Connection matters more than curriculum—here’s why

Nathalie Blais | TEDxFoggyBottom

Schools teach math and science, but what if the skills that matter most aren’t taught? Nathalie Blais challenges the current academic system's ability to prepare children for life. She argues that connection and belonging are skills that belong in every classroom, helping students build emotional well-being while developing into future leaders. Drawing on her research, classroom experiences, and coaching work, Blais shares a framework for building meaningful connections through active listening and understanding. This talk presents a new approach to education that focuses on human connection.

Nathalie Blais is the Founder and CEO of Coach Academy and an IF Master Certified Coach whose work focuses on how people think, connect, and lead. Her central idea is both simple and disruptive: connection is not an assumption —it is a skill. At a time when communication is increasingly reactive and transactional, she challenges people to reconsider how influence is built and how change actually occurs. She argues that coaching skills are connection skills, and that coaching has become the language of influence, inclusion, and meaningful exchange. Rather than fixing or directing, her work emphasizes creating the conditions for insight, responsibility, and growth —an approach that has shaped how leaders, educators, and coaches engage across systems and cultures.

Blais holds a Master's degree in Psychology from Harvard and has logged more than 50,000 hours in facilitation, learning design, research, and education development. She is the architect of multiple ICF-accredited coach education programs and has trained thousands of leaders and coaches worldwide. A contributor to Forbes Coaches Council, her research explores fear, motivation, grief, compassion, and connection. Her forthcoming 2027 book examines why human-centred connection is becoming a critical skill in an increasingly automated world.

Learn More about Nathalie’s work here.