This has been a highly requested episode, and I'm SO excited to finally be sharing with you!

Fortunately, this will not just involve me sharing a limited 22 years of experience (lol) but I am delighted to be joined by the fantastic writer, speaker, coach and mentor Lori Webb, who has such a depth and breath of knowledge and varied experience in this field.

Lori and I deconstruct familiar yet intimidating questions like 'Tell me about yourself', we discuss how to leverage the power of story-telling to answer 'Tell me about a time when...' questions in a way which is personal and engaging, and Lori shares practical tips to help boost your confidence and self-esteem as you prepare for your next job interview.

This is a notebook and pen kind of episode: whether you have an interview lined up or you're just wanting to clean up your CV and get your LinkedIn profile in order, this is the episode FOR YOU. Why not share it with a friend also preparing for an interview, and put into practice some of the ideas proposed in the conversation?

Find out more about Lori's incredible work:

https://www.lorimariewebb.com

Share your thoughts on the episode:

https://www.instagram.com/catchyerselfonpodcast/

Resilience is tied up with qualities like patience, determination and flexibility, yet it remains overlooked in our cultural conversation around confidence and empowerment. That's why I'm dedicating some airtime to this underrated character trait this week!

I am delighted to be joined by executive coach and consultant Natalie Hall (recently named as a Top 100 Female Entrepreneur in 2020!) who founded ElevateHer, a platform which offers resilience coaching to help enable women to prosper in both their personal and professional lives.

In this episode, we discuss how resilience relates to emotional intelligence and rest, why resilience does NOT mean accepting every challenge which is thrown at us, and why a stable support network is vital for building resilience.

Ultimately, resilience is not just about 'coping', it's about thriving. Natalie promotes working on resilience even before you feel like you need it... so, what are you waiting for? Start learning, listening and working on your resilience right now!

Natalie's Links:

https://www.elevateher.co.uk

https://www.instagram.com/elevate_her_coaching/

Take the Mindtools Quiz to find out how resilient you are:

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/resilience-quiz.htm

Share your thoughts on this week's episode:

https://www.instagram.com/catchyerselfonpodcast/

Procrastination is the delaying or postponing of tasks, and it's something we are ALL familiar with. Procrastination causes us to miss important deadlines, it affects the quality of our work, and it has long-term effects on our physical and mental health, so WHY do we do it?

Who better to join me for this discussion (not because she is a procrastinator - I hasten to add - far from it!) than Marilyn Devonish. Marilyn (AKA the NeuroSuccess Coach) is a Flexible Working Implementation Consultant, and an expert in accelerated learning and organisational transformation.

Although lockdown has made it harder to effectively structure the working day, Marilyn explains (from a neurological perspective) how procrastination is FAR LESS about time than it is about EMOTION. In fact, procrastination is intricately tied up with emotions like: fear, guilt, anxiety, frustration, and even self-loathing.

We discuss how procrastination relates to perfectionism, unpack how self-awareness and self-talk can help conquer procrastination, debate whether procrastination is always a negative thing, and consider practical solutions to help us procrastinate less. As Marilyn explains, tackling procrastination is LITERALLY life-changing.

Enjoy the episode (but don't use it as a procrastination tool lol)

Find out more about Marilyn here:

https://marilyndevonish.com

https://www.instagram.com/the_neurosuccess_coach/

Marilyn's resources and links on procrastination:

https://nimbusweb.me/s/share/4888975/oseq0y4dnmtcbqiilmlu

Join the community:

https://www.instagram.com/catchyerselfonpodcast/

She's one of the most popular topics for TedTalks, she's the buzzword on everybody's lips, and we're constantly told we need plenty of her... so this week she's making an appearance on the podcast.

Meet CONFIDENCE. Ever heard of her?

Confidence is familiar yet unfamiliar. People keep on banging on about it, yet we know relatively little about what it is and how we can cultivate it.

Join me as I chat firstly to Elisabetta Franzoso (International Lifestyle and Wellness Coach) who works to boost peoples' confidence and help them achieve their goals. Elisabetta and I talk about what confidence looks like, why it's so important, and how we can grow it.

I then chat to trainee solicitor, mentor, and friend Johari about how confidence overlaps not only with certain spaces (the workplace) but also with questions of identity and mental health. We think through how to authentically advocate for yourself, whether confidence really is like a 'muscle', and conclude that the worst piece of confidence advice we've possibly ever been given is 'fake it 'til you make it.'

Links:

Check out Elisabetta's website, and reach out to her if this episode/ topic resonates with you. She is kindly offering her coaching services for free (!) to young people during the Covid-19 pandemic:

https://www.elisabettafranzoso.com

Johari: https://www.instagram.com/joharirachel/

Share your thoughts on this episode, and get in touch:

https://www.instagram.com/catchyerselfonpodcast/

She's one of the most popular topics for TedTalks, she's the buzzword on everybody's lips, and we're constantly told we need plenty of her... so this week she's making an appearance on the podcast.

Meet CONFIDENCE. Ever heard of her?

Confidence is familiar yet unfamiliar. People keep on banging on about it, yet we know relatively little about what it is and how we can cultivate it.

Join me as I chat firstly to Elisabetta Franzoso (International Lifestyle and Wellness Coach) who works to boost peoples' confidence and help them achieve their goals. Elisabetta and I talk about what confidence looks like, why it's so important, and how we can grow it.

