August 6, 2025 • 25 mins
When you're responsible for leading others, personal grief becomes a performance you can't escape. Radio legend Royce Blake spent 30 years getting celebrities to reveal their deepest truths - he made Paul McCartney cry on air. But when his brilliant wife Lisa was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, his greatest communication skills meant nothing.
Watch a woman who ran a law office with three lawyers deteriorate until she didn't know what a doorknob was for. Experience the crushing weight of "putting on the happy face" every day because, as Royce learned, "nobody cares" - everyone only asks "what's in it for me?"
Discover how surviving this devastating loss taught him the difference between performing authenticity and living it. In our AI-dominated world, Royce reveals why "the pendulum is swinging back to real" - and how your greatest pain might be your most powerful leadership tool.
Timestamps:
[05:30] The Alzheimer's diagnosis that changed everything
[12:45] "What's a doorknob for?" - watching brilliance disappear
[18:20] The cruel reality of grieving while leading
[25:10] Why "nobody cares" became his greatest lesson
[31:40] How authentic leadership emerges from authentic pain
If You’ve Been Hooked on These Episodes… This Is for You
If this podcast has been landing deep… if each story feels like it’s peeling back something raw and real in you… then don’t ignore that.
Every guest you’ve heard made the same decision: to stop performing and start healing.
Now it’s your turn.
Take the Silent Collapse Diagnostic. It’s not a quiz. It’s a wake-up tool for women who are done pretending they’re fine.
No fluff. No journaling prompts. Just a straight-up mirror into where you’re silently collapsing behind the mask of success.
If you're serious about reclaiming your energy, your clarity, your life start there.
Because breakthrough doesn’t begin with doing more. It begins with finally seeing what’s been stealing your power.
Learn more about Baz Porter at www.bazporter.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to part two from
Royce from the Ashes.
I'm here with Royce Blake.
In our first part of theepisode, we spoke about not just
his expertise but his passionfor helping other people and
really coming alive with reallife advice.
We also spoke about the trialsand tribulations of traveling a
(00:23):
lot and the loss of his dearwife.
But he's here today.
He's back, and this is where westart to get into the weeds of
what really makes him tick, whatreally goes behind the scenes
and what's his passions thesedays and what he's got coming up
.
So, Royce, thank you forsharing last time and it is a
(00:45):
privilege to have you here onceagain.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
It's been awesome, baz, it's fun.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
I love doing these interviews because it's you that
makes a show, it's you thatkeeps it alive.
What is the one thing thatreally you want the audience to
take away with?
If they were coming to you as aclient?
What's the one thing that couldcome to you with the most?
What's the question that comewith you the most?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
That's one of my first questions is what would
you like to see happen?
Because, especially dealing inthe copywriting world or the
marketing world in general, I'llget a call from somebody that
says I need to run Facebook adsand I say, really, how come Bob
(01:34):
at the tire store down thestreet runs them and they're
doing great.
And then all of a sudden we getinto exactly what they do and
what they're trying toaccomplish, who they're trying
to serve.
Because how you attack, gettingcustomers who pay you more
money more often is a science.
(01:55):
Marketing is both an art and ascience.
Anytime a marketer says this isguaranteed to work, then run
the other way, because inmarketing you never know,
especially these days, what isgoing to take off.
And if I can just go on alittle sidetrack here, in these
(02:17):
days of AI, boy have thingschanged.
Not just let's take YouTubevideos.
Who would have thought oceanspray, cranberry juice you
remember this from gosh?
Probably five years ago now, itwas the guy riding down the
skateboard Fleetwood Mac'sdreams in the back.
He was just drinking oceanspray.
That boosted their sales byalmost 40%.
(02:41):
Now, at the same time, theywere working on another campaign
, a TV campaign that cost them$20 million and that increased
sales by 2%.
Gosh, all it takes is one viralvideo.
Now, the way the algorithms havechanged is it used to be right.
(03:03):
You had to have 50,000followers before your posts or
your videos or whatever would beseen.
They went by audience size, notanymore.
Ai looks at everything you do,including emails, and decides
where to put it.
Just on an email side, it usedto be like no, you couldn't put
(03:25):
free or sale in the subject line.
It would automatically go tospam.
Not anymore, because the AIactually reads the entire email
before they decide where to putit.
So it's the same with almostevery avenue of marketing, and
the AIs are just getting betterand faster.
So your message is moreimportant than ever.
(03:47):
And once again, we get back toreal.
Be as real as you possibly can.
People are everybody's seen thejargon words.
Ai is getting better, but we'vealso learned over the last year
of anytime.
You see empower or synergy, asit was another good one for AI
that you could tell it wasprobably written by a computer.
(04:10):
I always try to tell people tomarket like you're at a barbecue
.
