August 18, 2025 • 45 mins
How do you rebuild confidence and communication skills after life-changing events, or simply grow your presence in a world filled with digital noise? That’s the big question we dig into on this week’s episode of Speaking with Confidence, and I think you’ll walk away with new tools and a lot to think about—whether you’re tackling a major transition or just wanting to level up your everyday communication.
In this episode, I’m joined by Meaghan Benjamin, an executive communication coach who’s spent nearly 20 years helping people—from head and neck cancer survivors to Fortune 500 executives—find their voices and connect with impact. With a background in speech and hearing science and psychology, plus a neuroscience-informed approach to leadership development, Meaghan brings a wealth of experience to the table. Her story is truly unique; she started by supporting patients who, after cancer, had to relearn how to speak and present themselves to the world in totally new ways. Through that work, Meaghan realized that building communication confidence is a universal journey, whether you’re recovering from trauma or trying to command the boardroom.
We're talking about:
- How to rebuild confidence and presence after major life changes—and why small goals matter
- Mindset shifts that are as crucial for executives as they are for trauma survivors
- Why 55% of communication is nonverbal, and how to harness your gestures and tone, especially on Zoom
- The unique challenges of digital communication and how our “lens” filters written messages
- The growing pressure of instant digital responses, especially among younger generations, and its impact on real connection
- How to help kids and young adults practice the soft skills critical to adult success—plus stories from both our families and classrooms
- The “No Feel Do” framework, and why knowing how you want your audience to feel and act shifts every conversation
- Why disagreement doesn’t have to mean disrespect, and how to keep 80% of shared ground at the center of your relationships
- Practical advice for handling meetings, tough questions, and those “pivot” moments that can rattle new professionals
- The importance of in-person networking, informational interviews, and getting comfortable being uncomfortable, especially early in your career
- Meaghan’s unique Agile Communication methodology, how it blends science and art, and its application to both presentations and day-to-day leadership
- Studio Re Invent’s new AI-powered communication coach Sage, and how technology can actually help you develop deeper, more human skills—when used intentionally
Whether you’re a leader, educator, parent, or someone just looking to boost your communication mojo, Meaghan offers insights and tools you can put into action today. Stick around to hear how confidence is built—not magically materialized—and why practicing in real-life, sometimes awkward moments is the best training ground there is.
You can learn more about Meaghan and Studio Re Invent at studioreinvent.com, find additional resources on our Speaking with Confidence Podcast website, and check out our free eBook and upcoming public speaking course.
As always, remember: your voice has the power to change the world. Let’s get out there
Want to be a guest on Speaking With Confidence? Send Tim Newman a message on PodMatch
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Episode Transcript
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Tim Newman (00:10):
Welcome back to Speaking with Confidence, a
podcast that helps you build thesoft skills that lead to real
results Communication,storytelling, public speaking
and showing up with confidencein every conversation that
counts.
I'm Tim Newman, a recoveringcollege professor turned
communication coach, and I'mthrilled to guide you on your
journey to becoming a powerfulcommunicator.
Today's guest is Megan Benjamin.
(00:31):
Megan is an executivecommunication coach with 20
years of experience in publicspeaking, storytelling and
leadership presence.
With a master's in speech andhearing science and psychology,
she brings aneuroscience-informed approach
to helping leaders connect withclarity and confidence.
Megan, welcome to the show.
We've got so many things I wantto talk to you about today.
Meaghan Benjamin (00:53):
Thank you so much, Tim.
I'm excited to be here.
Tim Newman (00:57):
I really enjoyed our talk on the pre-interview.
I say it a lot that people likeyou I can talk for days and you
know, when we kind of thinkalong the same lines and we can
bounce ideas off each other, itreally to me it really helps.
It definitely helps me in someof the things that I'm doing and
(01:19):
hopefully it helps other peopleas well.
You know just little tips andideas, but you know some of the
things that you've done in yourcareer and that's really kind of
where I want to start, becauseit's it's it's really kind of
fascinating how you got yourstart in in the communication
and speaking and coachingcontext.
So what's your career journeyand who your first clients
(01:43):
actually were.
Meaghan Benjamin (01:44):
Oh, wow, okay.
So we're going back a bit.
I'd like to pretend I was achild prodigy, but we're getting
close to 30 years.
So my career actually startedafter I got my master's degree,
working as a healthcare provider, and what I focused in on was
specifically working with folksthat have lose their larynx and
(02:05):
or tongue to cancer so head andneck cancer and why that's such
a critical part of who I am as acoach is that if you can just
imagine for a minute doing yourjob here today, but with no
voice box or with no tongue,you'd look different, you'd
sound different, and that issuch a massive life-changing
(02:26):
event.
And so, for me, what reallyhelped me develop into a coach
was recognizing that my job wasnot treating the patient.
It was helping shift theirmindset and understand what they
could do with a totallydifferent way of speaking and
breathing and, believe it or not, that translates quite well
(02:47):
into working with executives andother people who are trying to
get up there, own the room,connect with other people,
influence.
We're all trying to do the samething, but I think getting
started in that veryparticularly complex and
complicated world helped me honesome of those skills with other
folks.
Tim Newman (03:08):
Yeah, I think you said it right from the get-go.
Now, keeping context here, it'sa mindset, but when you've gone
through trauma like that, it'sa.
Again, I'm not discountinganybody where they're at that to
me is some major trauma thatyou have to get over and really
(03:30):
kind of rebuild your entirethought process, your entire
mentality.
I mean, like you said, ourvoice is kind of how people see
us and how we come across.
So what were some of the waysthat you found successful in
changing mindset in thatscenario?
Meaghan Benjamin (03:46):
Sure, and it goes back to, fundamentally,
confidence.
Right, it's this idea of how doyou feel confident when you look
different and you sounddifferent than the way you did
your whole life.
So I think it started with justunderstanding where the person
is, what they're feeling, whatthey're nervous about and what
(04:12):
is going to work for them.
What are the small steps, thesmall things that they want to
do?
They're going to start to buildthat confidence and ultimately
it's a journey of reinventing,but also self-acceptance, and
you can't rush that.
So oftentimes it would besitting self-acceptance, and you
can't rush that, so oftentimesit would be sitting with the
patient, but also with familymembers and coaching them
together in this system.
Help me understanding what werethose small steps that they'd
(04:34):
like to achieve?
First going there and thenbuilding upon that and
ultimately, goal setting was acritical piece of this process,
because if somebody comes to meand says I want to go back, I
want to be a pilot again, or Iwant to be, I want to go back
(04:54):
and be in sales, or I want to goback and be a professor all
real things that have happenedthen we have to break it down.
What's it going to take for youto do that?
And part of that factor is thenthe layers of how you're
training on communication andit's.
I think it's really interestingbecause the goals that those
folks have is where it starts.
(05:14):
And when you talk aboutspeaking with confidence, if you
want to get back out there andthat's where we're starting
that's a great place to be.
Tim Newman (05:23):
Right, right, it really is.
But again, I think you hit on anumber of things that's really
no different than any otherthing that we want to go through
or get to or accomplish in lifeanyway.
It's just maybe on a differentlevel, different scale, but it's
the same processes that we allshould be going through.
Meaghan Benjamin (05:45):
It is, and I think communication is.
So we know it's the fabric ofour society.
We all need it for everythingpersonal relationships,
professionally, and it's funny,though, because we don't always
learn it.
So I love that you're doingthis podcast, because oftentimes
we just expect you're a greatcommunicator, you're so
(06:05):
confident, you're great atpresenting, but really a lot of
people, more people could begood at that if they have the
tools and the training.
Tim Newman (06:14):
Yeah, and and just because I would say, just
because this is what we dodoesn't necessarily mean that
we're always good at or thatwe're good at, you know, because
we're people too and we havethose.
We fall into traps and we getinto our own heads and old
habits, just like anybody elsedoes.
Meaghan Benjamin (06:34):
Yeah, it's true.
And then you have to be able tosay, okay, that happened.
What am I going to do next?
Because fun fact that youprobably know but about 55% of
our communication is nonverbaland ultimately we've heard all
sorts of numbers thrown outthere, right, Like people
(06:54):
remember 7%, they remember threethings, say four chunks of
visual memory.
But, ultimately, peopleremember how you made them feel.
Tim Newman (07:02):
Exactly.
Meaghan Benjamin (07:03):
And that is where you could come in, even if
you forget something or mess up, if you're making someone else
feel connected and excited andengaged, then all that other
stuff, it's going to be okay.
Tim Newman (07:15):
Yeah, and and again.
I love that you said that,because there was a I'm in a
back and forth communication onLinkedIn right now where
somebody had said had mentionedan email communication that was
AI written and how disrespectedthey felt from that and and
that's that's not even you knowthe spoken word.
(07:35):
That's something that's typedout, but it's perception.
And well, if you're not, evenif I'm not even worth you typing
this out or considering thisresponse yourself, you have to
get AI to do it.
That's an even different levelof that communication piece.
Meaghan Benjamin (07:53):
A hundred percent.
And one thing that you'retouching on there that I find so
interesting when we get intothe science side of things is
when you hear a sound, you'rejust perceiving a sound, but as
those words and tone and allthose things come through or you
read them, they are gettingfiltered through your lens.
Your lens is different than mylens and that's been developed
(08:16):
over time based on experience,exposure and the last
interaction you might have hadwith that person or the tone of
the messaging going back andforth.
So I always tell peopleremember that somebody else's
lens is different from yours.
So you have to provide contextand you might have to set it up
differently in writing than youcould do in person, because you
(08:37):
don't get all the other cues.
And it's a really criticalpiece because we spend so much
time texting, writing now tomake sure that we're setting the
right tone, because it takes adifferent approach than just how
we might show up together inperson.
Tim Newman (08:52):
Yes.
So let me ask a question thatyou may or may not be able to
answer.
I think I'm weird in the sensein that when I, when I read an
email or I read a text message,I'm reading it in that person's
voice, like I actually hear thatperson's voice.
Is that normal?
Do normal people do that, or isthat just?
Meaghan Benjamin (09:12):
So let me tell you something.
Bell curve, it's all normal.
There's just one level ofnormal, but I think that many
people do that.
They hear the other person'svoice.
Other folks are reading itthrough their own voice in their
head and, if they're tend to be, this is a sensitive subject.
If they're riled up, thenthat's going to influence how
they interpret your tone andyour voice and that's why I
(09:35):
always encourage anybody thatI'm working with.
I'm like if they say should Iemail this or should I call?
Tim Newman (09:43):
And.
Meaghan Benjamin (09:43):
I'll say well, I can't answer that for you.
But if you're going to emailbecause you think somebody needs
time to process before you havethe call, say that Don't just
send an email, because we've allheard that, where you shoot off
and write all these things butyou'd never say it.
Say I wanted to send an emailahead, give you time to process
and then I'd like to get on acall.
If you get on the call first,you have to be prepared to set a
(10:08):
good neutral tone ifsomething's tense is happening
right, just so that people say,okay, say I know there's a lot
of stress happening, wanted tojump on a call and then I could
follow up with an email.
And that way we're all feelinglike we're connected and trying
to get to the same outcome.
Tim Newman (10:25):
Yeah, I read a statistic just the other day
that when we're texting now, theaverage response time is 10
seconds, and that doesn't evengive our brain enough time to
emotionally process theinformation that we received,
and so that's one of the reasonswhy, especially in text
(10:47):
messages, that the emotion isnever truly understood, because
we're not even processing itourselves and we're just firing
something off.
Meaghan Benjamin (10:58):
That is such an interesting statistic and
it's also interesting becausewhen you're texting interesting
statistic and it's.
It's also interesting becausewhen you're texting, you might
be you're in, people feel likeyou're in conversation, but
actually you might be inconversation with me.
Someone texted you, you didn'tget back to them.
Then three other people texted,you missed it, but that person
(11:18):
might feel like you're blowingthem off.
You didn't acknowledge them andit becomes it's a constant
competition for attention andattention and communication.
I mean, it's so critical and Isay our scarcest commodity and
most valuable one of them isattention, and so that 10
(11:38):
seconds expecting a response,that becomes a very difficult
thing to keep up when you're ina system of trying to connect
with people.
Tim Newman (11:48):
Well, it doesn't really.
It doesn't allow for connection, it doesn't allow for true
connection.
Meaghan Benjamin (11:52):
Let's just put it that way, and that's you
know, I think that's where wereally have problems and should
probably make some otheradjustments from that
perspective.
Tim, I'd love to.
What is your perspective if wethink about this, Because we
have an entire couple ofgenerations now that are
digitally native.
(12:12):
I think of myself as digitallyevolved, but this is a mode of
communication and it is going tocontinue to grow and it does
add that layer that you're notgetting that same connection
that we get even when we seeeach other and talk.
What are your thoughts Like?
Do you think we're just goingto have to evolve with it or
we'll go back to trying to seekout more humanity and how we
(12:37):
connect and talk?
Tim Newman (12:40):
I don't think we're ever going to go back to what
you and I grew up with.
I mean, those days are longgone, yeah, just for any number
of reasons.
You know just time as a onemajor factor.
But I do think that we're goingto evolve and it's my hope,
(13:05):
it's my hope I don't.
I think this and I hope but Imore hope it that what we're
going to find is that we arelosing that, that human touching
connection which is, it'scritical to our survival as a as
a species, right, and that we,that we will kind of evolve and
and drop back a little bit.
You know, I look at, you knowI've got grandkids now and I
look at how my my, I look atI've got grandkids now and I
(13:31):
look at how my daughters andsons are raising those kids, in
that Now they're still young, sothe oldest one just turned five
, but they've already cut downon screen time.
I mean, screen time isrestricted and it's monitored
and I'm kind of hoping that asthey get older and get a cell
phone when they're 15, okay,because there's really, I mean I
(13:54):
wouldn't say there's no need.
I don't want to go that far, Idon't want to be my parents
there.
But you know what's the realneed for them to have one?
Outside of calling the parentsin case of emergency or need to
be picked up, or forgot someone,what have you?
It's the idea that we have tocommunicate with somebody who's
(14:17):
sitting right next to us bytexting them.
That, to me, has to be reinedin and I do think that that
eventually will.
It'll never go away, buthopefully it will recede a
little bit.
Meaghan Benjamin (14:30):
Yeah, I agree, and it's interesting because
when we think about how childrendevelop, each of us, all of us,
develop our communicationskills.
That are part of that lens ofhow we interpret information, of
that lens of how we interpretinformation it's called implicit
or incidental learning.
And that's not because you'realways in conversation, it's
because you're surrounded bypeople and you're observing and
(14:51):
starting to pick up on all thoselittle nuances, eye contact,
tone, navigating difficultconversations.
And I think it's going to becritical for these young people,
as they're moving into jobs andinto opportunities, that they
need that same exposure to beable to develop those skills.
And that requires havingdifficult conversations,
(15:14):
face-to-face, thinking about theother person.
But if you don't get theexposure and the opportunity,
then it's obviously going to bevery difficult to expect that
someone can do that.
It's going to be much easier toshoot off a text, shoot off an
email, not have to deal with itin person, because we're social
(15:34):
animals and that can make usuncomfortable.
Tim Newman (15:40):
Yeah, and I think it's the uncomfortable piece
that is the hurdle.
And being uncomfortable is good.
That shows emotion.
You need to actually deal withthat and figure out why you're
uncomfortable with it and getover it and deal with whatever
(16:00):
that piece is.
And that's where I think thegrowth actually occurs.
When you have thatuncomfortable conversation and
you see that either sometimesyou know what there was no need
for that uncomfortableness oryou know what it's good that you
had it.
It's good that it's now out inthe open and now whatever that
issue is is either dealt with oryou're going to grow from.
Meaghan Benjamin (16:23):
Yeah, I love that and I think you know I have
four kids and I'm constantlytelling them to get comfortable
being uncomfortable and becauseyou can imagine the nightmare of
having a mom as a communicationcoach and scientist, they'll
try to go text someone.
When they tell me something,I'll say you have to have a
phone call with that personbecause you're going to get
(16:45):
comfortable writing that you'regoing to get into a thing.
But I think as a result, um,they, as they're growing,
they're now 17 to 23,.
They can have difficultconversations.
They don't mind if someonerejects them or doesn't agree
with them.
They they're comfortabledebating, but that came from
many years of being forced to doit.
Tim Newman (17:06):
But.
But you know and this is one,one area I really wanted to go
with you in from an educationalperspective, we don't deal with
this at all.
You know, whether it's publiceducation, private school,
homeschool, whatever it is,unless you're you're somebody
who is a communication coachlike you, somebody who values
(17:26):
good communication, those thingsare never addressed, they're
never talked about.
We don't even want to thinkabout bringing it up, and I
think this is one of the reasonswhy we're in this position.
Meaghan Benjamin (17:39):
I agree and I know you're what did you say?
A recovering college professor,but I've taught at the graduate
level.
I actually coach at Universityof Chicago in the Polsky Center
for Entrepreneurship on pitchingand navigating the Q&A.
What I can say is that we couldincorporate some of these
(18:00):
fundamental opportunities at avery young age as part of the
curriculum, because part of thatI think there's something there
that could be reallyinteresting for people and for
kids and for adults.
I mean it's partly inviting achild to come and push back
against what you're saying in arespectful way ask questions,
(18:23):
those types of things that wecan set up in a structured way
in the classroom.
But I cannot stress enough thevalue and importance of children
and young adults and adultsnavigating without being told
what to do.
So, making the mistakes, havingthe conversations on the
playground, getting into theback and forth with peers where
(18:45):
you don't agree you might getinto a tussle but having to do
it in person, not go away andput it out on Snapchat, because
that's the problem, that's thelayer that's non-human that
creates so much conflict.
So I think we have to look atthe schools and make sure that
we're not over-programming in away that these kids don't have
(19:08):
space to learn some of thesethings, because they they learn
it from experiencing it.
Right, and if we're constantlylike don't say that, don't do
that, you can't.
Suddenly it's.
It becomes engineered in such away that we're taking away the
things that they need to besuccessful adults.
Tim Newman (19:24):
You're.
You're absolutely correct, 100%correct, and you know that was
I've been doing this for so long.
You know, when my kids were inschool my wife is also, she's a
retired teacher now, but shetaught in high school and I told
the kids I said you know, ifyou have, this is in first grade
(19:44):
.
If you have a problem with yourteacher or something great in
an assignment, don't come to me.
You go deal with the teacher.
And my wife got really upset.
I said no, we have to startteaching them now to advocate
for themselves, advocate fortheir education.
Now, if they don't feel likethey've been treated fairly and
I'm not talking about theychanged the grade, I'm talking
(20:05):
about they've been treatedfairly Then let us know and then
we step in.
But that is such a big hurdlefor students to go and just have
the conversation and saywhatever it is with a person in
a position of authority and,like you said, do it
respectfully.
Do it respectfully.
Meaghan Benjamin (20:25):
And that's where frameworks can come in.
That's where you can actuallyprovide a structure.
So one of the frameworks thatwe love to teach is the no, feel
, do, and it works great, great,especially when you're going to
have a difficult conversationBecause instead of going in and
being like, oh my gosh, I've gotto talk to Tim, I'm upset, he's
going to be upset.
I'm going through this wholestory in my head.
