Helen Russell

Helen makes the case for why Denmark stands as a beacon of hope, good sense, and stability in these increasingly unpredictable times. With the UK’s coronavirus death toll now the highest in Europe and Denmark’s one of the lowest, Helen covers why Denmark has become a model for others to emulate. Mixing personal anecdotes with compelling examples and information, this is an exploration of the country regularly rated as one of the world’s happiest – and how it handles things when life isn’t so sunny, including:

Audience takeaways:

• How hygge can help during a lockdown
• Why family matters (more) in Denmark
• When a work/life balance becomes more important than ever
• How trust can help heal a nation in crisis

As a British journalist who has been studying the cultural differences between Denmark and the rest of the world for the past seven years, she is uniquely placed to bring the subject to life in a warm and witty way. Tackling important questions for our post-Brexit, post-COVID-19 landscape with a portrait of the nation Helen has come to call home.

The Year of Living Danishly – Uncovering the secrets of the world’s happiest country

• This talk is based on Helen’s bestseller “The Year of Living Danishly” and touches upon the key areas that psychologists and experts agree are important in order to live a more content life. The key areas include trust, security, a sense of belonging, equality, addressing the aesthetics (& ‘getting hygge with it’)
• Helen offers an insightful and useful guide to becoming happier delivered in an entertaining and engaging way. This keynote is suitable for group events, human resources professionals as well as CSR agendas.

The expat experience (and how to survive it)

• In this engaging keynote, speaker Helen Russel provides an overview of the challenges foreigners face when moving to Denmark. Helen combines research with her personal experiences and funny anecdotes.
• Helen shares practical and useful tips and tricks to make Denmark feel like a home. She covers important areas like culture shock, making friends, keeping your identity. She also shares her top things not to do when moving to Denmark which stem from personal experiences.
• This keynote presentation is ideal for international organisations as well as companies looking to hire expats.

The cultural differences between Denmark and the UK

• As someone who has worked across Europe, America and Asia, Helen Russell keeps discovering more about what it means to be British. In this eye-opening keynote, Helen shares the most notable differences between Denmark and the UK.
• When Helen moved to Denmark she was appalled to discover that Danes have no word for “please”, don’t hold doors for each other and talk salary like it’s everyone’s business – something that verges on taboo in the UK. This keynote offers an amusing look at why Brits behave as they do as well as the norms in British society like manners, money, family, traditions and honesty.
• This presentation is perfect for international companies with employees working in Denmark or thinking of expanding as well as cultural adventurers, schools and universities.

The science of change and taking leaps into the unknown

• In this keynote, Helen Russel presents her discoveries from her book “Leap Year – How small steps can make a giant difference”. Helen spent several years researching the science of change and now presents the best tools and strategies for embracing change.
• The audience will learn how to feel more confident with decision making, the power of making changes in incremental steps and Helen’s 10 tips for making leaps into the unknown. Helen draws on the knowledge of neuroscientists, psychologists, business leaders, nutritionists and even FBI hostage negotiators.

The secrets of happiness from around the world

• In this insightful keynote, speaker Helen Russel shares the secrets of happiness from 30 countries. This keynote is based on research from her new book “The Atlas of Happiness” and Helen uncovers lots of interesting habits and attitudes that we can all learn from.
• Helen talks about how she started her book and why we need to look to other countries for inspiration in the face of negative bias. Helen inspires her audience as she shares examples of unique happiness concepts as well as what she learned herself during her research.