20 Minutes with Bronwyn

The Art of Asking Better Questions: My Conversation with Marc Champagne

Feeling out of control? Stressed? Overwhelmed?

What if relief was just one question away?

My guest today is the fantastic and delightful Marc Champagne. Marc is a mental fitness strategist, host of the Behind the Human podcastan, and best selling author of Personal Socrates: Questions That Will Upgrade Your Life from Legends & World-Class Performers.

Marc is a connoisseur of questions that will change you. He has gathered juicy questions and prompts from legends as wide ranging as Pablo Picasso, Robin Williams and Jane Austen.

This conversation felt like a blood transfusion for me, and I hope it does the same for you my friend.

Do yourself a huge favor and pick up his magical book Personal Socrates here.

Find Marc on behindthehuman.com, and on LinkedIn, and give his podcast a listen here.

Coaching Call: I Can’t Get Out of Crisis Mode

Friends, today you are going to meet Grace.

Grace is struggling with something a LOT of us can relate to: How do you become your most powerful Self when you are recovering from a long season of stress, crisis, and debilitating fear.

How do you bring calm, creativity and clarity of thinking when you have been in survival mode for so long, you feel like you're constantly being shot out of a cannon?

In other words, how do you function in peace time when your body has been geared for war?

This conversation takes us deep into the art of healing from the trauma's of the human experience, and how that healing can transform the way we communicate. You will also marvel at the generosity, honesty, and beauty in Grace's story and her experience.

Can't wait to hear what you think! 

 

If You Have the Ache, You Have What It Takes: My Conversation with Linda Sivertsen

There are two types of people in the world …

Those who secretly wonder if there’s a book inside them waiting to be written, and those who would never in a million years wonder such a thing.

This episode is 100% dedicated to people in the former category. 

My guest today is Linda Sivertsen, aka “book mama,” though she could just as easily be called “book doula,” such is her gift. LINDA is an author, ghostwriter, and coauthor of eleven books (including two NYT bestsellers), is the host of the top-rated Beautiful Writers Podcast and mentor to thousands of writers online and in-person. She pushed through all manner of rejection to realize her dream to write bestselling books AND help save trees and fragile ecosystems. Linda and her work have been featured widely in the media, including Forbes.com, The New York Times, Inc., Extra, TeenVogue, CNN, HuffPost, Glamour, Los Angeles Times, CARMEL magazine, and on the TEDWomen stage. She loves micro-blogging about all things writing (and dogs and horses!) on social media and blogs regularly at BookMama.com from her ranch office in Scottsdale, Arizona.

 

Today, she is here to talk to us about her beautiful new book, Beautiful Writers: A Journey of Big Dreams & Messy Manuscripts - with Tricks of the Trade from Best Selling Authors.

 

This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone who loves books about writing, but especially for those craving insight into the craft from brilliant writers like Cheryl Strayed, Terry McMillan, Tom Hanks, Steven Pressfield, Elizabeth Gilbert, and the list just goes on and on. It’s shocking how many beautiful writers are featured in this book, alongside Linda’s very own writing journey.

If you’ve ever wondered about your capacity to write a book—fiction or non fiction—pour yourself a mug of something cozy, and let’s dive in.

Linda on Instagram: @linda_sivertsen

Beautiful Writers Podcast

Coaching Call: How Do I Become More Captivating in the Courtroom?

Captivating. Isn’t that a great word?

 

When someone is captivating, the audience is 100% on their side, and 100% engrossed with whatever it is they are saying. 

 

Today, you are going to meet "Jess." Jess is on a quest to become more captivating in the courtroom. Jess is a criminal defense lawyer, and her ability to win over a jury can mean the difference between incarceration and freedom.

 

But here’s the thing—she is a seasoned professional. She’s already good at what she does. But she wants to become truly great.

 

I loved this conversation because 1) I LOVE it when someone as accomplished as Jess seeks ways to level up, and 2) the dynamics of public speaking and influence in a court room setting are fascinating as you will soon hear. The stakes are high, the content that has to be conveyed is nuanced and complicated, and the audience? Well the audience can range from sophisticated and informed to unsophisticated and deeply uninformed. How on earth do you move an audience that diverse? 

