Kevin Stafford 0:02
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the conversations with coaches podcast. I am your host, Kevin and I have already been having a delightful conversation with Samantha Davis. Let me introduce her. Samantha has several years of experience working in theatre and communications. She currently works as a media coach with media minefield, a public relations firm based in the Minneapolis area that helps business leaders in various industries unlock the power of their stories really liked that turn of phrase, unlocking the power of your story, through earned owned and paid media opportunities. Samantha, I’m really glad you’re here. Thanks for being with me today. It’s a pleasure to talk to you already. Can we keep doing?
Samantha Davis 0:38
Well? I’m excited to be here as well.
Kevin Stafford 0:41
Well, let’s uh, let’s jump right in at the beginning, the the superhero origin story of your of your of your life as a coach and in professional professional realms. How did you and always struggled with which word to chooses? What kind of choosing them all? How did how were you informed that you were coached? How did you discover that you were a coach? How did you realize that you had certain attributes of a coach that that you identified with and then like, basically, how you went from that sort of discovery beginning into the kind of coach and the kind of things you do today?
Samantha Davis 1:13
Yeah, so I always knew from a young age that I loved writing. And writing is a key component of communication. And I’ve just always enjoyed anything to do with communication and the art of putting together words and sentences to convey a message a story. Storytelling is really at the heart of humanity. And so I’ve always just had an affinity toward writing and communication. And so I always enjoyed my English courses all throughout elementary, middle school and high school. And then I ended up majoring in English in college. And so what actually what was unique is that when I was in college, I was working toward my English degree. And I was in Miami at Florida International University. And I was entrenched in literature and writing papers and doing presentations, a lot of reading and hardcore discussions about the classics, and Shakespeare and all these different authors. And so I was deeply entrenched in that. But then I stumbled into the theater. And I, at that point, I was a junior in college, and I didn’t have really much professional experience, I had worked a few jobs, but nothing really serious, career wise. And so I, I stumbled into the theater and ended up becoming immersed in all aspects of the theatre industry. So I was performing as an actress on stage, I got to take of touring a little bit. And I was working on the administrative side of theater and working on the production side. And so I just got so involved and really got a holistic education, and in theater, and while I was working in the theater industry, I also spent a lot of time writing and putting together some press releases, did a lot of email, communications, a lot of outreach, worked on several marketing initiatives to promote our various productions and like the tours that we would do. And so I learned a lot about business as well. And I was actually seriously considering, you know, a career as an actress and in many ways I was headed in that direction. But I would say the change that pivoted me to where I’m at today really happened on both a societal and personal level. So with you know, with the pandemic happening, that shut theatres down, that shut down the industry, literally, from the bottom all the way to the top, Broadway had to shut down. I mean, COVID-19 did not discriminate against anyone, everyone was suddenly in a very similar boat. I won’t say the same but a very similar boat. And so I was living in Miami and I actually come back to Minnesota right before the pandemic hits. And so the personal aspect of it is, you know, the reason why I left Miami was to help support my family and my mom as she battled metastatic breast cancer. So I left Miami and came to Minnesota at the end of January 2020. And I was still working part time remotely with the theatre company that I was involved with. So I was still still had my hands in theater, and I was also looking for opportunities to stay involved in the industry and I was actually putting out some applications for local theaters in the Twin Cities area. And I had the Penumbra Theatre of a world renowned African American theatre company interested and having me work for them. But then, you know, once the pandemic hit and everything shut down, I had to really figure out what am I doing now. And it was a whole period of just kind of retooling and reinventing myself. And so I really just looked inward and decided to tap back into my love for writing and communications. And I ended up working with the Greater St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Association as a marketing and communications coordinator. And that got me more entrenched in when writing as well as you know, writing newsletters and writing website copy. And so definitely delving back into that love of writing. And from there, I ended up getting into PR, which is where I’m at today. And, again, I kind of stumbled into it, because I wasn’t actively looking for jobs in PR, but I received an invitation to submit an application for this PR firm that I’m currently with media minefield. And
that journey started earlier this year in March. So now I’m fully immersed in, in coaching, so are my title with with the company is media coach, and that is indicative of the different approach that media minefield takes, and working with its clients. So for, for this company, for us, it’s more, it’s more than just securing interview opportunities for our clients, it’s about really seeing them through and, and making them feel supported throughout the whole process. So a lot of people don’t have experience, you know, with being on camera with being an interview, so we help them with that. So that’s, that’s, that’s kind of getting into the nuts and bolts of it. But yeah, that answers your question about how I initially became a media coach.
