Leading with Story in Your Talks [Roundtable]: Podcast Ep. 385

385-SYB-Retreat-Clients.mp3: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

385-SYB-Retreat-Clients.mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Carol Cox:
This is an excellent roundtable discussion all about leading with story in your talks, both in your content and in your delivery. On this episode of the Speaking Your Brand podcast. More and more women are making an impact by starting businesses, running for office and speaking up for what matters. With my background as a TV political analyst, entrepreneur and speaker, I interview and coach purpose driven women to shape their brands, grow their companies, and become recognized as influencers in their field. This is speaking your brand, your place to learn how to persuasively communicate your message to your audience.

Diane Diaz:
Hi there and welcome to backstage with Speaking of Brand, or I should say, welcome back to backstage with Speaking of Brand. I’m Diane Diaz and I am lead speaking coach at Speaking Your Brand. I am thrilled to bring you today three of the women who attended our live in-person speaking retreat here in Orlando back in February. And during these three days, they went through trainings, group activities and filming their speaking engagements or speaking segments on our stage. And they all really, really delivered. And it was amazing to see how much they grew over the three days to the final delivery of those segments of their talks. They did amazing. So today we are going to chat with them about why they decided to attend the retreat, how they used storytelling in their talks using the stage and body movement, which is part of active storytelling and engaging storytelling. And then what it was like to practice their talks and get filmed. So let me introduce you to these wonderful women that we have here today. So we have Darcy Foster, Danny Einsohn, and Terri Reuter. I think I’m saying that correctly, I hope so. Darci is an interior designer and a women’s workshop facilitator for women who are making big life shifts, both professionally and personally. Dani is a certified women’s empowerment Life coach who works with women to help them pursue their dreams and goals, and Teri is an executive coach, wellbeing counselor, and learning experience facilitator, and a former Jazzercise instructor, which is fun. So we’ll talk a little bit about that later. Um, so let me get started first with you, Teri. Uh, we’ll start by just talking about why you decided to attend the in-person retreat in February. What brought you to that decision, and what were you hoping to get from that? From that, uh, coming to the retreat.

Teri Reuter:
So what I was hoping to get is what I got. I really wanted to do something in 2024 that was going to be uncomfortable for me. So, you know, every year for my own development, especially being a coach, I feel like I have to walk the walk. I try to do something to pursue that. And I had done coaching with you and Carol a couple of years ago, and then this year I was looking for something and I wanted to, um, challenge myself. Carol and you had talked about the idea of how many women’s voices we have in our lives. And I realized as a Jazzercise instructor, current, although actually, I found that my music library didn’t have that many female artists. And on my bookshelves, while I have a lot of women who’ve written fiction that I’ve read, a lot of the business books weren’t women, and I work primarily with men, and I really wanted to do something that I was going to be surrounded with women’s voices. I thought the atmosphere would be, um, safe, maybe helpful to get to learn from them and to feel good about something I was uncomfortable with and everyone delivered in such an amazing way. It was. It was, I think, just hearing from everybody else and hearing their stories. Uh, let me try out some things that were uncomfortable. So thank you to all of you.

Diane Diaz:
Oh, I love that, Teri. I love that idea of making yourself uncomfortable, getting outside your comfort zone and trying something that’s new and different. And I think you probably got that too, with the improv that we did. So that might have I mean, that pushes me outside my comfort zone every time I do it, because I’m not the biggest fan, but so thank you for sharing that. And by the way, I just want to add anybody who’s watching this live. If you’re watching on our YouTube channel on LinkedIn, go ahead and pop your questions there into the comments, and we’ll try to get some of those answered too. If you have any questions for our women here today, let us know. All right. So, Darci, now you and I worked together first in a strategy session, which was interesting, what we worked on. You can maybe talk a little bit about that, but then you join the Thought Leader Academy and you were all in. So you then signed up for the retreat. What led that to that decision for you to come to the retreat? And what was your experience like at the retreat?

Darci Foshay:
Well, I have to say that I think that my real reason for coming is all about like my personal enrichment. And, um, like Terry said, doing things outside of your comfort zone. And that’s what my that’s what I’m all. About. I’m all about women embracing change and thriving, especially in midlife. And for me, this was something that thought Leader Academy was just wonderful. I loved every minute of it, and so it was a natural progression for me to go to the retreat, and I wanted to be in person because the Thought Leader Academy was via zoom, and I loved it. But I did want to be in person to meet other women that are going through similar situations that I’m going through. And, um, and I just found it wonderful personal enrichment. I just enjoyed every single minute of it. Enjoyed everybody that I met. We’ve now made this text ring called The Sisterhood, and I just feel so lucky, lucky to have been involved in that.

Diane Diaz:
Now I’m so happy to hear that, Darci. And, you know, I’m glad you mentioned the in-person component because yes, we do a lot of of course, the Thought Leader Academy is virtual online on zoom. And we do a lot of that stuff now because, you know, since the pandemic, we’ve all become very virtual. But it’s so nice to be able to go to things in person and make those human connections, which as speakers, is why we’re doing these speaking engagements on stages, in person, in front of people live, because there’s definitely a deeper connection that can be made when you’re in person and you can see facial expressions, you can react to what people are saying. You can engage with people more personally. So I’m glad that you brought that up because it’s a it’s a really good point. Um, and so, Dani, for you now, you told a really powerful story at our retreat. And I think you your story really hit everybody. It was I mean, it was incredibly powerful and meaningful. And so we’ll talk a little bit more about that in a bit. But what led to your decision to attend the retreat and what were you hoping to find from that experience?

Dani Einsohn:
So yeah, as you mentioned, I have this story and it’s what prompted me to go into coaching, um, in this third third of my life. Uh, you know, kind of at a late date. Um. I. When I started my coaching business, I had a business coach and he heard my story and he said, you have to tell this story. It’s very important. Go out there and tell your story. So I had a couple of opportunities through women’s networking groups here locally where I got to tell the story, and I connected so much with the audience, or they connected with me. And, um, it was such a powerful experience to be seen, to be heard, to have them recognize themselves in my story. So I came running home and I went back to my coach after one of these experiences, and I said, I think I want to do this every day for the rest of my life. And she said, okay, in true coach like form, how are you going to make that happen? And I said, I need a speaking coach. And she said, I have one for you. So she introduced me to Carol and I heard about the retreat, which was just coming up, and I already had the basis of the talk down. Um, but I wanted to polish it. I wanted to make sure that because it’s such an intimate, um, a little bit, there’s some graphic stuff in there, a little bit. And I wanted to be able to tell the story in a way that doesn’t put people off, but helps women identify and connect. And, um, so I was able to get that. And the bonus was to be with all these amazing women, uh, and to have that support and camaraderie and learning together and having fun together and being wackadoodle crazy with each other. Courtesy of you. So, yeah. So that’s that was why I went and, um, and I got so much out of it besides just learning how to polish my talk.

Diane Diaz:
Well, I think you just called me crazy, and I resemble that remark. I said yes, crazy. Yes. Wackadoodle. We had a lot of fun in addition to the hard work that everyone did. We did have a lot of fun at the retreat. And you know, we because it can be so heavy at times because our stories, you know, some of the stories are fun, but some of the stories are very serious. And so we do a lot of dance breaks and activities that break up all of that, you know, hard work and diving deep into those uncomfortable stories and the vulnerability. And so speaking of that, you know, I know, you know, you’re telling that story with a vulnerable component to it. So I’m curious if you could share with us, did you ever have what we call a vulnerability hangover from telling that story? Did you ever think maybe the next day or after you told it? Oh, I don’t know. Was it too much or did that ever come up?

Dani Einsohn:
Every single time.

Diane Diaz:
Oh, interesting.