You're talking with a friend ata barbecue, and the other
concept is you're not talking toan audience.
You're talking to a parade.
People are coming and going.
Some stay longer, some justwanted to see the band and stick
(04:33):
around, others want a churroand they want to move on.
That's people today.
And the other thing that a lotof people are afraid of is
attention spans.
Attention spans are gettingshorter and shorter.
It's really not true.
Otherwise Joe Rogan wouldn't bethe number one podcaster when
(04:56):
his guests stick around forthree hours straight.
So it's really about what you'resaying and how you're saying it
that really matters.
So it's content, it's yourmessage and, once again, it
always gets back to what's in itfor me.
If you can answer that questionwhat's in it for me then people
(05:16):
are going to stick around.
And, yes, touch points havegone up.
In other words, how many timesyou see an ad.
It used to be seven.
The latest study I saw justlast week says it's around 21.
Now, because we're bombardedwith so many, it takes 21 times.
That could just be just seeingtheir name.
(05:38):
That counts as a touch point.
It's not like you actually haveto read everything that's put
out, but we're in strange times,baz, so welcome.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
The statistics you just quoted are, at the time of
the recording, correct.
It's 21 to click on the linkand it's around 36 to 35 before
they actually purchase or book acall with you.
It's just crazy.
But everything you just saidthere is completely true.
And the attention span ofpeople yes, they're dissipating
(06:10):
to a certain extent if they getbored.
And there's so much.
Going back to our previousepisode, with what you said
about bombarding of information,how did you stand out?
You've made a very successfulcareer out of radio, so you're
like the authority or expert inthis industry of keeping people
(06:33):
engaged.
What are the hallmarks withdoing that?
Because that's an art well, itdepends.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Gotta remember I was.
I did some news 90% of the time.
I was on music stations, soobviously the music drove the
ratings.
But especially in morning shows, you have to be entertaining
and it's the same.
This is a great analogy topodcasting.
Radio and podcasting aremassively solitary experiences.
(07:03):
People are listening bythemselves, they're driving,
they're doing dishes, they'remowing the lawn, working on the
car, whatever, and they have youin their ears just to keep them
entertained.
So it's important to rememberyou're talking to one person.
I always yell at podcasterswhen they talk about hey folks,
(07:26):
or welcome everybody.
You're not talking to anaudience, you're talking to you,
and I hammer that in all of mycourses and things like that is
you should become your favoriteword.
You should talk to one person.
Same with marketing, because ifthey're reading an email or
(07:46):
reading an ad somewhere, they'redoing it by themselves,
nobody's looking over yourshoulder as you read it.
Together, make sure it's verypersonal.
But at the same time, since weonly have a short amount of time
maybe five minutes at max for,let's say, a bit in between
(08:09):
songs or whatever that's got tobe packed, so we made them as
silly, depending on the station.
Of course Some were muchcrazier than other stations, but
it's recent.
I just wrote about thisrecently and that's why it came
to mind.
We came into the radio studioone day and found a phone book
(08:29):
for Tokyo, japan, just at random.
It was left there, I don't knowwhy, and we came up with this
idea hey, why don't we callrandom people in Tokyo and see
how long we can keep them on thephone once we say the word
Godzilla?
Because we knew, right, they'dheard Godzilla their whole lives
(08:53):
, right, and they're probablysick of it.
And here are these guys I knewa little Japanese from my
martial arts training justrandom Americans calling Japan,
and we would just keep them onthe phone, and then listeners
would win a prize by thelistener who guessed the closest
to the exact time before theyhung up.
(09:13):
And it was great radio.
Because here's this Japaneseguy that nobody can understand.
We're asking him questions likehey, pineapple and pizza, what
are your thoughts?
But that's just silly, stupidstuff.
And we did a lot.
I can't even remember half thethings we did, a lot of which
(09:34):
would not fly today, by the way,Definitely politically
incorrect, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
But that reminds me of the skits from Monty Python.
That sort of era, that comedy,that mentality isn't around
today because it's politicallyincorrect, but back in the day
that's what the older Gen X andabove baby boomers we thrived on
, because it was different, itwas outlandish, it wasn't the
(10:03):
normal mainstream BS that youget today.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
And we survived, not having seatbelts and riding in
the back of pickup trucks anddrinking water out of garden
hoses.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Yeah, you're speaking my language now.
What have you got going onright now?
What's the forefront of yourbusiness, what do you want to
help people with and what do youdo?
What's your thing to reallydeliver your expertise?
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Thanks for that, paz.
I'm pivoting in a way.
I still do a lot of marketing,but at the same time, I've taken
my 30 plus years on radio andrealized that one of the skills
podcasters seem to neglect isinterviewing people.
