Public Speaking and Event Facilitation

I love public speaking, and my enthusiasm for standing up in front of a crowd is reflected in the energy I bring, delivering a combination of insight and inspiration that raises an event or discussion to a new level.

Over two decades of public speaking I've engaged all sorts of audiences, in various formats, ranging from the traditional lecture, to interactive workshops, seminars, and sessions involving improvisational theater and multi-media.

I've also organized conferences, speaking series, salons, and round tables, on all sorts of topics, ranging from politics, technology, religion, art, culture, and sports.

I'll run into people who attended a talk I've delivered, often years after the fact, and they'll still remember the event and the impact it had on their thinking or work at the time.

A great number of my presentations were done without any audio or visual aids, usually without prepared notes or cue cards. Some of my best talks given around the world were delivered entirely spontaneously and with a passion that is both infectious and able to hold the interest and attention of the audience.

Lately however I've been working out ideas for new kinds of events that are combinations of traditional conferences and the grassroots phenomena of bar camps and un-conferences.

I'd like to see a fusion of media and minds that come together at events to create experiences that are all encompassing and leave participants with a sense they've just taken a journey and have returned, renewed and ready to rock steady.

I've been experimenting with this in my own presentations, while also consulting with regard to other events and potential initiatives.

Mind you I'm happy to give all sorts of talks, workshops, and seminars. Just this past summer in fact I was the host of the annual golf tournament that benefits the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario. I gave a talk on the perils of technology in the golf world while also running the live auction for charity.

So if you're looking for an entertaining and intelligent speaker, then please, get in touch, I'm your man!

"Jesse's perspectives on technology are superior to others for the simple reason that he is a thinker, not only an observer. He is sensitive to the human qualities in our technological environment and this enables him to differentiate between the insight and the decoy. Invariably, the net result is socially compelling conversation and a period of challenging self-reflection for a time afterward."
— Robin Uchida, Torch Partnership

"Jesse Hirsh is the canary down the mine shaft that is the Internet. He is a frontiersman of the network age and I value the stories he brings back from its extreme edges and darkest corners."
— Robin Benger, Documentary Film Maker

"An unabashedly enthusiastic ringmaster, Jesse Hirsh, whose passion for the topic was nearly impossible to resist. As panel moderator, he also did yeoman's work in keeping the conversation flowing, even when confronted by an audience that, clearly, had very different views on what the focus should be."
— Kady O'Malley, Maclean's Magazine

Top Facebook Applications

The following is video from my presentation at the 2nd Toronto Facebook Camp regarding the Top Facebook Applications and Why They're Successful: