Have you ever wondered what it takes to command the room during a high-stakes business meeting? Jennifer Bridwell, a trailblazer in the banking world, joins us to reveal how she navigates the intricate dance of communication in the face of demanding leadership roles. With Jennifer’s stories of transformation through public speaking, this episode is a treasure trove for anyone looking to bolster their own communication skills, whether in the boardroom or at the dinner table.
In the constantly evolving world of banking, Jennifer and I dissect the changing roles of women and the power of a well-crafted message. The art of persuasion and clarity in conveying complex banking concepts becomes our playground as we share anecdotes and strategies that will sharpen your ability to engage any audience. We then pivot to the heart of leadership, discussing how empowerment and mentorship can foster not only professional growth but also personal fulfillment.
Wrapping up, we explore the balance of giving back to the community while juggling a demanding career and family life, a challenge many of us grapple with. And for a bit of levity, I recount an unexpected Family Feud escapade, proving that public speaking skills can come in handy in the most unexpected moments. This episode is more than just a conversation; it’s a call to action to use your voice to make an impact and navigate your own journey toward excellence.
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Jennifer’s Email – [email protected]
Transcript
Tim Newman:
Welcome to Speaking with Confidence, a podcast that’s here to help you unlock the power of effective public speaking. I’m your host, tim Newman, and I’m excited to take you on a journey to become a better public speaker. If you are like most people, just the thought of speaking in front of a crowd or talking during an important meeting can trigger all kinds of anxiety. Trust me, I know what that’s like. I gave my first speech as a senior in college. I was so nervous that as soon as I got to the front of the room and opened my mouth to speak, I threw up. I have learned a lot since then and I’m here to help others overcome their fear of messing up what were sounding stupid. Each episode of the podcast will discuss the art and science of public speaking and cover techniques to enhance your communication skills. The podcast is designed to provide something valuable for everyone. By including interviews with experts and real life success stories, this episode’s guest will give you actionable steps that you can start implementing right away. Her personal experiences and honest answers to hard questions will help you gain confidence as a speaker. There’s no doubt that one of the reasons why the Chamber of Commerce she belongs to is the number one chamber in the nation. Keep in mind that public speaking doesn’t have to be daunting. It can be an exciting and enjoyable journey. So, whether you’re tuning in from your car, your office or your living room, get ready to embark on a transformative journey with the Speaking with Confidence podcast. Together, we’ll unlock your full potential as a public speaker. Subscribe, like and download our podcast today. Visit our website and sign up for special updates regarding the June 1st launch of the Formula for Public Speaking, and join our growing community of confident speakers. And always remember that your voice has the power to change the world. Alright, so let’s go ahead and welcome in our guests for this week, jennifer Bridwell.
Tim Newman:
Jennifer has been in the banking industry for 28 years. She graduated from Georgia State University and began working for Brand Bank, where she stayed for 23 years and, as we all know, banks get bought out all the time. It then became Renesant Bank, so she stayed with Renesant Bank for another three years. She then accepted a position as the Gwinnett Market President and Relationship Manager with Georgia Banking Company in May of 2021. Jennifer’s focus in banking has been in commercial real estate, community banking and offering first-in-class customer service. Jennifer enjoys focusing on the total client relationship, from loans to deposits to treasury. She excels in customer service skills as well as relationship building and mentoring others within the organization. Jennifer’s banking experience includes financing and managing a loan portfolio of over $200 million and over $50 million in deposit accounts. Her community service experience includes holding active roles with a home of hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, as chairman for the board of directors, gwinnett Tech Foundation board of trustees and Gwinnett Medical Center Foundation’s board of directors. Jennifer also serves as Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce Ambassador.
Tim Newman:
She’s been married for 27 years to her husband, tommy, has two wonderful daughters and I don’t know how she does all this other stuff, but she enjoys traveling to the beach, thrift in antique shopping, decorating with friends and family and giving back to her community. Jennifer, I don’t know how you had time to do all the extra things in your life that you do, but somebody told me one time if you want something done, give it to somebody who’s busy, and that’s obviously you. From what I know of you, you do everything, always at the highest level. So welcome and thanks for spending some time with us.
Jennifer Bridwell:
Thank you, and thank you for those very kind words.
Tim Newman:
It comes easy with people like you, who really prioritize community and people and giving back and always putting other people first. Some of those things, always they come through and we need more people in the world like you. So again, thank you.
Jennifer Bridwell:
Thank you, thank you.
Tim Newman:
I noticed a couple of weeks ago you were part of a panel at George Gwinnett College School of Business in the Business Really Speaker Series. Tell me what that was about.
Jennifer Bridwell:
So GCC George Gwinnett College. They are located just down the street from one of my company’s branches and that is a local college that we partner with and do a lot of volunteering with. They have a speaker series several times a year for their business departments and this one was titled Empowering the Business Women Up Tomorrow. So it was my cells and three other ladies that are professionals in Metro Atlanta and we were there to what I thought was going to be a room just full of females, but it actually was mixed company and it was really anyone that just wanted to hear sort of our stories and what we went through to get where we are in our professions and things they could expect. These things have changed a lot in the last many years, even the last few years, and so you’ve got females and roles that maybe they would not have been in those roles in years past. So we were just there to share our experiences with the students and then ask and answer any questions.