And if you think aboutespecially if your podcast is
(10:50):
based on guests, it's somethingwhere you need to leave your ego
at the door and work on gettingbetter at.
And so I talk to and teachpeople how to boost their
interviewing skills.
I've got an ebook out calledhow to Keep an Audience
Interviewing Skills from 30Years of a Radio Pro and I also
(11:12):
have a free five-day emailcourse as well and it talks
about how to get a guest to shutup, and we've all had people
that have turned a sentence intoa paragraph, right, and, on the
one hand, if it's entertaining,absolutely let them go.
Another problem I see withpodcasters is they're so worried
(11:34):
about asking the next questionthey don't realize their guest
just spun some gold right thereand they should let them
continue.
Others have a problem openingup, so how do you get people to
open up more?
How do you change the subject?
Things like that, and onceagain realizing that you're
talking to one person it shouldbe an eavesdropping situation
(11:57):
where you're interested insomething these two or five
people are saying, and I'veinterviewed over 200 celebrities
, from Bruce Springsteen toBilly Joel to Paul McCartney, to
some very unknown.
I hate to call them unknownbecause they're obviously
qualified actors and actressesbut, like Bob Barker of the
(12:20):
Price is Right, loved me to thepoint where he gave me his home
phone number because I asked himquestions that no one had ever
heard before.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
I mean, that's what I love, that concept, and what
you're doing now is actuallypassing that knowledge on to
other people, that it isn't out.
It is out there, but you've putit in a condensed way, but it's
real life, blood, sweat workedfor and that's.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
That's priceless in my opinion, number one is
research, and I see so manypeople fall down.
Research everything you canabout a guest.
Doesn't matter if they own thetire store down the street.
Go check out their advertising,see if they have a facebook
business page or whatever.
Dig deep and find out something.
(13:09):
Once again, you're looking fora question they've never been
asked and I bet you, nine timesout of 10, they have a weird
hobby or something that'll justflip people's brains around.
And that's when you becomememorable, because, even though
it was the guest sayingmemorable because, even though
(13:30):
it was the guest saying, though,he collected the cockroaches.
They'll remember you becauseyou had that guy on.
And it's also great if theyhave been on podcasts or if they
have their own podcasts.
Watch some episodes, see ifthey're.
Are they a used car salesmantalking fast and go like this?
Or you you know, are they laidback and tell me about this?
That'll be important to yourinterviewing skills as well as
(13:55):
what you can expect, and I hadevery range.
Best interview I shouldn't saybest interview, but easiest
interview ever was the lateboxing promoter, don King.
I don't know if you rememberDon King.
He had that giant, giant Afrogoing up about three feet.
Yes, here's how I interviewedDon.
(14:16):
Hey Don, how are you?
And then you can go and get acup of coffee or whatever,
because he could talk withoutbreathing for five minutes
straight.
It was amazing.
And other people you got toremember, especially celebrities
.
They're used to being acharacter, they're used to being
someone else, and so whenyou're with them it's a lot
(14:39):
harder.
You'd be amazed how many ofthese famous actors answer with
one or two words oh, yeah, yeah.
No, that was fun, that's it.
Excuse me, mr cruz, I'd like tofind out how you hang hung on
to that airplane upside down.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
It's great, by the way, not a problem whatsoever
but this is invaluable advicefor people who are they wanted
to start a podcast, wanting todo work in any sort of media,
because what you're speakinginto now is the foundation of
any business, whether whether itbe a corporate business or
(15:16):
Fortune 500, to a very smallcountry town business.
You're getting to know thepeople that you're serving and
that's right.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
And it's the same for boardroom meetings.
People are wondering what's init for me.
Do I have to be here?
Why are you wasting my timewith this?
And it's so important.
Once again and you can relatethis really to even radio and
podcasting A great leader alwaysspeaks last.
(15:51):
Let them explain what's going on, hear their problems first, or,
if it's entertainment, let themgo off on.
I knew that if they were on myradio show, they were there to
promote a book or promote amovie or whatever.
So you have to let them go.
That's their job.
That's the only reason they'regiving you their time.
In most cases, others just likeus because we were crazy.
(16:16):
That was part of the deal.
But yeah, you got to get input,not only to understand the
problem but to understand theircadence, their personality.
Are these people defensive?
Are they extroverts?
Which one?
And it's always good to jiveand get on the same page.
You're going to talk tosomebody totally differently.
(16:37):
I'm sorry.
I'm just thinking of radioaffectation, because that used
to be recording yourself on yourphone, watching yourself.
No one else has to ever see it,but record yourself doing the
(16:57):
dishes, reading off a laundrylist, whatever it is, even if
it's for a couple of minutes andthen watch it back and pretty
soon you'll get used to yourvoice.
