Leanne on Demand Daily with Leanne Hughes

On today’s walk (eight kilos in the vest, hello shoulders 👋), I riff on quick, practical communication moves that create instant cut-through at work. I share a client story where we kickstarted a 90-day sprint with a one-take video (record → Descript → captions → Loom link) and the responses rolled in. Then I unpack BLUF—Bottom Line Up Front—so your reader gets the “why” and “what now?” in the first sentence. Finally, I share my favourite P.S. trick that consistently wins the most clicks in my emails.Key TakeawaysWeighted-vest wisdom: training with extra load makes “normal” feel effortless. Same with communication—add structure now so future you moves faster.Video as a pattern-interrupt: a one-minute invite beats a long kickoff email. Record once, ship everywhere.BLUF > burying the lede: lead with the decision, action, or ask; add context below.Write for the reader, edit for clarity: you can think on the page—just rearrange before you hit send.The underrated P.S.: people scan. A clean, single CTA in the P.S. often wins the click war.Subject line signals help everyone: start with [ACTION], [REVIEW], or [APPROVAL] to set expectations.Work Fame move: being clear and easy to work with is a brand.Mini Templates You Can StealSubject line starters[ACTION] Approve vendor shortlist by Fri 20 Sep[REVIEW] Draft scope v2 – comments by Wed 5pm[INFO] Kickoff video: 90-day sprint overview (2:03)BLUF email skeleton (copy/paste) Bottom line: <one sentence ask/decision>. What I need from you: <action + due date>. My recommendation: <if relevant>. Context: <2–4 lines max>. Links: <doc/video>. P.S. If you only do one thing, do <single CTA>. Video kickoff run-of-show (what I did with my client)One take on phone: why this matters → who’s involved → clear CTAAirdrop to laptop → edit in Descript → add captionsUpload to Loom → share linkEmail using BLUF + put the Loom link again in the P.S.P.S. line examplesP.S. 90 seconds explains everything—watch here.P.S. Visual person? Here’s the Loom.Try This This Week (10-minute challenge)Send one BLUF-style email today.Add a single, scannable P.S. with your core link.Record a 60–90s one-take Loom to replace your next status novella.Tools I MentionedDescript, Loom, weighted vest (for the training nerds 👀).Sign up for free for my best articles every week: Work Fame.Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.comP.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help:Watch My 2025 Speaker Reel: Let's energise your next event.Get My Book: Design your workshops fast using The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint. Let's connect on all the channels:Leanne Hughes on LinkedInLeanne Hughes on InstagramVisit my website: leannehughes.comEmail me: hello@leannehughes.comWould you like to deliver your own private podcast feed to your audience? Sign up for a free trial today at Hello Audio.

I’m saying the quiet part out loud: the most valuable asset in your business isn’t your Instagram, it’s your email list. I share how Con Con happened because of my list, why social posts rarely convert on their own, how I use Substack weekly (and why unsubscribes are healthy), plus the big mistake I made for years—never making offers—and how I’m fixing it.In this episode, I cover:Why subscribers > followers (ownership, attention, trust).The Con Con example: proof your list is your leverage.Social media’s real job: move people onto your list.My Substack rhythm (Friday sends) and repurposing from the podcast.Unsubscribes as a filter, not a failure.Training your audience to expect offers (and why I avoided it).How to start if you’re new (landing page + personal invites).Tools I like for getting going fast (Substack, ConvertKit).Backups and list hygiene so you don’t lose your asset.Quick-start checklist (do this today):Spin up a simple landing page.Personally invite 20 people you already know to join.Send your first useful email (one tip, one story, one tiny offer).Add a “Newsletter” link to your LinkedIn profile + weekly post pointing to it.Back up your list monthly.MentionedPat Flynn’s beginner guide that helped me get my first 100 subscribers (the one I used back in 2016/17).My Work Fame newsletter on Substack (Friday mornings).Try thisHit reply to your next email and make a tiny offer: a 30-minute clinic, template, or Q&A. Train the behaviour early.If you enjoyed thisForward it to a friend who’s still relying on “just posting.” And if you want my best ideas first, jump on my list—that’s where the good stuff lands.PSBoring often wins. An email list isn’t sexy… it’s just profitable.Sign up for free for my best articles every week: Work Fame.Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.comP.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help:Watch My 2025 Speaker Reel: Let's energise your next event.Get My Book: Design your workshops fast using The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint. Let's connect on all the channels:Leanne Hughes on LinkedInLeanne Hughes on InstagramVisit my website: leannehughes.comEmail me: hello@leannehughes.comWould you like to deliver your own private podcast feed to your audience? Sign up for a free trial today at Hello Audio.