Kevin Stafford 6:57
Yeah, it’s quite a journey, I exemplifies your character, and also the character of pretty much every coach I’ve ever spoken to very well, because you had, you’ve had, you seemed you describe such a singular focus, like realizing that love of writing communication and words and essentially assembling them in a way to tell to tell a good story to tell the right story to the right person at the right time in the right way. And you, you seemed like you tapped into in a very short period of time, almost every, like, conceivable way that you can communicate in that way. Like even moving into the theater and communicating through your acting. And through that. I’m very impressed with how seemingly quickly I mean, I imagine it might have felt a little bit longer as you’re going through it. But then like, pivoting moment to moment, and just like being guided by that singular focus and realizing that this is, this is a, I’m passionate about this, I care about it, I want to find any and every possible way to do this and be a part of it. And to give back and to serve and to help other people I love that you found yourself in this in this media coach role, this role of guide, especially in the context of of immediate coach, because it’s scary. I just like the idea of being live on camera, like I’m getting a little extra sweaty in my underarms. It’s thinking about the notion, and that’s that part like just presenting yourself to the world through the various media mediums it can be copied, not too scary, but overwhelming and having someone there next to you with you to not just set things up and kind of help you find the opportunities you need to be the places you want to be. But also to kind of coach you through it and be like, Okay, here’s the thing it’s gonna happen. Don’t worry about this is totally normal. This is fine. Sometimes you just need that calming, experienced voice that you can trust, kind of go along there right beside you. And I love that you found you found your way there.
Samantha Davis 8:38
Yes, same here, because it does take a lot. It’s amazing. Because as human beings, we’re always talking and engaging in conversations. When it’s just simple, everyday informal conversation. We feel more relaxed, and we feel more at ease. And we’re not we’re not quite rehearsing and overthinking. But just it’s like a switch is flipped as soon as it becomes any level of performance, right? So being on camera you’re performing, you’re not in your normal environment, you’re not in your normal, everyday conversation with a friend with a colleague, whoever you know, whoever you’re talking to, and just day to day interactions. Things change. You know, once you’re in once you know that you are in the spotlight. So we really work to help clients prepare for that. And of course, we see a spectrum. We see clients who are just very great at getting in front of the camera. They are almost the type who can wing it. They don’t need much preparation. They just feel so comfortable. They’re like I got this I’m good. And then others who are just who are nervous and who are saying things like I really need some support. Please help me prepare. And what we do is we once we have done media outreach and secure an interview opportunity for them. We work with them to help get talking points together. And we also do a mock interview with them, we practice that q&a, to just really take them through the paces, and give them a sense of what to expect. And a lot of times when you are talking on any platform, whether that’s live pre recorded, zoom in person, you know, it just takes, you know, takes a few run throughs, to really get into a flow, you got to work out some of those kinks in your speed, you got to work out some of those arms and those ORs. And sometimes people lean very heavily on the word like, and so one thing that, yeah, I’m just I’m always conscious of, of what’s coming out of my mouth, and how I’m saying things and how I’m communicating and how I’m conveying myself and how I’m carrying myself. And when I’m talking with another person, I’m just very mindful of how I’m expressing my thoughts and get words out. So when I’m working with a client, it’s, it’s it’s just a rewarding process of seeing them start to feel more comfortable and at ease as they’re preparing for this interview. And they just they really appreciate. So sometimes interviews are quick turnarounds, too, there’s not always a lot of time to prepare. So I’m just thinking of one of the real estate clients that I work with. He’s based in Chicago, and we had a quick turnaround, I received a reporter request. And they were asking if my client can interview within the next two hours. And I was like, oh, boy, that does not give us much time to prepare. So I had to check with him to see if he was available for the interview, then confirm with the reporter, get the Zoom link, then really just start thinking of the types of questions that I know that I know the reporters likely going to ask. And so it was just a matter of getting my client on the phone, let’s run through a quick q&a. We don’t have much time. Let’s just hear the questions that I think they’re going to ask, let’s just go for, get some thoughts out, and just get things flowing. And he was even like texting me pictures of his office to say, Do you think this looks good? Does this background look good? Because it was going to be a live zoom interview. So that was that raise the stakes even higher, right? Because we don’t have much time to prepare for this interview. And it’s also live. So he’s checking to make sure his office looks good, because that’s a huge part of it, the aesthetics of your environment. And then of course, you know what you’re wearing his outfit, he was asking questions about his suit, how he should dress. And so it was just a, that was a super quick process of of getting him ready. And he really appreciate he’s thanks so much for the preparation, I feel like it went well. And that is really just a rewarding thing to hear.
