The PAD Framework transforms salon communication by eliminating anxiety and building confidence in teams and with clients. We break down how Presence, Acknowledgement, and Duplication create powerful connections that lead to better retention of both staff and clients.
• Anxiety literally means "to choke" and can rob your team of presence, confidence, and connection ability
• The PAD Framework (Presence, Acknowledgement, Duplication) transforms communication and eliminates anxiety
• Presence requires getting out of your head, making eye contact, and being fully in the moment with people
• Acknowledgement is neutral – it doesn't mean agreement, just confirmation that you received the communication
• Duplication means repeating back exactly what someone said without adding or subtracting from it
• Clients don't leave salons because of technical skills but because they feel unseen, unheard, or unsupported
• The same principle applies to stylists – they leave when they don't feel valued by leadership
• Training in communication frameworks should come before technical training for new talent
• When anxiety is eliminated, confidence radiates and creates exceptional client experiences
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Episode Transcript
Welcome back to another episode of Salon Success
Secrets, and today we'retalking about something every
salon leader, educator andbeauty pro has felt.
It's anxiety.
You know that buzzing voice inyour head that says buzzing
(00:27):
voice in your head that saysdon't mess this up, or what if
I'm not good enough, or what ifthey don't like me?
Now here's the truth Anxietywill rob you, will actually rob
your new talent of theirpresence, their confidence and
their ability to connect.
But what if we told you thatthere's a framework that
literally eliminates that noise,a way to step into the most
(00:50):
powerful version of yourself andbecome the communicator that
everyone listens to.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Who doesn't want to be the communicator that
everyone listens to?
You know, this incredibleframework is what we call the
pad framework.
You know, you always think, hey, in the middle of the night,
when something comes up in yourhead, you wish you had a pad of
paper to write it down on sothat you could eliminate that
thought.
And what pad stands for ispresence, acknowledgement and
(01:21):
duplication.
And when your team learns this,the shift is so magical it
almost feels unfair, you know.
But before we break down pad, Iwant to tell you a quick story.
The other day, one of my newestteam members left me a
handwritten card, and we alwaysgive new team members a fun
(01:44):
little welcome gift.
You know that includes someproducts and skincare and, um,
you know she.
She said, you know she wasthankful for all the stuff, that
she was using and loving it.
But what she wrote next stoppedme in my tracks.
You know, she said what I'mmost thankful for is that
emotions are so high and youcalmed all of my fear and
(02:08):
anxieties.
And when she said that, thosedisappeared.
You know, think about that.
She didn't thank me just forthe retail or, you know, having
a career map or any of that.
It was exactly because theanxiety was gone.
(02:28):
You know, and here's what Iwant you to think about as a
salon owner, what if your salonbecame the place where new
talent didn't just feel anxious?
It's where they weren't just intheir heads.
You know, from the very firstconversation they felt confident
and calm because you gave themthe tools to communicate with
(02:54):
power wow, that's such a goodstory.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Uh, lindsey, I love that she even topped it off with
a handwritten note to thank you.
And it's so true.
(03:25):
As a salon owner, we don'talways realize how much anxiety
a new team member has and how,like, just truly understanding
what anxiety is, helping themunderstand that and then using
this framework, how much magiccan be created.
And I'll never forget the onetime when I learned that the
word anxiety, the root wordanxiety, actually means to choke
, and so a lot of times, whatwas really freeing for me when I
learned that is that I thinkit's a trendy word that people
throw around a lot, and if youreally truly understand the
definition of what it means,understand the definition of
(03:45):
what it means, I think it doeshelp you recreate that.
That the word you use, or theframework, because I see it in
our companies as well, like whenwe bring those new hires in,
they are just very anxious.
You can almost feel that energyand then teaching them and you
as the leader, having that padframework can be such a
beautiful tool.
So let's get to the framework.
(04:06):
Let's start with P, which P ispresence, and you know presence
is when you get out of your ownhead and into the room.
You know, magic happens whenyou're fully there, like, think
about this.
Have you ever tried to talk tosomeone who's scrolling their
phone while you're telling themsomething important?