(20:47):
I can say, okay, here's theproblem, here's the impact.
Now let me think about how do Iwant Tim to feel when I talk to
him and what actions am Ihoping he's going to take?
And if I can align on that, Ican, then just that will inform
how I approach you, what I sayand how I say it, how I approach
(21:11):
you, what I say and how I sayit, and when we start to lean
with how lead, with how you'refeeling and the action I need
from you, that's going to shiftmy tone and you can teach
children this.
You really can.
And then you could say I, youknow, if you want the teacher to
listen in and to pause and tosay you know you're right, you
have to, you can't come in.
And bam, bam, bam.
You have to come in and say,hey, this happened, I felt like
(21:32):
this and your objective is forthem to feel empathy and then
shift behavior.
Right, and you can teach thatat different levels, but it
works everywhere personally,professionally so I highly
recommend it.
But, when you're about to gointo something, to say how do I
want them to feel, what do Iwant them to do, and that's
going to inform what you tellthem and the tone that you take.
Tim Newman (21:53):
Yeah, yeah, and, and again, it worked for somebody
in first grade, so it's, it's.
And then you know that buildsthat, that builds confidence one
way or the other, right?
Whether they got what theywanted or didn't get what they
wanted, but didn't get what theythought they were going to get,
either, right.
Meaghan Benjamin (22:10):
Exactly.
And say oh, teachers, andpeople in position leaders also
approach everything like that.
Tim Newman (22:17):
Right.
Meaghan Benjamin (22:17):
Then you could see how we're in this system of
communication.
Back and forth is happeningbecause we're both thinking
about the other person and theactions we need and we're
thinking about how we'reapproaching them.
Everything's going to go betterand you can imagine.
You know it doesn't meanagreement always.
It doesn't.
You can have conflict in thisposition and you can disagree,
(22:38):
but you're doing it in a waythat's still civil and
respectful and oftentimesdoesn't break the relationship,
even if you can't align on thatparticular issue.
Tim Newman (22:48):
Exactly, and you know that that I don't want to
go down this road, but you know,from from my approach is almost
everybody I deal with.
We agree on about 80% of life,right, why?
Why would I want to alienateyou?
Because we don't agree on 20%of whatever it is, whether it's
(23:10):
whether it's a homeownerassociation, whether it's
academics, whether it's our jobs, whether it's whatever it is
Right.
I mean, we, we agree on 80% andI and I believe that is is a
cross the board with, with, witheverybody.
Um, so find the commonalityyeah.
Work on that.
Meaghan Benjamin (23:30):
Work on that, and, ultimately, what you're
describing, though, is if, evenif you disagree, the other 20%,
if each person, or multiplepeople, feel respected, heard,
then you can agree or disagree,but you're not going to alienate
, and I think that takespatience, that takes attention,
that takes intention.
(23:51):
And I think, because things havebecome so reactive in this day
and age, even with the texting,the comment you made earlier,
like 10 seconds, and did yourespond?
We're we're missing out on thatopportunity to be intentional.
Um, spend some time thinkingabout that and and when you do
that, I mean it has a rippleeffect in your business and how
people see you as a leader, howthey follow you, but also right
(24:14):
down to the child level.
Tim Newman (24:16):
Yeah, exactly.
So how did your pitchcompetition go?
We talked about it before onour call.
How'd that end up?
Meaghan Benjamin (24:24):
Well, that went really well.
So that was I was out in Europefor Law Without Walls, which is
an amazing program founded byMichelle DiStefano, who's a
Miami law professor but what isrecovering advertising executive
.
And then she went to law schooland she realized that in the
(24:46):
legal system there's thisopportunity to help people think
about how they're looking atproblems, using design thinking
and then communicating.
You know what that solutionmight be.
So this was really greatbecause it's industry folks,
it's their legal partners, right, and then it's trainees, so
(25:07):
students of law, and we cometogether and you solve a problem
, you come up with a solutionand then you have to pitch it.
And ours, it was great.
It was so much fun.
I was partnered with the team atDisney which was awesome and
with Denton's, and while we didnot win the pitch competition,
we solved a.
Really, we we took a stab atsolving something um that they
(25:31):
brought back to the leadershipto see if they could bring into
fruition, and so that's thebeauty of attending these types
of events is that it just getspeople say, oh okay, I'm gonna
go back and try that and maybeit's one piece of that.
But I love that kind of and thatall started.
That all happened from usspending three days together,
(25:53):
really enmeshed andcommunicating a lot.
Tim Newman (25:56):
That's awesome and you know I love those.
Like you, I love those types ofthings because not only is
there those connections, but theideas that are going back and
forth and the thinking thattakes place and and some of the
maybe some change thinking,maybe some change way of doing
things really does come about.
Meaghan Benjamin (26:16):
Yeah, and what I'll say to?
I always say to people thatthey say, come to me, they're
coming, they're up and coming intheir career.
And they say what's your biggestpiece of advice?
And I say find a mentor,because they're going to help
you learn and get this type oflearning exposure.
But also my latest biggestpiece of advice is seek
(26:39):
in-person opportunities wheneveryou can, even if they feel
uncomfortable.
Go to that event, go sign upfor that thing, show up in the
office, because that's whereyou're going to get that
connection and get that exposurethat has the ripple effect and
so that, yeah, go do that.
Tim Newman (26:59):
Please, I'm begging you and it's funny because you
know, when we, when I wasteaching, one of my assignments
in every class I ever taught wasyou had to go do informational
interviews, and you know, for atime, because of COVID, they
could do them on zoom, theycould do them over the phone,
you could an email interview wasnot an interview, so they
(27:21):
either had to be by phone orzoom or something like that.
But when, when we got back tobeing somewhat normal, I said
you have to actually go andinterview them in person, like
we did before and for whateverreason it was, oh my God, we're
not doing that.
Meaghan Benjamin (27:37):
Yeah, it's hard.
Well, that's what you have todo.
Yeah, there's a team I'm workingwith at the University of
Chicago their startup team outof the Booth School, working
with at the University ofChicago, their startup team out
of the Booth School.
But they've actually developeda tool to practice behavioral
and technical interviews.
(27:57):
It's called the Dev Difference.
Why it's so interesting is thatthey're targeting they are the
demographic that they'retargeting the co-founders
graduated from Dartmouth and areout there interviewing.
You have to go through 300interviews to get to the one
offer and the idea was, if youcan help people be confident and
prepped, then they're going todo better and it's going to make
(28:19):
the whole process better.
So, to your point, I think,just everybody get out there and
even if you don't get the job,you're getting that exposure and
that learning.
It's just going to make youbetter.
Tim Newman (28:30):
Yes, it will, and it's repetition, and don't let
either the nose or the nothearing back get you down.
I know it sucks, don't get mewrong.
I know it sucks and it'sbothersome, but eventually it's
going to happen, eventually it'sgoing to happen.
It's eventually it's going tohappen, and you have to do it
(28:50):
over and over again, and do itover and over again until maybe
you, you, you, you find theright spot.
And if you don't get whatever,whatever job it is, whatever
you're you're, you're pitchingwhatever.
That's fine, it probably wasn'tright anyway, just just keep
doing it.
Meaghan Benjamin (29:07):
But that's the learning.
I think that's what we keepgoing back to.
Communication and confidencegets better when you can get
comfortable being uncomfortable,where you build that resilience
and you get the exposure.
And that is what helps youstart to develop these habits
that allow you to show up inhigh stakes situations and say I
can do this, I've got thisbecause you've done all the
(29:29):
other pieces.
It's really hard to do that ifyou've not left your kitchen.
Tim Newman (29:35):
Exactly you just said.
It makes me laugh, but you'reabsolutely right.
You really are.
You know, in your business, youall come up with something that
you call agile communication.
In your business, you all comeup with something that you call
agile communication.
What is that?
What is that and how does ithelp everyday?
Meaghan Benjamin (29:52):
interaction.
Tim Newman (29:54):
Yes.
Meaghan Benjamin (29:57):
So our methodology, my business
partners Phyllis Dealy, whocomes from a brand strategy,
advertising background.
I've got the science background, and so we realized when we're
working with companies and withteams, it's not just about
presenting public speaking, itwas all public speaking.
I have to learn how to do thatand it's not just about leading
(30:20):
a meeting.
So really we go back to thisidea that communication is a
series of habits that youdevelop over time.
So what agile communication isis breaking down the habits that
are really critical verbal,nonverbal, how you set tone, how
you listen, what are the levelsof listening, how you read
(30:42):
other people verbally andnonverbally.
So there's this way of beingspontaneous and proactive and
receptive and we give peoplereal tools on that and then we
help.
So we call it the science ofcommunication and the art of
showing up.
And so the art of showing up iswhat scenario are you showing
(31:04):
up in?
Are you showing up in apresentation?
Are you showing up in a meeting?
Are you showing up in?
Are you showing up in apresentation?
Are you showing up in a meeting?
Are you showing up in a Q&A anda panel discussion?
So you could take theseframeworks and things we've done
and then help develop out yourown approach, and so the agility
is that communication isn'tdifferent between presenting and
(31:24):
having a conversation.
It's just that there's certainthings that you're going to
shift if you're in front of anaudience of a thousand people
versus a one-on-one.
But fundamentally it's about amI connecting with you?
Am I listening to you?
How are we bridging thistogether?
And it's really unscripted, andso I think that's what the
(31:45):
fundamental aspect of agilecommunication is the science
piece and then the art piece,and then you can develop it into
whatever is going to make youthe best communicator possible.
Tim Newman (31:57):
Right.
So where does preparation fitinto that?
I mean, for this to work, youreally have to prepare and know
what you're walking into, though, right?
I mean, that's the only wayit's going to work.
