Kc Rossi 0:02
Are you ready to scale your business in a way that's aligned with your soul, and profitable? I'm Kc Rossi, a Business and Leadership Coach. I've been a full time entrepreneur for 30 years and love business. I help conscious leaders increase their impact and optimize their lives. Join me each week for tips and deep conversations on cultivating confidence, increasing your visibility, elevating your vibration, and leading with purpose without burning out. Let's go. My guest today is Chelsea Riffe. Chelsea is a Mindset and Podcast Ccoach helping women increase impact, create new revenue streams, and share their unique stories through podcasting.
Kc Rossi 0:49
In this episode, you will learn: tips to get your storytelling Mojo on how and when to embrace vulnerability ways to incentivize listeners to engage with your show the art and science of a brilliant interview and creative strategies to incorporate fun and prevent burnout. I know you are going to get so many wonderful takeaways from this episode. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show. Hey, Chelsea, welcome to the show.
Chelsea Riffe 1:19
Hi, I'm so excited to be here.
Kc Rossi 1:20
Yeah, I'm really excited to have you I love that you bring in mindset with your expertise in podcasting. So this is going to be a fabulous conversation.
Chelsea Riffe 1:31
I'm so so excited.
Kc Rossi 1:33
That's awesome. So first off, why is podcasting your jam?
Chelsea Riffe 1:37
Oh my gosh, first of all, I'm a verbal processor. So whenever I need to process something, it's in therapy, I need to talk it out, or it's with a partner and I just need to vent. And with podcasting, when I found it, I was like, this is a perfect way to combine storytelling, which I love with verbal processing. And in the same vein, I can actually help people while I'm doing it. So when I discovered it, probably in 2015, or 2016, I remember thinking, this is so cool. It's like someone almost explaining a movie to you. But through audio. And I remember listening to cereal, I think that was a lot of people's first gateway into the podcasting world. And I just love how they story told and I was like, I think I could do that. Because that was my background in college was broadcast journalism, digital media storytelling, and I want to went on to get my masters in the same field. So after trying sports reporting, and blogging and Instagram and everything, I tried podcasting, and I was like, This is it when you're a storyteller and a verbal processor and just love talking. I think podcasting is the best medium to be on.
Kc Rossi 2:41
I love that. I really think it does begin with knowing yourself and also giving yourself permission to try several different things until it is in alignment to who you are. And then it's like, boom, click. So I love that you you went through that process. So talk to me a little bit about storytelling, I feel like many people think that this is a gift only for those, you know, specific few, or we're seeing these amazing storytellers like Brene Brown, and we're trying to compare ourselves or bring herself to that level. So I would love it if you could talk to us one about the importance of storytelling, but to for somebody that's like, I have absolutely no clue how to do that. What are some tips that can help them kind of step into this realm?
Chelsea Riffe 3:25
Absolutely. I think storytelling just automatically makes us more human. Because that's our experience. We're telling our stories. So like you just said, trying to compare ourselves to someone else. That actually is more, it's not helpful to anybody, because people are like, I've already heard this story I already know about this person. I know who that person is. Your unique story is what makes you you. It's what makes us human. So when we actually flipped that into the you know, what tips can you use to be a better storyteller? Draw on your own life experiences? I think there's this idea that, Oh, I don't have that many crazy stories, right? Like, I'm, I don't know, I just kind of chill at home. I have a business. I'm a mom, I don't know, like, whatever. We think our stories aren't unique. But these small things that we go through every day that we're like, I don't know if anyone's gonna relate. I don't think anyone's really going to like resonate with this. Those are usually the stories that people are, oh, yeah, those head nod moments, those aha moments. It's those little universal truths that we keep to ourselves that are actually the stories that we need to be telling. So when people are struggling, I'm like, What's something interesting that happened to you in the last year? What's something you think you know, that no one else knows? I think what helps a lot with this is creative writing prompts. So you can literally Google these or go on Pinterest and find some and just start seeing what answers come out of you. I'm sure you're gonna be shocked at what comes out. And those can start being your stories. So that's something I think that would help people actually really get into storytelling.
Kc Rossi 4:52
Absolutely. I think that those are great tips to get the creative juices flowing. What else do you see is a block that gets in the way like, is there a mindset block to sharing?
