428 Building Bridges Through Kindness and Compassion
In being human we are able to connect more authentically with people not just in the workplace but in everyday life, by allowing them to see us for who we truly are and what we are capable of.
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Neal Foard discuss the importance of compassion and connection.
428 Building Bridges Through Kindness and Compassion
In being human we are able to connect more authentically with people not just in the workplace but in everyday life, by allowing them to see us for who we truly are and what we are capable of.
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Neal Foard discuss the importance of compassion and connection.
Highlights
Being present and aware of your actions on others and the world around you.
Building trust and genuine connection that lasts lifetimes as opposed to a quick and easy contract.
The importance of working in a diverse environment.
Quotes
“What I have been taught again and again is to try as much as possible to really wait for their personality to emerge, to wait for the real person to emerge. Don’t hurry it along and don’t make any judgments.”
“Knowing as much as you can about somebody's personhood as opposed to their professional attributes is a marvelous thing to communicate well. Any time you can speak from personal experience and people can get a sense of what your experience was, it will help them react to you in a human way.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
I am really curious about what you will do with what you picked up from this conversation maybe it’ll be from the very beginning of this conversation when you realize that a really good test for the people you want to spend time with is watching how they interact with other people. People that can’t serve them, people that can’t help them, people that can’t do something for them. Maybe it’s somebody on the autism spectrum, maybe it’s someone who acts or behaves differently than you do, maybe it’s a server at a restaurant, or someone in retail. How we treat each other is a really good indication of if you want to spend time with them.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Neal
Neal Foard is a master storyteller and branding expert who spent 25 years shaping award-winning ad campaigns for global icons like Budweiser, Lexus, and Sony. For his international work on Toyota, he was listed among the top ten most decorated creative directors in the world. As Worldwide Director of Creative Learning for advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi, Neal authored a program to teach professionals to sell their work more effectively. Today, he consults with Fortune 500 companies, universities, and governments on the art of persuasive messaging. A sought-after speaker with multiple appearances on the TEDx stage, Neal is known to millions for his viral videos celebrating everyday human kindness.
Be sure to check out Neal’s LinkedIn and Instagram! As well as Supercharge Your Leadership Skillset and The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders!
About Sarah
Sarah is a Montana based workplace communication trainer, TEDx speaker, DisruptHR speaker, public speaking coach, professional storyteller, musician, and podcast host. Her workshops and coaching packages with teams and their leaders are known to address and reduce miscommunication – the most common cause of tension and stress in the workplace. Using the team’s results from the StrengthsFinder assessment, she guides teams in learning to speak each other’s “language”, learning to value each other’s strengths and connecting with each other through enhanced self-reflection and effective listening.
Sarah’s nearly 20 years working in government agencies inspired her to complete her MBA and to achieve her StrengthsFinder certification to improve work environments for others, guiding teams toward increased satisfaction, productivity, and happiness.
Visit her website to purchase her book, Your Stories Don't Define You in paperback or audiobook.
423 We Need Each Other
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Cory Brown discuss their ideas and the influences in their lives that they have had that gave them the push to act on their ideas or to think them through, as well as the importance of putting something into the world that will make a genuine authentic change.
423 We Need Each Other
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Cory Brown discuss their ideas and the influences in their lives that they have had that gave them the push to act on their ideas or to think them through, as well as the importance of putting something into the world that will make a genuine authentic change.
Highlights
Eat your feelings, coming together over a meal to discuss your feelings.
The importance of mental health and reaching out to others for their sake and our own.
You must be the one to take the first step to make a change.
What can you put into the world to make others feel less alone and begin to heal?
Quotes
“I would do anything I can to help you, but you got to take that first step.”
“Over these past few years I’ve kind of let myself be okay with being emotional. Because I was like, “how can I help people think about these stigmas and try to find these breakthroughs if I’m not willing to do it myself?”.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
Cory mentioned that there was a point in his career where he hit a level of success where he knew that there was something more out there and he chose to serve, and he didn’t know what that would look like at the time but he came up with this idea and almost didn’t activate on it, until somebody said; “Get off your ass and do something. Stop talking about it, and do something.”