You'll get used to your looksand how you act and things like
that.
But remember the first time youheard your recorded voice.
Everybody does, right?
(17:18):
Wow, I sound like that Becausethe bones in our ears change the
way we hear our voice.
Now I've gotten used to itbecause on the radio you wear
headphones and you're hearinghow your voice sounds instantly.
And here's what happens inradio for most people and maybe
for podcasters too Voiceaffectation, right.
(17:41):
So you put the headphones onand you hear your voice for the
first time and you're like, wow,that sounds good.
And then you get lower because,hey, this sounds even better.
And then you get lower because,hey, this sounds even better.
And pretty soon you're talkinglike this.
And then we get to what in theradio we call puking, which is
hi there, how you doingeverybody, I'm so glad you're
(18:04):
with us.
That's voice affectation.
So, once again, use yourselfand realize you don't need that
and I recommend I know it lookscool to have the mic boom in
front of you and wearingheadphones and all that.
I always laugh at people becausethey're like, hey, have you
ever thought about starting apodcast?
(18:26):
I'm like I gotta laugh Really.
Could I feel like I'm on theair and they're like, yeah, but
just be real Once again.
Be real, because that's whatpeople want.
They don't want AI, they wantreal people with real opinions,
real questions, and don't everbe afraid to ask.
(18:46):
Here's another big thing onpodcasters don't get.
If they're not understandingsomething, they'll move on.
So they don't look stupid.
Hey, if you're not getting it,odds are your listeners aren't
either.
So stop and say gosh, I didn'tquite understand.
Can you expound on that?
Because I'm not sure Iunderstand what that is and so
(19:10):
many people are afraid to dothat you know what that is and
so many people are afraid to dothat.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
That's huge for anybody who is not of the savvy
mind of how to presentthemselves or how to listen.
I remember doing this when Ifirst started this podcast a
year or so ago I don't even knownow but I was always afraid.
But to your point, royce, I wasalways afraid of what people
think of me.
Now I just don't care and I'mjust like whatever.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Just answer the request line for a while and
you'll get over it, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
It's great advice.
If people want to get hold ofyou, get your email sequence,
get hold of you and have aconversation.
Where do they go?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
It's easy.
I hope it's voiceofroycecom.
So just go to voiceofroycecomand there's a lot of free stuff
on there.
And I do have a newsletterevery week which I try to
include.
I usually include a lesson onpodcasting, I have a
behind-the-mic radio story andwe even throw in some great
(20:14):
quotes and cartoons, so that's alot of fun.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I mean that's great.
I think that I'm certainlygoing to sign up in a few
minutes for that as well.
Is there anything else youwould love to give the audience
or tell the audience before wedepart today?
Speaker 2 (20:30):
I would just say that podcasting, especially, as we
know, is exploding right now andit will for a long time.
On the one hand, it's greatthat so many celebrities are
starting their own podcastbecause they realize how easy it
is.
It's also tougher, right,because who's you're going to
listen to Conan O'Brien?
(20:52):
Or are you going to listen toJoe Schmo?
That has 800 listeners?
Guess what.
We all start somewhere.
We all start little, andrepetition it's my favorite
quote from Tony Robbins.
Repetition is the mother ofskill.
It's going to take you sometime.
Don't worry about what.
Don't focus on results.
(21:13):
Focus on getting better, andpeople are going to find you,
trust me, and the better you get, the more they'll refer you.
They'll start telling theirfriends and test.
I love testing, especially inmarketing.
If somebody tells you they havesomething they know will work,
I just laugh because it'smarketing.
You never know you.
They have something they knowwill work, I just laugh because
(21:33):
it's marketing.
You never know what's going towork.
So test it and don't be worriedabout failing.
Fail fast, fail as fast as youcan, and it really depends on
your subject, your topic, buttest it out.
If it's not working, change,change topics, change titles,
(21:55):
whatever it takes, and test that, and pretty soon you'll find
something that works, and that'swhen you go all in.
So that would be my number onething when it comes to both
marketing and growing a podcast.
You have to try stuff.
That's it.
I love that advice and it'scompletely true.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
You have to try stuff .
That's it.
I love that advice and it'scompletely true From my own
journey and testing, trying,failing fast, falling a lot, a
hell of a lot.
It's about resilience and itbuilds that muscle.
I was a platinum partner and Iknow Tony in that world very
well.
He's not my best friend, don'tworry, but I know the industry
(22:31):
very well and he is correct.
Royce, I want to really thankyou for your knowledge, your
time, your energy and your loveand compassion for what you do.
I appreciate that, baz.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
And before we go, here's a little sign I have
right above my desk and I thinkpeople can use this.
It helps get rid of impostersyndrome and it simply says hey,
you've screwed up way biggerthings than this.
