OCTAVIA BUTLER, 20 MINUTES AND FLOPS

LIFE OF A BOOKMAN

Bookman: 1. a person who has a love of books and especially of reading. 2. a person who is involved in the writing, publishing, or selling of books. Oh, hi that’s me!!

A beauty: I was strolling through a very cool shop in Oakland, and came across the beautifully designed A Few Rules for Predicting the Future by Octavia Butler. This is a print, mini-book version of her 2000 essay in Essence magazine. She’s a literary icon, so it’s really cool to absorb her non-fiction work like this, in a way that is hopeful about the future, anyone looking for warning signs of how we steward toward good, and anyone who is anyone who should count on a few surprises. I can see myself gifting this book to new grads!!

Another, new one: This is a good place to tell you that I’m sitting here staring at 20 Minutes is the New Hour by my wise friend and mentor, Fran Hauser. It published this week! And while I’ve been meaning to read my advanced copy for weeks, it’s probably a perfect testimonial for the fact I need to read this book. Ha! But if the title speaks to you, grab a copy and support this amazing woman. Fran is one of the kindest, wisest women I know. She’s supported my work through many evolutions. And is the kind of woman you’re constantly wondering: what CAN’T she do!? She’s the real deal. So grab a copy.

What I’ve been writing: I had a wild week of conference prep!! So not much, but I’ll be back at it soon!!

WOMEN’S STUDIES

What gets passed down becomes our history.

Who gets you what you want? If you have more than 4 conversations with me, at some point I will mention working with Celine Levy, a somatic therapist who is wildly powerful, wildly helpful and one of the great state-shift-creators in my life. When this writing came through today, I knew I had to share it. Because I’ve been talking a LOT about flirting lately, with people, with life, with opportunities (with myself!). And then there Celine is, with the power of getting what we want, by being the seductress in our own lives. If you’re in a place in life where you’re like f*ck, talk therapy isn’t shifting anything for me besides “insights”, do an introductory call with Celine. It’s not easy work, but it’s life changing!!

Glamorous with Kim Cattrall Ok how did I never hear of or see this show? Kim Cattrall plays an ex-super model Makeup exec, and it’s SO fun. And funny. And watchable. The characters are incredible. But they only made one season. Which led me to immediately wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that she wouldn’t return to And Just Like That. Ok I know this is total conspiracy, but Glamorous premiered the exact same day that And Just Like That season 2 premier, where so much of the publicity was about how she was only returning as Samantha via a phone call. So…just saying….did wires get crossed for Kim there? Bc this feels too cute to have been a “flop”!!?

Emma Grede Will Take the Credit, Thank You Very Much. At Create & Cultivate this weekend, I met the fabulous Alexis Barber, and Alexis got to interview Emma. I really enjoyed this annotated interview, there were some incredible gems about what it takes to build, to own the narrative, and to build your brand around the work. I haven’t been super familiar with Grede’s work, only gaining familiarity in the last month or so, but seeing her in the green room…I got it. She has an energy and enthusiasm for people, for connection, for joy, that reallyyyyy comes through. It was very cool to see IRL.

PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Here’s one of mine:

Over the years, I’ve accidentally found myself presentation coaching. It evolved pretty naturally, though–I was a trained broadcaster, did a ton of keynoting while running global communities, and then hit more stages than I can count with my own book tour.

When I started ghostwriting, that experience lent itself to writing the speeches for my clients, *and* making sure their delivery was DIALED.

I met Judy Walsh a handful of years ago, and she trained me to be a better storyteller and coach of storytellers. And I love it. It’s also made me quite discerning about how and why someone really connects with their audience.

This weekend, at @Create&Cultivate’s #Festival of 4,000 women in business, I emcee’d one of the four stages (and hosted my own session + book signing). So, I got to see a *lot* of speakers. Here’s what we can all learn from it:

When you’re moderating, you’re in control of the conversation. The audience needs to feel like you have their back, like you’re holding their spot on stage. Don’t let people rip through the convo with jargon or over-talking or fluff. This was the pep talk I gave Sarina Virk Torrendell before facilitating her panel and she absolutely crushed.

Watching Tiffany Aliche host an intimate session before her big panel was a masterclass in *vibes* I couldn’t hear what she was saying from the other room, but I could see her. Her audience was leaned literally in and over their knees, captivated, and her energy was RADIANT. She was living her work and her work was living through her. You do that through repetition, through breath, through connecting, through flow.

The note I give THE MOST to speakers is make it about them, the audience. We always think we need to show what we know, but really we need to show we know THEM. I was wow-ed by watching Kate McAndrew give very direct, very helpful advice about fundraising pre-product by speaking directly to the hearts and minds of who was in that room. It was constructive, it was passionate, and it wasn’t “look at what I know”, it was “Look at what YOU already know”. No notes. (also, I wrote down her line for coffee/meetings that we know aren’t a good fit: “It’ll be a waste of your time and mine” wow, see! Making it about THEM!

My word have FUN!!!!! If you watch Jaclyn Johnson moderating at C&C, she’s having a great time. Her ability to do this comes from a few things: she *preps*. She’s talking through her questions and notecards in rooms no one sees. I’ve watched her do this for 12+ years. She knows the woman she’s about to interview like the back of her hand, even without meeting her. And it shows. There’s no such thing as over-prepping on your subjects!!

And during my session, I got great feedback but wish I had given them more specific stories!! Stories are what we remember!

I could write 20 more of these posts (should i?) And seriously, call Judy Walsh if you have a high-stakes moment and you need to w-o-w whomever is listening.

Woman on xx