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Janice Porter: Hello, everyone
and welcome to relationships

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rule. I'm very excited this week
to have my guest, Meredith

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Grundy, who's here from New
York, New York City, if I'm not

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mistaken. Yes, yes. Yes. So
welcome. First of all, welcome

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to the show. Thank you. You're
very welcome. Meredith is just

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another beautiful example of
someone I met on LinkedIn. And I

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just love that right. I love
Yeah, that, you know, we start

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with a very small connection,
will you connect with me, and

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then have a conversation and it
just worked. So I was so excited

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to meet you. So what I would
love for you to do, Meredith

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first is just give my audience a
little understanding of your

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story, your background story,
because what I'm going to say

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first of all, is that Meredith
went from acting to speaking but

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in such a different way, and
specializes now in public

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speaking and presentation
skills. And I'm ready to dive in

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on that. But I want my audience
to know your background where

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how this happened. How did you
go from that world of improv and

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acting to being a speaker and a
facilitator

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Meridith Grundei: of a very
windy road? That's how

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Janice Porter: to be a squiggly
line, very

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Meridith Grundei: much squiggly
line? Yeah, with some loop de

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loops in there. Yeah, I have
always loved being on a stage, I

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found it really liberating as a
dancer, as a young kid. But I

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was always that kid that was
terrified of speaking up in

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class because I was afraid of
sounding stupid or saying the

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wrong thing that happened in the
answer, and so forth. And so I

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really found liberation being on
stage and just using my body to

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tell a story, if you will, and
the music and the choreography.

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And there was one particular
dance where my dance teacher for

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a performance asked all of us to
come up with a line of text,

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which was what do you want to be
when you grow up? And mine was

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because I was obsessed with
Wonder Woman. I said, when I was

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when I grew up, I want to be
just like Wonder Woman. And I

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did this double turn and, and
landed on both feet and said it

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loud and proud from the stage.
And it was from there that

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someone came up to me and said,
after the performance that I

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should take acting classes, I
think at the time I was about

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12. So I was like, Okay, sure.
But what I found in that was,

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and it took me a while to kind
of figure out that this was the

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stepping stone for me starting
to feel more confident, using my

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voice. And I had, I had the
script, of course, somebody

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else's words to hide behind. But
it still built this confidence

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for myself. And then later on
after college, and I danced my

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whole my whole way through high
school and college and did

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theater and Beekman. It was
after college, I went to

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Chicago, I moved to San
Francisco first then to Chicago,

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where I was doing experimental
theater, using improv

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improvisational physical
improvisational forms, and

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devise to work which is making
creating your own theatrical

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projects. So I wasn't always
working from a pre written

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script. And then at that point,
so I've had a very like, again,

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loopty loop. I love a lot of
different kinds of kinds of

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theatrical expressions, if you
will, on the forms within those.

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But I got to Chicago and I moved
there on purpose because I

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wanted to study improv, I want
to study specifically improv

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comedy. So I interned my way
through this place called IO in

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Chicago, which is the home of
the Herald. And I was also

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teaching after school programs.
And I happened to be co teaching

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an after school program with one
of the CO CO associated a co

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founder, I don't know what her
title was Associate Member,

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let's say that of the Second
City. And she said, Hey, we're

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starting this Kids program at
the second city, would you want

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to be one of the new instructors
that helps us develop the

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curriculum for that. So then
they brought me in, and I became

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an associate faculty member of
the Second City and I taught the

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very first kids class that they
ever offered there. And from

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there, I started to really love
teaching improv and not just

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teaching it to kids, but
teaching it to adults as well.

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And then I started teaching in
the corporate world. And I was

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teaching improv on communication
and heightened listening skills

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and building trust, and all
those awesome things that those

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fun games teach that have
actual, there's no real world

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consequences, but all of the
lessons learned are incredibly

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applicable. And it was from
there where I started coaching

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people in public speaking. Wow,
well, and I loved it. You

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Janice Porter: know, it feels
like as as I've, as my

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observation of people who do
people who are actors, okay

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actors improv people that
generally they are camera shy as

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themselves. And they don't like
to talk about themselves and

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they are in maybe not maybe
introverted. I don't know if

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that's the right term to use
here, but, but when they are

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somebody else as an in their
acting, they become a different

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person, because that's gives
them the confidence that they

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don't have as themselves, which
I think is really interesting,

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because it seems to me that you
could be wrong, but you you are

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developing those other skills as
well about being confident in

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yourself and looking at business
at like, there's there's not

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that direct line between improv
at Second City and corporations

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and standing on stages and
teaching people to speak. That's

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not a direct thing for sure. So
were you taking business at

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university as well or No, it
just so what inspired that like

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was it just,

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Meridith Grundei: I think my
father, I grew up with a father

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who had very much an
entrepreneurial spirit, and he

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was a financial manager. And he
was very, very much in the

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corporate world. And I remember,
I remember once, when I was

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living in San Francisco, he and
his buddies, his colleagues, I

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should say, and buddies, all
came for some sort of a

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conference, and they were all
staying at the Marriott. And I

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remember going up to the
concierge room at the Marriott

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to hang out with them. And I was
really intrigued by what they

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did for a living. And I was
always really intrigued at why

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it was so confusing. Well, I
always, I would always hear

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people titles. And I'm like, so
you do what? And so I have

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always been incredibly curious
about that question of why is it

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so complicated? Why do we and,
and furthermore, I noticed that

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not only does that get carried
in the job descriptions when

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you're applying for jobs and in
the titles itself, but then that

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also gets carried into how they
present to customers. I love it.