 

Whether you are interested in courtroom drama or not, you may be able to relate to Jess’ struggle to balance nuance and complexity with the need to communicate with simplicity and emotion. I guarantee you’ll take something useful away from this conversation, that’s how rich it was.

 

Shine on, my friend.

Find Your Believers: My Conversation with Martha Niño

Some people just shine.

 

Human beings who radiate from an inner light do so because of what they’ve overcome, and the meaning they’ve made of their life experiences thus far.

 

My guest today is truly a luminous being.

 

My friends, please meet Martha Niño. Martha is a 25-year Silicon Valley technology professional who has worked at large corporations ranging from mobile, to hardware, to software. She recently celebrated over 15 years as a Senior Marketing Manager at tech giant Adobe (the Photoshop company). 

 

Martha is a woman in an industry where women are still only a quarter of the workforce, and a Latina in tech—where the LatinX community represent only 3 percent of the workforce. 

 

She isn’t your average tech worker with the typical middle class (and white, male) backstory. Her life began on a dirt floor in another country. Martha’s story reminds me that when we believe in ourselves and we align with others who believe in us, anything is possible.

 

Martha has just launched her new book The Other Side: From a Shack to Silicon Valley, which can be ordered here.  Martha is also very active on LinkedIn and can be reached at connectwithmartha@gmail.com.

Shine on, my friends.

Coaching Call: “Why am I so nervous??” How to Conjure Strength & Confidence When You Least Feel It

BIG NEWS, my friends!!

 

Season 5 of 20 Minutes with Bronwyn is now LIVE and this season I decided to experiment with format. 

 

Instead of recording myself solo speaking into the ether, I have found some truly incredible human beings willing to be coached and RECORDED (albeit anonymously), as they work to become their most powerful selves, speaking from that place of power.

 

In this week’s episode, you will meet “Claire.” 🧚 🧚 

 

Claire’s goal was clear. She wanted to go …

 

from being nervous, tongue-tied, and passive when running meetings, 

 

to being confident, articulate, and authentic when running meetings.

 

The trick to becoming our most powerful is to ensure that our higher Self is the one who shows up to run the meeting, and not our nervous, frightened self.

 

And THAT is what this season’s first episode is all about—how to call forth that authentic, higher Self—not only when we’re feeling “safe,” but anytime, every time.

 

Can’t wait to hear what you think. As Joel Peterson says, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” So please please pleeeeaaze, let me know what your thoughts are.

 

Shine on my friend, B

From College to Career Clarity: My Conversation with Andrea Koppel

THIS is the last episode of 20 Minutes with Bronwyn for Season 4, and it is dedicated to recent college grads, wondering what the hell to do next. 

This episode is also dedicated to the parents of those grads who may be wringing their hands, also wondering, What the hell is this kid gonna do next??

Today, our guide for this conversation is the amazing, delightful, divine Ms. Andrea Koppel.

Andrea is an award winning former CNN journalist, who has dedicated her life to helping college students find careers they love. 

And she knows a thing or two about the process of finding the right career fit. 

After leaving CNN, Andrea went on her own journey of career discernment and discovery. Andrea became Senior Vice President of Communications at M & R Strategic Services – a cause-oriented Public Affairs firm; she served as Director of International Communications for the American Red Cross, and went on to become Vice President of Global Engagement & Policy for Mercy Corp, a global humanitarian and development organization.

 

All of these roles prepared Andrea for her dream gig: coaching college students as they discern the right career path.

How does she do that? 

1. Through her podcast Time4Coffee (T4C)— a virtual library of carefully curated career conversations with hundreds of professionals – in dozens of different careers. (The interviews are on point … being an award winning journalist sure doesn’t hurt!)
2. Through her College to Career Clarity online course which is an asynchronous, digital course that helps confused, anxious and overwhelmed students to identify at least 3 job functions and/or industries they'd be psyched to explore when they graduate. 

 

If you or someone you love is struggling in this time of transition, you are gonna LOVE this conversation with Andrea. She’s most active on LinkedIn, and would love to connect.

 

I am taking the summer off from podcasting, but will still be going strong on YouTube, in speaking engagements, and in my Monday missives. Not yet subscribed? Head over to bronwyncommunications.com/subscribe !

