Like it or not, small talk is part of life. And whether you love it or dread it, it helps to have some gravitas going into the room.

In this episode of In Confidence, Lisa shares how to approach small talk with intention so you’re not just getting through it, but actually making the most of it. Whether you’re at a networking event, a wedding where you barely know anyone, or like Lisa, your college reunion, these moments can turn into something meaningful.

What you'll get from this episode:

• The mindset shift that makes walking into a room feel less intimidating.

• 5 tips to help you make real connections.

• How to move from surface chatter to something that feels more personal.

• Plus, our downloadable PDF guide to help you prep before your next event.

Small talk isn’t about filling the silence. It’s about creating something real.

00:00 Intro

00:59 Why Small Talk Matters More Than You Think

02:15 Resetting Your Mindset

04:10 5 Tips To Master Small Talk

09:50 Final Thoughts and a Free Downloadable PDF

10:45 Outro

11:09 Disclaimer

AS SEEN IN THE EPISODE

From Our Studio to Your Closet

Meet the Corazon Blouse: https://gravitasnewyork.com/products/corazon-button-down-blouse

Connect With Us So You Never Miss a Moment of Inspiration:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Visit Our Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get Our Best-Selling Book in Paperback⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Gravitas on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Lisa on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Suggestions or Questions? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email Us at inconfidence@gravitasnewyork.com⁠

Have you ever been called bossy, cold, or intimidating at work? Or been told you're too quiet to lead? In this episode of In Confidence, we unpack the triple standard women face at work and how it affects how we’re perceived, promoted, and valued. Through personal stories, surprising research, and tactical ways to reframe the narrative, Lisa shares how the Leading superpower can be both your greatest strength and your most misunderstood quality. Learn how to expand the scorecard for success, advocate for yourself in real time, and lead with both clarity and connection.

Let’s redefine what leadership really looks like.

00:00 Intro

00:43 Defining the Triple Standard

02:58 The Hidden Bias Behind Promotion

03:57 Expanding the Scorecard and Helping Women Embrace and Appreciate Their Superpowers

05:40 How to Respond When You've Been Called Bossy

10:04 Balancing Leadership with Connection

13:46 Final Thoughts: You're Not Bossy, You're Leading

14:57 Outro

15:23 Disclaimer

Connect With Us So You Never Miss a Moment of Inspiration:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Visit Our Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get Our Best-Selling Book in Paperback⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Gravitas on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Lisa on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Suggestions or Questions? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email Us at inconfidence@gravitasnewyork.com⁠

In this episode of In Confidence, Lisa sits down with Lindsay Shookus—former SNL producer, co-founder of Women Work F#cking Hard, and speaker—to talk about reinvention, resilience, and redefining success.Lindsay shares what it looks like to embrace uncertainty, build a “portfolio life,” and trust in your own talents, even through wobbly moments.

Key Takeaways:

• Why “normalizing wobbliness” is crucial when navigating career transitions or reinvention
• How to build a portfolio career based on energy, joy, and trust in your talents
• Strategies for making meaningful connections (even if you're introverted)
• Why showing up, especially when you don’t feel like it, can change your life

00:00 Intro

00:50 Meet Lindsay Shookus

03:48 What It Really Takes to Leave a 20-Year Career

11:03 Founding WWFH and Creating a Space for Women to Support Each Other

17:55 Authentic Connection, Showing Up, and Advice for Introverts

21:20 Letting the Universe Guide What's Next

22:52 The Portfolio Life: Reinvention, Speaking, and Creative Problem Solving

33:50 Normalizing Wobbliness and Discomfort

37:06 Final Thoughts and What She's Most Excited About

41:07 Outro

42:01 Disclaimer

Seen on Lisa in this episode: the ⁠Unbossed & Unbought Sweatshirt⁠, inspired by Shirley Chisholm's 1972 Presidential campaign slogan. Chisholm challenged societal norms to give marginalized groups a voice, becoming the first Black Congresswoman and the first Black woman to run for a major-party presidential nomination. Get yours today on ⁠GravitasNewYork.com⁠.

Connect With Us So You Never Miss a Moment of Inspiration:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Visit Our Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get Our Best-Selling Book in Paperback⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Gravitas on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Lisa on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Suggestions or Questions? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email Us at inconfidence@gravitasnewyork.com⁠

This episode of In Confidence gives you two tools to name what’s holding you back and recognize the strengths already within you that will help you push through it. Lisa walks you through a weekend reflection practice on the six forces that fuel your inner critic and invites you to rediscover your confidence through the Gravitas Confidence Language Quiz.

You’ll leave this episode with more clarity, more self-belief, and a simple mindset shift: the thing standing in your way isn’t stronger than the power you already have.

Take our Confidence Language Quiz

Head to our website to download the episode worksheets

00:00 Intro

00:39 Exercise 1: Identifying the Six Forces That Hold You Back

01:46 Lisa’s Personal Story: Facing the Satisfaction Conundrum

03:15 Exercise 2: Take the Confidence Language Quiz

03:33 How to Interpret Your Quiz Results

04:31 A Family Breakthrough from the Quiz

06:12 What Changes When You Name Your Strengths

06:31 Outro

06:59 Disclaimer

Connect With Us So You Never Miss a Moment of Inspiration:

⁠Visit Our Website⁠

⁠Get Our Best-Selling Book in Paperback⁠

⁠Follow Gravitas on Instagram⁠

⁠Follow Lisa on Instagram⁠

⁠Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn⁠

⁠Suggestions or Questions? Email Us.