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You don't necessarily know what
the heck they're talking about.

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So I feel like my job is and I
would say this, my dad all the

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time when he was still alive.
I'd be like, just talk to me,

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like, I'm five, like, just break
it down. And that was sometimes

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really hard for him to do. And I
think that's what's really hard

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for a lot of people to do. And
so it's not about talking down

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to people or being
condescending, it's just about

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what's important.

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Janice Porter: Yes, yeah. That
so what I was gonna say when you

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mentioned your dad right away, I
because I was thinking about a

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different way of coming at it.
But but when I was growing up,

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my dad was always saying to me,
do something you can fall back

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on, you know, make sure you can,
you know, fend for yourself and

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look, right, because theater
definitely probably wasn't it at

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the time. God. Oh, I mean, my
sister did a similar thing. She

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went, she left here and went to
use, she was always in Fine Arts

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at UBC. She at university, she
was acting, she was singing, she

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was in a folk group and all of
this stuff. And she went to LA

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and she got her Master's in Fine
Arts at UCLA, and she never came

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back. Then she started, you
know, pounding the pavements to

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get auditions and so on. And she
ended up in I think I asked you

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about this Kentucky Fried
Theatre, which is an improv

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group out of LA.

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Meridith Grundei: Yeah, yeah. It
asked me about that. So

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Janice Porter: she was doing
that, and she was doing to

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audition stuff. Essentially, in
the end, she couldn't make any

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money out and she didn't like
the rejection. So she ended up

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on the other side of the
business doing. She was an agent

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for kids for a long time. And
then she was in another business

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around that in the entertainment
industry, but you know, it

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everyone has to find their way.
But it was that, you know, she

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still lights up when she does
things like that, you know, in

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front of my granddaughter, you
know, doing a puppet or doing

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something you just see her light
up with those kinds of things.

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But the improv thing I'm really
fascinated about because I think

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I'm very on is just as a word on
animated, not an animated when

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I'm on stage. And I've been on
stage doing presentations, so

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I've been scared stiff. And I
remember thinking things like

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find a face in the audience, you
know, and just focus on that

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person to that, you know,
because then you can speak to

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them and feel more comfortable
and it does work. So when you're

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taking Okay, wait, I getting all
excited here. So I let's put

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this into a real question. What
are some common challenges or

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fears that you've observed in
your clients when it comes to

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public speaking and how do you
help them overcome these

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obstacles? So that's the bigger
picture of what I was trying to

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say. Because I think yes, yeah,

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Meridith Grundei: the common
obstacles and fears, I, I feel

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that a lot of people come to me
thinking they know what their

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common fears and pain points
are. But then when you start to

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dig a little bit deeper, it's
more than that. So I would say

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most people will come to me and
say, I need to get better at not

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using filler words, or I have
anxiety, which is real. And it's

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so real, that it's paralyzing. I
have people who have come to me

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who are really excited about
they can see themselves on a

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stage and delivering that
keynote. But I but what's

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interesting to me is that I
don't think people realize the

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amount of work that goes into
cultivating a presence in that

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way. And it can start to feel
really vulnerable and really

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scary for people. And so there's
lots of different layers. I

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think that when I work with
clients, some of its pretty

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straightforward. Some people are
like, just help me with my

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presentation. I got, I got I got
a I got it. You know, I gotta

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have this done in a month. Yeah,
thanks. I got some people who

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are seasoned, and they just need
me to help polish them. But and

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then I have those people who
come in there. And it's almost

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like it's, it's a, it's a, it's
a gentle approach to getting

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them to where they want to be.
So I hope that answered your

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question. But I feel like
sometimes it's much more

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layered.

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Janice Porter: It does. But I'd
love to hear a couple of

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stories. So. So I know that you
work a lot a lot in the tech

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industry. And yeah, yeah, and I
remember doing training, I'm

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more of a trainer than a
speaker. And I remember

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training. A lot of people back
in the day, it wasn't so much

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tech as it is now. But it was
like the the the engineers and

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the implementers, at the
telephone company, they had to

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come and do this training with
me, I worked at the telephone

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company as a trainer. And we did
some soft skills training, I

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think it was and of course, they
come in with their arms crossed,

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and they don't even care, right,
they don't want to be there

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because it's like, but some of
them then got to the levels

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where they had to do the
training. Flights my train of

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thought those people are so not
the, the build rapport kind of

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people. So you must have that
must be a big job to turn them

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into speakers. That's what I'm
getting at. Tell me about tech

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people and how are you?

