Ep 51: Diversity & Inclusion for Speaker Lineups | ft. Josefina Sanders

A hot topic in today's creative industry is the lack of diversity on a lot of the speaker lineups. Our role here at the Creative Speaker Podcast is to elevate education in our industry to make this a more collaborative experience between speakers, organizers, and attendees. Today I've brought in my friend Josefina Sanders who is a fellow Tampa native. I love her! I brought her in to pull back the curtain and have this difficult and honest talk about what it feels like to see that speaker lineup announced and not feel like you're represented. I also brought her in for those of us who have never felt that way, who look like most of the speakers on the lineup and don't know what we can do to change this wave in our industry. Together we're going to discuss why we're better together! Do you want to book more speaking engagements and have an incredible client experience that finally allows you to charge what you're worth? Use this link to get 50% off your first year of Honeybook thepublicspeakingstrategist.com/resources If you loved this episode and it motivated you to add speaking to your business, please take the time to leave me some positive feedback on iTunes. I'd also love to hear about your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of you listening on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories and tag us @thecreativespeakerpodcast.   In the episode you'll hear: We are better together It's hard to relate to an audience regardless of the topic when you don't see anyone who looks like you The work you do should be "rooted" meaning it should be much bigger than yourself As a minority, it's hard to support a topic or forum you're being asked to speak in when you feel like you're not being represented It's easy to feel inadequate or like you'll never have a seat at the table when everyone filling a specific position looks a certain way or does a certain thing The only way to fail or go flying is by trying You should never speak about diversity in a way that makes another group feel bad or guilty. Pity shouldn't be the goal Diversity isn't an event organizer having one minority speaker simply to check the box Building relationships is extremely important in growing your business and in life If you feel like you're not being represented, don't wait for a handout. Do the heavy lifting, create valuable content and go out and get that spot on a speaker line up Strong relationships are formed through struggles If you don't value diversity, you're missing out on some of the best blessings that being a creative entrepreneur brings Be vulnerable on social media; people don't want to see a curated life   For full show notes and links, visit: https://thepublicspeakingstrategist.com/shownotes/051