My Talks and Workshops
Would you like me to come and speak at your school, university, festival, workplace or public event?
I am an experienced public speaker offering a diverse range of talks and workshops. I can come to your school, university, institution, organisation or public event and spend anything from 10 minutes to a whole day with you. I have delivered talks at dozens of events, science festivals, literature festivals, schools and universities across the UK and abroad. For a list of previous and upcoming bookings please see my Speaker Experience page.
If you would like me to come to your school, please see here for some ideas for a typical school visit, with suggestions for ideal talks and workshops for different age groups.
I am also an experienced event host, panel member and panel chair - please see the bottom of this page for more info.
Please see my TRAINER tab you are interested in a bespoke interactive workshop combining any or all of the following topics: body language, public speaking, communicating with impact, dealing with nerves, designing your elevator pitch, interview skills, tips for networking, using story-telling techniques to engage your audience.
Below is the current selection of talks and workshops that I offer, divided into some main themes. Most of my talks can be adapted for different ages or audiences, and elements of different talks can be combined, so feel free to pick bits and pieces from any of the talks below and I can tailor something for you. Think of it as a kind of pick 'n' mix menu! I'm regularly researching new topics and writing bespoke talks, so I'm also really happy to create something new and exciting from scratch, especially for you - just let me know what it is you'd like me to talk about.
Motivational and Inspirational Talks
In these talks Emily shares the challenges she has faced in her career and attempts to dispel the stereotypical image of what it is to be a scientist - or indeed what it takes to succeed in any male-dominated career. She touches on the themes of success, confidence, imposter syndrome, women in science, emotional diversity, trolling and online abuse, sexism, misogyny, and the value of emotion in the workplace. The talks can be adapted for primary or secondary school students, prize-giving ceremonies, universities, corporate environments or public audiences. Feel free to pick bits and pieces from each of the talks below, or to combine parts of them with one of Emily's talks from another section.
In 2015, after Nobel Prize winner Sir Tim Hunt's controversial comments about his "trouble with girls" in science, Emily was invited to take part in a debate on Sky News, during which she supported women in science and commented that it's OK for scientists to cry. Following the interview she received a barrage of sexist and misogynistic abuse on social media, which she details in this talk at the Feminism in London conference. A few months later she delivered a critically acclaimed TEDx talk at UCL Why Science Needs People Who Cry on the value of emotions in science. Today Emily shares the challenges she has faced as a woman in science - and discusses the need to dispel the out-dated stereotype that all scientists are cold, hard, unemotional... and male; a stereotype that prevents many young people, especially girls, from seeing a place for themselves in science - or indeed any male-dominated profession. She looks at the history of crying, when and how it became stigmatised, and explores the value of emotions, in both men and women, and why it's good to cry. She discusses how emotional openness can lead to three Cs; Compassion, Collaboration and Creativity - qualities that are as essential in science, and indeed any workplace, as they are in life.
Too Sensitive For Science?
Emotion: the secret asset in your career
At various points along her wide and varied career path as a research scientist, actress, and science teacher, Emily felt that she didn’t fit in. She was often confronted with the idea that perhaps she was “too creative, too emotional, or too sensitive for science” - a concern she has also heard expressed by many of the female students she has taught.
Freedom of speech, trolling and online misogyny,
Feminism in London conference, October 2015
Why Science Needs People Who Cry, TEDx UCL, Dec 2015
"Brilliant public speaker and a great advocate for humanity. This TEDx talk should be compulsory to watch in schools."
Mike Thompson, YouTube user
“Passionate, courageous and present. Emily is a potent presenter”
Malcolm Stern, Director of Alternatives
Secrets of Success
Emily speaks about her varied career as a scientist, actress, teacher, writer and broadcaster. She asks what it takes to succeed in your chosen profession and discusses the challenges she has faced as a woman in STEM and the lessons she has learnt along the way - exploring the ideas of success, fear of failure, changing path, resilience, confidence, imposter syndrome, unconscious bias, sexism, online abuse, self-care and personal growth. Emily also asks what it takes to be a scientist - is it really all about brains, confidence and logic? What about creativity, imagination, team work, compassion and sensitivity? And is it OK to get things wrong? Read a recent interview about Emily’s life and career here.
