1113: How to Make Memorable and Lasting First Impressions with Rebecca Okamoto

Pete Mockaitis
Rebecca, welcome!

Rebecca Okamoto
Thank you very much, Pete. Super great to be here.

Pete Mockaitis
Well, I’m excited to chat with you. And you have a bit of a claim to fame. You are known as the 20-word person. What on earth does that mean?

Rebecca Okamoto
It means that I teach people how to introduce, market, and promote themselves in 20 words or less.

Pete Mockaitis
Well, I didn’t count those words, but it feels like you just did that to us right now.

Rebecca Okamoto
I did. It was less than 20 words. Trust me on that.

Pete Mockaitis
Perfect. Okay. Well, I mean, that sounds catchy. But, Rebecca, tell us why is this an important skill? Why does it matter?

Rebecca Okamoto
Well, I think it matters because we live in a multitasking, attention-deficit, highly-distracted environment right now, and introducing yourself is super important and making a great first impression, I think everyone knows, is important. But in this day and age, it doesn’t matter how smart you are, what a great fit you are, how much value you add, if no one’s paying attention. So, you have to be able to grab people’s attention in as few as 20 words.

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. And can you maybe tell us a story of what’s the impact of being able to do that versus not do that? Have you seen sort of any cool dramatic before-after transformations when people really master this skill?

Rebecca Okamoto
So I had a client who really struggled with explaining what made her unique. So, the reason why she came to me was to say, “I know people’s eyes are glazing over, I know I’m going into the weeds, and I just can’t explain what makes me unique, and I can’t stop myself.” So, we just worked on how to introduce yourself in 20 words.

So, I don’t know, a couple months later, she writes to me, and she says, “Oh, my gosh, I was at a networking event. Everybody went around the room and introduced themselves. I went the 20-word route.” Afterwards, some CEO comes up to her and says, “Man, you really stood out compared to everybody else. I’d like to talk about opportunities to work together.” Two weeks later, they’re meeting in New York to discuss those opportunities.

So, she went from zero opportunities and people saying no and, “I don’t understand,” to, “My gosh, everybody gets the value.” The thing that she loved was, “People get the story I’m trying to tell.”

Pete Mockaitis
Lovely. Okay. Well, so tell us, can we maybe hear a demonstration of what’s a typical, “Oh, so tell me about yourself,” or, “So, who are you or what are you about?” So, people give you that invitation, the prompt, like, “Do the thing now.” And what’s sort of a typical answer versus an optimized Rebecca-style 20-word or less answer?

Rebecca Okamoto
I think most people try to explain all of their qualifications and experiences, “So, I’m a 20-year supply chain professional, and I worked for Procter & Gamble for 15 of those years. And I worked in Singapore. I worked in New York. I worked in all these different locations. And I managed many, many, many people, and I started a plant.”

So, what people end up doing is they just talk about themselves. And, in my case, when I used to do it, I would go on for like three minutes, thinking that was an optimized pitch.

Pete Mockaitis
Yes, I remember. I remember the corporate days. I’ve been sort of on my own for a long time here, but I recall many meetings where like, “Hey, we’re doing a kickoff. It’s an interdisciplinary team with representatives from different functions and business units, and we’re getting together.” And so, we all go around and say the thing.

I remember finding that so boring, and maybe it’s like, “Oh, maybe I’m just selfish because I don’t care about what these people are saying to me right now.” But, Rebecca, you’re making me feel comforted that it sounds like this is the default way people feel when they hear most people’s introductions.

Rebecca Okamoto
It is. And I used to go, I had large organizations when I worked for a large corporation, and people go around the room like that, and I’d have to say, “Thank you,” because the first person goes on for 10 seconds and the next person does 20, and then 30, and then 50, and then two minutes, and all the time gets sucked up, and I still didn’t know what anybody did.

But if you say something more like, “Well, I help organizations struggling with transformations engage and embrace change with excellence,” so really helping people understand the value that you bring or the difference that you bring.

A really simple example I typically tell people is you’ll say something like, “I’m an award-winning bestselling author,” which is I describe myself. These are my accomplishments. But it leaves the listener to kind of guess, “What does that mean for me?” But if you said, “I help new authors get published faster,” “Oh, I get what you do.”