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Meridith Grundei: Yeah, for me,
it's it's about first of all,

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convincing them in a way,
showing them that less is more,

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because what I've and how to
tell a story using data or using

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the architecture or whatever it
is that they're developing. So

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for me, it's a couple of things
that come in and I, I talked to

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them about the importance of
story, and how to incorporate

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it, and that it doesn't need to
be complicated. It could be a

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very simple story. It could be a
metaphor and analogy. It could

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be something that will connect
to the information, and really

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hitting upon what that emotion
is for the audience. Like what

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is the audience's pain point?
And how is what you're

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developing going to solve that
problem for them? I guess

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Janice Porter: telling them as a
five year old would too. Yeah,

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it's a five year old, I'm
guessing because Yeah. The

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biggest thing you just said for
me there was knowing what the

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audience's pain points are. So
doing that homework and making

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sure that what you have to say
is going to answer that. Yes,

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Meridith Grundei: exactly. And
you might have people of all

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different levels in your
audience. Some people might know

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what you're talking about. And
some people might be this is the

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first introduction to what
you're sharing in the audience.

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So it's really important that
it's not that you're talking to

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the lowest denominator, but that
you're just being thorough

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enough, but not getting into the
weeds to where everyone in that

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audience can be a part of that
conversation with you. So once I

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get them convinced that story is
effective and has impact, then

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what I do is work with them
through their deck. And that can

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vary depending on the industry
in which I'm working some some

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companies are a little bit more
flexible. Some companies like aI

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works, sometimes with doctors
and pharmaceutical companies.

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And they everything is
compliant, they have to use what

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they have, they can't change
even the order of things. So how

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do you how do you work within
those limits? So that being

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really clear, and you're just
focusing on what those key

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takeaways are on each of those
decks, or each of those slides,

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I should say, and you're really
clear with your introduction,

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you're really clear with your
call to action. And oftentimes,

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those things the introduction
this story, how you're going to

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present your slides, and CTA can
all be kind of muddied if

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they're not well practiced and
prepared. And then the other

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thing I'll do is give them
resources or tools or how to

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practice because I feel that
people get the advice often to

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practice, practice, practice.
But people practice differently,

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we learn differently. I feel
like my job as a coach is to

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say, here are a lot of different
ways that you can approach

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practice, and I want you to try
all of them. And let's just see

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which one's going to work best
for you. But obviously, what

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you've been doing hasn't been
working. So let's try something

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different. And I love it. It's
like, it's like taking it taking

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something really challenging and
sculpting it into something that

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is tangible for people. It's
like a little solo performances.

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Janice Porter: Well, yes, it
must be really rewarding when

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you know, do you when your
clients has done the

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presentation, and they come back
and say, I did it, it went

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really well. And now they're all
excited about it. Not as afraid

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to do it. The next time. Do you?
I think you do one on one

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coaching and you also do group
coaching. Correct? Yeah. You do

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improv with your with your
people? Yeah,

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Meridith Grundei: I do. I do. i
It depends on the room. But I

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always like to do at least like
a little icebreaker. And I don't

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call it improv. Yeah, you're
right. Yeah. So it depends on

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who the audience is. But I just
did one for the just this last

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week, having a brain fart

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Janice Porter: League, that one

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Meridith Grundei: thing I guess
wanted to say the league, it was

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like, so thank you, the Junior
League. In Jersey, I just did a

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workshop for them. And that was
fun. It was all improv it was

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about owning owning your
presence and owning your voice

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and owning your story. And it
was super fun. And they knew

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they were doing improv and got
up on their feet quite a bit.

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And then I have an improv for
speakers membership program,

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it's called confidently
speaking. And that attracts

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people who are more
entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, if

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you will, who really want to
start getting better at these

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impromptu things that they're
called to do like being on a

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podcast, for example, or going
to a networking event and doing

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the one on one or even getting
on a stage. And that's been

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really cool. Because I've had
members in that group for two

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years now, some of them that
have been there for two years

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and to just see their growth.
That's so cool. Yeah,

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Janice Porter: it's not easy.
Definitely. I've always like I

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struggle when I have to actually
have a script or a speech that,

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you know, I should know it like
by rote, but I don't I can't

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study that way. I have to just
learn my slides. I hate slides.

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I don't like talking to slides.
And that's a whole thing by

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itself. Just learning how to,
you know where this slide is,

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and where you're pointing and
not standing in front of the

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screen? How many people do that?

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Meridith Grundei: I could talk
about that for a while. Yeah.

