Creative Talks & Workshops | Dan Nelken

Talks & Workshops

When it comes to professional development, creatives have been a neglected bunch.

And I’m committed to doing whatever I can to help fill this void.

I’m glad you are too.

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Companies I’ve worked with: 

Creative professional development has been a black hole for the marketing industry. In fact, I think I made up the term “creative professional development”.

After 20+ years as a professional creative and now author and speaker, I’ve built the structure and tools I wish I’d had earlier in my career.

And so, I now help companies and organizations give their teams what they need to deliver stronger ideas, faster, with less creative pain.

Talks can be virtual, but nothing beats an in-person experience. IRL > URL every single time.

For all inquiries, email dan@nelkencreative.com

Perfect for:

Creative team offsites

In-house agency summits

Conference keynotes

Professional development days

Team-building. Minus the trust falls.

Dan's workshop was engaging, informative, and fun. I left with many new tools in my copywriting belt and have been ...
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copywriter
lululemon
Dan's workshop was engaging, informative, and fun. I left with many new tools in my copywriting belt and have been reaching for them often. Dan curated several examples of 'copy in the wild' for each technique he discussed and shared relatable stories from throughout his career as a professional creative.
copywriter
lululemon
Dan’s talk showed me ​​ that I'm not alone in the roller coaster of emotions that is the creative process...
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Jenn Hicks
Creative Director, Will Creative
Dan’s talk showed me​​ that I'm not alone in the roller coaster of emotions that is the creative process – normalizing the doubt and insecurities as par for the course really helps my perspective (and me keep my calm) when i'm in the thick of it!
Jenn Hicks
Creative Director, Will Creative
On a Friday afternoon in Germany for our in-house agency, and an unGodly hour in the morning for Dan...
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Bren Brennan,
N26
On a Friday afternoon in Germany for our in-house agency, and an unGodly hour in the morning for Dan in Canada, our 20 creatives listened intently to killer tips and tricks on how to hack creativity. It wasn’t only the copywriters that were lapping it up, the designers and leads were all queuing up to get their questions answered from someone who has genuinely been there and done that… because he speaks the language and issues of creativity to creatives like a brother from another mother.
Bren Brennan,
N26
Thank you for the fabulous workshop! The writers were super engaged, which was awesome to see, and many mentioned specifically ...
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Esmé Hogeveen
lululemon
Thank you for the fabulous workshop! The writers were super engaged, which was awesome to see, and many mentioned specifically appreciating your presentation approach. Thanks again -- that was such a delight and I personally learned and enjoyed it so much, too! Super energizing.
Esmé Hogeveen
lululemon
THANK YOU!!! The praise has been coming in nonstop. Your talk was definitely the highlight of a very successful conference. ...
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Julee Shapiro
Mattel
THANK YOU!!! The praise has been coming in nonstop. Your talk was definitely the highlight of a very successful conference. You have so many Mattel copywriter fans!
Julee Shapiro
Mattel
How do you get uber cool Gen Z and Millennial creatives in Berlin to not check their phones for 30...
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How do you get uber cool Gen Z and Millennial creatives in Berlin to not check their phones for 30 minutes? On a Friday afternoon in Germany for our in-house agency, and an unGodly hour in the morning for Dan in Canada, our 20 creatives listened intently to killer tips and tricks on how to hack creativity. It wasn’t only the copywriters that were lapping it up, the designers and leads were all queuing up to get their questions answered from someone who has genuinely been there and done that…because he speaks the language and issues of creativity to creatives like a brother from another mother.
WE LOVED IT.
WE LOVED IT.
Not just the regular creative benefited from your talk, account managers did too. One of them came up...
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Not just the regular creative benefited from your talk, account managers did too. One of them came up to me after and said she was very touched (that was the word she used) by your talk. It really hit a nerve because she never gets time to have her “creative working time”. She’s constantly in meetings. So, when we creatives are allowed to say “I work best at the beginning of the day”, she’s not allowed to block her calendar. She needs to be available. So, she needs to be creative and be connecting all the dots at night when she’s in the worst creative state of mind.
The amount of stuff he covered in a short amount of time was incredible. I like how down-to-earth he...
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The amount of stuff he covered in a short amount of time was incredible. I like how down-to-earth he is, yet knows his stuff. It wasn't him so much trying to convince anybody or trying to sell anything, more like a talk between peers. The balance of speed vs. depth seemed very appropriate, though the start was perhaps a little fast – would've loved 1-2 more specific methods, just to hone in on the point. But it's nit-picky! Mark and I still talked about him when we were drunk later in the evening, that's a benchmark I guess.
Dan offers warm and engaging copywriting tips and techniques that I felt like I could use immediately in my work...
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Dan offers warm and engaging copywriting tips and techniques that I felt like I could use immediately in my work. I really appreciated his humbleness, positive energy and candor!”

The Newsletter

I write stuff to help people (myself included) build creative confidence.