Pete Mockaitis
Yes.

Rebecca Okamoto
So, the reaction you’re trying to get instantly is someone saying, “Oh, that’s me,” or, “I know someone who needs that.”

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. And as you say these things, I’m thinking, I see a lot of LinkedIn taglines that sound exactly like this. I’m imagining, in an interdisciplinary team assembling kickoff at a corporate environment, if you were to say that in that environment, they might want more. I mean, it’s intriguing.

Rebecca Okamoto
That’s correct.

Pete Mockaitis
But it’s like, “Yeah, okay, but, like, so which department are you with? And what are you doing for us here in this team?” Do you expand upon that and sort of that’s your starter, and then you add in different contexts? Or, what’s the strategy?

Rebecca Okamoto
I think it depends on your environment. So, if you’re in a corporate setting and everyone’s just going around the room and the leader’s just sitting there, you don’t just, it’s just like, it’s just you one way. So, you just give a simple introduction, “So, I’m Rebecca. I’m from the Demand Planning Organization. And I tell stories with data that turn forecasts into actionable, profitable insights.”

So, now they know where you work, your name, and what you can do for them. Instead of, “I have 15 years with Procter & Gamble, and I did demand-planning, but before that I was a market planner. Before that I was in a plant. Before that I was an inventory planner.” That’s what people normally do.

Pete Mockaitis
Yeah. And I wonder what’s behind that? Maybe just because that’s what we’ve seen. But, in other ways, it’s almost like, “This is my only opportunity.” It’s like a little bit sad in terms of like the human need, you know, for validation, for acknowledgement, for mattering and significance. It’s like, “This is my time that I get to share my career arc, journey, history, because most people don’t want to hear it. But now is my moment.”

Rebecca Okamoto
Yes, or, “I don’t know what else to say. I saw everyone else doing it,” or, you just think, “I’m hoping that you understand that this is impressive and I’m impressing you.” And what you learn, instead of trying to impress people, “I’m smart,” is trying to tell people, “Here’s what I can do for you.” They remember that. It’s like, “Oh, wow, she can help me, like, with insights or with profit.” You want to be remembered for that. Not with, “Well, she worked in a lot of places. She sounds smart.” And then forgettable.

Pete Mockaitis
“I hope you understand that I’m smart. That’s like, ‘I’m kind of a big deal,’” Anchorman style.

Rebecca Okamoto
Yeah, but, you know, I was someone in a corporate career who started off super timid and I longed to be recognized. So, when I had an opportunity, I was just like, “And I worked here and I worked here and I worked here,” and I just assumed they would know that made me valuable. It made me forgettable, unfortunately.

Pete Mockaitis
Yeah. Okay. Well, so now it’s not just a matter of thinking, “Okay, Rebecca said I should do it in 20 words, and word count 18. I guess I’m done.” You actually have a process or a sequence that you walk people through in order to land on a winning 20 words. Can you share that with us?

Rebecca Okamoto
Yeah, I will say the most important thing about your introduction is that you want the person on the other side to visualize that you can do something for them. They’re like, “Oh, my gosh, we were just talking about that,” or, “Oh, I know someone who needs that.” Here’s a framework that I didn’t share, I don’t share a lot, but I tell people, “Just describe your audience really clearly.”

So, for instance, a friend of mine is an excellent executive coach, and she tells people, “I help high-potential leaders who find themselves in high-stress, high-stakes or no-win situations.” And people are like, “Oh!” And then she said the first time she did it, people are like, “Oh, my gosh, you have to meet so and so. She’s in a no-win situation.”

It makes it so clear, you just say, “Here’s who I help.” And if you’re vivid, “I help women over 50 rebrand and relaunch new meaningful careers.” “Oh, I know someone who’s just trying to relaunch their career.”

Pete Mockaitis
You know, Rebecca, what I really love about that is this is clicking for me because I recently listened to Dan Allison. He since moved on to new ventures, but he achieved great renown and fame amongst financial advisors as the guru who told them to crack the referral code, because financial advisors, they always want referrals. And this guy figured out in great detailed studies what leads clients to refer and not refer and some of the key things.