Two super quick reflections today.First up: the settling in period. Whether I’m running, or just switching tasks at my desk, those first 10 minutes always feel clunky. You’re questioning yourself, wondering how you’ll keep going. But if you can just hold out, your body (and mind) adapts faster than you think. Don’t judge yourself in that early stretch—just celebrate that you started.The second thing? I’ve realised I really struggle to record or take calls when there are just one or two people nearby. Put me in a noisy café or a packed street and I’m fine. But one person behind me? Suddenly I feel self-conscious, like they’re hanging on every word. Isn’t it funny how I can record a podcast that goes out to thousands, yet freeze up when one stranger might overhear?So, today’s episode is about both:Giving yourself grace in that awkward settling-in phase.And asking: how do you keep recording when you know someone is in earshot?If you’ve got tips on the second one, send them my way—I’d love to hear them!Sign up for free for my best articles every week: Work Fame.Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.comP.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help:Watch My 2025 Speaker Reel: Let's energise your next event.Get My Book: Design your workshops fast using The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint. Let's connect on all the channels:Leanne Hughes on LinkedInLeanne Hughes on InstagramVisit my website: leannehughes.comEmail me: hello@leannehughes.comWould you like to deliver your own private podcast feed to your audience? Sign up for a free trial today at Hello Audio.

Big weekend for me — and my Oura Ring confirms it with my lowest recovery score ever (48 out of 100 🙈). Between a four-hour training hike (with that brutal post-lunch slog) and Riverfire fireworks with friends, sleep wasn’t really on the cards.But what I really wanted to share today is a Con Con update. Tickets went live, and within 21 minutes the first 15 were gone. Nine days later, we’re completely sold out — all 50 spots! 🎉So here’s the thing: the event itself is still 280 days away. What do you do in the meantime? For me, it’s about not losing momentum. I’m setting up two optional virtual calls this year so attendees can meet, share their businesses and aspirations, and start collaborating before we’re even in the same room. My promise is that when you walk into Con Con, you’ll already feel like you know people.I share a few ways I’m experimenting with building community before the event — from calls, to private podcasts, to playlists — and why I think events don’t need to “start” on Day 1.Sign up for free for my best articles every week: Work Fame.Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.comP.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help:Watch My 2025 Speaker Reel: Let's energise your next event.Get My Book: Design your workshops fast using The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint. Let's connect on all the channels:Leanne Hughes on LinkedInLeanne Hughes on InstagramVisit my website: leannehughes.comEmail me: hello@leannehughes.comWould you like to deliver your own private podcast feed to your audience? Sign up for a free trial today at Hello Audio.

Today I’m joined by Germany-based facilitator and psychologist Nadia Petronov, founder of More Shiny Eyes—and yes, her mission is exactly what it sounds like: helping people light up at work (even on Mondays). We riff on visual facilitation, why listening beats lecturing, and how to guide groups through messy moments without losing the room. Nadia also shares the story behind her Wonder Cards—a pocket-sized set of go-to activities you can run anywhere, any time, with any group.We discuss:How Nadia went from HR at Mercedes and projects at IBM (and even building an aircraft!) to facilitation—and why the constant thread was always people.Her obsession with flipcharts (there’s literally one in her living room) and how a personal Kanban board keeps her workflow visible and sane.The #1 facilitator superpower: listening—before, during, and after the session.My favourite new analogy: the facilitator as midwife—it’s the group’s “baby,” and our job is to support the process, not steal it.What to do when the agenda doesn’t match the room’s reality (and how to create the next best step together).Why emotion is contagious in rooms—and how “shiny eyes” create creativity, connection, and better decisions.Resources that shaped Nadia’s approach (hello, Dale Carnegie) and her peer-learning habits.Sign up for free for my best articles every week: Work Fame.Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.comP.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help:Watch My 2025 Speaker Reel: Let's energise your next event.Get My Book: Design your workshops fast using The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint. Let's connect on all the channels:Leanne Hughes on LinkedInLeanne Hughes on InstagramVisit my website: leannehughes.comEmail me: hello@leannehughes.comWould you like to deliver your own private podcast feed to your audience? Sign up for a free trial today at Hello Audio.

