Transcript
Dave Bricker (00:07)
Want to expand your speaking and storytelling skills and grow your influence business? This is Speakipedia Media brought to you by speakipedia .com. I’m your host, Dave Bricker, bringing you straight talk, smart strategies, and amazing stories from visionary speakers and thought leaders. My guest is an Emmy award -winning TV producer with nearly 20 years of experience in local and national news in New York City.
She’s the author of two books about productivity, and she’s a LinkedIn Learning instructor, a frequent media guest, a speaker, and a columnist for Writers Digest and other publications. She trains authors, experts, and entrepreneurs to engage with the media, produce compelling video content, and look great on camera. She’s the creator of Media Ready Author, an online course, and she’s working on a novel. Please welcome Paula Rizzo.
Paula Rizzo (01:05)
Hi there.
Dave Bricker (01:07)
Great to see you again, Paula.
Paula Rizzo (01:08)
You too. Thank you.
Dave Bricker (01:11)
So Paula, let’s start with the big picture. You’re a productivity coach, a media producer, and you help people polish their on -camera presence. What led you to bring these elements together and why are they inseparable?
Paula Rizzo (01:27)
Being a television producer in New York City is very, very, very stressful. And all you have to do is know exactly how long a segment is, how long 30 seconds is, how long a minute is. And in live TV, things happen really fast. So you have to be very productive. So the list really came in handy for me as a television producer through the years. And then I started to realize that I wasn’t really using the lists in the same way for my home life, and things were falling through the cracks.
And so I was like, OK, there’s something here. So I started blogging. I started writing about it. And that was over 10 years ago now. And I quickly realized I will not be seen as an expert unless the media thinks I’m an expert in productivity. So I started pitching myself, even when I was working in television, as a productivity expert.
And I started to get some media for myself. And then people started to know me as the list lady, you know, and ask. And then that’s a good thing, right? That’s a good way to start off, you know, your journey as an expert. And from there, you know, I left television about seven years ago, started my own business. And I said, you know what? I would love to be able to help authors and experts who I could not have booked as a TV producer back then.
because they were not ready. They were not camera ready. And it broke my heart because they had a great book or a great message. And I just didn’t have the time to coach them. So now that I work for myself, I’d love to be able to help people to get in there and be seen in the media.
Dave Bricker (02:57)
And that’s a great message for some of our listeners to this idea that all of a sudden you’re embracing some new area of expertise. You start blogging about it, you start writing about it and you say, I want to be known as the expert in this. And you do your own independent PhD on that. You get good at it and create a personal brand. So cool.
Paula Rizzo (03:21)
Yeah, it’s all about creating really great content that people care about. And I got great advice really early on. thought, I’ll write a book right away. And an author had told me, she said, why don’t you write 50 blog posts and see if after that you even care about this topic anymore? And it was some of the best advice I was ever given.
Dave Bricker (03:39)
That’s great advice. And that’s great fodder for a book, too. So before we dive too much deeper, let’s talk about productivity. In your books, Listful Thinking and Listful Living, you suggest that to -do lists are a wonderful antidote to stress, burnout, and lack of progress. Talk about listmaking, discuss why some people hesitate to make lists, and share a few hacks.
Paula Rizzo (03:43)
Mm
It can feel overwhelming to people. I’ve met quite a few people who don’t actually like using lists because they feel like it’s a little too overwhelming and too much. And what I say is, I don’t want you to use the brain power to keep remembering all the things you need to remember in your head. Save that brain power for something else. Write it down. Get it off your mind. And a lot of times, what happens is that people will think they’re so busy. They have so much to do. They’re so overwhelmed, not enough to
hours in the day, but if you sit down and you make the list and you just have this brain dump of all the things that you have to do, you start to realize, okay, actually, you know, this can be outsourced to somebody else. This I can’t even do till next week because this other part isn’t finished yet. And so you sort of start to see the stress melt away a little bit because you’re able to really see it in a bigger picture.
Dave Bricker (04:58)
And before I had any discussions with you and before researching this interview, I would never have thought of myself as a list maker. But as I started looking at my processes, I have a spreadsheet that tracks my podcast guests, when they’re going to appear, what the topics are, when the release dates are.