So You Want to Start a Podcast: Power Tips, Wipeouts, and Things I Wish I’d Known

Hello Friend!

 

It’s hard to believe that my podcast is turning 4 this year. To say I’m proud is an understatement. To say I have it all figured out is an overstatement.

 

Having said that, I’ve learned a thing or two, and last summer I did a live webinar to offer what knowledge I possess about making (and maintaining!) a podcast. Over 100 people joined, and I loved every minute of it.

 

I am often asked for advice for those hoping to start a podcast (or those wanting to turbo charge an existing show!), and this episode is my attempt to offer that advice in the most honest, entertaining way possible.

 

My hope is that it gives you the encouragement you need to get started, or the shot in the arm you need to keep going.

 

And if you’re not a podcaster and never want to be, you still might dig the behind-the-scenes truth of what it really takes to hit “record” and hurl an audio message in a bottle into the vast ocean of ears out there.

 

Lastly, this will be the penultimate episode in Season Four of Twenty Minutes with Bronwyn. In 2 weeks, I’ll be dropping the final episode of the season and you are gonna love it. Especially if you have a recent college graduate who’s feeling a bit … lost.

 

I’ll take the summer to recharge and come at you with fresh goodness in the Fall! Shoutouts to Paul and the good people at Peachtree Recordings who make this show possible.

 

Shine on, and give it a listen here!

 

B

 

Kismet, Alchemy & the Power of a Single Conversation: My Interview with Alex Marson, MD, PhD

My guest this week is someone I have wanted to interview on my podcast since the FIRST SEASON.

This someone is not only a groundbreaking researcher and scientist, he is also my dear friend, Dr. Alexander Marson. 

Alex is the Director of Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, a senior investigator at Gladstone Institute, and an Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology at UCSF. 

Alex is interested in how DNA controls the behavior of cells in the human immune system. He and his team are using the power of CRISPR technology to genetically engineer cells to fight cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases.

My intention for recording this particular conversation was to get Alex’s take on communicating complex messages in a more accessible way. It’s something the scientific community is really wrestling with these days, perhaps now more than ever: 

How do you communicate complicated and immense topics in a way that is repeatable and interesting? How do we approach critical information, currently understood by only a few, to make it accessible to the rest of us?

This is also a conversation about the alchemy that happens when the right people make contact at the right moment, and something new is born. 

Pour that beverage, or lace up your sneakers and leash up that hound. Because you are gonna love this one.

How to Talk about Reproductive Freedom: My Conversation with Dina Montemarano

I was NOT planning on dropping this episode until much later in the summer, but within a few days of recording this conversation, a draft opinion on the overturning of Roe vs. Wade was leaked to Politico.

My intention from the beginning was to talk with an expert about the language around reproductive freedom.

Because here’s what I know for sure: 

Women cannot compete economically and/or provide for our families if we lose our right to determine when (or whether) to have children.

I don’t know any other way to say it. 

And yet somehow, despite the simple truth of this statement, we’re at the precipice of losing that right. It makes me wonder if we’ve been talking about this all wrong.

So … to help take us deeper into the language and messaging of reproductive freedom (and how we might protect it), my guest this week is Dina Montemarano, Research Director at NARAL Pro-Choice America, where she leads messaging, opposition, and disinformation-focused research on abortion access and the anti-choice movement. 

Prior to NARAL, Dina worked on Senator Warren's and Vice President Harris' Presidential campaigns, and at Global Health Strategies, where she managed global health communication programs for the Gates Foundation. She has a BA from the University of Notre Dame and a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Dina is a wonder woman, and was incredibly kind and patient with me while I had a good cry during this conversation.

To find out how you can donate to pro-choice candidates in the midterms, here is a list of political candidates working to protect reproductive freedom in the US.

One small note … for reasons beyond my ken, you have to have already donated to NARAL to be able to use this system. Just donate as little as $1 to NARAL and then you’ll be able to use this link effectively and efficiently to support multiple candidates doing this incredibly important work.

As always, the most powerful thing you can do is VOTE. Do NOT sit out midterms. Vote for candidates that prioritize women’s health. We are not a special niche interest group. We make up half of the population.

Stay strong. Shine on.

 

https://bit.ly/NARAL_LINK