James O’Loghlin

James O’Loghlin's Biography

James O’Loghlin is one of Australia’s most respected and recognisable media personalities with a passion for Practical Innovation.

An experienced corporate speaker, master facilitator, corporate comedian and media personality, James is perhaps best known as the host of over 300 episodes of “The New Inventors” on ABC-TV, and for his witty and entertaining programs on ABC Local Radio.

He has been delighting corporate audiences with his unique brand of corporate comedy for over a decade and is equally at home giving keynote speeches on innovation, acting as MC for awards nights and conferences and facilitating panel discussions.

From criminal lawyer to comedian to media personality and presenter James has a wealth of experience. It was his role as the host of the New Inventors that fuelled James’ interest in innovation, a subject upon which he now regularly gives keynote speeches. He explores practical things we can all do every day to become more innovative and speaks about how companies can create a culture that encourages innovation. After many years of work in Australia he is a favourite with Australian audiences and event planners, James is a true industry professional with hundreds of successful live events to his credit.

Master of Ceremonies

After two decades of corporate speaking work in Australia, James O’Loghlin is an accomplished and highly experienced MC who can draw laughs from whatever is happening whilst running the event efficiently and appropriately. You get the professionalism of an experienced radio and television host who is utterly at home on stage combined with the humour of one of Australia’s best corporate comedians.

Master Facilitator

James is also an experienced and able panel facilitator who always ensures that the discussion is both informative and entertaining. He draws on his experience as a radio host and ex-criminal lawyer to ask the right questions at the right time. His television background as The New Inventors host enabled him to elicit all the relevant information and his unique brand of corporate comedy to keep it entertaining and engaging for the audience.

After Dinner Speaker/Comedy

James O’Loghlin is an enormously entertaining after dinner speaker. Being both a comedian and a keynote speaker means he can provide the perfect mix of laughter, entertainment and substance. Whether your audience need 30 or 40 minutes of laughter to unwind after a long day, anecdotes and practical tips about how to become more innovative, or a mixture of both, James can create a tailor made speech that hits exactly the right note.

Speaking Topics Include

Minding Your Mind

The cost of poor mental health is enormous. Aside from the cost of human suffering, the economic cost has been estimated by the Productivity Commission to be approximately 50 billion dollars a year. However, there are things we can all do to maintain and improve our mental health.

In this entertaining and informative keynote James will discuss the things we can all do to maintain and improve our mental health.

In this session audiences will learn about:

Dealing with burnout – a growing issue costing Australian businesses billions of dollars a year. Identifying early signs and taking steps to address them is crucial.

The physicality of mental health. When we feel anxious or depressed, trying to think our way out of it (‘Just stop worrying’) rarely works. Addressing the physical effects can be more effective. For example, if you are anxious, slow your breathing and relax your body.

7 practical things, all evidence-based, we can all do to improve our mental health and live happier lives.

The importance of being socially connected for good mental health.

The importance of understanding and taking care of our body clock.

How do we change? We are not set in stone. If we are anxious or impatient or shy, there are specific things we can do to change.

 

Innovation is a State of Mind

How often do you have days when you are so busy you don't have time to think? Days when there isn't one spare moment to think about how you can improve the way that you do things?

No matter how well your business is doing today, if you keep doing things the same way, in 10 years' time - maybe less - you will have been left behind. The increasingly rapid pace of change continues to turn today's cutting edge best practice into tomorrow's fax machine. To stay relevant and successful, businesses need to keep coming up with better ways of doing things. They need to innovate.

In eight years hosting 'The New Inventors' James O'Loghlin met hundreds of people who thought outside the box and came up with new and better ways of doing things.

He will talk about:

Why every business needs to be continually innovating and how individuals can do it

The three things innovators do better than everyone else, and five things every business can do to build a workplace culture that encourages innovation

Innovation is YOUR state of mind

In his keynote, ‘Innovation is a State of Mind’, James O’Loghlin identifies the 3 building blocks of innovation; in this dynamic follow up workshop, participants apply those principles to create and grow their own ideas to improve their business. The 1 hour to half-day workshop will get delegates identifying opportunities, solving problem and thinking on their feet as they are challenged to unleash their creativity and think up and grow new ideas to make their business better . The workshop will arm delegates with the tools to impart real change within their organisations for years to come.

Takeaways from the session include:

A large number of thought through and practical ideas that the business can implement.

The growth of a new culture of innovation and collaboration.

Each delegate will have a new found belief in his or her ability to think up ways of doing things better, and know how to grow and use their ideas.

Overcoming Crisis Through Innovation

We have been living in an era of disruption and rapid change for some time, but never before have we faced changes as rapid and drastic as those caused by the Coronavirus. Suddenly, everything is different. Over the next few months organisations and businesses will face big challenges. To meet them, they will have to find new and better ways of doing things. More than ever before, your people need to be equipped with the skills they need to be innovative, so they can be constantly coming up with better ways of doing things.

In eight years hosting ABC-TV’s ‘The New Inventors’ James O’Loghlin worked with over a thousand innovators, and in his entertaining and thought-provoking keynote and/or workshop he will share practical strategies to equip your people with the skills they need to be innovative every day.

In this session you will learn:

An understanding of how innovation happens; the 3 things innovators do better than others

Easy-to-implement strategies to identify opportunities for innovation in your business and take advantage of them

How to create an organisational culture that encourages everyone to be innovative 

How to quickly and cheaply identify the best new ideas and implement them”

Persuasion and Influence

How do you persuade people? When you have an idea, how do you get others on board to help you turn it into something real? Sadly, lots of good ideas never get anywhere. How can you make sure that yours do?

Being able to persuade is an essential skill. You might have an idea at work, something you want to pitch in a meeting, or a proposal you want to excite clients and customers about. You might want to get your team fired up, persuade your boss, or even harder, one of your kids. To do it, you need to know how to persuade, and how to influence.

In this compelling and informative keynote, James will share practical strategies that will enable people to be more persuasive and influential.

In this session audiences will learn:

How do you work out who the decision maker is? How do you get to them?

How to form a relationship of trust with the decision maker.

The importance of standing in the decision maker’s shoes. What do they want? What do they need? What problem can you solve for them? How can your proposal be valuable to them?

How to boil a complex argument down to its essence and present a short, sharp and compelling pitch

No one wants another problem. The importance of offering a clear, practical solution

How to find and enlist influential supporters