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Janice Porter: Get away from
that screen for God's sake, you

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know, and, and then building
rapport with the audience. And

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those things are to me, just as
in so much, it's so important to

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the whole presentation. But it
struck me I struggle with having

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to study anymore. I don't know.
Yeah. That becomes my blog. So I

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do I just ad lib most of the
time, or at least I think I'm ad

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libbing probably not, but I'm
taking what I see on that slide

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and changing it each time I do
it so to speak. Yeah,

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Meridith Grundei: yeah, it's,
you know, the the advice I

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always give my clients is to
start first with in you

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mentioned this beautifully,
which is start with your

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audience first and really
identify who they are, what

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those pain points are, and how
you're going to solve that

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problem, etc. And then once
you've established that, then

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you figure out what is your
objective with this particular

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audience? What is your end in
mind? What do you want them to

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to have by the end of this
presentation or retained by the

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end of this presentation? And
then once you do that, you

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figure out what are those key
takeaways? So usually, people

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can only retain three to five
things. So you think, okay, what

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are the three key takeaways that
are going to lead me to that end

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in mind to that objective? By
audience I should say, and then

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once you've established that
outline, and you figure out

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those things, then you look to
your slides. And then you say,

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Okay, what slides here are going
to best support this message.

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And then I always say, try to
practice without the deck. And

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get the end just and always be
practice practicing out loud.

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I'm always stunned at how many
people still practice sitting at

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their desk, just scroll through.
Yeah. So always up on your feet,

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practicing out loud practicing,
often, my client right now who's

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going to be doing this big speak
event that I'm producing next

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week, I said, Okay, you are at
that point now where you can

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just take the script, tape it on
your kitchen cabinet, while

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you're making pasta, I want you
to, I want you to deliver your

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presentation out loud as you're
cooking. And if you need to

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refer to that, because you're
gonna get thrown off because

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something's going to happen,
like the pasta sauce is gonna

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boil over or something, then you
can refer to it, but it's just,

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it's about memorization is about
using different muscles and

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memorizing in different ways.
And it can be a lot of fun if we

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allow it to be fun. Okay. All
right.

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Janice Porter: Moving on. You
got me over there. I was just

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thinking back. I know I shared
with you how I I'm obsessed by

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this podcast called smartlace.
And you said, Okay, well, a lot

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of the people that they had on
that they've had on that show

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have been improv people from
Second City from wherever else,

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the Canadian one I forget SCTV I
think it was called Groundlings,

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the Groundlings, all these
improv people who became

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Saturday Night Live regulars in
their specific times. And what

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I've found fascinating is
learning about how improv is

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like, it's just so clever. Like
I'm, it really is a whole thing

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that most people don't
understand. So what skills from

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improv would you say, are the
biggest ones that you take over

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into what you're doing now?
Because it is a whole thing,

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right?

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Meridith Grundei: It's a whole
thing. That's so many great

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questions there. First of all,
improv is like, I think it

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should be a required course, in
every school, I just really do.

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It builds your adaptability
muscle, so that you can think on

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your feet if something goes
wrong. It helps you build trust,

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in a way because you're taking,
you're taking risk. You are

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sharing sometimes things that
might feel a little vulnerable.

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You're laughing with people
laughter builds trust. It helps

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with ideation and the
brainstorming process. That

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whole idea of Yes, sand. Yes,
can be interpreted in a couple

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of different ways in healthy
ways, right? One is, so when

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with ideation, it's like I can't
tell you how many times I'll

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talk to teams of like, okay,
when you get into a, you're in

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the brainstorm phase, but then
somebody says, I don't like that

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idea. And then it's no longer a
brainstorm. That's not a

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brainstorm would sense someone
says, Yes, but judgment, right?

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Yeah, right. It's about getting
everything up onto that

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whiteboard. Or however, you're
doing that brainstorm, because

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you never know, that bad idea
might spawn the good idea.

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Janice Porter: So every idea
counts. And we're brainstorming,

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every

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Meridith Grundei: idea counts.
It also helps with inclusivity.

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So making sure that all the
voices can be heard at the

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table. I mean, it just has so
many ways to find ways to

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incorporate humor, for example,
into your presentation. So maybe

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you stand there with a recorder
and you just off the cuff, think

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of some things off the top of
your head, so builds that skill

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so that you feel more
comfortable to have that ability

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to do that. There's so many
wonderful things that improv, it

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helps you communicate better
with groups of people. The other

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portion of yes and is it's not
about necessarily always

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agreeing with the person that
you're in a conversation with.

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And this is great for q&a s for
examples that you may not agree

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with the point of view of the
person asking the question or

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the statement that they might
have offered, but that you can

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at least acknowledge them. So
that too, I feel is like a

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strong lesson. Hmm.

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Janice Porter: Interesting. Can
you tell me a great story of

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transformation of one of your
clients, like Can you share any

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same thing come to mind?

