From Relationships Rule! show notes: Talking is easy, connecting is hard – and according to Brian Miller it can be learned! A magician turned author, speaker, and consultant on human connection – Brian Miller is here to help us understand what human connection really is, and how to magically connect to anyone. Brian believes everyone deserves to fe…

Cait is a Forbes-featured 7-figure Business Coach for women and, in her words, your excuse’s worst nightmare. But back when we met in 2019, she was in distress. She’d been invited to deliver a TEDx talk, and suddenly found herself in unfamiliar territory. Cait was a master at riffing on livestreams. She had attracted a sizable social media followin…

Do you want to become more interesting than Netflix? Francisco is a storytelling expert and one of my favorite professional friends. We met a couple years ago when he invited me to be one of the first guests on his podcast, of which I am also the first repeat guest. It only seemed right that after hours of talking about my work on his show, he shou…

Julia Freeland is a passionate educator and change engineer, who has spent most of her life working to help people break through limiting beliefs and seemingly impenetrable barriers to become better versions of themselves. She is also the author of Take Your Shoes Off First, a parable book with a message near and dear to my heart - perspective-taki…

Mark Metry is an entrepreneur, a Forbes featured TEDx and keynote speaker, and a podcast host who has interviewed billionaires, New York Times bestselling authors and world-class human beings on his Global Top 100 podcast. But once upon a time he couldn't make direct eye contact with anyone. Mark suffered from social anxiety. And boy can I relate t…

Corey McComb is a writer based in San Diego. Through blog posts, essays, and the occasional short story, Corey examines the human condition and new ways of thinking. He also works with people and companies who need to tell their stories to launch products and spread ideas. And speaking of spreading ideas, that’s how I came across Corey’s work: his …

Today’s guest Tamsen Webster, and she’s just as cool as her name suggests. Tamsen is a message strategist. In a sentence, she helps experts make their ideas irresistible. She’s the former executive producer of TEDx Cambridge, one of the legacy TEDx conferences and before that spent 13 years as a Weight Watchers leader. But those of us in the indust…

Today’s guest Helen G. Sneed. Helen is a career coach, HR consultant, and speaker. She also founded Drive The Goal, a consulting firm that helps people and organizations take charge of their lives and career, and navigate change, where she is the Principal Partner. Helen and I met when she hired me to speak at a fundraising event for the Connecticu…

Today’s guest is Zoe Chance. Zoe is one of the world’s foremost researchers and speakers on ethical influence and persuasion. She’s a beloved Yale professor who teaches the most popular course at the School of Management: Mastering Influence and Persuasion. Her new book, Influence Is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, …

Today’s guest is Thomas Heaton. Thomas is a landscape photographer and YouTuber. His YouTube channel has attracted over half a million subscribers and features weekly video blogs of his photo shoots in some of the most stunning locations on earth. I’m neither a photographer nor into nature. But there’s something magical about the way he films the p…

When you ask for feedback, you reinforce any existing power dynamic. When you ask for advice, you eliminate the power dynamic completely. People feel more comfortable giving advice, and you'll receive it better. Blog version: https://brianmillerspeaks.com/stop-asking-for-feedback/ Video version: https://youtu.be/VkqVdbCeThg…

Empathy isn't all that it's cracked up to be. It leads to burnout and irrational decisions. Plus, it's nearly impossible to teach. But instead you can learn perspective-taking, a skill that leads to understanding, connection, and yes, even empathy. Watch the video version instead: https://youtu.be/DQZKlzlczOQ Read the blog version instead: https://…

In 2019 I had the privilege and honor of chatting with legend Seth Godin for an hour. We spoke about marketing, work-life balance, and human connection. But when I asked him for a story of a chance encounter with lasting impact, the story he told me was absolutely insane. And exclusive - it's the first and only time he's ever told it in public. Lis…

Connection is not about agreement, but understanding- by being grateful, being humble, setting the tone, and seeking common ground. Read the blog or watch the video instead: https://brianmillerspeaks.com/how-to-respectfully-disagree-respectfully/Brian Miller

From the vault, serial social entrepreneur Getrude Matshe teaches us the African philosophy of Ubuntu. Getrude was my guest back in Season 2 when the show was still called One New Person. Listen to or watch her entire episode here: https://beyondnetworkingpodcast.com/the-magic-of-ubuntu-with-getrude-matshe/…

Life is sometimes unbearably difficult and unreasonably cruel. Let’s all give each other a break. Here's a lesson I learned from my grandmother. Read or watch instead of listening: https://brianmillerspeaks.com/i-havent-bought-a-sponge-in-15-years/Brian Miller

People aren’t going to do what you consider respectful, or fair. They’re going to do what they believe serves the audience, which is not you. Read or watch instead of listening: https://brianmillerspeaks.com/youre-not-special-an-open-letter-to-artists/Brian Miller

