The Storytelling with Heart Podcast Camille DePutter

Imagine finding out that someone you loved lived a double life…keeping a secret the entire family knew nothing about until after they died.
Secrets, especially those born out of shame, can make us feel small and hidden. They can have dangerous consequences, not just personally, but also socially and culturally. 
On the other hand, bringing those secrets to light can be profoundly enlightening, powerful, and maybe even spark social change. 
On today’s episode of the Storytelling with Heart podcast, we explore both the impact of secret-keeping and the potential of storytelling, with journalist and debut novelist, Sasha Vasilyuk.
Sasha Vasilyuk is a journalist and author of the new novel, Your Presence is Mandatory, which spans between World War II and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Sasha has an MA in journalism from New York University and her nonfiction has been published in the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, CNN, Time magazine and more. 
Sasha grew up between Ukraine and Russia before immigrating to the U.S. at the age of 13. In 2007, after her grandfather’s death, Sasha’s grandmother discovered in his papers a confession letter addressed to the KGB, revealing a history previously buried. Loosely inspired by her grandfather’s story, the novel explores the multi-generational impact of not only war and trauma, but also secrets and stigma. 
In this episode of the Storytelling with Heart podcast, we explore Sasha’s fascinating family story, as well as broader themes such as:
– The value of fiction writing and how it can be used to explore nuanced and difficult subjects.
– The personal and social risk of internalized shame – how storytelling, or the lack thereof, can shape cultural narratives as well as causing personal harm.
– How to navigate the muddy waters of sharing complicated stories with our children and young people.
– The challenge of sharing sensitive or vulnerable stories, and how to decide when it’s worth it to share the truth (or not).
– Why it’s worth exploring family histories, regardless of whether you want to publish them.
– Plus, tips for memoir and creative nonfiction writing!
When you’re done listening, check out Your Presence is Mandatory here: www.sashavasilyuk.com/your-presence-is-mandatory.

Sometimes, the darkest and most discomfiting moments of our lives can result in our best art, our finest work, or our most powerful stories. 
Carla Patullo is living proof; and the Grammy she won this year backs it up.
Carla Patullo is a renowned film composer and multi-instrumentalist, who secured her first GRAMMY® win at the 66th Annual GRAMMY® Awards this year for "SO SHE HOWLS," in the category of Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album. 
“SO SHE HOWLS,” was conceived during Carla’s battle with breast cancer, and it blends howling vocals, orchestral swells, and electronic pulses to create a mesmerizing journey from grief and fear to inspiration and healing.
In addition to composing and performing, Carla is a prolific songwriter and has written over 100 songs with placements on film and TV shows, and she has written scores for over 30 films. 
In this episode of Storytelling with Heart, Carla explores her process for telling stories through music and sound, and she shares how she turned her most heart wrenching moments into a Grammy-winning — yet very raw and real — record. 
Themes we explore:
– How creating art can be a powerful outlet when dealing with difficult things, and why sharing your personal stories can be deeply healing
– The importance of just “letting it out” and not judging the work/art too much in the early stages of the process
– The value of keeping things raw, real, and human – and why it might even be a good idea to leave in some mistakes and imperfections
– How to think like a documentarian when going through a difficult time in your life, and why it might be worth capturing your thoughts and feelings along the way
– How to maintain your own artistic voice even when working for or with other people, clients, etc.
– The value of making time for your own creative practice (even if creative work is part of your job.)
– Why you should go ahead and make the thing you want to make rather than waiting for the perfect time. But also: the danger of false urgency and why it’s also a good idea to let things take the time they need to unfold.
Check out SO SHE HOWLS at https://www.carlapatullo.com/howls-preview

