when you're more prepared, when you understand the resources, what you can offer the employee, when you have a better sense of their situation, all that sort of extra stuff to make it a good conversation for both sides.
Yes, that is so good. Well, Nicole, this has been so valuable.
We've learned how to pitch, how to get good feedback what's important in reaching other people, how to deal with an employee who's got bad news.
I mean, you just shared so much how to sound confident because you how to find your confidence.
I'll let you close with. Anything that I didn't ask you that you think would be relevant to our audience of very attractive, smart people.
I just would want to tell all of you out there listening that you have so much to offer.
And think about that more and let that win out over sort of the fear or the nervousness or the anxiety.
That's beautiful and true. And thank you so much for coming, coming on the program.
Thank you, Laura. It's a pleasure. Well, that was so good.
I love talking to Nicole. She had so many good takeaways, but I really liked how she talked about embracing your perspective. point of view your expertise that if you're in a high stakes meeting or presentation is because you add value.
You've been invited there for a reason. And if you would like to get better at presentations in particular and better communication, I have good news for you.
I am once again offering a PDF. of my ebook, The Practical Guide to Effective Conversations.
It's free. You can buy it on Amazon for $9.99. or you can click the link in the show notes and get it for free.
Have a fantastic day and I will see you in the next episode.
Oh, wow. That was baptism by fire. What happened?
I leaned on something that actually I still lean on, which is for better or worse, my own knowledge.
And that really helped sort of calm the nerves.
But I remember going up to this podium And my hand was shaking holding the microphone.
And my voice was shaking. But I really knew the subject that I was talking about well.
They had called me up to talk about our programs and services.
And... There was a certain rhythm to telling that story about the type.
It was for a nonprofit. So telling the story about the type of work we did. who we did it for.
And that sort of took over the nerves. Because I was comfortable in that.
It gave me a place to lean on a little bit.
Was it perfectly smooth? No. No, but you know what?
Do people care? Was it terrifying? Yes. Yes.
But I think that experience, having survived it, was a really good learning for me. because it helped me recognize something about myself. which is that when I'm prepared or comfortable or confident in the information or the story that I'm sharing,
Then I can make it less about me and whether or not I'm anxious or nervous or how I think people are going to respond to me.
People tell me all kinds of things. Oh, Laura.
But we're going to talk about this thing.
And that's not my expertise. I just know this other thing.
And I always say, because it's true. If you're invited, it's because they want your point of view.
They want to know what you think. And it could be that you have expertise in one domain.
And because of that, it is somehow relevant and transferable to another domain.
I think something you said just now is really important, too, about the person who's called in and they feel like they don't have the expertise or that their expertise is different. when you're more prepared, when you understand the resources, what you can offer the employee, when you have a better sense of their situation, all that sort of extra stuff make it a good conversation for both sides.
Yes, that is so good. Well, Nicole, this has been so valuable.
We've learned how to pitch how to get good feedback, what's important in reaching other people, how to deal with an employee who's got bad news.
I mean, you just shared so much how to sound confident because you how to find your confidence.
I'll let you close with. Anything that I didn't ask you that you think would be relevant to our audience of very attractive, smart people.
I just would want to tell all of you out there listening that you have so much to offer and Think about that more and let that win out over sort of the fear or the nervousness or the anxiety.
That's beautiful and true. And thank you so much for coming, coming on the program.
Thank you, Laura. It's a pleasure. Well, that was so good.
I love talking to Nicole. She had so many good takeaways, but I really liked how she talked about embracing your perspective. point of view, your expertise, that if you're in a high stakes meeting or presentation, is because you add value.
You've been invited there for a reason. And if you would like to get better at presentations in particular and better communication, I have good news for you.
I am once again offering a PDF of of my ebook, The Practical Guide to Effective Conversations. free.
You can buy it on Amazon for $9.99 or you can click the link in the show notes and get it for free.
Have a fantastic day and I will see you in the next episode. that I'm trying and we're going to see where it goes.
And I know a lot of our listeners are perfectionists.
So I'm going to speak to you for a second, guys.
That there's not such thing as a perfect presentation or a perfect communication.
It's like, is it effective? how do people feel did they take the action that you wanted people like you more when you mess up a little bit I mean, not that you, you know, fall on your face and that, not that, but one of the studies behind this was they had, it was the recording of a college student saying that how he had started the semester with low grades and studied and pulled up his grade.
And so there was one group of where he just tells his story straight up.
And then another set where in the middle of the thing, he either... fake or actually spills his coffee and then he cleans it up.
But of course, nobody can see it. But he's like, oh, I'm so sorry.
