In the midst of a global pandemic, a national lockdown and a global economic recession, I decided to become a professional keynote speaker on diversity and inclusion. Despite a rocky context, I made the decision to speak as a career and to stick to my decision, no matter what, speaking on how to attract and retain talent. It has been a journey and I want to share my journey with you so that you get to know me, you learn something interesting and you share it with anyone who you think might need to read this today.
Flexibility is key
During this journey, I learnt that I have to adapt to what my clients want. Not all organisations want a keynote session. Some CEOs and business leaders want a diversity training or a diversity workshop for their team. Some event planners want a breakout session and a keynote session, delivered by an inspiring speaker for their event or conference. Some HR leaders want a webinar and some want a Q&A or a fireside chat on how to attract and retain talent. Some CEOs want a lunch and learn on how to create team engagement. Being flexible and listening to my clients and what they need is key. Adapting to what my clients want is something I do every day to deliver the best solution to their specific need.
Being clear on my message is essential
A big part of my journey of being a professional speaker on diversity has been to select a problem to solve, to clarify my message and to be clear about what problem I solve and who my audience is. I help business leaders grow their business by leveraging diversity as their secret weapon. I help CEOs attract and retain talent to scale their business through diversity and inclusion. My audience is made of business leaders in private organisations. The problem I solve is having disengaged, disconnected teams that are not working well together and that are not attracting or retaining top talent. My secondary audience is event planners, conference producers and heads of speakers at conferences who need an inspiring speaker who will motivate and inspire their audience to create an event to remember. Being crystal clear on what my message is and who my audience is has helped me become more focused in my work and deliver a better message for my specific audience.
Stick to my goal, no matter what
Another key learning for me has been to stick to my decision of being a professional keynote speaker. It has been critical to stick to my decisions all the way through, no matter what the circumstances. It has been a learning curve and it has been a roller coaster of a journey. But it has been extremely rewarding to put in the work, day in day out and to see results. Getting booked and paid to speak is my dream and I made a decision to do this as a career, no matter what life throws at me. The more I stick to my decision, the more I see results. The more I focus on helping business leaders attract and retain talent through diversity training, and the more I focus on helping event planners deliver an event to remember by being an inspiring speaker, the more I progress towards my goal and I see success. Remaining focused on my decisions to be a professional keynote speaker on diversity has helped me become a better profesional speaker.
Learn daily, meet people from the industry and be humble
Each day, I make a conscious effort to learn something new about my craft. I read books, I listen to podcasts, I attend courses. I make time to learn about being a professional speaker. I also make time to meet other professional speakers and to connect with them on a personal level, as well as event planners. Building rapport with my peers in the speaking industry is key to being a successful professional speaker. Being humble and coachable is another element of success. Being willing to learn and listen to feedback from event planners, from other professional speakers helps me constantly improve and become better as a professional speaker. Being humble and coachable are essential to become a successful professional keynote speaker.
Here’s how I may help you
I will inspire, disrupt and entertain your audience with my inspiring and energetic delivery style. Described as "a force of nature" and "vulnerable and authentic", I will drive cultural changes amongst your audience through keynote speaking at your event or conference. I will empower your audience to leverage diversity as their secret weapon, I will teach actionable strategies which listeners can use immediately, I will highlight the importance of diversity in the modern workplace and I will help individual overcome their implicit biases, work across different cultures, and empower employees to be their most authentic selves. Find out more about ,y keynote speaking here.
My bespoke diversity and inclusion course is tailored to your organisation; it is ideal for any organisation starting to think about diversity and inclusion or that has already a few diversity and inclusion initiatives in place but needs to better understand what diversity and inclusion means, what a good diversity and inclusion framework looks like and what practical diversity and inclusion steps can be implemented immediately to set the organisation up for success. The diversity training will ensure that all leaders have the same definition of diversity, inclusion and belonging; it will teach a simple and effective diversity and inclusion framework that organisations can implement immediately; it will help you discover practical diversity and inclusion steps and tips that each attendee can implement instantly. Find out more about my diversity training here.
My webinars will teach your audience the definitions of diversity, inclusion and belonging, and will help them discover practical diversity and inclusion steps and tips that they can implement instantly. Your audience will learn about privilege, allies, sponsors, biased language, intent, advocacy, network, microaggressions, inclusive events, hiring practices, meetings best practices, active allyship, feedback, recommendations, promotions and more. Find out more about my webinars here.
For more information on how I can help you attract and retain talent to grow your organisation or create an event to remember, visit https://www.inspired-human.com/;