Latest / The Vocal Hack Podcast / #05 Special Guest: Savio Meireles
Transcript
- Assumpta Munsi: Hi everyone, my name is Assumpta Joana Lisboa: And I'm Joana, hi Assumpta Munsi: Welcome back to our podcast The Vocal Hack and this time with a very special guest. Joana Lisboa: Yes, today Yes, today we welcome our first and very guest ⁓ is Savio Meireles and he's a strategic advisor founders ⁓ and a storytelling expert. But for most importantly is the reason of this podcast even exists. Assumpta Munsi: Welcome! Without Savio this whole podcast would have probably never happened because Savio was the one who introduced L Joana and me to each other. And we are so happy to have you with us today. Welcome. Sávio Meireles: Thank you. Thank you very much. I feel so honored to be here with you. I yes, that's right. I made that introduction ⁓ last year. ⁓ I I I do that quite often, like ⁓ whenever I identify similarities and things that people can collaborate with. And I I have the time I go and make an introduction, but I have to say I didn't see this coming. I would I would have never imagined that you two together would. Assumpta Munsi: Ha ha ha. Sávio Meireles: ⁓ launch a podcast and I'm super happy for that and even happier to be here with you today. Assumpta Munsi: Yes, we are full of surprises. Sávio Meireles: Exactly, yeah. I was super surprised, yes. In a positive way. Assumpta Munsi: Nice. Joana Lisboa: So do you want to tell us a little bit about your work? What do do? Sávio Meireles: Yeah, absolutely. About my work. ⁓ at the moment I am working very closely with startup founders, but not only startup founders, ⁓ founders of other businesses as well, scale ups, conventional businesses. And my my main value proposition, the main thing that I help them with is connecting them with the right people to them. Right. So I started doing this a few years ago when I was in Australia, then moved to Portugal in 2022, reinvented myself. The value proposition stayed ⁓ kind of the same, but ⁓ the format of my work changed. Then moved to Germany ⁓ about five months ago, and you know, as As an independent consultant and as somebody who loves traveling, loves ⁓ working remotely, the job itself doesn't change much. My location changes quite often. But ⁓ but yeah, in a nutshell that's what I do. I work on a daily basis with founders, helping them to to save time, to save energy, to find the right people. When I say the right people, I mean ideal clients, but also ideal strategic partners so that they can unlock Joana Lisboa: Yeah. Sávio Meireles: or the business opportunities in different geographies. ⁓ in a nutshell that's what I do. Assumpta Munsi: when you say you help them align strategically, how much of a role does storytelling play in that? Sávio Meireles: Hmm. That's a great question. I think ⁓ we live in a highly interconnected world, right? We we can at a click of a button we can find people in China, in Brazil, in Canada. And that's all great. But at the same time, since everybody can do that, right, we are competing for the same space. Or even more literally, we are competing for the same headspace of people. So it's not not as easy as w we think. Let's take as an example LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the biggest professional platform on the planet. Everybody knows that. It has about 1.2 billion people in it. But have you noticed how hard it is to find the right people? Have you noticed how many times we are targeted with the wrong messaging, with the DMs that only distracts us from our work and has no relevance, no contextual relevance. So since all all my work revolves around connecting people, I need to be super ⁓ attentive to storytelling, right? I need to be super attentive to messaging. I need to be super careful with introducing people who are relevant to each other. And there are signals that there is this trace of signals they leave on the internet. when they comment on people's posts, when they write a an article, a newsletter, when I see them ⁓ watch them talking on a pet podcast, like like your podcast. And then I trace and I track those signals and I match them nowadays with the the help of AI with signals, messaging, stories from other people. And that's why connecting people for me have has become easier than than before. And ⁓ and I get a lot of ⁓ excitement, a lot of pleasure out of my work. But ⁓ answering your your question, yeah, storytelling is how people are perceived either offline or online, and most of my work is paying attention to those those stories. Joana Lisboa: And tell me, when you start working with someone, what does storytelling actually mean to you? How do you use it with someone you're helping? Sávio Meireles: Yes. That's a very good story. Sorry, very good question about story. I just came out of a call about ten minutes ago with a potential client and we had we explored exactly this ⁓ challenge. The person was asking me, Saviv, so what is storytelling? How can I improve my storytelling? Why is this relevant to me? Is this just a trend? Is this just ⁓ another way of calling it marketing? Assumpta Munsi: Yeah. Joana Lisboa: Thank Sávio Meireles: What is it? And then the conversation went on a on a on a tangent around personal storytelling, which in a nutshell I would say personal storytelling becomes powerful when three stories align perfectly. Is the story you tell yourself when you wake up in the morning? Is the story you tell others? And the story