(04:26):
Like in that moment you almostfeel like invisible.
But when someone locks eyes,you know, sits down their
distractions and really sees you, anxiety starts to dissolve.
We have our salon retreat comingup and we have two new team
(04:46):
members They've met, theyhaven't even started.
Actually, one had one day onboard of onboarding and you know
, when she um came in, I couldtell we invited them to the
salon retreat and you could tellthey're very anxious because
they didn't know what to expect.
They didn't know what was, uh,what it was going to be about.
And so, you know, I just senther a really like great video
saying, hey, we'd love to haveyou.
And so, you know, I just senther a really like great video
saying, hey, we'd love to haveyou, it'd be a great way to get
(05:08):
your career going.
And then, when she came in thatday for her first onboarding,
you know, I high-fived her, Ilocked eyes with her and you
know, the most beautiful partabout that is she texts later on
that night and said, hey, Imade up my mind, I'll be at that
salon retreat and I thought,wow, that's the power of
(05:29):
presence, of really being therewith someone.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
I love that, jen, and you know that really ties in
perfect to what you're talkingabout earlier too, with anxiety,
like it's to choke, like whenyou think about it, like when
someone's feeling anxious aboutsomething.
There's something that there'sthey're choking on, you know,
and it really makes me think ofmy kids always laugh when that.
I'm sure you've probably heardthe song anxiety.
(05:51):
Okay, I'm not gonna go into amusic career, but you know, you
know I'm talking about reallysing anxiety over and over.
Anytime it comes on the radio,I'm like we are absolutely not
going to be listening to thissong, not in my car, not today.
We are not getting excitedabout choking Like, could you
imagine having a song where theywere like choking, you know
(06:12):
what?
That would never be a banger,you know.
But it's so true, Like when youare present enough as a leader
that you can acknowledge or thatyou can.
You're so present that you cansee, you can spot that somebody
is choking in that moment andyou can help free whatever that
blockage is, you know, andreally help give them some tools
(06:34):
instantly as a leader.
I love that.
So when we look at that secondstep of the pad framework, we've
already done presence, which isstep number one.
Then we get to acknowledgement,you know, and acknowledgement
is the oxygen of humanconnection, you know.
(06:54):
And so when you're new, you'redesperate to know if you're
doing something right, becauseanxiety can scream do I belong
here?
Do they see me?
You know, but a simpleacknowledgement, you know.
Acknowledgement in in thesentence, but acknowledgement in
general is great, you know.
So simple acknowledgement couldbe like hey, I love how you
(07:16):
handled that guest check-in.
Or I noticed how prepared youcame for your consultation.
You know what that does is itstarts to rewire that fear that
somebody has going on, because,you know, acknowledgement can
turn anxiety into assurance.
You know they feel like, ok, Iunderstand this.
You know, I think too, ifyou've ever had a conversation
(07:38):
with somebody where they don'tacknowledge that you are talking
to them, it can feel like apersuasive conversation can turn
into a convincing conversationreally quickly.
You know, I know I had a personwho is who I shared a close
relationship with for a lot ofyears, who did not acknowledge.
(07:59):
You know things that I said,just simple acknowledgement,
like got it, I hear you?
Yes, you know, even a headshake.
There's so many different waysthat you can acknowledge during
a conversation.
I think you know, if you'veever held a salon celebration or
a team meeting, you know maybeyou've noticed like hey, there's
(08:20):
not a lot of acknowledgementfrom the crowd.
And you know, acknowledgementtruly is the oxygen of human
connection and when it's missingyou can feel it.
And we actually just had a.
We're going through ourleadership mindset mastery
program.
I think there's seven newleaders on my team that have
identified themselves, as youknow, future leaders who are
(08:43):
going through this course andyesterday when we were, we
actually were talking aboutacknowledgement, and you know
how acknowledgement is actuallya neutral thing.
A lot of people put meanings onwords that don't exist.
You know, like I think one ofthe biggest ones that stands out
for me there is the wordconsequence.
You know, everybody usuallythinks consequences are bad.