I have another one that tracks daily video content release dates months into the future. This video is going to go out on this Tuesday. Podcasts are released on Wednesday. It’s word of the week is on Friday and it’s all on a calendar spreadsheet. And though we’ll flow through and around it, this discussion is based on a carefully prepared list of questions I sent in advance. I suspect that many productive people are list makers
They just don’t think of themselves as such. A list is more than just a piece of paper with numbered items on it, isn’t it?
Paula Rizzo (05:55)
For sure. mean, the to -do list is the big one, right? And so that’s the one I talk about a lot. But there’s a lot of ways to be organized and to use this sort of list system. What you’re describing is exactly what we used in television, too. It’s a rundown. It’s everything that’s happening. What’s coming up next? What are the questions? Who are the guests? And all of that really helps to just make a really easy.
Experience. So as much of the work that you can do before, the planning, the thinking, so that when you’re in the moment, you can truly get things done, it really, really does help. Because otherwise, you’re in the middle of like, yes, what are the steps to this? What do I have to do? While you’re doing it. You don’t wanna do that. You wanna have all of that work kind of pre -planned for you.
Dave Bricker (06:38)
Yeah, we’ve got this big steam locomotive that wants to move forward. And so often we fill it with coal and set it on fire, but we don’t have any rails for it. And another aspect, and steer me back onto the rails if I’m off the list making topic, but I think about how many years I ran my life and my business without the aid of a digital calendar.
Now my Google Calendar is my essential productivity and reliability lifeline. I even schedule my time off, which is an important habit, because otherwise people steal it from you because you’ve given it away. Talk about the digital calendar as it relates to list making, and is that a good starting point for people?
Paula Rizzo (07:23)
Yes, so you do need to have sort of multiple places where you can manage this because I love a good written to -do list. I still do that. That is my method of choice always. I did the same thing when I was in television. I would write my list. But then the list sits there. And we don’t sit here all the time, right? We’re traveling. We’re working other places. So you do now need to use some digital tools to kind of travel with you. And the calendar is a great way to do that because you can block times.
to be able to say, okay, this is when I’m gonna work on these items, which I find really helpful. And I encourage people to time themselves, to learn how long does it really take to do these tasks? Because often we don’t know, we think we do. it’ll take just five minutes, 45 minutes later, you’re still working on it. As a television producer, I know exactly how long 30 seconds is, I how long a minute is. If you tell me that you have 15 seconds to answer this question, I’ll get it done, right? Most people don’t have that.
kind of relationship with time. And so that’s where I like for you to take a step back and say, okay, let’s just have a realistic look at how long replying to these emails actually takes. It doesn’t take that long if you’re focused on it and you just go through them. So batch those tasks together so you can get them out of the way. Having a system that works for you takes time. And a lot of times people want the answer. I’ve had people say, what pen do you use? What notebook do you use? And I love that, but it doesn’t matter.
It could be anything. For the longest time, I used a reporter’s notebook, one of those little flippy ones that’s very skinny, and you just write on it. And then I switched to a steno pad. And now I use whatever it is that I have. So it doesn’t really matter as long as it works for you. And you have to figure that out over time to say, OK, knowing yourself, knowing that maybe if something pops up on your calendar and it’s telling you you have to go do something, if you’re going to ignore that, this is not a good system.
for you. We need a workaround. We need to figure out what will work for you.
Dave Bricker (09:25)
completely agree with you on that. It’s also interesting you bring this up because how often will a client say, Can you do me a favor? This is just going to take you a few minutes. And if we, if we internalize that suggestion, the next thing you know, you’re sitting at your desk doing your client a favor for an hour and a half thinking, why, why did I agree to do this favor? Why am I doing favors in the first place? This is my business.
Paula Rizzo (09:34)
Sure.
Absolutely.
Right.
Dave Bricker (09:52)
but so often there’s this, it’ll just take you a few minutes. And of course, that ignores the idea that maybe it took you decades to learn how to do it in a few minutes. So where’s the value there? But that’s perhaps a different topic. So the words produce, product, and productivity all come from the Latin word producere, which means to bring forth, which I find interesting.
Paula Rizzo (10:20)
Yeah, me too.
Dave Bricker (10:21)
You and I both love to create systems that boost productivity. And as you suggest, a system is really not much more than a list of steps. And with the right list, you can finish a book draft in a few weeks or produce 30 videos in a week without breaking a sweat. So where do people get bogged down when it comes to productivity?