Meaghan Benjamin (32:09):
So I like to call it preparation is critical.
We know that.
Tim Newman (32:13):
If you're an athlete or anything.
Meaghan Benjamin (32:15):
you're never going to deliver without
preparing, but 90% of your dayis unscripted.
Tim Newman (32:22):
Yes.
Meaghan Benjamin (32:22):
You're walking into a meeting, but you have
the context of the meeting,who's going to be there, what
you think is going to go down inthat meeting.
So you, your preparation iswhat how do?
How do I want people to feel?
What do I want them to do?
How am I going to show up inthat meeting to do it?
Um, which is if, if you'reasked to give a keynote or to go
present a new idea to the CEO,you're going to prepare, but it
(32:46):
still goes fundamentally back tohow much time do I have?
What do I think he cares about,or she cares about, or what
they want to take away, and thenhow am I going to show up?
And so what I tell people isevery interaction you have is an
opportunity to hone yourcommunication skills and then,
(33:07):
when you've got a higher stakes,planned or unplanned meeting,
you're able to apply what you'vebeen honing.
Tim Newman (33:14):
Yes.
Meaghan Benjamin (33:15):
So preparation is always critical, but 90% of
the time, you know what yourmeetings are.
What do I need to do?
To show up, to connect, todeliver, to influence, and then
that's what you're going to do,which is different than
presenting with the deck.
Tim Newman (33:29):
Absolutely, and that makes that makes so much sense
because and you know the, themeeting that you walk into the
preparation is you already hadit, because you already know the
people, you already know,you've seen the agenda, you
already know what you'resupposed to talk about or what
so-and-so is going to talk about, and so that, that's, that's
preparation, but it's donedifferent.
(33:51):
That's a different type ofpreparation, exactly.
Meaghan Benjamin (33:54):
And what's really important is that, let's
say, somebody wants you to comein and talk about the earning
statements.
You can give somebody aspreadsheet right and say here's
the earnings and here's what'sworking, what's not.
You can also share two insightsthat you picked up, or things
that you think are watch outs orneed to pay attention to.
That's the, that's thecommunication that you're
(34:16):
preparing for, that you're like.
Hey, this is the opportunity todemonstrate your value.
Tim Newman (34:21):
Right, right, and and again, you know what.
To take us up further in theway.
The way I look at it would beis you know, if I'm, if I'm
doing that with this group overhere and I know they just want
chunks, okay, here.
Here are the bullet points.
If you want more information,let me know.
I'll get with you on that.
If I'm talking to this personover here, you know I want, I
want more detail.
(34:41):
Okay, here's we're going intosome detail.
If you don't want that detail,um, I'll let me know and I'll
just shoot you some bulletpoints over here.
So that's so important.
Meaghan Benjamin (34:54):
Yeah, and then when you give a present, one of
the hardest things for youngprofessionals is this idea of
pivoting in the moment.
So they get an unexpectedquestion.
Maybe they're on a Zoom calland they don't know exactly the
answer.
So they get really nervous.
They maybe don't answer thequestion, they give too many
(35:15):
details, that sort of thing.
So what I'll say is beconfident in what you know and
confident in what you don't know.
And if there's certain thingsyou should be prepared for, be
prepared for it.
But if you don't know, youcould say that's a great
question and I'm going to needto take a little bit of time.
Get with the team and then Ican get you an answer.
Or you can punt it over and sayhey, tim, do you have any
(35:39):
insight on that?
And you might say you know what, megan, I can share these two
things.
But, to your point, we shouldget with the team and come back
with a more comprehensive answer.
That's very different than if Isay, oh no, I don't know that,
tim.
And then you're like Megan okay,we're going to do this.
(36:00):
So that's the small nuances,and you will always get curve
balls.
So it's not that you have tohave the exact answer.
It's just that you can pause,say, be confident what you know,
confident what you don't, andthen be able to answer in a
succinct way.
That's the other big power move.
Tim Newman (36:16):
Give the gist and let them ask for more Right and
and and you, you come out likeyou said, you, you come off so
much better if you, if, ifthat's how you, if that's what
you know and what you don't know, right.
Meaghan Benjamin (36:29):
Yeah, and that's tone, that's just tone
and words, so yeah, so so.
Tim Newman (36:36):
So what are some others?
You know, subtle communicationtips or habits that can affect
credibility and presence, thatthey can can be put into place
like right now.
So, so somebody that'slistening right now saying oh
man, that's great, I'm gonnastart working on that.
Give them something else thatthey can start to think about
and put in right now.
Meaghan Benjamin (36:57):
Okay.
So one, if you're on Zoom, thisis the zone of influence.
You see, you see my head, yousee the top of my body.
I can use my gestures, and thatis really critical because 55%
of our communication is pickedup non-verbally, and it's an
important thing to think about.
So when you're on your nextcall, make sure you're in the
(37:19):
zone of influence.
That's one.
Number two your vocal presenceis completely connected to your
non-verbals.
So it's really hard for me tosound excited if I'm sitting on
my hands, it's hard for me toright so, but the minute I use
(37:39):
gestures, my facial expressioncomes out, my essence comes out,
and that's what I want toencourage people.
I am not doing jazz hands.
I don't need to smile all thetime, but if you want to
demonstrate engagement,confidence, passion, you need to
use your full body and yourfull voice.
Tim Newman (38:00):
And that is such great advice, such great advice.
And and you know, when we went,when?
When the pandemic came, we wentto zoom and everything's online
, and I've been teaching onlineonline forever, but doing it
full time.
I struggled because I'msomebody that I use my hands.
I use my arms to talk and move,and so now I'm stuck in a
(38:22):
little tiny box and you knowit's hard, but it takes getting
used to.
But once you just relax andstart being yourself and don't
think of it other than what itis, just be yourself, and then
it comes through.
Meaghan Benjamin (38:38):
It's so true and it's so important, because
that's how you keep attention.
Tim Newman (38:42):
Exactly, exactly.
So tell us about what you'redoing with Studio Reinvent and
all the good things that youguys are doing.
Meaghan Benjamin (38:53):
Okay, so big picture, we basically have two
focuses for our business.
One is communication, trainingand consulting, where we come in
and we work with leadership andwe work with teams and we build
programs based on that agilecommunication.
So, for example, in privateequity or financial services, we
(39:16):
have several companies wherewe've built out a program that
starts with the analysts, thenmoves up so you get into the
principals, the executivedirectors, and then the managing
directors, so it becomes thebuilding blocks, so that it
starts with just your ownpresence and then one-to-one how
you're influencing, how you'repitching, how you're
(39:39):
storytelling, and then you startto get into talking about, you
know, trying to win business, etcetera.
So that's our training arm andwe have a number of workshops
that people plug into pitch campand story lab.
But ultimately it's calledpitch craft training, because I
(40:00):
like to use the word pitch,because it feels high stakes,
but we're pitching every dayeven our conversation Right, and
then on the other side, weactually embed with companies
and help them run their pitch.
So if you're an advertisingagency or a very large CPG
company, you have marketingideas, you have creative ideas,
(40:23):
you've got a brief.
What we do is we come in, we dodiscovery, we apply our agile
communication frameworks toactual helping companies win
businesses and that's ourpitchcraft consulting and it's
really fun.
It's very rewarding.
We are industry agnostic,because communication is
(40:43):
industry agnostic.
And the last thing I'll tellyou is that we now have our own
AI coach that people can usethat helps them get code, it
counts filler words, it countsweak words, it lets you know
conciseness and then it providescoaching on applying some of
(41:04):
these frameworks the what, theso, what the no feel, do the
storytelling, and that has beena game changer because you see
people go from here to here inconfidence, but also in
developing some of those habits.
Tim Newman (41:18):
Wow.
Meaghan Benjamin (41:18):
So that was.
That's a little bit aboutStudio Reinvent and we.
We love what we do and we lovenew clients.
Tim Newman (41:26):
Well, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm really glad you
mentioned, you know, your, yournew AI thing, cause I saw it on
your website.
This sounds really, really it'scalled Sage.
Sage yeah, that is it's.
You know, it's amazing what,what can be done and and and
just how it can move peopleforward and if, if we don't rely
(41:49):
on it to do everything for usright In, in, in, in writing
scripts and writing emails andthose things that we talk about
before but but help us be morehuman and help, help us get over
some things and help us learn,learn new things it's just
amazing what it can do.
Meaghan Benjamin (42:07):
It's amazing, and I will just say one thing
about it.
I, I so, and you could go in onour website and see.
But what's really important ishow many times has someone
gotten feedback?
Be better at storytelling.
Tim Newman (42:21):
Yes.
Meaghan Benjamin (42:23):
Have more energy, you have a lot of up
speak, you use too many fillerwords and then you're sitting
there thinking well, when I'm inthe moment communicating, I'm
not counting that and looking atthat, how do I do that?
That's where this comes in, soit is not writing the script.
You can upload yourpresentation.
You could do role play withskeptical people if you have a
(42:44):
hard time dealing with conflict,but it's ultimately giving you
a safe, judgment-free zone topractice so that you can develop
those skills, so that you canshow up better with your fellow
humans.
Tim Newman (42:58):
Yeah, and again you bring up such good points.
One of the things that reallychanged how I approach things
was when I was a youngerprofessional.
I kept telling my students justquit the Oz and Noms, just stop
, just stop.
And at one point one of my beststudents came to me very upset
and she said you keep telling usto do this but you don't tell
(43:19):
us how.
And I was like whoa, whoa,you're killing me.
But that's something that kindof changed my whole philosophy,
the whole ways I went aboutdoing things, because she was
absolutely right.
Meaghan Benjamin (43:33):
Yeah.
Tim Newman (43:34):
Communication is reps.
This is reps.
