speaking services
We're passionate about helping all humans feel authentically connected and de-stigmatising loneliness.
Phil - a global loneliness thought-leader and human connection expert - can speak in your workplace, your conference, event or podcast.
Phil shares his own lived experience of loneliness and his insights on the importance of authentic, meaningful connection with your audience.
Let's make that happen for the humans you serve.
Photo: www.photox.com.au
our sample keynote topics
1
Learning the language of connection
One reason we struggle to talk about our connection needs - or the loneliness that arises when they go unmet - is that we often lack the language for it. And when others open up, we’re unsure how to hold space for their vulnerability. Drawing on his passion for language, his journey through six languages, and his own challenges speaking about loneliness, Phil helps audiences find both the words and the courage to engage with these deeply human experiences.
2
Owning our connection needs
If we are all to get the connection that we each need, we all need to own our connection needs. Phil draws parallels between the power of coming out as gay as the type of vulnerability needed for your audience to own their connection needs and their wish for meaningful connection.
3
Our search for belonging
All humans need to feel that we belong. We are all on a search to prove that we're worthy of love and belonging. Sometimes this search means that we get horribly lost and feel lonely. Phil shares his lifelong search for belonging as a beacon for your audience to recognise their own - and others' - search for belonging. Phil calls them home to feel belonging.
4
Solving the global loneliness epidemic:
perspectives from lived experience
There are many reports highlighting the global loneliness epidemic in post-pandemic societies. Phil gives his five tips to solve the global loneliness epidemic. These tips come from his own expertise in public policy development, his own perspective from lived experience, his work at The Loneliness Guy and The Lonely Diplomat since 2018. He links academic research and public policy responses to loneliness with the human whose heart, mind and soul are experiencing loneliness.
5
Midlife: a natural time for introspection
Midlife often asks us to carry a lot - careers, children, ageing parents - while quietly wondering if we’re losing ourselves in the process. It can feel like a tightrope walk between what we’ve built and what still feels unfinished. What we need is space: to exhale, to be real, to feel seen beyond the roles we play. We long for meaning, honesty, and relationships where we don’t have to perform. Phil explores how midlife isn’t a crisis, but an invitation to slow down, reconnect, and step into the next chapter with intention.
6
Is AI really our future?
A keynote about humanity, technology, and the space in between.
AI is changing the way we work, connect, and understand the world. But in our race towards automation, what do we risk leaving behind?
In this honest and engaging keynote, Phil invites audiences to explore how we can partner with technology without losing sight of what makes us human. This isn’t a talk about data or code. It’s about meaning, belonging, and our shared future.
Thoughtful, warm, and deeply human, this session opens the door to a more intentional - more human - tomorrow.
These topics offer a glimpse into what’s possible.
Phil welcomes the opportunity to shape a talk around your unique needs and ideas - simply share your thoughts during your first conversation.
With insight, empathy, and an unparalleled depth of life experience, Phil partners with you to craft something that truly serves, supports, challenges and inspires your audience.
You need our expertise
Phil McAuliffe is a global expert on human connection and social health. As an articulate, engaging, and approachable speaker, he brings these essential yet often overlooked - or avoided - aspects of our wellbeing to the forefront - making the topic relevant and inspiring for every audience.
Phil’s keynotes and talks shift the conversation from abstract concepts to lived experiences, helping audiences understand the vital role connection plays in our lives and how it impacts our overall health and happiness.
With an academic background in public policy, community development, and international relations, Phil served as an Australian Public Servant and diplomat for 23 years. In demanding environments where success was expected at all costs, he developed a deep understanding of how social health influences performance, wellbeing, and resilience.
Phil recognises how challenging it can be to nurture authentic relationships in today’s fast-paced world. He views social health as a fundamental human need, one that - when prioritised - can transform how we live, work, and thrive.
Through his work, Phil offers practical insights, fresh perspectives, and meaningful strategies to help individuals and organisations cultivate stronger connections and foster healthier communities.
Photo: Michael White Photography
We're different
And proudly so.
Loneliness is a topic that we often avoid. The stigma is simply too strong.
Loneliness doesn't go away just because we don't like it and it makes us feel uncomfortable.
When it is discussed, it's done in dry, abstract terms. Statistics, academic reports, and theories don’t capture the lived experience of isolation and disconnection.
Tackling the global challenge of loneliness means embracing the deeper human needs for social health, belonging, and authentic connection. That’s where Phil’s voice is vital—sharing wisdom that reaches the hearts, minds, and souls of real people.
Phil’s keynotes and talks bring humanity and warmth to these conversations. Drawing from his own experience with loneliness, he helps audiences - including professionals, parents, LGBTIQA+ communities and students - recognise and own their need for connection and belonging.
It takes courage for Phil to share his personal journey, but he does so to ignite the honest, compassionate and real conversations he wished he’d heard when he felt alone.
Hundreds of thousands around the world have been moved by Phil’s story and inspired through his facilitation of kind, meaningful dialogue about loneliness, social health, and building genuine belonging.
Through this work, people feel more connected—to themselves, to others, and to the wider world.
Your audience will remember our unique insights into human connection, social health and loneliness.
They'll feel empowered and want to feel more connected.
IMPORTANT
NOTICE
HUMANS:CONNECTING believes in the power of human connection and thoughtful conversation. That begins with how we work.
Our speaking engagements are offered as paid services, reflecting the depth, preparation, and expertise developed over many years. Phil brings not only lived experience but also practical insight, wisdom, and expertise that creates lasting impact. This helps audiences feel seen, understood, and inspired to act. It’s work that delivers genuine value to your people and your event.
We also offer a limited number of pro bono speaking engagements each year. These are reserved for opportunities where there’s strong values alignment and a clear, detailed plan to amplify the conversation beyond the room - whether through media, partnerships, or broader community engagement.
While keynotes and presentations are paid services, Phil is glad to appear on podcasts without charge, where there’s shared purpose and space for meaningful dialogue.
Book your call using the form below and we'd love to hear more about your event or podcast in our initial conversation.
SPEAKING EVENTS
June 2025
At a TEDxCanberra event on Tuesday 17 June 2025, Phil stood before the audience and asked a powerful question:
“Why do we stigmatise loneliness?”
He explained that just as hunger and thirst evolved to drive us to eat and drink - ensuring our survival - loneliness evolved to push us toward connection, which is just as vital to our wellbeing. Yet, unlike hunger or thirst, loneliness is often met with silence and shame.
Phil highlighted the danger of this silence: when no one talks about loneliness, we feel even more isolated when we inevitably experience it. The stigma keeps us quiet, and that quiet is deeply harmful.
He urged the audience to be a place of connection for others - reminding them that even if they weren’t experiencing loneliness themselves, statistically, someone nearby likely was.
Offering connection, he said, is one of the simplest and most powerful kindnesses we can give.
previous speaking events
our work in the media
Science Magazine
'Can science find ways to ease loneliness?'
Phil's loneliness story and his thoughts on how to solve the global loneliness epidemic feature in this article.