INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKING
Lifting the spirits of your audience and empowering them to think,
engage, and act in more effective ways.
Interested in a booking Andrew for a keynote or interview?
A great speaker should lift the spirits of your audience and empower them to think, engage, and act in more effective ways.
I know the importance of linking my presentations to the purpose, objectives, and theme of your event so that it impacts performance.
Using my Transformation Framework, we co-design your presentation to achieve the outcomes that will make a difference for your business and people who work there.
I do extensive research to prepare for your presentation, including interviews with people you want to impact in the audience. One of my favorite compliments was from a client who told me, “You spoke more eloquently about our company than people who work here!”
Finally, the icing on the cake – I use world-class magic to illustrate my points. I’ve been a magician for 50 years and I’m a member of London’s Magic Circle, the International Brotherhood of Magicians, and The Chicago Magic Round Table. Everyone loves magic. It’s fun, it keeps people interested, and it makes the learning memorable.


My TEDx talk, “The Magic of Words,” has been over a half-million times and is used in various training programs around the world, including a high school
mental health class in Dublin, Ireland.
Unlocking the Power of People Through Transformational Leadership
Every person is a powerhouse of potential just waiting to be unlocked. Is your organization a place where people can be their best?
Creating a great culture begins at the top. The ability of an organization to thrive flows from its leaders, because what leaders think, say, and do has an exponential influence on people. Leaders who are aware of how their thoughts and actions affect employees can create the conditions for people to think and feel their best so they can access their full potential.
Leaders who seek to unlock the power of their people begin with themselves. By transforming their own thoughts, words, and actions they can then engage the hearts and minds of others. They cultivate hope and create a culture of possibility and resilience. These “Transformational Leaders” create the conditions for trust, creativity, innovation, collaboration, and change.
This presentation introduces Andrew Bennett’s Transformation Framework©, a simple, yet powerful tool leaders can use to create environments where people can thrive. Leaders will learn to understand the beliefs and assumptions that affect their thinking and learn how to harness the power of the mind to think in more positive, productive and creative ways.
Revitalizing the Human Spirit at Work
On average 75% of people are not living up to their potential at work, and 70% of employees are disengaged. People aren’t conscious of the ways their thoughts and feelings prevent their best thinking, negatively impacting relationships, and blocking creative problem-solving. Disengagement and unused potential stifles creativity, teamwork, and resilience, and limits growth and change.
In this presentation, Andrew uses his Transformation Framework© to teach participants how to create a vibrant workplace where people feel vitally alive, their talents flourish, and they work together to bring out the best in each other. Andrew shares practical steps to create an environment where people are self-aware and able to manage their inner mind game. Participants will learn how to make their organization an incubator of capability, a safe place for overcoming limitations and a place of realized potential.
Getting to the Heart of Change
"What makes most organizational change initiatives fail is not poor strategy or project management, it’s the ‘inner game’ – the way people think and feel about any given change initiative. By engaging people’s hearts, and making it possible to transcend limiting thinking, real change becomes possible.”
– Andrew Bennett
The success of any change initiative ultimately requires a change in people’s behavior. If people don’t change the way they think and act, the desired changes simply won’t happen. The problem is, most organizations don’t take this into consideration.
This presentation is designed to simplify and accelerate the process of organizational change by unlocking employees’ capacity for change. Participants will learn how to inspire each other to take ownership of the organization’s future, stay positive on the journey forward, manage obstacles, and build an environment where everyone is working together to become more effective.
Making Magic: Insights on Creativity and Innovation from the World of Magic
The job of a magician is to create illusions that make people believe the impossible is possible, which takes tremendous creativity. Magicians must continuously innovate in a world where TV and the internet expose secrets.
In this presentation, participants will get a peek behind the curtain at the magician’s creative process. They’ll be able to take these lessons and apply them to their own work by understanding:
- … The importance of joy and wonder in creativity.
- … Simple ways to apply the magician’s structure for creativity – Appear, Disappear, and Restore©.
- … Why inspiration is necessary for innovation.
- … How to use language that enhances creativity.
- … Ways magicians collaborate vs. competing.
- … Tools to identify and rise above limiting beliefs.
- … Methods to build the trust necessary for honest feedback, essential to creativity and innovation.
- … Ways to create an upward spiral of creativity, instead of the downward spiral of criticism.