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Meridith Grundei: I well, I
always I always talk about my

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client, Tina, and she doesn't
mind that they talked about her

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because she showed up in
confidently speaking two years

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ago. And she lives here in New
York City and she is a

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entrepreneur, she and her
husband co own a business

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together. And the very first
exercise that we did she just

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shut down, shut down. But she
kept showing up and She hadn't

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been on a podcast. She hadn't
been really speaking, she's

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started to get really
comfortable with networking at

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that point. But she wasn't doing
any of the other stuff to build

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her business. And she had a goal
and she was going to do it. She

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wanted to do a TED talk. She has
done her TED talk yet, which is

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totally fine. Because she wrote
a book. She did. She did a 15

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minute talk. For her book
launch. She has been on over 70

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podcasts this year alone. She
has done numerous LinkedIn

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lives. She is about to do a
speak event next week, where

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she's going to stand on stage
and tell her story for 10

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minutes. And the woman is on
fire. It's like a totally

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different person. Double. Yeah.
That's,

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Janice Porter: that's amazing.
So the power that she has gained

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as a person is well, confidence.
Everything is just Yeah,

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Meridith Grundei: I love great.
But I what I want to say to

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that, though, is that she did
the work. Yes. It's not an

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overnight, quick fix. She does
the work she puts in the reps.

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Yeah,

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Janice Porter: that's what it
takes for sure. Now, with

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everything, I know that, you
know, since we've sort of come

408
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back out of COVID, that
everyone's rushing to go into

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face to face things again,
although I'm not that person. I,

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I went out last night to play
bridge. And we were at a room

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with like, I didn't know, for
about 50 people, 60 people. And

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I didn't know a lot of them. And
I felt like it was too crammed.

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And I kind of wanted to leave I
didn't but I felt uncomfortable.

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So I still feel that sometimes.
But anyway, my issue. So so some

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of us are still still focused on
the digital world. And that

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seems to be enough and fine for
me. What do you what advice do

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you give to people who are
looking to enhance their

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00:27:01,470 --> 00:27:05,070
influence and their
persuasiveness as speakers?

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Still virtual? Because? Yeah,

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00:27:09,300 --> 00:27:10,620
Meridith Grundei: yeah, no, I
think that's a great question.

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Because I do think that things
are going to still stay partly

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00:27:14,580 --> 00:27:18,840
like that I do. Because, for
example, I've got two

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organizations, the Junior
League, and then her workplace,

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which is a co working space here
in New York City. Both of them

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asked me to do a virtual version
and a live version. So I think

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that that's not going away, you
know, the thing I always say to

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00:27:34,230 --> 00:27:38,370
the people that want to kind of
stay in this virtual world, is

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just make sure that you are
showing up in the best way you

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possibly can. Because even
though you get to hide behind

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the screen, your body language
and all of those things still

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matter. And not to get too
relaxed, which I see often,

432
00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:04,950
often, even to I mean, how many
years later now is it that I

433
00:28:04,950 --> 00:28:08,010
still will show up on calls and
there's a doctor backlit and it

434
00:28:08,010 --> 00:28:12,090
looks like he's in like, some
sort of witness protection

435
00:28:12,180 --> 00:28:16,860
program, you know. And so I just
stress to people like your

436
00:28:16,860 --> 00:28:19,920
posture still eats check your
body language, check your

437
00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:24,390
posture, check your lighting,
check your sound. If you don't

438
00:28:24,390 --> 00:28:27,840
have a desk that can raise up
yet figure out how you can raise

439
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,020
up your, your monitor computer
so that you're standing when

440
00:28:31,020 --> 00:28:37,230
you're delivering makes a huge
difference when you stand and

441
00:28:37,230 --> 00:28:40,290
deliver versus when you're
sitting. Yeah. So it's little

442
00:28:40,290 --> 00:28:46,830
things like that. And then don't
don't take for granted that

443
00:28:46,830 --> 00:28:50,310
you're virtual. You still need
to have story. You can't be

444
00:28:50,310 --> 00:28:52,050
dependent on the slides.

445
00:28:53,820 --> 00:28:57,120
Janice Porter: Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
You know, it's funny made me

446
00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:01,650
think, certainly, it was always
interesting over than when you

447
00:29:01,650 --> 00:29:05,670
watch the news broadcasts, local
versus, say, CNN or something

448
00:29:05,670 --> 00:29:09,720
like that, where, you know,
everyone was for three years

449
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:13,920
behind, you know, on a zoom
screen, and how some people I

450
00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:18,030
remember when they were
interviewing Pam Shriver was

451
00:29:18,030 --> 00:29:21,690
before the US Open. It wasn't
just this last season, it was a

452
00:29:21,690 --> 00:29:25,260
couple years ago, and she was
sitting in front of her closet,

453
00:29:25,410 --> 00:29:28,770
and her closet was open. So that
looked like a bookshelf or

454
00:29:28,770 --> 00:29:31,830
something. It was just a
disaster. But you know, that's

455
00:29:31,830 --> 00:29:35,070
still happening, right news,
people who've got this one guy

456
00:29:35,070 --> 00:29:38,910
locally, he's got these, these
bookshelf is bookshelf behind

457
00:29:38,910 --> 00:29:42,780
him. And he's got stick up
pictures from his kids and

458
00:29:42,870 --> 00:29:47,130
children's books on on the it's
the whole thing is just a mess.