Today I riff with Brisbane dynamo Melanie “Mel” Loy—founder of Hey Mel Comms & Training, co-owner of a gym, President of IABC Queensland, and host of Less Chatter, More Matter. We bounce across crisis comms, workshop design, and group fitness—aka how to stay calm when everything goes sideways, and how to bring “Mel 2.0” energy to a room. We also dig into running international workshops (Malaysia! Canada!), tailoring for culture, sketch-noting live instead of relying on slides, and simple ways to manage your state before you facilitate.Why this episode mattersIf you’ve ever walked into a room where the tech’s failing, the room booking’s wrong, or the energy is flat—this one’s for you. Mel shows how crisis-comms discipline + group-fitness presence = facilitation superpowers. You’ll leave with practical tools for staying calm, lifting the room, and designing sessions people actually remember.In this episode we coverCalm under pressure: how crisis communication maps directly to workshop curveballsEnergy math: why participants do ~80% of your energy—and how to turn up to 120% without feeling fakeMel 2.0: switching on your “Sasha Fierce” facilitator persona (and why service > self kills nerves)Culture + context: lessons from delivering in Kuala Lumpur and prepping for a Canadian comms audienceMove the room: getting people standing, stretching, and thinking—yes, even on ZoomLow-tech, high-engagement: using live sketch-noting, flipcharts, and light-bulb captures instead of heavy slide decksState management: pre-session routines, time-blocking, and the run-sheet “security blanket”Reframing nerves: turn adrenaline into excitement (faster than “calm down”)Keep learning + show your work: why tooting your own horn is part of the jobMy takeawaysCrisis skills aren’t just for media units—they’re everyday facilitator tools: stay calm, decide fast, keep people safe, keep moving.Your presence is a performance in service of the group. When I make it about them, my nerves melt.I’m borrowing Mel’s “light-bulb moments board” at breaks—instant retention + artefacts participants share.Movement matters. A 60-second stretch can rescue a 60-minute slump.Nerves ≠ problem. They’re fuel—point them at excitement.Practical plays you can stealOpen with a gratitude check-in (1 sentence each) to prime a positive tone.Build a run sheet with: Activity • Key points • Learning method (video/quiz/discussion). Print it.Plan a post-lunch pattern interrupt (5-minute quiz, walk-and-talk, stretch).Replace a slide with a live sketch that grows as participants contribute. Photograph/airdrop at the end.When culture shifts, audit idioms & jokes, keep examples universal, and localise references.On show day: eat (no hangry facilitation), glance your playlist/flow, and be ready to pivot.Light-bulb lines“People will only ever do ~80% of your energy—so bring 120%.”“You’re not saving babies—solve what’s solvable and keep the room safe.”“Don’t squash adrenaline; re-aim it.”“Make it about service, not self.”About MelMel Loy builds communication capability through coaching, workshops, and creative thinking. She’s the President of IABC Queensland, co-owns a gym, and hosts Less Chatter, More Matter. Find her on LinkedIn: Mel Loy and Instagram: @hey.mel.comms (search those handles to connect).Sign up for free for my best articles every week: Work Fame.Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.comP.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help:Watch My 2025 Speaker Reel: Let's energise your next event.Get My Book: Design your workshops fast using The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint. Let's connect on all the channels:Leanne Hughes on LinkedInLeanne Hughes on InstagramVisit my website: leannehughes.comEmail me: hello@leannehughes.comWould you like to deliver your own private podcast feed to your audience? Sign up for a free trial today at Hello Audio.

Today’s walk-and-talk episode is all about a brilliant story that came out of a Work Fame webinar I ran this week.One of the participants shared how, in her very first week at a big multinational, she got asked to get a CEO’s signature. Instead of following “the process,” she simply went upstairs, knocked on the door, and asked directly. The CEO was delighted, signed the papers, and she came back down to a horrified manager asking, “How did you do that so fast?!”This story lit me up for a few reasons:Unwritten rules vs. reality — Organizations are full of “you’re not supposed to” guidelines that aren’t actually rules. Question them. Test them. Sometimes the simplest path is the best.Hierarchy is often manufactured — People are just people. CEOs are humans too, and most of the time, they’re pleasant and willing to help if you approach them with respect.Horizontal vs. vertical relationships — Drawing from The Courage to Be Disliked, influence often comes when you see yourself shoulder-to-shoulder with others, not looking up at them. Peer relationships (even with senior leaders) create more influence than deferential, vertical ones.Alan Weiss says it best: “We often walk around the block to get next door.” This story is a perfect reminder of that.So today’s invitation: Where are you making things harder than they need to be because of unwritten “rules”? And what would happen if you just took the elevator to level 12?Sign up for free for my best articles every week: Work Fame.Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.comP.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help:Watch My 2025 Speaker Reel: Let's energise your next event.Get My Book: Design your workshops fast using The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint. Let's connect on all the channels:Leanne Hughes on LinkedInLeanne Hughes on InstagramVisit my website: leannehughes.comEmail me: hello@leannehughes.comWould you like to deliver your own private podcast feed to your audience? Sign up for a free trial today at Hello Audio.