others tell themselves about you. When these three stories are coherently aligned, your personal power, your personal storytelling becomes really, really powerful. And why am I saying this? Because your question was whenever you start a new ⁓ project or engagement with the client, how do you approach storytelling? I need to approach from a personal perspective. I to understand what is important for the person, which are this person's values, what does he or she bring to the table? What are the proof stories? In other words, what are the stories that prove to me that what they're saying not only is true but also it's relevant for a certain audience? That's how I start approaching storytelling. And then it can go in many different directions. Storytelling is a very vast ⁓ subject. But yeah, I start with the person's personal stories. Assumpta Munsi: Would you say in your experience that in the world of strategy and like finding the right connectors also that like the values and all of these things play a big role in like finding your own voice and like knowing how to express yourself not only in person but also online? Sávio Meireles: No doubt about it. I am like most people, or maybe everybody, a work in progress. So everybody every time or every day when I'm trying to help a client to find their own voice, to write something meaningful on LinkedIn in a way that speaks directly to their ICP, to their ideal clients, whenever I'm helping them to set up a strategy that works. Joana Lisboa: you Sávio Meireles: And works not at the cost of their mental health, personal values and lifestyle, ⁓ sustainable strategy. I'm also learning about myself every single day. I don't think there is even one day that I that I don't learn something new from my clients. And that's why ⁓ I love what I do because I love learning, right? I'm a long life ⁓ what what's it then? Lifelong learner. I'm a lifelong learner. Joana Lisboa: Yes. Sávio Meireles: And ⁓ and yeah every day I I learn with my clients. I don't work with many clients. I try to keep it very simple and and effective. So at the moment I'm working with nine clients and I'm not necessarily looking for new clients whenever somebody approaches me. I try to see if there is a fit, right? It's not only ⁓ about having capacity to pay, there is also ⁓ an alignment in values. And I look at my calendar and I see if I have the the time to allocate and and I take it from there. But ⁓ but yeah, that's ⁓ that's how I see it. Joana Lisboa: ⁓ You've seen a lot of high-stake pitches. So when someone is telling a story, how much their delivery, their tone, their pace, all the vocal stuff, and body language, what actually affects whether people believe them or not? Sávio Meireles: Hmm. I love that question. And I personally give a lot of credit to that, right? To the delivery. Tone of voice, confidence, pace, right? ⁓ Creating space, silence is also something important. So I personally totally believe in that. But about four and a half years ago I met somebody who opened my eyes even more. ⁓ a woman called Joana Lisboa in in Lisbon who works as a as a voice coach and I I also learned a lot from from her ⁓ in that regard. So yeah absolutely absolutely one of my references I have many different references in terms of communication skills and sales and ⁓ communication skills ⁓ in the broader sense of the words But there is one person that wrote a book called The Science of Personal Power. His name is Chris Lipp. And this are one of this is one of my ⁓ go to resources, right? This book, because it touches on that, touches on how you are perceived by others, how you carry yourself ⁓ on a meeting, on on a stage, and also Assumpta ⁓ does an amazing job ⁓ in that space as well, and I'm sure. This this answer also resonates with you, I'm assuming. With you too. Joana Lisboa: I also knew a couple years ago a person that really told me about storytelling. His name is Savio Meirels. Assumpta Munsi: Yes, that's why we're here. Sávio Meireles: Okay. Assumpta Munsi: Yeah. Sávio Meireles: you remember the month that we met? I remember the year was twenty twenty two, Joana. Joana Lisboa: Yes, and it was in the, I think it was the first, the second day or third day of the year, something like that. You moved in the beginning. Yes, you moved. Assumpta Munsi: ⁓ wow. Sávio Meireles: ⁓ okay, wow. I had just arrived in in Lisbon from from Australia. Yeah, and we met. Wow, that's true. I was right on my first week or something. Joana Lisboa: Yes. And I can tell you that I really learned a lot with you. And especially the little details that we think are just little details that no one's paying attention, they're really, really important in telling our story, our true story. So thank you for that. Assumpta Munsi: That's so beautiful. Sávio Meireles: Thank you. Thank you for saying that. Assumpta Munsi: No, I actually think yes. ⁓ I actually think you said something in an interview that was that great storytelling begins with listening and when we go into like presenting or being in front of people and having to pitch or having to give a talk or something, how can a professional practice active listening Sávio Meireles: More questions. Assumpta Munsi: to better understand their audience and adapt their message in real time. Do you have any tips for our listeners? Sávio Meireles: Hmm, that is a good question. It's been quite a while that I don't go on stage, but whenever I go on stage I have to give a speech or