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PODCAST

The Sage Sayers

Debbi McCullough

A bi-weekly podcast on tips and tactics to communicate our ideas and stories in ways that land. We interview authors, entrepreneurs, keynote speakers, and executive leaders who know how to connect with audiences in surprising, meaningful ways that AI simply cannot.New Zealander show host, Debbi McCullough, has written on social and business trends and struggles for the Economist, the Guardian, and Financial Times of London. She"s a self-retired college professor of writing/business communications

business relationships

All Episodes

27:38

"Live events bring out the best of us." Ben Sherry on...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/10/03

We sit down with Ben Sherry, founder of the Live Event Studio, on the power of live, unscripted moments in live workshops and webinars. Host Debbi McCullough asks about the growing audience appetite for real sharing of ideas and the power of humor and live interviews, even live coaching, where nobody really knows how things will unfold. Our Guest Find Ben Sherry, a former teacher trainer who has hosted 200+ workshops for coaches and consultants, and counting, on LinkedIn. Our Host...

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34:21

"The path of coaching mastery is our edge against AI"...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/09/19

AI has pushed up the requirement that coaches focus on mastery, says Dr. Marcia Reynolds who reminds us AI cannot compete with coaches who keep developing themselves to that highest level. Nor can AI help someone who needs to sort out within the inner recesses of their mind their fears and limiting, conflicting ideas and beliefs. That requires trust and human connection. We first aired this powerful interview on my sister show, Competency No 5. Bringing it this week to my Sage Sayers listeners. Much

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30:18

Curiosity helps us listen and solve problems way...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/09/04

Host Debbi McCullough asks Dr. Simran Padam about her career from medical physician to medical monitor of clinical trials, her book she's writing, and her approach to solving the biggest problems through curiosity, not assumptions. Dr. Padam tells us this requires comfort with pause, too. Our Guest You can follow Dr. Simran Padam on LinkedIn and on Instagram. Our Host Debbi McCullough has written for the Economist, Financial Times of London, and Guardian. She is certified with the...

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22:25

Adelaide Ducret: "Moving abroad is an analysis in...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/08/21

We sit down with "Adelaide Ducret" (who to protect her anonymity, uses a pseudonym). She’s a Parisian based in the Bay Area who has spent 32 years in the U.S., six of those in the MidWest, and 12 years working as a data scientist at tech firms, and when 12 years ago data science did not exist. We brought Adelaide to the Sage Sayers because we have a mutual love for reading, writing, and thinking on deep topics. We also share a path having left our motherlands when we were young, because...

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10:56

"Executive presence and confidence comes from a...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/08/08

Aish Sethuraman, a business lead in the finance sector, has loved wearing sari as long as she can remember. Her mother, when growing up wore them immaculately too. On International Women's Day, she launched her own small business from her San Antonio, TX base, Aiswariya - Sari Draping, which she has since grown purely by word of mouth. "I believe your quality work will make it so you need little or no advertising at all," she says. In our ad hoc interview, we hear from Aish...

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46:17

We Don't Need AI to Surprise Our Audiences. We Need...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/07/25

We sit down with Michael Chad Hoeppner, the CEO of GK Training, and Author of the bestselling book Don't Say Um: How to Communicate Effectively to Live a Better Life. If you struggle with saying "um," sounding flat, speeding, and dreading speaking in front of audiences, you're in the right place. Michael proves we're not doomed to poor communication habits forever. His kinesthetic techniques and hands-on exercises like finger-walking to stop using filler words or silent storytelli...

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25:26

"If you want to win, be joyous." Mia Frolova and...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/07/10

It took four pageants, but for Mia Frolova, the newly crowned Miss Texas Jr. Teen, every one was worth it. Asked what helped her win this time, she credits practice, focus, joy—and staying true to herself. It's rare to interview a beauty queen. It's rarer still to interview a mother and daughter who've both worn the crown. In this week's episode of Sage Sayers, we hear from Mia Frolova on the leadership and communication skills she's built through competing in pageants—skills tested most star...

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15:08

Why do many bright, ambitious people answer direct...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/06/26

How we answer an ad hoc question has unfairly become an audition for memorability and conviction. Way too many of us fumble the return. Reading from this week's popular Substack post, we ponder on why a simple question does not always yield a simple answer. Also, how answering ad hoc questions in vague, convoluted ways can kill an interview, torpedo a first date, even start a fight with someone we love. Why? Because it frustrates and evades what they asked of us. You can read the full Substack

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36:14

"I want them to be aware of their bias." Marcia...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/06/13

We bring back to the show Dr. Marcia Reynolds, Global Guru Top 10 and Master Coach Trainer and Author of multiple books, including Coach the Person, Not the Problem Second Edition, now a bestseller on Amazon. We ask Marcia about listening, receiving, and preparing our mind to listen, all essential for any coaching and conversation to go well. We discuss how judgment can obstruct our presence and listening, and that judgment is inevitable given we're all judge-y and biased at times...