And I see that every time I sitdown at the computer and it
(23:01):
reminds me just to slap stuff up, man, and see what happens.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
I think that's great advice.
I'm going to have to getsomething like that on mine.
I've got a few bits and pieces,but I want to get something
like that on mine.
I've got a few bits and pieces,but I want to get something
like that on mine.
Thank you very much for yourlove and your advice here.
Royce for my listeners thankyou for listening.
You make this possible and youmake this channel go wherever
it's meant to go.
If this resonated with you,please share it with a friend.
(23:29):
Share it with somebody that'sgoing to need the knowledge and
will be inspired by this.
From myself.
I'm Baz.
Thank you very much, royce, forjoining me today.
Much love, thanks so much Frommyself.
You have an amazing day onpurpose and I'll see you all
next time on the Rise From theAshes podcast.
(23:50):
Have a great day.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to part two from
Royce from the Ashes.
I'm here with Royce Blake.
In our first part of theepisode, we spoke about not just
his expertise but his passionfor helping other people and
really coming alive with reallife advice.
We also spoke about the trialsand tribulations of traveling a
(00:23):
lot and the loss of his dearwife.
But he's here today.
He's back, and this is where westart to get into the weeds of
what really makes him tick, whatreally goes behind the scenes
and what's his passions thesedays and what he's got coming up
.
So, Royce, thank you forsharing last time and it is a
(00:45):
privilege to have you here onceagain.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
It's been awesome, baz, it's fun.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
I love doing these interviews because it's you that
makes a show, it's you thatkeeps it alive.
What is the one thing thatreally you want the audience to
take away with?
If they were coming to you as aclient?
What's the one thing that couldcome to you with the most?
What's the question that comewith you the most?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
That's one of my first questions is what would
you like to see happen?
Because, especially dealing inthe copywriting world or the
marketing world in general, I'llget a call from somebody that
says I need to run Facebook adsand I say, really, how come Bob
(01:34):
at the tire store down thestreet runs them and they're
doing great.
And then all of a sudden we getinto exactly what they do and
what they're trying toaccomplish, who they're trying
to serve.
Because how you attack, gettingcustomers who pay you more
money more often is a science.
(01:55):
Marketing is both an art and ascience.
Anytime a marketer says this isguaranteed to work, then run
the other way, because inmarketing you never know,
especially these days, what isgoing to take off.
And if I can just go on alittle sidetrack here, in these
(02:17):
days of AI, boy have thingschanged.
Not just let's take YouTubevideos.
Who would have thought oceanspray, cranberry juice you
remember this from gosh?
Probably five years ago now, itwas the guy riding down the
skateboard Fleetwood Mac'sdreams in the back.
He was just drinking oceanspray.
That boosted their sales byalmost 40%.
(02:41):
Now, at the same time, theywere working on another campaign
, a TV campaign that cost them$20 million and that increased
sales by 2%.
Gosh, all it takes is one viralvideo.
Now, the way the algorithms havechanged is it used to be right.
(03:03):
You had to have 50,000followers before your posts or
your videos or whatever would beseen.
They went by audience size, notanymore.
Ai looks at everything you do,including emails, and decides
where to put it.
Just on an email side, it usedto be like no, you couldn't put
(03:25):
free or sale in the subject line.
It would automatically go tospam.
Not anymore, because the AIactually reads the entire email
before they decide where to putit.
So it's the same with almostevery avenue of marketing, and
the AIs are just getting betterand faster.
So your message is moreimportant than ever.
(03:47):
And once again, we get back toreal.
Be as real as you possibly can.
People are everybody's seen thejargon words.
Ai is getting better, but we'vealso learned over the last year
of anytime.
You see empower or synergy, asit was another good one for AI
that you could tell it wasprobably written by a computer.
(04:10):
I always try to tell people tomarket like you're at a barbecue
.
You're talking with a friend ata barbecue, and the other
concept is you're not talking toan audience.
You're talking to a parade.
People are coming and going.
Some stay longer, some justwanted to see the band and stick
(04:33):
around, others want a churroand they want to move on.
That's people today.
And the other thing that a lotof people are afraid of is
attention spans.
Attention spans are gettingshorter and shorter.
It's really not true.
Otherwise Joe Rogan wouldn't bethe number one podcaster when
(04:56):
his guests stick around forthree hours straight.
So it's really about what you'resaying and how you're saying it
that really matters.
So it's content, it's yourmessage and, once again, it
always gets back to what's in itfor me.
If you can answer that questionwhat's in it for me then people
(05:16):
are going to stick around.
And, yes, touch points havegone up.
In other words, how many timesyou see an ad.
It used to be seven.
The latest study I saw justlast week says it's around 21.
