Speaking services
Phil is passionate about de-stigmatising gay loneliness and helping gay men feel authentic connection.
You want Phil - a global thought leader on loneliness and connection - to speak at your conference, event or podcast.
You want Phil to share his own lived experience of loneliness and his insights on moving through loneliness towards feeling authentic connection with your audience.
You're in the right place to make that happen.
Phil's able to speak online or in person.
Explore how Phil can support you by contacting him.
Photo credit: smb creative
You need Phil's insight and experience
Phil is a global loneliness thought-leader. He's an articulate, affable, highly-educated and engaging speaker who makes the topic of loneliness relatable.
Phil has a background in public policy and international relations. He was an Australian Public Servant - including an Australian diplomat - for 23 years. Phil realised that he was lonely while on a diplomatic posting.
Phil knows how difficult it is to ask for help and support. He also knows that the help provided sometimes does not actually help alleviate the thoughts and feelings of loneliness.
Phil developed and now provides the services he needed when first learning from his loneliness. He's now passionately de-stigmatising loneliness worldwide.
Phil's difference
Loneliness is often discussed in a dry, conceptual way.
Statistics and academic reports don’t resonate with the humans experiencing the emotion.
Thousands of people globally have benefitted from hearing Phil's story and having him facilitate kind and honest conversations about loneliness, connection and belonging.
Humans feel more connected and engaged to themselves and the world because of Phil's work.
Previous speaking events
December 2022
Ending Loneliness Together hosted a members-only webinar featuring Prof. Manuela Barreto from the University of Exeter in the UK on 8 December 2022.
Phil's spoke in his capacity of being a member of Ending Loneliness Together's Lived Experience Advisory Panel about his experience with the inadequacies of the language of loneliness.
English is a wonderful language and Phil uses it well. However, Phil says that the language is ill-equipped for conversations about loneliness. As a result, we must learn to listen for what people experiencing loneliness don't say as much as what they do say.
Phil's here to help us learn how to speak about our loneliness.
"Wonderful conversation, Phil. Insightful and eloquent. Thank you for being part of this national movement." - Dr Michelle Lim - Scientific Chair and Chairperson Ending Loneliness Together -
13 December 2022
October 2022
Phil spoke at the Canadian Human Connection Conference on: 'The courage it takes to come out as gay and as lonely: disrupting gay loneliness and reconstructing perceptions of connection in the community.'
See Phil's presentation here.
The event was hosted by the Genwell Project and the Institute for Social Connection.
Feedback: 'The highlight of the day was Phil saying that by speaking about loneliness we normalize it. I've never though of it that way before.'
Thank you to all involved for the opportunity to connect with others working on loneliness in Canada.
August 2022
Phil is a member of Ending Loneliness Together's Lived Experience Advisory Panel.
Phil shared some of his personal loneliness story at the launch of the Strengthening Social Connection to Accelerate Social Recovery White Paper. The event was held at Parliament House in Canberra and was hosted by the Parliamentary Friends of Ending Loneliness Together.
Phil shared the speaker's stage with leading global loneliness experts, including Dr Michelle Lim (Chair, Ending Loneliness Together), Dr Vivek Murthy (US Surgeon-General) and Dr Etienne Krug (World Health Organisation).
Thank you to Ending Loneliness Together for the wonderful opportunity.
Read Phil's speech here.
The Loneliness Guy around the web
As a global loneliness thought leader, Phil loves spreading messages about the importance of
de-stigmatising gay loneliness and promoting authentic connection for gay men globally.
Here are some podcasts Phil's appeared on and articles he's written.
Me and my work featured in an article on ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) News on 12 January 2023.
I joined Gayborhood host Ed Wilson for a chat about gay loneliness, shame, being a Daddy and how our harshest experiences in life can become your superpower.
I participated on The Roundtable with other loneliness experts. The Roundtable is a show on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National every Sunday morning.
I appeared on Michael Rhodes' podcast on helping men through divorce. It was a fantastic - and real - conversation.
I wrote an article on how your loneliness is a gift for a fantastic local LGBTIQ+ magazine here in Canberra. Go read it!
I came out later in life. Calan Breckon from the Gay Men's Brotherhood asked me to join a panel of other beautiful men who also came out later in life to talk about it. Watch this episode of Gay Men Going Deeper here
My friend Mike Campbell wanted to know the cure for loneliness. So I shared it with him. Come and join us for this chat and find out what cures loneliness!
Join my conversation about loneliness and belonging with my friend Michael DiIorio from the Gay Men's Brotherhood
Listen to my conversation with Alexander Gerard about overcoming loneliness and being a happy gay man