Dr Norman Swan co-hosts RN’s Health Report and the popular What’s The Rash podcast.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he co-hosted Coronacast, which had monthly downloads in the millions. Norman is also a reporter and commentator on the ABC’s 7.30, Midday and News Breakfast and has made several Four Corners. He is a past winner of the Gold Walkley - Australia’s top award for journalism and has won other Walkleys, including one with his Coronacast colleagues in 2020.
He created Invisible Enemies, on pandemics and civilisation for Channel 4 UK and SBS which was subsequently broadcast in 27 countries.
Norman has been awarded the medal of the Australian Academy of Science, an honorary MD from the University of Sydney and in October 2022 a Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. On Australia Day 2023, Norman was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (AM).
He has two best selling books, So You Think You Know What’s Good For You and So You Want To Live Younger Longer. His next book, So you Want To Know What’s Best For Your Kids, a one stop handbook for parents of children from birth to 10 years old, will be out in August.
Norman trained in medicine and paediatrics in Aberdeen, London and Sydney before joining the ABC.
Talking Points
MC & Facilitator
Norman has extensive experience MCing conferences and chairing panel discussions—no matter how controversial. His hallmark is ensuring content and engagement come to the fore and providing the ‘glue’ for the discussion.MC & Facilitator
With panel discussions. Norman’s journalistic and broadcast experience makes sure that the key issues are centred, the pace is maintained, each panellist’s knowledge and expertise is utilised, and the discussion achieves its objectives. Norman is also very experienced at managing questions on the fly from large and diverse audiences.
Wellness? Resilience? Be careful what you wish for.
These words are bandied about, but what do they actually mean? Norman answers this question and discusses if they represent the ideal targets for health and wellbeing, both for ourselves and our employees.
Wellness? Resilience? Be careful what you wish for.
The Brain Runs Everything
There are lots of myths about the brain-body-mind connection.The Brain Runs Everything
This Keynote clarifies and separates fact from fiction.
The ultimate takeaway is that our state of mind, our level of stress, our diet and level of activity can affect every cell in our body - via the control centre, the brain.
The Recipe for Living Young as old as Possible.
The recipe is surprising clear and several of the clues come from the second longest lived people in the world - and they’re in Australia!
The Recipe for Living Young as old as Possible.
So You Want To Know What’s Good For Your Kids?
Dr Swan tailors this topic to meet the interest of the audience. Some themes he can explore include:So You Want To Know What’s Good For Your Kids?
- Screens
- Social Media
- Parenting Styles
- Mental Health issues such as anxiety and eating disorders
- How much do genes matter and more…
The Future of Healthcare
The pace of new technologies is accelerating: new drugs for cancer, new ways of diagnosing disease, artificial intelligence. Are they making a difference, can we afford them and are we getting the basics right?
The Future of Healthcare
Bespoke Keynotes
In addition to the above, Norman’s years of covering health, wellbeing, medicine, research, the pandemic, rural and regional health and medical politics allow him to talk on a wide variety of topics and issues tailored to conference themes and audience needs and interests.Bespoke Keynotes
Discuss your event’s needs with your Saxton consultant and we will work with Norman to craft a bespoke outline.
Video
Dr Norman Swan | Are ice baths good for you? | 7.30
Ice baths and cold therapy have become popular, with claims that cold exposure improves your mental health, helps you to lose weight and even stay young. But what does the science say? 7.30's Dr Norman Swan took himself way out of his comfort zone to find out.Dr Norman Swan | Toddler milks are marketed as beneficial, but they're unnecessary and could be harmful | 7.30
A third of children aged between 12 months and three years are being given ultra-processed products called toddler milks, and the evidence suggests that at best they're unnecessary and at worst, harmful. Dr Norman Swan and Emily Ackew report.Delegates were very impressed with Norman's presentation skills as much as what he had to say... just a great communicator. He refreshed them with his knowledge and presentation style. ... keep reading Convention Wise
We were very impressed with Norman's role as facilitator at our Indigenous Health Workforce Policy Forum and received nothing but positive feedback about him. We felt Norman really added to the level of discussion and set a tone that was both probing and challenging - but also respectful. Dr Kim Webber and I also appreciated the contribution Norman made in planning for the event and developing the agenda.
Dr Swan's presentation was well tailored to our audience, and provided excellent take-away points for future doctors. He is a very confident and knowledgeable speaker about such a broad range of current affairs and was able to integrate these into his discussion of leadership and teamwork.
Dr. Norman Swan was outstanding as the facilitator for our online public lecture as part of the 2022 ACMD Research Week at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne - he was engaging, really asked searching questions of the panel and allowed them to expand on their views and interacted with the online audience. Fantastic session to headline our Research Week - we will definitely do this again!
Excellent panel chair well prepared and familiar with discussion topics, able to draw the best from the panellists.
Excellent fit for us. He was generous with his time both beforehand and on the evening and engaged superbly with the audience.