Tim Newman:
It’s great, number one, that you’re doing these things, but it’s also good to not just have females in that room so that males can see not only the struggles that have happened in the past but understand that those things that we may have perceived they’re going away and that we really need to get to the point where we’re hiring the best people to do the jobs. I mean because I come from a military background and a sport background and for me, I want the best people. I don’t care who it is, I want the best people who can get the job done and move us and the team forward. And again, I don’t care who it is, but male, female, sexual orientation, gender race, I really don’t care and I think we’re making great strides to getting there. We’re not quite there yet, but I think we’re making great strides to get there.
Jennifer Bridwell:
The last question that we were asked on that panel each of us was if you have one last thing that you would like to leave with the audience, what would that be? Something that they could take away and take with them in their careers after they graduate from college? And myself and one other individual. We both said you know, you’re in college, you feel right now the most important thing is to study, to get the grades, to be at the top of your class.
Jennifer Bridwell:
But the moment you get that degree and you are going into the real world and you’re looking for your career, what you need to be able to do is talk to people. You need to make be able to make connections. You need to learn how to network. It’s great to be the smartest person in the room, but if you don’t know how to talk to somebody, it’s not going to do much for you. And, just like what you said, you want to hire the best person for the role and I feel like we can teach people to do almost anything, but you have to have that ability to talk, to get in front of people, to meet people, to make those connections. That is what’s so important, because a lot of times, it’s who you know, your circle of influence, referrals, so that ability to be able to connect with others is very, very important.
Tim Newman:
You know that’s a really good point that you brought up. You know, I just started reading a book by John Maxwell. It’s called the 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication, and something I found out since I started reading that is I don’t know if you know this, but where it’s basically housed is right in Duluth. It’s not too far from.
Jennifer Bridwell:
It is. It’s literally. I can see it from my. If I had a window right here, it would be right here, out my window. I can literally see it.
Tim Newman:
That flew me away when I went. I mean, I’ve read his stuff before, but I just found that out. But anyway, number seven is the law of connecting, and communicators need to know it’s about others or the audience, and you do that very, very well. Have you always had that ability to do that, or is that something that’s learned and you’ve gotten better at?
Jennifer Bridwell:
I think it’s something that’s learned. I think the importance of that is learned. I think you don’t maybe realize how important it is when you first start out in your career, but it is extremely important to know who your audience is, who you’re talking to. You know it doesn’t hurt to do a little research before you go and meet with someone. You want to talk to people so that they understand you. You don’t ever want to be offensive. Sometimes, if you are talking with people from different cultures, you want to make sure that you are coming across appropriately, but just being able to have some empathy and put yourself in their shoes and sort of be on the same level. You never want to be too far below someone or too far above someone. You want to be on the same level. So it’s very important to connect with your audience and to know who it is that you’re talking to.
Tim Newman:
Yeah, and I think you nailed it there If the audience doesn’t, can’t connect with you or see some connection there, they’re going to tune out, and they’re going to tune out really, really quick.
Jennifer Bridwell:
That’s right.
Tim Newman:
And you you know people make judgments on us within the first three to seven seconds of of Actually seeing us, or we’re hearing in the words that are coming out of our mouth. So you don’t have a whole lot of time to really make that connection and then you have to be able to keep that connection. You know, throughout the the course of of the interaction or the relationship, yeah, that’s right.
Jennifer Bridwell:
It’s funny being a female in the banking industry. So you you may have in the past a lot of females that would be tellers or in customer service, but maybe not so many up in management. So I think that that that is shifting and I think you’re seeing more females in banking management roles. But it is. It is fun sometimes when you’re talking to to someone and they’re not expecting you to maybe know as much as you do About a topic and then you can blow them away with with all of your knowledge.
Tim Newman:
Well, hey, again, that comes also back to our expectations of people and and maybe how we need to start really not having and I know it’s human nature to a certain extent having those preconceived notions or expectations. But communication is a two-way street. Whether you’re the speaker or the, you know the listener. So to say to being open that, that the person that we’re interacting with with is the expert, and we do need to expect them to be the expert and hear what they’ve got to say. Your role in banking is commercial real estate and so you’re dealing with, you know, a number of different constituents throughout throughout your, your day and your in your job, but a lot of these people are are really at the, at the higher end of the of the food chain. Let’s say you know the CEOs, your heart, the CFOs, coos, how, how, how has your communication style Evolved to be able to interact with, with those executive level constituents?
Jennifer Bridwell:
so in my previous life I was strictly commercial real estate, but here at GBC I am in the community banking department, so I do commercial real estate and I also do commercial loans for those in the metro Atlanta area and all throughout Georgia.