Dani Einsohn:
Time. Because it sort of when I’m telling the story, number one, it takes me back and I have to, you know, repeat the history that I’m talking about and the feelings that I felt. Um, but I also am wondering, you know, I’m watching the audience for horror or dismay or some other kind of discomfort, and I don’t want them to be comfortable, I want uncomfortable, I want them to be inspired. So yes, I feel that hangover every time, like, oh, I shouldn’t have said that. Oh, is this too much? Oh, am I too much? Which is kind of what happened.

Diane Diaz:
Yeah, it is a really great point. Um, but I will say that from the segment of your talk that you gave, you did a really great job of also, while it’s a heavy topic, what you were talking about with that particular story, you did a great job of integrating little moments of humor. And I don’t mean that in a to make light of what the situation that you were sharing, but little humorous things that you injected into it just to sort of break the tension, which was extremely effective. So good job on you for the way that you managed that, because I think it it let the audience know that you are okay. So if we know that you’re okay, then we’re okay hearing the story because we know you’re you’re okay now. So I think it accomplished that. So well done now. So um, let’s talk a little bit about body movement using the stage. And so during the practice sessions, uh, you know, when we first everybody started, first started practicing, we noticed everybody’s kind of stuck in the same spot or maybe moving around too much because they weren’t quite sure what to do. So, um, Terry, maybe you can speak to how it felt trying to incorporate maybe a new way of moving that you hadn’t tried before or just moving in general. What did that feel like as you were practicing? Did it feel comfortable? Uncomfortable? Strange? What was that like?

Teri Reuter:
Uncomfortable. But, you know, I think what I got from it is that what we’re looking for is movement with intention. So it’s not just movement as many times as you ask participants or suggested that we try movements, you also suggested other people quiet those movements. And I think it seemed to be dependent on on two things. One, the personality of the person. So some people were quieter in their bodies, and that suited really well. And other people needed to have more movement. And so for myself, I was guided to block out various pieces, which I did and felt uncomfortable. When I was able to watch the recording, I realized that I had some natural movements that the next time I’m actually going to block those movements, which it showed me that the some of the intended movements looked a lot more natural than they felt, and some of the natural movements looked like I was fidgeting. And so that was a really interesting. At one point I referenced rowing, like rowing, and in the video I just sort of went like this, but you couldn’t tell. And other points where I was instructed. I had a much more specific movement. So that that was interesting, that the plan actually looks more natural. So I continue with that.

Diane Diaz:
That’s so interesting. And I think I think that’s where the video comes in handy, because to everybody watching this and listening later on the podcast, also, we had all the attendees record themselves on their phones during the practice sessions too, so they could even go back and watch those to get a little bit more comfortable with where it might, like Terry just said, where it might make sense to put in intentional movements versus maybe quieting movements where it made sense, maybe in a quieter part of the story. And so, you know, all of the feedback given was with that in mind. And so I think that’s where the video does help, you know, you to see where it makes the most sense. And then hopefully over time and practice, all the movements just become natural. And they don’t feel like they’re being kind of wedged in or something that you’re not naturally doing or comfortable with.

Teri Reuter:
Um, I think it’s also trust in who you’re watching because you can’t know what your impact is on a listener when you’re the deliverer. And so really, I felt like we all just trusted and we did what you said and that. So Darcy and Danny, you would know just to lean into that. It sort of relieves you. So having someone to practice with is super helpful.

Diane Diaz:
That is such a great, such a great point. And so to that point about stage movement and practice, I’ll, I’ll ask you, Darcy, how did it feel to do the improv exercises to get you kind of more comfortable with moving around, get you out of your out of your head, out of your body and feeling a little bit more free. What was that like?