The Gift of Fear: The Impact of Transparency on Culture
Fear has a powerful influence on behavior. It’s in our meetings and interactions. It whispers in our ears and fogs our ability to make good decisions. Fear is the elephant in the room, yet it’s rarely talked about. People are fearful of talking about fear.
But what if we saw fear as an ally, a gift? What if people “leaned into” and embraced their fears? What if instead of fear being pushed away it became a source of strength – presenting opportunities to learn and grow?
In this presentation, participants will learn how to shift their relationship with fear to create a culture of trust, honesty, collaboration, compassion, accountability, respect, innovation, and service. They will also learn how to create the safe environment necessary to foster trust and transparent communications needed to build more effective relationships.
ABRACADABRA: The Magic of Words
Our words have tremendous power. The words we say to others can make or break their day. We can wound or heal. We can lift people up or knock them down.
Perhaps more important are the words we say to ourselves. We have repeating thoughts that play over and over in our minds throughout the day. Are the messages you’re replaying for yourself uplifting or do they keep you stuck in the past? Do you affirm your strengths or focus on your limitations?
The classic magic word, Abracadabra, means “What I Speak Is What I Create,” and in this presentation Andrew combines world-class magic with an essential message about the power of words. Participants will learn simple techniques to identify self-limiting, repeating messages and ways to replace these thoughts. They will also learn how to create an uplifting work environment by consciously using positive, supportive words with their coworkers.
Making the Shift from Surviving to Thriving: The Power of Resilience
Anyone who is working to achieve great things experiences setbacks. How you respond to adversity determines whether you merely survive, or you thrive.
Andrew has experienced more than his share of loss. He shares inspiring stories from his personal and professional life about how he grew stronger because of difficult times and used his experiences to help others. Your audience will be deeply moved, and their attitudes about adversity will be forever changed, as they learn how suffering can create tremendous strength and hope for a positive future.
“My life has been powerfully impacted by one simple, but compelling story Andrew shared about an animal on his grandpa’s farm and an elm tree. I will never complain about hardship again thanks to Andrew’s amazing performance and his profound wisdom.”
-Jim Anderson, President
Celebrating Your Success!
Celebrating a great year or the completion of a big project? Recognizing your star performers? Rewarding your team for their hard work? These are occasions where you want to celebrate and inspire – maybe even offer some ideas for ratcheting performance up to the next level.
It’s possible to celebrate, learn, and be entertained, but it takes a special person to lead that kind of event. Andrew’s combination of wisdom, joy, and world-class magic make him the perfect choice to honor your people in a very special way.
Weaving a built-to-suit message into the fabric of his craft!
If you are a leader in business and you haven't yet checked out Andrew Bennett, you don't know what you're missing. As a magician, Andrew is best in class. What sets him apart, however, is his expertise in opening his audience to the realm of possibility by weaving a built-to-suit message into the fabric of his craft. One of Andrew's sweet spots is the design of wonderment to target his audience where they stand, and bring them along a path of discovery and connection using magic and message as the vehicle. His work with both our internal group of leaders as well as our clients has been an absolute success. I can't wait to hire him again.
Surprises and delights as well as informs and inspires!
Andrew Bennett could excel simply as a leadership consultant or solely as a magician. His unique life journey has led him to bring magic and leadership together in way that surprises and delights as well as informs and inspires. Whether it is conjuring up bowling balls out of thin air or helping us see how the difficulties in our lives have helped build our leadership fiber, Andrew exhibits a quality of authentic presence, care and challenge that helps us live more useful and rewarding lives.
Standing ovation from almost 600!
As the closing session keynote speaker, Andrew Bennett discussed “Inspiration as a Strategy.” I can state unequivocally that he was one of the best speakers we have had. A standing ovation from almost 600 of our Conference attendees from across Michigan is testimony to the fact that he delivered an outstanding presentation. Not only did our attendees leave uplifted and inspired, but with tools to help them stretch beyond their current expectations and make a real impact.
Above all, Andrew was a pleasure work with. His willingness to immerse himself in our culture to better understand his audience resulted in an individualized keynote address based on his unique perspective. We look forward to working with him again in the future.
A standing ovation from our group which is a rarity!
Andrew recently presented a key note presentation at the Michigan Association of School Administrators Fall Conference. I knew after the first ten minutes of his remarks that we had found someone special. Andrew presented himself as a truly caring individual, one who "gets" quality leadership and yes, the magic was very well done and appropriately entertaining! He received a standing ovation from our group which is a rarity, and it was crystal clear that he provided a message that was relevant and well-received.
