It's not can you do it, it's WILL you.
Erika Cramer is a leadership and performance speaker, mindset expert, and Penguin Random House bestselling author who helps individuals and organisations build the confidence, resilience, and mental toughness to perform at their best when it matters most.
She grew up in foster care, joined the U.S. Army at 17, broke her back in a near-fatal accident, and was widowed, all before the age of 25. She rebuilt from all of it, and now she helps others do the same. That experience is the foundation of everything she brings to a stage.
A U.S. Army veteran who served for a decade, TEDx speaker, and currently completing a Bachelor's in Psychotherapy, Erika brings a psychology-backed, research-driven approach to every stage, combined with military discipline and over a decade of coaching leaders and teams globally. Her latest book, Becoming Magnetic, was published by Penguin Random House in 2025.
She works with leaders and organisations across every level and industry, delivering keynotes that don't just motivate but move people into practical, tangible action that lasts long after the event ends.
Talking Points
Show Up, Stand Up, Speak Up: taking up space & owning your presence
How to unapologetically show up, silence self-doubt, and take your rightful space in a world that benefits from you staying small.Show Up, Stand Up, Speak Up: taking up space & owning your presence
Women are often taught—whether subtly or explicitly—to shrink themselves, to be agreeable, to not take up too much space. This conditioning affects everything—from how we speak up in meetings to how we advocate for ourselves in our careers, businesses, and personal lives.
- Women are interrupted 2.1 times more often than men in professional settings. (Journal of Language & Social Psychology)
- Men are 33% more likely to self-promote their accomplishments than women. (Harvard Business Review)
- 90% of women experience impostor syndrome at some point in their careers. (KPMG Women’s Leadership Study)
The impact? Brilliant, capable women hesitate. They stay silent. They wait for permission. But success—whether in leadership, business, or life doesn’t come from waiting to be chosen. It comes from choosing yourself, stepping forward, and taking your space unapologetically.
In this powerful keynote, Erika Cramer—bestselling author of Confidence Feels Like Sh*t and Becoming Magnetic, TEDx speaker, and global women's empowerment coach—will break down the societal barriers holding women back and provide the exact strategies to show up fully, own their space, and communicate with confidence and conviction.
Audience members will leave with:
1. Breaking the “Good Girl” Conditioning – How to unlearn the subconscious programming that keeps women quiet, agreeable, and hesitant.
2. The Truth About Imposter Syndrome – Why women struggle with feeling “not enough” and how to rewire the mind for self-belief.
3. Speaking with Power & Presence – Practical strategies to use voice, body language, and energy to command attention and respect.
4. Overcoming the Fear of Judgment – How to stop worrying about being “too much” and start showing up fully.
5. How to Stop Asking for Permission & Start Taking Action – The mindset shift that allows women to step forward without waiting to be chosen.
Building Unshakable Confidence & Self-Belief
Confidence isn’t something you’re born with—it’s something you build. Learn how to master it, embody it, and show up unapologetically in every area of life.Building Unshakable Confidence & Self-Belief
Let’s get one thing straight—most people have confidence all wrong.
We’ve been told that confidence is:
- Something you either have or you don’t.
- A feeling that magically appears when you’re “ready.”
- Built on success, validation, or getting everything right.
That’s a lie.
Confidence isn’t about being fearless, and it sure as hell isn’t about waiting for the perfect moment. It’s a practice. It’s built through action, through showing up before you feel ready, and through learning to trust yourself even when the fear kicks in.
But here’s the kicker—most people don’t even realise they’re waiting.
- 70% of professionals experience impostor syndrome at some point in their careers. (International Journal of Behavioural Science)
- Women apply for 20% fewer promotions than men due to confidence gaps. (Harvard Business Review)
- Confidence isn’t something you “get” after success—it’s what creates success in the first place.
And I get it—because I’ve been there. I didn’t “find” confidence, I built it.
I know what it’s like to feel unworthy, to second-guess yourself at every turn, to shrink instead of taking up space. And I also know what it takes to flip that script, step into your power, and build the kind of confidence that doesn’t just change how you feel—it changes your entire life.