Being an artist is hard. People aren’t going to do what you consider respectful, or fair. They’re going to do what they believe serves the audience, which is not you. How do you stand out as an artist? What can you do if people don't respect your work? The War of Art: https://amzn.to/2UuWQKq 2 More Tools: Article: https://brianmillerspeaks.com/how-…

Now that we have 18 months of practice in virtual experiences, let’s not have our excitement get away from us. “In-person” is finally an option again, but it’s only one option. Ask yourself these 3 questions before planning or attending your next in-person event, or going back to the office. Read instead: https://brianmillerspeaks.com/the-pivot-bac…

Kelly Leonard spent most of the 90s and 2000s as an executive producer at the world famous Second City improv theater in Chicago. He is personally responsible for hiring Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, and Steve Carell. He also wrote the book Yes, And…, a book on creativity and collaboration in the workplace, based on lessons from improv co…

Kay Reeve speaks and writes about emotional awareness. She is the author of Brain Unchained, a book created to help teenagers, young adults, and parents understand the four core emotions and build a strategy for positive emotional change. ( continued below) MENTAL HEALTH DISCLAIMER: None of the participants in this video are doctors, psychologists,…

Xabier Marshall is a personal trainer and the owner of Multiply Performance in the UK. I discovered Xabier while reading a BBC article about gyms in a COVID and post-COVID world. I’ve never been to a gym in my life, so I couldn’t tell you why I was reading that article. But Xabier was quoted about successfully Pivoting his personal training to an a…

Ken Davenport is a two-time Tony award-winning Broadway producer. He is best known for Spring Awakening, Kinky Boots, and the revival of Godspell. Ken is renowned in the theater community as an innovative marketer. In 2008 he started a blog called The Producer’s Perspective, dedicated to making the business of Broadway accessible and understandable…

Dr. Caitlin O'Connell is a scientist, author, and storyteller. She holds a PhD in ecology, holds positions at both Harvard and Stanford, is an award-winning author of non-fiction, children’s books, and graphic novels, AND is a renowned expert on elephants. What’s that got to do with Pivoting, resilience, adaptability, human connection, or even just…

Allen Williams is an audio professional in the TV and film industry. He’s worked on projects like The Vampire Diaries, Spider-Man Homecoming, Creed, The Founder, Stranger Things, Cobra Kai, Avengers Infinity War… and some big name projects, too. Like everyone else in the entertainment industry, when COVID hit Allen found himself suddenly without in…

Elisse Glennon is the Executive Director of the New Jersey Sharing Network Foundation. The NJ Sharing Network is a non-profit organization for the recovery and placement of donated organs and tissues. The foundation, where Elisse presides, is dedicated to increasing the numbers of lives saved through research, family support, public awareness, and …

Dan Cockerell started his Disney career directing cars in the parking lot. But when he left 26 years later to pursue an entrepreneurial journey of his own, he was in charge of the entire daily operations of the happiest place on earth. I invited Dan on the podcast to help us understand how the hospitality industry has responded to Covid overall. Yo…

Jesse Cole is the owner of the Savannah Bananas, a collegiate summer league baseball team based in Georgia. Here’s a few facts about the Bananas: They only sell one ticket and it’s all inclusive. Their players perform choreographed dances every game. They are the only baseball team to play in kilts. Their coaching staff includes a 9-year-old and a …

I've had the pleasure of being a guest on some wonderful podcasts lately. Here's a "best of" compilation from the first quarter of 2021. Featuring: Donato G Poet, The Art of Relationships, The Storypowers Podcast, Bulletproof Cashflow, and Marketing as a Foreign Language. Topics include: My 2020 pivot Loneliness in the pandemic Story telling tips f…

Tyler Anderson is a chef and owner of multiple high-end restaurants. He’s also a James Beard award-nominee and appeared on both The Food Network and Top Chef on Bravo. If you’re thinking, didn’t you recently interview a restaurant owner? I did. This is a companion episode to my conversation with Pam Paydos. In fact, Pam connected me with Tyler in t…

Today we’ve got one of our featured experts for the season. Stefanie Faye Frank is a neuroscience researcher. She specializes in translating complex scientific concepts into real-world language to help people find new ways to use their talents, discomforts, failures, and challenges as pathways to growth and evolution. In other words, she helps peop…

Pam Paydos is a beloved Connecticut-based entrepreneur and restaurateur who long-time listeners of this podcast will remember. In fact, Pam was the very first guest ever on this show, back when it was called One New Person. When everything shut down, restaurants were the first and most visible industry to pivot, shifting to take-out only and buildi…

Hana Jung is the founder of Re:Boot Experiences, a set of programs designed to help people stop being machines, and start being human, again. We were connected through a mutual friend David Nebinski who runs the Career Portfolio podcast, on which we’ve both appeared. When COVID hit Hana was already in the midst of personal tragedy and family emerge…

