No Small Talk

Chris Melville

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Personal Journals

Honest talk. Unfiltered truths. Let's talk about it.

6d ago

What is Emotional Intelligence Anyway? | No Small Talk with Richard Harrison

Host Chris Melville welcomes back Richard Harrison, founder of Caldera Capital, for their monthly check-in on No Small Talk. They share wins, including Richard switching off on a Kenya and Zanzibar holiday, following through on his long-planned event that raised about £1,290 for his partner’s charity, and managing stress around a delayed flat sale and deal. Chris counts prioritising health during a month of appointments, strong client work, and improved podcast performance and feedback. They reframe emotional intelligence as understanding your own repeating emotions - jealousy, self-criticism, and reactions to feedback - as signposts, separating what your brain says from what is true, and building the skill of sitting with uncomfortable feelings. Richard reflects on the serendipity created by diverse rooms and community. Richard aims to complete his flat sale, do a money day, and refine future event/community plans, while Chris will set a date and venue for her event and restructure a coaching offer into a six-week program. Timestamps: 00:26 Monthly Check-In Setup 02:14 Richard’s Wins and Switching Off 03:49 Why Space Fuels Creativity 04:38 Working Outside the House 07:41 Chris’s Wins and Health Reset 09:56 Podcast Momentum and Feedback 11:24 Emotions as Signposts 13:07 Jealousy and Self-Awareness 15:36 Feedback and Mental Fitness 19:28 Sitting With Emotions Like Reps 21:20 Self-Criticism After the Event 23:14 Training Your Brain for Wins 23:53 Receiving Feedback Without Fear 24:07 Embracing Tough Feedback 25:59 Proof Over Self-Doubt 28:43 Watching Yourself Speak 30:53 Confidence Notes From Adam 32:57 Event Wins And Niche 34:30 Serendipity And Community 39:31 Curated Rooms And Connection 41:40 Monthly Accountability Goals 45:27 Wrap Up And Goodbye Connect with Chris Melville Email Instagram Connect with Richard Harrison Website Instagram Producer’s credits: Chris Melville - Podcast Host Nicole George - Podcast ExecutiveAriane Lim - Podcast Producer + Engineer
Oct 29

Late Diagnosed ADHD: Meds vs No Meds | No Small Talk with Katie Cope

Trigger Warning: Host Chris Melville welcomes branding specialist Katie Cope, founder of Manchester-based Keppel Leopard Creative, to discuss her late ADHD diagnosis and how it reshaped her work and family life. Katie explains noticing ADHD traits while her son began an ADHD/autism assessment, and how her studious “daydreaming” school experience and coping strategies meant her symptoms went unnoticed despite persistent struggles with time management, organisation, and workplace performance. She describes pursuing an ADHD diagnosis, including a QB attention test and subsequent clinical assessment, and the mix of validation, grief, and anger that followed. Katie shares how she now runs her business through energy management, uses intentional hyperfocus, and chose not to take medication to protect her creativity while keeping it as an option. They also discuss parenting in a neurodivergent household, building supportive routines, and her advice to seek assessment, give yourself grace, and permission to do things differently. Timestamps: 00:43 Meet Katie Cope 03:18 Noticing the Signs 05:06 Why It Gets Missed 08:24 Testing and Waiting 10:51 Validation and Permission 15:31 Work Patterns Reframed 17:11 Hyperfocus Blind Spots 17:56 Diagnosis Aftermath 19:27 Energy Managed Business 21:22 Choosing No Medication 24:20 Creativity Versus Meds 26:04 Parenting With ADHD 29:22 Owning It Publicly 30:32 Branding Offers Explained 31:53 Advice For New Diagnoses 34:34 Closing Thanks Connect with Katie Cope LinkedIn Instagram Website Threads Producer’s credits: Chris Melville - Podcast Host Nicole George - Podcast ExecutiveAriane Lim - Podcast Producer + EngineerSara Wagle - Audio Efficiency & Flow Manager
Oct 22

A Widow’s Grief: The Loneliness Compounded By Society’s Rules | No Small Talk with Lindsay Wright