And that was one of the big ah-has, is that, from a financial advisor’s perspective, it’s like, “Who do we help?” It’s like, “Well, anybody who’s got $2 million in investable assets.” It’s like, “But that’s not very helpful in terms of being referable on the client side,” because like, “Well, I don’t know how much assets my brother-in-law has. That feels rude to ask.”

But if you describe that audience very clearly, such as, “I help doctors and lawyers in their 50s figure out how to make their money work for them,” or something like that. It’s like, “Oh, I know a doctor, a lawyer, in his 50s and he actually seemed to have some questions about how to make his money work for him.” So, now all of a sudden, it’s become super-duper clear, “Oh, you two perhaps need to know each other.”

Rebecca Okamoto
Right. I work with a lot of law firms, and some of the law firms are like, “Well, okay,” or they’re lobbyists and they say, “Well, it’s not good to say you’re a lobbyist.” And I said, “Well, can’t you say something like, ‘Well, I help companies who suddenly find themselves on the wrong side of the national conversation’?”

So, like you’re the ship that just ran into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, and you suddenly find yourself on the wrong side of that equation, like, “Oh, yeah,” you can describe your audience’s problem. So, that’s one way.

Pete Mockaitis
“I help corporations rewrite the rules so they make more money.” That’s, like, that feels a little off-putting to most. Although if you run a corporation who wants the rules rewritten to make more money, then you would like to be talking to that lobbyist, I guess.

Rebecca Okamoto
Well, I think you want to say it in whatever they’re looking for or saying, but I normally say, “Like, I help my target audience achieve a benefit they desire.” That’s the easiest one. “And the benefit they desire is something that they say they want. So, I help worried job hunters confidently explain why they’re the ideal candidate to hire.”

So, I interviewed a lot of, when I started my career, like job hunters, and they always use the word worried, confident, not confident, and struggle. So, I decided, “I help worried job hunters confidently explain why they’re the ideal candidate to hire.” And people are like, “Oh, my sister is really struggling,” “Oh, my kid is really struggling.” They can identify. So, that’s a really effective way of introducing yourself.

Pete Mockaitis
It is really good. It reminds me of some kind of basic core principles associated with copywriting, is that, ideally, if you know the words people use, when you speak them, it’s like, “Oh, this guy is for me. That’s how I think about it. That’s what I’m looking for.” Even though you might use perfectly valid synonyms, but it’s like, “Well, that’s not what I…and I’m not sure if that’s for me or not.”

Like, I remember, one time I was doing a lot of Myers-Briggs trainings, and so, you know, I could call myself an MBTI practitioner because that’s what we call ourselves when we get certified. But most folks are just like, “Oh, what I want is someone to do a Myers-Briggs workshop for me.” It’s like, “Oh, well, I do Myers-Briggs workshops. So, then we got to talk.”

Rebecca Okamoto
Right, exactly. So, then if you’re talking to your peers, it’s different than talking to your executive, for instance. And when you’re pitching to them, you’re talking about, “What I can do to help you with your margin improvement.” But you might be telling your boss, “I can save you money.”

Pete Mockaitis
Yeah, that’s a good thought.

Rebecca Okamoto
So, your introduction changes depending on your audience and what they say.

Pete Mockaitis
Well, Rebecca, you make it sound so quick and easy. Is it so quick and easy or is there a bit more of a deep research process underlying the landing on these up to 20 words?

Rebecca Okamoto
It’s quick and easy now, but I will say that when I started, funny you should say copywriting, because I am obsessed. I’m not a copywriter. I’m a mechanical engineer.

But engineers like to figure out how things go together and I’m obsessed with the concept of copywriting. Because to me, they had to be persuasive with words. And how do you give a headline that grabs someone’s attention to get someone to want to click? So, I learned about persuasion is a journey and it’s about getting someone to want to know more. That’s how I designed my frameworks.

And then I always thought, “Well, what if you don’t have work experience? What if you’re my nephew and he’s just starting off work, and he doesn’t say, like, ‘I’ve done all these things and I can tell stories with data,’ what should he say?” And I go, “Maybe you should use your passion or your mission or your strengths.” But it’s all about getting someone to say, “Oh, tell me more.”

