Speaking Topics
Practical, engaging talks for seniors.
Each talk listed below is designed to educate, encourage, and equip — without overwhelm. Whether you’re hosting a community event, church gathering, library session, or retirement seminar, Steven brings clarity, warmth, and real-world experience to every topic.
Lectures can be tailored to be a short 15 to 20-minute talk or a 35 to 45-minute keynote-style presentation. Many topics can also be presented in a 2 to 5-hour workshop setting
Featured Speaking Topics
- Planning & Retirement
Medicare is one of the most important and confusing decisions new retirees face. In this talk, Steven demystifies the essential components of Medicare—Parts A, B, C, and D—so audiences understand what they’re getting, what they’re missing, and how to avoid costly mistakes. This lecture focused on the basic decision points that Medicare beneficiaries face. With humor and clarity, he explains the role of Medigap vs. Advantage plans, enrollment timelines, and what to expect in out-of-pocket costs. Whether navigating Medicare personally for the first time or helping a loved one navigate it, this session provides a trusted, non-salesy introduction that empowers people to make confident choices.
Taxes don’t stop in retirement—in fact, they can sneak up in surprising ways. This talk explores the tax treatment of common retirement income sources like Social Security, pensions, IRAs, and annuities. Attendees will learn how different buckets of money (taxable, tax-deferred, tax-free) affect their bottom line, and why withdrawal sequencing and planning ahead can make a big difference. Steven provides clear explanations, real-world examples, and a non-technical framework that helps retirees and pre-retirees start thinking about taxes as a long-term retirement risk—not just a springtime headache.
Most people avoid thinking about long-term care until it’s too late. In this honest and practical session, Steven walks you through 4 simple, powerful steps anyone can take—no matter your age, income, or family situation. You’ll learn how to name your priorities, talk to the right people, build a flexible plan, and document your wishes clearly. Along the way, Steven exposes common myths, highlights emotional landmines, and gives you permission to plan imperfectly—because doing something now is always better than doing nothing later. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the topic, this talk will give you the confidence to move forward with clarity and peace.
- Mindset & Perspective
Retirement gives you more time—but sometimes less clarity. When roles shift and routines fade, many older adults wrestle with an unspoken question: What good am I now? This talk leans into that question, not with guilt or sentimentality, but with honest encouragement. Steven explores how aging offers new opportunities for wisdom, mentorship, prayer, and presence—forms of influence that may be quieter but no less powerful. Blending story, scripture, and grounded insight, this talk invites listeners to reframe this chapter not as “winding down” but as being re-purposed. Attendees will leave challenged, encouraged, and more aware of the value they still carry—especially when the world stops noticing.
Not everyone who grows older grows better. In this engaging and reflective session, Steven explores the seven dangerous mindsets that make people “old”—not in years, but in spirit. From entitlement and pride to nostalgia and resignation, these inner attitudes quietly rot joy and relational grace. But they don’t stay hidden. Steven also unpacks the seven outward behaviors that reveal a decaying spirit—like chronic complaining, criticism, and relational withdrawal. These aren’t just personality quirks. They’re habits of the heart that can be unlearned. With humor, honesty, and hope, this talk helps attendees trade bitterness for beauty—and grumpiness for grace.
- Faith & Legacy
Retirement may change your schedule, but it doesn’t cancel your calling. In Not Finished Yet, Steven offers a hopeful, scripture-rooted reminder that God still has work for you to do—work that flows from wisdom, presence, and faithfulness. This talk encourages older adults to embrace a slower, deeper kind of mission: mentoring, praying, serving, and showing up when others need stability. It’s a message for anyone who feels like their usefulness has passed—or who just needs a renewed sense of spiritual direction in this chapter of life. With warmth, humility, and insight, Steven calls older believers to live on purpose with whatever years they’ve been given—not in fear of decline, but in trust that they are still part of something eternal.
Additional Audience Favorites
- Planning & Retirement
Retirement isn’t just about your investments—it’s about your relationships with the professionals and guides who help you navigate health, decisions, finances, and legacy. In this engaging and practical session, Steven introduces the four critical roles every retiree needs to fill well: Healers, Shepherds, Advisors, and Protectors. Using the metaphor of a well-led orchestra, he illustrates how each role plays a unique part—and how harmony only happens when each section is led wisely and in sync with the others. You’ll learn what these roles actually do, why they matter, and how to evaluate them. This talk equips you to build the team that supports the life you actually want—not just the one you’ve drifted into.
