At SXSW Sydney, I had the privilege of hearing from the fearless Jennifer Robinson—human rights lawyer to Julian Assange and Amber Heard, among others. Jennifer didn’t hold back. She laid bare how the law is being weaponised to silence women and how defamation suits are being used to crush journalism and truth-telling.
Jennifer’s presenting style
Given how serious Jennifer’s work is, she had a surprisingly open and warm presence on stage, with touches of humour to give us much-needed breathing room among her heavier reflections. Here’s a breakdown of one of her anecdotes to show you what made her session (and the Q&A that followed) so compelling.
[Note: You’re reading this anecdote as static words on a page, but storytelling on stage also brings in voice, timing and body language. Keep in mind that you’re only getting part of the experience the live audience had!]
Jennifer’s anecdote: landing in Australia with Julian Assange
Context: Jennifer describes the moment when, after 14 years, Assange was finally able to return to Australia after a plea deal with the US. She was travelling with him on a plane from Saipan to Canberra, with the press and family waiting to greet them.
“As the plane [coming into Canberra with Julian onboard] was descending into Canberra, I somehow had reception, and my phone started ringing.
It was my dad, who’s a horse trainer. I answered.
‘Congratulations, love,’ he said. (Jennifer mimics his broad Aussie accent.) ‘You’ve done a great job.’
Then Julian calls out, ‘Hi, Terry!’
‘Good on ya, mate,’ my dad says to Julian.
I immediately get another phone call and it’s from Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister.
‘Welcome home, Julian,’ he says.”
During her telling of this, the whole room was laughing. Jennifer nailed her dad’s accent, and the way Julian casually called out, “Hi, Terry!” just made it funnier. You could feel the connection she was creating with the audience—it felt like we were all sharing the moment with her.
Why this anecdote works:
1. It’s funny and surprising
The way Jennifer sets it up means that we’re not expecting her dad to be part of the story—let alone congratulating Julian Assange before the Prime Minister! It’s that unexpected twist that hooks us in.
The dynamic between Jennifer’s dad, an everyday Aussie, and Julian Assange, the world’s most famous journalist and whistleblower, is a surprise in itself. And then throw in Julian’s casual “Hi, Terry!” and it’s hard not to smile.
2. It taps into Aussie cultural tropes
Jennifer’s dad sounds like the classic Aussie bloke—proud, down-to-earth, and not afraid to speak his mind. His broad accent and no-nonsense “Good on ya, mate” is something many of us recognise, making it easy for the audience to relate to the story and to Jennifer herself.
3. It grounds a global story in a local moment
Jennifer and Julian are world-renowned figures, but this story brings them back to a very human level. You’ve got Terry, a regular dad, grounding the whole moment. The shift from the international stage to a small, relatable family interaction makes the story more accessible and engaging.
4. It subverts authority
In this story, Terry gets to congratulate Julian before the Australian Prime Minister does. That little reversal of expectations taps into a familiar David vs. Goliath theme—something Julian’s own story has always reflected as he battled extradition by the world’s biggest power – the US. Also, Jennifer clearly didn’t have her phone in ‘flight mode’ – naughty!
Final thoughts
Did Jennifer think about all of these anecdote ingredients when she was crafting or preparing to tell the story? Probably some, but not all. She’s a changemaker and troublemaker who is not afraid to be herself, and this showed through as authenticity and vulnerability in her storytelling.
However, once a story is out in the world, it becomes what the listener makes of it. We bring our own experiences and perspectives to it, finding meaning in ways that even the storyteller may not have intended. For me, this anecdote reminds us that even in the biggest moments of life, and even for the most famous of people, there’s a layer of humanity we can all relate to.
