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My guest for Episode 207 is Adrion Porter, who stopped by for a special Generation X-themed episode of The Audience. Adrion is seasoned speaker, mid-career mentor, workplace consultant, employer brand strategist, podcaster, and the host of GEN X AMPLIFIED — the premier podcast dedicated to elevating the voices of the powerful generation between the Boomers and Millennials.Adrion thrives on helping create a world where all of us, no matter what age, are inspired and empowered to turn up the volume on our best selves. That’s why he has made it his life’s work to help individuals at mid-career and 40+, thrive at work and in life.This pair of grey-bearded Gen Xers had a good time chatting about all kinds of things about our ‘Forgotten Generation’ — including mindset hacks and tips for Gen Xers in the middle of a life or career transition, and advice for fellow Gen Xers who are eyeballing the leap into speaking as your calling.Hope you enjoy!(P.S. If you listen closely, you can hear our 3 yo, grey-chinned German Shepherd, Hugo, in the background. High fives and hugs to our boy for the guest appearance. :-) )

My guest for Episode 206 is Melanie Deziel, making a repeat visit to The Audience to drop all kinds of advice and tips about getting paid to speakMelanie is the founder of StoryFuel, which teaches marketers, publishers, creators and companies of all sizes how to tell better brand stories. She is also the author of The Content Fuel Framework: How to Generate Unlimited Story Ideas — which released February 24, 2020.She is a keynote speaker, award-winning branded content creator, and lifelong storyteller, on a mission to share the power of compelling and credible content with others. In the episode, we talked about the most common questions that I get from so many speakers when it comes to getting paid to speak, including: How to know when you’re ready to ask for a speaking feeStrategies for sleuthing whether an event is paying speakersTips for setting your speaking fee and how to know when your fee is priced “just right”Valuable types of non-monetary “payments” when you’re just starting outTons of discussion about Melanie’s new book and how authors can leverage their book(s) when negotiating speaking fees

My guest for Episode 206 is Neen James. Neen is an international keynote speaker and author of the books Folding Time and Attention Pays™. Neen has been named one of the Top 30 Leadership Speakers by Global Guru several years in a row because of her work with companies including Viacom, Comcast, and Abbot Pharmaceuticals among others. Neen’s quick-witted boundless energy offers powerful strategies to pay attention to what matters so you can get more done and create more significant moments at work, and home. Neen engages, educates, entertains, and delivers real-world solutions that apply in your organization, home, and community. Some of the awesome topics Neen and I discussed from Attention Pays and her genius zone included:Our attention deficit problem as a societyThe Myth of Multi-TaskingHow to protect yourself against information overloadTime blocking and task automation tips to save timeWork-Life Integration vs. BalanceHow she applies these core ideas as a speaker

My guest for this episode is Josh Windmiller, musician and event producer. Josh is an amazing and electric performing artist who has worked in many parts of the music industry, both onstage and off. His band, The Crux, is known for their theatrical shows. Josh (among many other things) is the Founder and Director of the Railroad Square Music Festival in Santa Rosa, CA, and has also been the Music Director for Petaluma, CA’s Rivertown Revival festival for more than a decade. He starting a new theater (The Lost Church), also in his hometown of Santa Rosa, California.I’ve known Josh for over 10 years, since the first time seeing The Crux perform, and am always captivated by his performances. In prepping for the episode, I learned a bunch about his background in theatre and education AND discovered that he’s such a student of the performer-audience dynamic. We had a chance to discuss that, how he triggers and experiences Flow, how he removes the traditional “4th Wall” between him and an audience, and a bunch more. And we did our level best to relate his practices and performance experiences back around to be accessible and relevant to public speakers.I had such a good time doing this episode and hope you enjoy all of it. :-)

