For over fifteen years, Bronwyn has helped high-profile clients prepare for big moments on camera & has midwifed over 120 TEDx, TED Global & TED talks. Bronwyn’s superpower is helping people communicate in a way that breaks through the static of our everyday lives. In 20 Minutes with Bronwyn, you will get a steady dose of high voltage, practical (and highly irreverent) advice to help you dismantle the communication habits that are holding you back, while giving you the skills you need to shine.
Episodes
Wednesday Aug 14, 2024
Wednesday Aug 14, 2024
I am thrilled to bring you a conversation I’ve been dying to have.
Ophira Edut is one of the most sought-after astrologers and intuitive advisors of our times. As the longtime resident astrologers for ELLE Magazine and the authors of over 20 books, Ophira and her twin sister Tali are advisors to a roster of CEOs, celebrities, global leaders and successful entrepreneurs including Beyoncé, Dua Lipa, and Emma Roberts.
Ophi and Tali have a NEW new book coming out that has been described as “Atomic Habits meets the Wisdom of the Enneagram” and let me tell ya … it delivers on that promise. The book is called The Astrology Advantage: Use Your Horoscope for Personal & Professional Success and it drops NEXT WEEK!
I’ve always loved the Enneagram, Meyers Briggs and DISC for understanding our collective differences, but it’s overwhelming to try and remember all of the permutations and personality types as you navigate difficult conversations and situations.
Ophi is here to teach us The I*AM System, a simple, easy to remember framework that distills the energy of your full birth chart into a single archetype, unlocking personal productivity, and team harmony. It's simple (just THREE archetypes to remember), *deep* and shockingly accurate.
And if you’re clutching your pearls, wondering what a "serious" business person like me is doing dabbling in astrology … unclutch and give this a listen.
Resources Mentioned ✨
Live Events with the Astrotwins
Follow the Astrotwins on Instagram
Shine on, my friend.
Wednesday Jul 31, 2024
Wednesday Jul 31, 2024
I’ve got another banger from the archives … The topic of adult friendship is one we don’t talk about nearly enough, especially given that loneliness is actually as dangerous as smoking. This conversation was deep, real, and vulnerable as Adam and I spoke plainly about our own struggles and wins in the friendship sphere.
In case you don’t know him, Dr. Adam Dorsay is a licensed psychologist and executive coach in Silicon Valley where he serves high-achieving adults (including professionals, executives, entrepreneurs, and professional athletes). Adam is the host of SuperPsyched, an award-winning podcast, and he’s given two highly regarded TEDx Talks: one about men and their emotions and the other about friendship in adulthood. His book on the topic of the four ways people connect will be available later this year.
Beyond his private practice, Adam is a resiliency expert who co-created an international program for Facebook’s Online Safety employees for several years. He now serves as the resiliency consultant to DigitalOcean and has frequent requests from the media for interviews and corporations to provide keynotes and training.
Resources Mentioned✨
"Friendships in Adulthood: 5 Things to Know"
The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm
Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
Authentic Happiness - University of Pennsylvania
Enjoy, and shine on, my friend. We need your light.
Wednesday Jul 24, 2024
Wednesday Jul 24, 2024
Given the intense amount of travel I am doing this month (both for work and for fun), I’m giving myself a little breathing room and offering you some greatest hits—two of my most popular episodes of all time.
Occupying the number one spot on 20 Minutes with Bronwyn is none other than the magnificent Corey Rosen. Corey’s book, Your Story Well Told: Creative Strategies to Develop and Perform Stories that Wow an Audience, is one I recommend to anyone looking to enhance their storytelling skills. Corey hosts The Moth Story Slam and Grand Slams, has been featured on The Moth Radio Hour, and is a company performer in BATS Improv.
It’s no wonder this episode was so popular … Corey offers powerful, practical, and (dare I say) fun advice and strategies for telling better stories.