Paula Rizzo (10:44)
Well, any time I do something more than once, it’s a system that has to be created. And I create SOPs, standard operating procedures in my business. I did this as a producer. When I’m writing emails to people or inviting them on a show or doing whatever it is, it’s kind of exactly the same. And I’m filling in the blanks on it. And so I think I want to save time. I don’t want to type out the same thing over and over again. So how can I best optimize my time or
or take myself out of the equation. Think about if I wasn’t the one to do it, would I be able to hand over a document where anyone could do this for me? And I don’t need to be the one who does it. There are certain things that I have to do, obviously, like be here and do this interview. I couldn’t outsource that. I couldn’t have somebody else do it. It has to be me. But there are other things that don’t necessarily have to be done by you or can be done faster.
you know, now AI is a great way to sort of shortcut yourself for certain things or have as like almost a writing companion or somebody who could sort of like help you take these steps and say, okay, you know, can you help me systematize this so that then I have a way to come back to this. And honestly, sometimes you forget how to do things. It happens to me all the time in my business. It’s like, you know, I used to know how to put the blog up on the blog and now I have no idea how to do it, but I have it written out.
so that I know if I had to jump in there and do it, I would be able to do it.
Dave Bricker (12:10)
You know, there’s another aspect of this and it just occurred to me, but if you can’t create a list, you’re not going to be very good at delegating. And if you can’t delegate, you can’t scale your business. If you want to go beyond solopreneurship, you have to be able to outline systems and make lists, tasks, the order in which they need to be done and get people
working for you organized because otherwise you’re going to be giving these vague directions and you’re going to spend more time fixing their output than you are benefiting from it.
Paula Rizzo (12:52)
Yeah, and that information, I mean, it does no good just being only in your head. And I’ve learned through the years that some people don’t like to write, to type, right? You just don’t. Somebody doesn’t want to start a blog. They want to do a video. They want to do a podcast or whatever it is. The same thing goes for if you want to get some of these ideas or thoughts or things out of your head, use an app. I have this app that I love. It’s called Whisper Memos.
and you just literally talk into it and you just tell it whatever it is and then it emails you the verbatim of what you just said. And that’s amazing for if you’re on the go and you’re like, okay, here are the steps to the thing that I need to get done. Here are all the things. And then you have a written, you know, it’s already written for you. You don’t have to sit down and think through and then you can refine it from there, but you can use a little bit of technology to help you with that.
Dave Bricker (13:40)
And just a good old screen capture, capture that video of here’s how I do that. I go here and then I click there. Remember here it’s hidden under the three dots in the corner. If you click here, you get the dropdown menu, then you can select XYZ and that’s what’s going. So if you, once you work out how to navigate something, this idea that you can create a set of video instructions and put those.
Paula Rizzo (13:52)
Right.
Dave Bricker (14:07)
in a folder on your Google Drive or Dropbox or wherever you like to put that stuff so that when you need somebody to take over for you, it’s all there. I think that’s great. Any other high output productivity strategies you’d like to share with our listeners?
Paula Rizzo (14:23)
Yeah, I I love the list, obviously, but it’s not enough to just write the list. And the method that I found to work the best for me is that I write my list every night before I leave my desk. I did it even when I was a television producer. It is my shutdown strategy. And so I know that that’s the last thing I’m going to do so that I can think through what the next day should be. It’s a daily list for me. It always has been. I know some people like to do weekly lists or whatever it is. I like to do this daily list.
Think about what needs to happen the next day and what I have the resources and the time to do. So that’s important because a lot of times people will write, I want to do this and I want to do that and I want to, you know, but truly do you have the time and the resources to do it? Because if you don’t, you’re setting yourself up for failure every single day because you’re going to continue to have these things that you can’t actually get done tomorrow. It’s not going to happen. Maybe it’s a tiny piece of that that you can say, okay, I could do this part.
But having things on your list that are too big, know, write book, that’s one, that you’re never gonna write a book in one day, you just can’t, it doesn’t happen that way, right? So but what are the tiny little pieces that you can put on the list? It’s very helpful to set yourself up for success and be realistic with your time and the resources that you have.