459
00:29:47,190 --> 00:29:50,070
They are I think that would have
been a whole new career

460
00:29:50,070 --> 00:29:56,010
actually, for people to go and,
you know, stayed engaged those

461
00:29:56,010 --> 00:29:58,770
rooms for these people that were
on every day, but it didn't

462
00:29:58,770 --> 00:30:01,350
happen but anyway, that's an Got
the presentation skills? But it

463
00:30:01,350 --> 00:30:03,900
did make me think of that. It's
like, you're right.

464
00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:06,120
Meridith Grundei: Well, it is
about presentation skills. I

465
00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:07,980
think I think you bring up a
really great point because

466
00:30:07,980 --> 00:30:12,480
people get distracted by the
littlest things. So if they're

467
00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:14,820
like looking at post it notes
and pictures of the kids, and I

468
00:30:14,820 --> 00:30:17,940
bet you can't remember a thing
that he said, But you posted

469
00:30:17,940 --> 00:30:18,480
notes.

470
00:30:18,570 --> 00:30:21,090
Janice Porter: It's true. It's
like my husband would never have

471
00:30:21,090 --> 00:30:25,470
noticed the, the venue or at
all, there were the the whole

472
00:30:25,470 --> 00:30:29,010
picture. I'm so busy looking at
what everything looks like, that

473
00:30:29,010 --> 00:30:31,260
I'm not paying attention to what
he's saying, because it's

474
00:30:31,260 --> 00:30:33,720
boring. Anyway, the new Yeah,
no, well,

475
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:35,820
Meridith Grundei: it's, it's,
you know, it's so funny, because

476
00:30:35,820 --> 00:30:38,880
I go back and forth. I'm not a
big fan of virtual backgrounds.

477
00:30:38,910 --> 00:30:42,900
I am not either, I find them
very, and a lot of people use

478
00:30:42,900 --> 00:30:45,570
him and they put their company
logo on there and the whole

479
00:30:45,570 --> 00:30:48,450
thing disappears out and then
their hand disappears, like

480
00:30:48,450 --> 00:30:52,500
ghost out. You know, for the
longest time I had my setup was

481
00:30:52,500 --> 00:30:55,200
you could see my bed in the
background. And I was, I saw

482
00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:59,640
that I know. And it drove me
batty, drove me batty, and I

483
00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:01,770
tried all these different
angles. So I have fixed that

484
00:31:01,770 --> 00:31:02,640
since then. This is still

485
00:31:03,090 --> 00:31:05,670
Janice Porter: lovely. looks
lovely. I've always wanted to

486
00:31:05,670 --> 00:31:08,640
get a beautiful screen to put
behind me and I just have never

487
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:12,150
found one. I've seen people do
that very well. But because my

488
00:31:12,210 --> 00:31:16,050
door look great. No, but my door
shouldn't be there. And I have

489
00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:20,040
the natural light is right here.
And that's the best way for my

490
00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:22,620
desk. But yeah, anyway, we all
have I have

491
00:31:22,650 --> 00:31:25,230
Meridith Grundei: I have a New
York City radiator? Ah, yes.

492
00:31:25,830 --> 00:31:28,740
Created the bed in for a
radiator. But, you know, it's

493
00:31:28,740 --> 00:31:29,760
kind of nice. Okay, it's

494
00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:36,690
Janice Porter: all good. So I
wanted to ask you, before we go

495
00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:41,160
a couple of things. So I mean,
I, I, I shouldn't do this on

496
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:43,290
this interview. I will do it
separately, because I'm

497
00:31:43,290 --> 00:31:45,900
fascinated with all the improv
people and everything. So I

498
00:31:45,900 --> 00:31:53,100
didn't really want to go down
that rabbit hole, but but with

499
00:31:53,100 --> 00:31:57,210
the people that you are coaching
now, what would you say the

500
00:31:57,450 --> 00:32:00,360
three biggest mistakes now that
people are making them, we

501
00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,600
should start looking at
ourselves, you know, to improve

502
00:32:03,660 --> 00:32:08,640
with our speaking and, and
training and facilitating

503
00:32:09,390 --> 00:32:15,780
Meridith Grundei: the three
biggest mistakes. One is that

504
00:32:17,310 --> 00:32:20,700
people don't look at their
presentation as a performance.