Resources Mentioned✨
Your Story, Well Told: Creative Strategies to Develop and Perform Stories that Wow an Audience
Enjoy, my friends and may your summer be full of great stories in the making! ✨
Wednesday Jun 19, 2024
Wednesday Jun 19, 2024
This week’s podcast episode* is focused on something that has literally been keeping me up at night— getting my kids into college. My firstborn child is headed to Boston University in the Fall. But I’m not gonna lie … the process was excruciating.
Someone who has been ringing the alarm bells on what has become a “toxic achievement culture” in the U.S. is the amazing Denise Pope, Ph.D.
Dr. Denise Pope is a senior lecturer at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, and co-founder/strategic advisor at Challenge Success. She is the author of, “Doing School”: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students (Yale University Press, 2001), which was awarded Notable Book in Education by the American School Board Journal, 2001, and co-author of Overloaded and Underprepared: Strategies for Stronger Schools and Healthy, Successful Kids (Jossey-Bass, 2015).
Denise and I get VERY real on why even the most well-resourced kids are suffering, crashing, and burning in this insane drive to get into the “right” schools.
Gems:
✨How to help your kids define “success” in terms that contribute to actual satisfaction and well being. [4:16]
✨The game changing, life changing magic of sleep … and why most teenagers aren’t getting enough of it. [9:30]
✨The one thing you can do as a parent to cultivate authentic resilience in your teen. [24:11]
✨What the college ratings system does and does not reveal about “top” universities in the U.S. [30:02]
Resources:
Connect with Denise Pope:
https://www.facebook.com/ChallengeSuccess
https://www.instagram.com/challengesuccess
https://www.linkedin.com/company/895857
https://www.linkedin.com/in/denise-clark-pope/
Books / articles:
*(Note: If you do not have kids, or don’t yet feel any kind of low-grade panic about the College Industrial Complex, this might not be the episode for you. On the other hand, this is affecting so many young people, it is an issue that will eventually touch us all.)
Wednesday Jun 05, 2024
Wednesday Jun 05, 2024
Every so often, an interview literally changes the way I see my life.
This is one of those interviews.
Whatever you’ve got going on in your life, I can almost guarantee this conversation will be a blessing to you.
But I’m getting ahead of myself!
My guest this week is the incomparable Shelley Paxton, making her second appearance on my show.
Shelley is the former CMO of Harley-Davidson and is a 26-year advertising and marketing veteran whose legacy is imprinted on iconic brands like McDonald's, Visa, and Harley-Davidson. At the pinnacle of her career as CMO of Harley-Davidson, Shelley was shocked to find herself feeling success empty instead of successful. And that awakening led her on a profound journey that became her mission, business, and bestselling book, Soulbbatical, A Corporate Rebel's Guide to Finding Your Best Life. Now Chief Soul Officer of her own life, Shelley works with leaders and teams to advocate for redefining success in ways that celebrate humanity, well-being, and soul.
Just when I think Shelley can’t get any wiser, she blows me away in a new way.
Gems 💎
- How a life threatening and totally misdiagnosed illness forced her to confront the one thing she was “pretending not to know” about her own life.
- How that single question “What are you pretending not to know?” has the power to transform your life.
- How the “arrival fallacy” robs us of our joy and energy, and how we might replace that fallacy with a far deeper, richer truth.
- Shelley’s nightmare moment on a TEDx stage and how she recovered from it.
Resources
- Read Soulbbatical: A Corporate Rebel's Guide to Finding Your Best Life by Shelley Paxton here!
- Learn more about Shelley Paxton
Follow Shelley on Instagram @theshelleypaxton and check out her updates on LinkedIn!
Wednesday May 22, 2024
Wednesday May 22, 2024
Ah, therapy.
The one place we can go to let it allllll spill out. The good, the bad, the ugly.
But there seems to be one topic of conversation that doesn’t always feel welcome.
God.
While the therapist’s office is the ideal spot for excavating the darkest reaches of the mind and the heart, it doesn’t always feel like the best place to explore the divine. The uncanny. The unseen.
In this conversation, I speak with the brilliant Dr. Leslie Carr about this very issue.
