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A micro generation caught between two worlds discovers an unexpected skill set. Xennials—born where Gen-X ends and Millennials begin—knew a world before household computers and cellphones, yet came of age as technology exploded into everyday life. Reluctantly cast as tech support for their Baby Boomer parents, they learned far more than troubleshooting - they learned essential skills in listening.

In this episode, we explore how the Xennial experience of bridging analog and digital worlds cultivated essential skills: patience to listen without condescension, the empathy to meet people where they are, and the problem-solving that comes from helping older generations grapple with technology. 

We discuss how being a "tech translator" taught a generation the profound art of listening, and why those skills matter far beyond the help desk.

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Sales has evolved over the last 20-30 years. The days of the pushy used car salesman who thinks (or actually may) they know more than you, are coming to an end. That’s a good thing! The consumer is more knowledgeable and has more options than ever before. So what does that mean for the present day sales person?

Brandt sat down with Jesse Bayer, a 30+ year career sales person, to talk about how listening plays a part in sales today.  However, Jesse went beyond listening as a sales tactic and talked about relationships, empathy, and even how he may turn down a sale if he knows it may be financially detrimental to the customer.

If you are new to sales or it's your career, have we got a real nice episode for you!

We think you will learn something. 

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This relisten focuses on the importance of feeling heard, hope to go about it, and what happens when we don't feel heard. We also discuss the Feeling Heard Scale and why it is important. 

Let us know what you think!

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We all want to feel heard. When it happens it feels good, solves problems, and productivity increases. However, when we don't, we feel angry, walk away, or even riot. In this episode, we dive into a 2023 study about feeling heard, the different components, and how do we use this information to get better at it. 

Welcome to the Feeling Heard Scale (FHS). This is not about disagreement, thats ok (generally speaking). This is about respect, understanding, and validation. Oh, and the goal is... reaching common ground. 

FHS: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10688667/

Active Listening: https://gwep.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/FastFacts-Telephone-Skills-Training-Active-Listening.pdf

Q12: https://www.gallup.com/q12/

Green Day:  https://youtu.be/Soa3gO7tL-c?feature=shared

Gaelle - Parkway:  https://youtu.be/8qo2rvkFIEo?feature=shared

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Do you like the sound of your own voice? Most of us, at minimum, are surprised at the way we sound when we listen to ourself. Why is that? We have some science behind the answer. 

In this podcast we discuss the sound of our own voice. Also, what voices we like to hear, why that is, and what has happened over the last 20-30 years to desensitize ourselves to the sound of our own voice. 

We also jump into presenting and how to get better at how you sound, and like, umm, like how you can, you know, cut out the filler words. 

Vocal Registers Explained: Chest, Mixed, Head & Whistle VoiceCode Switching: What It Is and Why It Happens 

Karen Jacobsen - Wikipedia

Kristen DiMercurio - Wikipedia

Weekend Update: Jacob Silj on American Relations with China - SNL

Can white people code-switch? Unpacking the internet’s latest debate - TheGrio 

The 5Ps of Presenting - Executive Support Magazine

Frequency illusion - Wikipedia (Baader–Meinhof phenomenon)

Mere-exposure effect - Wikipedia

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We are kicking off season 6 with calling everybody out! Yeah, that’s right!

Well, maybe not really calling you all out. Brandt and I jump into calling out, calling in, and calling on. In this episode we explore the work of Loretta J. Ross and discuss different examples of calling out, in, and on and how to best go about doing it. Can you guess which one requires listening the most? 

TedTalk: https://youtu.be/xw_720iQDss?si=OWo6MswjSEdt50Eu

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Calling-Making-Change-Rather-Cancel/dp/1982190795

Guide: https://www.bridgew.edu/sites/bridgew/files/media/pdf_document/Calling-In-and-Calling-Out-Guide.pdf

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The automobile. Statistically speaking, we all (Americans) have one. Well, at least all of us over the age of 16. We are surrounded by them. So much so, that there are only eight awarded “quiet spaces” in the United States. Eight. 

From doors, to engines, to tires, to exhaust systems, to nothing, to not being able to handle listening to nothing, we listen to cars nearly every day. And its important. Some of us have very high expectations and will pay a premium for how our car sounds.