My guest for Episode 204 of The Audience is Denise R. Jacobs, an expert on creativity and how to banish your Inner Critic. Denise is a Speaker + Author + Creativity Evangelist who speaks at conferences and consults with companies worldwide. As the Founder + CEO of The Creative Dose, she promotes techniques to unlock creativity and help people become engaged contributors, synergistic collaborators, and authentic leaders. She is the author of the best selling Banish Your Inner Critic, the premier handbook on silencing fears to unleash creativity. She’s a web + tech industry veteran and expert on design and web standards. She is also the Head Instigator of The Creativity (R)Evolution, and the founder of Rawk The Web.I had a great time discussing Denise's best practices for silencing the inner critic — and especially relating that back to aspiring and seasoned public speakers alike. Denise’s systems outlined in Banish Your Inner Critic are accessible, easy to follow, and effective. As a Flow geek, I loved that Denise name-checks Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (who originally recognized and coined the term Flow as a psychological state of peak productivity) in her book, and loved the bonus opportunity to talk Flow states with her in the episode. Enjoy!

My guest for Episode 202 is Gini Dietrich. Gini is the founder, CEO, and author of Spin Sucks — an outstanding professional development hub and blog for marketers, PR professionals, and a variety of other communicators, She is the host of the Spin Sucks podcast, and author of a bestselling book by the same name. She also has built, run, and grown her own successful agency — Arment-Dietrich — for the past 14 years. Gini is co-author of Marketing in the Round, co-host of Inside PR, and co-host of The Agency Leadership podcast. Gini has a wide variety of expertise that we could have focused on, but I looped her in to talk about building trust with an audience — a core foundational ingredient that every speaker should be striving for with every speaking engagement. The idea for this particular topic came from an article that Gini had previously posted to Spin Sucks — THE DECAY OF TRUST IN TODAY’S SOCIETY. We talked about Gini's 'mantra of trust' she uses to evaluate whether she can trust a piece of information, a news story. something on social media, etc — and how she applies that to her speaking practice. And we got to chat a teeny bit about the two-toed sloths that sometimes visit the property that my wife Ixchel and I live on in Nicaragua. Not related to building trust with an audience. Just because sloths are neat. :-)Hope you enjoy it!

My guest for this episode is the awesome Chris Brogan. Chris is the CEO of Owner Media, a best-selling author of 9 books (and counting!), a keynote speaker, host of the Making the Brand podcast, and a business advisor who helps companies navigate the evolving cultural effects of the digital landscape. He’s spoken for or consulted with some huge brands including Google, GM, Microsoft, Coldwell Banker, Titlelist, Humana Health, and a bunch more. He frequently publishes and appears in national media outlets, and he’s consistently listed as a power influencer in marketing, business, and entrepreneurship.He has a new book — Dented: Retrofitting Humans for the Modern Digital World — in the works right now.I've admired Chris's work for many years, first through his books, and eventually got to know him personally through working with him as a speaker. He's become a friend, a mentor, and someone who's advice has been invaluable to my professional career. Bigger than that, Chris is just a good human who consistently brings his humanity and authenticity everywhere he shows up and tries to make a difference.Chris stopped by The Audience to chat about discovering and owning your voice, as a speaker and a writer. I love Chris's down-to-earth point of view, and we covered some great practical ideas you can use to discover or fine-tune your personal voice. Enjoy!

My guest for this episode is Dr. Taryn Stejskal, who is currently the Head of Leadership Development, Executive Programs, & Coaching for Cigna. In that role, Dr. Stejskal leads strategy and execution of Cigna’s global talent management agenda and enterprise-wide leadership development initiatives focused on executive programs and coaching. She is an expert on leadership and organizational resilience, and is writing, speaking, and lecturing frequently on her research around this important topic. It was an awesome conversation that included:The work in physical trauma and rehabilitation that led her to a path of exploring organizational resilienceThe Five Qualities of Resilience that is a frequent topic of Dr. Stejskal’s on the speaking circuitHow these five qualities can be used as a recipe for developing better leaders, communities, and human relationshipsHer thoughts on what’s needed to cultivate more resilient leadersKey strategies for confronting fear and resistance in our pursuit of a more authentic, more resilient life This is all really foundational stuff, IMO, for anyone who is starting or growing a business — including speaking, performance, or bringing transformation to an audience. Really cool conversation, which I hope you enjoy! Full show notes can be found at http://eventsoul.co/podcast

