Dialsmith Podcast

In the world of audience engagement there are many people who do one thing really well. Then, from time to time, you meet someone who does many things really well! That’s the case with Kathy Klotz-Guest. Kathy’s main focus is on helping her clients connect with their customers as real people. What’s unique is that she draws from her experience as a Silicone Valley executive, speaker, author, workshop leader, and…wait for it…improv comedian.

In this conversation, Kathy and I discuss:

@4:50  How comedy and humor can be used to create “ha-ha” moments, to make content more “human” and relatable, or to unleash creativity and advance stories.

@8:30  What Kathy means by, “Humor disrupts expected patterns, and raises the emotional stakes.”

@13:10  How to quickly win over an audience.

@24:55  Connecting with an audience through storytelling.

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Jamie Mustard where we discuss how to make messages brands, and ideas stand out.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

Engaging an audience is hard enough through one medium, but imagine having to do it across four?! That’s what this episode’s guest, Ryan Serhant, has been able to master. You may know of Ryan from his hit TV shows, “Million Dollar Listing New York” and “Sell It Like Serhant.” Or, maybe you’ve heard he has a book coming out also titled, Sell It like Serhant. Or, maybe you watch his weekly YouTube vlog. Or, maybe you trade in multimillion-dollar New York real estate and have worked with Ryan on a deal.

I’m exhausted just writing this post and all of that is Ryan’s life! In each case, he succeeds by engaging an audience (be it an audience of one or millions) and drawing them to him. It’s for this reason that we’re thrilled to have him on the podcast to see what we can learn from him.

In this episode Ryan and I discuss:

@2:05  Setting yourself up for success by defining yourself as, “I am the one who…”

@7:00  How his hit TV show, Million Dollar Listing New York, has changed up it’s storyline strategy based on the changing taste if its audience.

@8:20  Universal truths Ryan has learned about engaging with all kinds, and sizes, of audiences based on his years of real estate and media success.

@11:35  The power of persistence and the long term benefits you can realize by keeping yourself top-of-mind.

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Kristen Soltis Anderson, pollster and frequent contributor to ABC News, MSNBC, FOX News, and more. Kristen and I discuss engaging with voters as real people, how to tailor messages based on your specific audience, and much more.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

Engaging an audience is hard enough through one medium, but imagine having to do it across four?! That’s what this episode’s guest, Ryan Serhant, has been able to master. You may know of Ryan from his hit TV shows, “Million Dollar Listing New York” and “Sell It Like Serhant.” Or, maybe you’ve heard he has a book coming out also titled, Sell It like Serhant. Or, maybe you watch his weekly YouTube vlog. Or, maybe you trade in multimillion-dollar New York real estate and have worked with Ryan on a deal.

I’m exhausted just writing this post and all of that is Ryan’s life! In each case, he succeeds by engaging an audience (be it an audience of one or millions) and drawing them to him. It’s for this reason that we’re thrilled to have him on the podcast to see what we can learn from him.

In this episode Ryan and I discuss:

@2:05  Setting yourself up for success by defining yourself as, “I am the one who…”

@7:00  How his hit TV show, Million Dollar Listing New York, has changed up it’s storyline strategy based on the changing taste if its audience.

@8:20  Universal truths Ryan has learned about engaging with all kinds, and sizes, of audiences based on his years of real estate and media success.

@11:35  The power of persistence and the long term benefits you can realize by keeping yourself top-of-mind.

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Kristen Soltis Anderson, pollster and frequent contributor to ABC News, MSNBC, FOX News, and more. Kristen and I discuss engaging with voters as real people, how to tailor messages based on your specific audience, and much more.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

In the world of audience engagement there are many people who do one thing really well. Then, from time to time, you meet someone who does many things really well! That’s the case with Kathy Klotz-Guest. Kathy’s main focus is on helping her clients connect with their customers as real people. What’s unique is that she draws from her experience as a Silicone Valley executive, speaker, author, workshop leader, and…wait for it…improv comedian.

In this conversation, Kathy and I discuss:

@4:50  How comedy and humor can be used to create “ha-ha” moments, to make content more “human” and relatable, or to unleash creativity and advance stories.

@8:30  What Kathy means by, “Humor disrupts expected patterns, and raises the emotional stakes.”

@13:10  How to quickly win over an audience.

@24:55  Connecting with an audience through storytelling.

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Jamie Mustard where we discuss how to make messages brands, and ideas stand out.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

Elizabeth has been a client, co-presenter, and industry friend for years. From her days at HSN, to her role within the Market Research Association (MRA), to her strategy and insights work at Nest, Elizabeth is without a doubt one of the smartest and most talented people I’ve ever worked with. It’s my absolute honor to have her on this podcast.

In her current role leading customer strategy and experience analytics for the Nest brand at Google, focused on smart home products, Elizabeth leads a team of world-class analysts focused on global product development, customer experience, and customer value.

Here are some things you’ll learn from this conversation with Elizabeth:

@ 6:45 – What are some universal truths she’s learned about consumers?

@ 10:10 – How research across more than 20 countries has taught Elizabeth that, with small variations, people around the globe want the same things.

@ 12:00 – How to personalize a message in a way that is scalable – creating a message that is both a mass message and a one-to-one communication

@ 15:47 – What is a “Moment of Truth” and how is it influenced by repetition, relevance, and reward?

