For all-staff and people managers
He/She/They/Hey!
What pronouns are, why they matter, and how to use them without overthinking it.
The singular they dates back to the 13th century, used by Chaucer and Shakespeare. The conversation about pronouns is older than most of the people having it. This keynote gives a calm, plain-language tour of pronouns at work, with the humour to keep a mixed room with you.
Trailer
A 90-second look at the talk
A short trailer to give you a feel for the tone, the audience, and what you can expect on the day.
Overview
A calm, plain-language tour of pronouns at work
Pronouns have become a flashpoint in many workplaces, mostly because the topic has been handled badly: too much jargon, too little context, too much shaming.
This keynote does the opposite. It starts with what a pronoun actually is, walks through the kinds people use today, and explains why honouring pronouns is one of the clearest signals of 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion a workplace can send.
Michael uses humour, evidence, and a generous tone to bring a mixed-comfort room along, so people leave able to do the right thing without overthinking it.
Verified attendee feedback
What the rooms said
Combined, response-weighted scores from every delivery of this keynote, collected independently through Talkadot.
- 97%Memorable
- 96%Relevant
- 95%Actionable
- 95%Engaging
- Great content delivered in a smart, data driven way, by a highly engaging speaker. Though my knowledge of the content was already strong, it helped me to look at it in a new way. Attendee
- Riveting, educational, eye opening. While a serious topic, Michael's delivery was persuasive, entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny. Attendee
- I learned about grace and acceptance. Such a valuable presentation. Unique approach to a topic that can be uncomfortable. Amazing sense of humor. I adore Michael. It was like at first sight! Attendee
Ten-minute speaking sample
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