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Step into the dark side of public speaking with “The Public Speaking Horror Show,” where we expose the chilling fears and epic stage fails of speakers who’ve lived to tell the tale. Join us as we dig into their nightmares and discover the killer tips that turned their terror into triumph.
Laura Reid: [00:00:02] Welcome to The Public Speaking Horror Show, where we reveal the awkward, sometimes cringe-worthy moments, sometimes terrifying moments behind the curtain and behind the mic. Today's guest is a media pro with over 20 years of experience as a news anchor, producer, and interviewer. She's worked everywhere from live TV to global marketing campaigns, helping people tell their stories with heart, strategy and zero fluff. She brings newsroom urgency with boardroom smarts and knows exactly what makes an interview unforgettable, whether that's good or bad. She's here to spill the behind the scenes tea from epic wins to the oh no, she didn't moments. She says she's interviewed some high profile people, so if we're lucky, maybe she'll dish a little. I'm thrilled to welcome Jodie O'Brien to the horror show. Welcome, Jodie.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:01:08] Oh, my gosh, I've never been so excited to be at a horror show. I avoid them at all costs. I like nothing scary. I never watch horror films, but I'm glad to be here. Thank you. Laura, it's so good to be with you.
Laura Reid: [00:01:24] Thank you. You too. Yeah. Be careful what you say yes to. Because now you're here. You're in it. And as you know, we're going to start right in with the killer 13. 13 random questions that everyone should know. Jodie has not received these questions in advance. She did a little homework and listened to some other ones thinking she'd have like a leg up that way, but I don't know. We'll see how it goes.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:01:45] I told you, I do not like the unexpected. I do not like horror films, so I had to prepare.
Laura Reid: [00:01:52] Yeah.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:01:53] I am the most practical, like Non-horror going show person. Like my friends all go to the scary movies. I do not, I do not like them, I get scared. So I was trying to prepare. I have all of the answers to all of the 13 questions for other people that you asked. Like, what kind of car would you be?
Laura Reid: [00:02:12] I love it, yeah, I'm not going to ask that. And I love that you tried to prepare, and I feel like this is kind of this meta moment now where we might create our own horror show like moments, right? You know, where things just go wrong, and that's okay. That's welcomed.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:02:26] Yeah. That, you know, a good journalist would prepare. Right? But no. Okay. I'm up for it. Let's go.
Laura Reid: [00:02:34] Here we go. Yeah. Now I want to make this even harder, but okay. We'll see. Here we go. Here's that, like, I'm just going to start out with the easy one here for you. What's the meaning of life?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:02:47] Really? That's easy? I'm still trying to figure that out. You know, you know, though, it's interesting because I think when you get to this point of 45. And you've lived long enough to realize that the meaning of life has a very little to do with, um, your list of accomplishments and way more to do with your relationships, you know? So I'm one of those, I say that I don't listen to anything horror related, but I got to be honest. I have listened to so many near-death experience podcasts, I cannot even tell you the number. And I am one of those who takes everything from all of those episodes. And I'm like, oh, there's a similar, you know, a similar , you know, thing about each one of them. And so when we talk about the meaning of life and you listen to some of those podcasts, you will learn that the meaning of life has nothing to do with your list of accomplishments. It really has to do with the way that you treat people and those relationships that you've built and how those have worked out in your life. So bottom line, right, it's love. That's the bottom line.
Laura Reid: [00:04:03] Oh, I love it. It's, oh, man. That's an awesome answer. I love that so much.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:04:09] I don't know. Ask God, we got to get up there and ask him because I have no idea. But that's my best guess.
Laura Reid: [00:04:16] I think you're absolutely right. It doesn't. It has. You know, we strive to make great meaning, I think, in our lives. But maybe we don't have to work so hard because when it comes down to it, you're right. It's just, it's our relationships, our relationship with ourself and with others. You know what's crazy about your answer, though? Guess what I was binging last night that I binge all the time. The near death right before like something terrible happened moment podcasts. And now that YouTube understands that, that's my vibe, it feeds me so much more and I can't help myself. I love, like, watching shark attacks that, like, some of them I watched last night were just so horrifying. The bungee rope thing they like, they miscalculated so it was way too long. And they, and like, all these, these awful moments right before someone dies, I don't know. That's so crazy that you don't watch horror, but you love that, and I love that.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:05:10] No, I don't watch that. That's not what I watch.
Laura Reid: [00:05:12] That's real.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:05:14] No, it's not that.
Laura Reid: [00:05:15] Oh, it's...
Jodie O'Brien: [00:05:16] It's the people that tell the stories, like they tell their stories on a podcast and they're like, so I died. And here's what happened when I died.
Laura Reid: [00:05:27] Oh, the actual death moments. Oh, I love those two.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:05:32] You think I'd think I'd watch that nastiness?
Laura Reid: [00:05:34] Oh, shoot. Now I feel like I feel too...
Jodie O'Brien: [00:05:37] Yeah. You twisted.
Laura Reid: [00:05:38] No. Yeah. I love that.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:05:39] You messed up.
Laura Reid: [00:05:40] I did. Okay, so now I feel kind of seen and called out. Well, there's someone out there that loves those too. And I kind of hate myself after I watch them, but I love that, too. The near-death, like, people talk about what they saw and what happened.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:05:53] Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's what I mean. So when you listen to those, I mean it really, I mean, they say they stand before God. They are in those moments of reckoning. That is how I've like, you know, but no, not scary.
Laura Reid: [00:06:09] So not the roller coaster accidents. Okay.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:06:13] No, but I do have lots of friends who are just like you. And it's very messed up. It's very messed up. And you are messed up.
Laura Reid: [00:06:21] I am, I am. Oh, boy.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:06:24] It's terrible. I don't know, it's just not in me, right? It's just not one of those things.
Laura Reid: [00:06:29] It's for the best. Like when I watch it right before bed and then I'm like, oh, I had a bad dream, but yeah. All right, number two.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:06:37] Let's move on.
Laura Reid: [00:06:38] If you could sit down and interview anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:06:45] That is a really hard question. That is a really hard question.
Laura Reid: [00:06:48] Who pops in your mind?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:06:50] You know, there's a lot going on about Barbara Walters right now. Barbara Wa-wa. And she, they're getting ready to come out with a new doc.
Laura Reid: [00:06:58] Is she still alive? I don't know.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:06:59] No, no.
Laura Reid: [00:07:00] She's not, okay.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:07:01] She's passed. God rest her soul. She's moved mountains for journalists, but, so she's the first one that comes to mind just because, like, when was the last time she was interviewed, right? She interviewed everybody. But when was the last time she was interviewed? So I'm very interested in her. But, you know, another one that comes to mind is Tina Turner.
Laura Reid: [00:07:20] But. Okay.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:07:21] She might be in the near-death, life... she might be. I listen to those podcasts too. Many psychics. Maybe they can bring her back and I can talk to her. Maybe. Maybe that would be a good show. I could interview people on the other side.
Laura Reid: [00:07:36] Yeah, that'd be pretty epic if you could pull that off. I have some Wi-Fi connection issues, but. Yeah. Tina Turner. Absolutely.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:07:43] Tina Turner. I had to say her because she's one of my faves, and I would just love to talk to her. I wanted to see her in concert before she passed. I never did get to see her live in concert. I missed my opportunity when she came to Atlanta. Because I would have flown over there to see her. But I would love to talk to her. She had some of the most amazing hits. Songs that still to this day, like Rock My Core and I love her. Yeah. I've always been a huge fan.
Laura Reid: [00:08:13] Oh, that's so cool, I love it. All right, what's the most awkward thing that comes to mind that a guest has ever done? Like mid interview, someone you've interviewed?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:08:23] Okay. Okay. The first thing that comes to mind is that I was interviewing on a live show. So it was, you know, kind of a community. It was a, it was the news, like the 5:00 news, local community segment. And it was a, it was a plastic surgeon, and he does a lot of female mommy makeovers. And so he, you know, I have always, I was always very self-conscious of course, when you put yourself in the limelight, you're always going to be self-conscious about something to do with your body. We all are. But it just is more when you're out there. And so I remember being on set with him, and I was very self-conscious that day about my jacket. It was really tight across my chest. Right? And here he is talking about breast reductions. And I'm sitting there and I could not wait for it to get to commercial to be like, what do you think? What, can you, can you do me? Can you fix me? You know. But he was looking me dead in the eyes, having this conversation about breast reductions. And I was like, I know you want to look down. I know you want to, you know. So probably the most awkward moment. I mean, there's been others where, yeah, there's been others. You can't really predict what people are going to do or say, where they're going to look, what their reaction is going to be when you ask them a question that they don't see coming.
Laura Reid: [00:09:55] Absolutely. That's a good one.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:09:57] Over the years, there's been some very awkward moments.
Laura Reid: [00:10:00] I bet. Oh, I can't wait to hear more about that, too. What's a book that's currently inspiring you?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:10:06] Oh, gosh. I wish I could remember the name of it. There's a new book out, I'm halfway through it, about mentoring and about how - I think I actually talked to you about this a little bit the last time we spoke, because mentoring is such a huge opportunity in this country. And so there's a new book out, like I said, I can't remember the name of it. I can't remember the author's. My dad sent it to me, which I thought was really cool. And it's really about how transformative mentoring can change this country. And I think what they mean by that is it's not going to come from the top. It's going to come from those relationships which we talked about were so important in your life and how you investing in someone else and someone else investing in you can change the course of your life. So it's a book about all of these stories, and there's just one chapter, and I don't know if I shared this with you, Laura, but it's really cool. They start it and they say, you know, there was this little girl and she was in Salem, Alabama, and she was, you know, basically witness to her church being blown up by a racist bomber in Alabama in the 60s or something. And, you know, going on about all of this and on and on and on about her life and what she did and how she came through it and how her parents were. And at the end of the chapter, it's like, and her name was Condoleezza Rice.
Laura Reid: [00:11:33] No way. Wow.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:11:34] And so, yeah. So the way that the book is set up, there's many parts of it where, we'll have to link it in the, in the show notes because it's phenomenal.
Laura Reid: [00:11:43] I'll search for it.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:11:45] Yeah.
Laura Reid: [00:11:46] It's so important, having a mentor, having, you know, how it can change your life, right? And being a mentor to someone, too. And like you said, those relationships create the meaning. So. Yeah, I love that. All right. Cue the lights. What's your signature on camera power color. Is it mustard yellow? Yeah. You know what color?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:12:14] You know, I would say a red, and I would say lipstick, you and I are both fans. However, one time I was in the Walmart and someone came up to me and I was a small town news anchor, and they came up to me and they said, you know, it was an older lady, she said, you know, your red lipstick is very distracting. And I thought, okay. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Laura Reid: [00:12:40] Thank you. Yeah.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:12:41] Thank you. Yeah. I have a really hard time watching, listening to you and hearing you, and because it's so distracting. And I thought, oh, well, I've never been told these thin lips were distracting, so that has got to be, yeah. So that's, I love red, every time I put on my lipstick, every time I put on my red lipstick, I think of that lady. Hot pink all the way. Yeah, yeah. Anything that's really bold.
Laura Reid: [00:13:09] Yeah. You and me got that. Yeah.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:13:11] But it's not always, you know. But. Yeah, it's not always. That wasn't always something that was, you know, smiled upon because you're supposed to be kind of muted and, you know, very Midwest, you know, don't push it, that kind of thing, but who cares? All bets are off now.
Laura Reid: [00:13:33] Yeah, that's right.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:13:35] All bets are off. You don't have me in a box.
Laura Reid: [00:13:39] Yeah, I love it. Let's bring it. All right. What's your favorite or recent binge TV watch?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:13:47] Well, speaking of scary, how I can't sleep at night, my husband and I finally just finished Mayor of Kingstown.
Laura Reid: [00:13:57] Oh, I haven't watched it.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:13:59] It's on Paramount. It will, you will love it. Of course you would. Because I couldn't sleep. Yeah. Yeah. So my husband's really into that kind of stuff, right? Kind of those action packed, sometimes gory mob, mafia.
Laura Reid: [00:14:18] Yeah.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:14:19] Anything scary. Anything by Taylor Sheridan. Right? He's the one that did, he's the one that did Yellowstone and those spin offs. And he has issues. And I don't know if you'll ever hear this, Taylor Sheridan, but you have issues, and therefore I can't sleep at night. So yeah.
Laura Reid: [00:14:41] I'm going to check that out, absolutely.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:14:43] Right? In my private life and my, like, girly, you know, my time, my time shows, I'm all about the Housewives. On Bravo. I love them, I love reality TV. I love anything on Bravo. And I also am loving And Just Like That, the Sex and The City spin off. So good.
Laura Reid: [00:15:07] And you said you don't like horror.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:15:11] Right? Now, listen, I mean, some of those housewives.
Laura Reid: [00:15:15] Real Housewives. Oh my gosh.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:15:18] But yeah. Yeah, that's a good one. Okay, I'll take that. Yeah I'll take that.
Laura Reid: [00:15:23] Absolutely. All right. If you could whisper one piece of advice into someone's ear right before they go on camera, what would it be?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:15:33] Oh, just be yourself. Be yourself. That's exactly what I would say. Be yourself. Because there is, you know, people say there's no one else like you in the world and no one else can be you. And it's just so true. The authenticity. There's no use in trying to hide it. I've met a lot of young journalists who tried it. So, yeah, I would just say be yourself.
Laura Reid: [00:15:57] Mm. I love that so much. And I love the moments that are kind of unexpected. Like you're watching the news and something like, cracks up the weatherman or something. I was just watching, something came up on my Instagram, I don't know why this video resurfaced for me, but it was a weatherman talking and he had like a big map behind him. It was a local news program, and he was talking about this storm front coming in, and just the shape that it made was like very phallic, but in a way that was like the, you know, not excited to see you kind of way. It was just like this big drooping down form. And the anchor anchorman said, oh, it looks like it's a really flaccid weather front moving in or something, made some kind of, and they all just cracked up. And the weatherman was like, I see it now. And they were just dying that he couldn't get back on track. But instead of editing that out, they kept it. And then it just went viral. And like, that whole team became famous. And it was so cool because it, like, could have just been edited out like, oh, guys, we can't show this. But they're being themselves. And they just like leaned into that authentic moment of like hilarity.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:17:05] Well, I would actually submit to you that I bet they couldn't edit that if it was live local television, forget about it. You can't edit that.
Laura Reid: [00:17:14] Oh, yeah. So whatever happens, happens.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:17:16] It happens. And then, and then you either, you know, make the most of it or, and that's what happens in those moments, you're like, at this point we can't stop the show. We're live. It's going out live. We have to either laugh or cry, like you have two choices. So I bet you, the producers and the directors in the back were like, oh my gosh, what is happening? What is happening, what is happening? And they just couldn't get it together. Yeah. You just sometimes you just can't. And those are the best times. I have, I have a local weather guy, I haven't talked to him in ages, but he's my favorite. He and I would get to laughing so hard, and we just couldn't stop. We couldn't stop. And so then I would be trying to say, like, a serious story and, you know, cracking in the middle of it.
Laura Reid: [00:18:05] Oh, man.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:18:05] Not professional, but so much fun.
Laura Reid: [00:18:08] It's so much fun. That awkward moments where you'd laugh. My mom and I always did that together. We went to a serious movie. Like, we were almost kicked out of Terms of Endearment, we were like, well, Debra Winger was dying, saying goodbye to her children. We got the giggles and we just couldn't stop. And people were like, shhh! Like, and we were just like, dying. I mean, it was so... Yeah. Yeah.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:18:29] Is there anything better, though? There's nothing better.
Laura Reid: [00:18:32] I still remember. I mean, my mom passed a year ago now, and, actually, in her obituary that I wrote, which was very just story filled, I actually wrote about that. Like, I'm going to miss, like, laughing with the uncontrollable laughter during the worst possible, most awkward moment. Someone's funeral. Terms of Endearment. Like there are a couple other times. I will never forget that. Oh my goodness. Okay. If you could go back and tell eight year old Jodie one thing, what would it be?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:19:03] Oh, man. You know, there's no secret. I kind of grew up in a household where, like, my parents were divorced. And so I had a couple of really challenging years, you know, trying to get used to that. A new life and, yeah, so if I could go back and talk to that little girl, I think I would just say, you know, you feel like the world is ending today, But someday all of your dreams are going to come true. You know, I would just, I would always, I was a dreamer. I would sneak out into, like, we had some woods kind of behind our apartment complex. It was called, it was called, like the trustle area. And I would sneak back there and I would just play with sticks on the ground, and I would daydream and I would pray and I would, like, look up and all these things. And I would always, like, dream of this, this life. And I would envision a life that I loved, that I designed and I didn't know how it would ever happen. But I believed with all of my being that it could, that it was possible. And I think sometimes, you know, there's kiddos that don't, that don't have vision like that or they don't end up having drive to get out of their circumstances, but it's incredibly possible. And so I think that's what I would tell her.
Laura Reid: [00:20:27] Are we are such like birds of a feather. I got chills, like listening to you. I used to do this a similar thing. I was an only child and such a dreamer, you know, big imagination. And I used to do the same thing. Like I'd love being under, there was like a back kind of woods area, and I would collect sticks and I would build like little worlds, just little homes, and imagine one day, you know, I would be in this little cabin. And as I'm saying that I'm realizing I live in this, like a beautiful little cabin, like in all this forest, you know, in Hawaii. And it's kind of like what I imagined as a little girl. So you're right, you know, you've just got to have that vision and it finds you eventually. Your dreams can come true. So thank you for sharing that. That's awesome. What's your reoccurring nightmare if you have them?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:21:16] Oh, good heavens. Awake or asleep? My reoccurring nightmare when I'm awake is that these teenagers are going to, you know, play video games for the rest of their lives. That's my reoccurring awake nightmare. I'm constantly trying to promote outdoor activities. Relationship building activities. Anyway, that's my awake nightmare. My, you know, at night, like, seriously, I don't have, I don't even dream, but...
Laura Reid: [00:21:52] You do. You just don't remember. I think everyone does.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:21:55] Sure.
Laura Reid: [00:21:56] Yeah.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:21:56] Yeah. But, like, you don't, you know, you always, when you're watching these shows, Laura, like you, I mean, you're like, if that ever happens to my daughter, I will cut someone. You know, I mean, we're just, as moms, we're so protective of our kids. So that's probably why I have such a hard time watching stuff. Because I am so... The news has already scared me. I'm already afraid of sex trafficking. So don't come for my kid. Like, because I will cut you. You know what I mean? So I think there's, I think that's probably for us mamas. It's more like we're traumatized.
Laura Reid: [00:22:30] I went through a really short phase after I had my son of I couldn't watch horror and I couldn't watch anything where anything bad happened to children, definitely. I mean, I recovered from that. I got over it. But you're right. Like, there's so much real life horror. I think maybe that's why I like it, though, in a way. Like it gives me a sense of control over my fear. You know, like growing up, feeling so scared all the time in my background, I think when I could, like, choose to, you know, be in, you know, watch this, you know, choose to go see Jaws or, you know, whatever the movie was that was playing at the time and, and choose fear, then I felt like I had more control over it. Maybe.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:23:12] That's a sign of real growth.
Laura Reid: [00:23:15] It is. Oh, I thought it was like a I need more therapy or something. Okay.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:23:20] No, I think it is. I think that's a sign of growth. I'm still afraid.
Laura Reid: [00:23:23] A coping mechanism or something? I don't know.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:23:26] I'm. I'm still deathly afraid. But no, I think that is a sign of growth, right? Because when you do grow up, yeah, you grow up in a situation where you feel like insecure in ways. Yeah, no, I'm afraid. I don't want any. I don't want any of the, why would I put the pretend in my life? I only want good. Where are the housewives? Show me their mansion. Like...
Laura Reid: [00:23:50] Yeah. Awesome. That sounds healthier, really. All right, I think we're on number 11. I kind of lost count a little bit. Okay, number 11. Who's the most famous person you've interviewed?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:24:05] You know, I really, I haven't taken time to stop and think about that. But I was home in upstate New York recently, and one of my uncles said, hey, didn't you interview Joy Behar one time? And I was like, oh, I did, didn't I? Yeah. So in the old days, back in the old days, you could get on these satellites so they would, instead of zoom, we didn't have zoom, so they would say, would you like to book a satellite tour? So Joy has written a book, or Joy has a cookbook, and she would like to talk to people all over the country and local newsrooms all over the country about her new cookbook. And so I would schedule those basically daily. So daily I was able to, you know, interview somebody new and exciting who was out there doing what they wanted to do and wanted publicity. And it was very easy back in the day for celebrities and entrepreneurs and, you know, gizmo, you know, producers and authors to grab onto the media and do that. Now it's different. Now they're much more careful. We all try to be careful at one point, but careful about people coming on and trying to sell things, you know? So, you know, back in the day, I was interviewing a lot of people like that. Yeah, like former football players who wrote a cookbook or, you know, John Madden, his cookbook, or, you know, just all kinds of people who were trying to get some publicity. Yeah.
Laura Reid: [00:25:42] Oh. So fun. Ah, the good old days. What's, well, speaking of that, so, number 12. What's your favorite interview question?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:25:52] You know, I thought about this a little bit because in thinking about the business that I'm in now, which a lot of times is interviewing authors, the most important question is what made you write this? What was the turning point that caused you to feel like you have something that you want to put out in the world? Like what was the turning point? Because every day I think in my own life I'm like, well, I could talk about raising an autistic child. I could talk about why I like red lipstick. I could talk about this. I could talk about this, I could talk about this. But when you sit down with an author who's actually written a book, the question is, why this topic? What was it in your life that turned you to say, I have to put this into the world and I have to put it out now. And usually it's a very, very specific topic, you know, like yours. Like just in your case, public speaking. I mean, there's so much more to you, right? We're talking about your childhood and your life and what you've been through. And you could have written or talked about anything, but your topic is public speaking. And so the question for you is why that topic, as opposed to all the other topics that make up your life?
Laura Reid: [00:27:17] Yeah, that's so, that is such a meaningful, powerful question for I think anyone, you know, that's listening that is ready to do this new thing, you know. Whether it's write this book or create something new or a new career, like why and then why now? Like, why is it, because I do think there always is a deeper reason it's coming to you. And then suddenly sometimes I find there's a sense of urgency all of a sudden. And yeah, getting in touch with that is so important because sometimes there's a shelf life too to the enthusiasm you have and the drive that you have to create that thing, you know, on that topic that's very specific to you. So, yeah, that's an awesome question. And I bet you get incredible answers on that.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:28:05] Well, it's something I ask myself almost daily, to be honest with you, because I'm one of those, I'm a real thinker. And so I'm really thinking through the next step always. And I'm like, you know, do I want to go this direction? Do I want to go that direction? And for a long time I thought, you know, one thing that I want to focus on is mental health. I feel like we have such an issue in this country. I've been through it myself. There are hundreds of thousands of people struggling every day with their mental health and why, and I have so many questions. Right? Let's try to answer all these questions and unpack it and see what's happening in my community. And to be honest, Laura, what I realized was as soon as I started to get healthy, that desire to make a difference in that genre faded away a little bit. And so it has me asking, well, why, Jodie, just is it out of sight, out of mind? Now you're better. And so now you're on to the next thing? So I ask myself questions all the time like that. And I think that we all should. We all should. If public speaking wasn't going to sit with you for a long time, for a while, if it was just going to be something in passing, then it would have passed, you know. And that's the thing, it's like, I'm not trying to be rude, mental health, but if it's not you, I'm going to give it time. But if it's not you that I need to put out into the world and my story in that realm, then what is it? You know, I know I'm here for a purpose. I know that there's something that I need to give back. And if that isn't it, as important of a topic as that is, then what is it? You know?
Laura Reid: [00:29:43] So do you find the answers come to you, like when you're asking does it, or it takes time? Or like, how do you get the answers when you're asking those questions?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:29:54] That's such a great question. Of course, I'm going to sit here like everyone else, and I'm just going to mull over it. Mull over it. And I have been mulling over things for months and months and months. And just the other day I got out a gift of a notebook that someone had given me, and I hadn't journaled in a long time, and I wrote about four pages. And I just argued with myself the whole time. I was just like, okay, this is what I think about this, and this is what I think about this, and this is what I think about this. And I don't know about this. And, you know, it's like you have to get what's going on in your head, in your heart, out on paper sometimes. And that's what I did. And it's, you know, it really made me think in focus and flesh out like, okay, if it's not going to be mental health, if that's not going to be what I'm going to create a podcast about, then what is it going to be? Is it going to be something locally? Is it local? Is that what I need to do, or is it something bigger? And if and why don't I want to go bigger? Is bigger, is it my confidence? Do I have enough confidence? Like I ask myself all of these questions and journaling really is helpful. It really is. But it's taken me, Laura, so long to get out of my own head and get it on paper to be able to flesh it out. So yeah, I think it's a process to think some people they know, they go after it, they kill it right away. And I think there's others of us who really have to have more clear direction. You know.
Laura Reid: [00:31:25] Yeah, but journaling can't go wrong. There is something about that process that generates an answer one way or another. You're right. You know, just getting, like, actually handwriting it out, arguing with yourself, seeing whatever it is, being able to read it and write it. There's a process there. So.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:31:44] Maybe that's the topic. Wait. Yeah. Maybe that's, maybe it's journaling. Maybe that's what the podcast should be about. I have no idea.
Laura Reid: [00:31:53] That could be so cool. And people come on and kind of share their journals or like, that could be really cool. I don't know if you remember, going like way off, I'm just kind of following my stream of consciousness right now before we get to the last question, but, I don't know if you remember, there was this, like viral show that was out for a while, it was called Mortified. And basically what it was was it was kind of like, have you heard of The Moth where people get on and compete in storytelling? It's an NPR show. The Moth, you'd probably love it.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:32:25] No, but I think I should be on that.
Laura Reid: [00:32:27] Yeah, you should be, I should be. Yeah. It's so fun. And they have celebrities sometimes that get on it that are just tell these great stories, like Matthew McConaughey is like a famous one that told a story. But it's like five minutes. There's a theme, no notes, and you get it. You tell a true story. But so it's kind of like that vein, like live on a stage. But what it was was people would get up and they'd read from their journals in high school, and it was hilarious. It was just called Mortified. And people get up and it was, I don't know if it was quite a competition, but just the sharing of what you were writing in like the 80s in high school or whatever it was, it was really hilarious. So it just reminds me, though, the power of those journals and how, you know, it just creates this time capsule, sometimes too, of these different phases in our life. It's really cool. Final question. Number 13. You're doing, you're killing it. This is like, I have so many insights through your answers. Thank you so much. Final question is do you trust your head or your heart?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:33:33] That's a really good question.
Laura Reid: [00:33:35] And you mentioned it a little, just now, like your head and your heart.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:33:40] It's tough. I think when we're young, I think that when we're young, even before kids and stuff, we are definitely going on our heart. You know, we're not using our head. We're just going on our heart. We're living in love and love, love is carrying us and we are just living in our hearts. And I think it's super important. But I've heard so many people say that there's a reason why we have a brain too. I think it was my dad that said that, you know, you've been given a brain, use it. Because I think he knew for a long time that I really led with my heart. I think both are really important. I think you need to know when to let one override the other as well. And you can be in a situation, a scenario where, for instance, you're covering a house fire and you know that you want to get the best shots possible. And we learn in journalism school like, you keep the camera rolling, okay? You get the shots. If people are running out of the fire and they need a blanket, you get the shot. You're not the firefighter, so you're not supposed to put yourself in the story and make yourself part of the story. Do not toss that person a blanket. Keep the camera rolling, right? But in that same sense, I always believe so wholeheartedly in civic journalism. Like, really? I mean, what is a priority in that scenario? So I've always led with my heart and my brain has followed. And I think that I've really tried to teach that to my kiddos too. But sometimes it depends, you know. There's been times where I've been just probably just like you, like super emotional, leading with the heart, I'm a hot mess. It's taking me into places that are really harmful and hurtful. And then I'm like, okay, I'm done with you. I need to start using my head. My head. Like they don't, yeah, they don't deserve the power that you hold in your heart. You need to make a decision with your head. Use your brain. Get out of that.
Laura Reid: [00:35:42] That's a really fascinating distinction. Yeah. Sometimes someone doesn't deserve your heart. It just needs to be like, a boundary with, like, let's just move. Like, let's get through this with practical thinking or something.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:35:57] Right? Because, yeah, you can be super empathetic and compassionate and lovely and caring and people will take advantage of that. And so I think, you know, that was something I had to learn the hard way, very hard way. And so now I'm very much more. Yeah. Yeah. Use your head, Laura.
Laura Reid: [00:36:17] Yeah. Yeah. I think when you come from, like, you're being a people pleaser, too, and you just kind of want, you know, like, I consider myself kind of recovering people pleaser, but you... I used to always lead with my heart in a way, like trying to kind of just get people to, I don't want the conflict that my head, like the like, might evoke. Right? And so I'm trying to just defuse everything and make everyone love me, and everything's going to be beautiful, and you're going to take back that, you know, judgment or whatever, but it doesn't work that way. So, you know.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:36:54] Not always.
Laura Reid: [00:36:55] And some people, yeah, they can't, they're just not going to be able to receive it. Congratulations. You got through those questions. And I learned so much and it was awesome. And now, like, I really, we want to know, like tell us, dish some with us on a story that comes to mind for you where things just went, like went wrong, you know, whatever it was and you know what you learned from it, and yeah, all the juicy details on that.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:37:24] Oh my gosh, I have so many. I have so many funnies. I have so many things that have gone on throughout the years.
Laura Reid: [00:37:31] What's your favorite to share?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:37:33] My favorite one to share, which is the funniest, is when I first went to my first small town news anchor job, I was sitting next to what had become a very good friend, my co-anchor, and we were reading this script. Now this is back in the days when, you know, I'm from upstate New York. Here I am in the middle of northeast Missouri, very rural. And there's a story about meth, right? And I'm like, meth. What is this? Meth? What is this? Okay, I'm learning about meth. Right? Meth labs and meth heads and all this. Well, there was a word that showed up on the screen, and it was spelled out phonetically. And so it was like, spelled okay, and it was a word in a meth story. And so in a meth story, the word is going to be about the medicine that they use, that they purchase illegally to make the meth. And this was in a time when they decided to start locking up this medicine in the back of the pharmacies. You couldn't get it, you had to ask for it, or you had to have a note from your doctor. Right. And so the word showed up and I read it exactly how it said to in the prompter, which was pseudo phyto phedrine.
Laura Reid: [00:38:59] Oh.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:39:00] Of course it is pseudoephedrine, right? The the word is pseudoephedrine. And I said, what I said was feeso fido phedrine. Because it was spelled out that way, it looked like feeso, fido, phedrine.
Laura Reid: [00:39:15] I would have done the same thing.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:39:17] Yeah, but they were trying to say...
Laura Reid: [00:39:18] Why would they spell it out?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:39:20] They were trying to say pseudo pseudoephedrine. And I saw feeso, not pseudo, feeso, fido phedrine. And so my co-anchor will never and probably the whole staff will never let me live that down. And here it is like, you know, 20 years later. But yeah feeso fido phedrine. That was probably one of the funniest things. I mean, we did not stop laughing at commercial. Feeso fido phedrine. What was that?
Laura Reid: [00:39:53] Oh, so good.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:39:55] So yeah, that was a really, that was a really big one. The other one that happened, these are just bloopers, but I was on set in a morning show and, you know, I was getting ready, it was during commercial, and the phone rang. These are the days when there was a phone underneath the set. And so I picked up the phone and I was talking. Yeah. Okay. It's my director, and she's like, you know, so we're going to change the stories and you're going to do this one first and then this one, this tape isn't ready. We're going to do this one. We got to switch, everything's going to be switched in the prompter. And I'm like uh huh, uh huh. And then it came back from commercial and I'm on the phone. And I'm like Welcome back. I was like you've got to be kidding me, Melissa, why would you why would you, why would you take me? She pushed the button to take me while she's talking to me on the phone. So funny things like that. I mean, just, you know, there's so many things that happen that, on live television that you just cannot control. I mean, that lady I was telling you a couple of weeks ago, her water broke on TV. You know? Yeah.
Laura Reid: [00:41:07] Good TV, though, because doing something.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:41:10] Such. It's such good TV. Yeah.
Laura Reid: [00:41:13] What's your advice for listeners, before we wrap up on, you know, overcoming any nerves, like if you're going to be interviewed and to be yourself. Like your, you know, your advice, like how does someone show up for that and just and be like a really great guest?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:41:30] Yeah, that's a great question. That's a really great, great question. Well, I was going to share with you a little bit today about how, you know, when I first started, my fear was so great about what was going to come out of my mouth. It was like I couldn't, as a young person, like I knew what I wanted to say, but it just would never come out of my mouth the way I wanted it to. I was never confident. I was always, like, very nervous. And you might not have been able to tell that in my live shots, but I was always super, super nervous. So some of the best, some of the best advice I ever got was to put down three points. So bullet points. One, two and three. And so once I got that under my belt and I would go into the field and I had them, now these were the days where we didn't have a prompter in the field where you could use your phone, or didn't even really have a phone where you could have notes on it. It was a notepad, and I would just big, big bullet points and I would just knock off those big bullet points. And it was a beginning, a middle and an end. And so that really helped me. And I think that that's really helpful for guests too. You know the other thing. So go in with your three bullet points. But the other thing is when you sit down with someone and you allow them into your life enough to interview them or to be interviewed by them, you know, it's so important not to be afraid of that person.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:42:59] That person interviewing you is no different than you. They're someone's daughter. They're someone's mother, they're someone's sister. They have been through it too. If you've lost, say you're being interviewed by, you know, a journalist and you know, you've lost someone and that's your story that you're telling, don't think that that journalist on the other side of the microphone hasn't also lost someone. So I feel like when I go into an interview and I'm talking with someone, I find that if I'm authentic with them and I get real, real with them, then they are 300 times more authentic with me. There's a trust built there. And so if you sit down with someone and you don't feel the vibe, there's not you don't need to share. You don't have to tell them your story. But know that for the majority of people who are going to interview you, they really are interested in knowing. They really do want to know what it is that you have to impart to the world. What is your story and and how did you come to this story? And so I think it's just super important. I also think it's really important to realize that your personality and your voice and your message is great to tell. It's, your message is so necessary. There's a reason why you're sitting before this person and they're interviewing you like, step into your confidence. Step into what that is, that message, your personality, your voice, because you're sitting there for a reason, you know?
Laura Reid: [00:44:34] Yeah. That's such powerful, potent advice. And I think it's good for anything. Like when you were talking about, you know, basically don't let yourself be intimidated too by whoever it is you're sharing with. Like it goes for an audience too. Sometimes, you know, people let themselves feel intimidated by either the size of the audience or who's specifically in the audience, but they're all just real human beings that also, like, want you to succeed and also just have shared like some shared experiences, right? Probably that's why they're there for your topic. And yeah, whoever it is, we're just, how we're all about, goes back to the very first question, right? What's the meaning of life? It's those connections, right. And it doesn't matter really who it is. At the heart, we're all just energy connecting, right? And you've got to make the most of that by being as open and authentic as you can. So, Jodie, thank you so much for being here. All the nuggets you've shared. So so good. Where can people work with you? Find you, by the way, like I've worked with Jodie having her interview me to promote my new book. It was just, it was so much fun, first of all, you're so fun to work with. You are so good at getting out what needs to come out by your brilliance and asking the right questions, putting me at ease. Full disclosure I did feel like a little, I wasn't intimidated, but a little bit like I just wanted it to be good. And I want to like, you know, I just want to be able to...
Jodie O'Brien: [00:46:06] You're so good at this.
Laura Reid: [00:46:06] Well, thank you, but you've really helped with that. You helped like, have me be my best, you know, self feel comfortable about that. So if there's listeners out there, it is amazing to have someone like do an interview, like have even just a mock interview to promote what you do. It's such a brilliant concept of what you do and how you serve. So yeah, where can we find you and work with you and all the things, follow you?
Jodie O'Brien: [00:46:33] You know, the best way to get ahold of me, of course, is email. It's just JLynnOBrien. J as in Jodie, Lynn L Y N N, O'Brien O B R I E N, at gmail.com. You know, right now I'm still trying to find my footing as far as being able to promote that service. You know, right now I'm a freelancer, so if you're ever on Upwork, I'm on Upwork, I'm also on all of the socials. So you can feel free to reach out that way. But gosh, I would love to help people in that way. I mean, like you said, there's people who have these incredible messages that they need to get out into the world, and sometimes you need somebody to interview you to put your story in perspective. A lot of times I tell people like, are you newsworthy? Yes. Ask yourself, do you have the ten news values, you know, is this story relevant? Is it timely? Is it, does it have good proximity to who needs it? The audience that needs it? There's values that you can look at and say, okay, I have something here. And then sometimes you do, you need somebody to interview you to get that concept out there into the world. And those are great because you can use them on YouTube or social, you can edit the heck out of them. You can use them in a podcast. The interviews can be made into videos. I mean, there's so many things that you can do with a good, strong interview. And I think too, yeah, getting to sit down with someone like you, Laura, and just make you feel comfortable and make you feel like I'm listening and I care and I want to hear your spiel, you know? So, yeah, that's always. That's always great.
Laura Reid: [00:48:15] Oh, thank you so much for sharing that. And yeah, you're just such a bright light, you know, helping others shine as well as you do. So that is a wrap, my friends, of another episode of the Public Speaking Horror Show. And just remember that the scariest thing is not sharing your story. And we'll see you next time. Thank you again, Jodie.
Jodie O'Brien: [00:48:38] Thank you, Laura.