Interview about Confidence at Coram's Inspiring Women in STEM Event Nov 2017
Speaking at The Hay Festival, May 2016
“Passionate, articulate, charismatic, informed, personable... Emily is a phenomenal speaker. Could have heard a pin drop!"
Penny Godfrey, Teacher, Redmaids' High School Bristol
"Emily is a fantastic speaker; informative, fun, passionate and knowledgeable. She is a natural communicator and managed a multi-generational 400 person crowd with ease. We loved having her speak and would recommend her for any community or event that would like to hear about where feminism, science and communication come together. She is an inspiration."
Ruth Moir, Community Creator, Sunday Assembly London
“Emily is an incredible presenter and an inspiring role model for everyone”
Dr William Whittow, Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Loughborough University
“Emily is a great science communicator. She combines her personal story with her contagious scientific enthusiasm in a compelling way & her engagement with the audience encourages them not only to understand what she's telling them but to believe that they can be successful scientists too.”
Dawn Bonfield MBE, Former President of the Women’s Engineering Society
People Like Me
Emily is trained to deliver The WISE Campaign's People Like Me resource for schools - an interactive workshop showing girls that people like them are happy and successful in STEM careers.
Do You See Me? The healing power of being seen for who you truly are
Who would you be if you didn’t feel you had to conform to society’s expectations of you. What would you do? And what, or who, would you desire?
Many of us go through life hiding parts of ourselves in order to fit within the stereotypical boxes of our physical gender, sexuality, age, ethnicity or social background. Often we choose to fit in and be liked, rather than to be true to ourselves. Until a few years ago, Dr Emily Grossman had seen herself as a heterosexual woman, having only had relationships with men. However, she recently met and fell in love with a non-binary partner, assigned female at birth - singer-songwriter, music lecturer and gender activist Kimwei McCarthy. This started Emily on a voyage of discovery, questioning the boxes she had put herself into regarding her sexual orientation and even her own gender identity.
Emily has also recently been diagnosed as being autistic and having ADHD, realising with relief that she simply didn't fit into the neurotypical mould that she had spent her life trying to conform to. In this interactive talk and workshop, originally created and developed by Kimwei, Emily and Kimwei invite you to take a look at the boxes that you might have been put into - perhaps without even realising it - and invite you to explore who YOU would be if you didn’t feel you had to conform to society’s (or even your own) expectations of you. What would you do? And what, or who, would you desire?
See also section below on Emily's talks and workshops on sex and relationships.
Stigma or Superpower?
Emily shares her experience of life as an autistic woman with ADHD.
Fun and Interactive Science Quiz Shows
These fun quiz shows can be adapted for primary or secondary schools, university students, adults, and corporate or pub audiences, and can include live demos, experiments and audience participation.
Dr Emily's Brain-Fizzing World-whizzing Facts
Why is your elbow called your funny bone? How could you escape the grip of a crocodile's jaw? And which strange creature can breathe through its bottom? Did you know that cows with names produce more milk? Or that there’s a planet on which a day lasts longer than a year? And what exactly is climate change and how can we help?
Join TV science superstar and STEM Ambassador Dr Emily Grossman for this fun and interactive science quiz show based on her bestselling books Brain-fizzing Facts: Awesome Science Questions Answered and World-whizzing Facts: Awesome Earth Questions Answered, as she challenges the audience to guess the answers to fun questions and figure out the explanations for some of the world's weirdest and most wonderful science facts. Jam-packed with fun, educational and surprising facts, along with simple explanations of climate change and wildlife loss and what we can all do to help, this show is guaranteed to amuse and amaze, whether you’re 7 or 70! After all, who wouldn't want to know that there’s an animal that does square poos? Or that we make better decisions when we need a wee?!
