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Welcome back to Episode #86. This Interactive Interview Series is back with a fantastic and fun guest, Michael Brown. We are going to talk about handling conflict effectively. How do you handle conflict in your life? Do you run away from it? Do you deny it even exists? Does it stress you out? Do you know exactly what to do? Conflict can affect all of us at some point in our lives and knowing how to handle it is one of the best tools in your interactions power box, and Michael is the ultimate expert on helping us resolve conflict while making a serious topic entertaining and fun! In the interview, Michael puts a real spin on the word interactive plus there is a fun segment where I take some risks but letting my guest run the show for a few minutes!. Michael is a true expert at communicating effectively. Today we want to focus on one element: conflict resolution - in other words, how to win those inevitable battles and arguments instead of avoiding them or caving in all the time? But Michael's real strength is that he can make these serious topics FUN and give us "real learning for a change". In fact, he lives up to that phrase because you can find him at Real Learning For A Change, his fantastic repository of information and blogs. The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! Interview Questions: Handling Conflict Effectively 1. Let's start with the thing we all want to avoid: Conflict! It happens to all of us. I mean if conflict never happens in your life, you are not living. So what I really want to know about conflict is this: Tell us please all the (potential) GOOD POSITIVE things that can come out of conflict. Can you help us shift our perspective (of fear and resistance and avoidance) around conflict, Michael? 2. It's too bad we don't learn this stuff in school. We just don't know what we don't know. In all your years of experience and teaching Conflict Resolution, Michael, what's the most common weakness (or area of critical improvement) across your students that if only they were aware of it, it would really improve their abilities to go through times of conflict far more effectively? 3. Now that we are warmed up, Michael, I will let you lead the charge where you wanted to engage me and our fabulous listeners here to the conflict resolution exercises. 4. So I was reading one of your blog posts, "How to compensate for being an accommodator", and was kinda surprised to find out that you are an accommodator. So your strategy was to partner with someone "LESS accommodating" in order to get a better result in the negotiation, which s brilliant but maybe not always practical. What are 3 things an accommodator can do in the face of conflict to make sure he/she is not taken advantage of and yet still operate somewhat within their own comfort zone (if possible!)? Give us the real secrets here, Michael. We can handle it! 5. Our final question - which is the same question I ask all my interviewees and that is this: I want to leave our listeners with actionable steps so they can get a sense of applying what we discussed in their own lives. What is one (or two) things that the listeners can do RIGHT AWAY after this show to become BETTER and less scared of CONFLICT in their lives? If you can communicate well enough, you can have everything you want in life! Click to Tweet this! IF YOU LOVE US, and want to show your appreciation for this free podcast especially on our anniversary, won't you give us a shout on iTUNES! Thank you thank you for showing your LOVE! If confidence is the single biggest barrier between you and a great communicator, hurry and grab your FREE 21-Step Confidence Building Series or sign up below for this FREE confidence course:

Welcome back to Episode #85 of The Daily Interaction podcast. Today's topic is about achieving that successful career and 4 actions you can take right now to jumpstart your corporate career in the right direction now. Everything I shared with you he...