Do you want to inspire and motivate people? Want to build a community, or rally people around your cause? Need to get buy-in (and potentially funding) for your idea, mission, or organization? 
If so, this episode is a must-listen, featuring Sandy Dang.
Sandy Dang is a social entrepreneur, leadership trainer, community organizer, and management consultant. She is the Co-founder and Principal of Co-lnnovate Consulting, a company that provides leadership training, capacity building, and strategic planning to companies, foundations, and nonprofits.
Born in Hanoi, Sandy left Vietnam when she was ten years old. After living in rural China and Hong Kong refugee camps, Sandy resettled in the United States at the age of thirteen. 
Sandy went from a childhood without books and very limited education, to being the only kid who didn’t speak English in her school, to becoming an internationally recognized speaker, leader, educator, and master storyteller. Most of all, Sandy has used her experiences and stories to empower others.
For more than a decade, she served as Founder and Executive Director of Asian American Leadership, Empowerment, and Development (AALED) an organization that supports refugee families through a broad array of educational and social services. Sandy was also appointed by President Obama to serve as Executive Director of the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF).
These days, Sandy teaches leaders — especially community organizers, and founders of mission-driven organizations — how to use storytelling to enhance their leadership capacity, and inspire and motivate others. She serves people all over the world, and works in both the US and Asia, including Vietnam and Thailand. 
In this episode, you’ll hear Sandy’s inspiring story, and gain all kinds of useful intel about powerful, purposeful storytelling. Themes we explore:
– Storytelling as a survival tool: Sandy details how she used storytelling to get support, gather resources, build community, and navigate life in the US (even when she was just learning to speak English)
– Using your story to help others: Sandy shares how she used her story to build her non-profit, going from $15,000 to over $1.7 million dollars in its annual budget
– The truth: Why the heart of storytelling is truth-telling, and how honesty and authenticity are essential to build connection, community, and support
– The healing power of storytelling: Why telling your story might be one of the most healing and important things you can do for yourself, and for others
– The power of public narrative: How to translate your lived experience into a story that demonstrates your values and makes people feel inspired and motivated to join your cause
– Taking control of your own story: Why leaders need to share stories about themselves; how to use your story to build trust; and the problem with letting other people decide your story for you
– The three stories all leaders must have in their arsenal — plus, Sandy’s process for putting the stories together into a cohesive narrative.
– “This will only work in the US, not here”: How to adapt the concepts of personal storytelling for a more community-oriented mindset, and how to work around concerns about humility and bragging
– Tips for trainers, coaches, facilitators, and leaders: Sandy distills her advice into her #1 takeaway.
Practical advice, heartfelt insight, and an inspiring and uplifting story…this episode has it all. 

How do you know if you’re becoming a better writer? 
What kinds of things should you focus on to improve your writing skills? 
And for that matter, should you even bother trying to improve? Why not just take shortcuts?
If you’re a thought leader (or you want to be), or just someone who wants to express their thoughts and ideas more effectively, you’ve come to the right place. 
Communicating effectively is a MUST to get your ideas across and make an impact. But it’s so much more than that. Strengthening your writing skills can be immensely satisfying—especially when you can observe (and many even celebrate) your progress.
In this “Coaching with Cam” episode of the Storytelling with Heart podcast, Camille explores: 
- The value of improving in the first place…why sucking at a thing and being a beginner is awesome, and why it’s worth putting in the work to improve your skills
- Why the skill of writing *still matters*, and why it’s worth fighting for, even if you use other services or experts (like me!) to help you do it better
- How to avoid the danger of “de-skilling” yourself — and keep building your skills (rather than eroding them)
- Why you shouldn’t rely entirely on audience feedback to know whether your writing is improving
- Top 10 signs your writing is improving…some signs and signals that indicate your work is getting better (regardless of audience response!)
Along the way, you’ll get some great hints and tips about how to improve your writing too!