After the session, he spent the time necessary to talk with several of our superintendents in a one-on-one setting and demonstrated that his actions follow his words. I was also impressed that Andrew took the time before the conference to contact several of the superintendents throughout Michigan to talk to them about the current educational climate in their district and throughout the state.
The conference evaluation comments reflected a “written standing ovation" and I continue to be so appreciative of Andrew's efforts. It is my understanding that because of his outstanding presentation, he has been asked by several of our superintendents to make a similar presentation for their districts/regions. This is a true testament to the impact that Andrew made on the group. I recommend Andrew without reservation and feel very fortunate that we could have someone of his quality and talent provide us with the keynote speech at our fall conference.
Being a counselor in my former life I have seen and presented many inspirational and motivational programs and have never been in the presence of "greatness" before. You have a most remarkable presentation and I think your audience, including me, was blown away.
The real secret to Andrew is his authenticity, an authenticity I have rarely experienced.
Andrew was the plenary speaker for the NatureServe 2014 Biodiversity Without Boundaries Conservation Conference in New Orleans, U.S. His task was to educate and inspire the attendees about the power of the NatureServe Network, which he accomplished admirably through his presentation "Transformational Leadership: Leading Innovation Through Collaboration".
Andrew took great care to learn about NatureServe, interviewing me and several other network members, in addition to reviewing information he requested about our business and our successes. The result was a presentation carefully and accurately tailored to our audience and our needs.
The success of Andrew's diligence are illustrated by responses to our post-conference survey. Nearly 90 percent of attendees rated the plenary excellent or good, high praise from scientists expecting to hear from one of their own. Comments included "great speaker", "interesting and inspirational", and "opened up our minds to a new way of thinking, shaking off the cobwebs".
Andrew excels by mixing conventional business experience and a deep and proven knowledge of leadership, creatively intertwined with magic in a way that prepares the audience to open their minds to his message. That said, the real secret to Andrew is his authenticity, an authenticity I have rarely experienced. I would welcome the opportunity to work with Andrew again.
A special talent for delivering information!
Andrew works with both small and large groups with the company – anywhere from roughly twenty to six hundred employees – and every time he develops a quick rapport with his audiences. He livens up the room and he has a knack for putting people at ease. By encouraging an atmosphere of openness, Andrew has helped to build trust among our employees, a mainstay of our company culture.
His innate business savvy and charismatic personal style perfectly complement his passionate commitment to professional excellence and make him a pleasure to be around. Each of the managers who has worked with him greatly appreciates his unique and very effective contributions.
Andrew is an innovative persona with a special talent for delivering information in a way that managers and others from a broad range of backgrounds can understand and use. He possesses a natural gift for relating to people, and, as a result, our employees feel a greater personal connection to the company and know they work around people who care about the company and one another.
Hit a home run on so many fronts
Andrew Bennett helped us stimulate and build strategic conversations as a keynote speaker during our 50th annual, international conference this past July. His insights were punctuated by surprises to the delight of our audience, and he talked about the importance of creating stories that help each of us build our own futures. He’s engaging and receptive to work with, and he went to great lengths to understand our constituency’s issues and needs as he prepared for his talk to us. People noticed and appreciated this during his presentation, which helped him hit a home run on so many fronts.
A valuable investment in our leaders and our company
Your presentation on transformational leadership at Paychex’s 2014 Leadership Conference provided our management team with valuable insight on how they create a culture that embraces changes and, in turn, how they can enable their teams to think about the positive possibilities that come with change.
The way that you integrated your thirty years of business experience with your talent as a magician created an engaging forum for learning for our company’s top leaders. Your presentation clearly supported our culture and demonstrated a perspective that I believe was meaningful and relevant to our business.
I believe that engaging you in our ongoing leadership development efforts was a valuable investment in our leaders and our company. Thank you for sharing your great story and expertise.
A world class human being and talent!
Andrew Bennett is a world class human being and talent. He has combined the masterful gifts of slight of hand, cutting-edge magic, and humor to create engaging, relevant and entertaining shows that profoundly impact those of us leading in the face of unprecedented complexity and change. My life has been powerfully impacted by one simple but compelling story Andrew shared about an animal on his grandpa's farm and an elm tree. I will never complain about hardship again thanks to Andrew's amazing performance and his profound wisdom.