Meaghan Benjamin (43:37):
You got to do it to be able to get better at
it.
Tim Newman (43:40):
Well, Megan, thanks so much for spending some time
with us.
What's the website address andwhere else can people find you?
Meaghan Benjamin (43:48):
Oh my gosh.
So thank you, Tim, for invitingme on.
This has been a greatconversation.
The website isstudioreinventcom and people can
find us there.
They can find us on LinkedInand we tend to put some helpful
videos and things on LinkedIn aswell.
And, as I'm digitally evolving,we are starting on Instagram
(44:16):
from a company standpoint.
So find us and we would lovefor you to reach out.
Tim Newman (44:21):
Awesome.
Thank you so much.
I'll put those links in theshow notes for everybody.
But Megan, again, thank you somuch.
I mean I could go on for hoursand hours and hours, but maybe
we do a follow-up here in a fewmonths.
Meaghan Benjamin (44:33):
That'd be great.
Thanks, Tim.
Tim Newman (44:35):
All right, you take care.
Meaghan Benjamin (44:36):
You too.
Tim Newman (44:38):
Be sure to visit speakingwithconfidencepodcastcom
to get your free e-book Top 21Challenges for Public Speakers
and how to Overcome them.
You can also register for theForming for Public Speaking
course.
Always remember your voice hasthe power to change the world.
We'll talk to you next time,take care.
Welcome back to Speaking with Confidence, a
podcast that helps you build thesoft skills that lead to real
results Communication,storytelling, public speaking
and showing up with confidencein every conversation that
counts.
I'm Tim Newman, a recoveringcollege professor turned
communication coach, and I'mthrilled to guide you on your
journey to becoming a powerfulcommunicator.
Today's guest is Megan Benjamin.
(00:31):
Megan is an executivecommunication coach with 20
years of experience in publicspeaking, storytelling and
leadership presence.
With a master's in speech andhearing science and psychology,
she brings aneuroscience-informed approach
to helping leaders connect withclarity and confidence.
Megan, welcome to the show.
We've got so many things I wantto talk to you about today.
Meaghan Benjamin (00:53):
Thank you so much, Tim.
I'm excited to be here.
Tim Newman (00:57):
I really enjoyed our talk on the pre-interview.
I say it a lot that people likeyou I can talk for days and you
know, when we kind of thinkalong the same lines and we can
bounce ideas off each other, itreally to me it really helps.
It definitely helps me in someof the things that I'm doing and
(01:19):
hopefully it helps other peopleas well.
You know just little tips andideas, but you know some of the
things that you've done in yourcareer and that's really kind of
where I want to start, becauseit's it's it's really kind of
fascinating how you got yourstart in in the communication
and speaking and coachingcontext.
So what's your career journeyand who your first clients
(01:43):
actually were.
Meaghan Benjamin (01:44):
Oh, wow, okay.
So we're going back a bit.
I'd like to pretend I was achild prodigy, but we're getting
close to 30 years.
So my career actually startedafter I got my master's degree,
working as a healthcare provider, and what I focused in on was
specifically working with folksthat have lose their larynx and
(02:05):
or tongue to cancer so head andneck cancer and why that's such
a critical part of who I am as acoach is that if you can just
imagine for a minute doing yourjob here today, but with no
voice box or with no tongue,you'd look different, you'd
sound different, and that issuch a massive life-changing
(02:26):
event.
And so, for me, what reallyhelped me develop into a coach
was recognizing that my job wasnot treating the patient.
It was helping shift theirmindset and understand what they
could do with a totallydifferent way of speaking and
breathing and, believe it or not, that translates quite well
(02:47):
into working with executives andother people who are trying to
get up there, own the room,connect with other people,
influence.
We're all trying to do the samething, but I think getting
started in that veryparticularly complex and
complicated world helped me honesome of those skills with other
folks.
Tim Newman (03:08):
Yeah, I think you said it right from the get-go.
Now, keeping context here, it'sa mindset, but when you've gone
through trauma like that, it'sa.
Again, I'm not discountinganybody where they're at that to
me is some major trauma thatyou have to get over and really
(03:30):
kind of rebuild your entirethought process, your entire
mentality.
I mean, like you said, ourvoice is kind of how people see
us and how we come across.
So what were some of the waysthat you found successful in
changing mindset in thatscenario?
Meaghan Benjamin (03:46):
Sure, and it goes back to, fundamentally,
confidence.
Right, it's this idea of how doyou feel confident when you look
different and you sounddifferent than the way you did
your whole life.
So I think it started with justunderstanding where the person
is, what they're feeling, whatthey're nervous about and what
(04:12):
is going to work for them.
What are the small steps, thesmall things that they want to
do?
They're going to start to buildthat confidence and ultimately
it's a journey of reinventing,but also self-acceptance, and
you can't rush that.
So oftentimes it would besitting self-acceptance, and you
can't rush that, so oftentimesit would be sitting with the
patient, but also with familymembers and coaching them
together in this system.
Help me understanding what werethose small steps that they'd
(04:34):
like to achieve?
First going there and thenbuilding upon that and
ultimately, goal setting was acritical piece of this process,
because if somebody comes to meand says I want to go back, I
want to be a pilot again, or Iwant to be, I want to go back
(04:54):
and be in sales, or I want to goback and be a professor all
real things that have happenedthen we have to break it down.
What's it going to take for youto do that?
And part of that factor is thenthe layers of how you're
training on communication andit's.
I think it's really interestingbecause the goals that those
folks have is where it starts.
(05:14):
And when you talk aboutspeaking with confidence, if you
want to get back out there andthat's where we're starting
that's a great place to be.
Tim Newman (05:23):
Right, right, it really is.
But again, I think you hit on anumber of things that's really
no different than any otherthing that we want to go through
or get to or accomplish in lifeanyway.
It's just maybe on a differentlevel, different scale, but it's
the same processes that we allshould be going through.
Meaghan Benjamin (05:45):
It is, and I think communication is.
So we know it's the fabric ofour society.
We all need it for everythingpersonal relationships,
professionally, and it's funny,though, because we don't always
learn it.
So I love that you're doingthis podcast, because oftentimes
we just expect you're a greatcommunicator, you're so
(06:05):
confident, you're great atpresenting, but really a lot of
people, more people could begood at that if they have the
tools and the training.
Tim Newman (06:14):
Yeah, and and just because I would say, just
because this is what we dodoesn't necessarily mean that
we're always good at or thatwe're good at, you know, because
we're people too and we havethose.
We fall into traps and we getinto our own heads and old
habits, just like anybody elsedoes.
Meaghan Benjamin (06:34):
Yeah, it's true.
And then you have to be able tosay, okay, that happened.
What am I going to do next?
Because fun fact that youprobably know but about 55% of
our communication is nonverbaland ultimately we've heard all
sorts of numbers thrown outthere, right, Like people
(06:54):
remember 7%, they remember threethings, say four chunks of
visual memory.
But, ultimately, peopleremember how you made them feel.
Tim Newman (07:02):
Exactly.
Meaghan Benjamin (07:03):
And that is where you could come in, even if
you forget something or mess up, if you're making someone else
feel connected and excited andengaged, then all that other
stuff, it's going to be okay.
Tim Newman (07:15):
Yeah, and and again.
I love that you said that,because there was a I'm in a
back and forth communication onLinkedIn right now where
somebody had said had mentionedan email communication that was
AI written and how disrespectedthey felt from that and and
that's that's not even you knowthe spoken word.
(07:35):
That's something that's typedout, but it's perception.
And well, if you're not, evenif I'm not even worth you typing
this out or considering thisresponse yourself, you have to
get AI to do it.
That's an even different levelof that communication piece.
Meaghan Benjamin (07:53):
A hundred percent.
And one thing that you'retouching on there that I find so
interesting when we get intothe science side of things is
when you hear a sound, you'rejust perceiving a sound, but as
those words and tone and allthose things come through or you
read them, they are gettingfiltered through your lens.
Your lens is different than mylens and that's been developed
(08:16):
over time based on experience,exposure and the last
interaction you might have hadwith that person or the tone of
the messaging going back andforth.
So I always tell peopleremember that somebody else's
lens is different from yours.
So you have to provide contextand you might have to set it up
differently in writing than youcould do in person, because you
(08:37):
don't get all the other cues.
And it's a really criticalpiece because we spend so much
time texting, writing now tomake sure that we're setting the
right tone, because it takes adifferent approach than just how
we might show up together inperson.
Tim Newman (08:52):
Yes.
So let me ask a question thatyou may or may not be able to
answer.
I think I'm weird in the sensein that when I, when I read an
email or I read a text message,I'm reading it in that person's
voice, like I actually hear thatperson's voice.
Is that normal?
Do normal people do that, or isthat just?
Meaghan Benjamin (09:12):
So let me tell you something.
Bell curve, it's all normal.
There's just one level ofnormal, but I think that many
people do that.
They hear the other person'svoice.
Other folks are reading itthrough their own voice in their
head and, if they're tend to be, this is a sensitive subject.
If they're riled up, thenthat's going to influence how
they interpret your tone andyour voice and that's why I
(09:35):
always encourage anybody thatI'm working with.
I'm like if they say should Iemail this or should I call?
Tim Newman (09:43):
And.
Meaghan Benjamin (09:43):
I'll say well, I can't answer that for you.
But if you're going to emailbecause you think somebody needs
time to process before you havethe call, say that Don't just
send an email, because we've allheard that, where you shoot off
and write all these things butyou'd never say it.
Say I wanted to send an emailahead, give you time to process
and then I'd like to get on acall.
If you get on the call first,you have to be prepared to set a
(10:08):
good neutral tone ifsomething's tense is happening
right, just so that people say,okay, say I know there's a lot
of stress happening, wanted tojump on a call and then I could
follow up with an email.