Trigger Warning: Host Chris Melville welcomes leadership consultant Lindsay Wright to No Small Talk to discuss death, grief, and how society avoids preparing for loss. Lindsay shares meeting her husband Stuart online, their marriage and daughter Lily, and Stuart’s sudden death from a heart attack in their kitchen on 2 January during COVID, while nine-year-old Lily watched. They explore the trauma, the difficult period between death and the funeral, and the overwhelming “sadmin” of probate and account transfers, including insensitive bureaucratic hurdles. Lindsay describes supporting Lily’s fear of losing her too, returning to work after the funeral with employer-supported trauma counselling, and how support from others can abruptly disappear. She explains rebuilding as learning to live with permanent grief while adapting identity, solo parenting, and work, including returning to her business and embracing a “just say yes” mindset, and offers advice to seek support, accept non-linear grief, and do what feels right. Timestamps: 00:27 Meet Lindsay Wright 01:26 How Lindsay Met Stuart 03:22 Marriage and Family Beginnings 05:28 The Day Stuart Died 08:01 Sadmin and Probate Nightmares 13:47 Parenting Through Early Grief 15:00 Therapy and Processing Trauma 17:25 When Support Disappears 21:36 Living With Grief Triggers 24:23 Rebuilding Life After Loss 28:27 Identity and Saying Yes 32:25 The Uncomfortable Truth 35:23 Losses That Shaped Her 37:06 Lindsay’s Work and Services 38:30 Advice for the Grieving 40:06 Closing Thanks and Goodbye Connect with Lindsay Wright Email Instagram Website Producer’s credits: Chris Melville - Podcast Host Nicole George - Podcast Executive Ariane Lim - Podcast Producer + Engineer Sara Wagle - Audio Efficiency & Flow Manager
Oct 15

Your Emotions Are A Signpost For What Needs to Change | No Small Talk with Chris Melville

Trigger Warning: Host Chris Melville explores emotional regulation through her history of catastrophising, rooted in being a parentified child who handled major family financial crises. She explains how hyper-capability and over planning can be forms of emotional avoidance driven by discomfort with uncertainty, and encourages getting curious about the feelings underneath the stories we create (such as assuming rejection when a friend cancels). Chris distinguishes repression from suppression, describes regulation as learning to sit with the energy of an emotion before acting, and compares building tolerance to doing “reps” in the gym. She discusses numbing behaviors that can look productive, emphasises returning to feelings when possible, and shares a key shift: trusting resilience, asking for help, and accepting uncertainty without doom scaping. She closes by inviting listeners to pause, name the feeling and story, and choose a healthier response. Timestamps: 00:25 From Fight Mode to Catastrophising 01:10 Parentified Child Origins 02:42 When Planning Becomes Avoidance 04:29 How We Learn Feeling Rules 06:56 Friend Cancels Story Spiral 08:20 Curiosity Before Reaction 09:11 Repression vs Suppression 13:54 Ninety Seconds to Name It 15:10 Emotions Like Gym Reps 16:30 Capacity and Timing in Healing 18:12 Numbing That Looks Productive 19:45 Trusting Your Resilience 21:45 Personal Power Through Tolerance 22:47 Practice the Pause 24:19 Closing Reflection and Goodbye Connect with Chris Melville Email Instagram Producer’s credits: Chris Melville - Podcast HostNicole George - Podcast ExecutiveAriane Lim - Podcast Producer + EngineerSara Wagle - Audio Efficiency & Flow Manager
Oct 8

The Pressure of Being the Sole Breadwinner | No Small Talk with Julia Darlington

Trigger Warning: Host Chris Melville welcomes Julia Darlington to No Small Talk for a conversation about major life transitions after three decades in senior fashion and lifestyle leadership. Julia shares her route into fashion from a science-focused education, rising through Marks & Spencer and other roles, and moving her family to Australia for senior leadership positions before being made redundant and realising external change couldn’t fix internal dissatisfaction. They discuss the pressures and stories of being the sole breadwinner, choosing to step away and how circumstances shifted once she “moved first,” and the resilience required when raising a son born with a rare condition requiring major surgery. Julia also reflects on body image, fashion-industry pressures, years of bulimia, and explains her current work as a business leadership and life strategist helping ambitious midlife women navigate promotions, redundancy, career pivots, and purpose by changing unhelpful internal narratives. 00:00 Trigger Warning 01:04 Meet Julia Darlington 03:06 From Fashion to Coaching 05:30 Australia Turning Point 08:22 Corporate Disillusionment 10:33 No Choice Stories 17:22 Sole Breadwinner Pressure 19:09 Family Health Crisis 25:50 Resilience and Reinvention 29:28 Bulimia and Body Image 38:12 How Julia Helps Clients 40:49 Final Advice and Wrap Connect with Julia LinkedIn Website 7 Essential Steps To Unlock Your Power Producer’s credits: Chris Melville - Podcast Host Nicole George - Podcast ExecutiveAriane Lim - Podcast Producer + EngineerSara Wagle - Audio Efficiency & Flow Manager
Oct 1

Your Comfort Zone: Are You Pursuing What Makes You Happy? | No Small Talk with Richard Harrison