Jennifer Bridwell:
I think what I have learned most as I have gone along and continued to do what I do Is sort of what we touched on a little bit earlier, and that’s make sure I know who it is I’m going to be speaking, to know a little bit about them. Whether it’s the real estate investor that I’m speaking to, whether it’s a CEO of a company I’m speaking to, whether it’s somebody at the Chamber of Commerce, you always want to make sure that you know what the meeting is about. So you are well first, you’re prepared, and that you know what it is you’re going to be talking about. I’ve always felt that if you know your topic and if you know it well, you can talk to anybody you know, from the janitor to the CEO. It doesn’t matter who it is. As long as you are confident in what you’re speaking about, you’ll, you’ll be effective.
Tim Newman:
Exactly. I think research, or at least getting some background on anything that we do is, is Critically important to our success. Yeah, here doesn’t matter if you’re talking to somebody or taking a class or we’re doing, you know, applying for a job, going to an interview with whatever that that may be. If we don’t have some background and some research of what we’re actually getting into it’s, it’s not going to turn out Well, we’re not gonna be successful.
Jennifer Bridwell:
I think it’s also important to never assume that that’s no matter how far at the top the person is, you’re talking to, that they know what you’re talking about, they understand. There are so many times that you may use a term or Speak of something and they may not know what you’re what you’re talking about. So it’s okay to quote, dumb it down a little if you feel that you’re losing your audience. If they don’t understand, it’s okay to maybe explain, and then if you’re, whoever you’re speaking to is already Knowledgeable on that topic, they can let you know. You know, yes, I’m familiar with that, but just never assume that Somebody understands what you’re talking about, because you’re gonna lose them very quickly if they don’t right and and again.
Tim Newman:
You know it’s. It goes back to you know what I tell students. A lot is I’m okay with being the dumbest person in the room too. Absolutely if, if I, if somebody is saying something that I don’t understand, then I’m gonna ask a question, because it doesn’t do anybody any good to allow that person to continue talking. Or we’re, we’re moving forward with something. If you, if we can’t understand where we are right now, because you never know when you’re gonna have to to be able to put two concepts together, we’re.
Tim Newman:
I’m sorry this point for that point.
Jennifer Bridwell:
That’s right. For me it’s all about clarification, the running kind of the joke. There’s a couple of us here about organization and Any. Any meeting we’re in. Everyone knows that there’s gonna be a few people that are gonna ask a question and I’m always gonna be one of them and Most likely other people have the same question. But I would rather get full clarification Then walk away with questions.
Tim Newman:
So right absolutely doesn’t hurt to ask. Yeah, it really doesn’t, and when we talked about you you do in this interview, you know, for the podcast, you initially said that you weren’t sure that you were the right person for it.
Tim Newman:
I still think that well, but let’s see, I think you’re, you’re, you’re really the perfect person because, yes, you, you, you are a very good public speaker for things that you are passionate about. Right is what you said. But if there’s, if there’s something that you have to talk about that you’re not as passionate about or not so sure about, you still have the the same anxieties and those same fears and those same that, that same feeling that everybody else gets, and you have to still have to overcome them and still and you do still a Wonderful do so, do a wonderful job in doing that. So so we’re gonna kind of get into, into some of those things that you do, such as you know the background, research, which is is probably right after 1a1b, and how we go about doing this to be able to help people, whether it’s in your professional position or your roles in the community, or volunteering, or some of the techniques that you use to understand your clients or the people, organizations that you’re trying to help.
Jennifer Bridwell:
So I would say Google is always your friend, or whatever Part of the the internet you want to use. Always do research clearly on who your audience is. Make sure you understand fully what the topic is and, if you got to do a little research on that, just make sure that you are 100 percent knowledgeable and what it is you’re talking about you know. You can always fake it till you make it, but there becomes a point where you can’t talk about a subject that you don’t know about. Right, you might be able to say a little bit, but at some point someone’s gonna ask you a question and you’re not gonna know. So Research is extremely important.
Jennifer Bridwell:
After that, I would say getting into the presentation For me. I’m very old school, I still like my pen and paper and I take notes. I like to have my notes prepare, rehearse and then, once I think I’ve finalized it, I usually do a run-through with a friend or a co-worker, and that way I do have someone in front of me and I’m saying the words out loud and I can sort of see how the timing goes.
Tim Newman:
I know people my students are tired of hearing me bring up this same example over and over again. But I bring up Steve Jobs a lot because he’s somebody that I look at, who is or was probably one of the best public speakers from a business perspective, we’ve ever had in history. When he was giving his keynotes for Apple, he would be practicing these things for months. He would practice sections at a time and have people critique them and tweak them so that when he was actually up on stage giving it live, it seemed seamless that he could just run through it with all of his pauses and his mannerisms. Because of that practice over and over again and it’s not easy and I understand that, that this does take work but the only way that we get better at doing these things is, like you said, practice and running through it and having that as a guide.
Jennifer Bridwell:
That’s true, and the only way to really get better at it is to force yourself to do it. I still don’t enjoy it when I know that I have to give a presentation. I still get nervous, I do worry and I get anxious, and you may not see that on the outside, but I’m definitely feeling that on the inside. So I think that the more you can force yourself to put yourself into those uncomfortable positions, the more uncomfortable or the less uncomfortable it becomes, and that’s what I’ve tried to make myself do. I will. I’ve made it a practice that anytime I’m attending a conference, if they have a Q and A, I will. For two reasons I will always get up, go to the microphone, ask a question, and one it is to try to help me with this, but two, it’s to get my name out and my company name out in front of a room full of potential prospects.
