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10 Questions with ... Lisa Williams
January 19, 2021
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1. In addition to hosting your daily syndicated show, you are Northwestern Media's first ever network talent coach. What's that like?
It’s fun and lifegiving. Working with talented people is a rush. Since the position is new, I’ve been building and creating and growing - it might be the most fun I’ve ever had professionally.
2. What advice would you give to a PD wanting to coach a new talent for the first time?
Get to know them. Ask lots of questions. Listen closely. Remember things about them. Don’t just act like you care. Care deeply. Earn their trust and grow with them. Treat them like the professionals they are. Hire them a great coach. Give them objective feedback regularly. Encourage them. Protect them.
3. What is the best coaching advice you've ever received?
Be you.
4. How do you show prep each day?
I sit in my chair and start thinking. My mind wanders about my friends, things I’ve been reading, things I’ve seen, things I’ve recently done, conversations I’ve heard. I get a thread in my mind and start pulling it. I think about the listener and what they might be feeling or doing when they hear me. I get inspired by a book or a thought or an article. And then I write breaks in my mind, heart, and soul. I feel, re-write, block, and then start recording. It’s one part inspiration, one part skill, one part diligence.
5. What is one thing you’d wish you’d known about radio when you first started?
That I didn’t have to live a dual life. Being me was enough.
6. Who is a talent or a show that you really enjoy respect?
There are some great shows on Northwestern Media stations. I can’t pick one.
7. What would surprise people most about you?
Although I think I show up in the world as an extravert, I relish being alone.
8. Tell us about the last book you read.
Thanks for the Feedback … It revolutionized my life. My heart has stopped blocking when feedback starts. Now, I pull. (Sidenote: every book I read revolutionizes my life. I get really excited about ideas, concepts, breakthrough, and growing.)
9. What are you most excited about looking forward to in 2021?
Being with God.
10. What do you like to do for fun?
Because of the pandemic this summer, we stayed home and spent our vacation money on paddleboards. We found a lake in the mountains and spent many beautiful, fun hours on the water. SO fun and soul filling. And also … Improv Comedy with my friends in Fish Sticks Comedy. Improv kept me sane during the pandemic onset. We developed online shows and there were over 100 shows in 2020. Creating characters and telling never-before-told-stories is my happy place.
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