Now you know listeners, I am a Gallup certified Strengths Finder Coach. One of the things that I’ve found when using any kind of assessment tool, is that we need to surround ourselves with people who have different talents than we have, for exactly this reason. Everyone who is quiet and talks a lot about things and does a lot of research, has a best friend or partner that activates them. That says; “We’re gonna go get out of the house, come with me.”, “I’m gonna go do this, come with me.” And each of us that has more of the action behind us, we need those friends that do the research first and help us set up for success. So I encourage you, look for your personal board of directors. Those people who will help you take action or help you think through before you take action. Those people who are ‘get shit done’ people, and those people who are ideators and big-picture and lovingly relationship building people. We need each other and this is a perfect example.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Cory
Cory Brown is a veteran, strategist, and creator focused on helping people reconnect with themselves and one another through honest conversation. After more than sixteen years of military service, including a combat deployment to Iraq, Cory experienced firsthand how difficult it can be to talk about mental health in ways that feel human rather than clinical.
He is the founder of Eat Your Feelings, a cooking-centered storytelling project that uses food as a doorway to deeper conversations about resilience, identity, and care. Cory’s professional background spans research, strategy, and leadership, but his current work sits at the intersection of service, storytelling, and creating spaces where people feel safe enough to be real.
Whether in a kitchen or a boardroom, Cory believes how we tell our stories shapes how we understand ourselves and each other.
Be sure to check out Cory’s LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube! As well as his website Eat Your Feelings Show!
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!
421 The Lives We Live
421 The Lives We Live
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Kuti Mack discuss their unique experiences in being selected for a TED talk, the process in getting to their own important story they needed to tell, as well as the people who supported them along the way.
Highlights
The benevolence of somebody else and admitting when you need help going hand in hand with not assuming people are capable when in reality they need help. Knowing we are all human and we all need somebody to lean on and to let ourselves lean on others as well.
You need to try things out of your comfort zone in order to grow.
Even if you’re nervous, even if you’re scared, do it anyway.
Quotes
“There is still a self belief that you have to have to believe that you can do these things.”
“Having them understand that you don’t have to be a great speaker, as a matter of fact when you are a little tense or nervous, just that that little bit of vulnerability is probably going to fly so well for your talk.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
What is one thing you’ve been wanting to do that you’ve been hesitant to do? What is one thing that when you think about if you have the right people in your circle that could support you in your goal, in your idea in sharing something important to you. What is that? And I really encourage you to think about what your idea would be if you were to share something on a stage, like a TEDx stage. What do you bring that’s unique? What are your talents? What matters deeply to you, deeply enough to put yourself in this extremely uncomfortable position? Stretch out of that comfort zone, reach out to either Kuti or me and we will gladly share our experiences directly and offer whatever we can to help you try to do that next big thing because the people that you surround yourself with are either your greatest assets or your biggest liability.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Kuti
From selling millions of records to pushing kale juice, KUTImack. is a master of reinvention and the living proof of his Be Your Best Daily[image] philosophy. A former top music executive turned sought-after personal trainer, nutrition expert, and TEDx speaker, he turns complex science into simple, actionable strategies that transform wellness and productivity peaks. Creator of the 6-Week SuperYou[image] and BYBD™.
Bedtime Blueprint, he’s earned the nicknames “Fitness Philosopher” and “Rockstar Professor” for his unique ability to fuse entertainment-world experience with science-backed inspiration that connects with every audience member.
Be sure to check out his Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram! Also be sure to watch Kuti’s TEDx Talk, 6 Week Super You, and his Speaker Site KUTImack!
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!
420 Ted Talks: Let's Start Sharing Stories
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins ruminates on her preparations for her Ted Talk, as well as seeing the need that had to be filled, and how she is filling that need in society with clarity and authenticity.
420 Ted Talks: Let’s Start Sharing Stories
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins shares her experience preparating for her Ted Talk, as well as seeing the need that had to be filled, and how she is filling that need in society with clarity and authenticity.