This keynote isn’t about “just believe in yourself” fluff. I’m here to teach you the real, practical, no-BS strategies to break through self-doubt, stop overthinking, and start taking bold action. Because the truth is—you don’t need permission. You don’t need to feel ready. You just need to decide.
And when you do? Everything changes.
Attendees will leave with:
1. How to Stop Overthinking & Take Immediate Action – The #1 confidence-blocker is hesitation—this talk will teach how to move despite fear and doubt.
2. A Proven Framework to Build Confidence Like a Muscle – Attendees will walk away with real, practical tools to implement daily.
3. How to Stop Letting Imposter Syndrome Call the Shots – A mindset shift that immediately reduces self-doubt and comparison.
4. The Ability to Speak Up, Show Up, and Take Up Space – How to own your voice and stop playing small in leadership, business, and life.
5. A Personalised Confidence Roadmap – Attendees will identify their unique confidence gaps and create a personal strategy for growth.
The High Performance Mindset: How High Performers Build the Grit, Self-Belief, and Mental Toughness to Lead at Their Best
The gap between a high performer and someone performing at their highest level is rarely about skill. It is almost never about experience or intelligence. What sits in that gap is mindset. The habits of thought, the belief that there is more than one way to win, and the mental toughness to keep showing up when the conditions are not ideal.The High Performance Mindset: How High Performers Build the Grit, Self-Belief, and Mental Toughness to Lead at Their Best
This keynote gives audiences a clear, practical framework for the mindset that makes high performance repeatable, not a one-quarter sprint that ends in burnout. Audiences leave knowing exactly what their best looks like, what gets in the way of it, and how to come back to it on the days that test them.
Key Takeaways:
• A clear understanding of what separates sustained high performance from short-term effort, and the specific mindset habits that make the difference in the way they lead, sell, communicate, and show up every day.
• Erika's framework for building real self-belief through evidence and experience, not positive thinking, so audiences have a tool they can actually use the moment they walk back into a high-pressure room.
• A practical grit, hope, and resilience system that produces stronger results and protects people from the burnout cycle, so they perform at their best for the long term.
Ideal for: Sales kickoffs, annual conferences, leadership summits, employee development days, association conferences, and any high-energy event where the room needs to leave fired up and equipped. Works for any industry, any seniority level, any audience size.
The Resilient Leader: How Senior Leaders Build the Mental Toughness and Presence to Lead at the Highest Level
At the highest level of leadership, the technical skills that got you there stop being the thing that keeps you there. What keeps you there is harder to teach and almost never trained. The ability to lead through uncertainty without losing your people. To make a hard call under pressure and stand fully behind it. To hold your nerve when everything around you is shifting and your team is watching to see if you will.The Resilient Leader: How Senior Leaders Build the Mental Toughness and Presence to Lead at the Highest Level
This keynote is built for the room of people responsible for the performance of others. It gives senior leaders both the inner framework for leading themselves through pressure and the practical tools for creating the conditions where their teams can perform at their highest level under it.
Key Takeaways:
• A clear thinking pattern for leading through setbacks, the one that separates leaders who grow through pressure from the ones who get diminished by it, applied directly to the realities of senior leadership.
• Erika's framework for building the personal performance identity that drives leadership presence, executive trust, and the kind of calm that holds a team together when the room gets hard.
• A practical model for building psychological safety in their teams, so resilience is not just an individual leadership skill but a cultural one that protects performance and reduces burnout across the whole business.
Ideal for: Executive retreats, C-suite events, leadership development programs, management off-sites, sales leadership conferences, senior team away days, and any room where the audience is leading other leaders.
