Essence Fest 2026 Recap As a Speaker And How to Become One
About this episode
Zaakirah recaps her experience as a speaker at Essence Fest 2026 and shares insights on how to become a speaker at such events.
Zaakirah recaps her third Essence Festival experience — this time as a speaker across three different platforms. She breaks down how she landed the opportunity, what she covered on each stage, and gives a full budget-friendly itinerary for anyone planning their own Essence Fest trip. In this episode: 0:00 – Intro: Who is Zaakirah & what See Life Different is about 0:42 – Overview: Speaking on 3 stages at Essence Fest 2026 0:58 – Zaakirah's backstory: childhood eye cancer, vision/hearing loss, and her Essence Fest history (2016 → 2024 → 2026) 1:27 – History of Essence Festival & the Essence magazine legacy 1:49 – How she got the opportunity: shoutout to New Voices Family (PACE program) 2:50 – Winning the New Voices Excellence Award 3:13 – Setting intentions to be part of Essence Fest 3:53 – Speaking opportunity #1: Moderating the "Reimagining Inclusion" panel 4:42 – Speaking opportunity #2: Wellness talking circles with Refinery29's Unbothered & Well 5:53 – Speaking opportunity #3: New Voices community programming 8:31 – Gifting & networking with fellow entrepreneurs 8:07 – Beautycon lines & wristband access tips 8:31 – Concert Floor seats: Brandy & Monica, T.I., 10:24 – Why…
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