Darci Foshay:
I loved it, um, I loved it. I was so surprised that I did love it, but I, like Terry was saying, I think that we all just felt so comfortable with each other immediately that I just felt like, all right, whatever is going to come to mind, I’m just going to do it, say it, act it out. Um, now, when I was on stage, I felt like it surprising how much you have to think about what your movement is going to be. I was surprised at that. How? Like. All right. I’m. I’m working on my speech. I’m delivering my speech. Now. I got to think about how I’m going to move. And so sometimes it just fell a little disconnected. Um, but the improv was so good. Um, because it got you out of your comfort zone, got you to say and do things that you wouldn’t normally do. And dancing, you know, just dancing to fun music. Like whenever you girls would just throw the music on, we’d have to get up and dance, you know, and it was just. And you look over at other people and you go, if they’re doing it, I’m going to do it. You know, I love it. I thought the improv was hysterical. And when I came home and told my husband about it, he’s like, he just rolled his eyes.

Diane Diaz:
Well, interestingly, um, so I’m glad you enjoyed it first of all. Now I will say and carols. Carols here. I saw her in the comments so she knows she and I have a love hate relationship with improv, but what we do love about it is that it does. It does get you out of your head, and it does make you better able to think on your feet because you that is going to come up when you’re speaking right. And then it makes the thinking on your feet feel more natural, so that it doesn’t feel so much like you’re thinking about it, because it just sort of comes to you now. So, Darcy, you because you used props, you had printed out props for the tarot cards that were part of the segment of your talk that you were filming. And so there was movement involved in going to get those how to show them. And so I think maybe doing improv and of course, practicing that really helped you because that when you got to the filming portion, it was seamless and smooth. Oh, it worked out. It worked out so beautifully.

Diane Diaz:
So, yes. So I do think that the improv, it helps with things like that, where you need to know how to move around on the stage in a way, like Terry was saying, that’s intentional. And that doesn’t take away from what you’re talking about. So so kudos to you for loving improv. I still do not, but but I do know the value of it to everybody. Um, let’s talk a little bit about practicing then. And then we’ll also talk about what it was like getting filmed. So. You know, Carol and I are looking at this from the outside, as you know, the speaking coaches. And we’re seeing you on day one and then all the way through to day three. And so we can see huge transformations in everybody. So many things about how you deliver your talk comfort level using the stage, just just confidence all of it. But I’m curious. And so we’ll go to you, Danny. How did those practice sessions feel. And also because for you, you’re repeating that same story over and over again. But how how did the practice sessions feel for you?

Dani Einsohn:
I. They felt good. The first one was so awkward because it was almost like we were introducing ourselves to each other. In fact, that was the exercise, right? Tell us your story. So. And then we had some time to craft it a little bit and some time to talk to you or to Carol. And I think that really helped me because I had the whole thing written. And of course, I wasn’t working from a script. I was inhabiting it. I don’t know how else to put it. It was just becoming part of me. I wrote the words, but seeing the words came from my heart, from my soul. Um, but there were things that I knew I had to tweak, and I got to talk to Carol. And so then getting up and doing it over and over again, um, each time it was easier and easier. I did not like filming it, though. I, I hated it, made me so nervous, even with my own camera. Yeah.

Diane Diaz:
To really? And why? I’m curious. Why do you think that is? Um.

Dani Einsohn:
Just my own feelings about, you know, how I would look, how I would sound.

Diane Diaz:
Yes, yes. And so I will say I’m glad you mentioned that, Danny, because. We can have all the confidence in the world and the words that we are saying. But I think, and this isn’t just you, this is all almost all of us. I don’t know a woman on earth that isn’t being filmed. And then thinking, never mind the message, like, how am I going to look? What do I sound like? None of us like to hear the sound of our own voice. But what I can say too, is that over time, I used to hate watching myself on video or listening to myself. Like if I go back and listen to a podcast that I’m on, I just. I used to hate it. But over time that goes away and we become more. I have become more interested in how did my message come across and less thoughtful about, like, what did I look like? What did I sound like? But it’s so normal to feel that way so I can completely. I was just curious, you know why? Because of course, I don’t think about it as much now, but I can see where that would be the case. And also, you’re in a small group. It’s not. It’s not like you’re in front of 500 people. You’re in a small group and all eyes, including the camera, are on you. Yes.

