Matt Ellison

Thought-Provoking Transgender Speaker

Matt Ellison

Thought-Provoking Transgender Speaker

Add to List Availability & Fees

Biography

Matt Ellison is a highly sought-after, entertaining and thought-provoking transgender speaker. His life experience as a trans man has fascinated and inspired audiences of all kinds in both private and public sectors in the U.K. and internationally. His insights on change, as someone who has made such a huge and fundamental change himself, apply to everyone in all areas of professional and personal life.

Organisations who have invited Matt to speak include Microsoft, eBay, Mars, Toyota, Lacoste, Disney, KFC, NHS, Lloyds of London, City of London Corporation, Fidelity International, HM Courts and Tribunals, and many more.

Matt has been consulted and interviewed on many occasions. He was recently seen on UK TV in the high-profile Channel 4 documentary Me and My Penis, which broke many taboos, covering sex, psychology and men’s mental health issues.

Tailored towards the audience, Matt has something to offer all audiences, including healthcare professionals, businesses, educational institutions, emergency services, political and religious groups, plus more. Depending upon requirements he can delve deep into the mind of what it feels like to be transgender with a story full of highs, lows and humour. He can educate the audience around such things as the medical interventions, social aspects, safe practices for service providers and employers, as well the legal implications of the Gender Recognition Act and the popular Q&A if requested gives the opportunity to answer all those burning questions.

With an increasing number of trans folk having the courage to transition, yet with so many still facing discrimination and ignorance, transgender issues and diversity & inclusion, are currently more relevant than ever.

Speaker Videos

Speaking Reel

Speech Topics

Change & Motivation

Having made life changes more fundamental than most people are faced with, Matt brings his insights to the issues of blocks, facing the unfaceable and redefining your life for the positive.

After nearly four decades being too fearful to go through the changes that he needed to be happy, he finally found the answers that made the scariest challenges of his life feel easy and effortless. What he learned can help others to also overcome fears that are often exaggerated, and to increase their motivation to achieve their goals in life.

In this keynote, Matt will give you tools and strategies to increase motivation and overcome fear!

Diversity & Inclusion

How diversity and inclusion can help your company thrive, from recruiting more highly skilled staff to increasing staff productivity and boosting staff retention.

Practical advice on how to be a better ally and more inclusive, develop good practices and put together company policies and procedures.

How to start sometimes difficult conversations due to the fear of saying the wrong thing.

Gender

What is gender? Male, female and non-binary. The difference between sex, gender and sexuality.

Social Norms

Our minds and lives are conditioned by the norms we have grown up with. They may seem natural, inevitable or just plain common sense, but they can be limiting or worse. Creative questioning of norms can allow liberating change.

Courage & Inspiration

Matt knows what it’s like to risk everything. Gender transition meant he could have lost his family, friends and business & he feared he might been branded a ‘freak’ by society, yet none of those things happened.

Trans Awareness & Acceptance

Raising awareness of transgender issues. How best to support staff, clients, students etc who are undergoing or are around those undergoing gender transition.

Equality & Rights

The UK’s Gender Recognition Act: a British perspective on the right to be respected and to be accepted whatever one’s gender identity, sexuality, race etc.

Some countries don’t recognize acquired gender, or require sterilization to do so. (Matt is happy to research the individual laws and social laws of your country if required).

Testimonials

“Matt was fantastic. He brought great energy and delivered a personal, honest, inspirational story. We were very happy."

- Microsoft

“You are a fantastic and extremely uplifting speaker Matt, thank you for helping me increase my understanding.”

- HM Courts & Tribunals Service

“The talk given by Matt Ellison as part of the 2021 Mars UK LGBTQ+ Pride Series was thought provoking and inspiring. Matt’s honest and personal style of storytelling took the audience on an insightful journey into the experiences of transgender people. Matt engaged the audience from start to finish and was open and supportive of questions.”

- Global Food Manufactuer

“A big thank you for a very authentic and thought provoking session today, as part of our harnessing the power of diversity week. In speaking to a number of our senior leaders after the session they all said it made them stop and think, and everyone I spoke to has taken something away from your story. It’s a really great way to get a discussion going and the little frog analogy was very powerful – simple yet effective.”

- Rolls Royce

"Thank you, one of the most inspirational speakers I have heard for some time."

- Government Agency Virtual Event

"One of the best talks I’ve ever heard at a conference!"

- Director For England, Royal Pharmaceutical Society