Highlights
Seeing a problem and figuring out how you can fix it.
Let your ideas loose in the world, you never know who needs to hear it.
Bring yourself to whatever you do and good will follow.
Quotes
“The answer wasn’t to explain away what was happening.”
“I realized I wasn’t just there to give a talk. I was there to bring who I am, and all of my strengths and all of my weaknesses.”
Be sure to watch Sarah’s TedTalk!
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!
413 Love, Connection, Belonging, and Comfort Zones
It’s easy to forget to take care of the many facets of our health in a world obsessed with value and progress. We forget to care for our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health in ways that dramatically affect us in the long run, which is why it is vital for us to sit down and take stock of our health and to take the time to tend to our own needs.
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Kevin Strauss discuss the importance of connection, comfort zones, boundaries, love, and how important it is to ourselves as humans.
413 Love, Connection, Belonging, and Comfort Zones
Title card for episode 413 featuring Kevin Strauss, the title reads Love, Connection, Belonging, and Comfort Zones
It’s easy to forget to take care of the many facets of our health in a world obsessed with value and progress. We forget to care for our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health in ways that dramatically affect us in the long run, which is why it is vital for us to sit down and take stock of our health and to take the time to tend to our own needs.
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Kevin Strauss discuss the importance of connection, comfort zones, boundaries, love, and how important it is to ourselves as humans.
Highlights
Emotional, physical, and spiritual health and what the differences are.
How we learn and how it shapes us into who we are.
Identifying your comfort zone so you feel safe stepping into your stretch zone.
Taking care of every aspect of your health so that you can operate perfectly.
Quit trying to distract, soothe, or numb yourself to your needs. Take the time to properly address them so that you can be a truly healthy and functional person.
What is your reference for comfort?
Quotes
“There is no right or wrong or better or worse way, it’s just that this is how we are operating in the world and this is how we learn.”
“Value in our brain translates to love, and that’s really an emotional health need. So we’re try to feel more valuable, because value equals love in our brain.”
“We try to show our value, that we are worthy of love, but it’s never enough. It never soothes, we always need more, more, more, because we aren’t addressing the real problem. And the real problem is we don’t feel love just for who we are.”
“How many people on the planet are actively, intentionally, daily, practicing love and connection?”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
I’m going to ask you to define your comfort zone. Consider a moment in time when you felt truly comfortable, loved, safe, supported, just like when I stood in my doorway and saw my children in the room, and thought “If that’s not nice, then what is?”
Find a handful of moments like that in your life, define what it felt like, because once you have that foundation, you can step out of it.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
Mentioned in this episode
The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
About Kevin
Quote card featuring a photo of Kevin, smiling. The quote reads “How many people on the planet are actively, intentionally, daily, practicing love and connection?”
Kevin R. Strauss is the CEO of Uchi, a platform built on one simple truth — everything feels possible when you know someone has your back, every day. With 30 years in human behavior, innovation, and wellness, Kevin focuses on solving long-standing problems with simple solutions.
His career began in biomedical engineering, earning more than 75 patents and multiple publications, but his deeper passion has always been understanding people and why we behave the way we do. Through Uchi, Kevin helps families, schools, workplaces, and communities create stronger relationships so people can do better together.
He’s also the author of Innovate The 1% and host of the Question It podcast. Outside of work, Kevin is a 24-year, injury-free Ironman Triathlete, expedition backpacker, and award-winning ballroom dancer.
Be sure to check out Kevin’s LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook! As well as his website, Kevin R Strauss, his Youtube, and Uchi Connections!
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!
395 Carpe Diem
It’s easy to think we have all the time in the world to do something we’re putting off. Whether it’s changing jobs, or finishing your novel, or finally folding the laundry, we always think we’ll have more time. However time is a finite resource, and one day it too will run out. So we carry with us reminders of that which matters most to us and in doing so we remind ourselves to seize the day and to not take time for granted.