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. I like these rules of thumb. So, we want them to say, “Oh, tell me more.”

Rebecca Okamoto
Yes.

Pete Mockaitis
Super. So, we want to clearly describe, “I help target audience get the outcome they want.” Any other rules of thumb or things you have in mind as you’re crafting these?

Rebecca Okamoto
Yeah, I would say think about your introduction answering the question, “What do you do? And how does it help me?” So, “I help my target audience achieve a benefit they desire.” Because a lot of people say, well, 20 words, they completely miss any of my frameworks, and they’re like, “Ask me to find your purple unicorn.” “What? What’s a purple unicorn? Like, why am I asking you that?”

Because they think it’s most important to think to be clever, “I’m a process architect and I help calm chaos and spread glitter.” And I’m like, “You spread glitter? I’m sorry, why do you spread glitter?”

Pete Mockaitis
“I got to clean that up! That’s going to be a hassle. I don’t want you to spread glitter.”

Rebecca Okamoto
But they’re trying to be clever. So, it’s like, “What do you do and how do you help me?” And I’m pretty sure people are not looking for some, “Well, in the context of process engineers spreading glitter.” So that’s the other thing to think about is be clear. You don’t have to be clever.

Pete Mockaitis
“You spread glitter in our manufacturing plant that’s going to be…”

Rebecca Okamoto
That’s a problem.

Pete Mockaitis
“…problematic for our processes, in fact.”

Rebecca Okamoto
Yes. Yes.

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. And I think that’s really good to think about it for in terms of their word choice and selection because “spread glitter” might be super resonant for you and, in a way, you know, a very lovely little motto or inspiration, you know, print up accessory for your office wall. Cool beans. But to share it with others who don’t have that same perspective is just going to fall flat.

Rebecca Okamoto
Right. Or, you could just say, “I solve your problem.” Someone from 2018, he came to one of my workshops, and he said, “I read your blog and I redid my entire introduction. It’s now in six words, ‘We make Salesforce easy to use.’” And he said, now, when he introduced himself, people would stop him and say, “Hey, Bob, come over here. This guy makes Salesforce easy to use.”

It was so easy for them to understand they were recruiting people for him and they were able to repeat his personal brand, and it’s six words. So, I tell people it’s not about 20. It’s about the fewest number of words that makes the person go, “I know who that is,” or, “I want that.”

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. Lovely. Well, Rebecca, it feels like you are a master of concision or a succinctness. It seems, like, understood. What else do we need to say about this matter?

Rebecca Okamoto
So, the first thing is, then, remember it’s about your audience not yourself, and don’t try to be clever, and then you have to practice. So, I have a lot of people tell me, “Oh, yeah, I’ve worked on my introduction. Wait, let me…It’s in my phone.” And I’m like, “Okay, that’s actually not going to work.” You have to memorize it and then you practice it, because you want the intonation to sound confident. You want to be able to say it anytime someone waves a microphone in front of you.

I’ve had people try to, like, sneak up me and say, “Introduce yourself” at a lunch thing and say, “Stand up and introduce yourself.” And I’m like, “That’s never going to be my problem because I’m always going to be able to introduce myself because I practice.” And first impressions really matter. So, I would say practice, practice and practice.

Pete Mockaitis
Yeah. To the point about practicing, we had a previous guest, Laura Sicola, on the show, and she made a phenomenal point, is that we know our names so well, or maybe anything that we know super well. We have a tendency to speak it super-duper fast.

And I think I’m guilty of this in my own podcast intro, like, “To check out the show notes, or the transcript, or the links to the items that we’ve referenced, go to awesometeourjob.com. So, I was like, “Okay, hold up. If it’s a new person, like, ‘Oh, what, what, what, what, what all is there? Huh?’” It’s, like, I have to continuously remind myself, and sometimes I fail here.

It’s to think about them hearing it for the first time. And she says, many of us were saying our names wrong, like, “I’m Pete Mockaitis.” Like, “What? What?” It’s like, “I’m Pete Mockaitis.” So, there’s the pause, and then the intonation movements, that the name itself is heard very clearly, which is actually a genuine risk because we know our names so well, we might spit it out too darn fast.

