A weekly podcast on ways to stay calm and compel others as you communicate. Along with executive communications tips and strategies, we interview intriguing individuals who've found the "Sage approach" by finding gifts, opportunities, and knowledge within trying situations. New Zealander show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, has written on social and business trends and struggles for the Economist, the Guardian, and Financial Times of London. She's a self-retired college professor of writing ...
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London College of Fashion The Comms Salon
BA Fashion PR and Communication: London College of Fashion
Welcome to the Comms Salon, hosted by staff and students from the BA Fashion PR and Communication course at London College of Fashion. We interview thought leaders and convention challengers about their role in the fashion public relations and communication industry. Disclaimer: Any claims or views expressed on this site do not represent the views of the UAL, its staff or management.
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Professionals all over wonder how to introduce themselves, especially to new bosses, teams, or a recruiter — even to new friends. Introductions (done well) become conversation starters, build connections, even elevate our personal brand. But how do we talk about our work — and life — in ways that stand out and align with our personality and values?…
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“Connect technology to peoples' daily life. They'll get it.” CTO Advisor Suhail Syed on demystifying jargon and daring to dream
29:15
When Silicon Valley-based CTO advisor Suhail Syed tells his dear mother back in India about his work helping companies grow business revenue through using products in the cloud, she looks up to the sky. "She's wondering what’s there," Suhail recalls. This sweet story reminds us of the need to clarify any jargon we use and stay audience centered, to…
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Fear of public speaking has certainly intensified. I first knew this point because my clients kept telling me so. I confirmed the phenomena for sure when I allowed myself recently to feel that intense fear once more, presenting on active listening to a live audience, with a story and a live coaching session within. My essay and musings on being kno…
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“If I see others struggle, I build a bot to help them” Marketer, Builder, and Innovator Simone Morellato on the joys of AI
25:25
My guest today is marketer, builder, and innovator Simone Morellato, an Italian born technologist and marketer based in the Bay Area, California. Having long worked as a marketer for some of the world’s largest IT firms, Simone’s become expert at many things: communicating and demystifying tech for high-stakes audiences, launching beautiful product…
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“Football has built me into a leader.” Defensive Lineman Nicholas McCullough on getting into Harvard
16:39
With some bias perhaps, I think Muskego Highschool’s varsity footballer here in Wisconsin, Nicholas McCullough’s, an impressive teen. He’s the youngest captain in the Muskego Warrior’s team history. He coaches and mentors younger kids on leadership, and is ranked best in his state for his age and position. The bias comes from him being my son and I…
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Kenza Fourati on challenging brands and finding joy and learning from her Tunisian shoe business
22:21
My guest this week is Kenza Fourati, a Tunisian fashion model in New York, U.S. who’s co-launched a shoe business that’s done very well, teaching she and her co-founders many lessons along the way. The business employs local Tunisian shoemakers, helping keep a craft alive, repurposes leather that would otherwise go to waste, and brings comfortable,…
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“You build your brand by getting in front of people.” Hyacinth Tucker, Owner of the Laundry Basket
21:26
Hyacinth Tucker always loved people, enterprise, and community when growing up in Jamaica. Here in the states, she’s found a way to channel that love through her new venture, the Laundry Basket, an on-demand mobile laundry and dry cleaning delivery company in Maryland, U.S. In a short time, she’s scaled, gained a considerable client base, and gaine…
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I'm still swooning over the delightful Chicagoans I met on a recent April visit. (They're the nicest and most open people ever!) In another ad-hoc interview, we learn from Gina Magro, a fashion model adorned in an $8.5k leather Carolina Herrera gown, on how to focus when on stage. She's also expert on seeming open, calming our mind, and showing neu…
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“A great communicator really understands their audience.” Product leader Nupur Thakur on demystifying tech
20:55
My guest this week is product, strategy, and operations leader Nupur Thakur who has spent a greater part of her career ensuring that leaders and customers understand her technology well. In a lovely conversation from her Bay Area, SF base, she unpacks what’s helped her understand her audience and how she breaks down and demystifies technical topics…
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John Chang moved to the U.S. from a balmy part of China with one core goal: To perform violin for orchestras. His practicing’s intense and rigorous as are his auditions. We spoke a few days after auditioning for Chicago’s opera where he and other players must perform their excerpts to faceless judges separated from the musician by a black curtain. …