I just spilled my coffee. Let me clean it up real quick.
And you hear noises. And then he gets back to his story.
And assessment was that he was more likable and relatable than when, I mean, the same guy, same boy, same story. than when he did it without messing up.
Yeah, I could definitely see that. And also it's sort of like when comedians have a slightly self-deprecating humor.
Yes. It's okay to be real people. Yeah, you're going to have multiple times to... talk to somebody or if you mess up, you can recoup it in the future or you can send a note and probably it wasn't as bad as you thought it was.
Or you can just laugh at yourself, too. Yes.
Yes. That's a great point. It's a great way to break the tension or break the ice.
And ultimately, kind of to your point about your clients, your Spanish-speaking clients, at least from the entrepreneurial side, it's like, who do you want to be working with?
You probably want to be working with those people who are down to earth enough or find it charming or... are going to be okay with that authenticity.
So talk to us about, since you're a pitching expert, and I don't know if anybody listening is pitching to investors, but we're always pitching... you know, our solutions and ideas.
Like what are some, mistakes that you see people making in their pitching and they don't understand something for years. whatever reason.
There are at least three that are coming to mind.
One of them is If you think of pitching, not just for investors, but let's say you're pitching, you're trying to get a raise or a promotion.
Or you're pitching an idea for a direction within your company. people tend to lead with why it's important to them.
It's not that that's wrong, but the other side, you know, the person you're communicating to or with is going to most likely respond more if you're leading on the foot of why it's going to benefit them.
So it's less about you, the person who's pitching, and more about how is this going to make a difference for the organization, for the manager, for whoever it is you're talking to. you can still talk about you know at some point later on like why it's important to you so you know for example let's say you were asking for a promotion?
Well, I think I should get this promotion because I can really affect some positive changes, this, that, and the other place within the company.
And it'll help me develop professionally.
But the professional development is more secondary.
The person hearing it wants to hear about how it's going to benefit them.
My theory is that school... most everybody listening is like an A, was an A student or A plus student.
Okay. This is like, Nerds Anonymous meeting.
So we kind of, in our young years, were formed by You know, you do the work, you get the good grade, you get rewarded.
Why is it that pitching, why is it that it's not just a purely rational thing It's always this emotional part to it.
I think it's really complex. There's so many layers to it.
That people don't even know. And they're subtle.
People don't even realize what they're responding to.
So they're not really... A lot of times they're not responding totally to the content of what you're saying.
It's the energy you're bringing to the room and how you're presenting what you're saying and how...
I want to say strongly you believe in what you're saying.
Your conviction? Yes. A big one is speaking the language of your audience.
Oh, okay. So a lot of times I work with really technical founders.
And I've even seen this in-house. Let's say you're on the technical side of it, you know, within your organization and you want to. move into some other areas or you're trying to communicate with other departments that are less technical, if you can't speak their language, and they can't relate to what you're saying, it's gonna be a little bit of an uphill battle.
I used to think, you know, I was, Had so many things wrong in my thinking of how work should be.
It's like, well, if they don't understand, they will ask me, right?
Obviously, because we're all rational human beings here.
Guess what? No. And it kind of echoes what you're saying that there's so much complexity that we're constantly looking for shortcuts to make a decision.
And so if Nicole seems like she has conviction about this and I trust her because of previous work, say I'm her manager, I am, if I can, probably going to give her the green light, not because I, Laura, am analyzing things her work or really even closely evaluating her proposition, but simply because She seems to be really convicted that this is the right thing to do.
And I trust her. And don't you think that people just go with shortcuts like that?
Trust is huge if you have an existing relationship because you're already going into the situation as a known quantity.
They don't have to go through that extra layer of decision making.
Oh, can I rely on this person? Are their ideas good?
Are they going to carry through? All that stuff is shortcutted.
You're a known quality that they trust and you're credible.
So the next part is make it easy for them.
And the way you make it easy is like through the language, through the presentation.
Yes. You said make it easy for your audience.
I think that is... Probably one of the most helpful ways to think about your pitch, whatever you're asking for, How can I make it easy, this decision to go my way, how can I make that as easy as possible?
And not asking them to think, or analyze is part of being easy.
I think it's funny. You said the audiences are a bunch of like Nerds Anonymous, so I think maybe they'll appreciate this.
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
And that's what you want to do when you're pitching.
It's you want to get the shortest, not shortest, but the most direct path to yes.
Does that involve just like a rational, this is going to make us more money?
Or, you know, that to me is like, is the shortest path the best?
Short, when I say short, well, that's part of it.
It makes it sound deceptively simple, but shortest doesn't always mean most logical.