E-Mail: inconfidence@gravitasnewyork.com

Only 12% of people have the Performing superpower—the ability to shine in front of others with ease. But what if you could practice it in a way that’s low-stakes, joyful, and just plain fun?

In this episode, Lisa explores how karaoke can be a powerful tool for building confidence in everyday life. She’s joined by writer, editor, and karaoke journalist Ada Tseng, creator of the LA Times Karaoke Generator, to talk about how karaoke helps us get comfortable with the spotlight on our own terms.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What the Performing superpower is (and why so few of us claim it)

• Why karaoke is actually risk-free confidence training

• How to pick your perfect karaoke song (with data to back it up)

• Why letting go of perfection might be your biggest mic-drop moment

Whether you're karaoke-curious or a seasoned shower-singer, this episode is your permission slip to take up space, sing your heart out, and have fun doing it.

00:00 Intro: Why karaoke is a powerful tool for building confidence 00:42 The performing superpower and how we develop it 03:46 Real-life growth: Performing in everyday situations 08:10 Karaoke as practice: A safe, joyful way to build the performing superpower 09:54 Meet Ada Tseng, karaoke journalist and creator of the LA Times Karaoke Generator 14:44 Karaoke as culture, connection, and self-care 18:08 From stage fright to spotlight: Building confidence through song 24:44 What makes a great karaoke song and Lisa and Ada’s top tips 27:42 Letting go of perfection and having fun with it 33:30 Are women held to a higher standard? Making karaoke a judgment-free zone 38:57 The Gravitas team’s favorite karaoke songs 43:53 Final thoughts and Ada’s post-marathon karaoke celebration 46:23 Outro 46:41 Disclaimer

Connect With Us So You Never Miss a Moment of Inspiration:

⁠Visit Our Website⁠

⁠Get Our Best-Selling Book in Paperback⁠

⁠Follow Gravitas on Instagram⁠

⁠Follow Lisa on Instagram⁠

⁠Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn⁠

⁠Suggestions or Questions? Email Us.

E-Mail: inconfidence@gravitasnewyork.com

In this special episode of In Confidence, Lisa shares the story of a tiny plaque on the Brooklyn Bridge that sparked a big realization: women have built the world we live in, but their names are often left out of the story. From Wi-Fi to Monopoly, dishwashers to life rafts, Lisa highlights five surprising everyday inventions created by women and why it’s time we give them the credit they’ve always deserved.

This episode is both a celebration and a reclamation. It’s a reminder that behind every great invention, there’s often a woman whose brilliance made it possible—even if she didn’t get the spotlight. Tune in and be inspired to not just honor the past, but to build boldly into the future.

00:00 Intro

01:40 The Inspiration Behind This Episode

02:10 Five Inventions That Were Created by Women

05:28 Even More Inventions You Didn’t Know Were Invented by Women

06:34 Final Thoughts

06:44 Outro

07:09 Disclaimer

Connect With Us So You Never Miss a Moment of Inspiration:

⁠Visit Our Website⁠

⁠Get Our Best-Selling Book in Paperback⁠

⁠Follow Gravitas on Instagram⁠

⁠Follow Lisa on Instagram⁠

⁠Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn⁠

⁠Suggestions or Questions? Email Us.

E-Mail: inconfidence@gravitasnewyork.com

From performing in Rent and Aida to directing The Notebook and The Wiz, Schele Williams has built a legacy not only through what she’s accomplished, but through how she leads.

In this episode of In Confidence, Lisa and Schele sit down to discuss how the discipline, heart, and conviction she’s carried through her career have shaped the way she shows up.

What You’ll Learn:

Why representation behind the table can change the entire story.

How to shift from scarcity to a purpose-driven mindset.

What it takes to overcome stage fright and own your voice.

Why your peers aren’t your competition, but your inspiration.

Whether you're navigating your own creative path or redefining leadership in any industry, this conversation is a masterclass that will leave you thinking bigger and rooting harder for the people around you.

00:00 Intro

00:43 Meet Schele Williams

01:44 Getting Started in the Arts

07:41Love for the Arts

09:21 Transitioning from Performer to Director

10:45 Her First Directing Opportunity

13:40 Comparing the Roles of Performer and Director

18:33 How Performing Shaped Her Directing Style

21:47 What She Had to Learn to Become a Great Director

23:08 Building Her Leadership Style

25:17 Handling Rejection and Staying Confident

28:28 The Power of Community and Peer Support

32:11 Creating Work You’re Proud Of (Even If Others Don’t Get It)

35:47 Learning to Lead Diverse Teams

38:50 Advice for Overcoming Stage Fright

41:46 Applying Storytelling Across Roles

43:49 How Broadway Is Evolving

50:22 Theater’s Role in Expanding Perspective

53:09 Breaking Barriers in Broadway Leadership

54:54 Writing Your Legacy for the Next Generation

57:20 What’s Ahead and Her Advice for Confidence

58:42 Outro

Connect With Us So You Never Miss a Moment of Inspiration:

⁠Visit Our Website⁠

⁠Get Our Best-Selling Book in Paperback⁠

⁠Follow Gravitas on Instagram⁠

⁠Follow Lisa on Instagram⁠

⁠Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn⁠

⁠Suggestions or Questions? Email Us.

E-Mail: inconfidence@gravitasnewyork.com