Leslie and I talk about why there seems to be little room for the spiritual/religious in a therapeutic context, and how we might work to expand the conversation both as the therapist and as the patient (or, depending on the setting, “client”) ).
Leslie is a psychologist and an expert in how trauma, stress, culture, and digital technology impact the mind. She's been active in mental health advocacy and public psychoeducation for almost 15 years, and her work in this space has been featured in the LA Times, ABC News, and Ask Dr. Drew, among many other places. She's the host of a podcast, The Nature of Nurture, which explores how people respond to their environments in complicated ways. Learn more about her podcast here, thenatureofnurture.com, or check her out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheNatureofNurture
I’m hoping this conversation sparks a much broader conversation about how we can collectively cultivate a more active relationship with something bigger than ourselves.
The Gems ✨
How do you differentiate between organized religion and spirituality, in terms of personal experience of the divine? [00:17:45]
How can we protect our energy from draining people or negative influences in a work environment? [00:21:30]
What are some easy ways to begin to explore our spiritual inclinations without feeling weird about it?? [00:26:03]
Resources Mentioned ✨
Learn more about Carl Jung and his theory system.
Check out Letters From Love with Elizabeth Gilbert.
Want to work with me?
Head over to https://www.bronwyncommunications.com/work-with-me/ to learn more.
As always, thank you for the gift of your time and attention, and SHINE ON. We need your light.
Wednesday May 01, 2024
Wednesday May 01, 2024
“A.I.”
Those are two letters that stir up a whole lotta conversation.
Ever since ChatGPT was unveiled, I’ve been one of those people who won’t shut up about generative AI. I’m enthralled with it. I’m terrified of it. I’m curious about it, and I enjoy playing with AI. I hate it and I think it could be the fall of mankind.
If AI and I had a relationship status, it would be, It’s complicated.
Just imagine my joy when I got the opportunity to talk with the marvelous Rimma Boshernitsan, founder of Dialogue, an interdisciplinary strategic advisory group and think tank that helps leaders and companies find the shortest, clearest path to their most ambitious goals. Rimma recently convened a panel at SXSW called “AI Won’t Give You the Chills: The Future Runs on Intuition” that made me curious to talk with her.
We covered a lot of ground; I learned a ton and I think you will too.
The Gems✨
What is the value of human intuition in the face of AI? [7:33]
How might we elevate our thinking when it comes to AI? How might we elevate the way we ponder AI’s role in our communities and in society? [13:01]
What role does self-awareness play in honing intuition and making informed decisions? [20:46]
What practices can we adopt to develop our intuition and enhance our decision-making skills? [24:34]
Resources Mentioned ✨
- Check out Rimma and panelists in conversation: AI Won’t Give You The Chills
- Discover “The Unthinkable,” by Amanda Ripley
- Learn more about Rimma’s Beauty in Ambiguity program
Follow Dialogue on LinkedIn, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and Youtube, or check out their website!
Rimma can be found on Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter)!
Wednesday Apr 17, 2024
Wednesday Apr 17, 2024
Hello, my friends!
It’s been a minute!
I’ve been in deeeeep work mode on client projects, necessitating a petite pause on the podcast over the past several weeks. But I’m back in the saddle, and this week’s episode is a special one, as I am rolling solo.
I recently had a conversation with someone whose words continue to echo in my mind. She said,
“I am sick and tired of not using my voice.”
This is someone who is wise, brilliant, and accomplished. And yet … she put words to a common frustration we just don’t talk about enough.
We talk a lot about “finding” your voice, but we don’t often talk about how to use that voice once you’ve found it. This episode is practical, powerful, and lovingly crafted for anyone who struggles to speak up when the time calls for it.
THE GEMS
How to set yourself up for real change … and move towards lasting transformation [3:08]
How to get clear about what, specifically, triggers you into silence … and why this clarity matters. [7:29]
How to deal with (and outfox) your fear of having alllll those faces staring back at you. [15:18]
How to stop cringing at the sound of your own voice. [22:15]
There’s OH so much more, but those were especially juicy.
