Embark

Humans are complicated. We often crave change... as long as we don't have to work to make it happen. How great would it be if we could have that dream job, or perfect mate, or lose that pesky 10 pounds, with a wave of a wand or a sprinkle of pixie dust? Life would be perfect. So much for magical thinking. Change, unless it happens from external sources, is an inside job. Yes, it is so hard ,...

Our voiceprint is as unique as our fingerprint, and we understand a little about how we use our physical voice. But how do we use a writer's voice, and what is it anyway? As readers,  we fall in love with certain writers, their word choice,  their attitude,  the memorable characters that populate a work of fiction, or the distinct style of an essayist or non-fiction writer. Whether you want t...

With two creative guilds (Writers Guild of America & SAG-AFTRA)  on strike, can we look forward to a repeat of this summer's Barbenhiemer double-bill phenom next summer? How much longer can striking actors and writers face off with big studios?  This strike affects many thousands more: Directors, script supervisors, hair and make-up, location scouts, gaffers, craft services, dialect coach...

You've probably heard the ubiquitous discussion  about AI.  How the bots are coming after your job, and are capable of  even greater nefarious actions. We put the nefarious aside today to address how AI voices are eliminating the need/desire to use human voice actors for many narration projects. So yes, Jack and my conversation is born out of self-interest, some trepidation and curiosity as t...

Feeling overwhelmed? Lonely? Burnt-out and unfulfilled? You're not alone. When the Surgeon General declares a mental health crisis, you know your feelings of anxiety and depression are not outliers. Mental Health Counselor Jon Mattleman provides some calm, as well as some strategies you can use to help you get over some of life's most challenging times and perhaps lift your spirits. We t...

Passions. Some people say follow your passions and you'll never work a day in your life. Do what you love and the money will follow. Is that true?  If we don't take the road less traveled, will we regret it, or be ever grateful to the parents who urged us to attend business school or find 'a real job'? Is it possible to follow a more traditional, pragmatic career path and eithe...

Andy Warhol said 'In the future everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes.' Seems like everyone will have a book as well. It can raise your profile as a professional, bring your credibility as an expert, get you speaking engagements, and if it's a good book, make you famous. Many non-fiction, business books and memoirs are written by ghostwriters, those unsung heroes of the liter...

AI Voices. We hear about them every day. And we hear them every day. At the airport. Waiting for a bus or train. On that small console on our kitchen counter or, God forbid, bedside table. Smart assistants make our lives easier: Ask them anything. But the technology also hears a lot. Perhaps a lot that we’d rather keep to ourselves. In this episode, I talk about my own ambivalence about the quickl...

She is a TED-talking, eLearning, tech-savvy, belly-dancing, wine-sipping presentation coach, and she's my guest today on Embark. Ongoing Mastery's Kirsten Rourke worked freelance with training vendors for over 20 years, gaining expertise in adjusting to environments on the fly and fixing training programs that weren’t working for clients’ needs. She's been an e-Learning developer, s...

"Everything rests on your ability to communicate." Catherine Johns walks - and talks - the talk. I have the  pleasure to share a fantastic conversation where we discuss how to gracefully navigate the dreaded Zoom talk, as well as how to own the stage, even when you are being heckled, er, challenged by an unruly audience member. Hear Catherine's take on how the overthinking speaker g...

Tired of the news cycle? Sick of the constant drip, drip, drip of downbeat information? So are we, so Jack and I decided less news media consumption, more turning up the volume and indulging our passion for listening to music. We couldn't help but watch the State of the Union Address, though.  We wander into political territory, before going to the happy place of sharing favorite bands, and w...

You have two ears and one mouth, so you probably listen twice as much as you talk. Nah, not even close. Most of us, in fact, don't know how to listen. We've never really been taught. Can we learn  how to listen? Glad you asked. We have a listening expert, a PhD in Listening. Okay, she's a PhD in Communications.  Dr. Laura Janusik wasn't always a great listener. She thought she...