The show can be adapted for audiences of any age, or to fit a theme or area of the curriculum, and includes volunteers and audience participation. Emily uses audience volunteers to help her with simple and fun experiments, demonstrating core scientific concepts, such as convection currents, pressure differences, chemical reactions, phase changes, material science and the brain.
“Emily is an excellent speaker and really knows how to engage kids – and parents – in the most fascinating & wacky parts of science”
Sarah Fairbairn, Production Manager Jewish Book Week
![Brain-Fizzing Facts CVR[1] copy.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/67578c_4d53299caa3147b79f1a9ad83bf97447~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_364,h_215,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Brain-Fizzing%20Facts%20CVR%5B1%5D%20copy.jpg)
The Hay Festival Family Weekend
Big Bang Banbury
"Dr Grossman captured our students’ imagination and curiosity by performing live on stage certain carefully chosen, fun scientific experiments: Our students marvelled at the simplicity, ingenuity and profundity of Emily's experiments.”
Ioannis Raptis, Head of Science, Heathside Prep
The Alan Titchmarsh Show ITV
The Hay Festival
JW3 Jewish Book Week
”Emily has been a lively and brilliant contributor to our TeenTech events. She brings science to life in a very engaging way for young people and is very professional and reliable in her approach.”
Maggie Philbin OBE
Pandas Love Porn... The Science of Sex and Attraction
- Dr Emily's Weirdest X-Rated Science Facts
Someone catches your eye across a crowded room – quick, what do you do? Antelopes use deception to get a date, whilst frustrated flies will turn to drink if they don’t get lucky. Male octopi, on the other hand, literally dismember themselves to reproduce. Join TV scientist and bestselling science author Dr Emily Grossman for this outrageous, fun and interactive science quiz show, as she explains some of the world’s weirdest X-rated facts about sex and attraction.
Did you know that two thirds of people turn their head to the right when kissing? Or that some animals eat their babies? Would it surprise you to discover that certain insects leave their penis behind in the female after sex? Or that one crazy creature rips off its penis and throws it at the female… so she can inseminate herself? Is it possible that there’s a lucky creature whose orgasm can last 30 minutes? That there’s others that have sex 50 times a day? That there’s a creature with a 4-headed penis? And that we can learn a lot about attraction from the humble chicken? And could the ridge at the end of the human penis actually have a function?! Dr Emily reveals all.
"Emily delivered one of the funniest science talks that’s been given in Bucharest ever!"
Gabriel Ivan, Education and Science Projects Manager, British Council Romania
“Pandas Love Porn is the perfect geeky night out. A wonderful balance of facts and entertainment, that makes the whole audience feel involved”
Luiza Patorski, Programme Manager, Science Oxford
“The talk Emily gave us was superbly pitched with the gentle risqué title: ‘Why Pandas Love Porn – the science of sexual attraction.’ And the pitch was, actually, perfect. Because whilst it was indeed funny, interactive, dialogic in nature and with lots of images and videos, none of it was crass, rude or gross as some might fear. No, this was a presentation that referenced solid, peer-reviewed science about the sheer variety, ingenuity even familiarity of the science of sexuality. This talk celebrates the biological richness to be found in the panoply of all populations. From weird red bugs to seahorses; across the range of primates and all manner of fish and birds, Emily showed us how and why sex matters in the struggle to make the best start in life. Fine lessons to learn (and just before Valentine’s day, too!"
Mr I Elkin-Jones, Enlightenment Lecture Coordinator, Cokethorpe School
Revolutions in Biology - Talks on Cutting Edge Science Topics
A selection of talks in which I discuss some of the latest developments to revolutionise the biological sciences. Looking at areas such as stem cells and regenerative medicine, gut bacteria, epigenetics, and research into cancer, I explain the scientific advances that have been made in recent years and share the latest cutting edge medical and technological developments that will be revolutionising all our lives in the next few years. These talks can be delivered separately or can be combined, and new talks can be created bespoke, covering other science topics. Just let me know what you'd like me to talk about!