Dave Bricker (15:43)
I like that. And the other side is I think people get put off by their list because they don’t finish everything on the list every day. And I’ll confess, I’ve got something that’s been on my to -do list for three days in a row, and I’ve just been dreading doing it. It’s not a fun task. OK, today is Friday. I’m going to get it done today because I’m not going to allow it to ruin my sailing day tomorrow. But I think it’s
Paula Rizzo (16:01)
you
Right. Right.
Dave Bricker (16:12)
As long as you’re not breaking promises to people, it’s kind of Pareto principle, isn’t it? It’s okay if you get 80 % of your list done, because without that list, you might have gotten 50 % of it done and forgotten elements.
Paula Rizzo (16:25)
For sure. But also then, why does that thing keep popping up? know, re -examine whatever it is that you keep moving to the next day. Is it something that actually has to get done? Does it have to get done by you? Does it have to get done at all? Or could you just cross it off the list and say, you know what, this is something that’s been on here forever, and I’m never going to do it, and I keep feeling guilty about it. And it doesn’t even matter. It doesn’t move the needle. So let’s just get it off the list and stop feeling like a failure about
Dave Bricker (16:50)
No, agreed. In this case, it’s something I need to get done for a client who’s on a deadline and I’m just, I’m behind that deadline. Okay. They’re okay. They don’t know I’m running late on it, but I don’t, I don’t want them to, I don’t want to make apologies to a client. So there we go. Just, just have to GSD on that. So.
Paula Rizzo (16:59)
I hear you.
Totally.
Well, you know, I will say though, when I have a task like that, that I really don’t want to do and that I’m the one who has to do it, I set a timer and I will set a timer for 25 minutes. It’s called the Pomodoro technique and you can really do anything for 25 minutes. I used to do 10 minutes because I had, you know, shorter attention span. And so I would say, okay, 10 minutes. And then you, you only can do that task. And then it’s kind of like a game. You get to see, okay, how long did it actually take?
And then if you need more time, put another 25 minutes on the clock and then you go from there. So it’s definitely helpful to sort of like push yourself in that direction.
Dave Bricker (17:43)
Right, I like that. So we’ve covered this relationship between list making and productivity. Let’s extend that into some new territory because as a TV producer and as a media coach, you coach people on how to produce content that features themselves, their faces, their voices, their ideas. And this leads to a combination of process and presence.
Let’s start with that bridge between process and presence. Share your thoughts on production values because all that creative output, all those processes go nowhere if we don’t look professional, trustworthy, et cetera.
Paula Rizzo (18:25)
Absolutely, it makes a big difference. And look, during the pandemic, everybody did what they had to do, wherever they were, they made it happen. And I was always cranky about it because I, you know, come from the world of television where I’m like, why are they letting that cat run in the background? This looks terrible. Why don’t you have a better microphone? You know, like we have now the resources to do this. It’s amazing what we can do from home. Like, you know, we could be doing a live show right now if we wanted to.
These are amazing tools that used to be just something that you could do in a control room, you know, in a television studio. So you really have a great amount of resources available to you as a creative, as a creator, as an author or a speaker or whatever it is, but you really need to make sure that it looks good because people will not come back. You know, it’s the same thing like a podcast. If you listen to a podcast and the audio is off, I don’t even want to listen to it. I don’t even want to hear it. It just doesn’t sound good to my ears. So the same thing you want the people who are watching you.
to fall in love with you and not care what you’re selling. They’re like, what’s the book? Yeah, sure, I’ll get that book. You need to be engaging. You need to make sure that not only your background looks good and that you look good and that you’re able to succinctly talk about what you do, right? These things all matter, especially if you have a book. You don’t want to hear somebody go on and on and on about every single thing. You need to have your bullet points. You need to have your talking points. And that’s a good use of a list to be able to say, OK, what are the questions that people
constantly ask me, you if you work with clients, let’s say, these are the questions that come up a lot. Okay, so you make a list of those questions and then it’s like, okay, these are good, this is a good way to think about what kind of content I could create or what questions I could answer in an interview.
Dave Bricker (20:04)
like that. So absolutely. It’s amazing. We’ve been using Zoom and virtual presentations for so long, and yet so many presenters don’t look any better than their audience. And it’s not that high a bar.
Paula Rizzo (20:18)
I know, I know.