Rebecca Okamoto
Right. And people tend to go, like, “My name is Rebecca Okamoto?” Like, you’re asking a question, “You don’t know your name?” You’re not realizing that you’re just saying it so fast. Yeah, so I tell people record themselves. That’s what I do. I practice all the time to get that muscle memory, because introducing myself is important and I do it for a living. So, I do that.

And then I always say the last tip is test it out because it makes sense to you, but it may or may not make sense to someone else. So, a different executive coach, I was in a workshop with, and he said, “Oh, I have one. I help high-potential managers having problems right now.” And I’m like, “Well, what does that mean having problems right now? What kind of problems?”

And he said, “You don’t understand?” I’m like, “No, I don’t understand.” He goes, “Well, that’s because you don’t understand.

Pete Mockaitis
Health problems? Money problems? Marital problems?

Rebecca Okamoto
I know. Exactly. And I’m like, “I think it’s unclear.” And he goes, “It’s not clear. You don’t understand.” I’m like, “That’s what I’m telling you. I don’t understand.” So, he was angry at me, and I’m like, “I’m the listener. How am I supposed to recommend you to someone?” So, if someone tells you it’s not clear, you get defensive. It’s a sign that it probably isn’t clear. Just because you understand it, your introduction is for the listener, not for yourself.

Pete Mockaitis
Yeah. Certainly, because, in a way, I’m imagining that that could become super resonant shortly, it’s like, “I help managers who have problematic employees they’re worried about firing or something,” or something. Or, “Who may need performance improvement plans.” It’s, like, that could be like, “Oh, my goodness. Thank you. I’ve been worried about this and didn’t know what to do about it. And here’s a guy who can help.”

Rebecca Okamoto
Right, yeah. And what you find is, if I tell people, like, “I help new entrepreneurs introduce market and promote themselves in 20 words or less,” people say, “Well, do you help, like, not new entrepreneurs?” They’re like, “Who else can you help? Can you help students?” If you’re really clear about your audience and it makes a very clear impact on the person, the chance of them saying, “Do you help someone else go way up?”

But if you’re like, “Oh, I help this group, that group, and the other group,” when people say, “Oh, I’m the,” – what is it? – like, the generalist or whatever, or, “I’m some kind of, I don’t know, multi-tool,” and you’re just like, “It’s too broad, and no one can envision what that will do for them.”

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. Yes, the visualization point, again, coming back.

Rebecca Okamoto
Yeah, “I’m a jack of all trades,” and you’re like, “What would I do with a jack of all trades? Can you help me troubleshoot this type of problem within 90 days or less? Can you help me get this result without, you know, using a lot of capital? That’s what I’m looking for.”

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. Well, let’s talk a bit more about when we do the practice, we talked a bit about the pacing. And then we talked quite a bit about the actual word choice themselves. Can you give us some perspective on tone, rhythm, body language, anything else when it comes to the delivery of these up to 20 words?

Rebecca Okamoto
Laura Sicola, I’ve seen her TED Talk. I actually heard the same advice she gave in her TEDx Talk from a Dale Carnegie class, which is saying your name is really important. And as someone who have been on the receiving end of people from all over Asia, where I didn’t know their language, you don’t want to be like, “What was your name again? What was your name again?” So, saying it slowly and practicing is really important.

And then from the pacing standpoint, you don’t have to say it super-fast, because you’re trying to get a conversation. So, it’s like, “Here’s what I do.” And I like to say mine with a lot of confidence. So, it’s just like, “That’s what I do.” And I make my tone bend down at the end, “I help people introduce, market, and promote themselves in 20 words or less.” And just give it a pause.

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. And then, hey, facial expressions, hand gesture, posture, anything to think about there?

Rebecca Okamoto
Well, I guess if you’re just sitting, you know, you can only do so much. I would use your hands. Palms up is a very famous one, where speaking with your palms up. Smiling is a really big deal. It’s been shown that people who smile are, like, just genuinely more likable from a first impression standpoint. So, you want to sit up straight. You want to have good posture. If someone told you have good posture, it makes a difference.

