CONNECTION with Susan McPherson: On building relationships and community, making people feel seen and heard, and enacting corporate change
Julie and Casey sit down with author, corporate social responsibility expert, and founder of McPherson Strategies Susan McPherson to talk all things connecting. Along the way we touch on the very universal human need to be seen and heard, how relationships can be a vehicle for social impact, and what it means to build community as single women looking to take care of our long term futures.
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TOP TAKEAWAYS:
Relationship building is a lifetime process, and builds on itself. Changing environments doesn’t mean we leave old relationships behind. Keep nurturing those long standing friendships as much as you grow and nurture new connections.
Susan mentions the concept of hosting in her book “The Lost Art of Connecting”. What this means is, you don’t need to be the person in charge of a space in order to host other people in it. Hosting can be a secret super power that allows you to get your grounding in a new situation, as well as a vehicle for making connections from a place of generosity. To quote Susan: “Bringing people together, you're making that magic happen and you are helping people feel seen, heard, and listened to. And I fervently believe that the greatest gift we can give one another is exactly that.”
If we can understand the peoples greatest wish is to be seen and heard, and incorporate that into how we interact with them, we build much more fruitful and satisfying connections. It’s extremely disarming without being manipulative.
We often think people like us because of what we say, but it turns out talking less and asking questions makes us more likeable. Use that curiosity and ask questions: understanding other peoples perspective grows our empathy and helps us understand the world, and yes, ourselves a little better.
LESSON: You can’t “hack” body language.
Connect with Susan:
Twitter and Instagram: @Susanmcp1
Company: www.mcsptrategies.com
Book: TheLostArtofConnecting.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanmcpherson/
Susan McPherson is a serial connector, angel investor, and corporate responsibility expert. She is the founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, a B-corp certified communications consultancy focused on social impact. She is the author of The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Relationships (McGraw-Hill). Susan has 30+ years of experience in marketing, public relations, and sustainability communications, speaking regularly at industry events including Massachusetts Conference for Women, Worth Women and Techonomy, and contributing to the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Forbes. She has appeared on NPR, CNN, USA Today, The New Yorker, New York Magazine and the Los Angeles Times.
Susan is the recipient of Forbes magazine’s 50 over 50—Impact 2021 award and Worth Media’s Worthy100 award. She has also won numerous accolades for her voice on social media platforms from Fortune Magazine, Fast Company and Elle Magazine. Currently, Susan invests in and advises women-led start-ups, including: iFundWomen,Inc., Messy.fm, Our Place, The Riveter, Park Place Payments, Hint Water, Apolitical and The Muse. She serves on the boards of USA for UNHCR, The 19th News, and serves on the advisory boards of The List, Apolitical Foundation, Just Capital and Alltruists. Additionally, she is a member of the MIT Solve Women and Technology Leadership Group and serves as an adviser to several nonprofits including She’s The First and The OpEd Project. Susan is a Vital Voices global corporate ambassador and a member of the New York Women’s Forum and Extraordinary Women on Boards. She resides in Brooklyn.