Gut Feelings:
Gut Bacteria, Cravings, Chocolate and Poo!
Dr Emily Grossman, expert in molecular biology and genetics, investigates how our gut bacteria influence what we eat and how we feel, altering our moods and behaviour and making us crave certain foods. So could a poo transplant kick our chocolate addiction? Are the bugs in our belly controlling us?
Science Museum Lates, September 2015
"WOW! What a talented, clever and stunning "Gut Feelings" presentation. A very motivational start to 2016 for my 16 year old son who is considering a career in medicine and he was completely inspired and fired up. If ever there was a woman who could capture the imagination of young and old alike to engage with STEM subjects it is Dr Grossman. I would love to hear her again and if I had a wish it would be that every secondary school student in the UK could meet her and be motivated to be inquisitive!"
Mary C. Sykes, Manager of BOBW Ltd
How To Grow a Human:
Stem cells and regenerative medicine
Dr Emily Grossman investigates recent advances in the fields of cloning and regenerative medicine - from Dolly the sheep to 3-D printed livers - and discusses how stem cells are now being used to re-grow human body parts. She explores the recent advances in the use of this amazing technology to repair damaged tissues and to grow whole organs, and asks if in the future we could even grow a new heart? A brain? Cure paralysis? Combat baldness? Reverse infertility? Could we one day even grow a whole human?!
Sherborne School, October 2015 (first ten mins of talk only)
“Science depends on communication, on people being able to distil complex ideas for a wider audience, preferably in the most engaging way possible - this is exactly what Emily does. Her talks for Science Live were perfect for the A-Level Biology students who made up the audience. Using what they were studying as a starting point, she stretched them and introduced them to the possibilities that further studies in the sciences may offer. Students and teachers alike commented on the high quality of Emily’s talks, which were a great combination of effortless presentation stye and scientific rigour”
Daniel Powell, Director, Science Live
"Emily kept children aged 8-10 engaged at the same time as making the content appeal to teenagers and adults. The audience remained captivated for an hour, leading to fascinating questions from the children and hopefully a few new scientists of the future.”
Dr Adrian Burden, Founder, Malvern Festival of Innovation
The Fat Controller: Obesity and Weight-Loss
With more than 1 in 3 UK adults now being considered obese, ‘diabesity’ is a growing problem: diabetes, brought on by obesity, which in turn causes brain, heart, nerve and kidney damage. But could we prevent it? According to new research soon we might be taking drugs to stop ourselves over-eating, or flicking a biological switch to effortlessly burn off our fat. Join science broadcaster and expert in molecular biology Dr Emily Grossman as she discusses potential ground-breaking medical techniques to lose weight effortlessly and what they may mean for our future.
This talk can also be presented “in conversation” with Emily’s father Ashley Grossman, Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Oxford and expert in the region of the brain controlling hormones and appetite.
“A wonderfully engaging event, filled with important information that we should all take on board, presented in an accessible way.”
Luiza Patorski, Programme Manager Science Oxford
Taking Control: Fertility and Egg Freezing - What Should Women in Their 30s be Concerned About?
Emily is in her late 30s and last year she decided to have her eggs frozen. Share her personal journey, as she discusses the realities of egg freezing and the issues and options available for women like her. This talk can also be presented as an "in conversation" piece with a fertility expert. Read Emily's story in these articles she wrote for Brighton Girl Mag and The Sun, and an interview in The Daily Mail. Watch Emily talking about it on The Victoria Derbyshire Show (BBC2), Holding Back the Years (BBC2) and Channel 5 News.
Emergency on Planet Earth
Emily explores the science behind what's really going on in the world around us, how we got here, where we're heading, and what we can do about it. This talk is based on the internationally acclaimed free online guide to the climate and ecological crisis, Emergency on Planet Earth that Emily wrote in collaboration with experts from the Scientists for Extinction Rebellion community that she co-founded in 2019.