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North Carolina-based executive architect Abhijeet Patil has long led complex hybrid cloud initiatives for Fortune 500s and loved the challenge. A recent self-generated challenge to write in the public space—his “writing spree”— has helped him discover the joy, clarity, and courage that comes from expressing ourselves in the written word. He’s also …
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“I find joy in improving people’s health” Jill Staudacher on pharma, alternative medicine, and sisterhood
26:18
Jill Staudacher has spent the best part of her career in pharmaceutical sales; but since COVID she’s felt drawn additionally to alternative ways to heal—both herself, her family, and friends as well. In this timely interview, from my Muskego, Wisconsin base, Jill shares her journey into a powerful career selling excellent medicines to finding a gro…
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If you’ve reworked your resume recently via Resume IO, Canva, or (my favorite platform: My Perfect Resume.com) you’ll see the creative challenge in describing our work efforts, skills, and triumphs within a few words. The summary section on Resume IO rations a cruel 200 characters. The work experience for each role? Three bullets, each worth 200 ch…
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“You know when it’s time for career change. Listen for it. You know.” Rebecca Perreault on changing our work, outlook, and life
19:15
My guest this week has reinvented herself multiple times through multiple life stages—even focuses of her study, career, and the way she chooses to live her life. Her name’s Rebecca, and after several decades in the corporate world—most recently in a high-powered supply chain role—she’s decided to step down, change her focus, and move away from the…
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As we rise closer to the top-tier audiences of the companies where we serve, hooking and compelling our audience in our opening sentences feels vital. I know, because I’ve needed to cut to the chase when interviewing experts and executives for articles I’ve written — or anyone with power and visibility. I find this audience more rushed than rude an…
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Job seekers and those on the rise within their org need data. Numbers and trends within those numbers quantify how we excel at our craft and trade, become proof, and help paint a story — a vision — of success we can bring our future employer or team. But at least 50% of the coachees I coach struggle here because not enough time has passed to show t…
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I often get asked how to boost our confidence—a tough question, because so many ways exist! My guest in this week’s Sage Sayer’s podcast shares a passion with me for travel. Her name’s Azra Bandali and she’s ventured to 32 countries, an almost annual practice she started as a girl. Azra feels convinced travel has molded her into the woman she is to…
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Many of us dread cold calling and following up with folks, especially when we want or need something from them. Why? Because we can feel (in these delicate moments) that we’re a bother or demanding or even desperate, when none of the above’s normally true. I’m convinced that our Inner Judge plays a role. Our critical inner voice wants to protect us…
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“Diwali Connects Us with Our Culture and Celebrates Life” Madhu Chawla on the Gifts of Diwali
17:25
Diwali, an annual Hindu festival of lights, celebrates Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, and marks the beginning of the fiscal year in India. For the 17.9 million Indians living overseas, many still celebrate Diwali this month in the countries where they’re based. Madhu Chawla, an Arizona-based Senior Manager at American Express, says Diwali beco…
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My guest today wants to share her story (anonymously for her privacy) of two fertility treatments she has undertaken (the second still in progress) and the gifts, the learning, and the opportunities she has found along the way. Her motivation: Wanting to plan ahead to ensure she can have a family, when she’s ready. And she’s part of a larger and gr…
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If you're job interviewing, you may feel a bit nervous about the inevitable blips which come up in our work story, especially during turbulent times. I've beaucoup ideas and tactics in this week's podcast episode and in my article on Medium on how to iron out those kinks in confident, non-apologetic ways and in ways which help our personal brand. A…
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New Zealander Isaac Te Reina, a documentary and film producer and actor who has featured in Avatar returns to the Sage Sayers this week. Together we share tools and techniques for managing the vocal quirks coming up for many of us when under pressure: Verbal filler, speeding, and going on a bit because we struggle to bottom line. It all starts with…
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Business presenters often inherit slides from another. While some slides feel fantastic and a gift, others can induce dread, worry, and concerns with how to stay engaging vs. boring our audience and diluting or confusing our personal brand. The biggest stressor often comes when the slides belong to a boss, manager, or someone else with power over u…
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The Sage Sayers: How Faith, Courage, and Art Boosts Our Public Speaking. An Interview with Kamari Green
26:40
My guest this week is Kamari Green, a Healthcare Leader + Maternal Mental Health Advocate + Artist, based in North Carolina, USA. Kamari's an interesting story to tell on overcoming and navigating her own health challenges (postpartum depression and depression) in ways which established her career as a healthcare leader. Art, medicine, love, and fa…