This will be the first of a multi-episode series … there’s a LOT to say. ;)
As always, shine on my friend. We need your light!
Wednesday Feb 28, 2024
Wednesday Feb 28, 2024
My friends … you are going to LOVE LOVE LOVE this week’s episode with the legendary wardrobe alchemist, Ms. Lisa Raja.🎙️**
Why would I be talking about clothing on this podcast?
Because I’m tired of the way caring about clothing and fashion is still dismissed as being “vain” or “superficial.”
As a communication coach, I help visionary leaders become spellbinding communicators. And, as you may already know, part of that work focuses on language and messaging, but part of that work focuses on energy, and confidence, and authenticity.
And guess what’s a big part of the confidence game? FEELING GOOD IN OUR OWN SKIN.
It’s for exactly this reason that I'll often connect a client with a talented stylist. Because how we feel about ourselves is reflected in how comfortable we are in our second skin.
Lisa Raja shares her powerful way of working with her clients—by creating an algorithm for their wardrobes.
We discuss:
- A weekly ritual for setting yourself up with easy, beautiful looks all week long (thereby avoiding the “why do I have NOTHING to wear??” feeling).
- How clothing can be used strategically as a form of confidence building and claiming your power!
- How to construct a capsule wardrobe out of what you already have, and how to be more mindful in your retail adventures.
But best of all, we get PRACTICAL and TACTICAL about the styles and looks we’re loving right now.
And because I know y’all love clothing links (the stats don’t lie! LOL), here are all of the items we discussed …
- Slip dresses are back, y’all. Here are a few options … pair ‘em with a blazer, a chunky sweater, or even layer them over a turtleneck or t-shirt:
- The basic black trousers that work for work, but are cute enough for anything. Are you feeling more of a cropped vibe? These are great too.
- The Adidas Gazelles that I wear nonstop, all the time. Or if those are too zany, you really can’t go wrong with these in white.
- Gorjana for lovely, on trend jewelry that doesn’t break the bank.
- My favorite go-to brand for “keynote worthy” outfits … Scanlan Theodore
- My newest jean obsession … The Secret Sauce: Memory Lane Jean
To get inspired to revamp your wardrobe, find Lisa at www.lisaraja.com.
Shine on, my friend.
B
**Dedicated to my beloved Lisa Wamboldt, who we lost on February 4th of this year. Lisa “Shortcake” Wamboldt has been a blessing in my life since 1998, and I could never in a million years have imagined that her life would only continue until 2024. Lisa was hilarious, brilliant, kind, and real. Our lives are so much darker without her in them. Lisa, wherever you are, please keep sending your pixie dust to those of us still stuck down here without you.
In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting her family here.
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
Hold on tight because this week’s conversation is about to shift into high gear! (I mean, these puns practically write themselves, but trust me, the excitement is real!)
I recently had the opportunity for an exhilarating sit-down with Julia Landauer, a trailblazing two-time champion race car driver, motivational powerhouse, and force to be reckoned with on NASCAR's strategy and innovation team. (And her podcast, If I’m Honest, is fantastic).
Our girl Julia doesn’t just break barriers; she shatters them.
In this conversation, you will hear her winning strategies for self-advocacy in the male-dominated realm of racing, along with her top tactics for conquering fear. Julia takes us behind the scenes of professional racing, Survivor survival tales, and her work as a professional public speaker, motivating audiences around the world.
We also talked about …
- The unfiltered reality of Julia's journey as a young female racer, and how she navigated biases and stereotypes in the racing world. (Trust me, the lessons here are pure gold!)
- Raw revelations from her time on Survivor, and how being labeled as "vanilla" shaped her approach to racing and beyond.
- Julia's battle-tested strategies for conquering fear both on and off the racetrack.
Get ready to be blown away by this conversation.
Looking to inject some adrenaline into your next event? Julia Landauer is your go-to keynote dynamo: Julia's Speaking Page.
Eager to witness her TEDxStanford Talk? Hit play here: Julia's TEDx Talk
Find her on X, Instagram, and LinkedIn. She's a force you won't want to miss.