And that way we're all feelinglike we're connected and trying
to get to the same outcome.
Tim Newman (10:25):
Yeah, I read a statistic just the other day
that when we're texting now, theaverage response time is 10
seconds, and that doesn't evengive our brain enough time to
emotionally process theinformation that we received,
and so that's one of the reasonswhy, especially in text
(10:47):
messages, that the emotion isnever truly understood, because
we're not even processing itourselves and we're just firing
something off.
Meaghan Benjamin (10:58):
That is such an interesting statistic and
it's also interesting becausewhen you're texting interesting
statistic and it's.
It's also interesting becausewhen you're texting, you might
be you're in, people feel likeyou're in conversation, but
actually you might be inconversation with me.
Someone texted you, you didn'tget back to them.
Then three other people texted,you missed it, but that person
(11:18):
might feel like you're blowingthem off.
You didn't acknowledge them andit becomes it's a constant
competition for attention andattention and communication.
I mean, it's so critical and Isay our scarcest commodity and
most valuable one of them isattention, and so that 10
(11:38):
seconds expecting a response,that becomes a very difficult
thing to keep up when you're ina system of trying to connect
with people.
Tim Newman (11:48):
Well, it doesn't really.
It doesn't allow for connection, it doesn't allow for true
connection.
Meaghan Benjamin (11:52):
Let's just put it that way, and that's you
know, I think that's where wereally have problems and should
probably make some otheradjustments from that
perspective.
Tim, I'd love to.
What is your perspective if wethink about this, Because we
have an entire couple ofgenerations now that are
digitally native.
(12:12):
I think of myself as digitallyevolved, but this is a mode of
communication and it is going tocontinue to grow and it does
add that layer that you're notgetting that same connection
that we get even when we seeeach other and talk.
What are your thoughts Like?
Do you think we're just goingto have to evolve with it or
we'll go back to trying to seekout more humanity and how we
(12:37):
connect and talk?
Tim Newman (12:40):
I don't think we're ever going to go back to what
you and I grew up with.
I mean, those days are longgone, yeah, just for any number
of reasons.
You know just time as a onemajor factor.
But I do think that we're goingto evolve and it's my hope,
(13:05):
it's my hope I don't.
I think this and I hope but Imore hope it that what we're
going to find is that we arelosing that, that human touching
connection which is, it'scritical to our survival as a as
a species, right, and that we,that we will kind of evolve and
and drop back a little bit.
You know, I look at, you knowI've got grandkids now and I
look at how my my, I look atI've got grandkids now and I
(13:31):
look at how my daughters andsons are raising those kids, in
that Now they're still young, sothe oldest one just turned five
, but they've already cut downon screen time.
I mean, screen time isrestricted and it's monitored
and I'm kind of hoping that asthey get older and get a cell
phone when they're 15, okay,because there's really, I mean I
(13:54):
wouldn't say there's no need.
I don't want to go that far, Idon't want to be my parents
there.
But you know what's the realneed for them to have one?
Outside of calling the parentsin case of emergency or need to
be picked up, or forgot someone,what have you?
It's the idea that we have tocommunicate with somebody who's
(14:17):
sitting right next to us bytexting them.
That, to me, has to be reinedin and I do think that that
eventually will.
It'll never go away, buthopefully it will recede a
little bit.
Meaghan Benjamin (14:30):
Yeah, I agree, and it's interesting because
when we think about how childrendevelop, each of us, all of us,
develop our communicationskills.
That are part of that lens ofhow we interpret information, of
that lens of how we interpretinformation it's called implicit
or incidental learning.
And that's not because you'realways in conversation, it's
because you're surrounded bypeople and you're observing and
(14:51):
starting to pick up on all thoselittle nuances, eye contact,
tone, navigating difficultconversations.
And I think it's going to becritical for these young people,
as they're moving into jobs andinto opportunities, that they
need that same exposure to beable to develop those skills.
And that requires havingdifficult conversations,
(15:14):
face-to-face, thinking about theother person.
But if you don't get theexposure and the opportunity,
then it's obviously going to bevery difficult to expect that
someone can do that.
It's going to be much easier toshoot off a text, shoot off an
email, not have to deal with itin person, because we're social
(15:34):
animals and that can make usuncomfortable.
Tim Newman (15:40):
Yeah, and I think it's the uncomfortable piece
that is the hurdle.
And being uncomfortable is good.
That shows emotion.
You need to actually deal withthat and figure out why you're
uncomfortable with it and getover it and deal with whatever
(16:00):
that piece is.
And that's where I think thegrowth actually occurs.
When you have thatuncomfortable conversation and
you see that either sometimesyou know what there was no need
for that uncomfortableness oryou know what it's good that you
had it.
It's good that it's now out inthe open and now whatever that
issue is is either dealt with oryou're going to grow from.
Meaghan Benjamin (16:23):
Yeah, I love that and I think you know I have
four kids and I'm constantlytelling them to get comfortable
being uncomfortable and becauseyou can imagine the nightmare of
having a mom as a communicationcoach and scientist, they'll
try to go text someone.
When they tell me something,I'll say you have to have a
phone call with that personbecause you're going to get
(16:45):
comfortable writing that you'regoing to get into a thing.
But I think as a result, um,they, as they're growing,
they're now 17 to 23,.
They can have difficultconversations.
They don't mind if someonerejects them or doesn't agree
with them.
They they're comfortabledebating, but that came from
many years of being forced to doit.
Tim Newman (17:06):
But.
But you know and this is one,one area I really wanted to go
with you in from an educationalperspective, we don't deal with
this at all.
You know, whether it's publiceducation, private school,
homeschool, whatever it is,unless you're you're somebody
who is a communication coachlike you, somebody who values
(17:26):
good communication, those thingsare never addressed, they're
never talked about.
We don't even want to thinkabout bringing it up, and I
think this is one of the reasonswhy we're in this position.
Meaghan Benjamin (17:39):
I agree and I know you're what did you say?
A recovering college professor,but I've taught at the graduate
level.
I actually coach at Universityof Chicago in the Polsky Center
for Entrepreneurship on pitchingand navigating the Q&A.
What I can say is that we couldincorporate some of these
(18:00):
fundamental opportunities at avery young age as part of the
curriculum, because part of thatI think there's something there
that could be reallyinteresting for people and for
kids and for adults.
I mean it's partly inviting achild to come and push back
against what you're saying in arespectful way ask questions,
(18:23):
those types of things that wecan set up in a structured way
in the classroom.
But I cannot stress enough thevalue and importance of children
and young adults and adultsnavigating without being told
what to do.
So, making the mistakes, havingthe conversations on the
playground, getting into theback and forth with peers where
(18:45):
you don't agree you might getinto a tussle but having to do
it in person, not go away andput it out on Snapchat, because
that's the problem, that's thelayer that's non-human that
creates so much conflict.
So I think we have to look atthe schools and make sure that
we're not over-programming in away that these kids don't have
(19:08):
space to learn some of thesethings, because they they learn
it from experiencing it.
Right, and if we're constantlylike don't say that, don't do
that, you can't.
Suddenly it's.
It becomes engineered in such away that we're taking away the
things that they need to besuccessful adults.
Tim Newman (19:24):
You're.
You're absolutely correct, 100%correct, and you know that was
I've been doing this for so long.
You know, when my kids were inschool my wife is also, she's a
retired teacher now, but shetaught in high school and I told
the kids I said you know, ifyou have, this is in first grade
(19:44):
.
If you have a problem with yourteacher or something great in
an assignment, don't come to me.
You go deal with the teacher.
And my wife got really upset.
I said no, we have to startteaching them now to advocate
for themselves, advocate fortheir education.
Now, if they don't feel likethey've been treated fairly and
I'm not talking about theychanged the grade, I'm talking
(20:05):
about they've been treatedfairly Then let us know and then
we step in.
But that is such a big hurdlefor students to go and just have
the conversation and saywhatever it is with a person in
a position of authority and,like you said, do it
respectfully.
Do it respectfully.
Meaghan Benjamin (20:25):
And that's where frameworks can come in.
That's where you can actuallyprovide a structure.
So one of the frameworks thatwe love to teach is the no, feel
, do, and it works great, great,especially when you're going to
have a difficult conversationBecause instead of going in and
being like, oh my gosh, I've gotto talk to Tim, I'm upset, he's
going to be upset.
I'm going through this wholestory in my head.
(20:47):
I can say, okay, here's theproblem, here's the impact.
Now let me think about how do Iwant Tim to feel when I talk to
him and what actions am Ihoping he's going to take?
And if I can align on that, Ican, then just that will inform
how I approach you, what I sayand how I say it, how I approach
(21:11):
you, what I say and how I sayit, and when we start to lean
with how lead, with how you'refeeling and the action I need
from you, that's going to shiftmy tone and you can teach
children this.
You really can.
And then you could say I, youknow, if you want the teacher to
listen in and to pause and tosay you know you're right, you
have to, you can't come in.
And bam, bam, bam.
You have to come in and say,hey, this happened, I felt like
(21:32):
this and your objective is forthem to feel empathy and then
shift behavior.
Right, and you can teach thatat different levels, but it
works everywhere personally,professionally so I highly
recommend it.
But, when you're about to gointo something, to say how do I
want them to feel, what do Iwant them to do, and that's
going to inform what you tellthem and the tone that you take.
Tim Newman (21:53):
Yeah, yeah, and, and again, it worked for somebody
in first grade, so it's, it's.
And then you know that buildsthat, that builds confidence one
way or the other, right?
Whether they got what theywanted or didn't get what they
wanted, but didn't get what theythought they were going to get,
either, right.
Meaghan Benjamin (22:10):
Exactly.
