Ideaplatz: The Road to Great Design. Cheryl has been teaching multi-disciplinary audiences about design, technology, ethics, storytelling, and resilience via her design education company Ideaplatz, LLC since 2017. Her talks and workshops have appeared on five continents and in over a dozen countries.
Cheryl Platz is an experienced and world-renowned keynote speaker. She draws from her unique blend of diverse subject matter expertise, deep performing arts training and experience, empathy for cultural differences, and compelling lived experience to entertain and move audiences around the world no matter whether she’s working in a livestreamed multi-cam studio, on a stadium stage in Oslo, or one of the few dozen humans to ever lead the Nebula Awards as Toastmaster.
NOTE: Cheryl does not appear on behalf of her current employer, and all opinions expressed are her own.
Keynote Speaker And Panelist
Cheryl is a previous TEDx speaker (TEDx Seattle Women) with experience on stages for multilingual international audiences of over 1,500. All of her talks have been her own original content, drawn from her deeply unique life insight and improved by her extensive performing arts experience.
Host and Emcee
Cheryl has hosted for every kind of audience – from rowdy improv audiences at Seattle Theatersports to the rarified pop culture air as Toastmaster of the 2023 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association Nebula Awards, for which she wrote her opening monologue and collaborated with Star Trek: Homecoming writers Tilly and Susan Bridges.
Teacher and Facilitator
Cheryl received her certification as a LUMA Institute practitioner and facilitator during her time at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which took her already-extensive background in international workshop facilitation to the next level. This prepared her to create a new graduate level class for Carnegie Mellon, which is now in its third year.
Latest Talk: Modern Motivators of Play
Cheryl debuted a microtalk dedicated to the nine Motivators of Play laid out in the first chapter of her second book, The Game Development Strategy Guide, at the Seattle SLICE “Seattle Loves Indie Creators Expo” at Seattle’s storied McCaw Hall. This 11-minute microtalk tours the background behind the motivators that you can’t get in the book – and challenges indie creators to think about their market differently.
Educators interested in getting this content delivered to their classes along with a live Q&A can engage with the Rosenfeld Academic purchasing program (click for more info)- a minimum (discounted!) bulk purchase of 15 books for your program can unlock a live remote session with Cheryl for your students.
Mid Length Example Talks
These 20-35 minute talks are the new standard for a post-pandemic world where conferences are shorter, and attention spans are measured in TikTok clips.
from blank page to world stage
interaction 2018 – lyon, france
Cheryl had the honor of opening for design legend Alan Cooper on the mainstage in Lyon, France. Most designers are experts at improving upon existing experiences – but how does your process translate to a brand new product? Cheryl shares some of the processes and techniques she used to help get the Echo Look from a blue-sky idea to a tangible, validated experience in the hands of customers worldwide.
should you build it?
Interaction 2022 – virtual conference
As designers, our power and responsibility go hand in hand. How do you know you’re on the right path? Before you start your next project, take PICS or it shouldn’t happen. This talk is based on one of the design ethics frameworks featured in Cheryl’s first book, Design Beyond Devices.
Long form Example Talks
For the largest audiences and most important messages, Cheryl has created and delivered mainstage keynote talks of 45-60 minutes, sometimes live-translated into 3 or more languages at the venue.
The future of voice
Amuse UX 2018 – Budapest, hungary
Far from HAL or Her, the current generation of voice interfaces represents an incredibly important step forward – but the journey to the next generation of experiences is far from over.
Opti-Pessimism (Keynote)
Interaction Latin America 2019 – Medellin, columbia
Cheryl as AN event Panelist
Cheryl’s improvisational background makes her a natural choice for panels. She has participated in countless panels in a variety of settings, from international conferences to local STEM events for underrepresented youth.
Minimum appearance fees apply for most conferences and corporate events, but panel participation can also be arranged as part of a package that includes a talk or workshop.
Community and academic organizations that will not be charging for admission can inquire about limited pro bono availability.
Example video: Cheryl appears on a Digital Privacy panel as part of her speaking engagement at DEVit 360 in Thessaloniki, Greece in 2018.
Cheryl as an Event emcee and moderator
Live Emcee and Toastmaster
- 58th Annual SFWA Nebula Awards Toastmaster (2023)
- Seattle Theatersports
- Seattle Festival of Improv Theater
- Various NERDProv appearances (pictured: Dammit Liz Holiday Special at Seattle’s Triple Door)
Remote Event Emcee
- Advancing Research 2020
- Enterprise Experience 2020
- Cupid On Mute
Panel Moderator
- Emerald City Comiccon 2010: Leonard Nimoy, The Guild
- Shadowrunning Secrets, Emerald City Comicon 2017
- TechEd 2011 Women in Technology Panel
- GeekGirlCon 201