Kevin Stafford 12:42
Yeah, that’s the heart good to hear that because it’s just the way you described that there were so many details to get squared away that obscure like setup details. And then there are details that require like a conversation like judgment calls, and like you have to decide, do I have time to like, you know, replace the flowers behind me, because they’re looking a little wilted. I’m like, I’m just imagining all the different possibilities that you were prepared for. And you were able to like, like, snap, really help your client, be as prepared as possible, given the circumstances and the limitations. And I just I love, actually, as you were talking, I was I was thinking about the very, very fine line is something that I’ve, I have worked and continue to work very hard on between, I’ll call it self awareness and self consciousness. Were being aware of the way I’m presenting myself when I’m saying what I’m doing what I’m not saying what I’m not doing what I’m showing it not showing, being aware, being mindful, I love that use the word mindful there, without tripping over myself into overly self consciousness, where I’m overthinking my words and going over things too much in my head or trying to over prepare for something, rather or under prepare something that I’m scared to think about it and like end up missing that sweet spot right in the middle where it’s like, prepare the right amount, get the reps you can in the time you have, sometimes you’ll have to go quick. Sometimes you’ll get to wait a while. But navigating that that boundary between being self aware and being mindful and not tripping over into being overly self conscious is man that’s like, I’m like I wouldn’t I need help with that. And it sounds like you serve that role very, very well.
Samantha Davis 14:18
Oh, definitely. I’m really glad that you bring that up. Because what a difference there is between those two. It’s not the same being self aware and self conscious. It’s different. So yeah, like you said, being self aware is having a consciousness, it’s understanding the environment. It’s understanding how you are projecting yourself how you’re carrying yourself. And using that to propel you forward. You lead into that self awareness to best position yourself as the expert. So in the case of an interview, when you’re leaning into self awareness that just enhances your life. Conversation, your speech, your appearance, and it just makes the overall experience of that interview. It just makes it better. And when you’re self conscious, that’s when you’re kind of, unfortunately, that’s when you’re falling more into that nervous energy. And you’re overthinking, and you’re feeling a little bit anxious, and that can hinder the process. And then like you said, exactly, as you said, you can start stumbling over your words and tripping over your words. And fortunately, my clients haven’t encountered this. But there are times where if you’re feeling too self conscious, and you’re kind of slipping too much into that anxious energy, all it takes is one mistake, one error, one slip up, and then then you’re down that slippery slope of just more mistakes. And that was something that, that I really became acutely aware of when I was involved with theater productions. Because when you’re on that stage, there’s no pause button, there’s no rewind, once you’re on your live or in front of a group of people in real time, you cannot allow one little slip up to ruin your whole experience. And sometimes, you know, we hear stories of performers saying, Yeah, I made an error, and that just really threw everything off. And I started viral. And so it can happen to the best of us. But really just leaning into confidence and that awareness, as opposed to overthinking everything that you’re doing everything that you’re saying. And there is there’s a term for this. I wish I could think of the exact term right now. But it’s a it’s a fallacy that relates to thought patterns. And it’s basically I think, it’s called the spotlight effect, where we think that everybody is looking at us, and everybody is hyper aware of everything about us, we think that they’re paying close attention to our every flaw and our every error, but really, people aren’t. So in the case of if that spotlight, if that spotlight effect starts to kind of take hold, people can start to feel self conscious. And and just wonder, like, Does my Zune background look, okay, does my face look okay, you can kind of go down a rabbit hole of overthinking all of those things. But one thing that I remind clients of when I’m speaking with them is I remind them to lean into their expertise, I tell them, you know what you’re talking about, you know, you really understand this industry, you are a thought leader in your industry, you are an intelligent expert in this field, just lean into that at the end of the day, you know what you’re talking about? And even if maybe things switch up with the interviewer a little bit, even if the questions don’t get asked in the exact way that maybe you thought they would or if the reporter comes to you with a different question. If you have to do a little bit of improvising, just lean into your expertise.
