Talks and Keynotes

Fourteen talks. One mission.

Keynotes that move rooms, written from twenty years inside the work. Strategy for boards, leadership tools for managers, awareness for full-staff audiences, and the 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion sessions that started it all. Each session is grounded in research, sharpened by lived experience, and delivered with the humour the topic needs to actually land.

500+ Keynotes delivered
14 Signature topics
4 Continents
100% Found these sessions valuable
99% Would hear Michael speak again

Verified attendee feedback

What rooms have said, every keynote, every time.

Combined, response-weighted scores from every delivery on record, collected independently through Talkadot.

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How to choose

Three audience lanes. Pick the one that fits the room.

The catalogue is organized the way Michael builds engagements: by the audience in front of him. Strategy and the business case for executives, HR, and people leaders who own outcomes. Awareness and individual practice for full-staff audiences building shared language and behaviours. 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion for organizations doing the deeper work on sexuality, gender, and safe space.

Every talk is designed for 60 minutes and can be shortened or extended to suit your event. Each one can be delivered in person or virtually, as a keynote, or adapted into an interactive workshop of up to two hours. Tell us about the room and the moment, and we will recommend the right combination.

Category 01

Strategy and the business case

Six talks for executives, HR leaders, and people managers who own outcomes. Evidence, return on investment, leadership behaviours, and the strategic question of where DEIA work goes next.

01 Strategy

It's the Economy, Stupid

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility is STILL good business.

The unapologetic business case for DEIA in an era of pushback. Drawing on Deloitte, McKinsey, and the rest of the receipts, Michael shows why stepping back from this work is not bold, it is bad strategy. Built for leaders who need facts, not feelings.

You will leave with

  • The current business case for DEIA, in numbers.
  • Tools to counter misconceptions and internal resistance.
  • A strategic frame for protecting and advancing the work.
Leaders, HR Most requested
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02 Strategy

Becoming an Attraction Magnet

Improve your talent attraction process to draw a more diverse talent pool.

Even with the right job-posting language, most talent attraction processes still filter out the candidates organizations claim to want. Michael walks through where the bias hides, and the gold standard for a process that actually works.

You will leave with

  • A map of bias hot spots across the funnel.
  • Leading practices for inclusive talent attraction.
  • An implementation plan you can actually run on Monday.
HR, Talent
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03 Strategy

The Four Fundamentals of Inclusive Leadership

The secret ingredients to turn people into inclusive leaders.

An organization is only as inclusive as the people in it. This talk unpacks the four traits, bias, cultural competence, empathy, and privilege, that quietly decide whether leaders advance the work or stall it. Practical, honest, and built for people who lead other people.

You will leave with

  • A working definition of each of the four fundamentals.
  • The barriers leaders hit when one of them is missing.
  • A starting point for closing the gap in each one.
Leaders, Managers Most requested
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04 Strategy

What Gets Measured, Gets Done

Measuring success in Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility.

DEIA without measurement is theatre. Drawing on Michael's years inside corporate data, this session shows what to measure across demographics and inclusion, and how to demonstrate the return on investment your CFO will actually accept.

You will leave with

  • How to measure demographics, ethically and cleanly.
  • How to measure inclusion as distinct from diversity.
  • The other indicators that surface real return on investment.
HR, Leaders
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05 Strategy

You Can't Be What You Can't See

Why representation matters, and how to get it right without tokenism.

Marian Wright Edelman said it best. This session translates the phrase into organizational practice: where representation breaks down, why it matters at every level, and the concrete moves leaders can make so the org chart reflects the world it serves.

You will leave with

  • The difference between representation and diversity.
  • Why representation matters at every level, not just the board.
  • Concrete actions to improve it without tokenism.
Leaders, HR
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06 Strategy

All Aboard

How DEI went off the rails, and how we can get the DEIA train back on the track.

The honest reckoning. Michael's most current keynote names what went wrong with DEI, where the work lost the room, and how organizations can pivot to deliver DEIA outcomes without excluding anyone. Built for the moment.

You will leave with

  • A clear account of what went wrong, and why.
  • The components of a DEIA approach that actually holds up.
  • A pivot plan for getting your work back on track.
Leaders, HR
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No matter where you are in your diversity and inclusion learning journey, you will grow through Michael's insight and expertise.