Tim Newman:
I mentioned some of these things in the introduction in your bio, but I’m always seeing and hearing about you doing amazing things in the community. So what motivates or drives you to be so involved?
Jennifer Bridwell:
I am just the older I get, the more passionate I am about giving back to others and helping others For me in my role. I started in the banking industry about six months before I graduated from college at Georgia State and did not intend on being a banker. I was just doing it part-time till I was out of school and I was a part-time teller. And I have moved up. I’ve been given lots of opportunities and if people had not given me a chance and given me those opportunities, I would not be where I am today.
Jennifer Bridwell:
So I try to look at others, no matter where they are in their life, and motivate them, give them opportunities or just give them some kind words. Encouragement goes a long way and whether it’s a student equinette tech that has won a scholarship and that $1,000 scholarship which you would not think would be very much for a college student for all the tuition and the books, to hear how that has saved them from not having to drop the semester is amazing. Or to talk with one of the young moms at the Home of Hope when at Children’s Shelter, or to talk to one of the kids there, and they are so happy to have their own bed and to have their own bathroom in the room with their mom. It’s things like that that you take for granted and you just don’t realize how good you may have it. So the more we can help others and encourage them, the more they learn and they grow up and they break the cycle of whatever it is they were going through and it just helps them to be better.
Tim Newman:
And then hopefully they pay that forward as well, absolutely. And then that circle just continues to grow and grow.
Jennifer Bridwell:
Right, because that’s sort of what I feel I’m doing. I am doing for others what’s been done for me in the past, and so hopefully, if someone’s given an opportunity, they’ll do the same for someone else in the future.
Tim Newman:
Right, and let’s hope that this happens. And the one thing, though, is you say you were given these opportunities. You were given the opportunity because you actually earned it and people saw something in you for you to be able to take the next step right. I mean again, if people aren’t given opportunities, if they’re not doing the work.
Jennifer Bridwell:
Right no.
Tim Newman:
I agree with that.
Jennifer Bridwell:
I have always felt that if I have to work, of course, who doesn’t want to stay home with their kids and raise a family? But if you are able to do that and if you do have to work, then I’m gonna do as much and the most I can. I’m not just gonna be mediocre and then go home and I spent my day away from the house all day and don’t have that much to show for it If for me it’s zero to 10. I’m gonna, if I have to do it.
Jennifer Bridwell:
I’m gonna be at a 10.
Tim Newman:
I’m very driven You’re doing well, right. Did you have a different process that you go through when you give a presentation, whether it’s for like a team meeting, like your team inside the bank for preparing that meeting, preparing for that meeting as opposed to preparing to stand up on stage and talk to people. Do you have a different process in terms of your preparation?
Jennifer Bridwell:
Maybe a little, if it is something I’m doing for my team internally at the bank. I am gonna start off by preparing an agenda. It keeps I’m a big talker, so it keeps me on track. Otherwise I will get off on 15 different tangents and we’ll be talking about something that I had no intention on discussing. So I start with my agenda, then I break each one down and do some bullet points.
Jennifer Bridwell:
I try to keep it short and sweet, bullet point style, not rehearsed. It’s much more informal. That way you know everybody’s busy. We come together and just go through the bullet points and we’re done. But if it’s for a room of more people or if it’s that I’m introducing someone at a gala or whatever it may be, that’s where I wanna make sure again that I know exactly what it is that I’m speaking on, who I’m speaking to. Is there an ask involved? Is there a fundraiser involved? Do I, you know, want to try to make it light and fun or is it a real, formal, serious discussion? So really need to know what the purpose is and then I go from there.
Tim Newman:
So let’s talk about that for a second. If there’s an ask involved, and when I talk to students and young professionals, I say what’s the call to action? You know, what do you want them to do, whatever that may be, whether it’s purchase something, you know, go to a website, whatever it is that you want them to do. What’s that call to action? How do you prepare that and deliver that so that it doesn’t seem like it’s a forced okay? So we’ve been talking about all this stuff and now I want you to go do this, because it has to. You know, you almost have to make it seem like it’s their idea where that call to action to really truly be successful.
Jennifer Bridwell:
You do, and for most of the organizations that I work with, they’re nonprofits. So if there is a gala or if there’s an event that someone is coming to nine times out of 10, they are already in support of that organization because they know why they’re there. Either they have to buy a table to be there or they know where the profits are going. It’s gonna support a children’s shelter or a college or a hospital. But what we normally do is we will, at some point during the program or the weekend, whatever the event might be, we will have a video. We do have. We have an annual video that we put together for different organizations and it is there to explain to people that may not be familiar with whichever one it is, and it talks about the organization and where their donations go and the people that it supports.
Jennifer Bridwell:
So usually the videos are. They’re wonderful. You walk away knowing fully who you are supporting, but they also get you in the heart, because if you can watch some of these videos and then just walk away and not wanna help somebody, you’re pretty tough. So we just make sure that our audience is well-versed on who we are, and then we always make sure that we’ve got literature people want it. Always have envelopes that people wanna give right. Then you also have pledge cards. Sometimes people want to give but they don’t have the ability to do it right that minute. So they can do pledge cards and then we can follow up.