It’s true, I know that’s the thing. It’s like, you know, now really truly what you do need is, you know, an external camera, because it looks probably better than the camera that comes with your computer. Okay, that’s less than 100 bucks. A nice microphone, same thing, you can get it less than 100 bucks. A light in front of you or a window, right? I mean, these are the things. Make sure that your computer is on a stand so you’re looking eye level into the actual camera.
You know, I get it. We all want to like look down and look at ourselves, but it’s not a great experience for the other people on the other end. So as awkward as it feels, you have to look into that camera because it’s a better experience for the audience on the other end. You know, and this for me is something that, look, I’ve worked my whole career in television where talking to a camera is not a big deal. This is what we’ve always done. It’s not natural for people. So it does take some time, but the
the result is so much better. You can really tell and see the difference right away.
Dave Bricker (21:17)
Yeah, and look, it doesn’t take any talent, skill or training to be a guest on a Zoom session. But if you’re going to host a session, get some lights, get a decent camera, especially get a decent microphone. It’s not that big an investment. And it’s all about the audience. It’s about giving them a better experience. So I completely agree with you.
Paula Rizzo (21:23)
Right.
Dave Bricker (21:42)
If you’re just joining us, you’re tuned into Speakipedia Media for aspiring and professional speakers and thought leaders who want to change hearts, minds and fortunes. My guest today is productivity expert and media coach Paula Rizzo. So Paula, let’s say one of our listeners wants to appear on a podcast or on a television interview or perhaps start a YouTube channel. What are some common media presence mistakes you see all the time?
Paula Rizzo (22:12)
People think they’ll be fine. They don’t practice and they’ll say, I’ll just get up there and do some improv. I’ll just, you know, get up there. mean, speakers do the same thing too sometimes, right? They get up there and they think, I’ll just riff a little bit. And then it’s convoluted. Nobody gets any takeaways. You haven’t thought through what is it that the audience needs to take away literally from this so that they can change their lives. I wanna hit them over the head with it and make sure they know exactly what tips and what things they need to do something differently, right? I don’t want them to have to decipher this.
A lot of times people will say, I’ve been talking about this forever as a speaker. I’ll be fine in the media or on a video. It’s different. The attention span is much shorter. The window to capture someone’s interest is way less. And so the way that I teach media training is to use what I call the accordion method. So I teach people to that to have a short, a medium, and a long answer to any question that they’re asked.
So then that way you can just open or close the accordion depending on the media, right? So if it’s a podcast, you’ll be able to use the long one and give all the examples and go through it because you have much more time. TV, short. We’re gonna use that short answer, which is a headline. It’s just like right away, get to the point and tell me what I need to know. Give me that headline first and then you can follow with some other information if you have time. The problem is that’s not how we write.
That’s not how we, know, so it’s usually that you would have this whole big thing that you would say, and then you would have a little bit of a, you know, at the end, let’s hear a little conclusion sentence. That conclusion sentence is the headline. Give me that first. Watch TV, watch news, see how they prepare and talk about it. A live reporter in the field is the best example. They give you what you need to know right up front and…
You know what you need. You don’t even need to watch the rest of the report. They basically told you what it was. That’s all you need.
Dave Bricker (24:12)
Yes, and it’s interesting you go back to the idea of people who give what I call lectures instead of speeches because they don’t really have that organization. It’s another list, isn’t it? Here’s my introduction. Here are my three, four or five points. I’m going to do Q &A and there’s my closing statement. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And I know keynote speakers and the way they adjust.
Paula Rizzo (24:19)
Yeah.
Sure.
Dave Bricker (24:37)
their keynote to fit the 30, 40, 50, 90 minute time slot. That number of minutes is like a piece of chain or a piece of string. And they’ve got stories of five, six, four, three, however many minutes. And they’ve got hours worth of this content, but they put those beads onto that string in that order. And I know one speaker who actually draws little pictures, puts them on an index card. That’s his list.
Paula Rizzo (24:47)
Mm
Dave Bricker (25:06)
So it’s so important to have that list of steps.
Paula Rizzo (25:10)
Definitely. And the different examples that you could give. You know, this is, talk a lot with my clients about that. Let’s come up with some of the examples you would give so that you’re not in the moment, then giving five examples, because you just keep randomly like coming up with things. It’s like, what are your top three? And then what audiences would you use these for, you know, and have them be interchanged a little
Dave Bricker (25:31)
And if you’re in any kind of a panel discussion situation, maybe there’s an interview and there’s you and two other panelists and the question gets asked and the first panelist gives an explanation and the second panelist gives an explanation and then you have a clever sound bite. Boom. Which one are they going to remember? So.
