Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 10/19/2024.
Kenji can speak about any of the seven principles outlined in the book, or any combination of them: (1) How to escape common conversational traps; (2) How to build resilience; (3) How to cultivate curiosity; (4) How to engage in respectful disagreement; (5) How to apologize authentically; (6) How to support people who are affected by bias as they wished to be helped (as opposed to how you assume they wish to be helped); and (7) How to support people who engage in non-inclusive behavior by helping them grow past their mistakes.
This talk was developed from a collaboration with Microsoft. It begins by looking at why people are rarely effective allies—noting that people often find themselves either remaining silent out of fear or barreling in uninformed. It then describes a three-stage model of allyship—from “Ally to One” through “Ally to Some” to “Ally to All.” To help people get to “Ally to All,” Kenji introduces the tool of the “empathy triangle,” which looks at the questions each ally should ask of the three parties in an allyship situation (the ally herself, the affected person, and the source of non-inclusive behavior). Among these questions are: “Am I informed enough to act?” “Am I helping the affected party as she wishes to be helped?” and “Am I separating the source’s behavior from her identity?”
This talk is based on a forthcoming book (to be published by Simon & Schuster in 2022 and co-authored with David Glasgow). It explores how to engage in difficult conversations about identity in the workplace. The talk focuses on improving the conversational behavior of the more privileged parties in identity conversations, based on the understanding that they have greater power to change the dynamics of the conversation. It explores four bad behaviors in identity conversations (avoid, deflect, deny, and attack), the reasons why we engage in such behaviors, and how to fix those mistakes by adopting three “postures” in conversation: challenge-seeking, curious, and collaborative. The talk also examines how to give an effective apology and how to disagree respectfully in identity conversations.
Based on Kenji Yoshino’s book, Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights, this talk examines the phenomenon of “covering”—a strategy through which individuals downplay a known stigmatized identity to blend in at work. The talk explains through both quantitative data and qualitative data that such covering occurs across all groups (with even 45 percent of straight white men reporting that they cover), and that covering is harmful to both individuals and organizations. It then explores solutions about how individuals can bring more of their authentic selves to the workplace.
Kenji Yoshino is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Say the Right Thing: How to Talk about Identity, Diversity, and Justice, Uncovering Your Authentic Self at Work, Becoming an Ally to All, Communicating with Agility and Uncovering Talent: A New Model for Corporate Inclusion. The estimated speaking fee range to book Kenji Yoshino for your event is $50,000 - $100,000. Kenji Yoshino generally travels from New York, NY, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Lily Zheng, Cassandra Worthy, Michelle MiJung Kim, Lydia X. Z. Brown and Carin Taylor. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Kenji Yoshino for an upcoming live or virtual event.
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