Welcome back to Episode #84. This Interactive Interview Series is back with another amazing guest today: Leslie Samuel. Leslie Samuel is a blogger whose sole mission is to create content that inspires others and changes the world. He blogs at Become A Blogger where he teaches you to do just that, and also at Interactive Biology, a video blog where he teaches biology to thousands of people all around the world. This biology blog ended up landing him a job as a university professor and is a perfect example of how video can have a tremendous impact on your life and the lives of so many others. The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! If you can communicate well enough, you can have everything you want in life! Click to Tweet this! Interview Questions: How to Get More Comfortable on Video 1. Leslie, you and I were at New Media Expo recently where they talked about 3 hot trends: Google+, podcasting and VIDEO! Video has been big for a while but it's just exploding right now. And you don't have to own a business to get in front of the video. You could be in a toastmasters or any other club. You could be speaking at a PTA meeting where they want to record it. You could be doing a demo of something you know for someone else. You may find yourself in front of camera. But there may still be doubts about how video can be important - can you tell me why video is important in your personal and professional life? 2. How does video communicate our message better/more clearly/more strongly than other mediums - audio and/or the written word? Or does this depend on the specific subject matter in question? 3. You in front of video, Leslie: You are brilliant. You engage. You make amazing eye contact. You are comfortable in your own skin. You are humble and sincere. You are crystal clear about your message and you are convincing. But more than anything, you make me trust you. Talk to me more about how you pull all this off ;) and also how do you prepare? Is it just practice? Can anyone learn to present a message in front of the camera well? (You can give tips or advice here or just talk about your own experience). 4. One of the major fears and reservations people have on video - from my years of filming speeches at our toastmasters club - is that they think they will look silly or foolish and be a laughing stock. It is so far from the truth that it's not even funny. Audiences - virtual or real - are so kind and so forgiving. What do you think about the biggest obstacle to people doing video? What holds them back? How can they overcome it? 5. I love giving my listeners homework so this last question is always about something they can do RIGHT NOW - an action they can take after listening to this interview - what would you say to them? What's the one piece of advice that they can put into practice to get more comfortable in front of video? Hope you enjoyed the interview. I definitely did my homework and created this fun video. Did you? And if you want to take advantage of Leslie's course, hop on Become A Blogger - which I fully endorse - and change the course of your business and career forever with blogging the right way! IF YOU LOVE US, and want to show your appreciation for this free podcast especially on our anniversary, won't you give us a shout on iTUNES! Thank you thank you for showing your LOVE! If confidence is the single biggest barrier between you and a great communicator, hurry and grab your FREE 21-Step Confidence Building Series or sign up below for this FREE confidence course:

Welcome to Episode #83 of The Daily Interaction Show. Whether you are a full-time business owner, entrepreneur, planning to become one or are a hobbyist, you have something to offer the world, it could be an idea, a product, a service, a program, a course, a package, your whatever, in exchange for money. Today, I talk to you about how to do just that without apology and shame and without feeling awkward and weird about saying your prices to prospective clients. Ready? Did you guys miss me? This girl is back from her African Safari and ready to get back into the game. Much fun as it was, I must say that I missed my work!! Now that has got to be the most twisted logic you have ever heard but alas, it can happen when you are in love with your work. I want to thank my amazing superstar corporate-turned-rockstar-entrepreneur client, Bruce Rodgers at Studio139 Software, for the topic today. Bruce was telling me about his inner conflicts and struggles with pricing his services. Specifically about communicating those prices to his potential clients. And Bruce is not the only person to struggle with this one by a long shot. So thanks to his wonderful suggestion, I want to dedicate this whole episode to sharing steps in communicating your offers and prices without apology, without guilt, without insecurity. The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! Show Notes: 4 Bold Steps to Communicating Your Prices and Offers without Apology: First let's talk about WHY on earth we freeze up and feel so insecure when we have to utter those words, those dollars, those prices. Why do we feel we need to immediately give them a discount or prove that it's worth it? Because we tell ourselves these stories that are not true. We tell ourselves that the person cannot afford it, that we are not worth this monetary sum in exchange for our services or that they will laugh at our price. The stories are generally a perpetual lie. Stop telling yourself these stories. Here are the 4 major steps to help you communicate your offers and prices without apology and with true confidence: 1. Set your prices high enough to where you are glad to over-deliver without being resentful. Examples of when calls go over, clients email too much and take up more of your time. Generally, you are pricing yourself too low especially if you are new to business. 