Lauren Currie is a European designer who is a champion for diversity. She has received an OBE for her initiatives to achieve diversity through design. As a regular public speaker on the subject of design, she’s also passionate about bringing diversity to the speaker line-up at conferences.

In our podcast, she reveals how a bright red sofa has helped reduce the nerves of more than 500 wannabe speakers. It’s a simple concept – people who are nervous about public speaking can apply to sit on a red sofa during conferences. There’s no pressure on them to speak or perform – they just sit there. And it completely changes their attitude to public speaking.

Lauren shared her passion for bringing new voices to the conference stage – more women, more people with disabilities, and more people of colour. She dreams of a day when a conference speaker line-up reflects the diversity of the audience watching. And the red chair is just one way she’s making that happen.