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KeyNote Asia Women Speakers Spotlight Column

Every week, KeyNote Asia Women Speakers features a different speaker in their “SpotLight” column.

This week, they are featuring Mette Johansson, Author, Professional Speaker, Owner of MetaMind training, a training consultancy, and Chair of KeyNote.  

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Justine, SpotLight editor:
Mette, you’re the Chair of KeyNote. Tell us, why is KeyNote so important to you?
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Mette: I see this as a huge opportunity to give women the confidence to speak on stages, and make it easy for conference organisers to find inspiring female speakers. We need more diversity on stages around the world – and that brings us to KeyNote’s purpose: bringing diversity to stages around the world. Studies show that diversity increases group intelligence. Meaning that having more women on stages is good for all of us.

Justine: If you could only deliver one speech for the rest of your speaking career, what would the topic be?

Mette: I absolutely love to share how connecting to your inner values energises you. We’ve heard many times that we should follow our passions. However, people in the corporate world often tell me that they don’t really know what their true passions are. Often, I hear that they are bored with their jobs at best – and close to burnout in more serious cases. In my talks, I share how to get into that space where you become unstoppable, simply because you’re driven by your passion.


I have experienced it myself. My values are centred on supporting others to be and do the best they can; and for me to keep learning, so that I can be and do the best I can. When I launch projects that are congruent with these values, I am on autopilot for success.

KeyNote – Asia’s Women Speakers is one such project. I strongly believe in the importance of our purpose: bringing diversity to stages around the world, and it fits hand in glove with my values. With KeyNote, we’re not only giving women opportunities to speak; we’re giving conference organisers the opportunity to have diverse speakers on stage, and we are grooming women to become successful speakers.

On a volunteer basis, we have been able to establish Asia’s leading speaker’s directory for women simply because it is in sync with my values and I am passionate about the purpose.

Justine: Why do you speak?

Mette: When I was in a corporate role, I could make a difference to the people in my teams. That meant that I could have made a difference to a couple of dozen people throughout my career. Leaving my corporate job, I discovered that I could make a positive impact on the same number of people every week as a trainer conducting learning programmes. As an author and speaker, I have again been able to multiply the positive impact I have.

I have a message that has helped people become more balanced, more successful, more fulfilled and, ultimately, happier. It’s an honour to share this on stages around the world.

Justine: What do women speakers bring to an audience that is unique compared to male speakers?

Mette: Women, on average, are more reluctant to speak on stage. This is largely due to lower confidence in their own skills, and apprehension of speaking to a large audience.

Generally, women’s strengths are that they may be more connected to their emotions and passions.

With KeyNote, our aim is to get rid of the weaknesses and ride on the strengths that women typically have. This means boosting women’s confidence, and getting their passions translated into powerful messages, delivered powerfully on stage.

This article can be found in the KeyNote Asia Women Speakers Website.

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