Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share "I Watched a CEO Alienate 300 People in 10 Seconds."
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
"I Watched a CEO Alienate 300 People in 10 Seconds."
Eileen Wixted, a strategic communications expert with three decades of experience, went from advising Fortune 500 CEOs to uncovering a universal blind spot that derails even the most seasoned leaders, why slowing down to understand your audience is the fastest way to accelerate your message's impact. In this episode of the Speak In Flow Podcast with Melinda Lee, Eileen shares the watershed moment that exposed the critical gap between a leader's intent and their audience's reality, and the powerful mindset shifts that transform communication from a monologue into a connection.
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
The Audience-Centric Blueprint
"If you don't think about your audience first, everything else has the potential to go into the ditch, and then everything else doesn't matter."
Eileen’s simple framework to avoid disastrous miscommunication: divide your audience, diagnose what’s on their mind, and discern how they feel before you craft your message.
The Empathy Edge
"You have to seek to understand before being understood."
Why the 18-inch journey from the head to the heart is a leader’s most critical path, and how acknowledging your team’s emotional state, even if it’s “of their own making”, builds trust and unlocks performance.
The Three-Answer Method
How to handle any tough question with integrity and confidence by knowing the only three possible responses: “I know and will share,” “I know and cannot share (and here’s why),” or “I don’t know (and here’s how I’ll find out).”
Sequence Your Communication Strategically
"The real competitive edge is your ability to communicate effectively"
A leader’s first words must calm the storm, not fuel it. The hospital merger story illustrates a critical rule: address core emotional fears (like job security) before presenting strategic facts (like growth opportunities).
Connect with Eileen Wixted
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileen-wixted-97b4796/
Website: https://www.thinkwixted.com/
About the Guest:
Eileen Wixted is a strategic communications veteran who transforms high-stakes moments into opportunities for trust and connection. With a career spanning three decades, she has become the secret weapon for Fortune 500 companies, navigating their most critical challenges. An Emmy Award-winning former broadcast journalist, Eileen now leverages her insider knowledge to prepare executives for everything from hostile media interviews and government investigations to major organizational change.
Fun Facts:
- 🎤 Emmy-Winning Roots: Before shaping the messages of top executives, Eileen was an award-winning journalist.
- 🏆 Award-Winning Leader: Her expertise and leadership were recognized when she was named the Des Moines Business Record’s Woman Business Owner of the Year.
- 🕺 Disco Champion: She possesses undisputed bragging rights as a past winner of Big Daddy’s disco contest in Fort Lauderdale.
About Melinda:
Melinda Lee is a Presentation Skills Expert, Speaking Coach, and nationally renowned Motivational Speaker. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology, is an Insights Practitioner, and is a Certified Professional in Talent Development as well as Certified in Conflict Resolution. For over a decade, Melinda has researched and studied the state of “flow” and used it as a proven technique to help corporate leaders and business owners amplify their voices, access flow, and present their mission in a more powerful way to achieve results.
She has been the TEDx Berkeley Speaker Coach and has worked with hundreds of executives and teams from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Caltrans, Bay Area Rapid Transit System, and more. Currently, she lives in San Francisco, California, and is breaking the ancestral lineage of silence.
Website: https://speakinflow.com/
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/speakinflow
Instagram: https://instagram.com/speakinflow
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall
Thanks for listening!
Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.
Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!
Subscribe to the podcast
If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
Leave us an Apple Podcast review.
Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.
View all episodes
By Melinda LeeEileen Wixted, a strategic communications expert with three decades of experience, went from advising Fortune 500 CEOs to uncovering a universal blind spot that derails even the most seasoned leaders, why slowing down to understand your audience is the fastest way to accelerate your message's impact. In this episode of the Speak In Flow Podcast with Melinda Lee, Eileen shares the watershed moment that exposed the critical gap between a leader's intent and their audience's reality, and the powerful mindset shifts that transform communication from a monologue into a connection.
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
The Audience-Centric Blueprint
"If you don't think about your audience first, everything else has the potential to go into the ditch, and then everything else doesn't matter."
Eileen’s simple framework to avoid disastrous miscommunication: divide your audience, diagnose what’s on their mind, and discern how they feel before you craft your message.
The Empathy Edge
"You have to seek to understand before being understood."
Why the 18-inch journey from the head to the heart is a leader’s most critical path, and how acknowledging your team’s emotional state, even if it’s “of their own making”, builds trust and unlocks performance.
The Three-Answer Method
How to handle any tough question with integrity and confidence by knowing the only three possible responses: “I know and will share,” “I know and cannot share (and here’s why),” or “I don’t know (and here’s how I’ll find out).”
Sequence Your Communication Strategically
"The real competitive edge is your ability to communicate effectively"
A leader’s first words must calm the storm, not fuel it. The hospital merger story illustrates a critical rule: address core emotional fears (like job security) before presenting strategic facts (like growth opportunities).
Connect with Eileen Wixted
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileen-wixted-97b4796/
Website: https://www.thinkwixted.com/
About the Guest:
Eileen Wixted is a strategic communications veteran who transforms high-stakes moments into opportunities for trust and connection. With a career spanning three decades, she has become the secret weapon for Fortune 500 companies, navigating their most critical challenges. An Emmy Award-winning former broadcast journalist, Eileen now leverages her insider knowledge to prepare executives for everything from hostile media interviews and government investigations to major organizational change.
Fun Facts:
- 🎤 Emmy-Winning Roots: Before shaping the messages of top executives, Eileen was an award-winning journalist.
- 🏆 Award-Winning Leader: Her expertise and leadership were recognized when she was named the Des Moines Business Record’s Woman Business Owner of the Year.
- 🕺 Disco Champion: She possesses undisputed bragging rights as a past winner of Big Daddy’s disco contest in Fort Lauderdale.
About Melinda:
Melinda Lee is a Presentation Skills Expert, Speaking Coach, and nationally renowned Motivational Speaker. She holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology, is an Insights Practitioner, and is a Certified Professional in Talent Development as well as Certified in Conflict Resolution. For over a decade, Melinda has researched and studied the state of “flow” and used it as a proven technique to help corporate leaders and business owners amplify their voices, access flow, and present their mission in a more powerful way to achieve results.
She has been the TEDx Berkeley Speaker Coach and has worked with hundreds of executives and teams from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Caltrans, Bay Area Rapid Transit System, and more. Currently, she lives in San Francisco, California, and is breaking the ancestral lineage of silence.
Website: https://speakinflow.com/
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/speakinflow
Instagram: https://instagram.com/speakinflow
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpowerall
Thanks for listening!
Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.
Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!
Subscribe to the podcast
If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
Leave us an Apple Podcast review.
Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.