Voice First World LLC

Leadership is more than just a title. How you communicate shapes your influence as a leader.🗣️✨ #Leadership #EmotionalIntelligence #Communication #Inspiration Jen Vellenga Jennifer Rettele-Thomas LeadHERboard Voice First World LLC

Warmth is a key factor in how we are evaluated, often taking precedence over skills and expertise. Prioritize connection and empathy in your interactions. 🤝❤️ #LeadershipBooks #EmotionalIntelligence #EmpatheticLeaders #ExecutiveCoaching #WomeninLeadership Jennifer Rettele-Thomas Jen Vellenga LeadHERboard

When you need to speak powerfully, we partner with you to elevate your speaking engagements and leadership communications. Powerful leadership begins with your ability to speak with presence. #communicationcoach #powerpointslides #speakwithconfidence #confidentleaders #womenindevelopment #womenleaders #publicspeakingforleaders #globaladvancement #fundraisingleaders #executivecoach Jennifer Rettele-Thomas Jen Vellenga Dana Hunter LeadHERboard

Recently I provided a virtual team training for a digital marketing agency. They wanted help with presentations. They figured with my theatre background, I could script them. And I can. But I didn’t. As a stage director and professor, I believe in the power of using stories and structures in presentations. It’s how I coach leaders on #CommunicationSkills Presenters want their scripts! So do actors. But with actors, they memorize words written by a playwright or screenwriter who writes dialogue. Chances are, your corporate script is dry and not conversational. If that’s the case, don’t memorize it. The written word is different than the spoken word. Stop scripting yourself. Use your slides as prompts and tell the story of your facts and figures. It can be scary, but it’s much more engaging. After the breakout sessions to practice structure, the digital marketing team came back to the Zoom room laughing, “Well THAT took a fraction of the time we expected!” Bonus. Less prep time. No scripts. #CommunicationCoach #StorySlides #ExecutiveCoach #CorporateTraining Jennifer Rettele-Thomas Shannon L. Rich CMP Jen Vellenga LaToya Rozof, PHR

You are an expert - you’re not an #imposter. But there’s usually some situation in which you feel you are not “enough.” You aren’t alone, even as a leader. Remember your team members, especially if they are new to the workplace, are feeling similar insecurities. How are you helping them know they are enough? I’d love to hear what you do for your teams. Comment below if you have a tip to share! Video tip = from the coaching vault. #ExecutiveCoach #CommmnicationCoach #YouAreEnough Jennifer Rettele-Thomas Voice First World LLC LeadHERboard

In Episode 96, We’re Turning 3 Years Old!, JRT and Jen V. reminisce about their strangers-to-business partners origin story, their pride and reflections on Voice First World’s mission over the past three years, and the hilarious hijinks they’ve been up to along the way.   Hear the “opposites” and co-founders reveal their own “What on Earth” moments as well as their biggest lessons in business and with their beloved clients. Jennifer Rettele-Thomas Jen Vellenga LeadHERboard #Leadership #Communication #ConfidenceCoach  

“You BOTH resigned?!” “Wait, do you have a business plan?!” “Oh, you must have a trust fund.” Yes. Of course. Nope. In the fall of 2020, two leaders in higher education - one in development, one in academics, decided it would be “fun” to mask up every Saturday and meet safely in a basement/covid home office in the college town of Manhattan, KS to plan a side hustle for the gig economy. We are those leaders, Jen V. & JRT. Three years and one move later, we have a thriving executive coaching business in Kansas City. For a decade, we’d received comments about the effectiveness of our combined strengths and the laughter we brought as we navigated our obvious differences. But we were exhausted. We worked and worked and overworked in our jobs. We were even more tired of witnessing exceptional leaders, usually women, being passed over for the leadership promotions they deserved - positions for which they were highly qualified. We wanted to help. With JRT’s operational mind and stewardship talent, and my performing arts background and teaching strengths, we leveraged our skills to launch a communication coaching company. Our goal was to help leaders speak with presence, to know their value, to use their voices and communicate their worth. Voice First World was born in that basement office and we remain committed to our original goal. (More on our hard-to-remember business name further down) 🤣 After working with a few beta-testers (thank you Lisa Leander, Cate Readling, and Sandi Masori), our first cohort started in May 2021. We soon realized our side hustle was a main hustle. So we took the risk and resigned in the height of the #GreatResignation 🎉 Today I asked Chat AI, “In the first three years of a new small business, what are the markers of success?” Growth in revenue and profit...✅ Positive customer feedback...✅ Business and customer loyalty...✅ Then I asked, “In the first three years of a new small business, what are the most common pitfalls?” Poor financial management... ❌ Not understanding your target market...❌ Ineffective marketing & branding... ❌ Success! But we are not perfect - we’ve adapted to our clients' needs, stumbled our way through social media, and adopted enough technology and SaaS platforms to make our heads spin. After all, it’s a voice first world. You know, “voice first,” the tech term used for voice activated communications. It’s a terrible name to remember. We’ve been called, first world voice, one voice world, one first voice…VFW. Veterans of Foreign Wars. 🥴 We adjusted. Our podcast is called, Speak with Presence, more clarity there! Bottom line…we want to live in a world where all voices are heard, where perfection is overrated, leaders listen, and we all speak up to influence change. What advice could you offer us as we start year 4? We’d love to know!

Confidence, competence, and permission are the gifts that come with training. Emergency Resilience educates on how to be in the moment in the most challenging situation - when you have to communicate the death of another human being. E95 on the Speak with Presence podcast: Death Communication Listen Today: https://lnkd.in/g3mAiuA9 Alexandra Jabr, Ph.D., EMT-P Dr. Michelle Robin Alan Verrill, MD Doug Spear Jen Vellenga Jennifer Rettele-Thomas #Communicationskillstraining #Deathcommunication #Presence #Executivepresence #Stagepresence 

Surprised to learn that communicating a death is not routinely taught to first responders? Alexandra Jabr, Ph.D., EMT-P, the founder of Emergency Resilience is creating change with her course, “Death Communication.” E95 on the Speak with Presence podcast is available now. If you prefer not to hear about death and dying, maybe skip this episode. Listen Today: https://lnkd.in/gmVG7Egv LeadHERboard Jen Vellenga Jennifer Rettele-Thomas Alexandra Jabr, Ph.D., EMT-P PARAMEDIC Alan Verrill, MD Doug Spear Real Media LLC #deathcommunication #communicationskillstraining #firstresponders #podcast #podcastinterview #deathanddyingdiscussions #deathanddying

You’re a whole person! Whether you’re treating a patient, stepping onstage, or leading a team through a challenge, being focused and truly present matters. But turning off your personal challenges takes a toll if you don’t have support from your workplace team. E94: Empathy in Action on the Speak with Presence podcast with Alan Verrill, MD Listen Today: https://lnkd.in/gzPUG75m Jen Vellenga Jennifer Rettele-Thomas AdventHealth Dr. Michelle Robin Doug Spear LeadHERboard #PodcastInterview #HealthCareers #CommunicationSkills