I've been speaking on stages for years. Universities, galleries, symposiums. And every single time, someone asks me the same thing afterward: "Where are your slides?"
I don't have slides. I don't have a script. I walk up there with nothing but my story and I talk from the heart.
That's not a limitation. That's the whole point.
Why I speak
I'm an artist first. That's who I am, that's what I do. But somewhere along the way, I realized my story — the real one, not the polished version — was doing something for people. I'd finish a talk and someone would come up to me and say it changed how they thought about their own struggle. That's not something you plan. That's just what happens when you're honest.
I've been speaking on mental health and healing for years. The brain injury didn't start that journey. It continued it. Same road, deeper terrain.
What I talk about
Mental health. Depression, anxiety, identity. Finding light in the darkness, honestly.
Brain injury and recovery. Life with a TBI — the invisible fight, told firsthand. Recovery isn't a finish line. It's a daily practice.
Art and the business of art. The ups and the downs. The feast and the famine. I hold nothing back and I don't gatekeep. If I've learned something the hard way, I'm going to tell you so you don't have to.
Advocacy. I feel a real moral obligation to be a voice for people who can't speak for themselves. That includes my missing friend Deanne, whose case I keep fighting for when nobody else will.
At the center of all of it: art as a healing tool. A bridge that connects people, even when we've lived completely different lives. Especially in a time of our greatest divide.
The impromptu thing
People hear "impromptu" and they think unprepared. It's the opposite. I read the room. I feel what's needed and I go there. No two talks are ever the same because no two audiences are.
My opener is usually something like: "I'm the brain injury guy that does impromptu speeches. Let's see how it goes today."
And then it goes.
Voted top speaker
Earlier this year I spoke at the "Business of Being an Artist" symposium at Sparks Gallery in San Diego. The audience voted me the top speaker.
I'm not telling you that to brag. I'm telling you because it confirmed something I've always believed: people are hungry for real. Not polished. Not rehearsed. Real.
Where I've spoken
Loyola Marymount University. Sparks Gallery. Art San Diego. And I'm just getting started.
If you're planning an event — a conference, a university program, a nonprofit gala, a gallery talk — and you want someone who's going to show up and tell the truth, I'd love to talk.
I put together a page with all the details: my Speaking page. You can also download my speaking one-pager if you want the quick version.
Bring me to your stage. I promise I won't bring slides.
— Michael