PSA Emerging Speaker of the Year 2026
Award-winning keynote speaker on celebrating brilliant humans and workplaces.
"The world is kinder than the news lets you see."
Brilliant Humans Research, 2026The Research Finding
In early 2026, Jonathan asked 105 people one question: what makes someone truly brilliant? Not clever. Not successful. Brilliant — the kind of person you remember long after the meeting ends.
The top three answers weren't intelligence, achievement, or charisma. They were kindness, empathy, and inspiration. Three qualities most organisations have stopped measuring. Three qualities most audiences immediately recognise as the ones that actually matter.
54%
Put kindness & empathy first
48%
Put creativity & innovation last
87%
Agree we focus more on negative behaviour than positive
That finding is the foundation of everything Jonathan does on stage.
Explore the ideas →The Talks
The keynote of feeling
Mr Fudge was Jonathan's dog. A cockapoo with no interest in performing, impressing, or being anything other than exactly himself. This is the story of what happened when Jonathan finally listened — and what it revealed about what we already know brilliant looks like.
Ideal for All-hands events, sales kickoffs, culture summits, leadership offsites
Find out more → 02 / 03 The signature conceptThe keynote of perception
Humans are wired for negativity. The platforms we live inside are built to exploit that wiring. But 105 people told us something different: 89% say the people around them are generally good and kind. 81% had a small act of kindness make their day better in the past week. The world is kinder than your feed suggests.
Ideal for Leadership summits, culture programmes, all-hands events
Find out more → 03 / 03 Practical frameworkThe keynote of utility
What happens to a team when fear replaces trust? Jonathan has been in that room — not as a consultant, but as someone who lived through it. This talk is built on that experience and the HABITS framework: a practical model for leaders who want to build high-trust teams, or rescue one already in trouble.
Ideal for HR conferences, leadership development programmes, culture transformation
Find out more →The Business Case
Gallup's research across 2.7 million employees links kindness, empathy, and inspiration to 23% higher profitability and 81% lower absenteeism. The numbers are there. Jonathan makes them land.
See the evidence →23%
higher profitability in engaged teams
81%
lower absenteeism in engaged teams
$8.9T
global cost of disengagement per year
"Jonathan left our audience thinking differently about the people around them."
Lizzi Matthews Event Organiser
Latest from Jonathan
Research & Insights
Not intelligence. Not achievement. Not creativity. The qualities that define brilliance in others are the ones most organisations have quietly stopped rewarding. Here's what we found — and why it matters.
Read the researchGet Jonathan on your stage
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