Communications — particularly professional, technical, and educational materials — can easily become boring, unrelatable, or stiff.
How do you write, speak, and educate in ways that other people will actually enjoy?
And, how do you make the process more meaningful, engaging, and interesting for yourself? 
These are the kinds of questions I explore with Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon.
Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon is an expert coach, communicator, and thought leader in the fitness and health industry. She has more than 20 years in fitness and health coaching under her belt, and 10 years of university teaching and course direction.
Krista is currently the Product Director at Simple, a nutrition app with global reach. Previously she served as Director of Curriculum at Precision Nutrition, leading the development of the PN Academy and PN Certifications. 
She is the author of several books and co-author of textbooks, many of which we worked on together,  plus she has an extensive portfolio of academic publications, book chapters, articles, and reports, not to mention own self-published book Why Me Want Eat.
Before working with Precision Nutrition, Krista was a researcher and faculty member at York University in Toronto. In the mid-1990s, her website Stumptuous.com was one of the first to promote women's weight training, and since then she's focused on helping people make meaningful change. She has lectured and taught internationally across North America as well as in the UK, Ireland, China, Australia, and Southeast Asia. 
Krista is undoubtedly a professional communicator, but she has also built her career around making her communications relatable, playful, interesting, and fun (even funny) — even when they cover technical, educational, and/or “serious” material.
In our conversation, I dig into Krista’s process, sifting through her childhood experiences, her personal beliefs and habits, and some of the methods she uses in her own life and work as both a coach and communicator.
Through our conversation, we explore how we can all communicate better by employing humor, empathy, curiosity, experimentation, collaboration, play, and getting out of our own boxes.
We cover:
→ The value of letting your freak flag fly.
→ Why empathy is non-negotiable for all communicators, and how to cultivate it. 
→ Why interest, curiosity, and skill are such a powerful combination, and how to nurture them. 
→ The danger of waiting for someone else to give you permission to create your thing. 
→ Where good ideas ACTUALLY come from, and the problem with “The Great Man” theory.
→ The role of practice, rigor, feedback, experimentation, and collaboration in developing and refining your ideas and knowledge… and why you should never try to develop good ideas in isolation.
→ How to get out of your own box or comfort zone, and why you should seek out unfamiliar and deeply uncomfortable experiences.
→ The role of play in communications and creative work, and some unusual ways to make your work more playful.
→ The difference between Creator Brain vs Editor Brain, and why (and how) you need to put the Creator Brain in the driver’s seat.
→ Plus, a fun assignment to challenge writer’s block. 
Follow Krista on Instagram (@stumptuous) on Facebook (www.facebook.com/coach.krista.scottdixon) or  Linkedin.

Life can throw some pretty big stuff at us. If we’re lucky, we live to tell the tale. Then the question becomes: how do we tell that tale? 
How do we turn our most challenging experiences into meaningful stories that will help other people?
For some inspiration on this subject, look no further than Jennifer Broxterman, RD.
Jennifer Broxterman is a Registered Dietitian and founder of both NutritionRx (her private practice) and PROSPER Nutrition Coaching, a world-class nutrition certification for gym owners and coaches. 
She is also a stage 3 ovarian cancer survivor who was given less than an 8% chance of living to 5 years. 
Five years later, Jen is healthy, thriving, and actively sharing her story. Her journey—spanning years of undiagnosed symptoms, a terrifying prognosis, a difficult surgery, and a remarkable recovery—is emotional, challenging, and ultimately inspiring.
This episode is a bit of a departure from my usual format; as you’ll hear, most of this episode is Jen telling her own story. 
There’s lots to learn, simply by listening to Jen and hearing how she walks us through the chain of events that turned her life upside down. Her story is not only inspiring and powerful to listen to, it’s also a useful example of how to tell a personal story.
That said, we do dig into some details about the storytelling process including:
→ The importance of personally processing traumatic events before sharing your story publicly, and why this will make the whole storytelling process easier and less emotionally exhausting.
→ The mindset tools Jen used to not only make it through her most difficult moments but also to help her process and share them with others.
→ Why it’s worth considering the big idea you want to leave behind in the world.
→ The value of building your communications around the needs and interests of your audience. (Plus, a simple principle to ensure you’re communicating clearly and effectively for your audience.)
→ How to share the “messy guts” of your story while it’s still happening. (Here, Jen provides her thoughts on social media, why she chose to share the details of her journey publicly, and what happened as a result.)
→ And finally, how to use your story to help other people… and why podcasts might be a great place to start.
To access the free tools and materials Jen referenced on this call, check out https://www.prospernutritioncoaching.com/freebies, or find Jen on Instagram at @prosper_nc and @nutrition_rx