2. Share your prices on your website. This has a three-fold benefit. First, you don't have to say it on the phone if you don't want to or write it out on email. You simply refer them to the site and recommend a certain package. Second, you filter those who totally cannot afford it. Talk about Kane vs. Port suggestions on displaying $. Third, you are being totally transparent and customers/clients appreciate this. They don't want to ask how much either. Not anymore than you want to say how much. 3. Say your offer without apology. The worst thing you can do is price yourself what you deem to be too high and then apologize or try to convince the customer you are worth it. Never convince. Clearly outline what they get but don't convince they should. There is a difference between persuading them to buy your stuff or focusing on why this is something good for them - results for them etc. Apology kills the spirit of transaction. 4. Have a system for collecting payment without feeling awkward about it. Sometimes you will get clients or customers that just make the whole process painful. Your job is to filter those out from the very start. Payment should be a non-issue. Do you ever go to Nordstrom and ask if they can make you a special offer? No! You'd look like a fool. Well, then don't entertain customers or clients who do that. Respect yourself enough and take yourself and your business seriously enough to treat it as an objective matter-of-fact logistical matter to handle. Check out my FREE 21-Step Confidence Building Series or sign up below for it:

Welcome back to Episode 82 of our Daily Interaction Show! Today's guest is a pretty special person to me. In 2006, I was lost & confused in my corporate career and during one of my many business trips to California, a director friend gave me a copy of this book "Funny in Farsi". I loved reading and writing about Funny in Farsi. Everyone was handing me business books to find my career path but this guy gave me a Persian memoir, a book that made me laugh as hard as it made me cry… and reading it was the seed of inspiration for the future of my own career. Our guest is Firoozeh Dumas, the author of "Funny in Farsi" as well as "Laughing without an Accent". Firoozeh is from Iran, we share the same "vat-an" or home country. She immigrated to America with her family when she was just 7 years old. Two years in America then they moved back to Iran and then 2 years later, they moved back to California. Lots of adjustments no doubt. She came to the US during a hard time for Iranian immigrants in the 1970s and yet I love the way she tells of her adventures, her parents' take on the American culture and America's take on the Iranian culture. She's an incredible author, and has received well-deserved attention for her work including best seller status on SF Chronicle & LA times as well as being the 2005 Finalist of Thurber Prize for American Humor. My deep connection to Firoozeh is her powerful use of both humor and irony to illustrate the experiences of being an immigrant, one to which I so dearly relate, and the encouragement that we are better off accepting each other despite our differences. Why she is on our show today? First, because writing is a powerful medium of communication and we tap into that briefly. Second, being an immigrant and interacting effectively in a new culture can be useful to you, whether you are in that situation now or may find yourself in it later. The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! If you can communicate well enough, you can have everything you want in life! Click to Tweet this! You can find Firoozeh on her website and check out her future appearances on NPR's "Wait, wait, don't tell me!" on her Events page. Interview Questions to Firoozeh about Writing Your Memoirs and Protecting Your Dreams: 1. Firoozeh, we immigrated to America at 15, you immigrated at 7. I didn't find anything positive about "not fitting in". You were able to transform your awkward experience into an amazing & funny memoir with a powerful message. For those of us who feel disconnected from the culture where we live, can you give us your thoughts and advice on better adjusting & accepting it? 2. I want to talk to you about your reasons to turn to writing. To me, writing is therapeutic and healing and sharing the written word is of course powerful but everyone writes for different reasons. Why did you start writing? What has writing done for you? 3. I remember contacting you after reading Funny in Farsi. It touched me deeply. Unfortunately, I can't get anyone in my family to cooperate so I can write my own memoirs but that's a different story ;) - How did your parents react to your sharing those intimate stories with the world? 4. Living here in America for 20 odd years, I have been on both sides, both as an immigrant and as a welcoming American to new immigrants and I still feel so much compassion for the newly arrived immigrant. What would you want to say to an American (or a citizen of any country) on meeting immigrants into their land? How should they interact with them? 5. Your story telling is powerful, Firoozeh, would you like to share a recent story that shows both the contrast and yet the similarities of Persians to Americans? You and I have no issues laughing at our own funny culture, that's for sure! 6. Our final question - which is the same question I ask all my interviewees: I want to leave our listeners with actions!