Tim Newman:
You know the ask is that something that, over the course of your career, has been easy to do because some people say, I, when he gets to that point, I hate having to do that, it’s like the worst part or is that something that has really come natural? How have you managed to be so successful with that?
Jennifer Bridwell:
So it has been something that I have learned along the way. I joke and I say I don’t wanna be viewed as the grim reaper. Here comes Jennifer. She’s gonna ask for a donation for one of the many charities that she’s involved with. But I do it in a way where I mean people know that I have said if I’m going to get involved with a nonprofit I have to be passionate about it. I’m made of Al not to join or a board or help anyone that is just to check a box. I have to be passionate about what it is that they do.
Jennifer Bridwell:
And when you are, it’s very easy to talk about. Is it somebody that if I had some extra money that I would give to? Then I’m okay asking others. But people let me well enough to know that I’m not going to be involved with organizations that I shouldn’t feel good about asking others to support. The biggest thing is because I have a certain network of friends, customers, prospects, coworkers. What I don’t wanna do is double dip. I don’t want to ask the same person for multiple things. So when I’m talking to somebody about when at Tech Foundation, I try to determine oh, you know what that customer they are in the tech. It’s a technical industry. They’re in manufacturing or they’re in IT, or they went to a technical school. If I can find a common denominator where they would have a like interest, then that’s who I try to pair up when I’m talking about these organizations.
Tim Newman:
And so when we’re talking to the young professionals, for me it’s a no-brainer to start getting involved in community organizations and charitable giving, but you know a lot of young professionals don’t want that. They don’t have any money, but they have time. How would you encourage somebody to get involved and find things that they’re passionate about, to be able to get involved where they don’t necessarily have to give money but they can give their time, and that type of service will, again, not only help them professionally but spiritually, as well as giving them another opportunity to go out and talk to people on a different type of level.
Jennifer Bridwell:
So I would say I think I told you this couple of weeks ago but if I knew as my younger self what I know now, I would have gotten involved at a much younger age. I didn’t for one reason or another. I was a mom, I was raising my girls and so it gave me the time and the ability to be there at their events and things they were doing. But as they got out of school and went to college and started doing their own thing, that’s when I learned that I need to get involved. The best and easiest and quickest way for an individual and young adult is to go to their local chamber of commerce. For us it’s the Guineat Chamber of Commerce. We were voted the number one chamber of commerce in the nation, which is crazy, I know. It’s just amazing the connections that you make when you are part of an organization such as the Guineat Chamber. You want to do business with other members and they also have a lot of different events and a lot of different areas of the chamber that will reach out to the younger adults. First one is GYP it’s the Guineat Young Professionals, and I believe you have to be under 35 to be part of that. But they have their own events and get-togethers, and so it’s a great way for young adults to not only meet each other, but to make business connections as well.
Jennifer Bridwell:
So I would definitely say start with your chamber of commerce. Also, check with your company. I know here at GBC we give every employee two hours a month of paid time off to go volunteer Whatever it is you want to do, and two hours may not seem like a lot, but it’s paid and we’re not asking you to go do this on the weekend. We will pay you and let you have two hours off. All we ask is that you turn your time in and tell us what you did. We like to show that we are given back to our community, and all of our employees are as well. So always check with your companies and then also maybe your churches.
Tim Newman:
That’s really forward thinking for the bank If more companies were to do that and maybe more companies are and we just don’t know about it. But again, like I said, check with them because if they do have that benefit, that’s a real easy way to start doing those things in a non-threatening, easy transition way to start doing it. Here’s another interesting tidbit for you you and your family appeared on the family feud a few years ago.
Jennifer Bridwell:
We did.
Tim Newman:
You did, you did, did we win? Oh, you won something. Tell us about that whole experience.
Jennifer Bridwell:
So it feels like it was a lifetime ago. It was right after COVID. It was maybe August of 2020. Maybe it was.
Tim Newman:
June.
Jennifer Bridwell:
I can’t remember. There was a commercial on TV and they said that, hey, family feuds moving back to Atlanta and we are taking applications. Normally, this is something you would really think out. You would ask family members about it. I don’t know what came over me. I had my laptop right there with me. So I just go online and I’m filling out this application, just like I’d done it a million times and did not think about it. And about three, four days later I get a phone call and I had told a couple of friends. They thought I was crazy and I thought I was getting pranked. I didn’t know who this was calling me, but I knew it was not family feud. So well, it was family feud and, long story short, we went through maybe three calls video calls, zoom calls. The first was them talking to me, then the next was us having maybe a phone conversation with the family, and then the third was having a Zoom call where they could see everybody. So we made it that far, which is unbelievable that we did, and then we all had to go have COVID tests done. We had so many different things. So they call us and say we would like for your family to come and be on the show.