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The Sage Sayers: Communication and Leadership Gifts from Indian Leaders. An Interview with Sathya Sethuraman
29:24
My guest this week is Sathya Sethuraman, a financial Services and insurance industry strategist and thought leader who's served as a trusted advisor to Fortune 100 global insurance and financial service firms. He finds that insurance provides a safety net for the health and wellbeing of every individual, hence making this industry his home for 20+ …
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James Woodruff, District Field Manager at the Federal Aviation Administration, has learned leadership skills so many places: The FAA where he’s served many years. The Navy. And as a high school teacher. And yet his best leadership lessons (he believes) came from a job he landed as a teenager managing the bussers and servers at a thriving country cl…
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My guest this week is Fernanda Noronha, a multi-cultural finance and strategy leader who's worked with international conglomerates across three countries and two continents for almost two decades. Currently, she helps lead finance at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), a Fortune number 38 leader in the nutrition industry. In our interview, we learn about…
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Some of the best and the brightest fret about small talk lately and I think I know why. Some started their jobs as remote workers having completed their studies in remote ways. Others must now return to work in the office after years of working from home. Meanwhile, few trust their colleagues and worry they’ll say something that might threaten thei…
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Too many bright and gifted professionals worry about their age when it comes to their jobs, their stability, and any risks they’re willing to take in their last decades. I read about this feeling in the business media. I hear about it often when clients request my help with bios, resumes, and LinkedIn profiles. I’m going the other way, especially w…
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The Sage Sayers: Meet Dotun Ayeni, our Sound Engineer. Tips on Reinvention, Interviews, and Resilience.
22:57
My guest this week is one familiar to me and one I’m excited to introduce to you. His name is Dotun Ayeni. He’s an animal scientist by profession, a sound engineer by passion and works as a business development manager in an Australian lift Manufacturing company in Nigeria, his motherland. Dotun’s also my sound engineer. I’ve brought Dotun to my sh…
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My guest this week is Madhu Chawla. She's a manager of global implementation in global commercial services at American Express and is based out of Phoenix, Az. Madhu's an interesting story to tell about a communication challenge which, for some part of her life, got in her way of confidence and being the thriving professional she always wanted to b…
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If leaders have prodded you to add story to otherwise dry and stodgy data and topics, you’re not alone! Many communicators I coach hear this feedback when doing dry-runs on high-stakes presentations and within performance reviews, too. But how do we tell story around numbers? This becomes our theme for this week’s Medium post, which you can find he…
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My guest this week is Yasna Garcia da Rosa, an executive assistant and ICF-certified coach based in Uruguay who simply loves her job. This feeling becomes rare in today's turbulent economy where many feel despair vs. joy. Yasna works for a leading pharmaceutical firm and through a recent work trip to Africa felt reminded of her purpose, her passion…
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If you're finding you're more anxious than normal speaking in meetings and/or presenting to higher ups, you're not alone. Communicators all over feel the same and we know why: Many of us have fewer opportunities with our leaders than before; with that, more pressure to be brief, clear, and feel heard. Also, those same leaders we must update or pers…
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The Sage Sayers: How Do We Share Our Successes While Honoring Cultural Humility? We Ask Bhawna Sharma Puri
24:01
My guest this week, Bhawna Sharma Puri, is a successful Fintech industry marketing leader and a council board member of California State university. She's also a first generation immigrant, a Silicon Valley philanthropist, an investor, and a Mum to two wonderful little children. I've brought Bhawna to the Sage Sayers to unpack how to share our acco…
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The Sage Sayers: Chicago Sun-Time's Jennifer Kho: ‘I'm Easily Inspired When It Comes To Storytelling’
27:53
My returning guest this week is Jenn Kho. She's the newly appointed Chicago Sun-Times executive editor, president of the Journalism and Women Symposium, and former managing editor of two global publications with millions of readers: the HuffPost and the Guardian US. This week, Jenn's back to share what she's learning about herself and her industry …
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My guest this week is Marie-Louise Pereira, a leadership and mental wellness coach based in France. Marie-Louise helps leaders replace stuck, unhappy feelings with a confidence that helps them achieve their dreams, find better balance, and with that, a more fulfilling career. Marie-Louise and I spoke in the New Year on a problem many of our clients…
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The Sage Sayers: Meet Avatar's Sea Dragon First Mate, Isaac Te Reina. Finding Presence and Play Through Acting.
