OA: What are you Outspoken about?
AS: I am outspoken about quite a few things! Mainly, I am outspoken about the fact that the advertising industry is shifting, and companies need to embrace and understand true engagement to connect with today’s consumer in an authentic way. When it comes to internal shifts within the work place, I am outspoken about how work places and culture need to embrace femininity in order to thrive.
OA: How has your recent work transformed the focus of your content when delivering a speech?
AS: I have always given talks about millennial trends and how that is impacting advertising, but it is much deeper than that regarding today’s consumer, in which we have segmented into millennials and the millennial minded (those who share similar values but are not the same age demographic as millennials).
The more work we do with brands, and test out the methodology of engagement I created during my Masters Year, the more we (at my company CatalystCreativ) see it truly working, and the more I want to share that knowledge with the world. Since CatalystCreativ focuses on internal and external transformation in companies, I also have become more passionate about speaking about the importance of a feminine workplace and how by embracing femininity, work places can shift to be a space of vulnerability, creativity, and connection to develop more engaging experiences for employees and consumers.
OA: How do speaking events help your growth?
AS: I have a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction, and as a teacher, I absolutely love speaking to audiences. It helps shape me because it allows for me to develop relationships with people I may not meet otherwise. It also allows me to learn from audience members and what interests colleagues/potential clients based on their reactions and feedback.
OA: What would you like to see happen more often at events to engage with the audience?
AS: I would really love to see more openness around interactive talks and workshops. My company CatalystCreativ has created a proprietary internal brand workshop called the Brand Acupuncturist Workshop. This dives deep with brands to identify “pain points” and come up with solutions that optimize teams and develop creative campaigns, and these workshops provide opportunities for audience members to connect deeply with the facilitator, rather than sitting there passively.
OA: What has been one of the most fulfilling audience experiences at a speaking event and why?
AS: I absolutely loved speaking at The BizBash Event Conference about the work CatalystCreativ has done in regards to impactful experience and millennial trends, the audience was extremely engaged and so many people came up to me after and told me how much they learned from the presentation.
OA: How can people become more involved with your work, whether that’s CatalystCreativ or your personal interests?
AS: CatalystCreativ has so much to offer when it comes to unique value propositions. We would love to explore how to work with more brands starting with our internal service offerings and parlaying those offerings into external creative activations. In terms of my personal interests, I absolutely love to write and facilitate workshops, moderate panels, and participate in conferences even in smaller ways than keynotes, as it allows for me to meet new people and share new ideas.
OA: If you could hear someone give a speech alive or dead, who would it be and why?
AS: Lin-Manuel Miranda. After seeing him in Hamilton, and reading about him and his story, I am blown away by what he has been able to build for himself, his family, and how he has gone from a teacher in a classroom, to a teacher to the world.