Watch a version of this talk Emily gave for the Institute of Engineering and Technology's 2020 Christmas Lecture here, and for the opening of the Cambridge Zero Climate Festival 2020 here.
We Have a Dream for Our Planet
“When I first learned of the severity of the Planetary Crisis, I had nightmares. Because I was alone. Alone, we will always have nightmares. But together, we can have a dream - a dream of an alternative future for our planet.”
In this moving and inspiring speech, created for the October 2021 We Have a Dream lecture series at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, Emily explains the truth about where we're currently heading and shares her dream for what the future could look like and how we can get there together.
The Victoria Derbyshire Show, BBC2, May 2018
Channel 5 News, Nov 2017
The Science Of Reading
Emily explores the remarkable way in which the brain learns to read, and discusses the importance of reading to children.
Talks on Maths and Statistics
In this interactive and amusing talk, Dr Emily Grossman takes a light-hearted look at these issues - illustrated with examples of "embarrassing moments" where she's been caught out in her own career as a TV science broadcaster. This talk can be adapted for audiences of any age and level of experience - from statisticians to maths-phobics!
“Emily is an engaging speaker whose experiences on some famous TV shows gives students an insight into how easily we can be misled by the statistics we hear in the news”
Rob Eastaway, Director of Maths Inspiration
Lies, Damned Lies, and Newspapers:
The use and abuse of statistics in the media
Can we believe everything we read in the papers? The media constantly misuse, misinterpret and abuse statistics. Sometimes mistakes arise because of genuine errors made by experts. Sometimes data from scientists is misinterpreted or misunderstood. And sometimes the media knowingly spin or distort statistics to tell a good story. Who knew?!
"Emily gave another fascinating presentation exploring the widespread misuse and abuse of statistics in the media which included great clips from Emily’s many TV appearances. We had absolutely fantastic feedback from students and teachers so a massive thumbs up! Emily has a real knack for communication that always knocks the socks of our audiences. The way she interacts with the audience is superb and I really like the positivity she shows…always remembering to say “that’s a great answer” and so on. It was a very professional presentation. Thank you so much Emily for taking part in this GCSE Maths in Action event and inspiring literally hundreds of teenage mathematicians. It is because of people like you that more students will go into maths and science which makes all these days worthwhile, so thank you for that!”
David Matthews, The Training Partnership, Director of GCSE Maths in Action
"I have worked with Emily on a number of events including her plenary address on “The Role of Statistics in Society" at the ESRC Applied Quantitative Methods Network in Edinburgh, and her talk at a Royal Statistical Society event on statistical fallacies. Emily is an exceptionally good communicator, able to engage and inspire an audience. She is clearly passionate about helping people understand maths and science and this comes through in her delivery. I have also found her to be highly professional, relating well to everyone involved in event organisation."
Prof Gwilym Pryce, Director of the Sheffield Methods Institute
Do Numbers Drive You Nuts?
The role of maths and statistics in society and the media
Numbers are too important to leave to the experts – but why are so many of us afraid of them? Maths teacher and science broadcaster Dr Emily Grossman discusses what can we do to address this issue, and asks why does it even matter? This talk can be adapted for audiences of any age and level of experience - from statisticians to maths-phobics!
Talks and Workshops on Sex and Relationships - See Here For Testimonials
What Turns You On? The Science of Sexual Arousal - understanding your erotic needs and how to get them met
Are you turned on by the soft and gentle strokes of a lover’s hands? Tantalised by their longing gaze? Excited by pushing the boundaries with them? Or just hot for some sex?
In this interactive talk and workshop, which draws on the latest cutting edge research, bestselling science author Dr Emily Grossman explores every aspect of what gets you aroused. Using visualisations, self-enquiry, partner sharing and discussions, you will discover what your Erotic Blueprint is, gain an understanding of the sensitivity of your sexual brakes and accelerators (and how to work with them to create more fulfilling sexual experiences), and explore the unique set of circumstances and contexts that really turn you on. You will leave with a set of practical tools to enable you to create truly mind-blowing erotic experiences - for you and for your lover.
