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Priya Parker
Transform your team's approach to meaningful gatherings and conflict resolution with Priya Parker, speaker, facilitator, and author of "The Art of Gathering."
Priya Parker is a well-known facilitator, strategic advisor, and author, recognized for her influential book, "The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters." She grew up in a diverse environment that sparked her interest in conflict resolution and cultural identities. Parker studied at top institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for organizational design, the Harvard Kennedy School for public policy, and the University of Virginia for political and social thought. In her career, she has become a master facilitator, assisting leaders and communities in navigating complex discussions about identity and vision during transitions. Her expertise includes conflict resolution, especially in race relations on American college campuses and peace processes in areas like the Arab world, southern Africa, and India. As the founder of Thrive Labs, she works with activists, corporate leaders, and educators to create transformative gatherings, serving clients such as the Museum of Modern Art and the World Economic Forum. Parker's book has received significant praise, being named a Best Business Book of the Year by various outlets, including Amazon and NPR. She is also the executive producer and host of the New York Times podcast "Together Apart" and has delivered a TED talk with over 3 million views. Additionally, Parker is a founding member of the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network and serves on the World Economic Forum's Values Council. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and their two children. Her diverse background and extensive education shape her unique perspective on community and identity, which she continues to share through her impactful work.
Topics, sessions and talks
Priya Parker explores why conflict isn't the opposite of connection—it can be a path toward it. She helps audiences understand why conventional approaches to managing conflict often fall short and introduces the habits of "artful fighters": naming the real fight, surfacing hidden assumptions, navigating power and exclusion, and knowing when and where difficult conversations should happen. Attendees leave with a fresh framework and practical ideas for navigating tension more wisely.
For organizations ready to go beyond talking about conflict, Priya Parker creates an unforgettable, highly interactive experience. Attendees diagnose their own conflict styles and practice low-stakes disagreement in an environment designed to feel fun, humorous, and safe. The goal? Build the muscles teams need for the higher-stakes conversations that determine whether organizations stagnate or grow.
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frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
Priya Parker structures her sessions around a diagnostic and practice-based format. Audiences identify their own conflict styles before engaging in low-stakes disagreement exercises, building towards a framework she calls “artful fighting” — a set of habits that includes naming the real fight, surfacing hidden assumptions, and determining when and where difficult conversations should take place.
Priya Parker speaks on conflict as a path to connection, building conflict-competent teams, and the habits and frameworks that enable productive disagreement. Her headline credential is her book The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, named a Best Business Book of the Year by Amazon and NPR, alongside a TED talk with over three million views.
No. PepTalk adds no booking fee, so you pay the speaker's fee and nothing beyond it. The service, from shortlist through to contracts and event-day logistics, is included. For repeat or multi-event bookings, PepTalk can agree preferential rates with your procurement team.
Share your event date, audience, format, objectives and budget, and PepTalk sends a hand-picked shortlist within 24 hours. Each suggestion comes with a profile, a fee and a recommendation on the strongest fit. Once you choose, PepTalk handles contracts, travel and logistics through to event day.
The typical fee range is the speaker's standard in-person fee in their home market, shown in their local currency. It moves with format, location, date and session length: virtual sessions and shorter slots usually cost less, while international travel and peak dates cost more. Send your brief to PepTalk and the team will confirm the exact fee in your currency.
Not all of them, and it makes no difference to your booking. PepTalk's network of 15,000+ speakers covers talent the team works with directly alongside speakers represented by agents and agencies worldwide. PepTalk approaches the speaker, negotiates the fee and handles contracting either way.
Three to six months ahead is comfortable for most events, and 12 months is better for large conferences, peak-season dates or one specific in-demand speaker. Shorter timelines are workable, and PepTalk regularly fills last-minute and replacement bookings within days. Availability is the constraint, so get in touch as soon as you have a date.
