Talks

Everything changed the day I discovered the power of sharing a story rather than giving a 'talk'. My speaking style is relaxed, confident, open and vulnerable; I form a bond with an audience. Typically without slides or script, my storytelling delivers clear, impactful messages.

My main current talk is "Six Reasons the Future Might Look More Like the Past Than the Present" — exploring what the future might look like if we truly understood what makes us and our environment thrive, and built a future of our dreams rather than sleep-walked into a dystopian one.

I also give talks on the journey of a technology founder, in which I bring many live interactive demos to the stage and share the story of how, for the last twenty years, I have blended science, art, technology and design.

Another rather dramatic talk tells the story of being gored through the throat by a wild deer in a remote part of Scotland and waking up from a coma to headlines fixated on me being a trans woman — coming out the other side with my head held high, a louder voice, and respected by the British press.

I have spoken at TED twice (2013, 2018), at SXSW several times, at music festivals (Life is Beautiful in Las Vegas, Green Man in Wales), and at corporate events including Facebook, Publicis, Virgin Group and the UN. I have given talks at universities and design schools across the USA and Europe — including a basketball stadium of 5,000 young creatives in Argentina. Over fifty talks in the last five years.