Dani Einsohn:
And as far as the small group went, I felt totally safe with the other.

Diane Diaz:
Are.

Dani Einsohn:
I really, really did. And that happened very early, like within the first day. Um, there was that that sense of we are in this together. We are here for each other. And so every time I got up, I was not afraid of the audience. I was just afraid of me.

Diane Diaz:
You know, that’s so interesting. Maybe that is our biggest. Our biggest nemesis is ourselves.

Dani Einsohn:
And that’s kind of what my talk was about also. Yeah. Yes.

Diane Diaz:
Interestingly, I think it all comes full circle.

Dani Einsohn:
Thing, you know.

Diane Diaz:
Yes, yes. Well, and so we touched a little bit on the idea of getting feedback. And so each of you throughout the three days and just the two days of practice, got feedback on the delivery of your talk, feedback on a variety of things, stage movement, saying things, or maybe say it this way, maybe that would be better. Maybe shorten this part, maybe focus more here. So Terry, how did it feel for you? Because you speak a lot. You do already do a lot of training workshops, all sorts of speaking. How did it feel to get that feedback during the practice sessions and then incorporate it sometimes on the fly, but also into your final delivery that was filmed? How did what was that like?

Teri Reuter:
Oh, it was fantastic. I think because of the kind of work I do, I’m often my role is to focus on someone else, to really lean in, and I lose myself in what my clients are doing. I help people prepare sometimes for presentations they’re making, and at first it was weird to have someone focus on me. That’s not usually my role, and it was really nice to hear, you know, both the praise of things that were working, but also the redirection of things that could be different or better. And I, I really I was really appreciative of every little piece that I got so that you could try out something different. And, and I think it was and it was interesting too, because we all got to do it, not in a vacuum with ourselves, but we got to hear the feedback that each of us, that that were for each of us. And I think that while maybe we were saying something to Darcy, you can look at yourself and say, oh, I could incorporate that too. Or, you know, so it was just such a multidimensional experience. I think the environment of the feedback was exactly what you would hope. You know that expression, all feedback is a gift. It really felt like that the whole time we were together.

Diane Diaz:
Oh, I’m so thrilled to hear that because, you know, I do love, of course, you know, Carol and I are giving feedback, but I love that the other women feel comfortable giving feedback as well to whoever’s practicing, because everybody’s receiving it a little bit differently. Everybody keys in on something different based on whatever, you know, maybe what they speak about, what their industry is or what their experience is. And so all of the feedback that everybody gave was so good. I felt and a number of you kind of worked on your frameworks kind of on the fly like, well, I don’t have a framework like help me, help me with this framework. And so during during the practice time and the working on your segments time, some of us like I pulled out my laptop, let’s pull up, you know, let’s try look for a word for this or you know, we’d go around the room and just give feedback. And then I think other women were giving each other feedback and working together on things. So it was I agree, like the feedback in a setting like that, it all is a gift, right? Because it’s really when we got to the filming day, which we’ll talk about now, the I wish that we had like a full day filming of day one and then a full day filming of day three, just to see Side by Side the difference, because in my brain, when I think about it, it always blows me away. I don’t know if I could make that much improvement, but you guys, not that you were bad on day one, but just the the polish that you had on day three was just mind blowing because it’s just the delivery was incredible. The stories were incredible, the impact was incredible. It was just a beautiful everybody’s delivery was beautiful. So Danny, maybe you could talk a little bit. Well you talked a little bit about the filming being uncomfortable but. What did it feel like once you finished your filming? How did you feel once you were done with that?