Paula Rizzo (25:52)
Of course. You have quite a few clever sound bites, have to say, Dave. Having been on a panel with you, that’s how we met. And I was like, hey, that guy, he’s got some good stuff right there. That’s impressive.
Dave Bricker (26:05)
And believe it or not, I have a list of them so I don’t forget them.
Paula Rizzo (26:08)
I love it, see that’s very prepared, but you don’t come across as canned. You know what I mean? This is something that is like, here are the things that I want to get across and you have to deliver it and you do every time as if it’s the first time, right? Like you’re an actor almost in a way. And so a lot of times people don’t want to, I gave that example already. like.
didn’t hear it yet. This is a brand new audience. You this is like a Broadway show. Just because you did the matinee doesn’t mean that you can just mail it in at in the afternoon one, you know, in the evening.
Dave Bricker (26:40)
And hey, you can go see a good Broadway show two or three times and enjoy it every time too. And great actors don’t look like they’re acting. So there’s that whole side of thing. I work with speakers, I don’t want to be too theatrical. It’s like, well then deliver things well and you’ll be authentic. Theatricality is just amateur acting, but we’re off topic. We’ve been, which happens, that’s okay. We’ve been talking about being
Paula Rizzo (26:45)
Totally.
It’s true.
Dave Bricker (27:09)
productive, producing your own media and appearing in your own content. And I’m guessing you see these elements as a list of steps that lead to becoming media ready. So what does media ready actually mean to you?
Paula Rizzo (27:24)
If the media called you today, you would say yes. And you would feel confident and you would deliver a clear interview and you would have a really great clip to then share and then hopefully get more media out of it, right? And that’s not always the way that it goes for people. A lot of times people have told me in the past and it breaks my heart that media reached out to them and they said no because they didn’t feel ready. And so I know as a producer for years, if an expert says no,
I’m probably never going to go back to them. I needed an expert at that time. I found someone else. That person did a great job. And now that person is my go -to person. So you don’t want to waste that chance to really become known as the expert in this field because you’re not ready. And that really is the key. Now that we can do these interviews from home,
That has changed the game. used to be that you had to go into the studio, you had to be in LA or New York or whatever it was. Now it doesn’t matter. So I want people to be able to literally sit down, have all their lighting and all their stuff ready, open up the Zoom or however it is that they’re gonna do the interview and sit down and you have your talking points. You can answer any question they throw your way. You feel really good about
Dave Bricker (28:43)
I love that. And what additional advice can you offer to people who want to be picked up by mainstream media so they can share their ideas with a broader audience? How do you get to be that go -to person for DEI stories or employee retention stories or business storytelling, picking out what’s going on with the actual story? How do you get to be that commentator?
Paula Rizzo (29:10)
creating really great content around it. So having all of your content in that area just be very good that people want to hear from you, that they want, they know, and you become the one. For instance, I had a story that I had done, because I do a lot of blogging, I do a lot of content production. I had done something on a few years ago, my gosh, maybe been like five or six years ago, on how to have a back to school mentality in September.
Even if you’re not going back to school, even if you don’t have kids, how do you take that mentality and really use it to your best productivity to ratchet it up a little bit? So I did a blog post on it. It was fun. It was great. Whatever. OK. Then years later, I took that exact same content. I turned it into a live stream show that I did. And I gave some additional ideas and thoughts on it. And then just recently, this past week, I had pitched it.
to a media outlet, to a TV, Pixel 11 News in New York. I do a monthly segment with them. And so I said, what if we did some back to school stuff? And they said, cool, let’s do it. That’s the same content that I spoke about seven years ago. It’s the same thing. didn’t, I mean, yes, I came up with some new ideas and new things, whatever, but it’s the same concept. And it’s just a list of what you can do to be more productive in the fall. And I just spend it with the back to school thing.
And it’s timely. It’s something that anybody could use at any time, really. But it worked. And that’s that same content doing its work over and over and over again. So you really need to think about, can I produce content that has a long leg and that I can use in different places? I could go on a pod, like I just went on this podcast with you and talked about it. So I can use that example anywhere.
