Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month happens every May in the United States, and every year employee resource groups and culture teams face the same challenge: create something that honors the community and also brings the whole company into the room. The speaker you choose decides most of that.
Start planning in the winter
May dates book early, especially the weeks around the start of the month and any lunchtime slot that works across time zones. Lunar New Year events in January and February often use the same speakers, so the best time to start is the end of the previous year.
What makes a heritage month talk land
- A true personal story, told with humor as well as weight
- A message that applies to everyone, not only to the community being celebrated
- Something the whole audience takes part in, so it feels like an event, not a lecture
- A takeaway people can use at work the next day
- A format that works for remote employees, not just the people in the room
Formats that work
A 40 to 60 minute keynote anchors a company-wide celebration. A shorter talk plus questions suits an ERG lunch. A virtual keynote reaches distributed teams. Pairing a keynote with entertainment at an evening reception turns it into a real celebration.
One option: Johnny Wu
Johnny Wu flew alone from Taipei to Toronto at twelve, speaking three words of English, and found his voice through magic. Today he is a mentalist, a TEDx speaker and an Asian keynote speaker who has performed for Google, Netflix and more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. His TEDx talk asks whether the success we chase is one we chose or one we inherited, a question many Asian American professionals know well.
His keynote, The Power of Micro Moments, proves its message with live mind reading, so everyone in the room is part of it. He grew up speaking Mandarin and can greet a Mandarin-speaking audience. See the Asian magician keynote speaker page for keynote plus show options, or check May availability.