Welcome to Episode #81 of The Daily Interaction Show. If you want to be a corporate superstar and one of those "inner circle" employees, you need to understand the communication secrets at the workplace. Period. You need to know the interpersonal communication skills that work well in the corporate culture, the stuff that nobody teaches you but worry not, because in this episode, I share secrets from my 11+ year corporate experience plus research and books and mentors and coaching my own clients and students. Take back the reins to your corporate job by these small subtle changes in the way you interact at the workplace with your boss and co-workers! The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! Show Notes: 10 Corporate Culture Secrets to Communicating: 1. Be yourself but not really: There is a limit to being yourself within the corporate or cubicle walls. Be aware of how much of your personality and quirk you display at work and stay on the conservative side IF you want to move up the ladder. 2. Don't say everything that comes immediately to your mind: Learn to filter and to pause before you speak, because the whole "honesty" factor is not half as important as knowing when to keep quiet and listen and say the right things and ONLY the right things! 3. Don't complain: Complaining at the workplace is career suicide. Enough said! 4. Act and think like a company owner: Stop thinking like an employee. Best advice I received from my coaches and fastest route to the top of that corporate ladder when you change the way you think. 5. Problems always come with solutions: If you don't have a solution to offer to the current problem at hand, then no reason to bring up the problem at all! Problems and solutions go hand-in-hand, remember that! 6. Disagree the right way so you get heard: Learn the effective way to voice your disagreement at work. 7. Be a connector and become indispensable: The more you understand this one, the more successful you will be in your career and your life. 8. Keep your personal life to yourself: The wedding and baby and family stuff is relevant only to the point of your presence or absence in the office, beyond that, save the chatter for your friends, not co-workers and definitely not your boss. 9. Know and befriend the key influencers: Find and get to know the key influencers and connectors in the organization and build relationships with them. 10. Get yourself a coach or a mentor: Having the right coach is the best investment in your career, and the hardest one to see ahead of time. The right coach can give you the insight scoop that you will never figure out on your own. Learning the corporate culture is like learning a foreign language, what with all the acronyms, the secret "handshakes" and the invisible signs of showing that you are part of the inner circle. You need to understand the inside mindset to get ahead and you need to have a huge boost of confidence as you go about it. So grab your FREE Rock Your Career Email Course or sign up below for it:

Welcome to Episode #80 of The Daily Interaction Show. In this Interactive Interview Series, I have an amazing guest with an amazing name: Mordan Mahon of Success Freaks, talking on a subject near and dear to all our hearts: dealing with fear. The Daily Interaction Mantra: If you can communicate well enough, you can have everything you want in life! Click to Tweet this! The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! Interview Questions for Mordant: Subtle Ways to Deal with Fear 1. There is a lot of fear to overcome and I am not immune to it either. So Mordant, as a successful radio live show host who talks to a wide range of people including big names and celebrities, I want to know your top tips in overcoming your anxiety before doing a live show. 2. In doing your shows: What would you say is the biggest improvement you have seen in your communication and the second part of that question is why does communication even matter? I want to help my listeners see the relevance between communication and changes in your life. 3. Your theme on Success Freaks is Comedic Motivation - Helping Others Be Awesome. I talk about motivation to my listeners all the time, and I am a big believer of personal development because it has changed my own life drastically. Soooo my question for you Mordant is what role does motivation play in your life and your work and what things do you do to stay motivated? 4. Now please tell us your biggest struggle that you successfully overcame in your communication as you became the professional Talk Radio host that you are. 5. I love giving my listeners homework so this last question is always about something they can do RIGHT NOW - an action they can take after listening to this interview - what would you say to them - to overcome everyday fears and anxieties they feel with their daily interactions? What's the one piece of advice that they can put into practice now? If you love this show, and want to encourage us to keep producing it weekly, rate us on iTunes and help spread the word! Learning to deal with fear is not an overnight accomplishment but starting it IS! Start tonight or today to manage the fear in your way. Check out my FREE 21-Step Confidence Building Series or sign up below for it:

Welcome to Episode #79 of The Daily Interaction Show. Our topic is to find community and courage when loneliness pulls you out of the world and makes it hard to keep going. You may be an entrepreneur, a single parent, just single, or simply feel lonely as you go through life. This podcast will help you deal with that! Why is it that you feel like you are the only living soul on earth going through a hardship when you are in the thick of it? Why do we forget that not only do others go through similar if not often worse hardships, but that we can draw on each other's strength precisely at these times? The focus of drawing courage and support from community is not just for entrepreneurs, although we seem to be really good at drawing inward when we first go solo, but really this is a situation we all come face to face with in life. Hence the point of discussion for today! The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! Show Notes: You Are Not Alone in Your Quest - Community & Courage 1. How thinking that you can do it all on your own can hurt your career and your profession. 2. Where loneliness really stems and why living in a big city or working in a large corporation doesn't mean you won't be alone. 3. How do you find yourself in the company of the right people. Don't approach your solution to loneliness by changing your situation. 4. The real way to get out of loneliness is to start with people who are uplifting and share your values. 5. The feeling of relating to the people with whom you hang around and how that removes loneliness. 6. The power of masterminds, coaching, conferences and why they all help pull you out of your own loneliness. 7. Following your interests and hobbies and finding communities around them. 8. Difference between loneliness and solitude and which one are you interested in? Coming out of our shells of loneliness and turning to community and support requires a huge show of faith and confidence, so grab the 21-Step Confidence Building Series below and know that you are never, EVER, ever alone in your quest for anything.

