Latest / Crafted Connections / EP 52: SOLO - Your Permission Slip to Ditch the Pitch

Transcript

EP 52: SOLO - Your Permission Slip to Ditch the Pitch · Crafted Connections

• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, welcome to Crafted Connections.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Keelan Calhoun, and this is a podcast all about storytelling and building genuine community.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Here we'll dive into the art of storytelling, unpack strategies for making meaningful connections, and hear from incredible humans who are using their story to create impact.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: So grab your favorite beverage, settle in, and let's craft some connections.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to Crafted Connections.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: I am Caitlin Calhoun.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you are new here, welcome, welcome.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to have you.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is a space where we explore the humanity behind the work, behind living, and you know, the story of it all.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: I've been thinking a lot about it recently.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh how when we're in relationship, right?
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: There, there's almost this like you have a whole life and that's a circle, and the other person has a whole life and that's a circle.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I do believe we all have this like Venn diagram intersection where where that that like overlap sliver, like no matter how big or small it is, there is something that you can talk to anyone about, or there is something that you can talk to everyone about.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: And and I like to explore that both in my interviews or my solos.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: My solos are kind of where I unpack something I'm actively navigating or something I've navigated in the past that's kind of on my mind.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, the interviews are exactly that Venn diagram thing.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: I I've got a mentor who's a documentary filmmaker, and we talk a lot about that experience.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: I had a friend on who's a social media specialist last week, and you know, she talked a lot about her experience with motherhood, and you know, that's something I could potentially see in my future.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: So it's something that I like to talk to people about and ask about.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: So whether it be like business related or personal life related or kind of like wild adventure related, I'm trying to get a friend of mine who also lives on a boat on the podcast here shortly.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: So stay tuned for all that.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's all about really getting into the depth of the story and showing you how to go beyond the highlight reel, to really get to know people.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, so you're here, and I'm so grateful.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: And today I have a solo episode for you, and I'm gonna kick off with a little bit of a confession.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not so great at pitching.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually kind of terrible at it, bad at it, what have you.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: I like if you put me in front of a potential client and ask me to explain to them elevator pitch, what I do, and convince them that like collaborating with me would change their life.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Frankly, I just word vomit.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: I don't breathe, I black out a little bit, and you know, talk about seven different things at once, and then once I'm done like word vomiting at them, I run away.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that doesn't give you any answers.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: That doesn't give you any give them any context, that doesn't give you any context.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's a whole debacle.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's very, very uh chunky, clunky, and also speedy quick in a way that is not the best.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's really not my strongest moment.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: And this episode idea actually came to me from an experience recently.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: So this is a total soft launch.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Phil and I have been planning our wedding, which means shopping around for wedding venues.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: And we like a week or two ago went to this wedding expo at a location that is just frankly the reason why we started planning our wedding.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: We were sitting at the bar at this restaurant, and it's it's a big, massive, beautiful space.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And we were like, ooh, it would be kind of cool to maybe get married here because they have the whole wedding setup involved.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know the kinds of places, and they've got really beautiful.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's like, I think it's like limestone, and you know, there's there's a wine cellar, and it's just gorgeous as can be.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: So super pumped, right?
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: We're like, cool, this is kind of be fun.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: We've we've been together a while now, we've talked about it, life be lifing, and we just hadn't gotten around to it.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: So we started having this conversation.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: We started taking a look, thinking about stuff, what have you?
