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Tricia is so excited about her new set-up: still podcasting from her closet, but with lots of new equipment!  “When any podcaster tells you they are in their studio, 9 times out of 10 they are in their closet, or their studio magically becomes their bedroom or kitchen again!”

A request from a listener came in: “I feel like they talk too fast! I wish they would slow down!” Tricia and Rob are not likely to slow down, as this is just the speed of their real conversations—but you can slow the speed of the podcast down by going to your podcast app and adjusting your settings. (This prompted Rob to chat about how impressed he is with how fast Seth Myers can talk.  Now Rob is wondering if perhaps he’s been trying to emulate him!) 

Rob shares some acting advice from comedienne Amy Poehler: “Whenever you find yourself lost on stage, look into your scene partner’s eyes, and you will feel better!” This advice may apply to all of us in this quarantine season as we continue to wear masks for health safety, and people cannot necessarily see a friendly smile or positive emotion at a glance. We may need to more carefully make eye contact just so that others can see the positive emotion in our eyes.

Rob confides (well, sort of confides) that when you enter the Magic Kingdom, you actually are entering on the second floor.  When the monorail or boat drops you off, you actually walk up a slope; that’s because they are gradually bringing you up to the second floor; the first floor is a system of corridors to allow the cast to quickly get from end of the park to the other, including those who must transport food, supplies, costumes, everything needed to make things run smoothly on the “second floor,” which is where the guests enjoy all the fun!

When you smile first, you send a message to the other person that says, “Hey, I like you.” And when others sense that the other person is happy to see them, they smile back. When you smile first, the other person doesn’t feel threatened; Rob chats about how much this applies to drivers in traffic as it does in the grocery store or wherever you happen to be.  In these days of quarantine where there are lots of new rules (including one-way directions in grocery aisles), what if we choose kindness instead of anger and give others some grace in the moment, whether they “deserve” it or not? What might change if we choose to believe that the other person is doing their best—and may have a lot on their minds as I do?

Rob suggested we give some positive respect to the “Counters”: - the people who serve us from behind the counters at fast food restaurants, dry cleaners, car rentals, etc: when you step up to the counter for a transaction with them, McNair Wilson (in his book noted below) recommends that you “assume brilliance!” Maybe this won’t be their career forever or perhaps they weren’t well-trained, but if you assume brilliance on their part, the whole transaction tends to be more respectful and it all goes better.

“Why don’t we just go ahead and give each person free credit like the square in the middle of their Bingo card? Just a little bit of a head start?”

In response to this discussion, Tricia offered to “assume brilliance” in response to Rob’s chattiness today.  Rob chalked it all up to maybe…well, a little too much caffeine.  Whatever the cause, he did leave his sister laughing today.

Recommended Resources

Hatch: Brainstorming Secrets of a Theme Park Designer, by McNair Wilson