Brian is a guest on Janice Porter's Relationships Rule! podcast: Talking is easy, connecting is hard – and according to Brian Miller it can be learned! A magician turned author, speaker, and consultant on human connection – Brian Miller is here to help us understand what human connection really is, and how to magically connect to anyone.

Cait is a Forbes-featured 7-figure Business Coach for women and, in her words, your excuse’s worst nightmare. In this conversation, Cait and I pull back the curtain on the coaching industry: What is a business coach, when do you know you need one, and what should you expect from a coaching relationship?

Francisco Mahfuz is a storytelling expert who teaches you to become more interesting than Netflix. We discussed the difference between motivational speaking and being a content matter expert, what a story really is and why you should be telling them in business, and where to find stories to tell. Then we did a deep dive on story structure, the different types and when they work, or don’t.

Julia Freeland is a passionate educator and change engineer, who has spent most of her life working to help people break through limiting beliefs and seemingly impenetrable barriers to become better versions of themselves. We discussed that weird head nod teenage boys do, why today’s world is more like open sea swimming than laps in a pool, the one question that triggers empathy in any conversation, and how to get your kids to eat vegetables.

Mark Metry is an entrepreneur, a Forbes featured TEDx and keynote speaker, and a podcast host who has interviewed billionaires, New York Times bestselling authors and world-class human beings on his Global Top 100 podcast. We discussed how he pushed through social anxiety to become a successful entrepreneur and global top 100 podcaster, and how to know when to quit a project or task.

Corey McComb is a writer and TEDx speaker based in San Diego. Through blog posts, essays, and the occasional short story, Corey examines the human condition and new ways of thinking. This episode is all about being a professional creative: How to get ideas, balancing business with creativity, why you should be a collector of stories, and what he did when he went completely blank during his TEDx talk.

Tamsen Webster is a message strategist who helps experts make their ideas irresistible. She’s the former executive producer of TEDx Cambridge, one of the legacy TEDx conferences and before that spent 13 years as a Weight Watchers leader. We discussed why ideas are so important, how to differentiate your ideas in a crowded market, and behind-the-scenes of TEDx conferences.

Helen G. Sneed is a career coach, HR consultant, and speaker. She also founded Drive The Goal, a consulting firm that helps people and organizations take charge of their lives and career, and navigate change, where she is the Principal Partner. This conversation is all about navigating life's ups and downs, personally and professionally.

Zoe Chance is one of the world’s foremost researchers and speakers on ethical influence and persuasion. In this episode we discuss her new book, Influence Is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen.

Thomas Heaton is a landscape photographer and YouTuber. His channel has attracted over half a million subscribers and features weekly video blogs of his photo shoots in some of the most stunning locations on earth. Our conversation ranged from the power of publicly admitting your mistakes, to the battle against repetition in pursuit of expertise, how he approaches storytelling, getting into a flow state, the role of intentionality in creativity, loneliness, and the role of luck in success.

When you ask for feedback, you reinforce any existing power dynamic. When you ask for advice, you eliminate the power dynamic completely. People feel more comfortable giving advice, and you'll receive it better.

Empathy isn't all that it's cracked up to be. It leads to burnout and irrational decisions. Plus, it's nearly impossible to teach. But instead you can learn perspective-taking, a skill that leads to understanding, connection, and yes, even empathy.

In 2019 I had the privilege and honor of chatting with legend Seth Godin for an hour. We spoke about marketing, work-life balance, and human connection. But when I asked him for a story of a chance encounter with lasting impact, the story he told me was absolutely insane. And exclusive - it's the first and only time he's ever told it in public.

Connection is not about agreement, but understanding- by being grateful, being humble, setting the tone, and seeking common ground.

From the vault, serial social entrepreneur Getrude Matshe teaches us the African philosophy of Ubuntu.

Life is sometimes unbearably difficult and unreasonably cruel. Let’s all give each other a break. Here's a lesson I learned from my grandmother.

People aren’t going to do what you consider respectful, or fair. They’re going to do what they believe serves the audience, which is not you.

Being an artist is hard. People aren’t going to do what you consider respectful, or fair. They’re going to do what they believe serves the audience, which is not you. How do you stand out as an artist? What can you do if people don't respect your work?

Now that we have 18 months of practice in virtual experiences, let’s not have our excitement get away from us. “In-person” is finally an option again, but it’s only one option. Ask yourself these 3 questions before planning or attending your next in-person event, or going back to the office.

Kelly Leonard was a producer in the 90s and 2000s for the Second City improv theater in Chicago. He is personally responsible for hiring Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, and Steve Carell. Kelly talks us through Second City’s Pivot into virtual improv performances during the 2020 pandemic. We learn about the difference between improv and spontaneity, how to gain agency over our emotions, a brilliant exercise you can do to achieve clarity and mental calmness in difficult times, and why...

Kay Reeve speaks and writes about emotional awareness. In this conversation, Kay helps us understand what she believes are the four core emotions, and a clear system for navigating them.

Xabier Marshall is a personal trainer and the owner of Multiply Performance in the UK. We discussed people’s perceptions of personal trainers, Xabier’s initial emotional response to the 2020 lockdowns, how being marketing-minded allowed him to see what was next and what was needed, his new app-based training program, and his predictions about the future of the gym and fitness industry.

Ken Davenport is a two-time Tony award-winning Broadway producer. He is best known for Spring Awakening, Kinky Boots, and the revival of Godspell. Ken helps us understand where Broadway is and where it’s likely going. In particular, he answered the burning question: Did Hamilton’s streaming success open the doors to an entirely new revenue stream for theater?

Dr. Caitlin O'Connell is a scientist, author, and storyteller. She was just gearing up for a huge fundraising effort for her nonprofit organization, Utopia Scientific when the pandemic wiped out all possible fundraising events. We discussed everything from the bone conduction properties of elephants, to how hard it is to take our own advice, to the value of pressing pause, and how critical travel is in developing empathy, perspective, and understanding of both ourselves and our place in the...