Chelsea Riffe 5:03
Oh, 100% I think two of the biggest mindset blocks I see is one, people are like, someone's already talking about this, right? Like, why should I start a podcast or even if it's not a podcast, even if it's an Instagram, or a blog, or whatever, and they're like, well, there's already a blog about parenting or cooking, or astrology. And I'm like, That's good news, because it means there's a market and people are interested in it, I always compare it to going to a library. Imagine this self development section, if we're if those authors thought, oh, there's already else some talking about habits and mindset, we would have no books, the library would be full of one book of each category. So it's actually good that we have these things that people are interested in. And I always challenge people, I literally do this in my private clients. When they get in this mindset, I go, go open your podcast app, and tell me what are the top podcasts you listen to? I'm almost positive, a lot of them are in the same category or same genre. And you listen to one because you like their comedic timing, you listen to the other one, because they deliver short, valuable information. You listen to one because it's just hilarious. But you're not like, Oh, I've already listened to one astrology podcast, I can't listen to another. So I always use that as an example of humans, when we're interested in something, we want multiple perspectives on it, we don't go to one person and just shut down and we're like, that's the only resource I can go to. And I'm only going to find my knowledge from there. So that's a big mindset piece that I try to help private clients with is, when you think someone else is talking about it, that's good news. And people might be waiting for your perspective, just because someone's talking about it doesn't mean that person wants to listen, they might just be the only option that they have, you might come along and they might be like, Finally, someone was more my personality, or they're more relatable. They're more down to earth, like you could be that person. So I think that's the biggest one. And the second one, I think is it's interesting. People just don't like the sound of their own voice. I hear this all the time. I hate my voice. I don't like how I sound. And I always referenced his article that actually that's a scientific thing. So the way you hear yourself is not the way other people hear you. And the way you sound in actual audio, like digital audio is also not the way people hear you in real life. So it all comes down to a perception thing. But I think personally, when I find the science behind it, it is a little comforting. If you don't like your voice or like, maybe maybe it's actually not sounding like
Kc Rossi 7:26
Maybe it's amazing to everybody else.
Chelsea Riffe 7:29
Sounds great.
Kc Rossi 7:30
Yeah, exactly. That's awesome. So one of the other points that I see is this fear to be vulnerable. And we're so open hearted and like, excited when someone else shares their vulnerability. But then when it comes to ourselves, I think especially for female entrepreneurs, for high achievers, for those that can fall into people pleasing and perfectionism. This aspect of becoming vulnerable when we're sharing our story, I think is also a roadblock. In your expert opinion, what are in your non expert opinion? They get to that next? Yes, based on your experience, what helps people dissolve those mental gremlins when it comes to the fear of being vulnerable personally,
Chelsea Riffe 8:20
For me and my clients, I think what helps a lot is just starting to share slowly, and share from places that you feel healed from and like patched up not freshly wounded. So I'll use myself as an example. I went through a breakup last summer. And I remember thinking, you know, when I get back on track, and I'm finally back into like, my normal self and feeling optimistic, I'm going to do a whole podcast series on how to be single and moving forward from breakups. I still haven't recorded those episodes, because I don't feel like I fully processed a lot of things. So I'm not ready. I'm not going to be vulnerable about that just for the sake of having content and feeling like I need to open up because that's not going to be a fair to me, it's going to feel almost like hurtful to be sharing when I'm not healed yet. And be it's something that when I do process it, it will be more powerful and valuable. I'm gonna actually can think of it more clear headed. Now, I could talk about my breakup from three years ago, because I've fully processed that, right. So when I use that as a reference point, I'm like, yeah, here's what I would do. Here's how to be single, here's how to move forward. So I think with when people are struggling to be vulnerable, I think that's the first thing to look at is is it actually still causing you some emotions and hurt? Or do you think? Are you scared to share it just because you're like, oh, I don't know if this is going to hurt my credibility or if I'm going to look like I don't know what I'm talking about. But I would just encourage you to remember those pieces of you or make you human. And people invest in humans. We like human stories. That's why we like brands that have brand stories, not just brands that sell products. So I think even looking at your again, going back to evidence this is a big thing. I coach my clients through as we always need to find evidence, your favorite podcasts or favorite books, your favorite resources, at some point have probably been a little vulnerable and opened up. And that's what made you click with them.
Kc Rossi 10:11
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. 100%. That's awesome. So what I'm hearing is vulnerability is crucial, but timing is also just as important.
Chelsea Riffe 10:21
I love I love this quote, I think it was share from your scars, not your wounds. And that's always stuck with me, because I think that's really important, especially if you're on a podcast not, you know, just because you went through something a week before doesn't mean you need to jump on the mic and chair.
