Jessica Chen, Founder & CEO @ Soulcast Media
Jessica is the Founder and CEO of Soulcast Media, a business communications agency, where she provides high-touch strategies to elevate people's speaking and authority. Prior to starting Soulcast Media, Jessica was a broadcast television journalist. She has been awarded an Emmy-Award for her work at ABC 10News and multiple Associated Press Awards. Jessica is also a top LinkedIn Learning Instructor where her communications courses have been watched by over 1 million learners.
In this episode we spoke with Jessica about the following:
Defining humility for herself in order to become a more confident and effective communicator
How being one of the only Asian American women discussing communications gave her the energy and courage to found Soulcast Media
How the primary communication challenges she coaches her clients on varies based on cultural background
You can listen to her below, on Spotify or wherever else you get to your podcasts.
How to best advocate for yourself without gloating
“In terms of communication, I think your approach is everything. For example, when you hear of the work humility, you think to be humble, put your head down, do not show off too much, and let the work speak for itself. If you do not do that, then otherwise, people will see it as boasting.
I think when you fast forward into the working world, you might have to challenge that definition of humility. So the above may not actually be the right definition, even though that was essentially what I was taught growing up.
I think these days, you have to be humble, but you also have to think about how to advocate for yourself, so it does not seem like you are boasting. This is what I mean when I talk about approach. What I have learned over the years is that what is really important is how you are talking about yourself. Some tips I share with my clients is to talk about the work you have done and how it has best supported the business. No one can fault you for advocating for yourself when you are linking it to the greater good.”
The difference Jessica has noticed coaching Asian American versus Caucasian executives
“I am fortunate to work with all types of different people. It is interesting to note that, at times, generally, the advice I am given to Asian American folks is different than my Cacasuain clients. When I work with Asian Americans, I find that I have to encourage them more. I find that I have to take the more inspirational route first, to build their confidence, and then teach them the specific tactics of communication.
Another part of this is that they tend to speak more in numbers. When I work with them, I have to try to get them out of this mode and have more emotion, and encourage them to have more storytelling. On the flip side, when I work with my Caucasian clients, they need to reign in their communications because they may have too much to say. If you can see the difference, on one side, it is more confidence-building, and on the other side, it is helping them be more concise with what they have to say.”
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Until next time,
Jay and Angie