RICHARD MATTHEWS REAL ESTATE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

LUKE KENNEDY & RICHARD MATTHEWS CONFERENCE

The last 12 years of being a keynote speaker, I’ve had more school events than corporate gigs.

That’s starting to change though.

I’ve been invited to be keynote speakers Sydney and Melbourne a heap over the last few months and corporate events are getting aligned with the amount of school talks. 

It’s come off the back end of some unbelievable feedback at some big corporate events. 

When invited as a speaker, if you do a good job, those people in the audience either own their own businesses or are part of organisations who look to get other motivational speakers on board. 

That being said, if you connect strongly with an audience, and create breakthroughs (in many different ways), then you’ll get a lot more events to do the same.

I was contacted, on short notice, by Richard Matthews Real Estate in Sydney to be keynote speaker at their yearly conference to kick off the year. I’ve probably said it multiple times throughout my blogs that speaking to a bunch of real estate agents is right up there with my favourite audiences (not that I like playing favourites). It’s a room full of driven people, keen to listen, learn, and make some adjustments. So, without me having to say, I was keen for this event.

It worked out perfectly because I would be in Sydney that week, so short notice or not, I was good to go.

Eve, who helps out with accounts & bookings (and is also my stunning wife), gave me the brief on what the Richard Matthews crew was after, and after reading over it, I was even more keen to go.  To keep things in house, I won’t go into too much detail on what they were after, but let’s just say, it was all aligned with the focus on my presentations.

People often ask me if I get bored saying the same story all the time, and while I do have the same story, every presentation is different as I adjust thing to align with the focus of the business, organisation, or community. Everyone is different so I’ve gotta be!

Usually I chat with organisers myself before events, but with short notice, I had the brief, and that’s all that was needed (guess you can call me a bit of a pro!).

I arrived at the stunning Strathfield Golf Course where the conference was being held, walked in the conference room, and met my now good friend, Performance Manager, Virginia Byrne . I also met the main men themselves, Richard Baini, & Matthew Everingham.

Everyone looked so sharp! I commented on that and was told it was because they were getting some staff photos before the keynote presentation.  My old, awkward people-pleasing self came out and excitedly said “I can take the photos!” As the professional photographer walked past in the background.

They told me it’s fine, they have professionals there...

I chatted with Virginia, who I found out had had some of her own recent battles, and after hearing what she’d overcome, I thought to myself that she should be up on that stage as a motivational keynote speaker. Wow!

Travelling around this amazing country of ours connecting and speaking with people, yes, the presenting is amazing, but what’s even more special is hearing stories of those I connect with. It’s obvious that everyone has a story & overcome some stuff, there’s a difference though between owning it and using it to write your next chapter, or using it as an excuse to stay stuck in your current one.

Virginia was definitely the former, and we could’ve chatted for hours… except, I had some keynote speakers presenting to do.

The crew came inside from their photos (the professional took those), and were all seated pretty quickly. I like to be a bit cheeky and connect with people before the keynote speakers presentations starts, and this was the best crowd for that. I connected with some laughs from a couple of the fellas in the front, and then it was game time.

Throughout my talks, there’s a moment when you drop in and know that you’re connected and it’s going to be a solid one. This was exactly that, and the knowing was pretty early on.

Some big agreeing nods of the head, some cheeky comments, and what I love a heap, big laughs.

After 60 mins, I wrapped it up with a massive applause and Virginia & Matthew both came up thanking me. Virginia said “I’m sooo glad I picked you for the event. It was perfect.” And Richard nodded his head and went on to tell me that some big messages I delivered were exactly aligned with some things they had been working on in-house, and he couldn’t believe how much it impacted the team.

Gotta love that!

Afterwards some of the awesome crew bought my book which gave me the chance to hear other stories and connect deeper with a few of them.

Seriously one of the best. What an incredible team at Richard Matthews. If you’re in Sydney and need to buy or rent, these are your people.

Wait… one more thing. I asked Virginia if she could hook me up with a testimonial, and boy did she do that! Not only did she do so, but she sent the link if to her team to do the same.

Check these out!!!

- Stevan 

"Luke Kennedy doesn’t speak so much as he detonates truth in the room and lets everyone deal with the shrapnel.
This isn’t polished, corporate, feel-good nonsense. This is honesty in its rawest form — transparent, knowledgeable, and painfully real. He dives headfirst into subjects most people tiptoe around, the brutal and uncomfortable stuff, the unpopular truths we’d all rather scroll past or drown out with noise.
And somehow — against all odds — he delivers it with humility, charm, and a wicked sense of humour.
There’s no script here, no performance mask. Just naked truth, laid bare, sometimes confronting, often hilarious, and always human. You laugh, you squirm, you nod along in uncomfortable recognition. The room shifts. People wake up.
Luke doesn’t pander. He doesn’t posture. He speaks from the heart, and it lands with the force of something honest in a world addicted to bullshit.
If you want inspiration wrapped in sugar, look elsewhere.
If you want truth — the real kind — Luke Kennedy is your man."

- Virginia 

"We had the pleasure of welcoming Luke to our annual Kickstart event for 2026 yesterday. What an incredible storey of resilience, growth, passion and commitment. It was the perfect start to what I know will be an incredible year for our team.
Luke's experience and his presentation challenge you to reflect inwardly and keep you engaged from beginning to end.
Above all, his honestly and genuine desire to help others become the most successful version of themselves is what makes him the best in the business.
Thanks Luke!"

- Kav

Inspirational , someone the world can look upto. Strong resilient character.