Kc Rossi 10:37
Yeah, absolutely. When you said what evidence is there of people who you listen to immediately, Glennon Doyle came to my mind, and her saying, "We can do hard things" and her book, Untamed. And that is probably the most raw real writing and speaking that I've ever seen, and it's one of my top favorites. So it's like, even if we can take inspiration from people who are being brave enough that have come before us, then it's just like, Okay, what if I do a sprinkle of that in mind. So I love that. Now, back to the name of your podcast, which I think is so interesting, My Non Expert Opinion, talk to me more about how you came up with that title, and how it still kind of like plays out resonates in your episodes today.
Chelsea Riffe 11:19
So when I started my podcast in 2017, my podcast was actually called, Oh, My Pod, which I loved. I thought it was cute, it was cheeky. And then I found out, there was another podcast with the same name. And I remember when I looked at it, I was I was too excited to like really research more into it. So then I actually really looked into it. I'm like, Oh, they've done 800 episodes, and they have the YouTube channel and Twitter, I only have the Instagram handle on the domain like this is just confusing. So about a year in, I was like, I need to change the name. And I was just mulling over names. And it came to me that a lot of what I talked about is just out of my own curiosity and opinions. And by the way, when I started my podcast, I didn't have my business yet. It was purely a creative outlet and hobby. So I was like, You know what, you know, when people say, Well, in my expert opinion, here's what I would do. I was like, Well, I'm just sharing from my own life experience, I'm going to call it in my non expert opinion, and kind of address it head on that. Yeah, I'm not a certified expert in some of the things I'm talking about. But I have a lot of opinions about it. And that's what ended up being the name of it. And I think it's still interesting to have that name, because then I did get into podcasting more professionally, which by the way, I started out as just a mindset coach. So podcast coaching has really come in to the light in the last year. So when I started mindset coaching, there was this kind of mindset block I had, like, do I need to change the name? Because if I'm a mindset coach, and people are coming to my podcast called in my non expert opinion, am I going to lose credibility. And here's how I worked through it. I just told myself, I'm going to go ahead and trust that people listen to my podcast, will understand my voice an expertise, and they're not going to judge it, judge it by its name. Because if you actually go to my website and read about me and learn about me, especially when it comes to podcasting, I know what I'm doing. And I think that resonates in the material. So I was like, I'm going to trust that my clients and my potential clients can put those things together and not think, Oh, her podcast is called a my non expert opinion. She's not an expert. And by the way, my podcast isn't just about podcasting and mindset. I think that's why I love doing it. It's about travel. It's about money. It's about dating. And I think that's why the name still clicks today, because I know you asked, how does it still show up today. I'm not an expert at dating. I'm not an expert at a lot of things, but I still like to talk about them on my podcast.
Kc Rossi 13:42
I love that. I mean, it's the integrated approach. And I feel like your listeners probably very similar to my listener, where we are multifaceted, multi passionate women, you know, not just entrepreneurs, but all the things, all the things that make a fulfilling life. And I think it's fun. And I think it is a reflection of your personality of your brand. You know, I cruise through your website, and I just, I loved your, your way of talking and your language and your delivery. And even like, you know, calling your ideal clients, Batty creatives, it's just like, it's so specific of who is going to resonate with you and your approach and they want their business to be fun and not so buttoned up and stuffy. So I think it's so important that whatever we do and how we communicate is a complete reflection of our unique personality. So I love that. I'm so curious about your definition of the art and science of a brilliant interview.
Chelsea Riffe 14:41
Oh, this is a good, good question. Science wise, there's a lot of a lot of science behind understanding verbal and nonverbal cues. So for example, when you're interviewing someone, if you can see that their eyes are veering off or they're kind of fidgeting or playing with their headphones And like looking down at their phone, that's clearly a sign that something is not clicking with them or they're not engaged. So with the science and psychology of it, I think the way to pull back someone into into an interview is a before you even get in the interview, make sure that the questions you have are either a bit different, or something that they're not used to talking about all the time. Because automatically they get out of automation mode of like, you know, where are you from? How did you start, tell us about what you're working on, like everyone gets, gets asked those questions. So when you can throw them a curveball and you something that they How was your trip to Hawaii? And they're like, Well, you know, I went to Hawaii, like that immediately dials them back in. So I think that's really interesting. And then even calling them by their name, right? Like, hey, Chelsea, tell us about your trip to Hawaii, boom, now they're automatically back into the listening game. And they're very connected. So when when I think of interviewing, I think the art of it is making the guests the hero, not the host. And this is hard for hosts, because we start them because we're like, I want to talk, it's my podcast, I'm the host. But when you have a guest on, you really, really need to put the spotlight on them. And I think this is the biggest mistake people make is they start the interview and they relate, and they start turning it back to themselves. I did that Oh, my God, I went to school there, I did it, and it keeps turning back to them. And we've all heard these interviews where you're like, I don't, I didn't get that much out of the guests because the host kept steamrolling it or turning it back to themselves. So the art of it is actually active listening, pausing, taking in what they're saying, and not just moving down a checklist of questions. And really, really understanding like, what's, what's the message between the lines? I think that's the art is, what are they actually trying to tell me? And how can I read between the lines. And this is where active listening becomes a really important skill to have. And again, understanding body language, if you're asking them questions, and they're scooting back from the camera are away or they're shutting down, it's probably time to switch gears and really dial him back in.
