NSB Logo Talli Osborne Talli Osborne

Talli Osborne

Speaker

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Punk Rock Optimist Inspiring Change from Within

Talli is known in many circles for her work in inspirational speaking and in helping others by inspiring change within themselves. She was born with some physical challenges but was raised with the belief that she could do anything she set her mind to, and this determined attitude is exactly how she lives her life.

Keynote Speeches

Differences are Beautiful

Though Talli was born missing her arms and bones in her legs, she was raised with the belief that she could do anything she wanted to. This determined attitude is exactly how she lives her life. Inspiring audiences to rethink beauty, Talli shares her personal struggles with perceptions of self and her journey to embrace the differences.

 

Mental Wellness

For many students, the time spent at university or college is a period of significant change. The experience of self-discovery and the desire to fit in have a great impact on the mental wellness of students. Talli knows firsthand how those who are different can be made to feel ostracized or discriminated against. She shares advice on developing confidence and encouraging others to stand up against bullies.

 

Positive Thinking & Doing

The stories Talli shares are based on the great things she has achieved, the challenges she has faced and how she have overcome them. Audiences will leave this presentation feeling inspired and motivated to be the best person they can be, to learn to love themselves, dream big and live life to the fullest!

 

Cyberbullying

In this presentation, Talli argues there’s more to this problem than just the bully and the bullied. We need to educate those around us to stand up for those being bullied. Only then can we put a stop to cyberbullying.

Put Yourself in your Client’s Shoes
In this presentation, Talli draws on her personal journey to show how you can never judge a book by its cover. This is an ideal presentation for corporate clients looking to be inspired by a new way of thinking about their audiences.

Put Yourself in your Client's Shoes

In this presentation, Talli draws on her personal journey to show how you can never judge a book by its cover. This is an ideal presentation for corporate clients looking to be inspired by a new way of thinking about their audiences.

Audience reviews:

  • Talli was a real hit, the youth really took to her! Her presentation went really well. The youth asked her a lot of questions about her life and how she made sense of the world and she worked with us to really create a presentation that drove home the key messages we were looking for.

    - Community Living Ontario

Speaker Biography

Though Talli was born missing her arms and bones in her legs, she was raised with the belief that she could do anything she wanted to, and this determined attitude is exactly how she lives her life. She has always participated fully in any activity that piqued her interests, from Girl Guides, school bands, little league, camp, and even Outward Bound, a wilderness school, where she portaged, carried a canoe and started fires using her feet. At 13, Talli started volunteering with the War Amps of Canada’s CHAMP program (something she does to this day). And so began Talli’s passion for inspiring others.

She speaks at seminars and shares her experiences with fellow amputees and their families, showing them that they, too, can live whatever life they want. As a teenager, she became a mentor for people with physical challenges. This led to Talli being the sole Canadian featured in Teens with the Courage to Give, a book comprised of 30 stories of teenagers overcoming the odds and being an inspiration to their community.

From there, Talli spoke at schools, conferences and radio shows, and appeared in videos produced by the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Community and Social Services. More recently, Talli has shared her story with many students across the country, she has been the keynote speaker at many corporate functions and loves spreading inspiration to teen groups and girls clubs.

While Talli’s interests are in helping others and inspiring change, she was at Virgin Mobile Canada for almost 8 years, as a Social Media Specialist, a niche she has always enjoyed and excelled at. During her time at Virgin, Talli was awarded Best Customer Service Agent in the Americas, as well as Third Best in the World. Talli was also presented with the Virgin Stars of the Year Award by Sir Richard Branson himself. More recently, Talli received a video endorsement by Richard Branson, putting Talli in his Top 10 Most Inspirational People and was featured on Richard’s personal blog at Virgin.com.

Another of Talli’s loves is music. Talli is recognizable in many punk scenes around the world, and for the last four years she’s fronted her own melodic-punk band, performing in many landmark venues in Toronto, including The Bovine, Sneaky Dee’s and the Kool Haus. But it’s in motivating people where Talli is most at home. Early last year Talli was approached by CBC to talk about her experiences with bullying. Always the optimist, she brushed aside any notion that she was a victim, instead taking the opportunity to stress that, with the right confidence and attitude, anyone can get past being bullied.

Talli has received some great media coverage throughout the years. She has been featured in the Toronto Star, CBC News, Metro News, Vice Magazine’s music mag. Noisey and even scored the cover story in the Hamilton Spectator.

Talli feels that being an inspirational speaker was something she was born to do. She loves changing perceptions and attitudes, and sharing her stories with others. As Talli says, she wants to spread inspiration, love and punk rock, across the globe, one talk at a time.