I then chat to trainee solicitor, mentor, and friend Johari about how confidence overlaps not only with certain spaces (the workplace) but also with questions of identity and mental health. We think through how to authentically advocate for yourself, whether confidence really is like a 'muscle', and conclude that the worst piece of confidence advice we've possibly ever been given is 'fake it 'til you make it.'

Links:

Check out Elisabetta's website, and reach out to her if this episode/ topic resonates with you. She is kindly offering her coaching services for free (!) to young people during the Covid-19 pandemic:

https://www.elisabettafranzoso.com

Johari: https://www.instagram.com/joharirachel/

Share your thoughts on this episode, and get in touch:

https://www.instagram.com/catchyerselfonpodcast/

The superhero genre DOMINATES popular culture: superhero narratives in comics are some of the most widely consumed stories, and superhero films gross billions of dollars worldwide. Clearly, we all love the idea of swooping in to save the day... so much so that superheroes have become something of a global obsession !!

Join me for discussion with Dr Claudia Bucciferro (Rochester Institute of Technology, New York) as we unpack one of the most critically acclaimed superhero franchises of all time: X-men!!!

With 13 films released, the X-men media franchise is the 7th highest-grossing film series, and looking at superheroes through the lens of X-men offers opportunity for reflection on themes of otherness, difference, and intersectional identities. Why the series has been so successful? How is the mutant metaphor so malleable? And what is the ability of the genre to promote social change?

We also discuss the future of the superhero genre in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. In an era of social distancing and self-isolation, how inspiring are these empowerment fantasies of strength ? Will the superhero genre continue to draw in larger audiences than ever?

Be sure to share your thoughts about the episode, and join the community:

https://www.instagram.com/catchyerselfonpodcast/

Last week, we looked at how Netflix is changing the face of the television industry. THIS week we dig a wee bit deeper: how is Netflix changing US? Or rather, how is Netflix changing the role of the viewer?

In this episode, I am joined by Dr Mareike Jenner (Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge) to unpack the question of how Netflix is influencing and impacting spectatorship. We take a historical look at the phenomenon of binge-watching, discuss the algorithm (well, of course) and talk about the nature of story-telling in the era of Netflix.

Reviewing how these viewing processes have been around for some time has definitely invited me to think more about how FAR Netflix really is the cultural bad guy... ultimately, it's for YOU to decide!

Tune in to find out, and share your thoughts on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/catchyerselfonpodcast/

What do you think? Netflix: friend or foe?

Netflix is more than a household name... it's the largest streaming service worldwide, boasting a ridiculously big and EVER-GROWING global subscriber count of approx 182 million. Yes - 182 million!!!

In this episode, I chat to Professor Elia Cornelio Marí (Tabasco, Mexico) about how Netflix is changing the television industry. We talk about the humble origins of Netflix starting out as the first online DVD rental store back in 1997, explore the business model of Netflix, and debate whether the service privileges quantity over quality.

We also unpack the relationship between global technologies and local spaces, discussing how Netflix has focused on cultural proximity while also strategically increasing its foreign language content to achieve its overall goal: to conquer the world !!!

Do you think it's succeeding? Tune in to find out, and share your thoughts on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/catchyerselfonpodcast/

This week's episode is all about ACCENTS, accent bias and discrimination.

'Cos we all have an accent (even if you claim otherwise) and it is affecting you - AND your future - in some way.

Britain is super diverse when it comes to accents, with up to 60 different accent variations. Yet, we still know relatively little about the history of the accent hierarchy in Britain.

Why was Received Pronunciation adopted as the standard broadcasting standard in 1922 when only 2% of the British population speak it? Why do we associate certain accents with intelligence and others with criminality? Where do these groundless, inaccurate accent stereotypes come from?

Accent based prejudice (AKA accentism) is a form of social prejudice, and with nearly than 80% employers admitting to discriminating on applicants' accents, this is something we need to talk about more... especially when this type of prejudice is so intricately tied up with race and class.

So join me as I chat to Dr Dominic Watt and Dr Christian Ilbury, investigators and researchers of the Accent Bias Britain project, as well as UK university students with standard, non-standard and non-native English accents.

What do you think? Is accentism one of the more socially 'acceptable' forms of discrimination? Share your thoughts at:

https://www.instagram.com/catchyerselfonpodcast/

Find out more about Dominic and Christian's research, as well as the fantastic accent bias resources and tools available here:

https://accentbiasbritain.org

Thank you to the talented James Mitchell and Joe Wardhaugh for composing the music to the podcast:

https://www.instagram.com/joe.wardhaugh/

Autumn is a season of change and transition, and with so many significant dates and themes to commemorate this month, October has definitely been a month for listening and learning.

As we enter the darker months, many of us remain 'in the dark' about what the future holds. This week in the UK has been marked by the imposition of stricter Covid-19 regulations, and in light of these new changes and measures, this episode is dedicated to lessons learnt in lockdown.

In this episode, listeners from all corners of the globe share what the process of lockdown has taught them, and I hope that their reflections provide you with encouragement and hope as we prepare for the weeks ahead.

Want to join the Instagram community and share your personal reflections on lockdown?

https://www.instagram.com/catchyerselfonpodcast/

Anyone else making this month even harder by also doing Sober October?

https://www.gosober.org.uk/users/rosalind-skillen