© Linelle Deunk
Personal Development | Wild Animals | Lessons from the Wilderness
Martine van Zijll Langhout
As a wildlife expert, Martine gives inspiring lectures and workshops about wild animals and what we can learn from them about our own behavior and well-being. With an original and enlightening perspective, she examines our animal behavior in our urban jungle and human 'ecosystems'.
Languages:
Employability:
Keynote Speaker,Motivational Speaker
Employability:
Keynote Speaker,Motivational Speaker,
About Martine van Zijll Langhout
As a wildlife expert, Martine offers an original and enlightening perspective on our animal behavior in our urban jungle and human ‘ecosystems.’ She gives inspiring lectures and workshops on what we can learn from wild animals about ourselves and our well-being. For years, she lived in the wilderness, working as a veterinarian with a wide variety of wild and often dangerous animals. By living like a wild animal herself, she managed to survive in the wilderness and discovered how beneficial this lifestyle is for us. She experienced the joy of stepping out of her comfort zone, continuing to develop, and persevering.
The many dangerous wild species she worked with, such as lions, elephants, giraffes, gorillas, snakes, and rhinos, taught her mindfulness, (self)confidence, and connection. Chimpanzees, in particular, taught her a lot about our own ape-like behavior. These experiences serve as a major eye-opener for our Western way of life.
Because we humans also lived as hunters and gatherers in the wilderness for a long time, the lessons from the wilderness provide deep insights into our own behavior and group dynamics. We can learn a lot from wild animals about, for example, focus, leadership, learning, relaxation, and collaboration. How do they do this, and how do they deal with stress, setbacks, and challenges? And how can we use these life lessons to become better leaders, colleagues, teachers, teams, companies, partners, parents, and, above all, happier people?
In addition to her current role as head veterinarian at ARTIS, she conducts research, regularly publishes in professional journals, and teaches. She is a recognized coach and author of the book *Surviving in the Wild* (Ambo/Anthos, 9th edition), which has been enthusiastically received by both the press and the public. She also regularly appears in the media as a wildlife specialist and leads wilderness trails in Botswana.
A lecture by Martine is a celebration of recognition, while also offering a fresh perspective. With a sparkling and optimistic approach, Martine links the life lessons from the wilderness to the specific themes of your organization. Her knowledge, humor, and many adventures with wild animals inspire people to discover the ape within themselves. By connecting with nature, and thus with ourselves, the urgency of collaborating on a mission larger than ourselves also becomes clear.
Specialist Subjects
Where is Kuldip this year? I found your joint session last year the best session of the entire conference
"For the 2018 edition of our annual customer conference in Las Vegas, AWS re:Invent, I was on stage together with Kuldip, him being my customer back then. He delivered the major part of our session and talked about the digital innovation activities of his then employer. I can state that he delivered his part in a very engaging and entertaining manner. This is also reflected by the very high CSAT scores and other feedback we received from the audience. Based on this excellent performance, we asked Kuldip to present again at the AWS Summit in Berlin in early 2019. Again, he delivered a very engaging and entertaining talk and the CSAT scores were very high. His performance in Las Vegas in 2018 apparently left an impression in the audience: When I delivered a talk AWS re:Invent 2019, one year later than my joint session with Kuldip, someone from the audience asked me afterwards: “Where is Kuldip this year? I found your joint session last year the best session of the entire conference”."
References
Martine taught us about learning from wildlife and provided reflection on teamwork, leadership and highlighted the importance of diversity.
"We, NIBC Bank’s Risk, Legal and Compliance departments, enjoyed an absolutely inspirational lecture by Martine Van Zijll Langhout during our annual off-site. She taught us about learning from wildlife and provided reflection on teamwork, leadership and highlighted the importance of diversity. But also, just as in nature – the importance of embracing elderly people as they have the knowledge and experience. In fact, we often behave like animals and move around in the ‘office jungle’ where we - just as animals do - are weighing and managing risks every day. To conclude, there is a lot that we can learn from wildlife, not only in our professional but also in our private lives. Many thanks Martine Van Zijll Langhout for your fantastic speech and inspiring us during our great off-site."
Amazing speaker, wonderful connection with our business, great energy!
"We've contacted Martine for an hour keynote lecture on animal wisdom, where we've explained upfront the mission, vision and strategy of our own company. She managed to find the perfect balance between fun, inspiration and the link to our business. She wove in some of the key points of the day and did this with an amazing energy and enthusiasm. We've sent out a survey to all of our employers after the talk and they rated her an overal of 9.1 on 10. Honestly, it couldn't have been more perfect. A big big thanks to Martine!!"