The A-Ha! Method Podcast Gabe Zichermann & Dayna Gowan

Recommend watching this one as a video:

*For Spotify listeners, you can watch the video of this episode directly on Spotify.

**For those listening on other platforms, you can watch the full video and our improvised presentation here: ⁠https://youtu.be/Wg43wCApMrI


Rachel Medanic is the Host of the Agile Vocalist Podcast, which focuses on sound in the performing arts and features the stories of artists with a California connection who work and create in sound. Agile Vocalist is a way for performing arts lovers to be curious, get inspired by creative careers, and to explore how sound connects all of us to our humanity.

In this mini episode, Rachel joins Dayna to take a risk and play Powerpoint Karaoke - something outside her comfort zone - but she watched some of the other Powerpoint Karaoke videos and was up for the challenge.

We work well together to give an improvised and inspiring (and not salesy at all!) presentation about Taking Risks. We also debrief at the end and talk about our experience of taking a risk and trying this challenge.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



You can learn more about Rachel Medanic and the Agile Vocalist Podcast here:

- Website: https://agilevocalist.com/

- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RachelMedanic

- IG: @vampituity - https://www.instagram.com/vampituity/



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Up for the Powerpoint Karaoke Challenge? Email us at info@speakersalliance.org, or reach out to us on Instagram (@speakers_alliance) or Twitter (@SpeakersAlly).

For more information about Powerpoint Karaoke and how you can play on your own, you can go to https://www.powerpointkaraoke.com/

Cait Donovan — burnout expert, speaker, author, and host of “Fried - The Burnout Podcast,” —  joins Dayna and Gabe to discuss burnout, boundaries, speaker burnout (yes, it's a thing!), and how you can take better care of yourself right now. 

As a speaker, you may find that you're overexerting yourself and saying "Yes!" to every speaking gig you get asked to do because you don't want to miss out on anything or decrease momentum. However, you have to know when is the right time to say yes to a speaking gig and when to say no. Cait talks in this episode about how resentment is your superpower, and if you're feeling resentful about a situation or a request, then it may be better for your well-being not to take it. 

We also discuss evaluations and how to deal with those negative comments that may hit us so hard and get us down or in our heads. The key is knowing yourself and recognizing what you need to bounce back from the negative feedback, especially if you have another speech or presentation to give soon!

Burnout is not new, but it's a big buzzword these days because it's affecting so many people, especially as we navigate through COVID-19. We hope this episode encourages everyone who is dealing with burnout or feeling the effects of burnout to talk to someone and get the help they need. Cait is so real and vulnerable, and we appreciate her sharing tips for how we can better take care of ourselves right now - as speakers and as human beings.   

Please take care of yourself and your well-being, listeners and friends!



Show Notes:


Check out Dayna and Cait giving an improvised presentation about self-care (keyword is improvised!): https://youtu.be/_62Hjx-KagI
Cait's website: https://www.caitdonovan.com
Cait's Podcast - Fried. The Burnout Podcast - https://www.friedtheburnoutpodcast.com
Cait's Resentment is Your Superpower Course and other courses - https://www.caitdonovan.com/store
1:1 Coaching and Support to help you break the burnout cycle - https://caitdonovan.mykajabi.com/coaching
Follow Cait on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitdonovan/
Follow Cait on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cait_donovan/



Video Snippets:


If you are listening via Spotify, you can watch this podcast as a video! 
Not everyone is going to like you as a speaker - https://youtu.be/petzZgsC8tA
Connect your message to your audience! - https://youtu.be/ZYj3xpAyTQI
Sink little anchors into anchors into your audience's brain! - https://youtu.be/3QvvvUmaxHM
Bounce back from negative presentation feedback - https://youtu.be/DrtXz8rkDIA

This episode is a MUST LISTEN for anyone who leads or facilitates virtual meetings!

Melissa Dinwiddie - Founder, CEO, Lead Curriculum Designer & Facilitator at Creative Sandbox Solutions - joins Dayna and Gabe to discuss ways to make virtual meetings, trainings, and events more fun and engaging, which is so needed right now! 

We have been doing the virtual meeting thing for over 2 years now, and they aren't going away any time soon! Melissa is a pro at creating excitement and engagement in every event, and she shows us how to sprinkle in connection, interactivity, and fun into your virtual meetings so that you don't lose your attendees to their emails, social media, or many other distractions! 

We highly recommend watching this podcast on Spotify, because Melissa shows some cool slides on her video as she provides her awesome tips and tricks to better meetings. If watching on a different platform, please check out the Youtube videos in the show notes so you can see what she is displaying during the episode. 

Don't lose your audience to distraction, and don't be a talking head in virtual meetings. Allow your meeting attendees a chance to engage and participate, and you will see much better outcomes and productivity in your meetings and trainings! 



Show Notes: 


Check out Dayna and Melissa playing Powerpoint Karaoke here: https://youtu.be/F89_fYokQOM




Video from podcast - 8 Unofficial Start Ideas For Your Virtual Meeting - https://youtu.be/kUxHWO3pqqc




Video from podcast - Micro-Engagement Ideas for Better Virtual Meetings - https://youtu.be/MoUynFIswdY




Melissa's website: https://creativesandbox.solutions/




Melissa's Free Guide - 7 Mistakes to Avoid When Planning Your Next Virtual Event, Training or Conference - https://creativesandbox.solutions/resources/




Melissa's Virtual Learning Lab every month - https://creativesandbox.solutions/learning-lab/




Follow Melissa on LinkedIn - she posts some helpful tips and tricks for better meeting engagement! 