Um, but consequence, the worditself, is a very neutral
(09:06):
meaning.
It's like the, you know,outcome of a specific set of
actions.
So it's not good or bad.
Like a lot of times we'll thinkthat it's bad because our
consequences growing up, maybewe're you've gotten trouble.
But also the consequence ofdoing good things is good things
can happen, you know.
And so how this all relates toacknowledgement is.
(09:26):
Acknowledgement is a veryneutral word.
It doesn't mean you're agreeingor disagreeing with somebody,
it just means that you receivethe communication that they gave
to you.
And so even just helping, youknow people understand that like
hey, if it's a really crazysituation that they're in, they
still want to acknowledge theperson.
Like when a person tells themall this stuff, you can simply
(09:46):
say got it, or thank you, or Ihear you, or you know, just
keeping that acknowledgementneutral can still be one of the
most powerful tools, but it letsthe other person know I
received it.
I got it.
I acknowledge what you said tome.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
So good, what a what a game changer.
I love that, lindsay.
So we've gone over presence,we've gone over acknowledgement
and now let's head to the D ofthe framework, which is actually
duplication.
And so this is the game changer.
You guys, you know, duplicationis repeating back what you
heard, you know, to prove youunder, to prove that you
(10:24):
understand.
And when you think about it,when you're duplicating
something, you want to say itexactly and precisely, as is not
adding anything to it, notsubtract anything to it, because
one of the greatest human needsis to feel heard.
And so when you learn toduplicate, you know what a new
team member is saying.
And then you also teach them toduplicate too when it comes to
(10:47):
working with guests.
You know that really is amagical moment.
And when you think about it, anexample of this would be like
hey, tell me what's mostimportant for you to learn on
your first day?
That would be a great questionto ask a new team member.
And they say, oh, I need toknow where to put my stuff.
And you spend the entire daygoing over things and you don't
(11:09):
really, you know, acknowledge orduplicate that.
They say, hey, I need to knowwhere to put my stuff.
It actually breaks that trust.
I need to know where to put mystuff.
It actually breaks that trust.
And so really being able toduplicate, repeat back,
understand what's important forthem, not add anything to it
help get that answer they'researching for.
Like that helps to build therelationship and it's also
(11:30):
teaching them too about thepower of duplication.
You know from a guestperspective.
You know if a guest says, hey,I want to feel lighter, fresher
and more like myself and yournew talent says so, you're
looking for a cut that feels um,airy and, you know, effortless,
uh, something that gives you afresh version of yourself, like
(11:53):
the guest instantly feels heard.
And when new talent starts topractice that duplication, their
confidence skyrockets.
You as a leader.
When you practice thatduplication, your confidence
skyrockets too.
You know they stop thinkingabout that next question and
start leaning into theconnection.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Yes, you know, I'll never forget when I was
shadowing a consultation quitesome time ago, but the beauty
pro was, you know, asking goodquestions, but she was clearly
distracted and you know, she wasglancing around, like almost
like she was like looking for aclock, or down at her tools, or
you know she was clearly in herhead.
What was is what was going on,you know.
(12:36):
And so that, yes, that she wasworking down, working with she
like totally shut down, you know, her answers became short, her
arms were like crossed, you know, and the service that followed
was totally transactional.
There was no transformationthat was created at all.
You know so.
But imagine now if that sameconsultation had presence.
(13:00):
There was eye contact.
You know she was leaning in ortaking notes, or you know some
way letting her know that shewas getting it and then
acknowledging it.
You know, thank you for sharingthat.
You know, I love that.
You're looking for moremovement.
You know, then, duplication.
So, if I'm hearing you right,you'd love to keep your length,
(13:20):
um, but add texture so itdoesn't feel heavy or whatever
it is.
You know, do you feel thatdifference?
You know, anxiety replaced withconnection.
It's like fear replaced withtrust, and that's truly pad and
action.
And you know we talk about thisa lot like how do you duplicate?
Because a lot of times you knowa guest will come in and
(13:42):
they'll say I want chunkyhighlights and the.
You know, if you are a stylist,you'd be like oh so you want to
see like some pops of color,and they're.