Kc Rossi 16:54
Oh, I love that. I really love that. To me, it is such a similar thing to coaching, all of those points that you talked about really understanding the thing behind the thing, having these disruptive questions, so they don't just fall into that rote way of replying. And of course, active listening, like you mentioned. So it's fun, because when I transcribe my podcast episode show notes, I use otter and they have a little, you know, piece that tells you how much the host spoke and how much the guest spoke. And it's very similar to coaching because when I do that, I'm like, okay, awesome, you know, that 70/30 ratio was 70%, the guest and it's very similar to pod to coaching. You know, if I do a coaching transcript, I'm like, okay, cool. And so I love that. So that's awesome. I'm digging this podcast info, because you obviously have a lot of passion and interest in the subject and interested in how our listeners can incentivize their podcast.
Chelsea Riffe 17:59
Oh, my gosh, so you mean, incentivize like listenership
Kc Rossi 18:03
Incentivize in a couple of different ways like probably incentivize when it comes to listener engagement, incentivizing when it comes to asking our listeners to rate and review the show
Chelsea Riffe 18:17
100%. So the very first thing to understand is as easy as it is to write a review, people don't want to take the time to go do it, like you said, unless they're incentivized. So I have found a few ways to incentivize reviews is the first is running giveaway each month, that focuses either on something that's like one on one time with you, that's a really, really easy way to get interviews, or excuse me, not interviews, readings, because people are like, Wait, if I just leave a review, I could have a 20 minute console. That's crazy. I'm gonna go ahead and leave a review. But the way to prevent burnout and not have you know, 10 calls that you have to do consults for is running giveaway. So you say this month I'm running a giveaway, anyone who leaves a review is going to be entered into this giveaway, and I'll pull it at the end of the month. Also offering a freebie that is not on your website. Because I think this is a mistake. People are like, oh, you know, you'll get my guided meditation if you leave a review. If that guided meditation is already on your website, that's not that incentivizing. People are like, I don't have to write a review. You're asking people to take time out of their day. I know it's not that big of a deal. But it kind of is to like, go to your podcast go down, write a very thoughtful, meaningful message. It's the same thing as when you ask for testimonials. You know, even when people have a great experience, sometimes it takes them forever to write a testimonial. And then all of a sudden you offer a gift card 10 to 10 bucks to Starbucks, and they write the testimonial. So that's something I think is fun, too. I've always
Kc Rossi 19:42
We love games and we love prizes.
Chelsea Riffe 19:44
We love prizes. Exactly. I remember one podcast did this whole swag bag and you could win skincare products hair products and they were launching it and I thought that was really genius because they were getting reviews before all their episodes dropped. So they said during the month of December For anyone who leaves review, you're going to win one of these prizes. And they were really big prizes. So when the podcasts launch, they had all these reviews. And I was like, that's really smart. And also getting your listeners involved. Surveys, send a Google form, DMS, Instagram polls and stories. That's actually how I plan a lot of my content. I'll say, hey, what do you guys want to hear about? But here's the specific tip you want to make sure you do. Don't leave it open ended with that question box where they can type because people need decisions. So make a poll and say, What do you want to hear about my recent launch my recent travels, you know, my dating life or something else, so then they have to pick out of those four things I've done, I look at, you know, what was the top rated one? Okay, that's gonna be my next solo episode. And then when I do that, it shows my listeners, wow, I do listen to them, I do hear what they want to hear. Or excuse me, I do take into account what they want to hear. And I'm creating content for them. So they're like, Oh, I'm going to keep listening. Because every time I vote on her polls, she actually does deliver on that content. And I'm going to share it. So I think that's a really good way to incentivize people to listen to is actually getting them involved. There's so many different ways to you could interview members from your program, you could offer Spotlight Interviews, you could offer questions where people submit a question to the podcast and you say, I'm going to answer one every single episode. There's so many fun ways to get people involved. But I think this is a good point you brought up is get them involved. Don't wait until you're 50 episodes in and trying to start. You're like, why am I not growing? It's probably because you didn't involve your community or listeners early on.
