Well I had an absolute blast appearing on the Today Show. It was literally a circus there (the circus was on the show before me…) and the energy was amazing.
The five minute discussion went by so fast. When I got off set, I actually had no idea what I’d said, it was such a blur! Fortunately I could watch online, here’s the clip from MSNBC.
So after watching and finding out what I said… I’m pretty thrilled with it. This was my first live TV appearance, and first time on National TV, so I was pretty anxious… especially right before, standing on the set watching the process.
These folks do FOUR hours of live TV every morning! I was amazed at the level of focus the team showed – for example, before our segment on emotions, Natalie Morales was reading latest news, while crew was rapidly moving to set up our piece… and she was just in the zone reading as the text flowed by (I was watching the teleprompter and imagining trying to read it!)
I now have about eight more key ideas I’d really like to add… such as using appreciation as a transformational tool for shifting out of those AHHHH moments. I used it there – as I was starting to get anxious I thought about what a great gift it is to get to do this work – and to talk about something so valuable to so many people. 🙂
Next time I’d like to post a web article with some of the practical strategies we teach plus links to additional articles and resources. So here’s a mini-story on 6seconds.org about the piece, with some additional thoughts: All About Emotional Intelligence from Six Seconds – EQ on NBC’s Today Show
All in all – I’m looking forward to the next time!!
Josh, Great awareness you expressed in essence about life and emotions. I am so proud to be part of 6 seconds. Well done.
Congrats Josh on your first live TV. Looks like will now see you in more jackets hey?
I found the comment “Why is it not OK to say “Hey, how are you doing?”… and if its said in auto-pilot, it does not mean much.
I guess it may not mean as much if you are doing it for the sake of doing it (in a way) but I do agree with Natalie that its a great conversation starter, it helps build rapport, diffuses formality and tension sometimes, gives the feeling that you care. I liken it to building rapport where initialy effort must be made and yes, sometimes its forced. But isn’t rapport like that initially? It calls for saying or doing something that makes the person feel more comfortble. I actually refer to this as ‘effort’ because if 2 parties decided to just be themselves and do/say nothing in the moment, then that’s the way it’ll progress.
Comments … did I take it out of context? This is almost like revisiting the masking exercise.
Hey Gran!
Absolutely – “how are you” has become a “social convention.” My concern is that people sometimes operate out of “convention” INSTEAD of from genuine caring.
Intention makes all the difference… if someone says “how are you,” even if it’s forced, but they are doing it as a way of connecting… that’s different than doing it just out of habit.
By the way: I think the same is true with “I love you” – said with meaning it’s one of the greatest gifts… and how often do people say it without actually feeling it?
🙂
Wow Josh,
I felt impressed by the way you explained in a very limited time what it is all about! It really makes me feel even more inspired.
Thanks. Lieve
Josh, going on national TV for the first time is like jumping into the ocean to learn how to swim. You did a great job and you didn’t look nervous. That’s quite an accomplishment!
I suggest the next time you get interviewed (and you will) is to create a simple EQ assessment ahead of time on the website that you can direct the audience to during your interview or something like that to get them to the website.
Great job and thanks for sharing your experience with us…
-Erin
What a star Josh! I liked how well you challenged the interviewer’s ‘we can’t help what we say sometimes’ approach with such tact and excitement. And also the bit about emotions, once identified, can subside more easily, was really well explained….
OK – so I watched it 4 times….
Really excellent. I may take this clip into the classroom.
Thanks Tessy & all!
That “sometimes you just have to say it…” was such a nice setup! This is really at the heart of “Choose Yourself”: We have a choice!!!
😉
-J
Hi Josh! It was wonderful seeing you on ‘live’ tv! Hank and I were impressed by your calm confidence! My response to the convention of asking “How are you?” I don’t think we should ask unless we really want to know, but assuming we care, I see it as a positive way of reaching out and connecting. If someone asks ME how I am, the honesty of my response depends on how much I feel the asker cares about me. I know who really cares (my friends and family) and who is just saying it out of convention. I choose my responses accordingly. It was good to read how YOU felt about your debut on live tv because I care about YOU! Bravo for a job WELL DONE! If you’re on more often, we may just have to start watching tv! Meanwhile, I hope we’ll see you soon LIVE!
Warm love, Jan
Hi Josh- It has been so long since I have seen you! You did a fabulous job on Today. I keep posted on EQ news and continue to share the EQ model with teachers, administrators, students and parents. I have seen people gain personal awareness of their feelings and change their lives! Keep up all of the good work!
Hi Josh – Well done! I loved your infectious giggle and it made me giggle. You came across as sane and authentic. And it must have been hard to keep in touch with your authenticity with all the lights, cameras and action. did you notice the people outside the window behind you – Looked like a Free Tibet protest!!!
I’ve downloaded the clip to use in training.
fiona
Thanks Fiona & all!
On the phone someone asked me how I was able to be so calm. I was surprised because I did not feel “so calm” inside… lots of adrenalin! But I was definitely in a positive space. Something that helped was practicing appreciation. In the days and moments before the show, when I got nervous I started thinking what a gift it is to do this work – and to be able to share this with so many people – and if I could be an instrument to help someone that day how valuable it would be to be there, then…
This will be no surprise to most of you — it’s an incredibly powerful tool. Appreciation is the doorway to vitality.
Warmly,
– Josh
I love what you’re saying, Josh, about the value of appreciation. What I think it also did for you, nervous before going on live TV, was help you step outside yourself, a kind of meta-position, and just that gave you some distance from the nerves of the moment. But as you say, appreciation is a doorway to vitality. I have a chapter about gratitude (isn’t that another way of naming “appreciation”?) in my new book, “I Just Want My Kids To Be Happy: Why You Shouldn’t Say It, Why You Shouldn’t Think It, What You Should Embrace Instead.” I argue that parents are too focused on happiness as the most important thing, when it would be far better (for their kids’ long term happiness) if parents were focused on things like Gratitude (and I name seven others), teaching and stressing that, instead of saying “I just want you to be happy.”
Josh, while you have expertise in this area – of a technical nature – you also had the courage to bring in your personal experience. This really helped to demonstrate the very qualities you spoke about!