So… five minutes before I hit record today, I did something I’ve never done before: I pre-ordered a piece of tech that hasn’t even been made yet. Yep, I dropped $299 USD on a pair of Halo glasses from a startup called Brilliant Labs.Why? Because the potential of these open-source AI glasses absolutely blows my mind.In this episode, I riff on:Why I skipped my usual “wait for reviews” approach and jumped in earlyAll the cool use cases I’m excited about—from hands-free directions to instant meeting recapsHow they could change my day-to-day life (and free me from constant phone scrolling)The very real risks: privacy, memory atrophy, and whether people will trust conversations when I’m wearing themThe bigger implications: what it means for memory, consciousness, and even being humanIt’s part Black Mirror, part life hack—and I can’t wait to try them out when they ship later this year.🎧 Hit play to hear why I’m both wildly excited and slightly freaked out about living with AI glasses.Sign up for free for my best articles every week: Work Fame.Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.comP.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help:Watch My 2025 Speaker Reel: Let's energise your next event.Get My Book: Design your workshops fast using The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint. Let's connect on all the channels:Leanne Hughes on LinkedInLeanne Hughes on InstagramVisit my website: leannehughes.comEmail me: hello@leannehughes.comWould you like to deliver your own private podcast feed to your audience? Sign up for a free trial today at Hello Audio.

Tonight’s episode wasn’t meant to be this one. I was planning to reflect on my Virgin Australia workshop (and my friend Sally Prosser’s brilliant cameo on voice skills)… but then dinner happened.I’ve got this little ritual: when I’ve had a big delivery week, I treat myself to a vegetarian plate from the local Greek takeaway. It’s my cozy, carb-loaded indulgence — chips, pita, zucchini fritters, the lot. And after five years of reliable, perfect orders, tonight they messed it up. Twice.Here’s what went down, why I actually drove back to the shop (so unlike me), what Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” has to do with pita bread, and the lesson I’ll never forget about trust, accountability, and always checking the bag.Was I overreacting? Maybe. But it made for one delicious dinner — and a solid daily podcast story.Sign up for free for my best articles every week: Work Fame.Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.comP.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help:Watch My 2025 Speaker Reel: Let's energise your next event.Get My Book: Design your workshops fast using The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint. Let's connect on all the channels:Leanne Hughes on LinkedInLeanne Hughes on InstagramVisit my website: leannehughes.comEmail me: hello@leannehughes.comWould you like to deliver your own private podcast feed to your audience? Sign up for a free trial today at Hello Audio.

Today’s episode is a wild update on something I experimented with a few weeks back: my “job interview with the enemy.”If you missed it, I shared how I jumped on a tool called Tavi.ai that lets you do job interviews with AI avatars. Yep—imagine logging into Zoom and instead of a person on the other side, it’s a robot interviewing you for a role. Clunky? Sure. Fascinating? Absolutely.When I posted about it, I copped a bit of backlash. People weren’t too happy that I was “promoting” AI in recruitment. And I get it—it’s confronting. But my counterpoint was: why are we so quick to defend the current system? Recruitment is already broken. Ghosting, endless delays, keyword-based screening… dumpster fire, right?Fast forward to today, and I stumbled across a post from Greg Eisenberg that absolutely floored me. A massive study out of the Philippines compared AI interviews with human interviews. The results? Candidates interviewed by AI got more job offers, higher retention, and preferred the process nearly 8 out of 10 times.Why? Consistency. No skipped questions, no unconscious bias, no “oh I’m tired at 4pm, let’s rush this.” Plus, reports of gender discrimination were cut in half. For lower-scoring candidates, AI felt less judgmental and more structured—more about substance than small talk.Mind. Blown. 🤯This raises huge questions:Will AI level the playing field in hiring?What happens when interviews stop being about charm and bias and start being about consistent responses?Could this rewire who actually gets access to opportunities?Here's a link to the study.I’d love to hear from you: Would you rather be interviewed by a human… or an AI?Thanks for listening, and I’ll speak to you tomorrow.Sign up for free for my best articles every week: Work Fame.Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.comP.S. Ready to take things up a level? Here are some ways I can help:Watch My 2025 Speaker Reel: Let's energise your next event.Get My Book: Design your workshops fast using The 2-Hour Workshop Blueprint. Let's connect on all the channels:Leanne Hughes on LinkedInLeanne Hughes on InstagramVisit my website: leannehughes.comEmail me: hello@leannehughes.comWould you like to deliver your own private podcast feed to your audience? Sign up for a free trial today at Hello Audio.