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and George Schunk discuss their own collections of sentimental items, their own art they have dedicated themselves to, as well as how important it is to act on an opportunity instead of waiting for the perfect time.
395 Carpe Diem
It’s easy to think we have all the time in the world to do something we’re putting off. Whether it’s changing jobs, or finishing your novel, or finally folding the laundry, we always think we’ll have more time. However time is a finite resource, and one day it too will run out. So we carry with us reminders of that which matters most to us and in doing so we remind ourselves to seize the day and to not take time for granted.
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and George Schunk discuss their own collections of sentimental items, their own art they have dedicated themselves to, as well as how important it is to act on an opportunity instead of waiting for the perfect time.
Highlights
What are you holding on to that means a great deal to you?
What is something you read or wrote that you still think about?
Are you doing something because you want to? Is the story you tell about it fair to the other people involved in it?
Those stories matter, and not just to you.
Don’t wait for the perfect time to do something. Make it the perfect time and do it anyway.
What are the themes of your stories that everyone can relate to, even if the words for those themes have changed?
Quotes
“Before I started to write about my life, I started to wonder; was I fair to the women that I loved?”
“What did you start with and what did you end with?”
“When something came up that I wanted to do, I went and did it.”
“When you’re unemployed, when you’re taking those gap years, or let’s say you have a good job and you’re moving up from your corner office, everything is looking good whether it’s public service or private. But if for any reason you get the wild hair that there’s a wild, larger world out there and you need that, and you go on a mid-life walk about -I did this when I was 45, for 2 years- The benefits of something like that are enormous.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
First, I highly recommend Michael Easter’s book, The Comfort Crisis, and in the future I promise to update you when George’s book is finally released. Who knows when that will be but I’m sure it will be well worth the wait. And now I’m going to ask you the hard question; What is something that you want to accomplish? What is something that you want to do in your life that you haven’t yet done? That you can take a step today, tomorrow, the next day, toward that idea that you’ve been thinking about for years. Don’t wait, we’re not guaranteed tomorrow. Make sure that people in your life know that those relationships are meaningful. Tell them, and take that step.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About George
Born into the privilege of good education and stable family life, got educated on my own, nine-years post-secondary. Lots of gap years along the way. I managed to change some laws for the better, access to public lands, closing mines significant to Native populations, managing timber sustainably, etc. I worked for President Clinton, Pew Charitable Trusts and Ecotrust, a green think tank in Portland. Now I snowboard half the year at the Great Divide and explore the country of Colombia. I have finished the first draft of a memoir that I want to edit and publish.
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!
393 Being Direct and Intentional in Conversations
It can be far too easy to let yourself be passive in conversations, whether it be to let another person make a decision or to avoid conflict. However in doing so we rob ourselves and others of deep meaningful connection, which is why it is so important to be direct and intentional with your words.
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins talks about these points while also bringing up times in her life where she was passive and direct in conversation, and why it is so important to her to be direct and intentional.
393 Being Direct and Intentional in Conversations
It can be far too easy to let yourself be passive in conversations, whether it be to let another person make a decision or to avoid conflict. However in doing so we rob ourselves and others of deep meaningful connection, which is why it is so important to be direct and intentional with your words.
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins talks about these points while also bringing up times in her life where she was passive and direct in conversation, and why it is so important to her to be direct and intentional.
Highlights
Be direct and honest with your words, don’t leave room for doubt or miscommunication.
Don’t leave a conversation completely up to one person. Communication goes both ways.
Being intentional in conversation, as well as understanding and compassionate.
Quotes
“I realized a lot of miscommunication and unintended injury happens when we’re passive in our language.”
“I also remembered a few people from my past who were especially difficult, insulting, and actually cruel in their communication with me. I thought about how I interacted with them – things I could have handled differently - for the purpose of learning, not regret, and thoughts about”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
I encourage you to listen to last week’s short episode and then try using a less passive voice in your communication. What will you do differently so you can move past injury and grow into better, safer, more satisfying relationships?
And, as always, thank you for listening.
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!