personal inter-action. His message was relevant for everyone who is thinking of becoming a parent, has children or was once a child themselves. But how does he measure up against Bruce Springsteen? Getting to see two experts in their fields within a two week span was an awesome experience so thought I’d kill two birds with one stone on this review. Whether your ride is rock & roll or brain processing & sensory integration – it doesn’t get any better than this.
Rating: 1 (Low) to 5 (High)
| Category |
The Boss | The Principal |
| Expert in Field | 5 | 5 |
| Kept Audience Captivated | 5 | 5 |
| Platform Skills | 5 | 5 |
| Valuable Lessons for Speakers | 5 | 5 |
| Value for Money | 5 | 5 |
| Kick-ass Horn Section | 5 | 1 |
Both offered a fabulous night of non-stop, thought-provoking, crowd-pleasing entertainment. Bruce played for 3:05 with a 6-song encore and Gavin kept strong through 90 minutes with an additional 20 minutes of solid Q&A. Both filled the house and owned their audiences from the moment they hit the stage bringing the crowd to their feet many times throughout the show. I could have listened to either of them for another hour and still wanted more.
Gavin gave many great tips on keeping an audience/classroom focused, energised and enthused throughout with incredible lessons on how to make your speech memorable for more than 40 minutes – or 40 days. Like Bruce he uses simple stories to bring clarity to his message.
Bruce had an 18-member band behind him whereas Gavin only had two train whistles and a few stuffed animals. Though the stuffed animals really helped progress his show, his skills on the train whistles were a far cry from what the E Street Band’s brass section produced to rock the show. As much as he really established himself as a top performer, Gavin would never be able to handle the sax solo on Tenth Avenue Freeze-out using a train whistle.
Conclusion: Bruce is still the greatest performer on this earth but Gavin is easily one of the best speakers I’ve ever had the privilege to watch. I would stand in-line to watch either of them perform again and look forward to the next opportunity.
Bill Russell
Cape Chapter
Future Options
www.future-options.net