Pandas Love Porn... The Science of Sex and Attraction (Dr Emily's Weirdest X-Rated Science Facts!)
For description see section on Interactive Science Quiz shows, above.
Do You See Me? The healing power of being seen for who you truly are
Who would you be if you didn’t feel you had to conform to society’s expectations of you. What would you do? And what, or who, would you desire? For full description see bottom of section on Motivational and Inspirational Talks above.
Relating Without a Map: Exploring new relationship paradigms
Until a year ago, Emily had only had heterosexual monogamous relationships with cis-gendered men. However, last year she met and fell in love with singer-songwriter, music lecturer and gender activist Kimwei McCarthy - who identifies as non-binary, assigned female at birth. At around the same time, Emily was also diagnosed as being autistic and having ADHD. Emily and Kimwei now have a deeply committed partnership. They are also ethically non-monogamous. In this talk and discussion, Emily and Kimwei will share their experiences of the new relationship models they have had to create in order to celebrate each other's differences and to enjoy a truly exceptional and fulfilling polyamorous relationship. They will also share some tools that can help you to discover what relationship maps are right for YOU.
See here for a selection of testimonials for Emily's recent talks and workshops on sex and relationships.
Hosting Events, Chairing Discussions and Practical Workshops
I'm an experienced event host, discussion chair and panel member. I have also been a celebrity judge for various debating competiotins, science competitions and awards ceremonies. In addition I have run practical workshops on DNA, Genetic Engineering and Forensics and I've performed science demonstrations at science festivals and other live events.
“Emily brought her infectious enthusiasm to her role as moderator of our Research to Reality lecture which saw three young scientists from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel present their research into some diverse areas of cutting edge science. Emily succinctly summarized complex subject matter for the audience and deftly guided them through our question and answer session.”
Sheridan Gould, Executive Director, Weizmann UK
"Emily was a stellar member of our International Day of the Girl panel. Her own experience, informed opinions and insight and enthusiasm for her chosen area of work really brought to life the phrase #breakthebarriers and elevated the evening hugely. Her resonance with all of those young (and older!!) women was fab to see and the way she handled questions and responded to comments both on and off the stage will have left lots of people with food for thought and feeling inspired!"
Dianne Stradling, Plan International UK
Innovate 2017 - Nov 2017
Coram's Children's Charity - Nov 2017
All my school visits are created bespoke, but a typical day at a school might include a combination of:
• Inspirational Science Careers Assembly - tailored for either a primary or secondary school.
• Dr Emily’s Weird and Wonderful Science Facts / Brain-Fizzing Facts - interactive science quiz show which forms that basis of my new book, which can be tailored to any age group (primary or secondary) or to fit in with any curriculum theme.
• Climate Change: The Facts or The Natural World and How We Can Look After It - a talk, tailored to any age group, on what's going on in the world around us and what we can do it about.
• Year 7-9: People Like Me - The Wise Campaign’s interactive STEM careers workshop for girls
• Year 10-13: Lies, Damned Lies and Newspapers - a fun and interactive talk on the use and abuse of statistics in the media.
• Year 7-13: Secrets of Success, Women in STEM or Too Sensitive for Science? - inspirational and motivational talk on my varied career path, touching on ideas around confidence and resilience and challenging the stereotype of what it really takes to be a scientist
• Year 10-13: Gut Feelings or How to Build a Human - a talk on a cutting edge science topic such as gut bacteria, stem cells or regenerative medicine.
• Year 12-13: Informal STEM careers chat, or a workshop on confidence, interview skills, body language or public speaking (for more info please see my Trainer page).
• Year 12-13: Pandas Love Porn - an 'X-Rated' science quiz show about the science of sex and attraction, for older teenagers!
Some Suggestions For a School Visit: