Angela McCourt 0:00
Let's get ready for some serious shift. This is a podcast shifting Inside Out hosted by your quantum shifter Angela McCourt, we are diving into ways to empower and enable a quantum shift. Inspiring topics hacks and guest speakers take us on a journey around authenticity, challenging status quo, personal power and living a purpose filled life.

In this episode, we have Kristi Kirby, who I've known for probably at least a dozen years or so and have worked really closely with her on quite a few projects. And one of the things that I absolutely have been really just contemplating over and over again, since I put her on my list to have a probably about a year ago, as I was planning my podcast is that her storytelling abilities, including metaphors and analogies, and just being able to take the complex, and make it into a simple language has always impressed me. And this includes whether it was in the tech tech industry and with teams or with vendors or even with outside sources, like sports figures. And it's really amazing to hear her kind of approach that she is actually mapped out for you all, which is amazing, because I love when guests can come on, and also share in a way that is easy for you to understand and be able to apply yourself. Now here's the thing with storytelling, there is an interesting approach to this, and it has become kind of a buzzword. But the impact that it can have, is really significant. And as we are moving through times where we're trying to make connections with people, we're trying to influence in a way that's in a positive, collective way. We're also trying to collaborate in ways that aren't just from one single point of view within the group, but as a whole. And one of the things that I've found people are using that works really well is this kind of common language, as well as this bigger picture story that connects to the audience. It allows them to be able to create this emotional connection to whatever the topic is to be able to sense this trust within whoever's delivering the message asking for investment, asking for support, being able to produce or pitch something that is a new product, a new program, or even a new business resource group within a company. And one of the things that I've found to be really amazing with this timing of this new kind of skill, if you want to call it that is that this now more than ever, has become the output of using all three of our intelligences of our analytical intelligence, our creative intelligence and our practical intelligence. And so instead of this being a piecemeal type of an approach, whatever your message is, whether it's a business plan that you're presenting, or whether it is a topic at a seminar, and this can be produced in a way that pulls in not only factual data, but also that intuitive nudge, and from a creative perspective, creates the story around why. And this is a super important part to any storytelling. But I love the way that Kristi goes into this structured approach almost as to the components that make up the best storytelling. This is not just about telling a story. There is a real strategy behind this that can be super effective, and I love the fact that she tells you how to do it in this episode. So I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode. As you listen you can find me on LinkedIn at Angie belts McCourt on Instagram at Angie underscore McCourt or on Twitter at McCourt, Angie. So without further ado, let's hear from Christie.

Kristi, welcome to shifting inside out. I am so grateful to have you on this episode. To get started. Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself.

Kristi Kirby 4:45
All right, well, and my friend I'm so happy to be here. So thank you for having me. And I love that you're doing this. So I've been listening to all your stuff and it's so awesome. So but yes, so Kristi Kirby. Let's see I live Live in Tampa Bay, Florida. So first and foremost, my most important, you know, roles I guess in this world is I'm a mom of two amazing children 18 year old daughter and six year old son, and a wife to my amazing husband, Josh. You know, and then in addition to that, you know, daughter, sister, and friend, all the good stuff. So professionally, I'm an executive in the IT channel for a $60 billion recently $60 billion global distributor. That Angie, I know you're familiar with TDSynnex. So in that role, I get to work with some of the coolest companies in the world to create amazing technology and just with great people who create awesome stuff, but most importantly, I lead just an amazingly talented team of people who just continue to impress me every single day. So I also as part of that organization, serve as Vice Chair of one of our business resource groups, it's known as Elevate, which is focused on promoting and supporting the career journeys and life journeys really, if you will, of women at the organization and within that channel, and, you know, serve also on a board of an organization you're familiar with known as the JDRF of northern Florida. So, yeah, so you know, all the stuff. Very good.

Angela McCourt 6:24
I'm so excited to have you on. Thank you. All right. So for the listeners, just to get a little bit more information about you, we're gonna get a little personal with some quick round questions. So the first one is, what is your morning ritual or routine?

Kristi Kirby 6:42
Oh, that's a good one, okay. So, I aim to be an early riser doesn't work every day, especially if I'm traveling between time zones, or whatever. But I aim to be an early riser, just because I think that you can extend your day and get a lot done. So the very first thing I do is, I kiss my husband, because that's important. We've been together a long time. But that's, you know, we're still best friends and keep the magic alive. So I pray. First thing, I pray for lots of different things I pray for, you know, of course, my family and my friends, really everyone I know, if you think about it, different things, just pray for the world, especially now I think, you know, lots of just prayer for the world and peace. I really like to meditate and just kind of reflect on things and just do some deep breathing because I can wake up wired and raring to go. So that's definitely something that has helped me. And so I do all that really before anyone else wakes up right and so but of course, then you know, a mom of two kids, it's busy, you know, you got kids that wake up. By this point, you know, my puppies ready to go in, I got a puppy, about a year ago. It's my first dog in my whole life. And she's kept me super busy. Her name is Sonny, like sunshine. So she's a sweetheart. But I also think it's really important, right to, you know, through all that stuff, you know, we stop and just give thanks for the day that we have ahead of us. I think, you know, I just think that's super important. And I'm a big, you know, planner and scheduler, I guess I'm you know, typing just kind of rituals in that but I like to know, you know how to fit probably because I try to put 50,000 things in every single day. I just like to plan and schedule out every bit of time.

Angela McCourt 8:29
That's awesome. Okay, so with the 50,000 things a day, how do you renew your energy?

Kristi Kirby 8:36
Yeah, that's a good question. And it is super important. Because that does need to be right. I mean, it sounds so silly, but you know, scheduling time for yourself and scheduling time to breathe and all that, you know, that's something that younger me definitely didn't realize me at this age definitely does realize that. But I think you know, one of the easiest ways to me it's natural, you know, is just time with my kids first and foremost, right? I mean, they're, they're at the age they see the world from such just a cool view and perspective. And so you know, time with that just to just get out of whatever you know, going on or swirling because you know, we all have it right? And just stop and you know, just taken a look at what they're doing or you know, they'll walk me through the creations they make with their Legos and every little detail and I'm just like fascinated just to see kind of the view from their world but also you know, time with my family you know, I'm lucky enough that most of my family lives you know within the area and so I get to see them a lot that's helpful kind of keeps me grounded back back to my roots if you will at all times which I think it's important you know, beach and sunshine Floridians we got to go in on we liked the beach. The water keeps me happy. It's my happy place especially if I ever need to places you to look at some water and chill. And then I have moved and all that not all that long ago and I have kind of this awesome serene view of nature all around me behind my house especially since Just stopping and like taking it in or even just looking up at the sky and saying wow you know like, you think things around you are sometimes so big and we're maybe bigger than they really are and then you like look up at the sky or you know whether it's the daytime or the stars at night you realize I am just the smallest

Unknown Speaker 10:18
of meetings if you will on this. So

Angela McCourt 10:22
awesome. Okay, what is your guilty pleasure?

Kristi Kirby 10:26
Oh, goodness, this bright Oh, this might be so hard. I might have a few. That's okay. Cheesecake. She's like that, um, so bright. You know, I think more I'm a somebody that responds probably better to the IRS. So I love, love, love, love, just chilling out and listening to music. It's probably one of my favorite things to do. I'd much rather have music on every day of the week, then have a TV running. And also, when I do have a TV running, you will find me I do like to watch soccer specifically. I like to watch a lot of soccer.

Angela McCourt 11:02
I bet people were expecting Netflix. Yeah, no.

Kristi Kirby 11:08
I mean, I do. Yes, I do watch a little bit. But I'm definitely more of a music person for sure. And I realized, I think I'm absolutely born in the wrong generation. Because I've realized, like, either I'm just out of touch, or what but I like I just like all music. And

Angela McCourt 11:24
yeah, I'm in the same boat. What about soccer? Were you a soccer player growing up.

Kristi Kirby 11:31
I was I was a soccer player. So I played most of my, you know, college, you know, Kid life, if you will, you know, in through high school. But it was a it was a great sport. And I had to not only when I was not playing soccer, I also had to run like track or cross country or whatever offseason just to stay in shape, especially in school. But I did I played rec when I was a kid. And then more competitively as I got older. And, you know, I look back and you know, I just was playing a game that I liked. And I remember I played soccer when like, a lot of people didn't know about it. And you know, think about it, you know, you gotta go find like the one random place that would play a game if it was like the World Cup or whatever. But it was a great thing because it instilled you know, Team teamwork, collaboration, you know, competitiveness instills all that in you at a young age, and you meet people from different places and see different things and it's was really, really awesome.

Angela McCourt 12:20
And now that's where your kids watch soccer with you.

Kristi Kirby 12:25
They do they actually very much do. They're pretty intuitive, believe it or not. So they both played. And they both do, you know, in addition to that, they do different sports and whatnot. But yeah, they do like it. And it's funny, because my husband, who never loved soccer before, you know, he was definitely more of a football guy. And still is, by the way, but he's so sometimes if he's more he's really funny. And I think part of it too, is it's if you think about it's kind of the perfect sport for, like, parents, especially parents of younger kids, because, you know, we watch like European leagues, mostly right? It's our family, to our hours, right? It's two hours in the morning. So you can kind of like do that, but still have your day and feel like you did things plus, you know, it's just, I just think it's a beautiful game, the way the

Unknown Speaker 13:11
whole How fun. That's awesome. I love it.

Angela McCourt 13:14
Okay, so it would be really awesome. I've known you now. For what? Oh, my gosh, it's been 12 years, like a long time. And as I've gotten to know you, I've heard different points of your journey. And I just thought it would be really great to start out with just what your journey has been. And you can go as far back as you'd like, and just share your journey with us.

