Gijs Hillmann

As speakers, consultants, trainers or coaches, we often engage with an audience of culturally diverse views and lived experiences. In order to be able to maintain our relevance and to ensure that our audience feels included, we must adapt our style and content to be reflective of their needs. In this panel, we will discuss and take questions on how we can move from thinking about Diversity and Inclusion and instead think about generating better outcomes and, in turn, better business and audience engagement.

Panel Chair/Host: Joanne Lockwood

Joanne Lockwood is an Inclusion and Belonging Specialist who works with audiences throughout the UK, Europe and elsewhere. Her focus is on promoting Positive People Experiences, be that in Talent Acquisition, Employee or thinking about Customer Experience. She works with “People People” across organisations to promote Psychological Safety, Inclusive Leadership and to challenge organisations on their culture, which in turn allows people to thrive and stay aligned with customer and stakeholder values.

Chairing this panel, she will be engaging with her fellow panellists from around the world of the Global Speaking Federation, Harriet, Neerja and Gijs, to talk about how you can stay relevant and ensure your audience is included and engaged with your content, not your faux pas.

Panellist: Harriet L. Russell

Harriet L. Russell is a cross-cultural strategist and linguist. She works with and speaks for organisations that want their people to work better together, both internally and across borders. Latest book: Doing Business with Ease Overseas: Building Cross-Cultural Relationships That Last.

From this panel, Harriet will help you understand multicultural differences, how to speak English to non-native English speakers, and mindfulness for less stress. Communicate effectively on and off the platform.

Panellist: Neerja Singh

Neerja Singh is the Seenager, a “senior teenager”, a millennial in spirit with the benefit of hindsight. Four generational books, a TEDx talk entitled “The Unaffordable Cost of Generation Gap”, and a lived loss of my millennial daughter to the challenges of generational grief...

Neerja helps employers, leaders, and parents to see, acknowledge and address the radical differences in generational preferences, priorities and prejudices that have become tangible issues today. She is looking forward to presenting her thoughts to you on this and taking your questions.

Panellist: Gijs Hillmann

Gijs (Gus) works primarily with organisations that employ ex-pats, knowledge workers, or migrant workers. Diversity of voices and opinions leads to a healthier and more flourishing workplace. The challenge is how best to develop this diversity when faced with a multitude of languages, world views, and approaches on the work floor.

In this session, Gijs will address how to best engage with a fluid workforce in a complex and dynamic environment and the lessons/tips you can utilise as speakers, trainers and consultants.