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29:52

"Trees have no boundaries. They grow in every...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/05/30

Founders of the New Jersey non-profit organization, Trees for Me, align with a core premise: It takes ten trees to support one life. With that, founder Harini Rajesh and co-founder Anvita Gurumurthy, Sowmya Parthasarathy and Rupa Gurumurthy started this initiative to plant trees around the world. (Harini goes to Cornell university and Anvita is at NYU.) "There aren't nearly enough trees in the world for everyone. And we intend to change that," Rajesh says. In our interview with th...

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29:30

"Jesus is the Coolest Guy I Know." Writer Melinda...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/05/16

We sit down with Melinda Gonzalez, an author and retired entrepreneur whose heart and purpose feel deeply rooted in faith and service. When her twin son and daughter both went to college, she felt a bigger pull to write the book she believes Jesus always wanted her to write. "Jesus is the Coolest Guy I Know" takes all of her learnings from being a devoted Bible student for decades and draws lessons and memoir from her own twists and turns with life, relationships, fertility, and faith.&...

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25:48

NextTier Athletes founders and executives on...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/05/02

When Harvard University first year student Jonathan Rubin first launched NextTier Athletes five months ago, he did not anticipate the business reaching five figures monthly so soon from launch. The consulting business, helping high-school top athletes get the inside edge from current Ivy League athletes, took off fast. "We had an idea. We knew time was limited, and we had to capitalize on it," Jonathan says. From Harvard Square, we sit with Jonathan and his executives Jordan Gonza...

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17:36

The art of conversation: How to expand our simple...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/04/17

We hear the need for brevity to hook and engage our audiences. What if we're so brief, we struggle to expand or stretch beyond one sentence?Reading from Substack: How we can expand on our ideas and offerings to the world in interesting ways, and without sounding annoyingly "braggish." Tips, tactics, and analysis on the cultural and humility barriers that might be getting in our way. You can read along to this reading here. Debbi McCullough has written for the Economist, FT, and

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22:38

"Tell me your real story, about when you earned $250...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/04/03

If you seek motivation to use LinkedIn more liberally and well, start listening to and following LinkedIn Coach Ashi Chopra. She's a Mumbai-based entrepreneur who loves to help women (especially) tell their stories on LinkedIn, the world's largest social media site for business professionals. We hear from Ashi on the missed opportunities of engaging on LinkedIn and that telling our audiences what does not work and what does work becomes vital. If we share only the highlights then nobody...

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40:40

"Over the years, I've come to trust my presence." A...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/03/26

We spotlight a revered and favorite MCC coach, Master Coach Trainer & Author Dr. Marcia Reynolds, who has worked in 47 countries and reached over 100k people. Dr. Reynolds comes to us weeks after her Second Edition release of "Coach the Person, Not the Problem," already an Amazon bestseller. We learn communications and listening approaches and habits leaders and coaches can emulate right away. Coach slowly to ensure you (and they) understand their problem. (You don't always k...

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35:07

Men Supporting Women through Menopause. Interviewing...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/03/14

“There’s always a gap of what men can read, understand, and put into practice with supporting the women in their lives through menopause.” So says British author and photographer, Simon Salt, who is working on a beautiful guide, the “Quiet Transition” to help men and women ride the perfect storm of menopause. He reasons: Men are fixers. We are solution finders. ”Problem is with menopause, there’s nothing to fix, because nothing is broken.” Also, of the 80 or so symptoms women may ...

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27:41

“We can listen for information and for relationship.”...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/02/27

We turn the spotlight this week on Dr. Haru Yamada, a sociolinguist, listening intelligence researcher, and author of “KIKU: The Japanese Art of Good Listening” to discover just how we do listen? Also, why performative skills like speaking, presenting, and offering ideas can overshadow (in many cultures) the often under-tapped skills of listening, both for receiving information and strengthening relationships. We hear Dr. Yamada's approach to listening, which includes listening with ou...

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29:32

"When I struggle connecting with someone, I ask about...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/02/14

Like many effervescent people, Ohio-based Austin Sussel has little trouble connecting even with strangers, and even at work. He got great at it, actually, as an international account manager of Fortune 100/500s. But even Austin struggles at times when the connection's not there. Or worse, the receiver of your attempts to converse stone walls you. "In those moments, sales leaders told me I ought to compliment them on their shoes they're wearing," he laughs. "But I find what works best i...

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14:22

Harvard Student Athlete Nick McCullough:...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/01/31

We're welcoming back to the show Harvard student athlete, Nick McCullough, now on his second semester at Harvard as an Econ student and defensive tackle player for the Harvard Crimson football team. [Listener note: Nick is also my oldest son.] We hear from an 18-year-old first-year student and footballer all about networking and what that means at Harvard: Getting in with people you like and want to grow with for your "block" (the dormitory wing for your second year). Making conne...

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26:14

Setting goals without forcing them: Interviewing...

The Sage Sayers ·

2026/01/16

Happy New Year, dear Sage Sayers listeners. Welcome back. 2026, Year of the Fire Horse, will be awesome. If you're stuck on how to approach goals this year, or even to bother with them, British tech marketer and coach, Malvika Joshi, joins me for episode 1, season 5, with her approach, and how to communicate goals (to ourselves, and others.) (Popular data tells us 80-90% of professionals abandon their resolutions, and usually by mid-January, highlighting the need for clear plans, new ap...

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