Kevin Stafford 17:52
It’s that’s it’s such a good lesson. It’s it’s such a such a good lesson because, and this is something that I, I know, I’ve like I’ve worked on, I feel like everybody does, to a certain degree, especially as a, the elements of performance have become so much more part of professional life kind of across the board to not just in sort of media performance, but almost everywhere. Like even what we’re doing right now there’s an element of it. I mean, we could see each other on camera, even though the audience can’t. But we’re communicating with each other. And like, it took me a very long, I just slipped the lake in there. Now I’m used to I used to have a mighty struggle with it. And now it just slips in every now and again. But now I’m conscious of it. Oh, often, like constructing my background. And when I first got started, I was very thoughtful, almost too thoughtful about the way I was looking and presenting and the way I would talk and I would hear a lisp in my own voice sometimes. And I realized things that I was doing that were repeating old patterns of self consciousness, and just basically figured out to do a version of what you you counsel and just basically show up authentically, just, if you’re enthusiastic, be enthusiastic, be genuine show up, listen, lean in and things will take care of themselves, no one is going to really care about the books on my shelf or if my face is flushed, or if I have a cowlick on the top of my head today. Or if I missed a spot shaving, I might see that stuff. And I’m certainly invited to obsess over it if I would like but really, it serves no one at all, for me to get distracted by those kinds of things, because I’m the only person who’s probably going to see him and even remotely care about it. What people are going to care about is the service, I’m providing the authority, I’m demonstrating the vulnerability I’m demonstrating. That’s what really is gonna matter every time and getting the reps is really the only way that I started to truly learn that and internalize that lesson. This is getting practice having people help me and kind of guide me through and then just getting the reps getting the practice and then feeling the fact that yeah, if I just keep showing up authentically, the authority and the the message I have and the service I’m trying to provide, the guidance I’m trying to represent will come out it will come through so long as I don’t get in the way
Samantha Davis 20:01
You can’t get in your own, you cannot, cannot get in your own way, you really have to be careful with that. Yeah, communication is just it’s so important to have a good handle on that. Because specifically with the industry that I work in, and PR, we have executives and business leaders coming to us looking for, for us to elevate them as trusted leaders in their communities. And so they want to be seen as the experts, and they want to grow their business, and they want to increase brand awareness. And so in order to do that, they really have to have a handle on communication. And they have to have consistent messaging. And they really need that support, just to make sure that they are, that they’re camera ready, and that everything has to be perfect. You know, but it’s never going to be and it’s something that I remind my clients of too is that people are going to understand that you are a human being, you know, there, there might be a couple of filler words in there. But that that’s not going to be detrimental. It’s where maybe if you’re using way too many filler words, if there’s, you know, too many long pauses or too many arms, too many likes, it can be it can become distracting if there’s too much of that. But I also say Don’t overthink it. Because if you try to be perfect, and say well, I can’t say um, I can’t even say it once in this interview, then you’ll just start overthinking and, and you can end up doing the exact thing that you’re that you’re trying to avoid. So yeah, it’s communication is so important, specifically with PR, of course. And then it also just is critical to everyday life as well. Effective communication skills can mean the difference of whether or not you receive a job offer, whether or not you’re able to land a date with your crush, whether you know how you’re able to maintain relationships with your friends and family. And communication is just it’s crucial to to our existence.
Kevin Stafford 22:02
I couldn’t agree more I’m, I probably warned you before I hit record, these conversations are so almost every single time very fascinating. I’ve already taken us a little bit later than then I booked our time for so I just want to let you know that I’m like My desire is just keep going because I’m really enjoying this conversation. But I should get us out of here. Probably extract a promise for a part two from you once I once I hit the stop record button. But before we go, where can people find out? Find out more about you personally, professionally, like more about you and what you do? And also is there any way that you’d like to connect with people online make new new business connections, personal connections, professional connections there anywhere that where you’re for anybody wants to like get to know you better they can reach out to you via via DMS or something like that. So is there a place where people can get to know about you more and get to know you better?
Samantha Davis 22:53
I would say LinkedIn is a great way to connect with me. I’m really unlocking the power of LinkedIn and discovering how powerful of a tool it is. It is yeah, it’s the social it’s like the social media aspect of business. It’s like the Facebook of business. This is such a strong way to communicate with people so I can definitely connect with people on LinkedIn would love that. Yeah.
Kevin Stafford 23:22
i It’s really amazing how even if you’d asked me just a couple years ago, like what my preferred social media platforms were like the the places I like to be online. I don’t know where LinkedIn would have been, but it would not have been at the top of my list. And I have just every day I am more and more pleased with LinkedIn as a social media platform as a actually think of it as like a relationship platform because it really is it’s become, for me one of the least toxic most useful places to make meaningful connections with people not just like, you know, grow a number next to a follower, you know, button or whatever it happens to be like I’m really able to start and grow and build relationships on LinkedIn, which, you know, I used to make fun on LinkedIn, I used to jokingly call it the social media platform for people with phone holsters, which was a terrible joke at the time. It was all that funny. But I was I was very pleased with myself when I came up with that, however, many years ago that was, and now is my absolute favorite place to meet people and to read about what they’re up to and to get to know them better. So I’m unsurprised that you feel the same
Samantha Davis 24:23
powerful platform and I recommend to my colleagues, my friends, people in my network, I just say Don’t sleep on LinkedIn, there’s there are opportunities to be discovered there. And there are some serious connections to be made. And so it’s a platform that I’ve really enjoyed using I imagine there are a lot of Samantha Davis’s. So probably the best way to find my profile quicker would to be by searching Samantha Davis media minefield, I should pop up relatively quickly.
Kevin Stafford 24:50
There we go. And we’ll put a link to your LinkedIn to your LinkedIn profile in the show notes too, just so people can go straight there if they want to. Don’t sleep on Samantha Davis, if I may, if I may say so myself. This has been delightful thanks for chatting with me and I’m not kidding about that part two I think I’m going to be reaching out whenever this episode posts and just continue this conversation I’ve had a great time so thank you I have as well thank you so much Kevin and all our listeners out there we will talk to you again very soon.
