Talks and Keynotes

Fourteen talks. One conversation.

By · DEIA strategist

Fourteen keynotes built around the audiences I actually speak to. Strategy and the business case for executives and HR leaders. Leadership tools for people managers. Awareness sessions for full-staff rooms. And the 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion work that has been the heart of my career for over twenty years. Every talk is grounded in research, sharpened by 500 keynotes on four continents, and delivered with the humour the work honestly invites.

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

Verified attendee feedback

What rooms have said, every keynote, every time.

Every keynote I deliver collects independent attendee feedback through Talkadot. These are the response-weighted scores from the full record.

See the full speaker profile →

How to choose

Three audience lanes. One of them likely fits the room you are planning for.

The catalogue grew the way most things do in this work: by having the same conversations over and over until the patterns were obvious. Strategy and the business case for executives, HR leaders, and people managers who carry the outcomes. Awareness and individual practice for full-staff audiences who need shared language and shared behaviours. 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion for organizations doing the deeper work on sexuality, gender, and safe space.

Every talk is built for 60 minutes and can be tightened or extended to fit your event. Each one can be delivered in person or virtually, as a keynote, or adapted into an interactive workshop. Tell me about the room and the moment, and I will recommend the talk or the combination that fits.

Category 01

Strategy and the business case

Six talks for executives, HR leaders, and people managers who carry the outcomes. Evidence, the return on investment case, leadership behaviours, and a plain read on where the work goes from here.

01 Strategy

It's the Economy, Stupid

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility is STILL good business.

The plain business case for DEIA in an era of pushback. Drawing on Deloitte, McKinsey, and the rest of the research, I show why stepping back from this work is not bold. It is bad strategy. Built for leaders who want the numbers and the reasoning, side by side.

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
View this talk
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 say they want. I walk through where the bias hides and what a process looks like when it actually delivers a more diverse pool.

You will leave with

  • A map of bias hot spots across the process.
  • Leading practices for inclusive talent attraction.
  • An implementation plan you can actually run on Monday.
HR, Talent
View this talk
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 walks through the four traits that quietly decide whether leaders advance the work or stall it: bias, cultural competence, empathy, and privilege. Practical, plainspoken, 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
View this talk
04 Strategy

What Gets Measured, Gets Done

Measuring success in Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it. Drawing on years working with corporate data, this session shows what to measure across demographics and inclusion, how to do it ethically, and how to surface the return on investment in numbers leadership will recognize.

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
View this talk
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, and it has stayed true for decades. 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
View this talk
06 Strategy

All Aboard

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

My most current keynote, and the one organizations are asking for right now. I name what went wrong with DEI, where the work lost the room, and how organizations can pivot to deliver real DEIA outcomes without excluding anyone.

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
View this talk

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 that let every person in the room actually contribute to an inclusive workplace. Useful for onboarding, ongoing development, and any moment an organization wants a reset.

07 Awareness

My Superpower is Privilege

Understanding your secret weapon to create inclusive spaces.

Privilege often gets used as an accusation. This talk reframes it as a tool. I walk through 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
View this talk
08 Awareness

Watch Your Blind Spot

An introduction to unconscious bias.

The brain is a pattern-matching machine, and the patterns are not always right. This session traces unconscious bias from the research lab to everyday decisions, 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
View this talk
09 Awareness

He/She/They/Hey!

Understanding the why and how of pronouns.

Pronouns are not new. The discomfort around them is. This session moves through the history (singular "they" predates Shakespeare), the language, and the practical mechanics of using pronouns to signal a workplace where people can show up as 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
View this talk

Category 03

2SLGBTQI+ inclusion

Five talks from the work that started my career and has stayed with me for over twenty years. Sexuality, gender, safe space, allyship, and the business case for 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion. All of it drawn from rooms that ranged from openly curious to openly resistant.

10 2SLGBTQI+

Safety in Numbers

Ensuring your space is a safe space.

In sixty-four countries it is still illegal to be 2SLGBTQI+. In twelve, the punishment can be death. Closer to home, the threats are quieter but real. This session asks what an actual safe space looks like, well past 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
View this talk
11 2SLGBTQI+

Strength in Numbers

How to be an active ally.

The 2SLGBTQI+ communities did not get this far without straight, cisgender allies. There is a difference between an armchair ally and an active one. I walk 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
View this talk
12 2SLGBTQI+

Breaking Down the Alphabet

Understanding the difference between attraction, identity, and expression.

2SLGBTQI+. What does each character actually represent? With humour and storytelling, this session walks through the initialism, the spectrum, and the difference between attraction, identity, and expression, so people can engage with confidence instead of avoidance.

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
View this talk
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 leaders realize. I take the data and walk through 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
View this talk
14 2SLGBTQI+

Gender Fabulous

Breaking down the complex world of gender diversity.

The conversation about gender is louder than ever, and many people feel more confused than they were before they started. This session walks through sex, gender, identity, and expression, with my 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
View this talk

Frequently asked

What do I speak about?

DEIA strategy, inclusive leadership, employee resource groups, and the business case for inclusion. Every talk is built around four constants: what the work actually is, what it returns to the organization, why it is contested right now, and what a leader can do on Monday morning.

How long is a typical keynote?

Forty-five minutes plus fifteen for questions is the sweet spot, in my experience. I have delivered everything from a tight twenty-minute spotlight to a half-day workshop. Tell me the time you have and I will build around it.

Will I customize the talk for your audience?

Always. Every booking starts with a prep call so the examples, framing, and call to action match the industry, the seniority of the room, and the moment the organization is in. Every keynote is built for the audience in front of it.

Where do I speak, and is travel included?

North America, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, and select markets in Asia. Travel and accommodation are billed at cost and booked through my office. Virtual delivery is available everywhere.

How do you book me?

Send a note through the contact page with the event date, location, audience size, and budget range. I respond personally within two business days.

Bring me to your stage.

Tell me about the room, the moment, and what you want people to leave thinking about. I will come back with a short note on which talk fits, or whether a combination makes more sense. Keynote, workshop, virtual, or a series. The format follows the goal.

Start a conversation About Michael