505
00:32:20,700 --> 00:32:27,060
And it is a performance. It's a
form of performance. So I always

506
00:32:27,060 --> 00:32:30,360
say to people look at it as it's
a composition, you're taking

507
00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:36,030
people through a journey. People
need to start really getting

508
00:32:36,030 --> 00:32:40,500
better at their introductions, I
would say most introductions you

509
00:32:40,500 --> 00:32:45,240
have, we have very short
attention spans. And so your

510
00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:48,930
introduction needs to hook me
right away and engage me right

511
00:32:48,930 --> 00:32:54,240
away. So for example, instead of
starting off with Hi, my name is

512
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:58,020
Janice Porter, and I'm here
today. And so thank you for

513
00:32:58,020 --> 00:33:00,450
having me, and I'm going to
share with you the three

514
00:33:00,450 --> 00:33:07,710
principles of LinkedIn. You
could start off with a story and

515
00:33:07,710 --> 00:33:10,830
share a story that has an
emotional connect for your

516
00:33:10,860 --> 00:33:14,070
audience, and then introduce
yourself for the credibility

517
00:33:14,070 --> 00:33:19,290
piece. And then I would say
that, the other piece that I've

518
00:33:19,290 --> 00:33:24,360
noticed is, people aren't very
clear with call to actions,

519
00:33:24,420 --> 00:33:29,100
either. So they can tend to and
I'm guilty of this too, because

520
00:33:29,100 --> 00:33:31,230
you get to the end of the
presentation all of a sudden

521
00:33:31,230 --> 00:33:33,930
you'll. And that's why I think
it needs to be well practiced.

522
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:39,270
Yeah, it's, this is what I need
you to leave doing or thinking.

523
00:33:40,710 --> 00:33:45,750
Here's my one QR code to get in
touch with me not like, Here's

524
00:33:45,750 --> 00:33:51,090
my email, here's my LinkedIn.
Here's my offer. Yes, exactly.

525
00:33:51,420 --> 00:33:52,620
You know, part of it

526
00:33:52,620 --> 00:33:54,690
Janice Porter: is because we
don't like selling, and it's

527
00:33:54,690 --> 00:33:57,780
selling themselves. Right. And
so that's part of it. But you're

528
00:33:57,780 --> 00:34:03,210
absolutely right. I think those
are all really key. And I, I

529
00:34:03,210 --> 00:34:08,730
want to this isn't about me.
Okay, so, um, I think I made me

530
00:34:08,730 --> 00:34:10,770
think of one other question,
though, when you were saying

531
00:34:10,770 --> 00:34:17,160
that about the introduction. And
that's one thing I did learn,

532
00:34:17,190 --> 00:34:21,000
and maybe from reading some of
your stuff, or an end or

533
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:24,510
somebody else's, because that's
one of the things I remember,

534
00:34:25,350 --> 00:34:28,530
don't start with the boring
stuff about you, because they're

535
00:34:28,530 --> 00:34:31,650
not they're really for that
purpose, make it about them. And

536
00:34:31,650 --> 00:34:35,130
that's really what I teach on
LinkedIn, as well make it about

537
00:34:35,130 --> 00:34:39,840
your audience so that they're
hooked into maybe you're the

538
00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:44,160
person that can help me, right.
So they read on. So that's, I

539
00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:48,360
think one of the big ones. So
last question before I let you

540
00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:51,810
go. And this is for me, this is
selfish, because I love that

541
00:34:51,810 --> 00:34:55,800
when you use this word earlier,
but I love the word curiosity.

542
00:34:55,800 --> 00:35:00,000
It's my favorite. And I am one
of those very curious people.

543
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:05,130
Pull. So the question is two
parts. First part is, do you

544
00:35:05,130 --> 00:35:10,170
believe that curiosity is innate
or learned? And what are you

545
00:35:10,170 --> 00:35:15,270
most curious about today? That's
part two. And there's no right

546
00:35:15,270 --> 00:35:16,860
or wrong question.

547
00:35:16,890 --> 00:35:26,850
Meridith Grundei: Is it innate
or learned? I think I Well, it's

548
00:35:26,850 --> 00:35:29,340
so funny because I think I'm a
special snowflake.

549
00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:34,770
Course. Because I was raised
with two very pragmatic parents.

550
00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:40,230
So I was that's where my brain
went. I, I would say for myself,

551
00:35:40,260 --> 00:35:45,330
it was innate. I don't think I
learned it. I think I was born

552
00:35:45,330 --> 00:35:48,990
into this world with a creative
sensibility. And creative types

553
00:35:48,990 --> 00:35:55,170
tend to be curious souls. So
that is a fantastic question. I

554
00:35:55,170 --> 00:35:59,910
do however, feel that curiosity
can be learned. Okay. But one

555
00:35:59,940 --> 00:36:06,150
needs to want to learn it. And
then the second part of that

556
00:36:06,150 --> 00:36:13,380
question, what am I curious
about today? i The Okay, I'll go

557
00:36:13,380 --> 00:36:15,780
with I always say first thought
best thought which is an Allen

558
00:36:15,780 --> 00:36:22,530
Ginsberg quote, I will say that
I am curious about how in my own

559
00:36:22,590 --> 00:36:29,700
life, I can simplify my own
curiosities even more, because

560
00:36:29,700 --> 00:36:34,470
I'm so curious, I tend to get
involved in many, many things.