Dani Einsohn:
Um, I was relieved that that was over. It had been a lot of, you know, is it going to be okay? Am I going to be okay? And then as I’m walking off the stage, I’m like, damn, I missed. I forgot to say, I didn’t say that. So it was I mean, it was fine when it was happening. Like it wasn’t obtrusive in any way. Like, I, I enjoyed the the little zing of adrenaline. Um, and I think that it helped. It helped me enjoy the experience more because I felt like I was really performing. And I think for many of us, yes, we learned that speaking is performing and.

Diane Diaz:
Absolutely. Darcy. For you. You. Of course, I mentioned that you used props and, you know, that can cause sometimes discomfort. You seemed totally natural at it. So how was your filming experience? What was that like? How did you did you have any nerves? If you did, how did you handle those?

Darci Foshay:
Well, it’s so funny that when you when we were talking earlier, I was thinking about how, um, there is a lot of improvement from the first day to the last, but in my situation, I have to get over the fact that the first time I deliver my my talk, I’m looking for that shock value. And I’m looking for that laughter because, I mean, my my talk has a specific meaning to encourage women to embrace change, but it is the whole talk is taking stories from ordinary life and and mixing it up and turning around, turning it around on its head and making it fun and funny. So the first time that I did it, of course no one knows what you’re going to say. So it is fun and funny. And then after you do it twice a day for three days on that third day, when it comes to filming, I have to try to remind myself that they’re not going to think it’s as funny when they they’ve heard it for the eighth time, you know? Yeah.

Teri Reuter:
You were funny on the eighth time to Darcy. Thank you.

Dani Einsohn:
Every minute Darcy.

Diane Diaz:
Kitten chops never gets old.

Darci Foshay:
Never gets old. No she doesn’t, but I think that I have to remember that that it is a performance. And you do have to, um, bring up that excitement and enthusiasm to tell that story again, even though, you know, people have heard it several times, like, you still have to say it in a really fresh way so that people really enjoy it, because I really enjoy telling it, and I don’t want to look at the audience and think that they’re not enjoying it, you know, as much as they could be because they’d already heard it or whatever. Yes. So I think that just takes practice. And we got a lot of practice. And, you know, I just again, I just loved every single minute of it.

Diane Diaz:
Good, good. I’m so glad to hear that. And so if you like to get laughs, you might need to do a stand up comedy set because then you will get the laughs you were looking for. Well, so much more fun than improv. So much more fun.

Darci Foshay:
I’m thinking maybe I might I might want to do it. I have a little inner. It’s either a little Lucille Ball or Rodney Dangerfield. I don’t know what it is, but I have.

Dani Einsohn:
A little.

Diane Diaz:
Dangerfield. Definitely do that. Well, okay, so, um, Terry, now you led us through a really fun dance segment in your talk, which I loved, and I, I can really see you doing that talk and that bit with the dance part in a large group, because imagine a huge audience standing up and doing that would be so incredibly powerful. Um, how do you feel about your confidence in leading an audience in an exercise like that? Maybe a big audience and getting them involved and really getting them into the message?

Teri Reuter:
Um, well, I will say I feel very comfortable. I’ve done that before. Uh, in so speaking, I do sometimes as a speech, like what we worked on, but speaking in front of groups, I do on a very regular basis, and sometimes people are surprised who I can get up to move. But so far I’ve never had an audience, uh, that has not gotten up. I think the most reluctant. I was in Dallas last week, and I worked with a group of about 40 people over two days that were in their late 20s, early 30s. It’s the only group that I work with that I think of as like sort of my kids. Everybody else is more sort of my cohort anyway. They were the most reluctant, but I got them. I have a couple of different things we do a thing that I bring out the song bust a move to, and um, so we use a particular personality, uh, assessment and to help them remember the, the quadrants of the assessment, we do a dance and, uh, the first go round, they were like, we came back after the second break and somebody actually said, can we dance again? Oh.

Diane Diaz:
That’s a rousing endorsement.