Welcome to another Interactive Interview Series here on our Daily Interaction Show. You guys are IN for a treat today so pay close attention because we are going to learn how to use our most valuable instrument: Our Own Voice! Sally Morgan is the creator of a contemporary vocal technique Sing Like You Speak. She is a professional vocal trainer, singer, composer, author and innovator in this field for 25 years. She is the author of Sing Like You Speak™: Morganix Method and 125 Secrets to Help You Speak Like a Pro; Speak Up and Win! and The Dynamic Diction Course. You can see and hear some of Sally’s clients on Broadway stages, Off-Broadway, in Regional Theater, on Major Label Recordings, the Conan O’Brian show, A Prairie Home Companion, in Federal Courts, and in the senate. Sally has been coaching business executives, lawyers, politicians, actors and singers for 25+ years. She has a finely tuned intuitive coaching style that guides her clients quickly to massive break-through. She also facilitates workshops (I'd love to go to one!) where she helps anyone from actors, singers to business execs become "vocally empowered" and "professionally polished" - I love that description! And what I love MOST about Sally is her warmth and heartfelt teaching style AND delightful personality on her videos on YouTube makes her the real gem in the voice lesson world. (Search for Sing Like You Speak on YouTube.) We are truly lucky to learn from Sally's expertise today on improving our VOICES! The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! Unleashing Your Voice with Sally Morgan - Interview Questions: 1. Sally, I found you when searching for ways to improve my voice; it's such a big part of my life now. I do lots of interviews, speaking, coaching and this show of course, and I feel self-conscious about my voice. I yearn to sound elegant and deep and beautiful but I don't know where to begin... Do you see this emotional trend in your students and would you share with us one or two things we can do to help us FEEL better about our voices? 2. You work with singers, speakers and professionals to improve both their speaking and their singing. What are some of the results or changes in their life from having a better voice, or that "professional polish" and "vocal empowerment" as you call it? 3. With respect to people who want to just be better communicators and speakers, what would you say is the "rudest" awakening when they start working with you? We make so many assumptions in life - we are bound to make a few around our voice. Can you bust some myths here for us? 4. I was watching one of your videos and I love LOVE how you say "unleash that voice that's trapped inside"! Can you help us visualize that better and relate to the "unleashing" part? And are there exercises or tools that you recommend. 5. Sally, now I'd love for you to do a LIVE critique of my voice here on the air. This is a true testament to vulnerability, I know, but I've wanted to overcome it and what better time and place than with you and my listeners... I will embrace whatever you throw at me! 6. Our final question: I want to leave our listeners with actionable steps. What is one (or two) things that our listeners can do RIGHT AWAY after this show toward becoming "vocally empowered"?. Watch the talented magnificent and delightful Sally Morgan below in the video and be sure to subscribe to her YouTube channel: And if you need more inner confidence to let that beautiful voice unleash, look no further than my free 21-Step Confidence Building Series course:

Welcome back to Episode #77 of The Daily Interaction podcast. Our topic today is how to sell an idea to anyone, including to yourself. I give you power tips on how to use for any idea and learn how to put your ideas in front of anyone from your boss, your investors, your spouse or your children! So let's learn how we are going to SELL your idea. The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! Show Notes: How to Sell Any Idea with 4 Non-Negotiable Rules: 1.Your Intention: Ask yourself: What's my intention with this idea? Is it to spread a message that I believe in? Is it to make money? Is it to impress someone (boss, management, spouse, partner, investors, etc.). Is it to meet some deep held desire or to prove to yourself that you can do something and all of that proof is hanging on to the success of your idea? Ask yourself: What's your intentions with your idea? Or another way to put it: What's your most desired outcome if you could see this idea to the end? 2.Your Positioning: How do you position your idea? How do you negotiate around it? How do you make your pitch even if it's to yourself first? Intention helps here because it gives us that foundation for our final result but positioning is about putting the idea out there in such a way that everyone involved can see the benefit to them, not to you. So if it's your business partner, he/she needs to see a benefit to them. If it's your investors, same thing. If it's your boss, even if the idea helps customers, he still needs an incentive - does it help his objectives or numbers? And also to you: What's the ultimate benefit to you? 3. Your Credibility: The third nonnegotiable rule is having some credibility, some expertise and authority for carrying out that idea. If it's totally new, that's fine - it doesn't mean you can't do it - it just means you have to build up the credibility even if it's by initial research and education, by talking to people who know more about it and by being honest with yourself - can you really carry out this idea with your level of credibility and if not, ask yourself: What do you need to do to close the gap? 4. Your Voice: People hear everything through your voice, including your idea. How can you sound confident, but not arrogant? How to be composed and coherent? How to not sound like a church mouse but also not be yelling it out? Finding the perfect balance with your voice. If you love the show and want to support its continuation, give us a rating on iTUNES! :) Love to know your thoughts on how you go about selling those brilliant ideas to the world. Share in the comments one useful tip that has works wonders!