Long-term care is one of the most predictable and avoidable crises in retirement—but only for those who prepare in advance. This talk lays out the foundational elements of a long-term care plan, including what kind of care people often need, how much it costs, who usually provides it, and how to avoid leaving loved ones overwhelmed. Steven speaks from years of experience with families who faced these decisions the hard way. His tone is honest, practical, and empowering—not fear-based. Attendees will leave with a clear sense of the steps they can take to protect themselves and their families now, while they still have time to prepare with purpose and dignity.
Sometimes the need for long-term care doesn’t come with a warning—it just shows up. This talk is for those facing that moment. Steven clearly and compassionately outlines the financial tools and planning moves that may still be available, even after care has already begun. From Medicaid strategies and spend-down rules to hybrid insurance options, annuity-based plans, or accessing equity, he offers a plain-English explanation of each. More importantly, he helps families reduce panic and find clarity about what’s still possible. Whether you’re in a crisis now—or helping someone who is—this talk is packed with guidance for navigating care costs without losing hope or dignity.
- Mindset & Perspective
Decluttering and downsizing aren’t just physical acts—they’re deeply emotional. Whether you’re preparing for a move, simplifying your estate, or trying to avoid leaving a mess behind, this talk offers perspective, permission, and a path forward. Steven unpacks the emotions behind our attachment to things and shares stories of people who’ve made peace with letting go. With humor and honesty, he provides practical tips for sorting through decades of belongings without overwhelming yourself—or your relationships. Attendees will feel understood, encouraged, and better equipped to simplify with intention rather than shame. It’s not just about cleaning out drawers—it’s about making room for what matters next.
Many people find it easier to give care than to receive it. But aging eventually requires us to shift roles—and that shift can be humbling, even painful. This compassionate talk helps older adults (and their families) rethink what it means to accept help. Steven speaks directly to the fear of being a burden, the pride in self-reliance, and the grief of losing independence. He encourages listeners to see care not as a loss of worth, but as a new way to practice trust, courage, and even generosity. With stories and practical wisdom, this session provides space for attendees to wrestle honestly with one of the most emotionally difficult transitions in later life—and to walk away feeling seen, strengthened, and more at peace.
Retirement doesn’t always go according to plan. Bodies change. Diagnoses come. Energy fades. This talk helps older adults face those hard realities—not with fear or denial, but with clarity, courage, and even humor. Steven shares insights and real-life stories that bring perspective to one of the most personal parts of growing older: how to respond when health shifts. Listeners will learn how to process loss, maintain identity, and adapt proactively without losing hope. The tone is honest but never heavy. It’s for anyone navigating new limitations—or loving someone who is. A talk about embracing change not as the end of something, but the start of a different, meaningful chapter.
- Faith & Legacy
Spiritual maturity doesn’t come automatically with age. For many, the hardships of life—loss, disappointment, fading energy—can lead to staleness or even spiritual drift. But for others, these same challenges become invitations to deeper trust and a more gracious, refined faith. In this talk, Steven invites older believers to consider how their walk with Christ can still flourish, even when public roles fade and strength wanes. Through Scripture, personal insight, and real-world reflection, he explores what it means to trade dogma for discernment, certainty for clarity, and relevance for quiet fruitfulness. This isn’t about clinging to youth—it’s about growing deeper, not just older.
In a culture obsessed with youth, the Bible paints a different picture. Scripture describes aging not as decline, but as opportunity—rich with wisdom, influence, and purpose. This talk dives into key passages that honor the gray-haired, challenge our assumptions, and call older adults into deeper spiritual roles. Far from being “retired” from usefulness, God’s people are often just getting started. Steven brings pastoral insight and engaging storytelling to explore how Scripture frames the later chapters of life—with reverence, hope, and fruitfulness. Whether you’re already in those years or approaching them, this message is a refreshing invitation to live out your faith with new depth and generational impact.