Now, because we're bombardedwith so many, it takes 21 times.
That could just be just seeingtheir name.
(05:38):
That counts as a touch point.
It's not like you actually haveto read everything that's put
out, but we're in strange times,baz, so welcome.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
The statistics you just quoted are, at the time of
the recording, correct.
It's 21 to click on the linkand it's around 36 to 35 before
they actually purchase or book acall with you.
It's just crazy.
But everything you just saidthere is completely true.
And the attention span ofpeople yes, they're dissipating
(06:10):
to a certain extent if they getbored.
And there's so much.
Going back to our previousepisode, with what you said
about bombarding of information,how did you stand out?
You've made a very successfulcareer out of radio, so you're
like the authority or expert inthis industry of keeping people
(06:33):
engaged.
What are the hallmarks withdoing that?
Because that's an art well, itdepends.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Gotta remember I was.
I did some news 90% of the time.
I was on music stations, soobviously the music drove the
ratings.
But especially in morning shows, you have to be entertaining
and it's the same.
This is a great analogy topodcasting.
Radio and podcasting aremassively solitary experiences.
(07:03):
People are listening bythemselves, they're driving,
they're doing dishes, they'remowing the lawn, working on the
car, whatever, and they have youin their ears just to keep them
entertained.
So it's important to rememberyou're talking to one person.
I always yell at podcasterswhen they talk about hey folks,
(07:26):
or welcome everybody.
You're not talking to anaudience, you're talking to you,
and I hammer that in all of mycourses and things like that is
you should become your favoriteword.
You should talk to one person.
Same with marketing, because ifthey're reading an email or
(07:46):
reading an ad somewhere, they'redoing it by themselves,
nobody's looking over yourshoulder as you read it.
Together, make sure it's verypersonal.
But at the same time, since weonly have a short amount of time
maybe five minutes at max for,let's say, a bit in between
(08:09):
songs or whatever that's got tobe packed, so we made them as
silly, depending on the station.
Of course Some were muchcrazier than other stations, but
it's recent.
I just wrote about thisrecently and that's why it came
to mind.
We came into the radio studioone day and found a phone book
(08:29):
for Tokyo, japan, just at random.
It was left there, I don't knowwhy, and we came up with this
idea hey, why don't we callrandom people in Tokyo and see
how long we can keep them on thephone once we say the word
Godzilla?
Because we knew, right, they'dheard Godzilla their whole lives
(08:53):
, right, and they're probablysick of it.
And here are these guys I knewa little Japanese from my
martial arts training justrandom Americans calling Japan,
and we would just keep them onthe phone, and then listeners
would win a prize by thelistener who guessed the closest
to the exact time before theyhung up.
(09:13):
And it was great radio.
Because here's this Japaneseguy that nobody can understand.
We're asking him questions likehey, pineapple and pizza, what
are your thoughts?
But that's just silly, stupidstuff.
And we did a lot.
I can't even remember half thethings we did, a lot of which
(09:34):
would not fly today, by the way,Definitely politically
incorrect, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
But that reminds me of the skits from Monty Python.
That sort of era, that comedy,that mentality isn't around
today because it's politicallyincorrect, but back in the day
that's what the older Gen X andabove baby boomers we thrived on
, because it was different, itwas outlandish, it wasn't the
(10:03):
normal mainstream BS that youget today.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
And we survived, not having seatbelts and riding in
the back of pickup trucks anddrinking water out of garden
hoses.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Yeah, you're speaking my language now.
What have you got going onright now?
What's the forefront of yourbusiness, what do you want to
help people with and what do youdo?
What's your thing to reallydeliver your expertise?
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Thanks for that, paz.
I'm pivoting in a way.
I still do a lot of marketing,but at the same time, I've taken
my 30 plus years on radio andrealized that one of the skills
podcasters seem to neglect isinterviewing people.
And if you think aboutespecially if your podcast is
(10:50):
based on guests, it's somethingwhere you need to leave your ego
at the door and work on gettingbetter at.
And so I talk to and teachpeople how to boost their
interviewing skills.
I've got an ebook out calledhow to Keep an Audience
Interviewing Skills from 30Years of a Radio Pro and I also
(11:12):
have a free five-day emailcourse as well and it talks
about how to get a guest to shutup, and we've all had people
that have turned a sentence intoa paragraph, right, and, on the
one hand, if it's entertaining,absolutely let them go.
Another problem I see withpodcasters is they're so worried
(11:34):
about asking the next questionthey don't realize their guest
just spun some gold right thereand they should let them
continue.
Others have a problem openingup, so how do you get people to
open up more?
How do you change the subject?