Dave Bricker (30:53)
Yeah, it’s interesting because media outlets are desperately searching for good content. They want good content. And yet there is an army of people banging on their door, trying to pitch them that content. And there’s nothing left for them to do but lock the door and yell, go away. It’s too much at once. It’s an interesting dichotomy there where…
Paula Rizzo (31:12)
sure.
Yeah, I mean, they’re looking for something very specific. You need to have a pitch that has the hook, the twist, and the takeaway. So the hook is the why now. That was my back to school. That was my hook. The twist was, how is this a little bit different than everything else that I’ve heard about being productive? And I had different examples in there. And then what’s the takeaway? What can I do tomorrow that will literally make me more productive? So I had all those elements in there, and it makes it an easy yes.
Dave Bricker (31:42)
And for anyone who’s just casually listening, that’s a real gem there, the hook, the twist, and the takeaway. There is a three -step list of items you can use for an effective media pitch right there. That’s gold. Thank you for that. So what are the pros and cons, the advantages and challenges of pursuing a mainstream media presence? Let’s say that I want CNN and Fox and MSNBC
Paula Rizzo (31:58)
Of course.
Dave Bricker (32:10)
to think of Dave Bricker as the go -to commentator for discussing the stories that hide in this swirling tempest of opinion and information and disinformation. What does that path look like as far as attracting their attention? And then why might I choose to follow it or not? A lot of people say, wow, I didn’t realize how much was involved in this, thanks, but I’m just gonna stay at home and write my opinion on my blog.
Paula Rizzo (32:32)
Yeah.
It’s a lot of work, actually. For a long time, I was a health and wellness producer. And so I worked with a lot of doctors. And we had a few doctors and surgeons and people who were our go -to. And they also had a practice. They were seeing patients. They were in surgery. They were doing emergencies and things. And so we needed them at the drop of a hat. And so if they couldn’t come, that doesn’t work for us. So you really need to be committed if you want to do those types of things, that national news to be there.
and to be their commentator. It takes a lot. If you watch and you see some of the commentators that are on, they’re on all the time. And that is part of their job, really. So you need to decipher and think, OK, how much is enough? Because after a while, if you’ve done it once or twice, you don’t really need to keep doing it. It’s fine. But think about what the bigger play is. mean, the pros are that it really elevates your
you know, the cache that you get from doing television, radio, you know, any of that being seen. I have to tell you, you know, I, look, I’ve done a lot of, I think really great things in my career. I’ve won an Emmy, I’ve written two books. It wasn’t until I was on TV in New York City that people finally, I people I went to high school with were like, wow, you made it. And I was like, hello, I thought I’ve been doing really great things before, you know? It just like, for me, it was so silly. But that’s the perception.
Dave Bricker (33:58)
Yeah, it’s funny. And I don’t even watch mainstream television. So, but, but there’s a big audience there and there’s a lot of street cred to be gained from that.
Paula Rizzo (34:05)
There is!
But you can get it from local TV too. It doesn’t need to only be the big national outlets. Of course, that’s good too. But think about it. Don’t be a snob when it comes to media. You should start with the smaller outlets for two reasons. If you’ve not done this before, you want to get your feet wet there. And they’re more likely to book you if you don’t have that much experience, rather than the big ones who are looking for somebody who’s ready to come in, sound bite ready, ready to go.
you may not get that opportunity. And the people, the producers, the writers, everybody who’s working in those smaller stations, they leave. They go to bigger stations. And they’ll always remember that you were a great expert. And they’ll say, yeah, I remember, I got to call Dave. And so you take them with you. And I had that. I had a lot of really great experts that I worked with for years and years and years because they made my life easy.
Dave Bricker (34:56)
So we have hardly talked about speaking, but anyone who appears on camera is a speaker. Anyone who appears in a discussion panel or as a podcast guest is a speaker. And you’re a professional speaker who offers workshops and keynotes. And this is the Speakipedia Podcast.
So many people, they think they can get through the gate with subject matter expertise, but that’s cost of entry. What direction do you offer to experts who know how to talk, but not how to speak?
Paula Rizzo (35:32)
how interesting. Yeah, it really is about those takeaways, really understanding and knowing what the audience needs to take away from this. And it could be inspiration, right? Maybe that’s what it is. But what is your intention? I mean, that’s something that, as a producer, would always, before I would book a segment, I would say, what is my intention with this? What is the purpose of doing this? Why are we doing this story? What is it that we want to get out of this? And I think everyone who is producing any sort of content needs to think the same thing, too.