The Mental Edge: How Leaders Build the Mindset to Navigate Change, Overcome Adversity, and Perform at Their Best
The difference between a leader who performs through change and one who gets stuck in it is not experience, resources, or even talent. It is the mental habits they have built and the way they have learned to respond when their circumstances stop cooperating. Most people wait for conditions to improve before they perform at their best. The leaders with the real edge have learned how to perform regardless.The Mental Edge: How Leaders Build the Mindset to Navigate Change, Overcome Adversity, and Perform at Their Best
This keynote gives the room a practical, evidence-based way to build that edge. It is not a motivational talk. It is a working framework for showing up, leading well, and making good decisions through change, uncertainty, and the high-pressure periods every team eventually runs into.
Key Takeaways:
• A practical way to feel the discomfort of change, uncertainty, or adversity fully and still move toward what matters, without the toxic positivity or push-through-it advice that quietly leads to burnout.
• Erika's radical responsibility framework, drawn from her TEDx talk and a decade of global coaching, gives leaders the tools to stop waiting for conditions to improve and start leading effectively through them right now.
• Daily mindset habits that build the mental edge to sustain performance through change, challenge, and high-pressure environments, so teams come out of difficult periods stronger rather than depleted.
Ideal for: Annual conferences, leadership summits, change management events, mental health and wellbeing days, R U OK Day and World Mental Health Month programming, resilience programs, and any event where the audience is navigating real change, uncertainty, or challenge.
Lead the Inner Game: Identity, Self-Leadership, and the Mindset Behind High-Performing Teams
In this interactive keynote, U.S. Army veteran, mindset coach, and bestselling author Erika Cramer explores the inner game behind effective leadership. Drawing on psychology, lessons from elite performance, and her own experience leading under pressure, Erika takes audiences through the powerful link between identity and leadership, and why the way a leader sees themselves shapes how they communicate, respond, and lead their team. Through practical reflection and a live interactive exercise, attendees explore the gap between who they are today and the leader they need to be under pressure, leaving with a tangible identity-based tool they can apply immediately in how they lead themselves, support their teams, and stay in the game to win.Lead the Inner Game: Identity, Self-Leadership, and the Mindset Behind High-Performing Teams
WHAT YOUR AUDIENCE WALKS AWAY WITH
- The critical link between identity and leadership performance, drawn from Carl Rogers' real self versus ideal self psychology and Bandura's self-efficacy research, that explains why two leaders with identical skills produce completely different results in their teams.
- Erika's identity-based leadership framework, refined across a decade of coaching leaders globally, giving audiences a tangible tool for accessing the version of themselves required to lead well under pressure
- A clear, personalised self-leadership practice for closing the gap between who they are today and the leader they are capable of becoming, with tools they can apply immediately in how they lead themselves and the people who depend on them
Ideal for: Leadership summits, annual conferences, sales kickoffs, executive retreats, management off-sites, leadership development programs, and any event where the audience leads people. Sport, performance, or team-themed openers can be tailored to client briefs when relevant.
Video
Erika Cramer | Confidence Coach & Personal Brand Expert | Saxton Speakers
Erika Cramer's showreel captures what makes her one of the most compelling Speakers working in the confidence and self-leadership space. Military discipline, clinical depth, and a message built for high-achieving audiences.Erika Cramer | Why Confident Female Leaders Still Doubt Themselves On Stage | Saxton Speakers
What's the real reason most women leaders don't feel confident? It's not skill. It's not experience. It's not the room. It's self-trust, and nobody's taught them how to build it. In this keynote clip, Erika Cramer shares a powerful message on leadership confidence, self-trust, and high-performance communication for women navigating the highest levels of their careers.About Erika Cramer | Saxton Speakers
Erika Cramer does not speak about radical responsibility and self-belief because she read about them. She speaks about them because she has lived them. This interview traces the experiences that shaped her message and the career she has built from it.How Radical Responsibility Can Change Your Life | Erika Cramer | TEDxCecilStreet
What would it mean for the answer to living our happiest, fullest and most desirable life to have been within us all along? The world needs us more than ever and we need radical self-responsibility. Erika Cramer is an award winning coach, speaker, and best selling author. She's turned her traumatic past into a beacon of hope for women worldwide. Known for her raw and unapologetic style, Erika has inspired millions to reclaim their confidence and transform their lives. She successfully runs a global business dedicated to women's empowerment, hosts an award-winning podcast, and is pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in psychotherapy. A true embodiment of turning trauma into triumph, Erika empowers her community to take rebellious, radical responsibility for their lives.Erika Cramer | We don't need more information, we need APPLICATION | Saxton Speakers
Erika is one of today's most in-demand keynote speakers on leadership and confidence, trusted by global organizations to help leaders speak up with authority, lead under pressure, and show up at the level they've actually earned.Audio
We loved every minute. We’ve had such amazing feedback; our teams are still talking about Erika. ... keep reading Westpac
Erika , I just wanted to say a huge thank you. You absolutely hit the brief at our Aje Retail Leadership Briefing. The team was genuinely buzzing after your presentation, and the energy in the room carried well beyond your session. Your ability to connect, inspire, and get everyone thinking differently was exactly what we hoped for. The feedback has been incredible, and I know the team will carry those messages of confidence, resilience and self-belief with them into the Golden Quarter. We are so grateful to have had you with us , you were a definite highlight! It’s going to be hard to raise the bar next time.