561
00:36:34,650 --> 00:36:41,400
Because I genuinely want to know
more about whatever it's not

562
00:36:41,400 --> 00:36:45,000
about FOMO it's just genuine
curiosity about like, what would

563
00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,100
that be like? What if I say yes
to that?

564
00:36:48,150 --> 00:36:50,250
Janice Porter: I love it.
Because I think that way, too. I

565
00:36:50,250 --> 00:36:53,460
think that's brilliant. Because
yeah, I can learn more I can be

566
00:36:53,460 --> 00:36:56,340
you know, like, Tell me more,
but it for me, sometimes it's

567
00:36:56,340 --> 00:37:00,360
going down those rabbit holes, a
little bit too much. But I love

568
00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:04,110
that answer. That's, that's
amazing. Thank you. For me, that

569
00:37:04,110 --> 00:37:08,970
all started with a book that I
read by because I tend to ask

570
00:37:08,970 --> 00:37:14,610
most of my guests that question.
And it's been fun and a book I

571
00:37:14,610 --> 00:37:21,120
read by Brian Grazer. Called a
curious mind. Do you know you

572
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:22,080
know who Brian Grazer is?

573
00:37:22,110 --> 00:37:24,300
Meridith Grundei: I know him. I
know his name. I haven't read

574
00:37:24,300 --> 00:37:26,400
that book. Okay. Brian Grazer,

575
00:37:26,460 --> 00:37:29,550
Janice Porter: Ron Howard
imagine entertainment as a

576
00:37:29,550 --> 00:37:34,440
producer and director. Friday
Night Lights splash A Beautiful

577
00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:37,530
Mind and I you know zillion
movies. He's he's really

578
00:37:37,530 --> 00:37:40,890
brilliant. But it's an intro.
It's his story. But it's really

579
00:37:41,100 --> 00:37:43,920
all stemmed from curiosity. And
it was really fascinating

580
00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:48,120
because his grandma is Bubba.
Back in the you know, in the day

581
00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:53,220
his little Jewish grandmother
taught him to be curious and are

582
00:37:53,220 --> 00:37:59,790
so either taught him to be
curious or crit influenced his

583
00:37:59,790 --> 00:38:07,230
his curiosity and it influenced
it. So encouraged it that's a

584
00:38:07,230 --> 00:38:11,070
word of encouragement. And so he
does a lot of interviews with

585
00:38:11,070 --> 00:38:14,730
people what before he became
famous and learns from all of

586
00:38:14,730 --> 00:38:17,400
them, and it's really
fascinating. But anyways, fun.

587
00:38:17,610 --> 00:38:20,580
So that's where that came from.
So thank you for participating

588
00:38:20,580 --> 00:38:24,000
in that. And thank you for being
here. Thank you for your wisdom

589
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:29,010
around speaking and, and being
the best person you can be.

590
00:38:29,010 --> 00:38:32,070
Because when you can learn to do
those things. I think you just

591
00:38:32,070 --> 00:38:36,480
totally improve yourself in so
many ways. So and we're always a

592
00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:41,310
work in progress, right? So
always Yeah, it's really fun to

593
00:38:41,340 --> 00:38:45,000
talk to you and and appreciate
your time and where can my

594
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,070
audience find you? Well,

595
00:38:47,070 --> 00:38:50,100
Meridith Grundei: they can find
me on LinkedIn at Meredith grand

596
00:38:50,100 --> 00:38:54,690
die. You can also find me at
grande coaching. And I have

597
00:38:54,690 --> 00:38:59,430
several Tik Tok videos. If your
listeners or Tik Tok fans, you

598
00:38:59,430 --> 00:39:01,050
can find me at grande coaching.

599
00:39:01,290 --> 00:39:03,660
Janice Porter: I'm afraid to go
there, because I'll never put

600
00:39:03,660 --> 00:39:07,980
them out. But I have to go look
at them now. Yeah, I seriously,

601
00:39:08,010 --> 00:39:12,600
but it's such a fun place. So
and I do recommend to my

602
00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:15,180
audience that you visit.
Meredith website. It's a

603
00:39:15,180 --> 00:39:18,540
beautiful brand new website that
she has, and there's lots of

604
00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:23,430
opportunities there to learn
from her with her blog. And if

605
00:39:23,430 --> 00:39:28,050
you're you do mostly in person
training, or do you do online

606
00:39:28,050 --> 00:39:32,190
training as well, you both
everybody, they're perfect.

607
00:39:32,700 --> 00:39:36,180
Again, thank you so much. And
thank you to my audience for

608
00:39:36,180 --> 00:39:43,020
being here. And I've just lost
that is so weird. The recording

609
00:39:43,020 --> 00:39:46,950
button has moved. It's
disappeared. totally

610
00:39:46,950 --> 00:39:53,070
disappeared. There we go. Okay.
It did. So, thank you for being

611
00:39:53,070 --> 00:39:56,100
here and remember to stay
connected and be remembered