Dave’s experience comes from a wide variety of creative careers. As well as being an advertising creative director, he’s been a film director, radio broadcaster, poet, stand-up comedian, session musician, record producer, illustrator, and university lecturer.

He started out as Creative Director at media companies Mr Smith, and MRM Worldwide, payment company POKE, and advertising business OgilvyOne.

He went on to become Head of Culture and Innovation at ESI Media – the company behind newspapers such as The Independent, Head of Ideas at the School of Communication Arts, and Head of TV at the marketing organisation, The Drum, as well as being their Editor at Large.

Since then, he has used his vast experience to work with other companies to help them use creativity more effectively, through talks, workshops, and consultancies. In 2016 he founded OpenForIdeas.org, an online magazine to help professionals become more creative, and in 2019 he became a visiting Professor at Kingston School of Art.

Dave Birss | Podcasts

David was the presenter of the Future of Advertising podcast, where he aimed to demystify creativity in a professional setting.

He has recently launched a new podcast called The Silicon Synapse in which he co-hosts alongside Dr Shama Rahman. Together they dive into the fascinating intersection of AI, neuroscience, and creativity.

Dave Birss | Books

Dave is a successful author, having published a number of books:

In 2012, Dave published his first book called User Guide to the Creative Mind. This book is a practical guide to understanding and harnessing creativity. Its straightforward, conversational tone makes it accessible to many looking to learn how the mind works when generating ideas. David shared insights from his career in advertising, helping readers understand the creative process and how to overcome blocks. This book was updated and republished in 2021.

Dave second book Iconic Advantage®: Don’t Chase the New, Innovate the Old  was published in 2018., Here he encourages businesses to not become enamoured by shiny new objects, overlooking what they have already. In Iconic Advantage® he suggests a new approach that allows companies to leverage what they already have to create lasting differentiation and deeper relationships with their customers.

How to Get Great Ideas: A System For Smart, Extraordinary Thinking was the third book that Dave published. It presents a systematic approach to creativity and idea generation. Dave breaks down the components of creative thinking into a more structured process, offering practical strategies to help individuals and teams come up with great ideas. The book emphasizes that creativity isn’t just for “creative” people but can be learned and applied by anyone.

In 2022, Dave co-authored Friction: Adding Value by Making People Work For It with Philippa Wagner. Together they explore the concept of “friction” in business, creativity, and customer experience. While friction is often seen as a negative, the authors argue that it can be a force for innovation and differentiation.

Dave Birss | Training Courses

Dave is also a very successful course leader, and currently has half a dozen Generative AI courses on LinkedIn and is their top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Course Leader with over 100,000 students.

He has created numerous courses for LinkedIn Learning, with his most recent offerings focused on leveraging generative AI (like ChatGPT) for real benefit, and finding the perfect combination of human creativity and technology partnerships.

Dave strongly believes that the best way to use Generative AI is to augment people’s abilities rather than to simply outsource their tasks to technology. Having super-charged employees will lead to far more business success than simply trying to cut costs.

Dave Birss | Speaking Topics

Dave is a popular speaker who brings value to organisations with his insights on innovation, creativity and generative AI. These are some of his popular keynotes:

– The Sensible Approach to AI
– Generative AI for Better Ideas
– Using Friction to Add Meaning
– Boost Your Teams Creativity

Dave Birss | Workshops

Prompt Engineering: A 1/2 day training session, equipping delegates with proven prompt frameworks to consistently get the most out of AI. Through this workshop, Dave aims to help drive innovation, improve quality, increase efficiency, enhance service, minimise risk, drive standardisation, get ahead of competitors, achieve greater ROI, and future-proof organisations.

AI For Teams: A 1/2 day training session, aiming to enhance your team’s abilities with ChatGPT and other generative AI tools. Benefits include delighting customers, creating consistency, driving innovation, increased output quality, accelerated workflows, less errors, and more business opportunities.

Managing AI: A 1/2 day training session, helping to equip and manage teams to get the most from generative AI. Dave aims to help you get ahead of any changes, avoid wasted investments, minimise risks, become an AI trailblazer, realise untapped potential, future-proof your business, and lead with confidence.

Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book generative AI and creativity speaker Dave Birss for your next live event or corporate video.

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