Our delegates absolutely raved about Erika. She delivered 100% to the brief, inspiring everyone in the room to step into their confidence as a hairdresser. Her energy, authenticity, and connection left a lasting mark on our team and salons. We couldn’t have asked for more and would love to work with her again.
What can I say!! What a woman and what a message…. Erika came and delivered her gold to our emerging leaders and then as a keynote for us at our conference. Nearly 350 women were captivated, leaning in and learning, embracing the new ‘sheros’ that she was showing them how to step into. Practical, no nonsense wisdom, skills and tools that will take them out of that room and into everyday life in a bigger, more confident way. Erika, you are a light in the world, your impact far exceeds any talk or book, you get into the heart and souls of these women and put them onto the road of finding themselves. Thank you for blessing our team and I cannot wait till we work together again.
Erika’s keynote was truly inspiring and the energy she brought to the room was incredible. Attendees left feeling empowered, motivated, and ready to take up space. She delivered exactly what every event organizer hopes for—connection, authenticity, and lasting impact. Our feedback was overflowing with praise: ‘Erika was fantastic,’ ‘A real driver of change,’ ‘Truly inspiring.’ She embodies the reason I love what I do—creating experiences that move people. It was an absolute pleasure having her with us.
I want to extend our deepest gratitude for Erika's incredible contribution to this years Confab event. Her insights, energy, and generosity in sharing her expertise truly elevated the experience for everyone involved. Erika's session was a highlight, sparking meaningful conversations and leaving attendees inspired and informed. We’ve received wonderful feedback, and it’s clear her voice made a lasting impact. Erika, thank you for being part of Confab and for helping us create a space where ideas flourish and connections grow. We’re so grateful for your time, effort, and enthusiasm.
Her passion for empowering women is infectious, and her story and energy captivates any audience. It's always an absolute pleasure to work with you Erika!
The session allowed our team to connect and learn from one another, Erika carefully crafted the content so it was suitable for our audience, it was engaging and practical and supported by a plethora of useful resources. Erika's infectious positive energy carried us through the session with ease and allowed our team to open up and share personal experiences without judgment. Looking forward to working with Erika again.
Raw vulnerability, warmth, to face such adversity and come through STRONG, beautiful, glowing and wanting to help others. Hilarious one minute, crying the next. Erika, you had us in the palm of your hand, spellbound. Infectious delivery, entertaining, delightful and so real. Thank you for sharing your incredible story and gold nuggets of inspiration.
If I’m going to take confidence advice from anybody, I’m going to take it from Erika Cramer. She walks her walk and talks her talk when it comes to encouraging us all to step boldly into our own power and grab life with both hands.
Erika’s no-B.S. approach reveals how literally anyone can build and access confidence on the daily.
Erika, you are a light in the world; your impact far exceeds any talk or book. You get into the hearts and souls of these women and put them on the road to finding themselves. Thank you for blessing our team cannot wait till we work together again.
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