Speaking, Facilitation & Workshops
Collaborations are most fruitful in a space where we can build on each other’s ideas and feel safe sharing. This applies equally to professional, educational, creative, and academic settings. My goal as a speaker, host, and facilitator is to create exactly that atmosphere.
I combine the analytical clarity of a researcher with the spontaneity of an improv actor and the empathy of a youth counselor to make interactions genuine and complex topics accessible. Below, you can find examples from my previous engagements and ideas on how I can support your team or organization. I also included some feedback I received that has really touched me.
Emcee at the Heidelberg Laureate Forum 2025
At the 12th Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF), I had the privilege of serving as emcee of the Opening Ceremony alongside my co-host Pêdra Andrade. The HLF is an international gathering of 600 leading minds in computer science and mathematics. It brings together recipients of the disciplines’ highest honors (such as the Turing Award and Fields Medal – our “Nobel Prizes”) with carefully selected young researchers from all over the world.
Serving as emcee meant more than just introducing speakers. It was about shaping the atmosphere for a week of curious exchange, memorable encounters, and cutting-edge science. After months of thoughtful preparation, we found a tone that is inviting and formal, yet personal and relatable. We moderated interviews, welcomed distinguished guests, and introduced some engaging interactivity. Watch the recording and see how the entire audience introduced themselves simultaneously at 37:30.
“You were so charismatic and authentic. You can use your voice really well, everything was pronounced perfectly clearly and such a joy to listen to you.”
Attendee of the HLF25 Opening Ceremony
Improv Theater as Training Ground for Collaboration
For over 10 years, I’ve been performing and teaching improvisational theater. What started as a creative outlet turned into an invaluable professional tool. Common misconception: Improv isn’t just about spontaneously being funny on stage. It’s about listening deeply, building on others’ ideas, trusting your team, and adapting when things don’t go as planned. These are exactly the skills that make collaborative work successful.
I offer improv workshops for teams and organizations that translate these principles into practical skills: How can we listen to each other candidly? How do we respond constructively when someone throws an unexpected idea into the room? How do we create an environment where people feel safe to take creative risks? How can we boil that down again to a concrete outcome?
While improv unlocks collaborative potential, the training also builds individual soft skills: public speaking with confidence, feeling comfortable on stage, using your voice deliberately, calm thinking and articulating under pressure, reading the room and your colleagues’ energy, and managing stage fright with all its physiological symptoms. Because participants experience and practice these principles themselves, the learning sticks and carries over into their daily work.
“Michael is one of the best improv coaches I know. Such a shame he will no longer teach in Bremen.”
Attendee of a 6-week improv course “Pretty Flower” in 2024
Talks
I speak about user experience research and interaction design, virtual and mixed reality, and conversational AI. My audiences range from fellow researchers and experienced professionals to curious novices without background knowledge. I adapt the content and language, but the goal stays the same: clarity without watering down or buzzword bingo. Instead of hiding complexity, I translate it to make it graspable.
“That really might have been the best presentation I’ve ever seen.”
Member of my dissertation committee
Workshop Facilitation
Beyond presentations, I design and lead interactive sessions around UX, research methods, collaborative problem-solving, meditation, product design, and first-hand exploration of innovative tech. Preparing a solid plan is just as important as recognizing when to deviate from it. Using methods from my versatile toolbox of Design Thinking, rapid prototyping, and user research, I can flexibly react to the needs and progress of the group. The best workshops feel less like teaching and more like shared discovery.
“I particularly enjoyed the belance between trying things ourselves, discussing and listening. That way, it was always interesting, informative and never boring.”
Participant of a one-week workshop on AI at the Mensa Juniors Easter Camp 2024
Teaching & Coaching
I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experiences in different contexts. I’ve held university courses and mentored young researchers in their research projects, taught piano to students of various ages, coached improv actors and teams, and worked as an educator and counselor at the Mensa Kids & Juniors program since 2010. These experiences taught me to meet people where they are, recognize when someone needs encouragement versus challenge, and genuinely care whether the penny has really dropped.
“I love how poised you are and how you can always communicate in a clean, calm, but assertive manner. I tried to take notes on that, so thank you for being a great (albeit unknowingly) teacher.”
Teammate at the European Mensa Juniors Camp 2024
Let’s work together
I’m open to speaking engagements, moderating panels, facilitating workshops, and providing improv training for your team. If you have a project or event in mind, get in touch.