Dana Ketels

Speaker
Dutch
English
Dana Ketels

Who is Dana Ketels?

Dana is a communication expert who specialises in non-verbal behaviour. She combines her unique knowledge of behaviour, non-verbal communication and stress management to read and interpret people’s motives and interests. She helps people and organisations to realise more personal leadership and results via effective communication.

Her insights in the field of non-verbal communication can regularly be found in the media. She is an active member of the INSA foundation, which works with the University of Amsterdam to conduct and publish scientific research about repetitive micro-movements in the face that offer an insight into the qualities, pitfalls and needs of people when interacting with others. 

In addition, Dana recently received training from Joe Navarro, the former FBI agent and world-renowned expert in body language. This knowledge offers her a solid foundation for the activities she performs at her Impact Academy. She gets people and organisations to examine themselves so that they become more aware about negative patterns of communication and behaviour during highly tense situations. 

As a speaker, Dana uses an interactive approach, and her well established knowledge and experience, to disprove common myths about body language. She helps the audience to retrieve information from people in a manner that is completely new to them and also allows them to examine their own non-verbal impact.

Dana also conducts multiple team buildings and workshops on topics as communication skills, team dynamics, nonverbal communication and facial expressions, interactive body language. Contact us for more info.

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    Non-verbal communication in the face mask society

    Many people say that it is difficult to communicate in a society where everyone wears a face mask. They claim that many aspects of communication are being lost. Why do people say this and is it actually true? After all, we still have a whole body to look at? So what are they missing? This keynote involves travelling through the various domains of non-verbal communication and taking the time to examine the most important part of the body, namely our face.

    What does your face tell others? How significant is the role of human interaction? And how can we continue to connect with one another, and read people’s needs and intentions when they are wearing a face mask?
     

    Reading faces and effective communication

    Body language is an essential part of communication. The ability to respond to things that you see, which are not necessarily expressed, plays an important role in social interactions. Recent scientific research has helped to identify highly-repetitive facial movements that serve as an indicator of someone’s personality. For instance, without you actually realising it, the movements show whether you are analytical or are willing to make compromises. The ability to recognise these - thus far - “concealed” signals will lead to a better understanding of yourself and the person with whom you are conversing. If you speak to someone for five minutes, you will see so many movements in the person’s face that you will be able to gauge certain characteristics of the person in question and thus better control the conversation. During this keynote, you will be taken through the wonderful world of non-verbal communication repertoires, and will also have the opportunity to examine yourself.

    The first impression from another perspective

    What is your non-verbal impact on others? And why is it best for you to remain authentic. Non-verbal signals have an impact on other people’s behaviour. No matter how neutral people try to be, it is very difficult to not show part of your true self when interacting with other people. You will automatically display uncomfortable non-verbal signals and sub-conscious facial expressions, particularly if you are nervous or are speaking. For example, straining the lower eyelids indicates that someone is analysing information, and often leads to tension if it is observed by other people. 
    So how effectively can you positively influence your own first impression and what is your sub-conscious non-verbal influence?

    This keynote examines the issue in closer detail and offers you some very useful tips.
     

    Non-verbal communication during online meetings

    The ability to effectively read non-verbal communication is now more important than ever before. Whether you are meeting with your colleagues, are involved in sales or negotiations, or have to work with a group. At this moment in time, such interactions mainly take place online but will remain hybrid. People’s days are packed with online
    appointments via programmes like Teams, Zoom, Google Hangout, etc. Although you keep going, you notice yourself becoming tired, encounter more and more miscommunication, and are having difficulty understanding what people really mean.

    Have you spoken to someone that keeps looking away, is always laughing or is constantly frowning? What does this mean? We will teach you how to see if tensions are rising, whether you should keep probing or let things settle for a while, how you can read emotions and gain an insight into genuinely connecting with the person you are conversing with. All these aspects are addressed in this online keynote.
     

Dana developed an interactive keynote on “Non-verbal communication during Events” specifically for the annual conference of MPI Belgium. By the end, the enthusiastic participants had received plenty of practical tips on how they could be more welcoming and authentic by better understanding their own body language. 

Gemmeke De Jongh

MPI Belgium

Dana was able to constantly retain my attention, and that of my colleagues, on a Monday morning.  She presented this topic in an educational, fun and interactive manner. The reactions afterwards were very positive.

Ellen Servranckx

DPG Media

Read My Lips

Thank you very much for the very exciting insight. I will be singing her praises because this has been very helpful to me as an intermediary, negotiator, colleague and human being.

Britta Delhouck

Consenso Advocaten