They're like no, I want chunkyhighlights.
Oh so you want some likestripes, and they're like no, I
want chunky highlights.
Oh so you want some likestripes, and they're like no, I
want chunky highlights.
You know, just duplicate whatthey say and then you can ask
(14:04):
more questions to understand itdeeper, got it?
So you want chunky highlights?
Perfect, okay, Do you have anypictures, any inspiration of
what chunky highlights are toyou?
I'd love to dive deeper intothis look, you know so.
So really duplicating what theysay and then, you know, putting
it into action, because thatthat truly is how you use pad to
(14:26):
win, using pad to win.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
I love that.
So let's put all this togetherfor you as a salon owner and
leader and think about this Ifyou truly want to eliminate
turnover, if you want to buildconfident new talent that guests
trust instantly, you can't justtrain them in balayage and
blowouts or haircutting, likeyou've got to train them in
communication frameworks likepad as well.
(14:50):
Actually, that's one of thegreatest things I feel like we
should train first before weactually get into the skillset
stuff.
Um, because here's the truth,you guys, is people like guests
don't leave salons because ofhair.
They leave because they feelunseen, unheard or unsupported.
And the flip side of that istrue with people leaving salons.
(15:12):
I think people leave salonssometimes because they don't
feel seen, they don't feel heardor they don't feel supported as
well.
And so when you train newtalents and you help them master
pad, not only does theiranxiety melt away, but your
guests feel that calm confidencetoo.
And guests and guess what calmconfidence guests do?
(15:33):
They come back, you know, theyrebook, they refer and they
truly rave about your businessand your salon.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Now, if you're listening to this right now, you
know, I know you want that kindof an environment.
You want your team walking inwith their heads held high,
anxiety gone, confidenceradiating and guests saying this
was the best consultation I'veever had.
You know, the question is howdo you get your whole team there
(16:04):
consistently every day?
I'll tell you, but first I wantyou to imagine this.
You know, imagine what changeswhen every beauty pro on your
team feels powerful in theconversation.
You know, imagine what happensto your retention, to your
(16:24):
referrals, to your revenue.
Imagine what it feels like whenyou're no longer carrying the
anxiety for your team becausethey know how to eliminate it
themselves.
You know we built a brand newprogram inside of Salon Business
School to do exactly this.
It's called Million DollarBeauty Pro, and here's the
(16:47):
belief that we stand onTeam-based beauty pros earn
millions more, not just inrevenue, which they will do, but
in impact in revenue, whichthey will do, but an impact in
confidence and an influence.
You know, and inside of thisprogram we go deep into
frameworks like pad, but alsointo sales.
(17:08):
You know how do they overcomethose limiting beliefs around
selling.
It's the one of most beautifulthings on earth when you know
how to do it the right waywithout being pushy.
You know we talk about servicemindset, leadership.
You know, and your team doesn'tjust know what to do.
They become million dollarcommunicators who can change
(17:32):
lives behind the chair.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
So good, million dollar communicators.
So you guys, here's the nextstep Pull out your phone right
now or, if you're looking at it,get to your text message.
Text the word pro to us, that'sit, just text pro.
You'll get the details onmillion dollar beauty pro and
you'll see how we're equippingsalon teams everywhere to
(17:55):
eliminate anxiety.
Clip in salon teams everywhereto eliminate anxiety, to master
communication and create milliondollar results.
Because the truth is, anxietydoesn't have to run your salon.
Presence acknowledgement andduplication can All right.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Sorry, jen, if you're wondering where to send that
text, to send it to four, six,nine, two, eight, three, five,
five, nine zero.
So the word pro P?
R?
O to four, six, nine, two,eight, three, five, five, nine
zero.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
I left out the most important part, didn't I?
Speaker 2 (18:27):
I was so excited.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
You guys want to get to pro text.
The world pro it's coming.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Awesome, all right Beauty pros, leaders, salon
owners, go practice pad thisweek.
Watch the magic unfold and whenyou're ready to give your team
this transformation, text us theword.
Pro, we can't wait to see yousoon.
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