And say oh, teachers, andpeople in position leaders also
approach everything like that.
Tim Newman (22:17):
Right.
Meaghan Benjamin (22:17):
Then you could see how we're in this system of
communication.
Back and forth is happeningbecause we're both thinking
about the other person and theactions we need and we're
thinking about how we'reapproaching them.
Everything's going to go betterand you can imagine.
You know it doesn't meanagreement always.
It doesn't.
You can have conflict in thisposition and you can disagree,
(22:38):
but you're doing it in a waythat's still civil and
respectful and oftentimesdoesn't break the relationship,
even if you can't align on thatparticular issue.
Tim Newman (22:48):
Exactly, and you know that that I don't want to
go down this road, but you know,from from my approach is almost
everybody I deal with.
We agree on about 80% of life,right, why?
Why would I want to alienateyou?
Because we don't agree on 20%of whatever it is, whether it's
(23:10):
whether it's a homeownerassociation, whether it's
academics, whether it's our jobs, whether it's whatever it is
Right.
I mean, we, we agree on 80% andI and I believe that is is a
cross the board with, with, witheverybody.
Um, so find the commonalityyeah.
Work on that.
Meaghan Benjamin (23:30):
Work on that, and, ultimately, what you're
describing, though, is if, evenif you disagree, the other 20%,
if each person, or multiplepeople, feel respected, heard,
then you can agree or disagree,but you're not going to alienate
, and I think that takespatience, that takes attention,
that takes intention.
(23:51):
And I think, because things havebecome so reactive in this day
and age, even with the texting,the comment you made earlier,
like 10 seconds, and did yourespond?
We're we're missing out on thatopportunity to be intentional.
Um, spend some time thinkingabout that and and when you do
that, I mean it has a rippleeffect in your business and how
people see you as a leader, howthey follow you, but also right
(24:14):
down to the child level.
Tim Newman (24:16):
Yeah, exactly.
So how did your pitchcompetition go?
We talked about it before onour call.
How'd that end up?
Meaghan Benjamin (24:24):
Well, that went really well.
So that was I was out in Europefor Law Without Walls, which is
an amazing program founded byMichelle DiStefano, who's a
Miami law professor but what isrecovering advertising executive
.
And then she went to law schooland she realized that in the
(24:46):
legal system there's thisopportunity to help people think
about how they're looking atproblems, using design thinking
and then communicating.
You know what that solutionmight be.
So this was really greatbecause it's industry folks,
it's their legal partners, right, and then it's trainees, so
(25:07):
students of law, and we cometogether and you solve a problem
, you come up with a solutionand then you have to pitch it.
And ours, it was great.
It was so much fun.
I was partnered with the team atDisney which was awesome and
with Denton's, and while we didnot win the pitch competition,
we solved a.
Really, we we took a stab atsolving something um that they
(25:31):
brought back to the leadershipto see if they could bring into
fruition, and so that's thebeauty of attending these types
of events is that it just getspeople say, oh okay, I'm gonna
go back and try that and maybeit's one piece of that.
But I love that kind of and thatall started.
That all happened from usspending three days together,
(25:53):
really enmeshed andcommunicating a lot.
Tim Newman (25:56):
That's awesome and you know I love those.
Like you, I love those types ofthings because not only is
there those connections, but theideas that are going back and
forth and the thinking thattakes place and and some of the
maybe some change thinking,maybe some change way of doing
things really does come about.
Meaghan Benjamin (26:16):
Yeah, and what I'll say to?
I always say to people thatthey say, come to me, they're
coming, they're up and coming intheir career.
And they say what's your biggestpiece of advice?
And I say find a mentor,because they're going to help
you learn and get this type oflearning exposure.
But also my latest biggestpiece of advice is seek
(26:39):
in-person opportunities wheneveryou can, even if they feel
uncomfortable.
Go to that event, go sign upfor that thing, show up in the
office, because that's whereyou're going to get that
connection and get that exposurethat has the ripple effect and
so that, yeah, go do that.
Tim Newman (26:59):
Please, I'm begging you and it's funny because you
know, when we, when I wasteaching, one of my assignments
in every class I ever taught wasyou had to go do informational
interviews, and you know, for atime, because of COVID, they
could do them on zoom, theycould do them over the phone,
you could an email interview wasnot an interview, so they
(27:21):
either had to be by phone orzoom or something like that.
But when, when we got back tobeing somewhat normal, I said
you have to actually go andinterview them in person, like
we did before and for whateverreason it was, oh my God, we're
not doing that.
Meaghan Benjamin (27:37):
Yeah, it's hard.
Well, that's what you have todo.
Yeah, there's a team I'm workingwith at the University of
Chicago their startup team outof the Booth School, working
with at the University ofChicago, their startup team out
of the Booth School.
But they've actually developeda tool to practice behavioral
and technical interviews.
(27:57):
It's called the Dev Difference.
Why it's so interesting is thatthey're targeting they are the
demographic that they'retargeting the co-founders
graduated from Dartmouth and areout there interviewing.
You have to go through 300interviews to get to the one
offer and the idea was, if youcan help people be confident and
prepped, then they're going todo better and it's going to make
(28:19):
the whole process better.
So, to your point, I think,just everybody get out there and
even if you don't get the job,you're getting that exposure and
that learning.
It's just going to make youbetter.
Tim Newman (28:30):
Yes, it will, and it's repetition, and don't let
either the nose or the nothearing back get you down.
I know it sucks, don't get mewrong.
I know it sucks and it'sbothersome, but eventually it's
going to happen, eventually it'sgoing to happen.
It's eventually it's going tohappen, and you have to do it
(28:50):
over and over again, and do itover and over again until maybe
you, you, you, you find theright spot.
And if you don't get whatever,whatever job it is, whatever
you're you're, you're pitchingwhatever.
That's fine, it probably wasn'tright anyway, just just keep
doing it.
Meaghan Benjamin (29:07):
But that's the learning.
I think that's what we keepgoing back to.
Communication and confidencegets better when you can get
comfortable being uncomfortable,where you build that resilience
and you get the exposure.
And that is what helps youstart to develop these habits
that allow you to show up inhigh stakes situations and say I
can do this, I've got thisbecause you've done all the
(29:29):
other pieces.
It's really hard to do that ifyou've not left your kitchen.
Tim Newman (29:35):
Exactly you just said.
It makes me laugh, but you'reabsolutely right.
You really are.
You know, in your business, youall come up with something that
you call agile communication.
In your business, you all comeup with something that you call
agile communication.
What is that?
What is that and how does ithelp everyday?
Meaghan Benjamin (29:52):
interaction.
Tim Newman (29:54):
Yes.
Meaghan Benjamin (29:57):
So our methodology, my business
partners Phyllis Dealy, whocomes from a brand strategy,
advertising background.
I've got the science background, and so we realized when we're
working with companies and withteams, it's not just about
presenting public speaking, itwas all public speaking.
I have to learn how to do thatand it's not just about leading
(30:20):
a meeting.
So really we go back to thisidea that communication is a
series of habits that youdevelop over time.
So what agile communication isis breaking down the habits that
are really critical verbal,nonverbal, how you set tone, how
you listen, what are the levelsof listening, how you read
(30:42):
other people verbally andnonverbally.
So there's this way of beingspontaneous and proactive and
receptive and we give peoplereal tools on that and then we
help.
So we call it the science ofcommunication and the art of
showing up.
And so the art of showing up iswhat scenario are you showing
(31:04):
up in?
Are you showing up in apresentation?
Are you showing up in a meeting?
Are you showing up in?
Are you showing up in apresentation?
Are you showing up in a meeting?
Are you showing up in a Q&A anda panel discussion?
So you could take theseframeworks and things we've done
and then help develop out yourown approach, and so the agility
is that communication isn'tdifferent between presenting and
(31:24):
having a conversation.
It's just that there's certainthings that you're going to
shift if you're in front of anaudience of a thousand people
versus a one-on-one.
But fundamentally it's about amI connecting with you?
Am I listening to you?
How are we bridging thistogether?
And it's really unscripted, andso I think that's what the
(31:45):
fundamental aspect of agilecommunication is the science
piece and then the art piece,and then you can develop it into
whatever is going to make youthe best communicator possible.
Tim Newman (31:57):
Right.
So where does preparation fitinto that?
I mean, for this to work, youreally have to prepare and know
what you're walking into, though, right?
I mean, that's the only wayit's going to work.
Meaghan Benjamin (32:09):
So I like to call it preparation is critical.
We know that.
Tim Newman (32:13):
If you're an athlete or anything.
Meaghan Benjamin (32:15):
you're never going to deliver without
preparing, but 90% of your dayis unscripted.
Tim Newman (32:22):
Yes.
Meaghan Benjamin (32:22):
You're walking into a meeting, but you have
the context of the meeting,who's going to be there, what
you think is going to go down inthat meeting.
So you, your preparation iswhat how do?
How do I want people to feel?
What do I want them to do?
How am I going to show up inthat meeting to do it?
Um, which is if, if you'reasked to give a keynote or to go
present a new idea to the CEO,you're going to prepare, but it
(32:46):
still goes fundamentally back tohow much time do I have?
What do I think he cares about,or she cares about, or what
they want to take away, and thenhow am I going to show up?
And so what I tell people isevery interaction you have is an
opportunity to hone yourcommunication skills and then,
(33:07):
when you've got a higher stakes,planned or unplanned meeting,
you're able to apply what you'vebeen honing.
Tim Newman (33:14):
Yes.
Meaghan Benjamin (33:15):
So preparation is always critical, but 90% of
the time, you know what yourmeetings are.
What do I need to do?
To show up, to connect, todeliver, to influence, and then
that's what you're going to do,which is different than
presenting with the deck.