Welcome back to Episode #76 of The Daily Interaction podcast. We have our 2nd guest on the Interactive Interview Series, Johnny D. Domenico. I met my fabulous guest, Johnny Domenico, for this show at the New Media Expo. You are going to LOVE him as we talk about how you can deliver a message with comedy and as he gets in and out of several characters for us. We did this interview for you in person live in Las Vegas. Johnny Di Domenico is a seasoned professional actor, writer and performer. He is a brilliant impersonator who started acting in character to overcome his speech impediment. Johnny wanted to be a performer from the time he was five years old. He started writing and performing in his own movies and hasn’t stopped yet. Today Johnny travels the country, speaking at corporate events delivering unforgettable speeches while in character and while also informing his audience. It's more than entertainment; it's infotainment. I thought he was unforgettable in this interview but you be the judge .... listen in now! The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! If you can communicate well enough, you can have everything you want in life! Click to Tweet this! You can find Johnny on his website and given his work - professional impersonator - you MUST checkout his YouTube channel. Interview Questions that I asked Johnny about Infotainment: 1. My listeners are interested in how they can communicate their message in a unique memorable way so you do that well. What started this path for you? Why did you start to combine comedy with your speaking? 2. Being unforgettable - talk about powerful speakers and how their message sticks and it doesn't have to be a speech for my listeners it can be a powerful introduction ...Or how important is it to be unforgettable? Can you give us some tips on being unforgettable in your communications? 3. On being relatable - you get into characters that people know and from experience they can relate to it so they connect with you ... Talk about that and how we can do that in our daily interactions? 4. Power of comedy - it connects us like nobody's business ... I had great fun talking to you because you were funny when you did your Donald Trump impersonation which .... Do you want to do now? ... So yeah how do we incorporate a little comedy and fun into our interactions? 5. My last question John is something for my listeners to take away ... An action step, something they can do today to help them communicate better the magic formula that you have created.... IF YOU LOVE US, and want to show your appreciation for this free podcast especially on our anniversary, won't you give us a shout on iTUNES! Thank you thank you for showing your LOVE! If confidence is the single biggest barrier between you and a great communicator, let's crush it, shall we? Grab your FREE 21-Step Confidence Building Series or sign up below for this FREE confidence course:

Welcome back to Episode #75 of The Daily Interaction podcast. We are going to talk about how you can deal with negative people in your life, be it anyone from your spouse to your best friend and colleague at work and why if you do not deal with these negative people, their presence and influence can ruin your future. I am just back from New Media Expo conference in Las Vegas where I had the most amazing time meeting people that I already know. When you meet people you've known for months or years only during your online interactions, it's always like meeting old friends for the first time, a feeling I can't get tired of. And I recorded a few of the interviews over at the Podcast Pavilion there. The interview with Mark Pentleton, someone I had dreamt of meeting, Episode 74 was recorded live on the fun fabulous NMX show floor and the 2 future episodes are also from that event. Today's topic is a request from listener May-Ling who asked: How to deal with those Debby Downer Friends. It's a real struggle for me because I tend to just hit the road around negative people/complainers and I end up distancing myself and sometimes the friendship withers away. I feel they're going to contaminate my thinking when I'm working so hard to be positive and peaceful. I try to be supportive, point out the blessings they have, offer suggestions that might help but when they can't see beyond that I kinda want to run. I get it, I've been there and it truly sucks but when I've been there (while ago) I was mainly around people who just wanted to complain also and that got old. Never coming to solutions and assuming you're just stuck....forever, just got old. And I know some relationships are only meant for a short term. Some friendships I let go of were not helping me grow and it's ok that those ended. I sincerely wish them the absolute best and have positive feeling towards them. I guess I just was wondering if you had any similar experiences and any wisdom you can share in this issue. The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! Show Notes for 3 Surefire Ways that Negative People Ruin Your Future 1. They make you believe you are a victim of circumstance. Truth: You are a WINNER of circumstance. You can create your own reality with your thought and beliefs. 