Okay, that's a key point. I'm going to repeat that.
People in the back, shortest does not mean most logical.
But as you were talking... people who are inside an organization have a huge advantage.
And that is they can be incrementally selling in their idea over time.
Oh, tell me about that. That is very interesting.
Okay. So like a drip. Right. Like a drip campaign, right?
The equivalent of a drip campaign. Yeah.
So, you know, instead of waiting for some big presentation where it's do or die, they're going to take this idea or not. depends on how the organization is, but let's say you have weekly check-ins with your manager.
You can start talking about it or test the waters or ask questions around what you're thinking about.
To plant those seeds. I love that. And yeah, engage the receptivity and understand what objections there might be. conversational, more intimate, you're building relationship, you're slowly selling in your idea,
And if you get that opportunity to do a big presentation, you're going to be better equipped to communicate it effectively in a way that's going to be persuasive and win them over.
Right. I have two more questions for you that we need to get to at least and one is about You know, clarity and alignment when it's highly stressful, a lot going on.
As a marketing person, you know that a lot of times we think we're being clear and we're aligned and we're not.
Is there any kind of like checklist or what would you suggest for, first of all, being aligned and clear, but also... letting other people know that you're aligned with their or higher objectives.
I think, again, this is an a place where it helps to sort of know yourself.
Like I know that I can be really wordy I know that I can use words that maybe aren't the words that are going to be easier for people.
So, you know, it's the same almost as written text.
I'll edit ruthlessly. I'll go back in and ask myself where I can simplify.
I think those are the two things. It's a self-editing.
You could theoretically for people who like to use tools like Grammarly I don't necessarily like to do that because it can strip out your tone.
Right. Or something that's specific. But, you know, if your personality is nice to have personality, it's also nice to slip in unexpected words and emails and written comments. communication yeah it's verbal like an oral presentation or something like that get someone who you know will give you honest not just honest feedback but constructive feedback.
Again, make it easy for people to give you helpful feedback.
Finally, Nicole, just on this topic that's very unique to you because of your health background, What is the best way to respond if... someone on our team comes to us with either a health challenge that they are facing or someone in their family I think that's very, it's shocking always.
How can we support people people in our companies who either are dealing with some kind of health issue or someone in their family is, And of course, you still want to get the work done, but you don't want to talk about it, but...
Give us some guidance there. Well, first off, I hope within these organizations that leaders are getting or managers are getting some level of training of how to navigate that.
But let's assume they're not. Let's assume they forgot because that was five years ago.
Exactly. To be empathetic and to just listen.
I think listening is underrated. People don't realize just listening without any judgment. and acknowledging whatever it is the person is going through and asking you can ask how can I support you during this time?
But the employee may not have any They may be so much in the thick of it that they don't really even know how they can be helped or supported.
They might feel... Right. That's what I'm imagining.
Yeah. So... If the manager knows what resources are available, they can be like, look, you know, I'm so sorry you're going through a hard time.
I hear you. Here are some accommodations we can do.
But if they don't know what accommodations are available, they can be like, I hear you're having a hard time.
Let me find out what we can do to work with you to help you still take care of yourself or take care of your family. and still be able to show up here and be part of the team or the organization.
Going back to what we were talking about before, I think it's better not to view it as a one and done communication where the manager has to have all the answers and all the right responses on the spot.
You can just show that compassion and show that empathy and then have a follow-up conversation when you're more prepared. when you understand the resources, what you can offer the employee, when you have a better sense of their situation, all that sort of extra stuff to make it a good conversation for both sides. yes that is so good well nicole this has been so valuable we've learned how to pitch how to get good feedback what's important in reaching other people, how to deal with an employee who's got bad news.
I mean, you just shared so much how to sound confident because you how to find your confidence.
I'll let you close with. Anything that I didn't ask you that you think would be relevant to our audience of very attractive, smart people.
I just would want to tell all of you out there listening that you have so much to offer and Think about that more and let that win out over sort of the fear or the nervousness or the anxiety.
That's beautiful and true. And thank you so much for coming, coming on the program.
Thank you, Laura. It's a pleasure. Well, that was so good.
I love talking to Nicole. She had so many good takeaways, but I really liked how she talked about embracing your perspective point of view, your expertise, that if you're in a high stakes meeting or presentation, is because you add value.
You've been invited there for a reason. And if you would like to get better at presentations in particular and better communication, I have good news for you.
I am once again offering a PDF. of my ebook, The Practical Guide to Effective Conversations.
It's free. You can buy it on Amazon for $9.99. or you can click the link in the show notes and get it for free.
Have a fantastic day and I will see you in the next episode.
