We couldn’t resist the irony of dedicating an episode to small talk, and you may be surprised to learn that despite the title of the podcast we both feel like small talk is an important part of building connections with people. In this episode our expert is Debra Fine, the author of The Fine Art of Small Talk. We talk about what small talk is, why it’s important, and Debra shares some of her best tips. Also in this episode, Kristy reports back on her challenge to watch the news.

In this episode we are joined by Rashanda Udekwu and Isaiah Samuel, thought leaders on racial equity who have started a virtual round table of like-minded professionals called Equity Matters. Rashanda and Isaiah are community builders… working to impact one of the most pressing challenges of our time, inequality.

In this episode we explore what it means to have digital presence and why it’s important even if you don’t own your own business or work in sales. Online presence expert Italina Kirknis shares guidance on how to build presence across multiple platforms. Kristy shares a life hack to create an advertising campaign for your awesomeness.

In this episode we are talking about confidence and advocating for yourself with Rachel Druckenmiller, the Founder & CEO of Unmuted. Danielle reports back on her challenge from Episode 16 to volunteer Danielle gives Kristy a new challenge to help her get up to speed on current events.

Bi-annual performance reviews, with all their formality, do have a purpose…. but feedback is something that should happen much more regularly than that. Feedback is a gift. It’s a chance to understand what’s working and what’s not and to grow from those lessons. So why don’t we give feedback more often?

In this episode Danielle & Kristy talk with Lesley Everett, a personal branding expert, on why having a personal brand is important and how to improve your visibility. We also do a mid-year check-in about our 2020 goals.

We can’t think of a topic more suited to our name than racial inequality and white privilege. We called on Kate Schatz (pronounced ‘shots’) to help us with the discussion. Kate is a New York Times bestselling author and an activist, public speaker, and educator. Danielle and Kristy share their background and experiences in the context of race. Kate provides encouraging and helpful guidance for white people who find themselves wondering “how can I be anti-racist?”.

Kristy and Danielle talk with Kate Morrison, a beautiful person who has started and led several charitable initiatives to help the homeless in her home town of St. Louis. Kate shares her process for starting home-grown charitable drives and getting the goods to the people that need them. It’s easier than you think to start something like this yourself and you don’t have to know all the answers before you begin.

In this episode Danielle and Kristy discuss empathy in leadership with Alain Hunkins. Alain is an author, keynote speaker, facilitator and coach that focuses on leadership. His new book Cracking The Leadership Code: Three Secrets to Building Strong Leaders launched as the #1 best selling new release in Business communication on Amazon.

Danielle and Kristy sit down with Dr. John Stubblefield to discuss how to lead others through meeting their needs for safety & belonging, clarity, boundaries, and significance. Danielle gives us a life hack about listening to music.

Danielle and Kristy check in with each other about sheltering at home during the pandemic. Kristy shares her best practices for working from home including creating the right working environment and engaging with co-workers virtually.

Danielle and Kristy talk with Carolynn Morris of Orange Soul about how to find joy in the workplace, why we should rethink the golden rule in a way that acknowledges our diversity, and how interacting with an eye of curiosity [and not an eye of judgement] fosters both empathy and respect.

Danielle and Kristy sit down with Jay Coulter, founder of conquerworry.org, a global platform for mental health information. and author of the book Conquer Worry. We talk about strategies (also known as Protocols) that can be used to reduce stress. In the book Jay calls it the ‘Protocol System’ - a process where you pick 5 strategies and do them for 30 days to see how you feel. During a high-stress time like a pandemic, you may want to focus on just one protocol to get started.

In this episode Danielle and Kristy sit down with Chanee Momoko, a retired WBFF bikini pro who now teaches others how to have the mindset of a fitness lifestyle. We talk about ways to combat negative self-talk.

Danielle shares her best advice about how to make new friends.

Danielle and Kristy discuss the online talent assessment Clifton Strengths (formerly Strengths Finder) and how to apply the results to your life. Kristy gives a life hack for remembering information.

Kristy and Danielle host an interview with Brian Olinger, who shares his knowledge and experience in reading body language.

Kristy reports back on her last challenge, to reflect on the past decade. Danielle and Kristy talk about what it means to have a growth mindset. We introduce our first listener challenge, a simple idea to demonstrate growth mindset.

Danielle and Kristy talk about goal setting and why having a goal is more important than achieving it. We discuss some methods that can be used to set goals. Danielle reports back on her challenge to try peanut butter Oreos and gives an Oreo eating life hack. Danielle gives Kristy a new challenge.

Part 2 of our networking discussion, Kristy and Danielle discuss how to go from initially meeting someone into developing ongoing relationships and why you should report back when someone helps make a connection for you. Kristy gives a communication life hack about how to limit filler words.