Kristi Kirby 13:40
All right, yeah. So let's see. So, well, first and foremost, I'm 40 years old. So I'm not one of those people that's, you know, afraid of my age or anything. So I was born in Michigan, but grew up mostly in Florida, my dad was transferred here when I was really young, which turned out to be super awesome. And so, you know, had a great, you know, childhood and had children have children, brothers, you know, them so very close to my parents are still around, I'm lucky and that's amazing. And, you know, I just, you know, gotta grew up, I think, you know, I grew up simple in the sense of, you know, my parents worked hard. I lived, you know, provided an amazing life. They've been supportive of me, all through my all through my life and, you know, always encouraged me to try my best, you know, I didn't have to be the best, but I had to try, you know, my best and I think that that's important. It's definitely less than a pass on my own kids. But, you know, then if you look kind of through, you know, my whole childhood not I always, you know, tried to strive for like leadership roles, whether it was in student council or, you know, Captain. Right, you know what I mean? Like, I didn't, I didn't really realize it until I was older. I'm like, I've kind of always been wired this way. But I was encouraged to be that way. You know what I mean? I was very much encouraged to chase my dreams and I owe, you know, my parents everything in that regard, right. And I was fortunate to just have a lot of good teachers and stuff along the way too. But I went to school started, you know, went to college, went to UF Gator. So that had a great journey, you know, but before that, I actually started working for this company, I was getting I worked at like a grocery store and whatnot, and everybody does that, right. And, but I started working with this company that was like a medical device sales company. And it was like, in high school, though, and I was the filing clerk, like, after school, which I was like, it was just a job. And it was, you know, pretty good job. And it paid, paid, okay. And, you know, it was just kind of fun. I worked there with my friends, a few of us, and it wasn't really hard at all. And so, but interestingly enough, in college, I went back to start working for that company again. But I took on a sales job at a pretty young age. And so I learned a lot about inside sales and learned a lot about sales, leadership, and all that sort of stuff. So, you know, thought that that was pretty cool. And I liked what I was doing ended up getting my master's degree through that time as well, like in a professional program. Well, then typical, right, in that industry, you know, an acquisition happened. And of course, you know, I was offered the ability to move with the acquisition, but the problem was, it was to a very cold climate, and I don't really want, you know, I was not really in a place of my life. And so I networked with them within my graduate program. And one of the my classmates, you know, worked at this company called Tech Data. And I was like, you know, what is Tech Data, and she's like, Oh, it's a huge employer in Florida. It's out of Clearwater. And I was like, I've never heard of the Tampa Bay area. Right, it sounds interesting. So needless to say, I thought it was really kind of cool. And I started working there, and or I got an interview, you know, pretty, she was awesome. She was, you know, it took her to this day, got an interview, you know, I'm like, Oh, this will totally do, you know, this will do for a bit, I'll see what it's like until I find another job. Right. And, you know, I guess 15 years later, here I am. And so, now, I've been in all different roles in the company, you know, at all different levels, I started out at the ground up, which I think is really important. You know, I'm definitely I'd even said this today, in a different in a different setting. I think I've absolutely been in ambitious and impatient for most, like, fully. But I look back now. And I realized that, you know, I progressed, you know, every few years to a different role. And, you know, I think it was important to go after what you want. But I always appreciate the fact that the different times I've sat in different roles, or worked with different vendors for periods of time, or whatever, I learned so much during those times, just simply by watching things evolve over time. That it's been great, but it's been a great organization, you know, we've been through lots of different changes, since I started there to where we are today. And we're in the middle of, you know, evolving into our future. And so it's a really exciting thing, but I've been I've been an individual contributor, and multiple roles, right, I've done or whether it's product management, or business development, right, or leadership, you know, at all the different levels and run big teams, small teams, teams, local, you know, teams International, you know, no, teams kind of a little bit of everywhere, so, but it's been really good. And it's not always been easy, but it's always been interesting. And I've grown all throughout that journey. And I think you know, the biggest thing about the whole thing is, your career really is what you make of it. So you have to be patient enough to know when you're learning, right and ambitious enough to know to keep I think that that's a really fine balance. It's certainly by no means am I an expert, but you know, I think I've done okay, I guess that's awesome.

Angela McCourt 18:36
I love it. I love it. And one of the things that I mean, I've I've witnessed, you just portray so many skills and gifts throughout that time, and especially as you know, the company has gone through so much changes when new skills have to come out right and, and new skills, hopefully are developed. But I think what's interesting is, there is one skill that I just have admired that you do that is just magical, it's really amazing to watch and to witness because I don't see very many other people doing it very well. But I do view it as one of the most important skills and gifts going into the future. And that is storytelling and sharing things in a way that others can understand using metaphors and, you know, other kinds of techniques. And I just, I thought it would be really great to share with the listeners, just some of your perspective around how did you build this skill? What what do you do? How have you found success with this? Because it is something that I really feel is going to be one of those skills of the future that people need to start thinking about how do I incorporate this? How do I tap into my own creativity? How do I think more big picture and how I can connect to my audience better? And I would just love for you to share that with us.

Kristi Kirby 20:00
Yeah, I appreciate it. And wow, I'm gonna come call you if I ever need a little Yeah, no, I appreciate it. And I think, you know, I think I do like to storytel I think, you know, it's definitely something that I genuinely enjoy doing. But I think if you kind of look at something, I've created this module quite a long time ago that I, you know, taught, you know, through different leadership classes, or whatnot, or different different coaching, you know, and whatnot, really called storytelling for results. And I think if you kind of think of it in that way, right, you're not just telling a story, or whatever the past time, you're telling a story to, you know, what you're telling a story, you know, for a reason. And so like, if I kind of look at my whole process, if you will, and, you know, even just like, in preparation for this, I started thinking like, okay, like, what is actually my process to this right, just to your point? I mean, I guess I do it, but I never really took time to kind of carve it all out. But um, you know, I think it is important that, you know, you follow kind of a process that I follow now that I've, you know, written down. And so maybe I could just, you know, maybe walk everyone a little bit about the steps of how, yeah, works for me. So, I think the first thing, you know, first and foremost, is, you have to start with the purpose and reason of why you're even telling a story you're talking or conversing with someone or trying to, you know, whether it's in a personal setting, whether it's in a meeting, whether it's you know, your parent, you're trying to get a message conveyed to your child, or whether it's, you know, you're trying to convey a message to your spouse, or your team or, you know, your vendor you work with your customer doesn't really mean there's a million elements, right about why you would do it, but finding the purpose and the reason for why it is you want to share something. And I think, you know, if I start right there, so many people miss that step. First and foremost, right, I think it's just a tendency of this kind of busy world in life that we live to just dive right on in to what it is. But if you think about like, all great stories are all great, you know, kind of things that you've seen, there's always a purpose, or a reason or a message or whatever you're trying to convey, at the core of any good story, whether that story is through a book through a movie, right, there's something you've heard through a song, great song, lyrics, all of that. And so, so I think just finding the purpose and reason of what really what what is what it is you're trying to accomplish. And so I think it's natural to want to dive right in and be excited, especially when you're high passion and energy. You know, but but doing that can really make you know, your story over if you will, before it starts. So as part of that finding the purpose and reason that you got to listen loud, you got to listen really loud. You know, one of my favorite sayings is that you have two ears, and one mouth for a reason.

Unknown Speaker 22:54
Let's not, but we will create.

Kristi Kirby 22:58
But I also think, you know, listening loud, and then also trying to create an outline about why it is you're you're going to you know, tell a certain story will make you create better and naturally not every story you're going to tell is going to be done, you know, where you have lots of time to prepare whatnot, but where you can spend a lot of time preparing, outlining, doing all that stuff and kind of building that habit because you got to build this habit, right? If you're going to form it, you ultimately create better. And so I think that that that is just a foundational starting point is so important. And then then you got to figure out, now it's the story that you want to tell, but who are you? Who are you going to tell it to you? Right? So in terms of that purpose and reason? Who is it that you're trying to talk to, you know, and what are they into, because I think so many of us want to start with, you know, here's what I'm going to give you everything from my perspective, but the art of good storytelling is to completely take yourself out of your own shoes, and find the connection point with whoever it is that's listening in your audience, whether it's a person, a group, right, and all that. And so, I've learned that every single person, no matter where they are, what role they're in, what age they are, has something they can connect to. Right? I've had people on my team before that were golfers, I'm not a golfer, but they're so into golf, I better attempt to try to learn something about golf, right? Or if you look at like, you know, my daughter is an example when I talk to her about different things and, and, you know, I'll explain to things even if she asked me something about like my day, and talk to me about how this works or whatever. And you know, who was that person? You know, I try to relate who that person is in my professional life to like what's going on in her school? As an example, because, yeah, she's Yeah, that's what she would know is a school setting. She's not going to have any idea what a chief whatever, you know, what I mean is she's or a or a senior executive that it's just not going to happen so and so I think that that's good or you know, when you're talking to To, you know, whether it's your customers or vendors or they're all into something, so understanding somebody on a personal connection, or at least trying to learn a little something about them or do some research about what they're into, I think that's so important. And I think then that moves like really to, you know, kind of the next step process, right, which is, I love analogies and metaphors, and all those things, you know, better than anyone that I love that, you know, I've been told for many years, I should probably write them all down, I don't today, but I probably need to, because someone's like, you definitely should look at these ones. I will start, you know, one of these points. But when you figure out what somebody's into, then you can really understand how to talk to them in their own language. And I think that that's so important, right? And that that's, you know, whether you're trying to gain buy in from someone or prep somebody or give, you know, feedback, you know, to somebody who's a leader, right, your feedback and coaching that matters, you know, whether we're guiding the kids on something, you know, it's funny, I mean, one of the funniest stories I have is I was prepping a quarterback that many people would probably know who that person was to speak at an event once and he's awesome. And of course, so you hire a speaker and you're like, trying to get them to convey a message to your audience and business and they're like, Okay, you know, talk to me about this program. I'm like, Okay, here's the deal. This squad that we you have address is like people coming straight out of college. And it's their first year, right? This squat over here, more seasoned pros. You know, they've been around a little bit. They're looking to do X y&z. And so I started talking to this person all purely in football analogies,