Joe Salemi Executive Director, Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association

Category 02

Awareness and individual practice

Three talks for full-staff audiences. Shared language, shared behaviours, and the personal tools every employee needs to actually contribute to an inclusive workplace.

07 Awareness

My Superpower is Privilege

Understanding your secret weapon to create inclusive spaces.

Privilege gets used as an accusation. This talk reframes it as a tool. Michael unpacks the many forms of privilege, how each one operates, and how every person in the room can use what they have to make space safer for someone else.

You will leave with

  • A working understanding of privilege in its many forms.
  • How privilege quietly shapes people's lives.
  • Practical ways to use your privilege for someone else.
All staff Most requested
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08 Awareness

Watch Your Blind Spot

An introduction to unconscious bias.

The brain is a pattern-matching machine, and patterns are not always right. This session traces unconscious bias from the lab to the lunch table, explains why inclusion does not happen by default, and gives people the tools to catch themselves in the act.

You will leave with

  • The origin and science of unconscious bias.
  • How bias shapes everyday decisions, often invisibly.
  • Individual practices for noticing and interrupting it.
All staff Most requested
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09 Awareness

He/She/They/Hey!

Understanding the why and how of pronouns.

Pronouns are not new. The discomfort is. Michael takes the heat out of the topic with history (yes, singular "they" is older than Shakespeare), language, and the practical mechanics of using pronouns to signal a workplace where people can actually be themselves.

You will leave with

  • What a pronoun is, and what kinds exist.
  • Why pronouns are a 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion indicator.
  • How to share and use pronouns inclusively at work.
All staff, Managers Most requested
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Category 03

2SLGBTQI+ inclusion

Five talks from the work that started Michael's career. Sexuality, gender, safe space, allyship, and the business case for 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion, drawn from twenty years of lived practice.

10 2SLGBTQI+

Safety in Numbers

Ensuring your space is a safe space.

In sixty-five countries it is still illegal to be 2SLGBTQI+. In twelve, the punishment is death. Closer to home, the threats are quieter but real. This session asks what an actual safe space looks like, beyond the rainbow flag in June.

You will leave with

  • A working definition of safe space.
  • The components organizations need to get right.
  • The common pitfalls that quietly undo the work.
All staff Foundations
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11 2SLGBTQI+

Strength in Numbers

How to be an active ally.

The 2SLGBTQI+ communities did not get this far without straight cisgender allies. But there is a difference between an armchair ally and an active one. Michael walks through the practices, the pitfalls, and the moments where allyship is actually tested.

You will leave with

  • The difference between armchair and active allyship.
  • Practical tips for showing up well.
  • The pitfalls to avoid along the way.
All staff
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12 2SLGBTQI+

Breaking Down the Alphabet

Understanding the difference between attraction, identity, and expression.

2SLGBTQI+. What does each letter actually represent? With humour and storytelling, this session demystifies the initialism, the spectrum, and the difference between attraction, identity, and expression, so people stop treading on landmines they could have avoided.

You will leave with

  • The common terms used in sexuality and gender, defined plainly.
  • The difference between attraction, identity, and expression.
  • The concept of the binary versus the spectrum.
All staff Foundations
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13 2SLGBTQI+

Breaking Down the Numbers: The Cost of the Closet

The business case for 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion.

Disengagement, turnover, lost innovation, missed markets. The price tag on a non-inclusive workplace is bigger than most CFOs realise. Michael takes the data and proves it, line by line, with the numbers leaders need to make the case internally.

You will leave with

  • The real cost of inaction.
  • The internal and external indicators worth tracking.
  • How to measure the return on investment of 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion.
Leaders, HR
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14 2SLGBTQI+

Gender Fabulous

Breaking down the complex world of gender diversity.

The conversation around gender is louder than ever, and many people are more confused than they were before they started. This session unpacks sex, gender, identity, and expression, with Michael's own journey woven through so the concepts have a face, not just a textbook.

You will leave with

  • A clean distinction between sex and gender, identity and expression.
  • Why misgendering is a business problem, not just a personal one.
  • How to build a workspace where gender-diverse people thrive.
All staff
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Bringing Michael to your stage.

Tell us about the room, the moment, and the outcome you are after. We will recommend a talk, or a combination, that actually fits. Keynote, workshop, virtual, or a series, the format follows the goal.

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