My guest for this episode is Anne Gherini a marketing executive, writer, and public speaker with over a decade of experience leading both B2B and B2C marketing teams. Anne’s career roots include building strategic partnerships for Paramount Pictures and Sony PlayStation — which has led to building successful marketing strategies at several venture backed startups, including StumbleUpon and now at Affinity.co. Anne's superpowers these days include go-to-market strategy, performance marketing, and artificial intelligence for sales and marketing. She is also a columnist for Inc. Magazine, Huffington Post, and more.If you caught Episode 008 with Peter Corbett, you heard some great advice and cues for anyone looking to exit from a startup or entrepreneurial venture — or at least how to read the intuitive signs of when it’s time to transition to something new.In this episode, Anne and I talk about what it takes to thrive in the startup scene. This episode is great for any of you thinking about starting a business — whether it’s purely a solopreneur business or one for which you might eventually need funding.Things we discussed in this episode include:What qualities are needed to thrive in the startup life (applies to Solopreneurs too!)How corporate jobs are like cruise ships, while startups are like a Jet SkiThe skills for succeeding in a startup that translate well to success as a public speakerHer network-building philosophies and best practices — and her take on the role that artificial intelligence plays into the future of networking

My guest for Episode 008 is Peter Corbett, who I’ve had the pleasure to know for a number of years as we’ve worked in various overlapping circles in the tech community.Peter is the Founder and now Retired CEO of iStrategyLabs, a DC-based, global digital agency, that develops solutions to clients’ challenges and brings them to life in the online and offline world. He is a tireless champion of innovation, and disruptors everywhere — be they in technology, business, media, venture capital, and moreWe sat down to talk about his life as a "Retired Founder," including:What led to his decision to sell ISL to J. Walter ThompsonHow he knew he was ready to let go of a business he’d founded and built into a global innovator over the course of 10+ yearsHow to identify when you’re not aligned with a project or venture anymoreWhat he’s doing now, with the space created by letting go of running ISL full-timeIdeas for how to avoid burnout as an entrepreneurThis is a great episode for any of you who has been running a startup, business, consultancy, etc, and has been wondering if it’s time to let go of that to pursue other things that are more aligned with what is your truth right now.

Episode 007 (unofficially my James Bond episode) of The Audience features my first pair of guests —Jen Capstraw and & April Mullen. Both are email marketers extraordinaire and Co-Founders of the global nonprofit organization, Women of Email. Jen is a strategist, speaker, writer and #emailgeek — currently the Director of Strategic Insights and Evangelism at Iterable. April leads client marketing and strategy for Selligent Marketing Cloud. We covered a lot of important topics in this jam-packed episode, including:A discussion about what’s so fulfilling about being an email marketerWhy email marketers take to public speaking and engaging an audience so wellWhat Women of Email is doing to help mentor its 2500+ members, including a full-fledged WoE speaker bureauImportant discussions about inclusivity at eventsHow we can prevent harassment from occurring at eventsHow we might encourage more organizers to implement stronger code of conduct policies.Expert advice for speakers from each of Jen and April’s unique perspective

Episode 006 of The Audience features special guest Quinn Tempest, a digital strategist and designer based in Phoenix. For 5 years, she served as Director of Marketing at top internet marketing agency, Vertical Measures. She has worked with enterprise-level corporations, including Banner Health and UPS, to develop large-scale, paradigm-shifting content marketing strategies. As a designer, she helps small businesses and entrepreneurs create attractive, strategic websites and brands that drive holistic results. She is also the co-founder of a successful digital urban awareness platform, This Could Be PHX. In this chat with Quinn I dive into a bunch of fun things including:How to know as an entrepreneur when you’re ready to leap away from a single “regular paycheck” client to more variety Purposeful work and aligning your day to day with what brings you joy and who you’re draw to serveTips on owning your own voice in business, life, as a thought leaderHer creative process and alchemy as a designer and brand consultant, and how she applies that to her public speakingHow she aligns the free flow of creativity and structure in her processWhy Instagram is her go-to marketing channel, how she uses it, and her other favorite digital toolsHer take on the event industry, advice to speakers, and self care tips

