Sekou Andrews | GRAMMY-nominated artist, Award-winning Innovation & Inspiration Expert, “Hamilton Meets TED” keynotes

Sekou Andrews

GRAMMY-nominated artist, Award-winning Innovation & Inspiration Expert, “Hamilton Meets TED” keynotes

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Sekou Andrews
Biography

Imagine harnessing the power of an engaging opening video, an electric closing performance, and an insightful main stage keynote all in one dynamic presentation. For over 20 years, Grammy-nominated artist Sekou Andrews has been helping the world’s largest organizations deliver relevant information with riveting inspiration through an innovative, unconventional category of speaking called “Poetic Voice.”

 It is no surprise that Forbes Magazine has called Sekou “the de facto poet laureate of corporate America.” His “wow-factor” is in high demand with the world’s most successful organizations, including Google, Viacom, Toyota, Nike, Cisco, Linkedin, Global Green, Paypal, ASAE, The Gap, General Mills, TEDx, YPO, Capital One, L’Oreal, Autodesk, ACLU, Intuit, and the NBA to name but a few. Sekou has also emerged as an inspiring voice for health and wellness, routinely evoking tears, cheers, and standing ovations at events for clients such as Johnson & Johnson, United Healthcare, Mayo Clinic, Blue Shield, TEDMED, Roche, Genentech, and the American Nurses Association.

Many of Sekou’s clients share a similar journey with his work. It begins with the words “Why would we want poetry at our leadership meeting?” and ends with the words “highest rating opening of our event, ever” and “only speaker invited back.” Sekou’s talks on disruption are in such demand because they literally embody disruption on stage, charging audiences to disrupt themselves to access their individual innovation. His keynotes on dynamic communication and storytelling show leaders how to deliver dense data through beautifully human presentations. From bold thinking and success, to healthcare and tech, Sekou’s speeches are rich with actionable insight that help attendees connect more deeply with their communities, become more influential leaders, and unlock greater possibilities.

A schoolteacher turned actor, recording artist, two-time national poetry slam champion, entrepreneur, and award-winning poetic voice, Sekou is a multi-talented entertainer with over 2 decades of experience rocking diverse audiences. His work has been featured on ABC World News, MSNBC, HBO, Good Morning America, Showtime, MTV and BET. He has given private performances for such prominent individuals as Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, Quincy Jones, Larry King, Hillary Clinton, Coretta Scott King & family and President Obama. He has also shared the stage with such heavyweights as Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Carlos Santana, Kendrick Lamar, Maroon 5, Jill Scott, and the Pasadena Pops Orchestra. As a recording artist, his last album, “Poetic License,” made him the most awarded artist in the nation’s largest independent music organization.

Sekou has now returned to the classroom, teaching his rockstar secrets to public speakers through his highly effective Stage Might™ speaker training system, that helps executives, influencers and leaders become more dynamic communicators by applying the techniques of master performers to business stages.

With all of the innovation and inspiration that is poetic voice, Sekou Andrews is accomplishing the seemingly impossible – bringing spoken word to the world’s largest stages, while redefining the notion of what a speaker is… and what a poet can be.

Sekou Andrews
Featured Videos

Current: Speaking Reel

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More Videos From Sekou Andrews

Speaking Reel
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D.i.Y Innovation
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He inspires you with YOUR story.

Sekou does not inspire you with his story. He inspires you with YOUR story. As an award-winning and internationally acclaimed spoken word artist, Sekou has mastered the art of creating original, custom-written spoken word pieces that illuminate the core of your message and transform the audience from simply receivers into energized responders.

D.I.Y. INNOVATION

Themes: Owning Innovation, Humanizing Leadership, Risk-taking, Change Management, Successful Failure, Collaboration/Diversity, Technology/A.I.

Length 40-60 minutes

“Innovation is the difference between ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ and ‘Why didn’t I think LIKE that?’” As businesses scurry in pursuit of “big I” Innovation – A.I., robotics, and other exponential technologies - Sekou focuses on empowering your leadership with “little i’” innovation, helping you to innovate from within. Offering incredibly fresh perspectives on embracing failure, bold thinking and the innovator’s mindset, Sekou teaches how to harness the power of collaboration, purpose, storytelling, community, and inspirational leadership to create a culture of innovation. This insightful and inspiring talk promises to surprise you with its ability to delight, discomfort, and disrupt you on a business and personal level.

LAUGH, BE UPLIFTED & LEARN:

*How to master “little i” innovation to think, communicate and lead like an innovator
*Simple ways to use inspiration, inclusion, and intention to catalyze a culture of innovation
*How to embrace “successful failure” to empower your team’s innovation mindset
*3-5 innovation tools that every D.i.Y. innovator must master
*How to shift a stagnant culture through creative thinking and purpose-driven innovation 

 

THE SCIENCE OF WAVE MAKING

Themes: Challenging Convention, Bold Thinking, Leading Change, Inspiring, Communication, Power of Partnership, Advocacy, Harnessing Imagination

Length - 30-60 minutes

“It’s not that we don’t understand the science behind waves... it’s just that we like YOUR version better” Big ideas and bold thinking are not traits exclusive to pioneering leaders. They have been lying dormant within each of us since childhood, waiting to be reignited. This speech is the spark that rekindles your access to the imagination and creativity required to stir the waters and make waves in your industry. Inspired by hilarious grade school theories on how waves are made, Sekou delivers a highly inspiring and informative keynote on why leaders must challenge convention to maketransformational change. Sharing pivotal moments and insights from barrier-breaking companies and individuals, Sekou shows leaders how to spark the big ideas that make a big splash.

LAUGH, BE UPLIFTED & LEARN:

*How to uplevel your voice (sound waves) to amplify your influence as a leader
*How to exercise creative thinking (light waves) to give big ideas their shine
*How to shake things up (seismic waves) internally to shift employee behavior

MASTERING THE DIGITAL DISRUPTION DANCE FLOOR

Themes: Disruption, Technology, Customer/Consumer Experience, Social Media, Innovation

Length: 5 – 15 min

Have you heard of the new dance? It’s not the Macarena or the Wobble. Not the Whip or the Nae Nae. It’s the 3D – The Digital Disruption Dance. The Technology Tango. The Cyber Salsa. And all the cool kids are doing it. So all of the competitive companies must learn it. Your choreographer, Sekou Andrews, delivers a roller-coaster presentation unlike anything you’ve experienced. It not only speaks to the impact of disruption on businesses... it embodies it! Just when your audience thinks they know where the talk is going, it turns on a dime, while offering valuable insight from the voices of consumers, millenials, and digital natives who explain how you should approach them when asking for a dance. Sekou’s clever, quick paced choreography takes you on a journey from cacophony to clarity, as he inspires you to learn disruption’s rhythms and catch its groove so that you can not only keep up… you can take lead!

Sekou Andrews
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