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so I had emailed the woman right after that conversation, sometime in January, and she came back, and the date that we want wasn't available.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Totally fine.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I was super sad, but okay, we'll we'll find another location.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: So, fast forward a month and a half, we decide, okay, well, at least let's check out this expo.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: That was held at the venue in question, and the venue contact was of course there.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: We know that we like want for our ceremony to be super, super, super small.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: So we're like, maybe they have an additional room that day, and we could still have it at this location with the same vibe, the same feeling, you know, the energy that we were looking for.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so I don't know why I was the one who approached her.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: I I go up to her, I do the word vomit thing, I say, I don't even know if I gave her context that I had emailed her.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: I basically was like, You said the date's not available, I'm so sorry.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you have another room, blah, blah, blah.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then I was like, cool, we're gonna go check out somewhere else.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Bye, thank you.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't even remember if she was alarmed or confused or what her face looked like, because frankly, I black out in these experiences.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: I really, really do.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: And Phil kind of reflected it back to me later.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, hey, um, maybe think about your pitch.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: Think about how you approach that woman.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: And and in a very loving way, right?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: He was just pointing out that he's like, you kind of lunged at that woman and just said a bunch of stuff and ran away without much context, without much description, without her knowing who you even are.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: So his reflection kind of reminded me of another experience in my personal life that had the same exact energy, the same exact say it and run away without any context, space for the other person to talk, any forethought to what like the audience is receiving, right?
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: And this, this, this is where we go back to 2010, folks, when your girl was getting ready for the prom.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: I was a senior, and a friend of mine was a junior, and I was like, you know what?
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna see if he wants to go with me, right?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: And now's not the time to get into early years of my dating life, but let's just say it wasn't hopping, y'all.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: And also this wasn't like a dating situation.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: This was like, I'm gonna ask a friend, but that doesn't mean that I could like make eye contact with boys.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like just because I was friends with him, we were teenagers.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if you were shy around the gender you were attracted to as a teenager, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'll just say, I, you know, I do this exact same thing.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: I run up to him, I say, Hey, wondering if you want to go to prom with me.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Blah blah blah blah.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: And this is like between class shifts, right?
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: So, like I maybe, I think I knew like where he was gonna be because we passed each other in the hall on a daily basis and maybe said hi or whatever.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so the bell rings, the hustle and bustle of all the children running around doing their thing.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: I then like beeline it to this friend, blurt the stuff out.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I was thinking about a problem, blah, blah, blah.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a senior, I know you're junior, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah and like just explain all the like way too much context without any context, and then say, Well, you can text me later and let me know if you would like to go with me.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, bye.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I run away, and I did not wait for a response.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: I did not breathe.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: I did not allow this human any space to respond or be in conversation with me.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's something that, you know, has been a habit and a behavior throughout my life.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: I just pitched the idea of us going to prom together and exited the building.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: So why am I sharing these embarrassing stories?
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, embarrassing.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a survivor, I made it, but but why, why bring these to light, especially, you know, 16 years later, there's no need.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: There's no need.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Except for I want to bring this lesson home.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: Even though my potential prom date eventually said yes.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: And even though we are on track to get this dream wedding venue, it hit me during my chat with Phil.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe pitching is just not my thing.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: And we're not mad at the pitch.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Let me be clear.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: There's absolutely a time and place for it.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's such an important part in your like marketing and sales ecosystem, for sure.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta do it when you gotta do it, especially when it feels aligned.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: But for now, where I'm at, I am continually operating from my strengths.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: This matters, especially if you are a solopreneur, someone with a small team, someone who is limited on the resources and like limited on overhead, right?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you can't put a lot of energy or investment into mass pitching or hiring someone who is great at pitching, or investing in getting yourself better at pitching, taking the time to do it, investing in coaches.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you don't have that capacity and you identify with what I'm saying here, and it might not be that you like word vomit at people.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: It might be that you go blank.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: It might be sometimes when I'm like in a sales call, I'm like, okay, make the ass, make the ass, make the ass, make the ass.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's awkward energy.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody wants that.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want that.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to feel like that.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And in that, energy management is a strategy.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: So investing in your strengths is strategy.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so that is why I am working on living an inbound life.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: So an inbound life is it's not passive or lazy or wait for things to come in.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a waiting game, it's about alignment.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: We just talked about this with resources.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like again, there's a time and place for a pitch if it feels so aligned and you've got the mutuals and you've been doing the work so that if they connect with you in such a way, it's very clear to them that you are the right person.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: So, what does strategic alignment look like for an inbound life?