Teri Reuter:
But I have to say, people, you know, we spend more time at work than we do doing anything else. And so if you can just bring a little bit of a lightness to work, I think people welcome it. So. I do feel really comfortable doing that, but I think it’s a little bit like what Danny said or what you were saying to Danny about the filming. It’s something you have to get used to. It’s practice. I mean, I’ve been doing this for 20 something years and incorporating movement, and so now I don’t care if people think it’s silly. Where before I might have wondered, uh, so it’s an invitation to people to join me if they’d like.

Diane Diaz:
Yeah. No, it’s a really good point, because I think if you do anything enough times, it’s going to start to feel natural and comfortable. And so really and that’s why the practice that we did at the retreat, right, was so important is to just repeat it and repeat it so that it starts to feel more comfortable. So on filming day, everybody seemed natural that everybody seemed like they had been giving this talk for a long time. The nobody looked uncomfortable, nobody looked like they didn’t have confidence. So even if they were faking the confidence, it came through and it felt real. And so everybody I thought just really knocked it out of the park. So kudos to to you three. But to everybody at the retreat for delivering, you know, for growing so much and just building that confidence and learning how to use the stage and telling stories and making that audience engagement. It was beautiful, such a wonder to behold. I love the retreat so much. So it was really just incredible watching everybody grow. And so now I want to know what is next. So I’ll start with you, Darcy, why don’t you tell us what you’re speaking topics are about, and then tell us what your plans are for your next speaking endeavors.

Darci Foshay:
Oh, boy. You know, I do have to say, as soon as I got home from the the retreat, I wrote down a little snippet of what everybody had talked about in their in their speech and then like little fun things that we had, you know, chatted about in between, you know, just getting to know each other a little bit more. And I think I sent it out to everybody and just said, you know, we could make a play about this and it could be really funny. It really could be. It could be really good. Um, I have a couple things that I’m going to do. I just had another workshop recently and it went very, very well. I did a little recap about what we had done in the first workshop, and so just really fun. And a lot of women are making connections. The the next thing I’m going to do is in June and it’s going to be called Talk and SIP. And people are coming out to Peaks Island. We’re going to do a wine tasting in different parts of the island and um, and recap what we’ve been talking about in these last few workshops and, um, yeah, a couple things. There’s there’s one big idea that I have brewing that I’d like to bring to fruition. I have to figure out how I’m going to do it. But there was a video made a while back called The Empowerment Project. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but it was wonderful and it was about women in their journey, and I would like to do that. I’d like to create a film and talk to all of us and and other women that have made these big shifts in their life and taking chances and, and just done some self empowerment of their own. And so I’d like to I’d like to interview women that have done that and make a little empowering film about it.

Dani Einsohn:
So anyway, Darcy.

Diane Diaz:
If there’s anything that I know about you, it’s that you will do that. I feel I 100% believe that in six months a year you will contact me and say, guess what? My film’s coming out. I’m doing it. I have a distinct feeling about that. So we will definitely look for that. Either that or we’re.

Dani Einsohn:
All going to Broadway.

Dani Einsohn:
Oh, exactly. It’s something we might be doing.

Darci Foshay:
Both might be doing both.

Dani Einsohn:
Because I think that play would.

Darci Foshay:
Be so fun. I can already see the opening act. I can already.

Diane Diaz:
See. I told you, she’s already got the opening act planned out. It’s going to happen, you guys. It’s only going to happen. Okay. So then, Danny, what about you? What are your topics that you speak on and what’s on the horizon for you speaking wise or anything?

Dani Einsohn:
Yeah, I came home just jumping out of my skin wanting to or find other places to speak. So while I’m doing that, I’m creating sort of a list of ways that I can craft the the basic message of my talk about women feeling good enough. And no matter what happens to you, you can. You are resilient and you’re powerful and you’re good enough. Um, so I’m, I’m sort of crafting different messages for different types of groups that I might approach. I’m also going to take the wonderful video, thank you very much and sort of edit that and create a speaker reel to help me launch that part of my business. And I’m working on a coach, um, on a coaching class workshop for, again, midlife women just like Darcy, uh, on similar topics about the transition and not letting your, your, your limiting beliefs stop you from going where you want to go.