Tim Newman (33:29):
Absolutely, and that makes that makes so much sense
because and you know the, themeeting that you walk into the
preparation is you already hadit, because you already know the
people, you already know,you've seen the agenda, you
already know what you'resupposed to talk about or what
so-and-so is going to talk about, and so that, that's, that's
preparation, but it's donedifferent.
(33:51):
That's a different type ofpreparation, exactly.
Meaghan Benjamin (33:54):
And what's really important is that, let's
say, somebody wants you to comein and talk about the earning
statements.
You can give somebody aspreadsheet right and say here's
the earnings and here's what'sworking, what's not.
You can also share two insightsthat you picked up, or things
that you think are watch outs orneed to pay attention to.
That's the, that's thecommunication that you're
(34:16):
preparing for, that you're like.
Hey, this is the opportunity todemonstrate your value.
Tim Newman (34:21):
Right, right, and and again, you know what.
To take us up further in theway.
The way I look at it would beis you know, if I'm, if I'm
doing that with this group overhere and I know they just want
chunks, okay, here.
Here are the bullet points.
If you want more information,let me know.
I'll get with you on that.
If I'm talking to this personover here, you know I want, I
want more detail.
(34:41):
Okay, here's we're going intosome detail.
If you don't want that detail,um, I'll let me know and I'll
just shoot you some bulletpoints over here.
So that's so important.
Meaghan Benjamin (34:54):
Yeah, and then when you give a present, one of
the hardest things for youngprofessionals is this idea of
pivoting in the moment.
So they get an unexpectedquestion.
Maybe they're on a Zoom calland they don't know exactly the
answer.
So they get really nervous.
They maybe don't answer thequestion, they give too many
(35:15):
details, that sort of thing.
So what I'll say is beconfident in what you know and
confident in what you don't know.
And if there's certain thingsyou should be prepared for, be
prepared for it.
But if you don't know, youcould say that's a great
question and I'm going to needto take a little bit of time.
Get with the team and then Ican get you an answer.
Or you can punt it over and sayhey, tim, do you have any
(35:39):
insight on that?
And you might say you know what, megan, I can share these two
things.
But, to your point, we shouldget with the team and come back
with a more comprehensive answer.
That's very different than if Isay, oh no, I don't know that,
tim.
And then you're like Megan okay,we're going to do this.
(36:00):
So that's the small nuances,and you will always get curve
balls.
So it's not that you have tohave the exact answer.
It's just that you can pause,say, be confident what you know,
confident what you don't, andthen be able to answer in a
succinct way.
That's the other big power move.
Tim Newman (36:16):
Give the gist and let them ask for more Right and
and and you, you come out likeyou said, you, you come off so
much better if you, if, ifthat's how you, if that's what
you know and what you don't know, right.
Meaghan Benjamin (36:29):
Yeah, and that's tone, that's just tone
and words, so yeah, so so.
Tim Newman (36:36):
So what are some others?
You know, subtle communicationtips or habits that can affect
credibility and presence, thatthey can can be put into place
like right now.
So, so somebody that'slistening right now saying oh
man, that's great, I'm gonnastart working on that.
Give them something else thatthey can start to think about
and put in right now.
Meaghan Benjamin (36:57):
Okay.
So one, if you're on Zoom, thisis the zone of influence.
You see, you see my head, yousee the top of my body.
I can use my gestures, and thatis really critical because 55%
of our communication is pickedup non-verbally, and it's an
important thing to think about.
So when you're on your nextcall, make sure you're in the
(37:19):
zone of influence.
That's one.
Number two your vocal presenceis completely connected to your
non-verbals.
So it's really hard for me tosound excited if I'm sitting on
my hands, it's hard for me toright so, but the minute I use
(37:39):
gestures, my facial expressioncomes out, my essence comes out,
and that's what I want toencourage people.
I am not doing jazz hands.
I don't need to smile all thetime, but if you want to
demonstrate engagement,confidence, passion, you need to
use your full body and yourfull voice.
Tim Newman (38:00):
And that is such great advice, such great advice.
And and you know, when we went,when?
When the pandemic came, we wentto zoom and everything's online
, and I've been teaching onlineonline forever, but doing it
full time.
I struggled because I'msomebody that I use my hands.
I use my arms to talk and move,and so now I'm stuck in a
(38:22):
little tiny box and you knowit's hard, but it takes getting
used to.
But once you just relax andstart being yourself and don't
think of it other than what itis, just be yourself, and then
it comes through.
Meaghan Benjamin (38:38):
It's so true and it's so important, because
that's how you keep attention.
Tim Newman (38:42):
Exactly, exactly.
So tell us about what you'redoing with Studio Reinvent and
all the good things that youguys are doing.
Meaghan Benjamin (38:53):
Okay, so big picture, we basically have two
focuses for our business.
One is communication, trainingand consulting, where we come in
and we work with leadership andwe work with teams and we build
programs based on that agilecommunication.
So, for example, in privateequity or financial services, we
(39:16):
have several companies wherewe've built out a program that
starts with the analysts, thenmoves up so you get into the
principals, the executivedirectors, and then the managing
directors, so it becomes thebuilding blocks, so that it
starts with just your ownpresence and then one-to-one how
you're influencing, how you'repitching, how you're
(39:39):
storytelling, and then you startto get into talking about, you
know, trying to win business, etcetera.
So that's our training arm andwe have a number of workshops
that people plug into pitch campand story lab.
But ultimately it's calledpitch craft training, because I
(40:00):
like to use the word pitch,because it feels high stakes,
but we're pitching every dayeven our conversation Right, and
then on the other side, weactually embed with companies
and help them run their pitch.
So if you're an advertisingagency or a very large CPG
company, you have marketingideas, you have creative ideas,
(40:23):
you've got a brief.
What we do is we come in, we dodiscovery, we apply our agile
communication frameworks toactual helping companies win
businesses and that's ourpitchcraft consulting and it's
really fun.
It's very rewarding.
We are industry agnostic,because communication is
(40:43):
industry agnostic.
And the last thing I'll tellyou is that we now have our own
AI coach that people can usethat helps them get code, it
counts filler words, it countsweak words, it lets you know
conciseness and then it providescoaching on applying some of
(41:04):
these frameworks the what, theso, what the no feel, do the
storytelling, and that has beena game changer because you see
people go from here to here inconfidence, but also in
developing some of those habits.
Tim Newman (41:18):
Wow.
Meaghan Benjamin (41:18):
So that was.
That's a little bit aboutStudio Reinvent and we.
We love what we do and we lovenew clients.
Tim Newman (41:26):
Well, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm really glad you
mentioned, you know, your, yournew AI thing, cause I saw it on
your website.
This sounds really, really it'scalled Sage.
Sage yeah, that is it's.
You know, it's amazing what,what can be done and and and
just how it can move peopleforward and if, if we don't rely
(41:49):
on it to do everything for usright In, in, in, in writing
scripts and writing emails andthose things that we talk about
before but but help us be morehuman and help, help us get over
some things and help us learn,learn new things it's just
amazing what it can do.
Meaghan Benjamin (42:07):
It's amazing, and I will just say one thing
about it.
I, I so, and you could go in onour website and see.
But what's really important ishow many times has someone
gotten feedback?
Be better at storytelling.
Tim Newman (42:21):
Yes.
Meaghan Benjamin (42:23):
Have more energy, you have a lot of up
speak, you use too many fillerwords and then you're sitting
there thinking well, when I'm inthe moment communicating, I'm
not counting that and looking atthat, how do I do that?
That's where this comes in, soit is not writing the script.
You can upload yourpresentation.
You could do role play withskeptical people if you have a
(42:44):
hard time dealing with conflict,but it's ultimately giving you
a safe, judgment-free zone topractice so that you can develop
those skills, so that you canshow up better with your fellow
humans.
Tim Newman (42:58):
Yeah, and again you bring up such good points.
One of the things that reallychanged how I approach things
was when I was a youngerprofessional.
I kept telling my students justquit the Oz and Noms, just stop
, just stop.
And at one point one of my beststudents came to me very upset
and she said you keep telling usto do this but you don't tell
(43:19):
us how.
And I was like whoa, whoa,you're killing me.
But that's something that kindof changed my whole philosophy,
the whole ways I went aboutdoing things, because she was
absolutely right.
Meaghan Benjamin (43:33):
Yeah.
Tim Newman (43:34):
Communication is reps.
This is reps.
Meaghan Benjamin (43:37):
You got to do it to be able to get better at
it.
Tim Newman (43:40):
Well, Megan, thanks so much for spending some time
with us.
What's the website address andwhere else can people find you?
Meaghan Benjamin (43:48):
Oh my gosh.
So thank you, Tim, for invitingme on.
This has been a greatconversation.
The website isstudioreinventcom and people can
find us there.
They can find us on LinkedInand we tend to put some helpful
videos and things on LinkedIn aswell.
And, as I'm digitally evolving,we are starting on Instagram
(44:16):
from a company standpoint.
So find us and we would lovefor you to reach out.
Tim Newman (44:21):
Awesome.
Thank you so much.
I'll put those links in theshow notes for everybody.
But Megan, again, thank you somuch.
I mean I could go on for hoursand hours and hours, but maybe
we do a follow-up here in a fewmonths.
Meaghan Benjamin (44:33):
That'd be great.
Thanks, Tim.
Tim Newman (44:35):
All right, you take care.
Meaghan Benjamin (44:36):
You too.
Tim Newman (44:38):
Be sure to visit speakingwithconfidencepodcastcom
to get your free e-book Top 21Challenges for Public Speakers
and how to Overcome them.
You can also register for theForming for Public Speaking
course.
Always remember your voice hasthe power to change the world.
We'll talk to you next time,take care.
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