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: It means we are building assets that speak when you're not in the room.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm talking about this podcast.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: When people listen to this, I'm not in the room.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: The podcast itself is not the fastest growing podcast in the world, but at this moment in time, about a year in, 1400 downloads.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: The fact that like 1,400 times someone has clicked because they're like, I'ma listen to Caitlin, that's a big deal.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's like people getting to know me.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: So an inbound life is building assets that speak when you're not in the room, showing your thinking consistently in a public way, letting people experience you before they hire you.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: In this moment, and I am prioritizing my brand ecosystem.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: I've discussed it before.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think I'll be doing a more in-depth episode on like what do I mean by brand ecosystem?
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: What are the components of my brand ecosystem?
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: How can you build it for yourself?
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm prioritizing it because it's really giving people a holistic picture of me.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also prioritizing using my storytelling as a vehicle.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just giving people the hows and the what's, but the why, my own experiences, even those earlier stories I've shared in this episode, right?
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then also I'm I'm really keeping an eye on visibility that feels sustainable.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Keeping it regular, keeping it intentional, making sure that I'm getting out of it what I want.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not just like leaking energy, if you will.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because ultimately it's about valuing my energy.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's about my energy.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: And as you're listening to this, I hope you're starting to clock how you can value your energy.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: I know my strengths, I know storytelling compounds, and I know trust is built in layers.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Hey y'all.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know I love telling stories, gathering stories, and finding a way to help people connect their story with the people that will get it.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what my story strategy sessions are all about.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: So over at Calhoun Creative Consulting, my strategic storytelling firm, we do one-on-one and or facilitated workshops in relation to really honing in the strategy around your story.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's a bit of messaging meets content creation, meets storytelling, and then how do we put that out in the world?
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: How do we show up regularly?
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: There's a bit of mindset work around it, right?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: To actually tell your story, whether you're launching something new or trying to rework your brand or just feeling a little foggy on how to communicate with your people.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: This is how to get clear.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: We'll dig into things like your narrative, how to uncover what matters most, maybe map out a few content pillars while we're at it.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: You'll also get a recording of our session so you can revisit the conversation anytime you like.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: Let's shape a story that actually feels like you.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: So book yours today.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: There is a link in the show notes.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: And hey, while you're at it, use the code podcast, all caps, podcast for 25% off your session.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: I would be honored to spend time with you and suss out your story.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Let's dive back into the episode, shall we?
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: So if you feel me, you're hearing these anecdotes, you are connecting with the awkwardness that is the pitch, especially IRL face-to-face.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: This is your permission slip.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: And consider this.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: What are you actually excellent at?
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: What format makes you come alive?
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, for me, it is creating stories in multimedia formats, sharing in that way.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: But you have your own version of this.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: What medium do you communicate best?
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: And where do you feel like powerful instead of pressured?
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: And even deeper, what would it look like to build your visibility strategy around your strengths instead of your insecurities?
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe you don't need a better pitch, maybe you just need a better approach or a better format or you know, a better platform.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever it looks like for you, you gotta be confident.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you deserve to be confident.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: So think about that.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to hear how this all unfolds for you.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: Please connect with me.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: I have expressed time and time again, I love this podcast.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: I love speaking to the people in my community, and I am so happy you are listening today.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: So if you haven't already, please subscribe.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: Please follow us on Instagram and stay connected.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: Keep creating.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be back next week with an interview episode.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: So until then, have an amazing, amazing week, my friend.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Crafted Connections is lovingly produced by Calhoun Creative Consulting, a strategic storytelling firm dedicated to helping people and brands tell their stories in a way that resonates.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and connect with us on Instagram at Crafted Connections Bot.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: Keep creating, keep connecting, until we meet again.