Today's guest on the Transformational Pathways Podcast is Natsuyo Lipschutz, an award-winning speaker, 5-time Toastmaster district 46 finalist, world-class speaking certified coach strategy consultant and TEDx speaker known for incorporating dance into speech. Natsuyo talks about her upbringing in Japan, and how the cultural differences, especially the language barrier, posed some challenges for her when she began working in the US. Despite the challenges, Natsuyo earnestly sought for improvement by joining Toastmasters and found that improving her English-speaking capabilities not only improved her capability for public speaking, but also allowed her to grow herself emotionally. In 2017, Natsuyo found out that she had breast cancer. She shares how going through that particularly difficult time in her life and sharing that to the audience has allowed her to become a more authentic speaker and stronger person at the same time. Indeed, speaking is healing.
HIGHLIGHTS
06:38 How Natsuyo landed in New York
07:31 Natsuyo's unusual family life in Japan
15:33 How Japanese communication is very different from the New York-American way
19:00 Getting started with Toastmasters
24:05 Diving headfirst into competitive speaking
25:45 Always focus on one big message
26:44 Speaking is entertainment: Catching people's attention
29:23 The process of improving your speech helps you grow as a person
30:56 Natsuyo's struggle with breast cancer
34:59 Telling a story can heal both the speaker and the audience
38:35 Intercultural communication: Connecting with audiences of different nationalities
41:52 Connect with Natsuyo
42:54 Natsuyo's favorite leader and speaker
QUOTES
17:58 Natsuyo: "The interesting thing about cross-cultural issues is you need to be flexible. You can't be far right or far left. You need to be able to gauge where the other person is in relative to where you are and how you wanna adjust to yourself so you are not only heard, but your message is acted upon.
26:42 Natsuyo: "I always thought that performing arts and business don't merge. But at that moment, I figured out speaking is an entertainment, and you have to be able to entertain the listeners so that they will really hear you and act on your message."
29:48 Natsuyo: "I really believe the speech writing process is about self-improvement or self-development because when you craft a story, you really have to go deeper into yourself, deep into your past, and really have a deep understanding of why you did what you did and what was your learning."
34:54 Natsuyo: "I shared my story and I felt like I really felt like through stories. I can connect with the audience, heart to heart, and speaking was healing for me. So telling a story healed me and also it healed the audience to whatever they're feeling, whatever pain they had."
36:37 Scott: "You shared something intimate about yourself. And I, as a listener, felt connected to you, not just as a talking head or someone passing on information, but as a human being. And that's where the feelings inside come out and it's a genuine connection. There's real power there.
39:16 Natsuyo: "The message itself is really universal. It doesn't matter what country you're from. Everyone has hearts and everyone has experienced some hardship. So when you, find a universal message, that resonates with everyone in the world. that being said, the way to deliver your story may be slightly different depending on who you're talking to, especially in different cultures."
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