So much to explore with this one. Buckle up! 

And as we wrap up Season 5, we want to thank all of you for listening. Please share this podcast with your friends and on your socials… we would appreciate it and appreciate you! 

Links: 

Harley Davidson 

Quiet Parks International 

Electric Ford Mustang

Mach-E features 'audio wizardry' with optional engine noise

Door Thunks: How Automakers

Engineer the Perfect Door-Closing Sound  

FORD MUSTANG Mach-E GT 2023 - CRAZY ELECTRIC SOUND
(outside & inside) 

Pixabay Sound Effects:

• Carburator problem Sound Effect by u_esklwg1xd9
• Calculator (1) - Sound Effect by Spin Opel
• Calculator (2), Grand Prix F1, Ride on a Harley, Ignition, Car not starting Sound Effects by freesound_community

Music:

• "Delay Rock" by Kevin MacLeod, Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

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In this episode, Detective Sergeant Lucas Killick of the Lake Delton Police Department (Wisconsin) joins us to discuss crisis negotiation. With over 17 years of experience, he provides insight, tactics, and the must do’s and don’ts of negotiation. 

Detective Sergeant Killick works with state and federal officials, including the FBI, to help train on crisis negotiation. Listening plays a key role, but it hasn't always been that way.

50 years of FBI Crisis Negotiation.

 Wisconsin Crisis Negotiators Association 

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We are bringing this one back. It was one our faves and had some great take-aways for every day life. Our guests Blake and Lauren Schar break down for us the essential components of listening for the front of the house, back of the house, and with the customer. 

https://www.bigeasydoorcounty.com/

https://www.thefiresiderestaurant.com/

https://www.thelandmarkresort.com/en/Ember-Restaurant/

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What does it look like when a business listens to their customers, employees, and stakeholders? We sought out a forward thinking business owner to find out. And wow, we learned a lot. 

Our guest, Lloyd Vogel, took time to sit down with us to discuss listening to the market. Lloyd is the CEO of Garage Grown Gear, an extremely niche business in an extremely niche market: “Cottage Made” Ultra-Light Backpacking Equipment. 

We discuss who their customers are, how listening plays a part, and what business owners and CEO’s need to know when it comes to listening. He brings an incredible perspective with his role and responsibilities and how a business thrives when listening as at the forefront of all they do.   

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Upload episode->summarize this podcast->reduce summary to 50 words because its our 50th episode:

In their 50th podcast episode, hosts Drew and Brandt explore the messy intersection of listening and AI. They discuss how lifelike bots blur reality, AI's seductive emotional influence, and the dangers of highly confident, hallucinated misinformation. Ultimately, they urge listeners to verify sources and rigorously preserve human critical thinking skills.

Sources: 

Transcription Tools:

• Original recording transcribed with TurboScribe.

AI Voices heard in this episode: 

• “Brief-bot”, Audio Overview Brief format, Google Notebook LM. Notebook LM was fed the original recording transcription that created this content. 
• “Deep Dive Bots”, Audio Overview Deep Dive format, Notebook LM. Notebook LM was fed the original recording transcription that created this content. 
• “Drew-bot” created with KikiVoice. Voice cloning tool was fed direct lines for the voice to emulate.

Background Music:

• “Midnight Ledger” created with Google Gemini 3.1 Pro.

Articles: 

• Study Exposes Risks of Emotional Bonds With AI Chatbots - Neuroscience News

Terms:

• ELIZA effect - Wikipedia
• Theory of mind - Wikipedia
• Cognitive load - Wikipedia

LLM’s referred to:

• NotebookLM, Google. (2026). NotebookLM [Large language model]. https://notebooklm.google.com
• ChatGPT, OpenAI. (2026). ChatGPT (GPT-4 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com
• Gemini, Google. (2026). Gemini [Large language model]. https://gemini.google.com
• Copilot, Microsoft. (2026). Copilot [Large language model]. https://copilot.microsoft.com
• Claude, Anthropic. (2026). Claude [Large language model]. https://claude.ai
• Alexa+, Amazon. (2026). Alexa+ [Large language model]. https://alexa.amazon.com

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