Kc Rossi 21:34
Yeah, I love that. And it really goes back to that relationship and that connection piece. Am I speaking at my audience? Is this a monologue? Or is this a dialogue where I really care about the listener and what they're interested in? So that's awesome. All right, Chelsea, so you seem like a really fun loving person. And I know that travel is super important to you. So I'm really curious, like, what do you do for fun? And how do you prioritize it? So there are some, you know, just moments in your business life that you integrate your work fulfillment?
Chelsea Riffe 22:09
Yes.
Kc Rossi 22:09
Personal fulfillment.
Chelsea Riffe 22:11
Travels huge. I actually have a little airplane tattoo right here, because of how much I love to travel. So I do like to travel even if I'm, like, for example, in lockdown, or something that you couldn't really travel that much. I like to just change scenery. So even if I am working, go to a cute cafe, go work at a hotel rooftop, just something to feel like I'm not in my bedroom or my house. So I love love, love travel. And then I try to schedule stuff each week that normally I wouldn't do. So last weekend, I took a pottery class, I am not a potter. I don't plan on taking, you know, selling pottery on Etsy. But I like to be creative. So I wanted to take pottery. I also took like a chair dance class. Do I plan on performing that? No. It's something that I really want to make sure that I'm, I'm incorporating, like play into my weeks. So I think just scheduling that as if I would have a client meeting is, you know, like, am I? Am I scheduling play just as much as I'm scheduling clients. Because if I'm not having fun, and I'm showing up to work burnt out and not having fun, that's not going to be a good thing for my clients. So yeah, I think scheduling in your week, just like you would have meeting.
Kc Rossi 23:19
Yeah, that's awesome. How can people learn more about you and how you help your clients?
Chelsea Riffe 23:25
They can go to my website, Chelsea rife.com, at Chelsea rife on Instagram, my podcasts, like you mentioned, just called in my non expert opinion. You can find that on Apple, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts. And yeah, shoot me a DM if you want to chat. And I'm so excited for your listeners to hear this.
Kc Rossi 23:40
Yeah, I'm really excited as well. I'll make sure to drop the link. So it's like super easy access to take a step into your world. And if you were to leave our listeners with like one final bright light piece of wisdom, what would you like to share?
Chelsea Riffe 23:53
Oh, I think something that has always read resonated with me is launch now and adjust later. If we sit on our ideas forever and ever and ever waiting for everything to be perfect. They'll never get out there. And I just saw a warren buffett quote, It was like 20 minutes of doing something is better than like 20 hours of thinking about doing it. And I'm like that's that ties into the whole launch and adjust thing. So if I could leave anybody with a piece of wisdom or advice, get it out there tweak it later.
Kc Rossi 24:22
I love that Chelsea, thank you so much. This was really fun and jam packed with great tips and I really appreciate you taking the time to be a guest on the show.
Chelsea Riffe 24:30
Thank you.
Kc Rossi 24:32
Yeah, until next time, my friend, breathe joy.
Kc Rossi 24:35
My hope is that you get inspired on a weekly basis to take action after each episode. I'm going to put some of Chelsea's wisdom into play and implement her review giveaway. So, once a month, starting now I'll gift a 20 minute laser coaching session to one lucky winner per month, who has left a podcast review during that month. How fun is that?
Kc Rossi 24:58
If you'd like to head to www.lovethepodcast.com/brilliance and give some love to the Women Developing Brilliance show. You will be entered into the monthly drawing. Plus get a shout out on an upcoming episode. Let's go.
Kc Rossi 25:16
I wanted to take a minute to share listener feedback from is Ysaline Rozier, from France. She says "five stars, a podcast full of golden nuggets. I love listening to the podcast of Kc because it's always full of good advice. She deeply cares about helping women get clear, easy and actionable steps to implement in their life. This is for sure one of the podcasts to listen to to create a profitable business and soul aligned life."
Kc Rossi 25:46
Ysaline, thank you so very much. Your words really mean a lot to me. This is exactly what my intention is for the show. So you nailed it. Thank you so much for taking the time. And if you want to take a little moment out of your busy life and leave a review for the show, head on over to www.lovethepodcast.com/brilliance. You'll be entered for the monthly giveaway to receive a 20 minute private laser coaching session. I pick one person per month for anyone that leaves a review during that month. Thank you so much for tuning in. And until next week, my friend, Breathe Joy!
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