Things like that, and onceagain realizing that you're
talking to one person it shouldbe an eavesdropping situation
(11:57):
where you're interested insomething these two or five
people are saying, and I'veinterviewed over 200 celebrities
, from Bruce Springsteen toBilly Joel to Paul McCartney, to
some very unknown.
I hate to call them unknownbecause they're obviously
qualified actors and actressesbut, like Bob Barker of the
(12:20):
Price is Right, loved me to thepoint where he gave me his home
phone number because I asked himquestions that no one had ever
heard before.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
I mean, that's what I love, that concept, and what
you're doing now is actuallypassing that knowledge on to
other people, that it isn't out.
It is out there, but you've putit in a condensed way, but it's
real life, blood, sweat workedfor and that's.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
That's priceless in my opinion, number one is
research, and I see so manypeople fall down.
Research everything you canabout a guest.
Doesn't matter if they own thetire store down the street.
Go check out their advertising,see if they have a facebook
business page or whatever.
Dig deep and find out something.
(13:09):
Once again, you're looking fora question they've never been
asked and I bet you, nine timesout of 10, they have a weird
hobby or something that'll justflip people's brains around.
And that's when you becomememorable, because, even though
it was the guest sayingmemorable because, even though
(13:30):
it was the guest saying, though,he collected the cockroaches.
They'll remember you becauseyou had that guy on.
And it's also great if theyhave been on podcasts or if they
have their own podcasts.
Watch some episodes, see ifthey're.
Are they a used car salesmantalking fast and go like this?
Or you you know, are they laidback and tell me about this?
That'll be important to yourinterviewing skills as well as
(13:55):
what you can expect, and I hadevery range.
Best interview I shouldn't saybest interview, but easiest
interview ever was the lateboxing promoter, don King.
I don't know if you rememberDon King.
He had that giant, giant Afrogoing up about three feet.
Yes, here's how I interviewedDon.
(14:16):
Hey Don, how are you?
And then you can go and get acup of coffee or whatever,
because he could talk withoutbreathing for five minutes
straight.
It was amazing.
And other people you got toremember, especially celebrities
.
They're used to being acharacter, they're used to being
someone else, and so whenyou're with them it's a lot
(14:39):
harder.
You'd be amazed how many ofthese famous actors answer with
one or two words oh, yeah, yeah.
No, that was fun, that's it.
Excuse me, mr cruz, I'd like tofind out how you hang hung on
to that airplane upside down.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
It's great, by the way, not a problem whatsoever
but this is invaluable advicefor people who are they wanted
to start a podcast, wanting todo work in any sort of media,
because what you're speakinginto now is the foundation of
any business, whether whether itbe a corporate business or
(15:16):
Fortune 500, to a very smallcountry town business.
You're getting to know thepeople that you're serving and
that's right.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
And it's the same for boardroom meetings.
People are wondering what's init for me.
Do I have to be here?
Why are you wasting my timewith this?
And it's so important.
Once again and you can relatethis really to even radio and
podcasting A great leader alwaysspeaks last.
(15:51):
Let them explain what's going on, hear their problems first, or,
if it's entertainment, let themgo off on.
I knew that if they were on myradio show, they were there to
promote a book or promote amovie or whatever.
So you have to let them go.
That's their job.
That's the only reason they'regiving you their time.
In most cases, others just likeus because we were crazy.
(16:16):
That was part of the deal.
But yeah, you got to get input,not only to understand the
problem but to understand theircadence, their personality.
Are these people defensive?
Are they extroverts?
Which one?
And it's always good to jiveand get on the same page.
You're going to talk tosomebody totally differently.
(16:37):
I'm sorry.
I'm just thinking of radioaffectation, because that used
to be recording yourself on yourphone, watching yourself.
No one else has to ever see it,but record yourself doing the
(16:57):
dishes, reading off a laundrylist, whatever it is, even if
it's for a couple of minutes andthen watch it back and pretty
soon you'll get used to yourvoice.
You'll get used to your looksand how you act and things like
that.
But remember the first time youheard your recorded voice.
Everybody does, right?
(17:18):
Wow, I sound like that Becausethe bones in our ears change the
way we hear our voice.
Now I've gotten used to itbecause on the radio you wear
headphones and you're hearinghow your voice sounds instantly.
And here's what happens inradio for most people and maybe
for podcasters too Voiceaffectation, right.
(17:41):
So you put the headphones onand you hear your voice for the
first time and you're like, wow,that sounds good.
And then you get lower because,hey, this sounds even better.
And then you get lower because,hey, this sounds even better.
And pretty soon you're talkinglike this.
And then we get to what in theradio we call puking, which is
hi there, how you doingeverybody, I'm so glad you're
(18:04):
with us.
That's voice affectation.
So, once again, use yourselfand realize you don't need that
and I recommend I know it lookscool to have the mic boom in
front of you and wearingheadphones and all that.