I also think that if you’re standing, that whole thing about eye contact, but if you’re on a Zoom call, you want to look into the camera and you want to simulate what eye contact is so that it looks like you’re looking someone in the eye.

Pete Mockaitis
That’s good. Well, I was just about to ask about this in the digital world, any perspectives on making great first impressions when you do have that digital domain going on?

Rebecca Okamoto
So many people turn their cameras off. You want to have your camera on.

Pete Mockaitis
Whole time?

Rebecca Okamoto
Yes, whole time. And you want to look into, when you’re speaking, you want to look into, whatever, you have a red dot or a green dot, whatever you want to look into that camera. A friend of mine is a coach for people who do a lot of things on Zoom. And one of the things he told me to do is stop using big hand gestures and moving back and forth.

He said, “So, you want to sit and ground yourself. Think of it like a close-up on a camera.” So, he said, “When you’re on a stage, yeah, big arm gestures, big, bold gestures are good. But when you’re sitting there, moving around is very distracting. It makes you look nervous.”

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. Understood.

Rebecca Okamoto
Yeah. Oh, I have one other tip from an introduction standpoint, which is I have multiple introductions for people. You have different audiences. They’re at different levels, if it’s in one organization. You don’t need one introduction that fits for everyone. You have an introduction for the type of people that you’re meeting.

Pete Mockaitis
Certainly. So, in a social environment, in which you are not expecting to generate business or professional anything, we would be going in a totally different direction.

Rebecca Okamoto
Right.

Pete Mockaitis
Well, now I wonder, is this, so we probably no longer use the formula, “I help target audience get result they want”?

Rebecca Okamoto
Sometimes you can, it kind of depends on what you’re doing, but you might want to do like your passion, mission, or strength, you know, “I work in the healthcare field and I’m passionate about helping people in need, creating opportunity for vulnerable communities.” You might want to talk about it that way.

Pete Mockaitis
Okay.

Rebecca Okamoto
Who you serve, so they’re like, “Oh, I love that you help people in need.” But again, it’s all about creating a visual in your audience’s mind so they can be like, “That’s really great. So, tell me more.”

Pete Mockaitis
And how about purely social?

Rebecca Okamoto
Well, I mean, I still tell people what I do. So, it’s like, well, you know, if I’m sitting on a plane and I don’t know the person, and they’re like, “What do you do?” “Oh, I work with…” I’ll just pick something that I think is generic, because I’m just looking to, well, I’ll say spark a conversation, “I work with personal branding and I help people introduce themselves in 20 words or less.” So, it just makes it clear what I do, whether they say, “I know someone,” or not. I just want them to be like, “Oh, that’s interesting,” so they can see what it is.

Pete Mockaitis
Sure thing. Got you. I guess I’m imagining, so we’re at a barbecue and it’s, “Oh, hey, what’s going on?” “Oh, hey, I’m Pete.” “Hi, Pete. What’s your story?” Like, “Well, there’s many ways I could go with that, sir.”

Rebecca Okamoto
Yeah, I mean, you could say like, if you want to talk about your work and then you want to put it in like, “I work in the supply chain and it’s like being a…” well, maybe this is not a good example for today’s environment, which is like, “I’m like an air traffic controller that helps, you know, products go from A to B, crossing the country,” something like that. Or, “I make things make sure that they show up on your shelves on time.” Really generic, the way you would describe it to your seven-year-old nephew or niece.

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. Certainly.

Rebecca Okamoto
Yeah, that’s a good way of doing it so that if you’re like, “If I could explain it to a kid, it’s probably a generic enough one to use in a social environment.”

Pete Mockaitis
All right. Well, anything else you want to make sure to mention before we hear about some of your favorite things?

Rebecca Okamoto
No, I think that that covers it. I just really love it when people tell me that it made a difference where they felt seen and heard. That’s the greatest part about having a great introduction.

Pete Mockaitis
Beautiful. Well, now could you share a favorite quote, something you find inspiring?

Rebecca Okamoto
I say that my favorite quote is from JFK’s “moon talk.” So, at Rice University, 1963, he said, “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade, not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard.” So, I find it very inspiring that, and he said something similar when he gave a, I think it was at a prayer meeting. He said, you know, “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.” I think it’s really important that we try, and I think that adversity is a good thing. So, I find it very inspirational.