34:38
James Cameron's Avatar: the Way of Water is breaking box office records all over the world. The sci-fi epic just overtook Top Gun Maverick to become 2022's highest grossing international release and sailed past the $1.1 billion mark. Within this phenomena sits Isaac Te Reina, a filmmaker, actor, and writer from New Zealand who stars as the Sea Drag…
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My guest this week is Wisconsin-based executive coach Deb Skarda whose brother Rick was murdered on Father’s Day here in the states. In Deb’s own words: “He was unjustly taken by the hand of another.” Deb’s convinced that her life destiny now must make sense of this tragedy. Her touching post on LinkedIn and other social media asks her audiences to…
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Three or so years ago I entered coaching school to train to become an International Coaching Federation certified coach. This move felt slightly bizarre given I’d never received coaching before nor knew much about the industry. But I had a hunch that my work as a professor of communications and journalism, as a reporter, and as a publicist might bl…
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Most of us waste a sad amount of time worrying about what others think of us when we post to LinkedIn, the social media platform for professionals with 875 million members worldwide. So, how might we have fun and love playing on LinkedIn vs worry about torpedoing our careers? In this week’s Sage Sayers episode I’m sharing tips and techniques I’ve c…
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I’m no expert on work-life balance; but I have found that applying the mental fitness tool of innovation, specifically to how I manage my time, has yielded blissful and surprising results. By innovating the flow of my day, i.e. the order in which I go about things, I’ve found more space for art, my writing, exercise—and with that, less stress. (I’v…
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Around 1.9 million high school players play highschool football in the U.S. Along with thousands of other Wisconsinites, I’m a proud supporter of the Muskego Warriors varsity football team, Wisconsin’s former state champion for three consecutive years. With only one loss so far this season, we’ve a reasonable chance to reclaim that throne. This wee…
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When England laid their dear queen to rest, they laid to rest a monarch who provided a staple, consistent leadership in my life as a citizen of New Zealand, one of the 54 countries within the coalition of the British commonwealth. This week’s episode shares my memories of my queen—from my young girlhood in rural South Canterbury through to my teens…
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With the Gallup’s annual State of the Workplace report recording record numbers of disengaged, worried, miserable--even angry employees, no wonder many seek new jobs. But the job interview process can derail the best and the brightest, especially those vague, leading, and often loaded interview questions. In this week's episode, we unpack some of t…
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My guest this week is Caroline Lindsey who, after years working in advertising and media work, took her passion of cooking, blogging, and food to a whole new level by creating a successful blog, ultimately earning enough to leave her day job. In our interview, Caroline, who’s based in South Carolina, shares what inspired Pinch Me, I’m Eating, how s…
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My guest this week is Ambra who (around six months ago, in her early 30s) entered a courageous quest to confirm what she'd long suspected: She has ADHD. In this touching interview, Ambra, an operation manager and journalist based in Germany, shares her story with navigating a complex system, receiving her diagnosis, and dealing with all of the nega…
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Over the past five years I've asked at least 3,000 business professionals what worries them the most about their careers. At least half report feeling that ineffective business writing's one of the biggest struggles they face. Now, the importance of the written word's resurging as hybrid and remote work demands super clear reporting and documenting…
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Using Positive Intelligence mental fitness techniques to ground, this gentle meditation uses one sense at a time to build peace, calm, and confidence.Por Debbi Gardiner McCullough
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