2026 SPEAKERS
Margaret Brown
Margaret Brown
Are you willing to look again?
What if the person, idea or situation in front of you is not what it first appears to be? We make rapid judgements every day, shaped by accumulated experiences, conditioning, and expectations. This talk explores how easily first impressions become fixed stories, how those stories influence the way we see others, and what can happen when we mistake our perspective for the whole truth. Through the lens of art, perception and everyday human behaviour, it challenges us to become more curious about people, perspectives and the wonderfully complex world we all share.
ABOUT MARGARET
Margaret cultivated a unique perspective on perception and creative thinking through her BA Hons in painting from Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, discovering early on how essential it is to look beyond the obvious. That artistic foundation informs her professional path as an Executive Coach and best-selling author, drawing on thirty-five years of experience as a sought-after leadership and organisational development specialist with Margaret Brown Consulting Ltd. Having worked across every continent coaching C-suite leaders, she designs bespoke leadership programmes that measurably reduce attrition and earn her clients formal ‘Top 100’ recognition as ‘great places to work’.
INTERVIEW WITH MARGARET
Your topic is called ‘Are you willing to look again?’, can you describe this in more detail and share a bit about what you will be covering in your talk?
I’ll be talking about how my 4 years at art school influenced how I see the world – to look beyond the obvious for deeper meaning. My story hinges around my realistic drawing of an old ruined Scottish cottage, and how the ancient rocks in its dry-stone walls sparked an interest in geological deep time and interconnectedness – reflected in the abstract art that resulted from that drawing.
What has made you so passionate about this topic? How does it relate to you or your background?
I’m very concerned about how technology – and Social Media in particular, is being used to increasingly divide people, feeding people single narratives that block critical thinking. With my background in leadership development, I am driven by helping leaders to see the value in all their people and to embrace their differing and complementary strengths, and to see the value in diversity in all respects, and how that tangibly benefits their business. My artistic thinking supports this notion. There are multiple ways to interpret art and none of them is ‘wrong’. I bring this thinking to my main career where it’s more essential than ever for leaders to be able to think differently and creatively to stand out in a competitive and fast changing world.
What do you think people will gain from listening to your talk?
It should help them to self-reflect and consider where they might make negative judgements or ‘pigeon hole’ people on first impressions, and to be more aware of the importance of critical thinking.
How has your TEDxAberdeen journey been so far? Is there anything you’ve learned that you didn’t expect, or any highlights?
Despite my extensive experience of public speaking, the training has been transformational – helping me to consider the crucial importance of pauses, pace and clarity of diction. A key highlight has been witnessing the journeys of my fellow speakers and hearing their incredible talks.
What are you most looking forward to most on this journey? What are you hoping to get out of this?
I’m looking forward to feeling completely confident that my story will inspire the audience to think about how they view people and situations. I also hope to come out of this as more articulate and accomplished speaker!
What does being part of TEDxAberdeen 2026 mean to you?
I feel humbled that my story resonated enough with the TEDx panel to give me this opportunity – to make a small dent in this heavily divided world.