And it can’t be to feed your ego, right? Just because you want to be on camera, you got your hair done that day, or whatever it is. I mean, sometimes you can do that. But for the most part, you want to think about what is it that people will take away from this? And it can be, and then the medium almost doesn’t matter. It could be that hour long talk. It could be a 10 second sound bite, whatever it is. But having that intention, I feel like that really makes a difference to solidify it in your own mind before you’re able to deliver anything.
Dave Bricker (36:26)
Yes, absolutely on that. I always say lecturers deliver information and speakers deliver transformation. And so many people are so wrapped up in, well, I’ve got all my facts straight and I’ve got my evidence together. And that’s important. at the same, I mean, you have to be able to back up what you say, right? But how do you want your listeners, your audience to think, feel or act different?
Paula Rizzo (36:34)
Amazing.
Dave Bricker (36:53)
when you’re done talking, because if you don’t have that transformation in mind, you’re just running your pie hole and it gets boring really fast.
Paula Rizzo (37:02)
And people know, you know, I mean, there’s a big distinction between speakers who do that and speakers who really transform people’s lives.
Dave Bricker (37:10)
No question about it. So people come to you, Paula, for this kind of training. Share a little bit about the kinds of programs you offer, your courses, coaching, training sessions, and your speaking programs.
Paula Rizzo (37:24)
Sure, so I have an online course called Media Ready Author that is available to anyone who, know, even if you don’t yet have a book, it’s a great training for you to get ready for when that book comes out because people a lot of times think, I’ll do media when my book comes out and I always say it’s too late.
You need to have done it before so that you have some runway and that you feel comfortable doing it. So you really want to get ready before that book comes out, right, so that you can be media ready. So I have that course. And I’ve taken that from years of working one -on -one with authors and being able to really hone, how do we break this down? How are we able to
to see what the most asked questions are so that you have good answers for it and that you have a very succinct way to do it. So that training comes from the one -on -one work that I do. And I do work one -on -one with a select amount of clients through the years. And it’s very fun. I do a lot of content. So I have Writers Digest column that I do. I’m speaking for their conference coming up. And so there’s a lot there. I have some.
LinkedIn learning courses as well, mostly productivity, but I do have one on media training.
Dave Bricker (38:39)
Yeah, it’s all great stuff. And what about your speaking programs? What are your keynotes about?
Paula Rizzo (38:44)
I mean, that’s a lot of productivity in a hybrid world because we’re living half the time in an office and half the time on the road or maybe fully remote. I mean, I’ve always worked remotely. So even when the pandemic happened, I was like, I’ve been productive for a long time working on my own. And so I had a lot of secrets and tips and things that people were not aware of at that time.
So I do talk a lot about that and and having your own personal productivity style So I do have a talk that I do about you know having your own productivity guide and thinking about how you work best and then really designing your entire life around it and I you know, I I realize if somebody’s working in corporate America, you can’t completely do that
But I always did, even when I was working for somebody else. I was able to say, this is how I work best. These are the ways that I’m able to do it. So it can be customized to you. You know yourself better than anyone. So to really uncover that for yourself and then be able to have a system that works.
Dave Bricker (39:45)
Excellent. And how can our listeners connect with you find more about what you have to offer?
Paula Rizzo (39:50)
Sure, so you can connect with me on LinkedIn, of course, or go to my website, paularizzo .com. I have a giveaway for list people. If you’re into lists, you could go to paularizzo .com slash lists. And then if you’re an author, you can go to paularizzo .com slash 10Q. And I have the 10 questions that every author needs to be able to answer in the media there.
Dave Bricker (40:16)
That sounds like a fantastic resource. Polarizzo, I always enjoy talking with you. Thank you so much for being my guest today.
Paula Rizzo (40:24)
Of course, fabulous to see you and chat with you as well.
Dave Bricker (40:28)
Thanks. I’m Dave Bricker, inviting you to explore the world’s most comprehensive resource for speakers and storytellers at speakipedia .com. If you’re watching this on social media video, please love, subscribe and share your comments. And if you’re listening to the podcast, keep your hands on the wheel, stay safe, and I’ll see you on the next episode of Speakipedia Media.
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