2. They make you feel guilty about being healthy, happy, prosperous or blessed in any other way. Truth: Nobody in the world has the permission or the right to make you feel guilty. Unless you have done them harm or stolen their goods of course but you know what I mean! 3. They make you forget that life is full of opportunity and blessing. Truth: We have a choice for everything. Their choice may be to live in misery. Yours can be different. What to Do About the Negative People in Your Life First, let's clarify: We are not talking about friends in need in times of trouble. We are not talking about turning down someone who asks for help. Absolutely positively NOT! We are talking about people who stop by your cubicle to take up your precious morning hour and energy by talking rubbish and complaining about the state of the world and economy and their marriage. NO MORE! Put a stop to it. If you don't, it's your fault. Well, it depends how badly you want a brilliant bright future. Two huge mistakes I have made: I used to have a lot of compassion for people's sob stories - who knows, maybe it made me feel better about my own life or I just felt drawn to people who were not happy. Yes, me! Imagine that. And I did not understand the power of positive thinking and positive believing. I had no clue. If you are vigilant about claiming your highest potential and reaching your best in life, you cannot allow these people in your mind. The only way to get them out is by eliminating them from your life. Recently I had to make a very difficult choice about a close member of my own family. It was brutal but over the years,

Welcome back to Episode #74 of The Daily Interaction podcast. Happy New Year 2013! How is the beginning of this year so far? I hope it's been fantastic for you. Speaking of new beginnings, this episode kicks off our Interactive Interview Series where I interview people who have either improved their own communication skills so drastically that it has changed their lives - for the better of course! - or people who have contributed massively to the world of communication and for the rest of us. The interviews will air on every other podcast, and this is our first one! The Daily Interaction 2013 Mantra: If you can communicate well enough, you can have everything you want in life! Click to Tweet this! What does learning a new language "get you"? Why should you even bother? Fair questions that we tackle in this fun interview that was recorded at the Podcast Pavilion in Las Vegas during the NMX Conference early January. Our first guest is someone that I have known for a long time but only through my ear buds! He has become a world-renowned language teacher primarily through podcasting and he has changed the way that I, along with millions of others, view, think about and learn foreign languages. His name is Mark Pentleton of Radio Lingua. You can find him on iTunes by typing Coffee Break [followed by your favorite language] such as Coffee Break French (my favorite). They are releasing German late January but already have over 30 podcasts covering languages from A to Z. The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! Learning Foreign Languages with Mark - Interview Questions: These are most of the interview questions that I asked Mark. Listen to the podcast for his brilliant insights on these topics: 1. Languages - I happen to love them. What would you say is the most compelling reason for learning a language? 2. When I was learning French in high school & college, I learned so much more than JUST French. I felt I learned about the people and the culture etc. Would you share some direct and indirect ways that learning a language improves our communications with the world? 3. How do we get inspired to learn and stick with a new language while living far away from the natives of that languages and also living in a culture that doesn't encourage it or a lifestyle that doesn't require it? 4. Mark, you are an experienced teacher of French and Spanish and also speak Italian and some Norwegian, Portuguese, German and Catalan. So do you believe there is a language talent "gene"? Or are all of us able to learn languages with the right tools and techniques? 5. People are always talking about learning a new language but they don't seem to get around to it. What's the one actionable step that we can give our listeners right now to get them started right away? FYI: Reference used by Mark during Interview about studies on polyglots, multiple language speakers, was by Michael Erard. Learning a foreign language is one thing and speaking it to a native speaker is another. Get confident to get up to someone whom you just met and have the courage to speak a few words that you know well in their native tongue. Check out my FREE 21-Step Confidence Building Series or sign up below for this FREE confidence course:

