Dr. Demers is available to speak to your group, team or organization, in person or via Zoom. No fees for public and nonprofit organizations.

Below are some of the topics he can address. Let him know if you would like a topic tailored to your group.

For more info, visit DrDavidDemers.com, or e-mail [email protected], or call/text 623-363-4668
Lecture/Discussion Topics for Beginning Real Estate Investors Lecture/Discussion Topics for Working Professionals and Business Executives
  • 9 Lessons of Power. This lecture/discussion provides a quick summary of the nine lessons in Dr. Demers's book of the same name, which are grouped under four general headings:
          (I)   Lessons to Enhance Your Power with Others
              1. Principles Fortify and Empower You
              2. Empower Others to Empower Yourself
         (II) Lessons to Prevent You from Losing Power
              3. Envy, Loyalty and Greed Trump Principles
              4. Don't Gossip or Talk Politics and Religion
         (III) Lessons to Protect You from Your Adversaries
              5. How to Deal with Bullies and Mean Bosses
              6. Never Overestimate the Morality of Adversaries
         (IV) Lessons to Protect You from Your Organization
              7. Organizations Emphasize Control, Not Freedom
              8. The Bigger the Organization, the Greater the Conflict
              9. Organizations Emphasize Winning over Morality
  • How Ethical Are You? Almost everyone thinks they are moral, ethical and principled. But research shows that most people overestimate their morality. Even convicts think they are more moral than the average person, according to research. Would you take a bribe if you were paid $1 million and the chances of getting caught were slim? This lecture/discussion is designed to get professionals and business executives thinking about how committed they are to their principles and their organization's code of ethics. It also addresses the impact that unprincipled behavior can have on your mental health, how others perceive you, and on your career. The discussion can be very lively.
  • Please Don’t Mob Me! Public universities and school systems are highly susceptible to workplace mobbing, because tenured faculty have a right to due process and that makes it difficult to fire them. But workplace mobbing is not unique to the field of education. Any organization — large or small, public or private — can engage in mobbing, which is characterized by attempts to harass workers or members until they quit or are forced out. Contrary to popular opinion, the people most likely to be mobbed aren't the incompetent, but usually the most competent and successful employees. I’ll review some of the research in this growing field of study and talk about my experiences at two different universities.
  • Are Corporate Bureaucracies Repressive? The growth of the bureaucratic form of organization is present in everyone's life. But is it discouraging democratic processes and individual initiative? Bureaucracies can be democratized, but the leaders of such organizations typically have shown little interest in decentralizing power. Tips for thriving in a bureaucracy are offered.

Lecture/Discussion Topics for School Teachers, Professors and Administrators
  • How Critical Can Faculty Be? This lecture/discussion examines the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Demers v. Austin (2014), which was the first time the courts extended constitutional protection to faculty (K–12 teachers and professors) for speech outside of the classroom. It protects shared governance on issues of public concern, meaning that faculty are allowed to criticize administrative policies and decisions without fear of reprisal, unless the criticism severely disrupts the organization’s ability to achieve its educational goals. The decision only applies to nine states in the West. Faculty in the other 41 states have no protection outside of the classroom.
  • Please Don’t Mob Me! Public universities and school systems are highly susceptible to workplace mobbing, because tenured faculty have a right to due process and that makes it difficult to fire them. But workplace mobbing is not unique to the field of education. Any organization — large or small, public or private — can engage in mobbing, which is characterized by attempts to harass workers or members until they quit or are forced out. I’ll review some of the research in this growing field of study and talk about my experiences at two different universities.

Lecture/Discussion Topics for College Students, Professors and Administrators
  • Are University Bureaucracies Repressive? The growth of the bureaucratic form of organization is driving the anti-Enlightenment trend, because it discourages democratic processes and individual initiative. Bureaucracies can be democratized, but the leaders of such organizations — which include scholarly administrators who even teach the value of democracy in their classes — have shown little interest in decentralizing power. Tips for thriving in a bureaucracy are discussed.

Lecture/Discussion Topics for Professors and Administrators
  • Why Are the Social Sciences Politically Impotent? Although social scientists have been very effective in generating knowledge about society and social problems, they have had a very limited impact on the public policymaking process, according to a large body of research in public policy administration. Policymakers routinely ignore such research unless it supports their policies or interests. I have characterized the political impotence problem as an “ivory tower of babel.” A major goal of universities is to produce knowledge that solves social problems, but ironically they usually do not reward faculty who produce scholarship that attempts to influence the public policymaking process or solve social problems. I’ll discuss some of the ways in which universities can bolster the impact of the social sciences and help promote real-world change.
  • Are Universities Really Embracing the Enlightenment? Despite the Demers court ruling, there is a growing anti-Enlightenment trend in America that poses a major threat to the core values that defined this country, including free speech, democracy, due process, and equality. This trend is driven in large part by anti-intellectual and reactionary political movements in America, which embrace social control over social tolerance and call for the infusion of dogma into politics. But university administrators also are partly responsible. They are monetizing their institutions, which means downsizing or eliminating non-profit-generating units that historically have played key roles in defending and promoting Enlightenment ideals. The most vulnerable disciplines are housed in the humanities, social sciences, and the library sciences. This includes journalism, English, philosophy, history, sociology and foreign languages. Enrollments, degrees, and the number of faculty and programs have declined in either actual or relative terms or both over the past two or three decades. I’ll discuss some of the ways in which universities can promote Enlightenment ideals.

Lecture/Discussion Topics for Middle Schools, High Schools, Community Groups
  • How the Mass Media Really Work (Introductory discussion of the role of mass media in society)
  • Is the News Really Objective? (The mainstream bias and how the news helps promote social order)
  • Are Social Media Destroying Society and Relationships? (And what to do about it)
   
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