Michael speaks to professional groups and writer conferences.

In early 2005 he spoke editors and publishers at the North Carolina Press Association on the use of blogs as an alternative to the mainstream press. In addition, in early spring he spoke to members of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication on a Civil War-era journalist who produced handwritten newspapers for six years. Michael has spoken to writer conferences across the nation and has helped hundreds of new writers get their first bylines.

Michael speaks on communication and faith, communication and disability issues, advising student publications and many other topics. His tag line whenever he speaks is: “The only thing we know for sure about communication is we all tend to get it wrong.” From there, he goes on to suggest ways we all can share the message for a shared understanding, whether it is public speaking or feature writing.