AS FEATURED IN
About Simone
Simone is based and was born in Singapore but has also studied in Switzerland, was raised in Australia, and worked in the United Arab Emirates. She has a communications and cultural studies degree from Curtin University of Technology.
As a speaker, Simone inspires people to connect in a world thirsty for connection. She has spoken to thousands including for: Harvard University, SXSW, TEDx, Google, Meta, Amazon, ByteDance, KPMG, Spotify, Salesforce, SAP, Lucasfilm, the United Nations, and many more. Simone and her work have been featured on CNN and in Forbes, Al Jazeera, Harvard Business Review, Vogue, LinkedIn Learning, BBC Radio and many more.
Her first book “Let’s Talk About Loneliness” was published by Hay House and available globally. It is the winner of the 2024 silver Nautilus Book Award in the social change and social justice category. It is also a finalist in 4 categories at the 2024 International Book Awards and the winner of the Gold Elit award for best audio book. Simone also sits on the advisory board for the Foundation for Social Connection in Washington DC.
AS FEATURED IN
About Simone
Simone is based and was born in Singapore but has also studied in Switzerland, was raised in Australia, and worked in the United Arab Emirates. She has a communications and cultural studies degree from Curtin University of Technology.
As a speaker, Simone inspires people to connect in a world thirsty for connection. She has spoken to thousands including for: Harvard University, SXSW, TEDx, Google, Meta, Amazon, ByteDance, KPMG, Spotify, Salesforce, SAP, Lucasfilm, the United Nations, and many more. Simone and her work have been featured on CNN and in Forbes, Al Jazeera, Harvard Business Review, Vogue, LinkedIn Learning, BBC Radio and many more.
Her first book “Let’s Talk About Loneliness” was published by Hay House and available globally. It is the winner of the 2024 silver Nautilus Book Award in the social change and social justice category. It is also a finalist in 4 categories at the 2024 International Book Awards and the winner of the Gold Elit award for best audio book. Simone also sits on the advisory board for the Foundation for Social Connection in Washington DC.
Un-Official Bio
Hi, I’m Simone Heng. So if you’re interested in the professional bio, you can scroll above, but here’s the more important bio between the lines.
I was born in Singapore in 1984 to a mixed-race couple of human connection superheroes. My Dad, Robert was Chinese and my Mum, Sandra is Eurasian from Singapore. In 1987 they migrated us to Perth in Western Australia and we became Aussie citizens in 1990. (I am now however based back in Singapore and am a Permanent Resident.) I left Australia for the first time in 2002 on scholarship to Switzerland, I can understand Swiss and can carry out a conversation in German after a few drinks.
In 2004, when I was nineteen, my Dad died of cancer and my whole world changed. A year later, I moved to Asia to model and become a VJ for a music channel and spent many years running away from my grief.
In 2009, I moved to Dubai in the UAE to become a radio broadcaster with the country’s biggest radio station and also began a slow journey of healing/connecting with myself. In 2013, my mother suffered a massive stroke and became paralysed and I moved back to Australia in 2014 to care for her. The one and a half years there were harrowing.
In 2015, I moved back to Singapore so I could still be close to Mum and fly and see her regularly. I worked at the most toxic workplace of my career for four years before the loneliness and stress of this experience inspired me to set up my business in 2019 and talk about a lack of human connection.
I fly all over the world speaking on this issue. In 2022 I published my first book which included details of these experiences I’ve just described, the book was a bestseller in Singapore. Six months later, the book was acquired by Hay House and in 2023 was relaunched as Let’s Talk About Loneliness in the UK, US and Australia.
When I’m not speaking or writing, I love to paint; and I’m the mother to two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels called Alex and Charlie.
Un-Official Bio
Hi, I’m Simone Heng. So if you’re interested in the professional bio, you can scroll above, but here’s the more important bio between the lines.
I was born in Singapore in 1984 to a mixed-race couple of human connection superheroes. My Dad, Robert was Chinese and my Mum, Sandra is Eurasian from Singapore. In 1987 they migrated us to Perth in Western Australia and we became Aussie citizens in 1990. (I am now however based back in Singapore and am a Permanent Resident.) I left Australia for the first time in 2002 on scholarship to Switzerland, I can understand Swiss and can carry out a conversation in German after a few drinks.
In 2004, when I was nineteen, my Dad died of cancer and my whole world changed. A year later, I moved to Asia to model and become a VJ for a music channel and spent many years running away from my grief.
In 2009, I moved to Dubai in the UAE to become a radio broadcaster with the country’s biggest radio station and also began a slow journey of healing/connecting with myself. In 2013, my mother suffered a massive stroke and became paralysed and I moved back to Australia in 2014 to care for her. The one and a half years there were harrowing.
In 2015, I moved back to Singapore so I could still be close to Mum and fly and see her regularly. I worked at the most toxic workplace of my career for four years before the loneliness and stress of this experience inspired me to set up my business in 2019 and talk about a lack of human connection.
I fly all over the world speaking on this issue. In 2022 I published my first book which included details of these experiences I’ve just described, the book was a bestseller in Singapore. Six months later, the book was acquired by Hay House and in 2023 was relaunched as Let’s Talk About Loneliness in the UK, US and Australia.
When I’m not speaking or writing, I love to paint; and I’m the mother to two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels called Alex and Charlie.
Keynote Speaker
Watch Simone’s Showreel
Keynote Speaker
Watch Simone’s Showreel
ITV
Watch Simone’s interview on ITV
The true antidote to loneliness, this book will teach you the secret to building meaningful relationships and the importance of authentic connections in a lonely world.