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Jamie Mustard where we discuss how to use singular big ideas to make messages, brands, and products stand out.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

Having worked as a staffer on Capitol Hill, public policy consultant, pollster, and corporate communication strategist, Brian Gottlieb knows a thing or two about getting a point across and engaging an audience. In this podcast, we dig in to Brian’s diverse career and get his take on a wide variety of topics. In this time of political divide and corporate reputation challenges, Brian’s experience and advice are particularly timely. I expect you’ll learn as much from him as I did.

In this conversation, Brian and I discuss:

@4:55  How political strategies can be used to solve corporate communication challenges

@9:40  Techniques to get people to open up and be honest in focus groups

@18:50  How to get people to rally around the need for a solution even when they may disagree on the cause of the problem

@26:10  Leadership techniques for fostering happiness, growth, and commitment from employees

@31:30  How to be professionally successful and still take time out to enjoy life

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Kristin Soltis Anderson where we discuss messaging in the era of social media, the public’s trust in social media platforms, and the use of visual storytelling in effective messaging.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious

When I asked my business partner, Rich, who would make a great podcast guest to chat with about crafting engaging messaging in politics and public policy, he replied Kristen Soltis Anderson without skipping a beat. And, I’m glad he did! Kristen is a respected pollster, co-host of the bipartisan podcast http://www.thepollsters.com/, co-founder of polling and consulting firm Echelon Insights, and regularly lends her voice to ABC News, MSNBC, FOX News, and more.

In this conversation, Kristen and I talk about messaging in the era of social media, the public’s trust in social media platforms, the use of visual storytelling in effective messaging, and what she’s learned from hosting her own successful podcast.

Kristen talks about:

@4:45  How younger voters want a more accountable government where their voices to be heard, more like in the private sector.

@13:00  How brands need to be thoughtful about the term “milennials” and also be clear on the difference between that group and Gen X, Y, and Z.

@20:20  How the recent distrust in Facebook doesn’t seem to translate to other companies like Google and Amazon even though those companies have a lot more data on us as individuals.

@27:10  The need to be careful with micro-targeting to be sure it doesn’t just look or sound interesting, but will in fact make a measurable difference.

@35:00  Some of her favorite things, from soup dumplings to Star Wars to spicy peppers. Don’t miss the lightening round!

Useful links:

* Kristen’s Personal Democracy Forum talk.

* Kristen’s book, The Selfie Vote

 

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Elizabeth Merrick May where we discuss how to craft messaging for both large and one-to-one audiences.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious

 

Elizabeth has been a client, co-presenter, and industry friend for years. From her days at HSN, to her role within the Market Research Association (MRA), to her strategy and insights work at Nest, Elizabeth is without a doubt one of the smartest and most talented people I’ve ever worked with. It’s my absolute honor to have her on this podcast.

In her current role leading customer strategy and experience analytics for the Nest brand at Google, focused on smart home products, Elizabeth leads a team of world-class analysts focused on global product development, customer experience, and customer value.

Here are some things you’ll learn from this conversation with Elizabeth:

@ 6:45 – What are some universal truths she’s learned about consumers?

@ 10:10 – How research across more than 20 countries has taught Elizabeth that, with small variations, people around the globe want the same things.

@ 12:00 – How to personalize a message in a way that is scalable – creating a message that is both a mass message and a one-to-one communication

@ 15:47 – What is a “Moment of Truth” and how is it influenced by repetition, relevance, and reward?

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Jamie Mustard where we discuss how to use singular big ideas to make messages, brands, and products stand out.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

Here’s the deal…I’m a TED-head! I was fortunate to attend the TED Conference a few years ago and I never miss the amazing TEDxPortland. When I heard TEDxPortland was putting on its first Salon Talks, I was in!

One of the speakers was this dude, Jamie Mustard. I’d never heard of him before, but when he took the stage he captivated the audience. From his theory of what he calls Obviousness to his concept of BLOCKS, Jamie helps make messages, brands, and ideas stand out. A graduate of the London School of Economics, Jamie’s Iconist work has spanned industries, arts, and the globe helping companies such as Symantec, Cisco, Intel, and many others.

Here are some things you’ll learn from this conversation with Jamie:

@ 10:00 – What is a BLOCK, anyway?

@ 16:05 – How to apply this idea of BLOCKS to creating concepts and branding.

@ 34:00 – How to grab and keep people’s attention with the concept of BLOCKS.

@ 38:30 – How to use BLOCKS in everyday situations for better communication with coworkers, friends, family, etc.

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Brian Kurtz where we discuss how to create messages, content, and products that stand out from the crowd.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.

 

 

When I learned one of Brian Izenson’s former college roommates is a media veteran with a resume that includes writing, directing, and producing, I knew this conversation was meant to be. Greg Weinstein’s career has spanned the media landscape having worked with major traditional, streaming, and OTT outlets such as A&E, MTV, Univision, YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix. It was fun digging into his background and Greg shared some great insights.

Here are some things you’ll learn from this conversation with Greg:

@ 5:05 – How to continually engage viewers/listeners/fans as mediums evolve. Radio> TV> online> streaming.

@ 11:30 –“Data doesn’t have to trump intuition.” How to blend data and intuition to best influence the creation and distribution of content.

@ 17:50 – Analyzing various audience behaviors and how that plays in to decision making.

@ 20:16 – Summary for content creators on how to use this information to create contagious engagement.

If you liked this episode, I also recommend that you check out my conversation with Rich Thau where we discuss using principles from social science and behavioral psychology to shape messaging and resonate with an audience.

Thanks for listening and I hope your time spent with our podcast has brought you value. If you have any comments or suggestions on who would be great for us to talk with in future episodes, please leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Until next time, #BeEngagious.