Jennifer Bridwell:
Now, when you go on the show you don’t know if you are picked or not. They do a handful of maybe, let’s say, 10 or 12 families and they only do. I believe it’s four shows a day. So you have to go prepared to be on the show. They ask you to take three outfits in case colors, something doesn’t show up, get out of the lights and then, once you’re there, everybody goes on stage against one of the other families and you do a mock game, not when, steve Harvey, they’ve got a warm up guy and what that is is to hear how you sound on the microphones, are you speaking loud enough and how you look under the lights. So they know the families that they’ve decided they want to try to get on stage. But it all boils down to who wins, who loses. So you do not get a warning before you go on. You literally find out 10 minutes before the show starts the next show. So it was the last episode.
Jennifer Bridwell:
I think we had been there maybe eight hours I mean, it’s a long day and we had watched all the other shows and one of the directors came up next to me because we were the audience. So this is still COVID. They were not letting anyone that had not been tested for COVID even come into the building. So the other families, we were the audience and she crouched next to my chair and she was like Team Bridwell, you’re next. And at that point I’m just like are you? I just want to go home, I just want to go home. So we did not have much time to prepare. So we get up there on stage.
Jennifer Bridwell:
It is everybody says how did you not know that answer? How did you not know? Get up there on stage and let me see you do it. It’s very different under the lights. It’s very different with Steve Harvey. The biggest thing that’s the difference is when you go and you hit the buzzer. The buzzer is literally the size of a dime. It’s on like a little pedestal thing, but it’s like it’s tiny, so it’s very easy for your hand to slip off or and so we were very good winning.
Jennifer Bridwell:
I think my mom won her question. My thing was I knew I was going to have customers watching that show and I was really nervous. I was nervous that there was going to be a really raunchy answer and I didn’t want to say it. So I was. So I get it wrong. But then, on the flip side, I think I was more nervous that it could have been a really nasty answer and of course, I yell it out because I would be the first one to say that. And it’s not up. There is. So I look like a perv.
Jennifer Bridwell:
You know, up here on Bailey Feud Nationwide, we ended up losing. It came down to one last question and I’m not going to say I blame my mom on that, but I will say my mom was adamant, she had the right answer and let me just say the answer was not squirrel and that is what we said. So, needless to say, we did not win and I hate that, but it has been replayed I probably 20 times. I think it was on in October, november of 2020, and the number of reruns that we have been on and everybody loves to tell me and I’ll say well, did we win? That time? I was like no, but so it was fun, it was a wonderful experience. It’s a great icebreaker thing for me to talk about, but I think it would have been a much better experience. How do we win?
Tim Newman:
Yeah, so do you get phone calls and emails when there’s reruns and people see it?
Jennifer Bridwell:
Oh yes, on Facebook text messages hey, jen, I see your family on Family Feud, that’s right. And then my mom. I mean it took my mom like maybe five or six reruns to finally stop telling everybody on Facebook. Hey, everybody, we’re gonna be on Family Feud again and mom, don’t tell anybody, we did not win. Stop telling people.
Tim Newman:
Oh, man yeah it was fun.
Jennifer Bridwell:
I would highly recommend the experience, but hope you win.
Tim Newman:
So when you told the family that you all were picked, did you get any pushback? Or were the people saying I’m signing up for it right away, put me on the team 100%.
Jennifer Bridwell:
My husband said why do you have to use the name Brydwell? Why couldn’t you use your maiden name? He did not want any part of it. My dad he was like nope, they’ll have to bleep out every other word. I say so I’m not doing it. Haley, my youngest daughter, was going to do it and then she chickened out, so it ended up being me, my oldest daughter, macy, my mom, my brother and my sister-in-law. So it ended up being good, but it was fine. Like I said, great experience. But yeah, we had some pushback, but of course, you know, it’s those people that gave us pushback that thinks they could have won the game for us.
Tim Newman:
All right, of course, right, of course, yes, of course I understand that. Yeah, so you know I’ve got a little. I’ve never been on a game show but I’ve got a former student that was on Price’s Right who won everything like one. You know, the big wheel one, the money there, wow Won her showcase showdown and the other one because of what she-. Oh my gosh Won it all. I’ve got a former student who won the bachelor. What? Yes, yeah.
Jennifer Bridwell:
Haley did not know this.
Tim Newman:
I’ve got. You know, we spend a lot of time here in Hilton Head and we had our lifeguard and I’m pointing to the left, like everybody can see me pointing over here right so where we set up on the beach our lifeguard. He was on Big Brother and was like one of the final twos on Big Brother. Really, I don’t know how I’m involved with all these people, but yeah, you just make people just ooze their celebrity status.
Jennifer Bridwell:
It’s just from being in your classes.
Tim Newman:
As long as it’s not me, we’re good so or apparently me not anymore.
Jennifer Bridwell:
I did say we are gonna redeem ourselves in 10 years. You have to wait 10 years to reapply.
Tim Newman:
Oh, okay.
Jennifer Bridwell:
And I might be on a walker, who knows, but I am gonna be out there and we are going to redeem ourselves.
Tim Newman:
Bobby Watson, that’s for sure. So what’s been your most embarrassing moment when presenting, and how did you recover and move on?