Diane Diaz:
Oh, wonderful. Well, that’s very needed. This. As we all know, this midlife area can be challenging, so I think that’s something that’s definitely needed. So, Terri, then what about you? What are your speaking topics and what is on the horizon for you for speaking?

Teri Reuter:
So, uh, last year, the year before, I had focused more on speaking and had ended up doing more speaking on mental health at work, which I find very important. Uh, and I was brought into that because I have a background in psychology. And somehow when we did the retreat, I decided to come without a topic because I really wasn’t interested in furthering speaking. Each one of those presentations or speeches that I had done before. They gave me so much anxiety before I did them that I decided I didn’t want to do that anymore, and I only came to the retreat to be with you all. And then as we got through, I mean, Diane sitting with you that very first day, it you helped me put together a framework that frames a lot of what I do completely. And so it renewed an interest in even wanting to be on the stage, you know, working with groups of people as a facilitator and facilitating their experience is something that I will continue to do. So now I’m contemplating whether or not I want to try to build out that part of my business of being a speaker. I will say I’m still undecided, but from the framework, I’ve already started putting together a multi-day course that would take people through this idea and perhaps primarily women for some groups, but for people in general who feel overwhelmed by their self-doubt, uh, how they can really show up to, like, what Danny was talking about, you know, being able to, even in uncertainty, lean into their potential. And so, uh, this course is being built out to be a couple of day experience to move through, understanding themselves to how they can use their language for their inner voice and an outer voice.

Diane Diaz:
I love to hear that. So to everybody listening and watching, that is the power of having a framework that you can take it from a part of your talk to a workshop, a course, even bigger content, a whole program. That’s what a framework can turn into. So having that framework, whatever it is, and however you incorporate it into your message and your talk can become so much more. So it has legs, right? It grows. I love to hear that you’re doing that. So yay! Um, good for you. All right. Well, as you all know, storytelling and vulnerability are super important and powerful in a talk. And that’s what connects with the audience. And you, you all have such amazing stories, and you did such a great job at the retreat, incorporating those stories, telling them, being vulnerable with everybody at the retreat, but also getting filmed. Right. And then now you’ve got that on film. And so being vulnerable can be hard and challenging. But that is the the beautiful part of someone’s message is the vulnerability and how that connects with everybody else. So thank you to all of you for coming to the retreat and spending your time with us, and for being vulnerable and for supporting the other women as they were doing the same. And so for those of you who are watching and listening and or listening, be sure to connect with Danny, Darcy and Terry on LinkedIn.

Diane Diaz:
If you’re listening to this on the podcast, you can go to the show notes page and get their connection information there. But go to LinkedIn, make sure you connect with them, comment to them, and just let them know that you appreciate the work that they’re doing. Um, and so again, thank you to all of you for being here. Now, for everybody else, if you want to work with us to develop your thought leadership message, create your signature talk and learn the business of speaking. That’s exactly what we do in the Thought Leader Academy. So make sure that you reach out to us. You can. The next Thought Leader Academy starts on April 2nd. So if you want to learn more about that, you can go to speaking your brand.com/academy. Again that’s speaking your brand.com/academy. And then of course the best way to stay up to date on all things speaking your brand is to go to speaking your brand.com/join and you can get on the email list. So once again thank you Danny, Darcy and Terry for taking the time to come on backstage to share with everybody who is watching and just for being so generous and vulnerable with all of us. We appreciate you. So thank you for your time today.

Dani Einsohn:
You’re welcome.

Darci Foshay:
Thank you so much.

Dani Einsohn:
We appreciate you.

Diane Diaz:
Oh, thank you so much. All right. Well have a great rest of your day. Bye.

Carol Cox:
That was so much fun and so many useful insights that they shared that you can start using in your own presentations. Until next time, thanks for listening.

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