I'm invited to a certain event that I know that I am going to talk to the audience. I try to arrive early, as early as possible, and I try to to breathe the energy of the space. I try to see the first people arriving. How are they arriving? What's the energy there they're bringing with them? If I can engage with those first people, I I do that as well. I introduce myself and have a quick small talk with them so that I get a little bit of familiarity with the people who are arriving, but at the same time I'm kind of letting the pressure off of me. Right? And ⁓ and yeah, that's ⁓ something that I do. Also Obviously there are different formats, right? There is TED Talks, there is ⁓ in company, there is ⁓ short format, long format. There are different types of occasions in which you're going to give a speech and have to read an audience. But ⁓ whenever possible I start with a question, right? It can be a a genuine question that I wanna hear some sort of response from the audience, so that I quickly ⁓ think about what to say next or how which direction I want to take this ⁓ speech. Or it can be just a rhetorical question so that I can see their reactions. So facial expressions and all of that's super important. So yeah the the ability to to ask the right questions on the right moment and to read not not only people's words but also what they are not saying in words they're saying with their body to me it's ⁓ super important. No doubt. Joana Lisboa: Yes, no doubt. From your perspective, what are the non-verbal signs that a speaker actually has to give to the audience, to the audience believe in what they're saying? So what are the non-verbal signs that have to Sávio Meireles: Mm. Hmm, interesting. Th there is a lot of there is a lot of debate on that. ⁓ many people talk about body language, many people talk about how much percent of body language is responsible for influencing others. I think I I always try to go back to the basics, right? An open body language, it's much more believable than a closed body language, right? That's kind of basic. ⁓ Looking people in their eyes, one person at a time, also gives that idea that you are actually paying attention and talking to one person at a time, although you're talking to an audience of fifty, a hundred, five hundred people. So I also like to look people in their eyes. ⁓ some people talk about movement, walking from one side to the other side of the stage. They say that that's beneficial. ⁓ some other people say no. You should say stay in one spot and one spot only. Even I think TEDx has a red circle that you have to stay within the limits of that circle. I'm not sure if that's yeah, I've heard that before and I've seen ⁓ speakers ⁓ throughout the whole eighteen minutes of their speech in one spot. ⁓ I think I think my approach tends to be Joana Lisboa: Really? Sávio Meireles: Reading the room and matching my audience's energy. If everybody's sitting down and I'm on a high stage, already higher than them, if I'm too if I come off too imposing, too tall, too open, and too aggressive, they might not connect. So if there is a chair or a couch, I might sit down and start my talk sitting down, talking to them. And as I'm evolving, I might stand up and move a little bit, right? But I'm very attentive to matching people's energy. ⁓ although that might break some rules every now and then, but that's how I do it. Joana Lisboa: We always have to... Assumpta Munsi: They keep said fun. Sávio Meireles: Tell it all. Assumpta Munsi: ⁓ we touched a little bit earlier on AI and I have a question regarding that because we all see it used in so many more cases and ways of like helping also, but do you think or do you maybe think it that's not even a the case that There is something about like human storytelling and voice and expression that a machine will never be able to replicate, or do you think at one point they're gonna be able to do all of that as well? Sávio Meireles: Hmm, that's another good question. I believe AI is super useful. I use it on a daily basis. ⁓ nowadays ⁓ a core part of my work and my business is AI driven. ⁓ but at the same time I'm not a big f big fan of ⁓ outsourcing our judgment to AI. The the way I see AI is like a thinking partner, right? ⁓ not as a thought leader. I am the thought leader in my space, or at least I try to position myself in that way, and I have a thinking partner, which is AI. I'll give an example. If I wanna write something tomorrow morning on LinkedIn, right, and I use AI to do the entire text, AI can only write about things that have already been produced. AI cannot guess. What I did this evening at a restaurant having a glass of wine with a local person from the Lake Constance in the south of Germany who lost his wife a week ago and blah blah blah and has a lot of different challenges and told me a beautiful story of how he was raised here in the Lake Constance and how that affected me and how I interpreted that in my text. on LinkedIn tomorrow morning. It's impossible for AI to know that because that hasn't happened yet. Right? So this super original, ⁓ human, authentic stories, ⁓ there is an edge that only only us can can bring to the table. ⁓ on top of that, another thing I I will say is I don't necessarily have a problem with AI assisted tasks or even AI assisted content creation. But the repertoire must be yours. And also your writing style is much more powerful on LinkedIn. You can just see for yourselves, you look at it, everybody's