Jennifer Bridwell:
So most embarrassing for me. I don’t know how many other people realized what was going on, but I’ll never forget it. It was 2013 and I was giving a loan presentation. We had a room full of our loan committee members and then peers, other loan officers, and when you are in the banking industry and you’ve got loan requests that are above a certain dollar amount, then you have to present it to a committee and get the approval. For whatever reason. I just got very, very nervous and I could feel I mean I was starting to have a panic attack, full blind panic attack and no one around me could see, nobody was probably even paying attention to me, but I could barely talk In my mind. All I wanted to do was get out of that room.
Jennifer Bridwell:
And I remember saying so. I think I had started coughing or something and I said do you mind if I go get some water real quick this is in the middle of my presentation. Well, that was gonna be my escape for just a second to take a breath, oh. But my wonderful co-worker said, oh, I’ll go get you some. And I’m thinking, no, I need to get out. So I ended up not being able to leave because my wonderful co-worker went and got the water for me.
Jennifer Bridwell:
But taking that pause for just a minute kind of made me calm down. But I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was so real to me. That’s the thing about panic attacks If you’ve never had one, you cannot understand, and if you’ve never had one, you cannot be empathetic to people that have. But when you are having it, you feel like it’s written all over your face. You feel like it’s debilitating, paralyzing. You can’t breathe, you can’t walk, you can’t feel your arms. Everybody has different symptoms, but yeah, so it was extremely embarrassing for me. Luckily, no one realized what was going on, but I felt like everybody knew. So it was pretty horrible, but I got through it and I’m talking about it today.
Tim Newman:
I think a lot of times you know we do this to ourselves because we don’t want to mess up in all these other things. And the people that we’re talking to, they just want to hear what’s going on, they want you to tell them, and they don’t understand or even know when we’ve made a mistake. It’s all the pressure that we put on ourselves. So a lot of times we just need to let that go and understand that these are just people, just like we are. They just want to hear what we have to say, right? So what was the presentation that you felt the best about after it was over?
Jennifer Bridwell:
I don’t know that there is one specific presentation. I would say any that I have been extremely prepared for that. I know the topic and that it’s been a little more personal instead of formal. I like interaction. I like to know that my audience has engaged with me and they’ve enjoyed it. If it’s a formal presentation where I’m just reading off a script, maybe that doesn’t feel so good, but when I get that audience feedback you get some smiles. People come up to you afterwards and tell you you did a great job. I think those are the ones that obviously you feel best about.
Tim Newman:
But what else do you look for in terms of audience engagement during the presentation?
Jennifer Bridwell:
People looking at you not on their phones not if you see everybody’s roots because they need to get their hair done, then you know they’re on their phones. But people looking at you as smiles great, a head nods great, really helpful. And it goes a long way. If people are tuning out, you see them looking around the room where they are on their phones. You feel like you’ve lost your audience.
Tim Newman:
When you feel that way, do you have any techniques to get them back, to draw their attention?
Jennifer Bridwell:
in. That’s tough because if you have prepared a presentation, it’s really hard to switch gears and go off topic or do something that you have not prepared for. It’s not part of the presentation to try to reel your audience back in. So I would say that is for the more experienced, really calm, casual speaker because you can go off topic and bring something up to try to bring your audience back and then get back on topic. For me I think I could do that more with my team or more socially. I think if I was at an economic outlook having to present or introduce the speaker, I think I’d have a hard time doing that.
Tim Newman:
Again, like I said, I think it kind of depends on the topic, depends on the audience and the familiarity of the speaker with the topic and the audience, because we may have real good familiarity with the topic but not real good familiarity with the audience. If we did, we could figure out a way whether it be humor, whether it be an example, whatever that case may be to get them back.
Jennifer Bridwell:
Now. I do have a co-worker who she doesn’t do it for this reason, but it’s very effective in making you remain engaged when she’s talking and when she gets up and speaks. She’s an excellent speaker and it’s always in front of a room full of people, but she’s extremely energetic and motivating and she will draw people in by using their names. So if you saw somebody that maybe was on their phone, or if you’re losing somebody, you could be talking and say, isn’t that right John, or isn’t that right Tim? And when you hear your name, you’re going to look up and start paying attention because you’re like, oh my gosh, what is she about to ask me?
Tim Newman:
Exactly, and hopefully you do say yes, and yes is the right answer.
Jennifer Bridwell:
Right right.
Tim Newman:
That’s how. So a lot of times, especially young professionals, they don’t like public speaking because they get nervous. The main reason is they say they don’t want to sound stupid, they don’t want to mess up. You tell the young professional if that’s what they were saying to you. What kind of advice or tips?
Jennifer Bridwell:
I would say for the young professional that wants to learn to speak effectively, but they’re nervous, they’re scared, they don’t want to sound stupid I would say you just have to put yourself in that uncomfortable position and do it. Maybe join a group, a public speaking group. They’ve got those all over the place because that’s the reason everyone’s there, so you know everyone’s in the same boat. Everyone’s nervous, everyone’s scared. I think the worst thing to do is avoid it and not do it at all, because at some point in your life you are going to have to get up and talk to somebody, whether it’s one. There’s a lot of people that can’t do that with just one on one. But if you force yourself to do it, like I said earlier, put yourself in those uncomfortable positions you’re just going to get better at it, you will become more comfortable, and it’s just repetition. You just have to do it.
