Keynote Speaker · Attention & Focus
Emmy-winning storyteller, keynote speaker, author & musician who helps audiences break the spell of the screen — and reclaim the life on the other side of it.
Signature keynoteBreak the Spell: Reclaim Your Hijacked Attention
Emmy Award winner · Author of 15-Minute Reality Reset · SSRN researcher · Performing musician
Co-author of the Bias Amplification Model — original research, published on SSRN, on how information overload distorts judgment and decisions.
At 72, Ron caught himself surrendering his evenings to a screen — and broke the spell. Two years later: a published book, an academic model, and a soloist's return to the concert stage — at 74.
He closes with live guitar and original songs. The audience doesn't just hear what reclaimed attention makes possible — they witness it.
Attention isn't being lost — it's being taken, by platforms with behavioral scientists on staff whose only job is to hold it. In one keynote, Ron reveals how the hijacking works, why willpower was never going to win, and the structural system that does. Audiences leave with a tool they can use that night.
Most speakers describe transformation. Ron performs it. A classically trained guitarist and singer-songwriter, he weaves live music through the message — and closes on the stage as living proof of what a reclaimed mind can build. It's the moment audiences remember long after the slides fade.
Vivaldi, Guitar Concerto in D — with the New City SinfoniaLive orchestral performance
Bolling, Concerto for Guitar & Jazz Piano — Hispanic DanceClassical meets jazz
A powerhouse of experience, passion, and musicality. Highly recommend Ron for your next keynote.
A unique trifecta of inspiration, wisdom, and musical talent — unlike anything I've seen at a conference.
Relatable, impactful, full of talent — his keynote concert hooks you from the start.
Ron Franklin has stood in front of audiences his whole life — as an Emmy Award–winning producer, an international business leader, and a Master of Music who has played guitar since he was eleven. Then, like many of us, he lost the thread: evenings surrendered to a screen, the years slipping by.
One night he caught it. He cancelled the cable, moved a rocking chair into the spot where the television used to command the room, and started reclaiming his hours. In two years he wrote a book, co-authored an academic model of how attention gets distorted, and returned to the concert stage as an orchestral soloist — proof that it's never too late to take your attention, and your life, back. That's the keynote he brings to your stage.
Tell Ron about your event. He'll reply personally, usually within two business days.
Every program is tailored to your audience, theme, and goals — from a 30-minute keynote to the full keynote-concert experience.