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John Schumann OAM
PrintJohn Schumann changed the way this nation thinks….With a true story. Originally coming to prominence as leader of the legendary folk-rock band Redgum and his Vietnam veterans’ anthem I Was Only 19, John Schumann continues to occupy an important place on the Australian cultural landscape.
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Testimonials for John Schumann OAM
John absolutely nailed it! His honest, evocative and funny presentation touched each and every one of our delegates. It was an absolute privilege to sit and listen to John as he took us though Australia in the 60s, 70s and 80s, culminating in us experiencing a unique and amazing performance of I Was Only 19. To see people approaching John after his performance with tears in their eyes was incredible and I thank John most sincerely for getting our Convention off to the perfect start.
Australian Pipelines and Gas Association
John’s delivery was perfect! It’s a rare occurrence that we manage to find an opener who understands the work, doesn’t resort to “artspeak”, has a healthy sense of humour and takes the audience along for the journey.
Trudyanne Brown, BMGART, Adelaide
John is a skilled and trusted facilitator. He is equally able to cajole or direct. Most importantly, John can always find a way forward through the most complex and intractable situations.
Dr Penny Moore, Director: Council Services and Chancellery, University of SA
John helped us formulate our strategic and operational planning templates and determine our outcomes. He then worked with us, on site, to populate the plans and get the logic and the language right. His workshops were challenging, entertaining and, most importantly, productive.
Ken Anderson, Operations Manager, Outback Region Department of Environment & Heritage (SA)
The session John facilitated for our group was around refining our vision, mission and identifying our key messages. John’s facilitation style challenged and encouraged team members to participate beyond their normal comfort zone. Our team produced excellent outcomes in a relatively short space of time, due to John’s handling of the team dynamics. He elicited contributions from those team members who prefer to be “observers” and turned the deliberately disruptive team members into positive contributors. He kept us on task and on time – no small feat given a group of diverse thinkers.
Kay Neill, Chief Executive Officer, Corporate Health Group
Fee Range: $5001 to $10000
John Schumann OAM's Biography
John Schumann changed the way this nation thinks….With a true story.
Originally coming to prominence as leader of the legendary folk-rock band Redgum and his Vietnam veterans’ anthem I Was Only 19, John Schumann continues to occupy an important place on the Australian cultural landscape. An accomplished musician, writer, political activist and public intellectual, John has achieved more in one lifetime than most people could hope to accomplish in two.
In recent years, John has brought his unique approach to public speaking to concert halls, conferences, convention centres, and lecture theatres around Australia. John has spoken in every Australian city as well as London, Hawaii, Shanghai and Jakarta.
Equally at home and comfortable in a five-star banquet room as he is around a campfire in the desert John identifies and articulates those things that ring true in our daily lives and he tells a compelling set of stories about what it means to be Australian. In doing so, he draws on all aspects of our life and history, including our preoccupation with sport, our involvement in various wars including Vietnam, our music, our literature and the way we conduct our national affairs.
Simply, John Schumann helps us all to see beyond the images thrust at us by advertising agencies, marketing companies, politicians and those would prevent us seeing ourselves as we really are. John Schumann speaks with wit, warmth and passion.
Described by one of his delighted clients as “a gentleman with an Australian accent”, John is the speaker for all seasons and any occasion. His education, easy humour, free-ranging intellect and extraordinary breadth of experiences connect him every audience.
John is as comfortable with a room full of academics or senior politicians as he is talking to a group of road-workers and station-hands in an outback pub. With his irreverent humour, his larrikin approach and his different way of seeing, he entertains, inspires, teaches and his voice always resonates
In addition to John’s talents as a story-teller and speaker, he is also a highly-skilled and able facilitator. John’s experience in the upper echelons of the Public Service and private enterprise, his capacity for logic and language and his engaging, inclusive style have helped a range of different organisations, large and small, through complicated conversations and difficult transitions.
Speaking Topics Include
The story behind the song I Was Only 19 - A personal and historical perspective
What it means to be Australian
Australians, our veterans and the Anzac tradition
Reflections on Australia in the 1960s and 70s - What it means today
The conduct of our national affairs
The fact is, with enough notice, I can write a speech on almost anything...