Jennifer Bridwell:
There are no dumb questions. You’re not going to sound stupid. I think the only chance you have of not sounding or not presenting your best is if you’re not versed on the topic. Make sure you know your subject. But if you do, I don’t think there’s a way you can lose. I really don’t.
Tim Newman:
Is there somebody who’s a public speaker that has really impacted you and, if so, why would they do?
Jennifer Bridwell:
Um, somebody in mind, but as I think more about it, I think really the people that I envy are people that can get up on a whim. They don’t have anything prepared and they can just talk. And I hate to even say one person because there are so many people that I look up to. That is one quality that I wish I had. Other people think I might have it, but what’s funny is I don’t feel that I have that. I think we’re always learning. We’re always growing.
Jennifer Bridwell:
I still get very nervous on the inside. You might not see it, but for me there’s so many people out there that just get up, they can hold a microphone, walk back and forth on a stage, be in front of this huge open room and they just look so at home. I would love to get to the point where I am able to do that For me. I feel a lot better when I have a barrier, a desk or a podium between me and the audience. I would love to get and I don’t know why that is, it’s just always something that’s been a little bit of a comfort for me but I would love to get to the point where I can follow some of the people that I look up to that are good speakers and just grab a microphone, get on stage and look like that talk show host. That’s what they look like when they’re out there, just walking around and thinking how are you doing this? And you’re not nervous. Maybe they are, but they don’t look like it.
Tim Newman:
My guess is they probably are at some level, maybe at the very beginning, and once they get going into it it just becomes natural. But I also think I’m a lot like you. I’m much better when I’m prepared. I don’t know that I would like being able to just get up and talk and not be prepared to do it. Because of that always wanting to do a good job and making sure that I know what I’m talking about and that I’m conveying the messages I want to convey I may be able to do it off the cuff, but just don’t have that feeling that that’s really what’s best.
Jennifer Bridwell:
Right and see, I think you could if it was something about your college or the sports admin, maybe a major or something that you feel very passionate about. For me banking I don’t always have to prepare something. If I’m just talking about GBC or banking or giving back in the community, it’s because we kind of live and breathe that, so we know that it’s more of a topic that I’m not as used to that I have to really do that research on.
Tim Newman:
So if people wanted to find you or help with some of your community projects, where should they go?
Jennifer Bridwell:
They can find me on LinkedIn, jennifer Bridwell. They can email me at jbridwell, at georgiabankingcom. I would love to help you with getting better at public speaking, if that’s one thing that you might need, or any of your banking needs. I’d be a horrible banker if I didn’t say that.
Tim Newman:
Well, I’ll put those in the show notes for everybody, so that they have it. Jennifer, thank you so much for taking some time with us. I really appreciate it and we’ll talk to you soon.
Jennifer Bridwell:
Thank you, Dr Newman All right, bye-bye.
Tim Newman:
So let’s take a few minutes to reflect on our conversation with Jennifer. From the very beginning, I’m sure you heard Jennifer’s natural desire to help others and give back to the community. Whether she was sharing about the impact of business people serving as speakers participating in the Empowering the Business Women of Tomorrow series, where it was like to be a woman in position of leadership, her ability to make connections and to talk to others came through and serves as an example for others. Jennifer included her personal experiences, perspectives and passions, and she was candid enough to share about her uncertainties as well. Can’t thank her enough for taking the time to talk with us and for being so helpful to the speaking with the confidence community.
Tim Newman:
As promised at the beginning, each episode addresses the art and science of public speaking and covers techniques to enhance your communication skills. Jennifer talked about the need to understand your audience so that you can connect with them as a speaker. She also discussed the importance of talking with people, not talking at them, not talking above them or talking below them, but talking with them at the same level. In fact, her advice regarding the need to research the person or audience you are talking to before developing the content you will deliver is vital. The details she outlined for performing online research, to taking pen and paper notes and practicing before a friend or coworker can be applied to any situation this audience may face.
Tim Newman:
One of my favorite things from the conversation with Jennifer was hearing her talk about the early part of her career and the gratitude she had for those that gave her a chance. Her sincere commitment to providing others opportunities to improve upon their circumstances is inspiring. Her personal projects and passions emphasize the fact that there are many mentors, individuals and organizations that are out there that provide support for people at various stages in their own journey. At the same time, we agreed on the importance of not glossing over the role that each person has in earning awards or the assistance of others. I hope her tips and recommendations, such as reaching out to the local Chamber of Commerce, is one that can help members in this listening audience as well.
Tim Newman:
Working with other young professionals drives me with a similar sense of purpose, and I strongly encourage others to develop a mentorship relationship with someone they admire or trust. We can all use a coach or sounding board as we transition through life. Please make sure you visit the Speaking with Confidence website and join our growing community. Sign up for special updates regarding the June 1st launch of the Formie for Public Speaking. Also, be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss any episodes. You can download, like and share the podcast with friends. Always remember your voice has the power to change the world. We’ll talk to you next time, take care.