My guest for this episode is the awesome Ajit Nalwalkha. Ajit is  a serial entrepreneur, global educator & consultant. He is the co-founder of Mindvalley Teach, Evercoach  and Global GRIT Institute, author of The Book of Coaching and Live Big — which comes out today as of the posting date of this episode. Born in Jaipur, Rajasthan, living in a home with 23 other people, Ajit has always pursued the dream of Living Big. Over the past decade he has helped build training and coaching companies to inspire the coming generation, transform entrepreneurs to live on purpose, while enjoying their lives while increasing profits. He enjoys exploring the world, learning different cuisines, writing, and spending time with his wife Neeta and their new daughter. In this episode we talked aboutSome of the key ideas in his new book, Live Big, just released—which you check out at livebigthebook.comJoy vs. happiness and balance as an entrepreneurTips for entrepreneurs off all types to live your biggest, fullest lifeHis thoughts on what’s missing in current conversations around entrepreneurship and education

My guest for this episode of The Audience is Melanie Deziel, Founder of StoryFuel and a brand storytelling speaker who travels the world teaching marketers and publishers how to tell better brand stories. She has spoken at conferences and events around the world, including Content Marketing World, Native Ad Days, SXSW, Social Media Marketing World, Inbound, and more.Melanie is on the board of the Native Advertising Institute and teaches Content Marketing for Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is the former director of creative strategy for Time Inc. and was the first editor of branded content at The New York Times, where she wrote the sponsored content pieces that won the 2014 and 2015 Best Native Advertising Execution OMMA Award, including the acclaimed “Women Inmates” piece for Netflix.In this chat with Melanie we dive into a bunch of fun things including:How we can each be better storytellersHer evolution and best practices as a speakerAdvice for new speakersAnd her take on how the event industry can create more opportunities for for thought leaders new to the speaking circuit

My guest for this episode of The Audience is Michael Barber. Michael is the Senior Vice President, Chief Creative Officer at Godfrey. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. This work has been awarded numerous industry awards, but more importantly has driven successes including the most effective and cost-efficient campaign in the history of a Fortune 500 company, a 160x return on ad spend, and 50 million earned media impressions within the first month of a new product launch. Michael is one of Marketo’s Fearless 50 which recognizes the top marketers around the globe driving bold, fearless, marketing and digital transformation.It was a real treat to spend the time chatting with Michael, exploring a variety of things including: Ingredients and recipe for a great speaking experienceHow to stay in your personal truth as a speaker, no matter whatAdvice for speakers for staying authentic in social media I can say from personal experience, working with Michael, that he is truly great at his craft of creating memorable experiences for a variety of audiences. I hope you enjoy!

My guest for this premiere episode of The Audience is Ann Handley, which I’m so grateful for. Ann is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author who speaks worldwide about how businesses can escape marketing mediocrity to ignite tangible results. IBM named her one of the 7 people shaping modern marketing. Ann is the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, the leading marketing training company. She is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content, and co-author of Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business. She has contributed commentary and bylines to Entrepreneur magazine, IBM’s Think Marketing, Inc. magazine, Mashable, Huffington Post, American Express, NPR, and the Wall Street Journal.In this episode we explore a bunch of topics including:Her creative process and habits, and how those have evolvedWhere she looks for and captures ideasThe missing link she sees in many companies’ contentThe weird connection between guarding tomatoes from squirrels and intellectual property

Welcome to the Audience, Soulful Conversations with People Creating Out Loud.This is the "origin episode" and gives you an overview of what this podcast is all about. In a nutshell, this is a podcast about how to thrive in the conference and event business. Each episode will feature guest interviews and/or solo riffs by me, Jaimey Walking Bear — bringing you:Practical advice for building and growing a public speaking businessTips for thriving within the speaking or performing circuit once you're thereReal talk about how we, as a community, can make the event space more inclusive and a safer space in generalThis Welcome Episode 001 gives you a sneak peek of what to expect from future episodes of The Audience, which is 100% about serving your whole person as a changemaker and creative. THANK YOU for giving it a listen, and I hope you come back for more goodness. xoxoJaimey