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. And a favorite study or experiment or bit of research?

Rebecca Okamoto
I’m obsessed with the dilution effect, the dilution factor. So that is, it means that the more you speak, the more you try to explain, the less impact your message has, which is just another reason to say why you want it in 20 words or less. You don’t need a lot of things. You just need one thing for someone to grab ahold of.

So, I’ve been studying a lot of the dilution effect. And then I try to tell people when I coach them, “You’re diluting your message. You’re making it hard for me to understand. So just give me one thing and let me ask you about the rest.”

Pete Mockaitis
All right. And a favorite book?

Rebecca Okamoto
Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss, who I believe was one of your guests, yeah.

Pete Mockaitis
He sure was.

Rebecca Okamoto
I mean, I recommend his book because then you can help people with the intonation and they can understand how important it is to get someone to say, “Oh, my God, that’s me.” And that’s what your introduction is, very similar to that.

Pete Mockaitis
And a favorite tool?

Rebecca Okamoto
I’m obsessed with copywriting. So, the tool I use when I work with people is it’s called problem agitation solution. So, when you’re pitching yourself, you give them the headline, which is, “I help people with something to say, but struggle to say it.” Then you talk about a problem that people have and you sort of agitate it, and say, “Here’s how I solve it.” So, I love that tool.

Pete Mockaitis
And a favorite habit?

Rebecca Okamoto
I have a new habit. I have been working on using rituals. Rituals are a sequence of things that you do to focus yourself and really imbue purpose to the activity that you’re doing. A really famous person that does this is Rafa Nadal, a tennis player. Like, before he serves, he goes through a sequence of things to get himself ready. He sits down between points, and he like straightens his water bottles, and he’s just ordering his mind and he’s getting himself set.

So, I’m like, when I write, instead of procrastinating, instead of getting popcorn, I’m going to have a ritual that makes it really meaningful for me to sit down and, whether it’s 20 minutes or two hours, focus and purpose.

Pete Mockaitis
And what is the ritual?

Rebecca Okamoto
I grab a mug of a hot beverage, I take a few deep breaths to center myself, and I ask myself how I’m feeling, because if I’m feeling purposeful, that’s good. If I’m feeling overwhelmed, nervous, whatever, I ask myself, like, “Hey, what’s going on? Why do you feel that way?” And then I tell myself, “Be grateful for the moment and the opportunity that you have, that you get to write, that you get to help people. And what is your purpose?”

And when I center myself on my purpose and who I’m trying to serve, all of that stuff goes away. And it takes me – what? – two, three minutes, kind of center myself. But it always starts with a mug of like a hot beverage. I don’t know why, but I just like that. And now every day, and I used to do it randomly. Now every day, either at 7:00 a.m. or 10:00 a.m., I have a mug of something and I start my day really focused.

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. And is there a key nugget you share that really seems to connect and resonate, and they quote it back to you often?

Rebecca Okamoto
So, since I gave this TEDx talk about how to introduce yourself and get hired, people play it back to me all the time. I didn’t realize that it’s about you versus about me. So, I tell people about me is something like, “I’m an award-winning bestselling author.” About you is, “I help new authors get published faster.” They play this back to me all the time.

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. And if folks want to learn more or get in touch, where would you point them?

Rebecca Okamoto
They can come to my LinkedIn profile, which is just Rebecca Okamoto, or they can go to my website, which is 20Words.com, the number 20, words.com, or Rebecca@20Words.com.

Pete Mockaitis
Okay. And do you have a final challenge or call to action for folks looking to be awesome with their jobs?

Rebecca Okamoto
Yes. So, I will tell you my challenge to them is to think “What if?” What if that inner critic inside your head is wrong? What if that inner voice is wrong? So, when you introduce yourself before, and you’re like, “Oh, I’m no good. I shouldn’t have even tried,” what if the only thing, the only difference between that being seen and heard and recognized was your introduction, was your ability to be clear? And it’s a skill, not a problem – “What if?”

Pete Mockaitis
All right. Rebecca, thank you.

Rebecca Okamoto
Thank you.