#CH2026: Michael Aagaard
Biography
Some speakers get invited once. Some come back because they have another great story to tell.
Michael Aagaard is about to become the first person to speak at Conversion Hotel for the fourth time. That probably tells you everything you need to know.
I first met Michael Aagaard many years ago, when we were both traveling the early CRO conference circuit. Over the years, I got to know him as one of the best optimization thinkers in our industry, but above all, as one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Humble, endlessly curious, always looking to improve, whether that’s an experiment, a presentation, or himself.
One story always makes me smile. Many years ago I was in Copenhagen for work and thought: “Michael lives in Denmark, let’s have dinner”. Only when he arrived did I discover that my flight from Amsterdam to Copenhagen had actually taken less time than Michael’s journey from his home on the western part of Denmark. Of course, he never mentioned it beforehand. He simply optimized the trip by planning client meetings the following day. That’s Michael in a nutshell.
Since 2019, Michael has been the coach behind our Keynote Speaker Competition. Every year he helps first-time Conversion Hotel speakers turn good ideas into memorable stories. More than thirty speakers have benefited from his feedback, and every single one of them left the stage stronger because of it.
Which raises an obvious question:
If one of the best presentation coaches in our industry has spent seven years helping others improve their talks… what happens when he finally decides to build a presentation about building presentations?
As optimizers, we spend countless hours perfecting experiments, dashboards, reports and strategies. But if we cannot communicate our ideas in a way that people remember, very little changes. Great presentations create alignment, influence decisions, and help organizations move.
That is exactly why Michael will help us with Demystifying Building Presentations.
Michael, welcome back for your fourth Conversion Hotel keynote. I know we’ll all leave Texel with a few improvements for our slides, but most importantly: to the way we tell our stories.
Founder & host of The Conference known as Conversion Hotel