Follow Melissa on Instagram for her creative pursuits.




Check out Melissa's personal website for all her creative and fun endeavors - https://melissadinwiddie.com/

Dr. Mariesa Barbara, DPT, joins Dayna and Gabe to talk about pelvic health and pelvic healing and how these issues can affect our public speaking. Mariesa helps us understand the connection that our pelvic health can have on all aspects of our health and well-being. She also demonstrates a helpful breathing exercise that speakers can do before they give their talks and presentations to relax their muscles and allow for better diaphragmatic breathing. 

Not going to lie, this is not Dayna's most professional episode as she gets very uncomfortable, tense, and even silly about the topic of pelvic health and the pelvic floor region. Mariesa handles it like the professional she is though, and she shows us that it's important to talk about the tough and uncomfortable topics because not many people are talking about them right now. Acknowledging that it may be uncomfortable, using the correct terms instead of calling them "weird" terms, and normalizing the subject matter can make your audience (whether one-on-one or a large group) feel more at ease with the topic and more willing to engage with you. At the end of the episode, Mariesa even helps Dayna say the correct terms and feel much more comfortable with the subject matter, and she can help you feel more comfortable about it too! 

Check this episode out for helpful breathing tips, how to speak about tough/uncomfortable topics, and quality information about your pelvic floor health! We use our pelvic floor muscles everyday, and it's important to be aware of our pelvic health and get help and healing when needed.



Show Notes: 


For more information about Dr. Mariesa Barbara and her offerings, check out her website: https://mypelvichealing.com/
Check out Dr. Barbara's Meet Your Pelvic Floor Course: https://courses.mypelvichealing.com/meet-your-pelvic-floor
Book a one-on-one session with Dr. Barbara (via virtual consult) for any pelvic floor issues you may be experiencing - open for all genders! 
Follow Mariesa on Instagram or Facebook! 
Speakers Alliance Announcement: You can now sign up for Private Speaker Coaching on our Speakers Alliance Website. If you have an upcoming pitch, presentation, or speech that you are working on, you can practice it with both Dayna and Gabe and get feedback and suggestions for improvement. For more details, go to https://speakersalliance.org/speaker-coaching/ 

Dayna and Gabe kick off Season 2 and the beginning of 2022 with a lighthearted discussion about how to find the love, joy, and fun in public speaking. Finding the fun in public speaking is much easier said than done though, so they dive deeper into how you can (not should!) find the fun in public speaking as well. 

This episode has a "big reframing energy" to it as they share some ways that you can reframe your negative or nervous thoughts about public speaking and think about it in a more exciting way. Also, Gabe shares some very interesting analogies to illustrate how he feels about public speaking. 😂😂
There are lots of great tips and tricks in this episode to help you find more fun in your public speaking journey. The more we view public speaking as fun and enjoyable, the more we want to do it and the better we get at sharing our stories and our messages with the world!



Show notes: 


Follow us on on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn for more updates and fun! 
Check out our new Workshop Your Workshop Class starting in mid-April! 
For more information about the Speakers Alliance, go to speakersalliance.org. 
Gabe's Tedx Talk - How to Win at Losing: a Failosophy for Innovation | TEDxFrankfurt
Gabe's Tedx Talk - Conquering addictions with AI algorithms | TEDxSanFrancisco
Gabe's Tedx Talk - The Future of Creativity and Innovation is Gamification | TEDxVilnius
Gabe's Tedx Talk - Gamification | TEDxKids@Brussels

Last episode of Season 1, and we go out with a bang talking about Dayna's favorite thing to do and discuss - Improvisation, or Improv for short. 

When you hear the word improvisation, you may think of improv used for comedic purposes, but improv is way more than just funny scenes and shows at your local neighborhood theater. The skills of improvisation are very much applicable to life and can tremendously help your public speaking as well. 

Improv can help you:


Improve your listening skills
Embrace mistakes and happy accidents
Develop a "Yes, and..." mindset
Boost your creativity and imagination
Gain confidence in answering questions during a Q&A period
And so much more!

Improv has been such a gamechanger in Dayna's life over the past few years, especially during the pandemic, and it can help you too if you give it a try. It may push you way outside your comfort zone, but it's so worth it!

Say "Yes, and..." and hit the play button for this episode! 



Show Notes: 


Watch Dayna and Gabe play Powerpoint Karaoke and give an improvised presentation here: https://youtu.be/wrBwqQBPFIk --> We do a pretty good job for our first attempt at this! 😊




Check out the PowerPoint Karaoke game here: https://www.powerpointkaraoke.com/




If you are interested in taking improv classes, there are so many places offering classes online and in person now. Message us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn for recommendations. Or you can google improv near you, and you may find a theater close to you offering some beginner classes. 




Looking for Table Topics questions to work on your impromptu speaking skills? Check out this awesome list of 365 Table Topics questions! --> Pick a number, look at the question, and then respond to the question within 1-2 minute timeframe. How comfortable do you feel answering the question off the cuff?   




For funny style improv, watch Middleditch and Schwartz on Netflix. It is super funny and silly, but remember that not all improv has to be funny. We improvise all the time in our daily lives, and everyone can improvise and develop better improvisation skills to help with listening and communication.