Is it possible to have hundreds of followers on social media but still feel isolated? To live in a city of millions of people but find yourself alone? No one really wants to admit it, but the answer is certainly ‘yes’.
So, let’s talk about loneliness. Human connection specialist Simone Heng knows a lot about being lonely. She left an enviable career and social life to move back to her family home to care for her mother. All alone in a house filled with memories but devoid of people, she was faced with the realization that human connection is one of our most essential needs.
There’s a global loneliness epidemic. Every one of us has experienced feeling lonely, even if we don’t realize it. The modern world has changed how we live and the ‘village’ environment with spontaneous connection has been replaced by remote work and contrived relationships. Most importantly, the old stereotypes of what loneliness looks like no longer hold true ― in a world where technology has made us more ‘connected’ than ever before, people of all ages are feeling alone.
Simone shares her journey to understanding the value of human connection and explains how to distinguish authentic relationships from fake substitutes. This definitive book on loneliness shows us how to build meaningful relationships with those that matter the most, forge new friendships, and create the genuine connections we all crave.
The true antidote to loneliness, this book will teach you the secret to building meaningful relationships and the importance of authentic connections in a lonely world.
Is it possible to have hundreds of followers on social media but still feel isolated? To live in a city of millions of people but find yourself alone? No one really wants to admit it, but the answer is certainly ‘yes’.
So, let’s talk about loneliness. Human connection specialist Simone Heng knows a lot about being lonely. She left an enviable career and social life to move back to her family home to care for her mother. All alone in a house filled with memories but devoid of people, she was faced with the realization that human connection is one of our most essential needs.
There’s a global loneliness epidemic. Every one of us has experienced feeling lonely, even if we don’t realize it. The modern world has changed how we live and the ‘village’ environment with spontaneous connection has been replaced by remote work and contrived relationships. Most importantly, the old stereotypes of what loneliness looks like no longer hold true ― in a world where technology has made us more ‘connected’ than ever before, people of all ages are feeling alone.
Simone shares her journey to understanding the value of human connection and explains how to distinguish authentic relationships from fake substitutes. This definitive book on loneliness shows us how to build meaningful relationships with those that matter the most, forge new friendships, and create the genuine connections we all crave.
Simone's Story
Watch Simone share her story at Google
Harvard University Speech
Watch Simone speak at Harvard University
Harvard University Speech
Watch Simone speak at Harvard University
Channel News Asia
Listen to Simone Talk About Loneliness on Channel News Asia
Al Jazeera
Watch Simone speak on Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Listen to Simone Talk About Human Connection on Al Jazeera
Moderation
Simone is a seasoned panel moderator. Enquire about her moderation services at hello@simoneheng.com
Moderation
Simone is a seasoned panel moderator. Enquire about her moderation services at hello@simoneheng.com
Master of Ceremonies
Simone is a seasoned MC having hosted over 2000 events around the world since 2005.
Master of Ceremonies
Simone is a seasoned MC having hosted over 2000 events around the world since 2005.
Clients
Thank you for sharing your incredible story with us all. The nuggets of wisdom that you shared around building rapport, connecting through our commonalities, demonstrating vulnerability, acts of service and connecting with oneself, were invaluable to so many. Your conversational approach to storytelling had people at the edge of their seats, and glued to your every word!
Our L&D community is so lucky to have learned from you, your research, and stories. We appreciate all that you do to inspire a more deeply connected world.
Simone’s session at our Brave Together APAC conference on The Future of Human Connection was so raw and personal that she connected immediately with the audience. We were truly honoured that you took part and shared so openly. A really impact-full session that inspired our audience to think about the importance of human connections. Highly recommend Simone.
I engaged Simone to speak to our team at Essilor on How to Connect Authentically Via Technology. We have been receiving amazing feedback from everyone that they have thoroughly enjoyed her session and garnered so many techniques for communicating in a hybrid workplace. So so so amazing! We hope to have the opportunity to connect with Simone again in the future.
Our team engaged Simone to speak on The Power of Human Connection at our global learning event and we absolutely loved her energy and authenticity. We received so much positive feedback from Simone’s session as our learners took away the key points. The storytelling was powerful and a few of the team were amazed at how Simone kept them engaged without using a PowerPoint! We look forward to future opportunities to partner with Simone again!
We were super chuffed to be able to have Simone to speak at our learning retreat. Not only was she relevant and current to what is happening with Covid-19, but she was engaging and really connected with the audience. A real case of walking the talk. Helps too that she is very easy on the eye. We will definitely be working with Simone again and highly recommend her for corporations where you want to train your employees on the human element in connecting with your audience.
Simone Heng was a keynote speaker at the DFK International Conference, held at Mandarin Oriental hotel in Singapore in July 2019. Simone’s tremendous energy, confidence and enthusiasm enabled her to capture instantly the audience’s attention and she delivered her amazing story of Human Connection with passion and clarity. Her messages of connecting with people profoundly, bridging the gap between cultures, breaking through to connect, and identifying the authenticity of a connection shone through, giving delegates food for thought and practical ideas to take into their business and personal loves.
We recently had Simone at our annual highlight event – GREAT KICK OFF 2020: The New ERA, Yours to Conquer and in this event, we brought together 2,500 of our representatives. We can’t say enough about how much we love working with Simone as she is very accommodating and always customises her presentation just to meet our requirements. With interesting content and her own stories, we received immense positive feedback from the participants. They just simple love her high energy, the excitement she has brought to the event.
What a great day having Simone Heng speaking not only on Human Connection but adding an amazing set on Personal branding. It was clearly the highlight of the day. Thank you Simone for making this event special for our customers