Unknown Speaker 26:42
about the tech industry,

Kristi Kirby 26:45
about the tech industry, about or concerned about? Because I was trying to think from the perspective of the customer, what do they want to hear to maximize this time, but also from the perspective of the speaker, you know, this guy's coming in while he's doing lots of different public speaking engagements, and, and all that, and no doubt, his story is fascinating. There's absolutely something everyone can pull from it. But if you want to directly and best tie it to the audience, you know, I had to try to explain and give an analogy of what's going on and why we came from where we came from, and why we were at that, what that event the weight hired him for, and you know, what the purpose was of all that stuff. So I think, you know, if you look at analogies and metaphors, they really work for really any type of purpose, you know, a fairly quick on my feet with them. But I think really, it just comes down to just stopping and thinking, you know about how this thing is not all that different from this, like, I joke all the time about a distributor, and I relate it to a grocery store, like it's one of my favorite analogies, because everyone may not know what a distributors are all the different products and technology. I'm not even the most technical person, like let's get real. Okay, that everyone can understand what a grocery store or a grocery store the different departments. And you know, and I remember one time I made, you know, when I was talking about, you know, somebody about what do we do as an example, you know, in distribution, and how's it and I use the analogy of like, creating a deli sandwich, right, you know, so, yes, a grocery store might have all the raw ingredients, all the different things, but like, what we did was we brought them all together, we match them, we made create combinations that were, you know, needed, right, by the customers that we were serving, you know, we knew how to add the different customizations and different flavors and all those sorts of things, right. And at the end, you have yourself your perfect custom deli sandwich, I'm sure you could have sourced all those ingredients right at home, and figured it out, eventually, lord knows probably would cost you a fortune. Or you can sit there and go find a place that specializes that might be willing to, you know, kind of lead you on your journey to whatever sandwich it is that you wanted to buy. Right. And that would help get you, you know, a wonderful lunch or dinner. Like if you look at it distribution, it's a lot like that as well, right about what we do in our value. Because inherently it's hard to Yeah. Otherwise to people, especially people, not in your industry, but even sometimes people in your industry or even like I think new hires, I was asked one time to do a class and explain to new hires what we do here. That's overwhelming to figure out. Right. And I use the analogy of our role in our department. I was like, the different people in the department is like building a house. You know, there's Foundation, right? And there's people who construct the house and there's people who make it really, really functional by design and think about all the and then there's people that make it beautiful and decorate it and then everybody has a different role, and ultimately the outcome of that creation. And so I try to use something like that as explaining different departments as an example. There's some analogies I

Angela McCourt 29:50
like, Yes, I like that.

Kristi Kirby 29:54
But they really work and if you talk to people in the room language, you know, they they really, really I think I understand it more can picture themselves in it, you know, can kind of just embrace a little bit more. And if you look next, right, I think common language, common language is so important, like, I just talked to you about deli meat and

Angela McCourt 30:17
everything you're talking about that, right?

Kristi Kirby 30:19
I mean, it is not complicated. And I used to think, you know, especially when I was younger, like, especially when I first started speaking, you know, it's easy to get super involved in it, you know, jargon or any jargon of any industry, it doesn't really matter what it is, right? I was such a bad speaker and storyteller when I tried to talk like that, because it was not how I think it's not how I and I don't think it's how the majority of people think I really don't. And I think, you know, I understand why there's, you know, you know, different kinds of language, but I think common language is something that I've learned to embrace over time, I think it brings out, you know, your personality a little bit more, I think it you connect with a broader audience, there's not that whole fear of like, oh, yeah, I totally understand what the person is talking about when the reality is you probably picked up 40 50% of it. And I think common language is really, really important, because it's something that a broad group can understand. I think this becomes even more important when you are, you know, dealing with teams, you know, where people in different places, whether it's different regions within you know, a country, you know, whether it's in different position levels, I think that's also whether it's, you know, you're dealing with different cultures around the globe, I think all of that sort of stuff, the more common you can make everything, you know, the difference, because I think there's absolutely tons of differences and cultural things, diversity, and all that stuff around the world. But I think there's a lot more commonality with everyday people than we all realize it. And I think trying to speak, you know, in a common language is important. I think that's another thing, too, it's especially important as people you need to talk about career journey, and how do you get noticed? And how do you, you know, try to get people to understand what you're all about, the simpler, you can make something in the quicker and faster you can make you know, something sound, the better, especially for people who are super busy and executive type positions or need to make decisions. Because everybody think about when you're at that level, everybody's coming to you with something at that point, right? I know that from trying to get to them. I know that from people trying to get to me, my my role, right? The quicker you can kind of simplify and break something down, the better. And the really the only way you can do that fastest common language. And I think, you know, so many times, it's, you know, it's tempting to want to show off all the stuff that we know, and all the cool stuff. But you know, that's great. Probably there's a time and purpose if you're writing like a detailed manual or something. But in everyday conversation with people, common language is definitely the key component. And it doesn't even have to become your

Angela McCourt 32:57
Yeah, it's that is so interesting that you say that. And you're absolutely right. I think if there was more common language used, we would get to things faster, there would be less assumptions made, there would be less disconnect. And it's interesting, because the whole using the jargon using the language, part of that is just our need to, like prove ourselves or need to show that we know the answers. But I find that this creative talent of being able to speak to the larger group, and being able to speak to more specifically, in this common language arena, to getting to the end result faster with more people on board versus trying to shove something that people don't understand down their throats because it's your jam. And I just love the fact that you approach conversations and speaking engagements and whatnot in this way. I think it's just fantastic. And what a great tip. Yeah.

Kristi Kirby 33:55
Thanks. And I think, you know, it's just, it's interesting how many people respond differently when you like, and it's almost like you can see it, like if you've ever been, you know, ya know, and you've been to many events and conferences and whatnot, where you've seen, you know, audience and you've sat in an audience, you know, you've been part of, you know, discussions where you've watched audience from a stage and you can almost see if you sit back and watch somebody where when somebody speaks and in some of that language that might be a little bit, you know, a little bit specific, or maybe sometimes a little buzzword or you're jargony or whatever, although people appreciate, I think naturally, anybody who's trying to convey a message to them or tell them something or resonating with them, you can almost see that when someone comes up and takes just a more simple approach. Or even like you know, people that do think about do a PowerPoint deck with absolutely no words just pictures or whatever the case may be. You know, you can absolutely see the whole entire audience just sit down, relax, you know, and you can see the body laying With the change of people immediately put the phone down, start paying attention more, right. So I remember one one time I did this, I had an opener where, you know, we had an event we were doing and whatnot, and, you know, wanted to talk about thinking differently and being different. And so I started this whole entire opening segment of this track, and all I had was a red Solo, you know, red solo cup kind of funny, right? People think please, make sure you know me to either those are fine with me most days. There's definitely some some song lyrics about about that. But I just started with, you know, tell me what you see when this reds when you see this red solo cup, and of course, same thing, right, the audience, you know, you immediately see people get into it, and whatnot. And it was really funny. But I kind of played a little game with everybody about well, why did you say that? You know, what made you think of that, and kind of just involved everyone. And I said, Well, in my household, you know, this weekend, here's what my kids saw. And I had a red solo cup pyramid. Now that we've all made 100 times over, because it was pouring, it was a fabulous summer, rainy day in Florida is you know, and we're trapped inside. And so we did where my kids ran through the pyramid. And so I played these videos, and, and so, but that whole video was the foundation to why that whole conference was focused on thinking differently.

Angela McCourt 36:28
Yes, you know, seeing things a little bit. But what you were able to do was to exactly what you said before the purpose is connect to your audience, you have to get them connected, you have to connect to them, they have to connect to what it is you're saying. And yeah, that's amazing.

Kristi Kirby 36:45
Everyone likes? Yes,

Angela McCourt 36:47
for sure. And not calling it something fancy calling it a damn red solo cup.

Kristi Kirby 36:54
Right? Amen to that, seriously, totally. They even make those hilarious ones I remember went to a restaurant once they actually had like, hard plastic version ones of them that they could like reuse and all that I thought it was absolutely hilarious, because the whole vibe of the restaurant was like pick the ghee, and I was like, this is the cutest thing ever. So you can find them online. But I think, you know, to that point, you then have to tap into people's senses. And I think the more the merrier. You know, people respond differently to different things, you know, so, you know, when you're using your words, you know, in storytelling as an example, you can use your words, but you can use them to describe an appeal to every type of sense. You know, some people are different, you know, they're, they're wired differently, right. So, like, as an example, I talked to you, I love music, I love listening to music, I absolutely respond way more to music than I do to other mediums, right? So I'm, I love to hear and listen, my husband visual, he loves the TV, right? He needs to see that everything with his eyes, he loves it, you know, and, you know, some people are, you know, respond differently to taste or to smell or to you know, I only responded weirdly to smell when I was pregnant. But, um, you know, so, I think that, you know, using as many senses as you can, when storytelling to people is super important, too. So, like, not just saying, you know, you know, I had the chicken or whatever, no, I had the amazing chicken. It was breaded crispy, you know, the temperature was the perfect, you know, hotness, not too hot, not too cold. You know, when I tasted it, you know, it was just exciting, and, you know, flavorful and like, you know, you just described now I'm hungry. Now you just described, you know, the way you describe, you know, chicken it's so much different than you know a word as an example. So it was trying to use as many senses as possible, I think is important. So, the other thing you know, emotions, emotions is a fun word, especially in business. Emotions are really good in storytelling. Really, really good. And I know that, you know, I think for so long the world was against, you know, emotions, especially the professional world. I have many long, soulful, probably conversations right about this. And I think that when you use the word emotional, you know, there's a bad connotation, sometimes in a in a business environment, but like think about emotions, right? Happy, delighted, elated, excited, you know, amused, proud, confident, ecstatic, right? hopeful. Those are all emotional words. They're all emotions. You know, I don't know what

Unknown Speaker 39:36
that is about any.

Kristi Kirby 39:40
I mean, all of those things are great for people. So emotions, I think are really really good. They connect to people. We are humans. We are human people. We are not robotics. We have emotions for a reason. We are biologically wired to have emotions for a reason. I think understanding emotions and storytelling are really, really important because you're going to again, right relate to your audience. It's just similar to like the analogies of finding your common ground or purpose, emotions of you relate to your audience, just like analogies help you relate to your audience, you know, people hear, or absorb, or whatever things different. Yeah. So when you can have eye contact, I know not every medium allows that, right? When you can't have eye contact, though, what's great, but you know, even when you can't, I think, you know, the appropriate change of voice or tone when storytelling is so important. Like, if you think about, you know, I use this approach called the slow and low, anybody who has ever been part of my team or mentored by me is going to laugh when they hear this. low and low works. So just when you're getting to the point, slow down, you say it a little, you gotta hold on, hold on. The other thing too, is it's important, like when you're trying to convey, you know, I think a message or tell a story, especially in a more difficult setting, it's natural, that you will get a little more heightened, or nervous, or whatever. So consciously slowing down, and speaking at a lower octave volume than you normally would. takes a second to get yourself. But it's unbelievable. How you can see people's body language change, when you just simply slow down and just speak a little Yeah, right. I just did it. You know, it's amazing how you can do it. So. And I think, of course, when you close any good story, right? You try to close to gain understanding. So you know, ask questions, right? You know, I hope you know, or you make statements, or you you know, you have to close in a way that that, you know, is there, you know, is there. Hopefully you've gained a lot from the story of or was there anything, I can help clarify if you're in person or whatever, in a in a in that type of a setting? You know, and I think you do that. But you do that to a certain degree. But then you got to let people process. And that's another thing that I had to learn over time, right? Was it people process in different ways? Some people process immediately, some people need a minute. Some people want to think about things, they might follow up with you later. No, not everybody just digest things a little bit differently. And the other thing is, I think, you know, probably the most powerful stories that you that you tell are ones that people unpack even more layers over time. Yeah. So that's, I guess, kind of my process, if

Angela McCourt 42:27
you would like you keep them, you keep them continuing to think about it. And then oh, and oh, instead of Well, that was inspiring, they walk out of the room, and then nothing. They would forget what was that about? Again? Yeah, no, I love the fact that you can leave them in this state of continuing to, you know, think about and stew on and, and discover and be curious about what was said and actually connected to what was said. And it's beautiful.

Kristi Kirby 42:57
Yeah, yeah, I am a thing. Probably one of the things that I've learned over the years is like, when people come up to me, and like, you know, maybe two years after something, or three years after they're like, I still remember when you told me, you know, whatever it was, and I still remember how that I think about that to this day, like every once awhile, I'll get like one of those messages, you know, from someone that's on my team, or whatever, previously, you know, on LinkedIn, or something that's just like, I still remember. And I'm like, that's just warming.

Angela McCourt 43:26
That just shows like, how impactful storytelling metaphors like being able to use these tips and use this process. And, you know, really being conscientious of it along the way is so impactful to others.

Kristi Kirby 43:42
Yeah, it's, you know, and it's fun, too, I think, you know, there are a lot of different ways, especially in a work environment, right, where we're, you know, we can just go about our day, get a ritual get in a rut, you know, I think it's almost like, you know, you're just like, you know, and probably anybody who's like, a little competitive, like, I'm going to figure out, I'm going to figure out a way to get get to that person to figure out a way to get them to understand me or to, you know, and I think that's a obviously a great skill in business. But I think that's a great skill, just really in life, you know, what I mean? Whether or not you're trying to convince, you know, someone to understand, you know, something during a home buying process, right, or, or whether or not you're, you know, doing something on behalf of your kids at school, or, you know, any of those types of situations, I think can be really, really helpful. Just understand and try to relate to people and the other thing too, I just, I find that, you know, focusing on this skill really forces you to learn more about the people around you, the world around you, the audience around you, right, we're all kind of sometimes everyone's guilty human nature to be in your zone. And when you have to really think about what matters to people what they're all about, what's the connection point. It just, I think leads to just an overall more fulfilling Well, yeah, you know, we all we all have a lot of purpose and we all play a destiny and how it is that we're going to live that out. So why not live it in a more purposeful? Wow,

Angela McCourt 45:08
that's awesome. I love it. I'm gonna definitely have you back on because I think it would be a great conversation that we can we can share about just the navigation being more agile navigation of change being more agile being that evolved leader that I think everybody is craving and looking for. And I would love to have you back on for another episode. So stay tuned on that.

Unknown Speaker 45:34
Thank you. Well, give me one. Give me one last salutely? Because

Kristi Kirby 45:39
I have I have, you know, we're, you know, it's one I've had to use a little bit, you know, lately and so, you know, about change. And it's an interesting one. And I think so if you think about changing a lot of people, oh my gosh, change, you know, change is one of those words just evokes lots of different things. So, you know, and I've kind of embraced the mindset of the only constant is change in this world, which I think is really, really important for people to have it, it's like when you're going through any sort of change, I kind of liken it to a road, a road being changed, right or road being widened. So, you know, maybe as a Floridian, you know, our feels like our roads are always constantly. Year round. It doesn't put maybe that that deadline, if you will, on construction, but when I've used recently, and actually, you know, dressed up and had like little vest and hat and all this one day, and just, you know, the emotions thing, right, that we were talking about relating, you know, uses money, but, you know, when you navigate change, it's kind of like the road is being designed. So you know, many lanes, if you think about it, you drive along, it's a two lane road, you know, what happens, you build houses, and you build around it, and you build it, and all of a sudden that to Les Brown, is not that functional anymore. And so, you know, it's a little bit hard to navigate through, well, you know, for all the right reasons, we decide to widen the road. And so of course, when the road gets widened, it's great. You know, because the outcome is, Yay, it's gonna go from two lanes to six lanes who, right, everyone's happy. But, you know, if you think about that process of converting a two lane road, six lane road, it's long. And you know, sometimes that two lane road can become a one lane, I knew those guys stand out, and they have the sticks slow and stop, and you have to sit there and it takes forever, you know, then, you know, maybe they do some work, but then you're going in a different traffic pattern, or you have to go and drive on the shoulder. And it's kind of bumpy. And you know, there's rocks flying sometimes and, and all that sort of stuff. And then they change the traffic pattern again. And then maybe again, one more time. And if you think about it, right, eventually, you know, during that time, you're like, Oh, my goodness, that two lane road we had actually. Yes. But I can live with that. But then all of a sudden, you know, you wake up one day, and you know, I don't know if it always seems like it's overnight. Right? And then just gorgeous and everything. And then you go on this six lane road, and you're like, This is the greatest thing that ever happened. Yeah, that's a lot what change feels like and so my funny thing, too, you know, when I'm telling people how to navigate change, and like, you know, navigating changing have like a tool that you can use for assessment is, are you eventually on smooth pavement, there's gonna be some bumpy pavement along the way. And some change of traffic patterns can feel a little weird, but you will eventually get to smooth pavement, and it will be better than you've ever seen before. So

Angela McCourt 48:31
that's yeah, fall out. Perfect. So awesome. Right. So I know that you had mentioned a couple of boards that you sit on, and including inside of tech data, and then also out in the community. Is there anything else you would like to share as recommendations either books or organizations or companies or products or anything like that, that you'd like to share that I can, can include in the show notes?

Kristi Kirby 48:59
Sure, I'd love to and I appreciate it. Of course, I'll give a shameless shout out again, for the JDRF of Northern for their great organization. They do amazing work to find a cure for type one diabetes, and do all sorts of local events all throughout the organization, and all throughout really the globe. And so an amazing organization, I cannot say enough, and I encourage everyone to get involved. I am not involved in JDRF because I have anyone personally, in my life of type one diabetes, I'm actually involved in JDRF NGOs, you know, because of you and so and how much you inspired me and it's just an amazing organization. For, you know, what the parents go through if kids with type one diabetes, you know, as a parent who doesn't have to go through that you can't help but want to help everyone else. So that's an awesome organization I would support. So there is an amazing book recommendation that I recommend to everyone and it has nothing to do with your gender. So I just like to point that out. You actually gave that one to me. It's called Mastery. In your mean, girl, and it is just an amazing journey on understanding everyone's mean girl, which is the mean girl really is the person who you know is inside of you that, you know, doubts or, you know, is judgmental, or whatever the case may be. That inherently, you have so much influence over how you can get a hold of that mean girl, if you will, inside of us, we all have it, we all have that inner voice. And it's a great, amazing book. And like I said, it's called Mastering your mean girl has nothing to do with being a girl anybody? And then, of course, I mean, you know, absolutely shifting inside out where we're at right now, how can I not recommend because I remember when this entire idea or this entire, you know, journey around was an idea many years ago, and I know you're passionate about and I'd love to see your what you're doing. And, and you know, I would be remiss not to close with absolutely one of my new favorite books, which is of course, your love. Thank you. Absolutely.

Angela McCourt 51:08
Thank you, which you are the foreword author of.

Kristi Kirby 51:14
For any listeners who did not know, Kristi wrote the foreward when there might be an analogy, yeah.

Angela McCourt 51:22
That extra special ingredient, and it has nothing to do with lines. No, that was awesome. Thank you so much for doing that and for recording the audible version of the foreword as well. You're just wonderful. Thank you for all your support. Always.

Kristi Kirby 51:40
A pleasure. It was. It was a it was an honor. So I appreciate it.

Angela McCourt 51:45
All right. I'll have you back on for sure. Thank you Kristi.

Kristi Kirby 51:50
Sounds good.