Trudi Boatwright is an internationally recognised Playful Experience Designer, TEDx speaker, author and dynamic theatre maker who reimagines the toughest challenges as opportunities for creativity and human connection.

Drawing on two decades in the arts and a Master of Design Futures, she weaves applied improvisation, design thinking, and experiential learning into experiences that ignite imagination, resilience, and connection.

A sought-after keynote speaker, coach, and writer, she is the winner of the 2026 Next Level Speaker award and partners with organisations and governments to embed connection and creativity as a powerful catalyst for leadership, problem-solving, and cultural growth. Her engaging keynotes and workshops energise audiences with fresh insights, scientific research, and practical takeaways, proving that play is not the opposite of work, but the secret to thriving in it.

As the creative force behind TBC Creative, Trudi also crafts immersive theatre that resonates deeply with audiences, inspiring them to see the world, and themselves, differently. Offstage, her lively home of kids, pets, and endless curiosity fuels her conviction that playfulness isn’t just joyful, it’s essential for tackling society’s greatest challenges and sparking lasting change.

Keynote Topics include:

Beating Burnout with Play – Combating our global crisis

Feeling overwhelmed by constant pings, pressure to perform, and information overload?

You’re not alone. In today’s hyper-connected work environment, many of us are battling burnout and a flood of content and expectations that exhaust the brain and drain creativity.

But what if the antidote isn’t more productivity… but more play?

In this fun and impactful keynote, you’ll explore how to:

• Understand how your brain processes (and gets frazzled by) information
• Discover how simple play can unlock complex problem-solving and calm mental chaos
• Learn how to de-load your mental platter using neuroscience-informed strategies
• Connect with colleagues through creative, energising activities designed to cut through the noise

Expect memory games, laughter, and aha moments, all grounded in psychology, neuroscience, and a deep respect for the pressures you face.

No PowerPoint marathons. No fluff. Just permission to reset and recharge through purposeful play so your burnout dissipates into sizzling hot productivity.

Ideal for:  Teams under high pressure, annual conferences, wellbeing teams, high stress environments, Leadership events.

Connection before Content – Putting creative humans first in a digital world

In the ‘rise of the machine’ staying human is now more important the ever.  We have a loneliness epidemic on our hands, and our leaders will be our future connectors because organisations are in a high state of change!  If you want to learn to connect, engage or ‘human’ better – Trudi has the answer.

In this keynote, expect joyous stories, high engagement and a connected audience that goes way beyond your event.

Get ready for:

• An understanding of how we are hard-wired to connect
• A reminder of the power of random acts of kindness
• Connection storm (physical activity)
• Strategies to connect to improve workflow and productivity
• A recipe to combat loneliness and disengagement

Trudi unites your audience in an unprecedented way to ensure your attendees leave both understanding and feeling the very power of what it is to be human. It creates a magic that AI would be envious of.

Ideal for:  Creative off-sites, Award events, Annual conference, intimate events, luncheon events.

Play and resilience – Future proofing your teams

Being playful is our evolutionary response to resilience. It’s how we learn, adapt, and innovate. So how do we harness that in our businesses to keep our staff engaged, connected, and fluent to change? With a playful mindset.

Play is the cultural glue of the future. Trudi captivates audiences globally to share why play matters and how you can embed play in your daily work processes — without the cringe! Trudi brings you the latest scientific research, easy-to-use takeaways, and a highly playful approach.

More than just a presentation, working with Trudi is an interactive journey that inspires your team to think differently about the role of play, playfulness and creativity in professional growth and successful business. Your team will leave energised, inspired and equipped – with skills that stick and smiles that last!

• Actionable steps to incorporate play into your work culture
• Insights from scientific research on the benefits of play
• Real-world examples and success stories
• Practical tips to foster a playful, engaging and innovative workplace

Ideal for:  Large conferences, international events, Leadership learning, Off-sites, Dinner functions.

Presenting:  YOU – The secrets of fine communication

Presenting is most people’s biggest fear. So as one of the futures leading organisational skills, how do we overcome our fear and present something that influences others for our own success?

Using creativity.

Trudi shares her 25-year experience on a stage, helping people grasp the concept of impactful, award-wining presentations to ensure that you leave ready to combat the world. Whether sharing with 2 people or 1000, Trudi is ready to draw the curtain and let you see inside a presenting practice that has ‘wowed’ audiences all over the world.

Expect to:

• Understand the psychology behind presenting and why it needs to work for you
• Realise the power of a good story and how to craft one
• Level up your non-verbal body language
• Pinch over 25 years of secrets from a professional speaker
• Earn yourself some serious gravitas

Expect to be locked, shocked and utterly excited about taking these skills and preparing yourself for a revolution in your team and organisation.  Presenting will never be the same again.

Ideal for:  Leadership executives, sales teams, customer service, annual off sites.

Resilience:  Re-building your etch-a-sketch

Trudi’s life was on track.  She was one of the rare ones that got her childhood dreams.  Then one night, someone put a gun at her head.

In this deeply personal and revealing journey, Trudi outlines her journey of resilience and connection when life took her personal ‘etch-a-sketch’ and gave it a shake-up.

She shares how creativity and play carried her through heartache and trauma and why we are all built for ‘playful resistance’. From bankruptcy in London, to working with sick children in Melbourne, this tale of personal journey will have you laughing, crying, and reminding yourself that we all have the ability to be resilient – no matter what.

In this keynote:

• Understand the power within us all when challenges face us
• Explore how playfulness can turn trauma into triumph
• Here Trudi’s deeply personal journey

This Keynote is ideal for Wellbeing teams, Leadership events or intimate events.