writing the same with the same patterns. It's boring, right? It's you become a commodity. Your writing becomes a commodity. You you don't want that to happen. So AI assisted, yes, but using AI to write everything, I don't think it's a good idea. Joana Lisboa: Yes, ⁓ wrapping up this interview and the suggestions, everything you need... Sorry. I've been just drinking a little bit of... Assumpta Munsi: Mm-hmm. Sávio Meireles: That's good. Joana Lisboa: Wrapping up, if our listeners could change just one thing about their approach in their next presentation, next talk, next speech, what do you suggest they would do? Sávio Meireles: Mm. I would say slow down towards. Yes. There is nothing sexy, there is nothing beautiful, there is nothing coherent about rushing to say things. Right? Just slow down. The world is already rushed. You know, the society is already chaotic and rushed and hectic. Go on the other way. Just take a step back, breathe a few times before you go in, and just look at the audience, take all that energy in a few seconds, and then start your talk, pacing yourself. You see that you're gonna gain a lot more confidence. That's number one, and you're gonna be perceived as somebody who's calm, composed, and collected. as opposed to somebody who's rushed and stressed and all over the place. So two words slow down. Joana Lisboa: This. Assumpta Munsi: Thank you. Savio, are talking to people but also in the way you write and the way you position yourself and the way you align yourself with partners and business ⁓ advisors and people that you want to work with. So thank you so much for coming on. This was amazing and you gave us so much to think about. For our listeners who want to dive deeper into your work, where can they find you? How should they approach you? Sávio Meireles: Yeah, first of all, thank you for for the invitation. if you liked my answers or if my answers were useful, that's because of your questions. You assumed and you Joanna's questions. So thank you for providing this space, you know, ⁓ for for sharing ideas. Where they can find me, I think the easiest place is LinkedIn. I'm on a LinkedIn I'm highly active on the platform, so it's Savio Meireles. ⁓ I think it's very easy to find me. There are no many Savio Meireles out there, so usually when somebody tries to find me, I'm the first one to pop up. Yeah. Savio Meireles on LinkedIn. Exactly, exactly. Yeah, but Assumpta Munsi: Good to have a unique name. Joana Lisboa: You have black words also in your room, don't you? I can hear it. You have a black word. Assumpta Munsi: No. Sávio Meireles: Sorry? ⁓ these are the birds. These are the birds outside. Joana Lisboa: of something like that. Sávio Meireles: Yeah, it's ⁓ we've got a beautiful view here. You see the Lake Constance, and then you see a little island in the middle. ⁓ it's a little island with three point five thousand inhabitants. And then the the mountains, I'm not sure if you can see from there, maybe not, because it's too bright. That's Switzerland, that's the Alps. So I'm seventy seventy kilometers from the Alps. So we've got a beautiful view here. If it's not foggy, you can see you can see the mountains. Joana Lisboa: ⁓ Assumpta Munsi: Beautiful. Joana Lisboa: Wow. The soundtrack is amazing. ⁓ Assumpta Munsi: That's so beautiful. Yeah. Sávio Meireles: Exactly, in the in the birds, yeah. They're always here, every morning, waking us up. Assumpta Munsi: Mm. Joana Lisboa: Yeah. Assumpta Munsi: ⁓ one last thing I wanted to share because Savio was actually the person that inspired me and pushed me ⁓ post more regular on Instagram. ⁓ on like on LinkedIn. on LinkedIn. Because of him I started actually posting more regularly. And ⁓ I definitely would have not done it without you. So thank you so much. Sávio Meireles: True. Thank you, thank you. But I remember I was annoying ⁓ annoying all the time with ⁓ link LinkedIn content. Assumpta Munsi: It was good. It was really good. I needed it. It was the final push, you know, you know. When you sometimes you know you have to do it but you don't do it. And then someone just phrases the thing that you already know in a different way and you're like, I guess I'm doing this now. So yes. Joana Lisboa: You Sávio Meireles: So True. Let me also take the opportunity to congratulate two of you. I think ⁓ sharing your ideas which are super complimentary in such a democratic space as a podcast. It's amazing. I'm sure a lot of people you'll benefit from it and I'm super excited to re watch our our episodes and also all the episodes from you. So congrats on that. Joana Lisboa: Thank you, Savio. It was really, really, really a pleasure to have you with us. And as our first guests. it had to be because you... Assumpta Munsi: Thank you. We're very excited. It had to be you. Perfect. Sávio Meireles: My pleasure, my pleasure. I wanna I wanna see more episodes soon, okay? Joana Lisboa: We've been so much. Assumpta Munsi: Yes. We are launching on the eighteenth of June, so it's not gonna take any longer. We're almost there. Joana Lisboa: Yes. Sávio Meireles: Excellent. Awesome. I'm super happy for that. Joana Lisboa: Yes. Assumpta Munsi: Yes. Thank you so much. Thank you all for coming back for another episode of the Vocal Hack Podcast. And if you like this, please subscribe, share it with a friend, and let us know what you think in the comments below. Joana Lisboa: See you next week. Assumpta Munsi: See you next week. Bye. Sávio Meireles: Thank you.