Host Chris Melville returns with October’s monthly check-in on No Small Talk with Entrepreneur and Mentor Richard Harrison, from Caldera Investments. They focus on the wins for the month, getting out of your comfort zone, and next month’s accountability. Richard shares wins including starting with a new coach, preparing for an upcoming event, and handling key business admin despite a cancellation. Chris celebrates returning from Happy Startups Summer Camp where she gained ideas, reconnected with playfulness, clarified a passion project by learning it is ok to start small. Plus, in looking at the numbers she realized No Small Talk Podcast nearly doubled in downloads. They discuss how the brain resists change for survival, why repeated small steps matter, and how the right community makes vulnerability easier. Chris introduces a reframe from keynote speaker Tamu Thomas: ambition as “life force energy” guided by purpose rather than achievement. Accountability: Richard commits to going ahead with his event whilst noticing his real obstacle may be pride and embarrassment, not fear. Chris commits to organising a curated lunch/dinner in November. Timestamps: 00:00 Trigger Warning 01:20 Monthly Check In Begins 01:44 Celebrating Wins Big and Small 03:30 Richard’s Wins and Wobbles 05:04 Chris’s Summer Camp Takeaways 08:36 Time Feels Expansive 10:28 Comfort Zone Science 11:55 Richard’s Thrill of New Challenges 16:52 Summer Camp Vulnerability 21:46 Find People Who Push You 25:41 Ambition as Life Force 31:23 Accountability Commitments 33:14 Pride Not Fear Closing Connect with Chris Melville Email Instagram Connect with Richard Harrison Website Instagram Producer’s credits: Chris Melville - Podcast Host Nicole George - Podcast ExecutiveAriane Lim - Podcast Producer + EngineerSara Wagle - Audio Efficiency & Flow Manager
Sep 24

Miscarriage: The Guilt and Loss of Self NO ONE Talks About | No Small Talk with Lisa Baker-Murray

Trigger Warning: Miscarriages, loss, and adoption Host Chris Melville welcomes Lisa Baker-Murray, founder of BakerMurray Consulting, for a conversation about miscarriage, loss of self, and adoption. Lisa shares how she and her husband began trying for a baby in 2006, experienced seven miscarriages, and faced the physical and emotional toll. They experienced limited support after early losses, guilt and self-blame. Despite the strain on their desire to start a family , they remained committed to becoming parents while keeping their relationship intact. . After deciding not to pursue IVF and exploring adoption in the UK, they entered an assessment process that took about 18 months. It was briefly paused when her husband became unwell. They were matched with their daughter Amber, placed at 11 months, and later fostered-to-adopt their son at three months. Lisa reflects on identity, nature vs nurture, and that family can be created in many ways, advising listeners to take care of themselves and seek shared support. Timestamps: 00:00 Trigger Warning 03:22 First Miscarriage Reality 05:22 Support and Silence After Loss 09:24 Keeping Going Through Repeats 10:31 Impact on Marriage and Self 16:09 Choosing Adoption Over IVF 18:14 Adoption Process and Setbacks 22:51 Meeting Baby Amber 26:35 Life as New Adoptive Parents 28:24 What the Journey Took 30:43 Welcoming Their Son 33:47 Lessons and Final Advice Connect with Chris Melville Email Instagram Connect with Lisa Baker-Murray Instagram Website Facebook Producer’s credits: Chris Melville - Podcast HostNicole George - Podcast ExecutiveAriane Lim - Podcast Producer + EngineerSara Wagle - Audio Efficiency & Flow Manager
Sep 17

How To Recognize Unhealthy Boundaries | No Small Talk with Chris Melville

Host Chris Melville explains what makes a healthy boundary and how it differs from requests, negotiated agreements, avoidance, and control. She argues that boundaries can’t force another adult to change or prevent you from being upset, and they don’t remove your responsibility to examine why certain situations trigger you. Chris outlines why boundaries matter (clarity, honest relationships, the ability to say no), gives examples of boundaries framed around your own actions, and warns that “protect your peace” can become a way to avoid vulnerability or punish others. She offers self-check questions to evaluate whether a boundary is proportionate, protective rather than punitive, and about your choices rather than managing someone else, while noting these prompts don’t apply the same way in abusive or coercive relationships. Timestamps: 00:25 What Boundaries Really Do 01:08 Protecting Your Peace Myth 02:12 Why We Need Boundaries 03:50 Boundaries vs Requests 05:31 Signs of Healthy Boundaries 06:47 When Boundaries Become Control 08:58 Avoidance and Vulnerability 10:25 Triggers Aren't Proof 12:22 Boundaries Can't Heal Wounds 13:56 Self Check Questions 16:38 Prompts for Doing the Work 18:05 Safety Exception for Abuse 18:45 Final Takeaway Connect with Chris Email Instagram Producer’s credits: Chris Melville - Podcast Host Nicole George - Podcast ExecutiveAriane Lim - Podcast Producer + EngineerSara Wagle - Audio Efficiency & Flow Manager

Honest talk. Unfiltered truths. Let's talk about it.

Creator

Chris Melville
Years Active

2026
Episodes

22
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© Copyright 2026 Chris Melville
Show Website

No Small Talk