I always laugh at people becausethey're like, hey, have you
ever thought about starting apodcast?
(18:26):
I'm like I gotta laugh Really.
Could I feel like I'm on theair and they're like, yeah, but
just be real Once again.
Be real, because that's whatpeople want.
They don't want AI, they wantreal people with real opinions,
real questions, and don't everbe afraid to ask.
(18:46):
Here's another big thing onpodcasters don't get.
If they're not understandingsomething, they'll move on.
So they don't look stupid.
Hey, if you're not getting it,odds are your listeners aren't
either.
So stop and say gosh, I didn'tquite understand.
Can you expound on that?
Because I'm not sure Iunderstand what that is and so
(19:10):
many people are afraid to dothat you know what that is and
so many people are afraid to dothat.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
That's huge for anybody who is not of the savvy
mind of how to presentthemselves or how to listen.
I remember doing this when Ifirst started this podcast a
year or so ago I don't even knownow but I was always afraid.
But to your point, royce, I wasalways afraid of what people
think of me.
Now I just don't care and I'mjust like whatever.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Just answer the request line for a while and
you'll get over it, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
It's great advice.
If people want to get hold ofyou, get your email sequence,
get hold of you and have aconversation.
Where do they go?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
It's easy.
I hope it's voiceofroycecom.
So just go to voiceofroycecomand there's a lot of free stuff
on there.
And I do have a newsletterevery week which I try to
include.
I usually include a lesson onpodcasting, I have a
behind-the-mic radio story andwe even throw in some great
(20:14):
quotes and cartoons, so that's alot of fun.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I mean that's great.
I think that I'm certainlygoing to sign up in a few
minutes for that as well.
Is there anything else youwould love to give the audience
or tell the audience before wedepart today?
Speaker 2 (20:30):
I would just say that podcasting, especially, as we
know, is exploding right now andit will for a long time.
On the one hand, it's greatthat so many celebrities are
starting their own podcastbecause they realize how easy it
is.
It's also tougher, right,because who's you're going to
listen to Conan O'Brien?
(20:52):
Or are you going to listen toJoe Schmo?
That has 800 listeners?
Guess what.
We all start somewhere.
We all start little, andrepetition it's my favorite
quote from Tony Robbins.
Repetition is the mother ofskill.
It's going to take you sometime.
Don't worry about what.
Don't focus on results.
(21:13):
Focus on getting better, andpeople are going to find you,
trust me, and the better you get, the more they'll refer you.
They'll start telling theirfriends and test.
I love testing, especially inmarketing.
If somebody tells you they havesomething they know will work,
I just laugh because it'smarketing.
You never know you.
They have something they knowwill work, I just laugh because
(21:33):
it's marketing.
You never know what's going towork.
So test it and don't be worriedabout failing.
Fail fast, fail as fast as youcan, and it really depends on
your subject, your topic, buttest it out.
If it's not working, change,change topics, change titles,
(21:55):
whatever it takes, and test that, and pretty soon you'll find
something that works, and that'swhen you go all in.
So that would be my number onething when it comes to both
marketing and growing a podcast.
You have to try stuff.
That's it.
I love that advice and it'scompletely true.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
You have to try stuff .
That's it.
I love that advice and it'scompletely true From my own
journey and testing, trying,failing fast, falling a lot, a
hell of a lot.
It's about resilience and itbuilds that muscle.
I was a platinum partner and Iknow Tony in that world very
well.
He's not my best friend, don'tworry, but I know the industry
(22:31):
very well and he is correct.
Royce, I want to really thankyou for your knowledge, your
time, your energy and your loveand compassion for what you do.
I appreciate that, baz.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
And before we go, here's a little sign I have
right above my desk and I thinkpeople can use this.
It helps get rid of impostersyndrome and it simply says hey,
you've screwed up way biggerthings than this.
And I see that every time I sitdown at the computer and it
(23:01):
reminds me just to slap stuff up, man, and see what happens.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
I think that's great advice.
I'm going to have to getsomething like that on mine.
I've got a few bits and pieces,but I want to get something
like that on mine.
I've got a few bits and pieces,but I want to get something
like that on mine.
Thank you very much for yourlove and your advice here.
Royce for my listeners thankyou for listening.
You make this possible and youmake this channel go wherever
it's meant to go.
If this resonated with you,please share it with a friend.
(23:29):
Share it with somebody that'sgoing to need the knowledge and
will be inspired by this.
From myself.
I'm Baz.
Thank you very much, royce, forjoining me today.
Much love, thanks so much Frommyself.
You have an amazing day onpurpose and I'll see you all
next time on the Rise From theAshes podcast.
(23:50):
Have a great day.
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