How's your year going? Jack has dubbed the month of January 'the Monday of the year', and it's feeling that way with the crazy shenanigans going on in the House of Representatives, secret documents unearthed in garages and tell-all bios by whiny Royals. Although we not-so-secretly crave a crown of our own. (I'm polishing mine now.) Jack and I do find  silver linings, and c...

Now that most of us are remote, there's a whole lot of writing going on. Emails, social posts, newsletters, web content.  Writing, or at least good writing, is something many of us find difficult.  Erin Lebacqz is here and guides us  to show up as our best selves, on paper(or screen),  at least. We talk about why conciseness and clarity matter, and how how you can convey a respectful, empathe...

The lights! The decorations! The presents! The throw down at the dinner table. Ah, the holidays. They can be joyous occasions to spend with family. Or, they can be emotional landmines, filled with resentment, competition and angry exchanges over a difference of opinion. Before you walk out in a huff -- before dessert hits the table, no less - let's take five, or ten to compose ourselves. Jack...

Our phones are ubiquitous. I mean, we don't leave home without them. So, let's use them for more real time conversations? My guest, Mary Jane Copps has some answers and also some compelling reasons to reach out and touch someone: Just call them on the phone. Mary Jane, also known as MJ or to her many followers, The Phone Lady has shown hundreds of professionals how to use the phone to ra...

Did your personality change as a result of the Covid pandemic?  According to an October article in the New York Times , possibly.  Whether the changes are long-term or permanent remain to be seen, but there's no denying the events of the last almost three years has affected our behaviors. Jack and I talk about what some of those long term changes mean, the high cost of college tuition and wha...

Tis the season to be thankful, and Jack Monson and I get there, eventually. In the meantime, we talk about passive-aggressive greetings and faux concern, a new season of Yellowstone,  and a yearning for more humor in advertising and culture. What are we grateful for? Well, Thanksgiving, for one, Mel Brooks,  Nick Kroll and really good pizza. In fact, Jack suggests we add a brand new holiday follow...

Orrin helps frustrated and overwhelmed entrepreneurs understand how they create their beliefs and emotions, so that they can change them in order to fuel high performance behaviour and massively increase their results His expertise lies in the fields of Personal Development, Faith and Work, Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) and Emotional Intelligence. We talk about how the stories we grow up with...

Social Joey Radio's Jack Monson and I once again talk about our differences on the political front, but form a united front on our shared disdain of Reality TV.  Our conversation soon leads to a political discussion and how the media magnifies the bad behavior of politicians. As usual, we have different takes on the attack of Paul Pelosi, our preferred midterm elections outcomes and our take...

There's a lot of talk,  but  what do we have to say? And how does that effect or influence other people?   There are a couple of secrets to really great communication, and we're going to find out a few of them today on Embark. My guest, Tina Bakehouse, is the chief communicator, coach  and TEDx speaker at Tina B. Media. Everyday she dons the invincibility bracelets and protects audiences...

We hear a lot from some people. If you're on social media, perhaps we hear too much. But what about the rest of us? We're mum on many topics, especially those that may be polarizing. Let's be brave, be open and at least start a difficult conversation. We might learn something and even through conflict create a relationship based on mutual respect, if not agreement. Jack Monson and L...

Is it possible to disagree with someone on politics, party and policy and still be civil?  Heck yeah. You can even be friends.   My colleague, Jack Monson and I may not share  opinions on what politicians we support or who is best to solve what's ailing our country, but we do share a love of family, work ethic, a broadcasting background and an irreverent sense of humor. We get each other. We...

What do you do when the national dialogue sucks?  You start listening. And figure out better ways to communicate.  During a long conversation with a friend - and my polar opposite on the political front - we agreed  about our frustration with the general/national dialogue. Or lack thereof.  I mean, here we were, agreeably disagreeing and trying to keep an open mind.  A seed was planted in my mind...

'The ultimate outsider creates a global community through a passion for writing.' In film or book publishing this sentence would be called a logline,  a brief (usually one-sentence) summary of a television program, film, or book that states the central conflict of the story. Today's guest is Collin Lieberg a screenwriter, creative executive, and world traveler.  He has spent many ye...