Sandra is the Director of Drama for the College of the Albemarle in North Carolina. But that’s not what she was doing in March 2020 when the world fell apart. Back then, Sandra was the Associate Director for Music off Main, a studio that specialized in early childhood music education. But when Covid shut down the ability to safely sing in-person, t…

Dr. Deborah Gilboa, professionally known as Dr. G, is a practicing family physician. But I wanted to speak with her because she is also an expert on resilience. She teaches families, individuals, teams, and businesses to "do stress better.” In this conversation Dr. G teaches us: 1) What resilience actually is; 2) Why some people seem to go through …

Today’s guest is Jason Tanner. Jason is the CEO and Co-Founder of Applied Frameworks, a consulting firm based in North Carolina. When the world shut down, Jason had 10 employees whose livelihoods and families’ security depended on his ability to pivot. Luckily, Jason served nine years in the Marine Corp, and knew that open, consistent, and efficien…

Today’s featured Pivoter is Stuart MacDonald. Stuart is a rare bird. He’s a magician, but he’s really a character actor who happens to be a magician. He's also won a ton of prestigious awards in magic and fooled Penn & Teller on the CW's hit show Fool Us. You see, magicians, myself included, are typically just heightened versions of themselves. But…

Today’s guest is Carolene Méli, who spent 10 years traveling the world with Cirque du Soleil as the Head of VIP Events and Concierge, until COVID wiped out the global live entertainment industry and Cirque declared bankruptcy, eliminating 3,500 jobs overnight. When the world went into lockdown she was stranded at an AirBnB in France with nothing bu…

What pivot have you made in your life or career? How resilient are you? Do you have the capacity for existential flexibility? Here’s to your next Pivot. Join the Pivot Power newsletter: https://YearOfThePivot.comBrian Miller

Show up with kindness and offer the gift of connection. How they choose to receive or reject that gift is not for us to predict. Read instead: https://brianmillerspeaks.com/the-baby-in-your-head/ Watch instead: https://youtu.be/twFLSU-BavABrian Miller

Here are four reasons it may be worth buying information you could otherwise find for free online, or learn how to do yourself. This is a guide for making better buying decisions. Read here: https://brianmillerspeaks.com/why-i-pay-for-free-stuff/ Watch here: https://youtu.be/n39jGzUCN8IBrian Miller

We know it’s not simple, and we really can’t change the world. Maybe everyone can’t change the world. But you can certainly change your world. Read the blog at: https://brianmillerspeaks.com/change-the-world-willy-wonka/ Watch the video at:Brian Miller

Attention can be bought, but trust cannot. Whether in your businesses dealings or in your personal relationships, get creative, sure. But in your quest for relevance, always be sure to honor the audience. Read this week's blog to see the viral meme discussed here: https://brianmillerspeaks.com/good-tension-vs-bad-tension/ Join our community email a…

Put kindness and generosity into the world and, even if no one ever writes back, recognize that you’re still making a connection. Not with everyone, but with someone. This year I lost my aunt, my grandmother, a kind magician who taught me when I was a teenager, and Eddie Van Halen. I grieved them all differently, of course... but I did grieve them …

Cal Fussman is an award-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author. He is the Writer at Larger for Esquire magazine where he interviews legends upon legends, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Jimmy Carter, Ted Kennedy, Jeff Bezos, Quincy Jones, Muhammad Ali, and Kobe Bryant. Cal now works as a speaker and consultant for organizations who …

Far worse than failing at the finish is failing to start. There’s always going to be one more thing you need to learn, one more book to read, one more course to take, one more TED talk to watch, and then you’ll finally be ready. Read or watch at: https://brianmillerspeaks.com/when-to-say-yes/Brian Miller

This week's guest is Dominic Vogel. Dominic is a cybersecurity expert and an absolutely wonderful conversationalist. We talked about cybersecurity and who's most at risk these days, the value of mentors, entrepreneurship, how to prevent top talent from leaving or fleeing your organization, and of course his chance encounter story. Plus, Dominic giv…

Find something outside your job that sets your soul on fire. Then give it everything you’ve got, and share it with others. The world needs more generosity. And we all need a little more joy. Blog version: https://brianmillerspeaks.com/what-sets-your-soul-on-fire/ Video version: https://youtu.be/JEDHEUXO6og "When the World" music video: https://yout…

Today's guest is Matt Zinman. Matt is a personal success trainer, author of the new book Z-Isms, and founder of The Internship Institute, which bridges the gap between education and employment. Matt's studied internships more than nearly anyone in the world, from a practical standpoint. In this episode we discuss earned confidence, how to prove you…

Here's what I learned when Lord von Schmitt went on Shark Tank. How can you best your true self, or your best self, at work? What aspects of your work are immeasurable and irreplaceable? Watch the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/HPF61Yl7pUw; Read the blog with photos & video embedded: https://brianmillerspeaks.com/lord-von-schmitt-art-business/…