Welcome back to Episode #73 of The Daily Interaction podcast. We are back from our first ever break on the podcast since our launch in August 2011. I took a 2-week holiday break, during which I wrote thousands of words into my new book - manuscript due to my publisher in January so hustling big time - and made some changes to our podcasting going forward. Boy have I missed you so much! So glad to be back. The topic today, our last podcast of 2012, is all about resolutions. I want to share a unique perspective on how not to make those new year resolutions and how to avoid those usual pitfalls of resolution making so that they keep the strong momentum all year long and become achievable targets rather than a point of frustration. Resolutions have picked up a bad rap over the years especially since you hear the same old people in your life resolving to do the same old thing that they fail to make any progress on, year after year. There is nothing wrong with resolutions per se. It's the approach to this wonderful idea that needs change. One of the most creative approaches is by one of my role models, Christine Kane, where she talks about your word of the year. Love this idea! Give it a go! Another approach is what I share with you here in this podcast. This method has worked brilliantly for me and what do you know, I even surpassed my new year resolutions in 2012 so imagine how you would feel if by December 2013, you can smile and say, "Would you look at that! I went above and beyond my new year resolutions!". That's my goal for this last podcast of 2012 for you so tune in and listen up! This is your dreams we are talking about! Prolific Living Announces: 1. If you want to join me and other health nuts on the fun journey of health to juicing, juice fasting and cleansing and detoxing your system with natural juices, hop on Prolific Juicing Clinic pronto! 2. If you will be at NMX (affectionately known among some of us as Blogworld), the conference of bloggers, authors, podcasters and social media enthusiasts, I'll be on a podcasting panel and love to meet you. Las Vegas. January 6-8. See you there? The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! How Not to Make New Year Resolutions Show Notes Number 1: Don't set someone else's resolution even if you have the best intentions, your resolution must come from your heart and your own desires, untarnished by others. Number 2: Don't use the future tense of the verbs. Use the right affirmative present-tense language. And the new phrase to use instead of "losing weight" that might just change everything about those stubborn pounds. Number 3: Don't be vague and grandiose about your resolutions. Be super specific and use immeasurable language and exactly why this level of detail makes your resolution more achievable. Number 4: Don't be loose about when it will be done. Giving yourself a deadline and using all the powers and knowledge you have about working a deadline now as you apply it to a personal and intimate goal. Number 5: Don't use the word "resolution" if that turns you off. Call it another big fancy fun name as long as it is something that makes sense to you and gets you fired up. And don't forget to get your 21-Step Confidence Building Series (check out the short video) and start your 2013 with CONFIDENCE!

Think about the last change you had to make in one area of your life. Before you set out to do it, what story were you telling yourself? What lies did you make up to fight the change before giving in? And how do you feel now after the change? Welcome back to Episode #72 of The Daily Interaction podcast. Today's topic is The More You Change, The Better You Emerge. I was at a panel speaking to some 450 lovely women at a leadership summit where change was a hot sizzling topic, not because it's our favorite thing to talk about but because it is instrumental to everyone's life! Change impacts every single one of us and I want to encourage you in this episode to master - not just manage but MASTER - changes that either you decide to do in your life and some that life throws at you. Short & sweet Announcements in the true spirit of the topic: 1. Brace yourself for big changes coming to The Daily Interaction. We have one more episode on Dec 14th then we go on a 2 week holiday break - enjoy yours! - and we are back in 2013 with a new schedule & new fun stuff. Listen to the show for details. Comments about the change? Leave'em below! 2. JUST signed my first real book deal with a traditional publisher. It's a new juicing book out in the spring. I am a fanatic about juicing and if you are NOT doing it, you are missing out BIG TIME - sorry, I can't lie about this one - so learn why juicing keeps you healthy, wealthy & wise - not to mention the glowing skin & hair and killer digestive system - by hopping on my Exclusive Insider's Guide to Green Juicing. The iTunes Page: Subscribe & download! The RSS Feed: Follow the Feed! The More You Change, The Better You Emerge Show Notes 1. Why you need to become a master of change, not just be able to manage it. 2. The lyrics of Sir Elton John from the Lion King and how that relates to how we all handle change differently. 3. The illusion of being in control and learning to go with the flow without compromising your values. 4. The 3 biggest changes of my life, and how these monumental changes shaped me and how I learned from it. 5. Reminding you that you have a choice, and calling you to use it. Use positive affirmations if you must but please, don't ever say you are a victim! 6. How to measure your inches of progress in managing and mastering changes in your life? So that's a wrap for this episode. Thank you so much for listening to The Daily Interaction Podcast, and for being here as a reader and a listener. Don't forget to grab your 21 Step Confidence Building series! I bet you know better than to deny the importance of change, but how do you really face it and deal with it? What do you wish you could do better when the next unexpected change comes knocking on your door. Share your thoughts in the comments!