The Courage to Be a Keynote Speaker

Candace Doby is a talented keynote speaker, one who has exceled in record time in the speaking and event planning industries. She’s spoken to nearly 100K people in a relatively short time, which is pretty incredible if you know the speaking industry. Her latest accolade is a TEDx Georgia College talk that has people sitting up and paying attention – including me, and I’m her speaker agent!

Take a listen – it is only 12 minutes long and will inspire you to consider some serious changes in your work and/or life. (Seriously, it is that impactful!) One friend told me that this talk replaced about 10 hours of therapy. (Listen in, then be sure to read to hear how courage played a role in Candace’s own speaking career below.)

Dang, she’s good, right?! 😉

I knew Candace before she left her full time job as a marketing executive to focus on her speaking career.  (As you can see from this TEDx Georgia College talk, she clearly is killing it!) You’ll never believe how I met her –  we met at a camp for adults – one that allowed participants to regress in the best ways possible – we made art, ate smores, and giggled like girlfriends do when they are housed up in any situation that involved bunkbeds.

In this case, I didn’t interact with Candace as a bunkmate, but rather as a person who seemed to move through our shared space with joy, an energy that drew people in, and a smile to share. I was curious about this person – she had my attention. I took a risk and asked her about her life, travels, and if she had ever spoken publicly about a topic outside of her marketing work. It turned out she had a really interesting story about travel – or in this case about not traveling outside the USA for a very long time. My gut told me to keep in touch and to learn more, to stay curious about this woman. I did and this resulted in a relationship that had me booking Candace speaking at colleges about the risk and rewards of traveling as a black woman.

Candace’s TEDx Georgia College talk opens with her story of finding courage to travel abroad – and to do so alone as a black woman who experienced racism and bigotry in the US, both as a young woman in school and in the workplace. It took a lot of courage to share her reservations about travel and other subjects with strangers in a vast room. What I love is that she frames her vulnerabilities in terms of risk and courage, not fearlessness. As she says in her talks, fearlessness is rash decision making. She continues to teach me not to be “fearless”, but to be courageous. This has applied to not only my work, but my life at home – especially as a parent. Courage requires more careful consideration that can pay off in spades.

Candace wasn’t fearless when she left a full career in marketing to pursue a full time speaking career. She was courageous and assessed the risks, made a plan, and executed it thoughtfully. I deeply appreciate that she offers her study of courage to the world with her own evidence of how the process can work. Her talks support employees showing up fully at work without apology.  This is especially important for BIPOC and diverse employees – to know that they can exercise their courage muscles to be more fully themselves in all settings with guidance from Candace’s learnings and wisdom.

I’m truly humbled to know this incredible and powerful woman. She’s an absolute joy to work –  professional, creative, prepared, a dynamic speaker. She consistently receives rave reviews from clients. Why? Because she exercises courage at every opportunity and shows up each time fully as Candace Doby – not who you think you want Candace to be in a specific moment…but courageous Candace, the true Candace. Not some performance. She’s Candace, 24/7.

You can learn more about Candace’s talks here.

Speaker Michael W. Twitty Wins Jewish Book of the Year Award

Within a handful of pages, the reader is treated with what makes Michael's writing so worthy of awards. -"Jewish food is just like the Jewish people - it looks like wherever we've been and whoever we've been with.'' While it contains more than 50 pages of recipes and suggestions on how one can koshersoul their own menus, it also shares stories that will have you grabbing for a box of tissues. 

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Keynote Speaker Chef Alan Bergo Nominated for James Beard Award (2022)

Great news out of New York City! Yet another Melibee Global food speaker has been nominated for a James Beard Award!

Congratulations to Melibee Global Speaker, Chef Alan Bergo for this incredible nomination for best instructional video for The Wild Harvest.

Chef Bergo has joined fellow James Beard winner, Chef Michael W. Twitty, and James Beard nominee Chef Meherwan Irani with this nomination.

To learn more about booking Chef Alan Bergo for speaking and consulting engagements, click here.

Here is The Wild Harvest, which was nominated for Best Instructional Video:

 

 

Tips for Engaging Virtual Event Participants During the Omicron Variant

Just when we thought we were good to go, the omicron variant decided to show up at our programs and events. Without an invitation no less!

So how are we handling this latest twist of the pandemic?  With agility, that’s how.

At Melibee Global Speakers, we continue to monitor the ebbs and flows of the pandemic and continue booking speakers through it all.  Agility allows us to flex as needed to keep our speakers and your conference/training participants safe.  For now (Jan. 5, 2022), most event planners and speakers are opting for virtual engagements. For anyone who would like to postpone events, we are doing so as asked. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and communicate any preferences/changes to our clients.

Meanwhile, how can we spice up the virtual space to keep people engaged? Here are 3 tips:

  1. Keep it interactive: Throw out questions regularly to encourage focus and interest in the screen and topic.
  2. Bring Back Break out Rooms:  Have participants talk in break out rooms directly after keynote talks to reflect and process the learning.  Have them conclude with a short list of how the information can be used in smaller teams, too.
  3. Move:  Have a yoga/stretching person at your virtual gathering to lead movement between presentations.  Participants can opt to turn off their cameras while they stretch and breathe during these periods if it makes them feel more comfortable.

Remember, this variant will pass and eventually, life in person will resume as we once knew it. Meanwhile, we’ll keep making a whole lot of lemonade out of some variant lemons!