If your organization is facing overwhelming forces of change, uncertainty and increasing complexity, I strongly encourage you to hire Andrew to lift your spirits with some great laughter, pique your curiosity with his entertaining magic and most importantly walk away with several pearls of wisdom that will guide you and your team through any challenges you encounter.
An outstanding and engaging keynote speaker!
Andrew was an outstanding and engaging keynote speaker at our first ever professional development event my organization hosted. We could not have kicked off that initiative any better! Because of that success, we have now hosted three events and secured permanent funding going forward.
He was genuine and able to connect with all levels of attendees and help them find their magic. I'm so thankful to know him and I use some of his content in my job thinking now, almost 4 years later!
His service to us started well before the keynote event!
Andrew is engaging, entertaining, thoughtful and skilled in his role as a transformational presence. He provided the keynote for Heartland Area Education Agency's annual staff meeting, and we’ve heard nothing but great comments from our staff about his ability to keep their attention (more than 500 of them!) for an hour. They were taught, they were encouraged, and they were entertained during his time onstage.
That said, it’s important to note that his service to us started well before the keynote event. He took time to plan with me and to speak with some of our staff to learn about us which really enhanced his ability to connect with our people in a meaningful way. His framework aligned beautifully with how we think about our work, and he gave us new ways to feel empowered to make a difference. Plus, he was a delight to work with! I'd hire him again with no reservations.
Simply the finest business presentation I have ever witnessed.
You must truly experience him to appreciate what he brings to those he serves!
Amazing, heartfelt, and incredibly powerful. Andrew's unique combination of talents is so impactful that you must truly experience him to appreciate what he brings to those he serves. His message comes from his heart and soul as he uses magic to communicate the power of possibility for others. He is both powerful and vulnerable, sharing his own story openly while inspiring others to open to theirs.
As one of the top magicians in the world, Andrew could have easily stopped at pure entertainment. But he chose a different path - one that focuses in on what matters most today and how to combine the message of hope and vision in a much more powerful way. This is clearly not the easiest path, but it is the right one for Andrew and for all who have had the privilege to know him and to experience him in person.
I highly recommend Andrew to any organization that wants to create a more powerful message about their future. Without a doubt, he will create what you want and need - and well beyond.
Profound and lasting impact!
I found Andrew to be an extremely motivating and uplifting spirit. He provided a sense of possibilities about our future and presented his information in a way that uplifted our entire organization. His experience and insights helped us clarify both our strategies and our tactics in our organizational search for culture and vision. I found Andrew to be able to relate to people at all levels of the organization and to speak to people in a way that they could understand and appreciate.
Andrew’s efforts with our organization had a profound and lasting impact.
Additionally, as a consultant, Andrew was able to come across as someone more interested in the best interests of our organization rather than in creating a relationship in which we would be dependent upon him and his consulting for our future success. His ability to make us better and more self-sufficient is something I find to be a rare combination in consulting.
A new slant on innovation
Andrew Bennett provided our members with a new slant on innovation. One can deconstruct the process of innovation constantly, but until one experiences Andrew’s three tenants of transformation (Appear, Disappear, and Restore) in a visceral way, one does not have a full understanding.
My members asked for another 30 minutes with Andrew and this required some on-the-spot shifting of gears, but the effort made the learning of the AMI members even more satisfying, the ultimate goal of a real learning community.
Brilliant magician with a deep and genuine understanding of the leader's journey!
Andrew Bennett is a brilliant magician with a deep and genuine understanding of the leader's journey. Through his powerfully evocative art, mixed with a wonderfully dry sense of humor and keen insight into himself and others, Andrew puts a new lens on the challenges we all face. Looking through this lens, suddenly there is renewed freedom and space to move through tough times with greater elegance and ease. If you are considering the need for a breakthrough presentation to leadership groups on your business calendar, I can fully endorse Andrew's work. You will NOT be disappointed!
Always a pleasure to work with a pro!
Your performance and presentation provided the perfect ending to an intense and information packed meeting. You’ll be happy to know that you received very positive feedback from our associates. We feel confident that the message we discussed prior to the meeting, excellence, teamwork, leadership and communication, was enhanced and supported by your performance. It’s always a pleasure to work with a pro!


















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