Doug has 25+ years of keynote speaking on purpose-driven engagement and collaboration for Fortune 500 companies and leading business schools around the globe. He is an expert in interactive keynotes and workshops, with clients including Oprah and Harvard Business School. The foundation of his work draws on the timeless wisdom of rural Africa where he has traveled and lived pursuing his passion for West African music and culture. Doug’s not-for-profit ‘Lighting Up Lives’, encourages partnerships with rural villagers across West Africa inspiring and supporting local action to solve local problems.
Doug Manuel’s Keynotes:
In-Person & Virtual Keynotes | Average length of session: 30 to 75 minutes.
The Soul of Business: Go back to basics to connect purpose to performance.
Bringing the timeless wisdom of an Indigenous culture to the Western Boardroom. At a time when employee engagement and talent retention are at an all-time low, The Soul of Business is a unique interactive keynote that leads audiences to a renewed sense of vitality, purpose, and passion. Taking a deep dive into the wisdom of West African indigenous culture with featured excerpts from Doug Manuel’s documentary ‘Beats as One’, this keynote explores the positive effects that these philosophies can have in our Western boardrooms and beyond.
This immersive experience teaches participants to re-learn common human values and encourages well-being and a sense of belonging in the workplace. Participants explore their purpose and tie that to the purpose of their organization. Infused with live musical performances, storytelling, music and rhythm, and incredible imagery, this unique keynote uses Doug’s 3 step process to foster collective synergy. It takes participants on a journey of personal reflection, small group sharing, and collective music-making with body percussion (and performance-enhancing exercises when delivered virtually).
Audience members are left with immediately actionable takeaways that bring engagement and collaboration to life in new and dynamic ways.
Keynote Takeaways:
- Find a purpose: One of the greatest drivers for success.
- Develop personal leadership: Develop active listening and empathy to build an authentic collaborative culture.
- Discover collaboration in action: A relevant experience demonstrating to teams that they are stronger together.
- Learn agility: Sharpen your capacity to act rather than react in dealing with life’s circumstances.
- Cultivate empathy: Through readdressing common human values, improve the ability to connect with others and develop a better understanding of those around you.
Do You Speak Djembe?
Unlock your team’s collaborative potential with the ultimate unifying experience. (Only available in-person)
Described as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in action, this is a ground-breaking, immersive experience for conferences and corporate teams.
Chosen by Oprah to lead her 3rd SuperSoul Sessions and by TedX Hollywood and TED Global to explore how technology can enhance humanity, this is an opportunity to exponentially boost engagement and collaboration.
Following hundreds of hit performances in Paris, tours through Europe, and a 4-month run at Chicago’s Apollo Theatre, the award-nominated ‘Do You Speak Djembe?’ is now a keynote experience for corporate teams.
Lead by motivational speaker, and the show’s creator Doug Manuel ‘Do You Speak Djembe?’ guarantees to bring collaboration to life.
With drums for every audience member if clients are looking to make their event extraordinary, book ‘Do You Speak Djembe?’, make music together, and ensure that the audience are the stars of the experience.
Through the power of rhythm and the drum, Doug and his on-stage band of world-class musicians inspire, motivate, and unite audiences of any size.
Together they learn to play djembe to the very music they grew up with, from Otis Reading to Sister Sledge, from Prince to Michael Jackson, Pharell Williams, and beyond. They will explore the very roots of music in our shared ancestry and discover that through mutual universal human values, we have more in common than what we believe separates us.
(The repertoire can be adapted according to the client’s requests).
This experience brings team energy and purpose.
Keynote Takeaways:
- Reunite your teams and partners in ways that they have never previously experienced.
- Animate, engage, and energize your audience
- Create a positive attitude and team spirit that the team can own
- Strengthen your brand and your team’s sense of purpose
- Experience a powerful moment of collaboration in action
- Learn techniques to foster collaboration through Doug’s presentation NB
This keynote experience can be combined with Doug’s solo keynote The Soul of Business.
Don’t miss the opportunity to make your event extraordinary by inspiring, educating and empowering your team—schedule your booking with Doug Manuel today.
Doug Manuel is a speaker and performer specializing in fostering purpose-driven engagement and collaboration. He has performed at TED Global and with Oprah, and for 3 decades he has been delivering interactive virtual and in-person programs for companies and leading business schools around the globe. As the creator of ‘Do You Speak Djembe?’, an award-nominated stage show (Chicago JEFF Awards) and an ex-BBC documentary producer, he has returned to filmmaking to produce a documentary for Netflix (BEATS AS ONE) about the cure to the loneliness and isolation epidemic. 
