We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Miranda Barrett a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Miranda, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job?

At the insanely young age of 19, I began working for the White House Travel Office, first as an intern, then as a full-time staff member traveling with the Clinton Administration. I didn’t have the most glamorous job – I was responsible for the logistics of moving around the White House Press Corps, which included things like organizing luggage delivery, making sure buses showed up on time, and setting up workspaces around the world.

It was an exhausting work environment for reporters, many of whom had been covering U.S. Presidents for decades and were incredibly smart and accomplished. The days were very long, often with start times at 5am, multiple flights in a day, and checking into the next hotel at midnight. And keep in mind, that many of these folks had to go on live television and or file news stories, with total accuracy. They were (and continue to be) hard-working professionals in a pressure-cooker environment.

It was in this space that I learned how much I love supporting people in high-profile, high-stakes jobs, and how much of an impact the little things can make. I first noticed this when I started traveling on the presidential campaign. As the pressure and the hours only got worse, and I looked for ways to make our crowded plane more comfortable for everyone, since we were practically living on it as we crisscrossed the country. I kept a box stashed with office supplies. We upgraded the pillows and blankets. When I had time, I would dash into town and buy local treats from whatever city we happened to be in. It brought me joy to do these little things that helped them do their jobs.

Now that I’m much farther along in my career, I’ve been told that being nurturing and supportive can come across as “lowering my status” or being “un-executive” or (my favorite) anti-feminist. I think that is utter nonsense and instead, I choose to lean into it as a superpower. In my business working with public speakers, one of our core values is that we are “Radically Supportive” of clients. For example, if I’m supporting a speaker on-site, I will go to any lengths to make sure they feel calm and prepared. I’ve loaned out my jewelry, duct-taped a microphone cord up someone’s dress, filled water glasses, and swapped out batteries in clickers. They hire us to help them be successful, and I’m going to do whatever that takes, even if it’s not an “executive function.”

It brings me so much positive energy to help a speaker be their best, just as it did 25 years ago when I helped the White House reporters stayed fueled and comfortable. If that means I’m sacrificing my “executive presence” in the name of great client service…..I can live with that!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

When I started at the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), my role required me to spend a lot of time at events and meetings, which were generally filled with speakers and facilitators. Most of them were pretty great, but every once in a while we’d have someone who lost the room and wasted everyone’s time. And that would drive me NUTS! The idea that this room full of accomplished entrepreneurs wasn’t getting value was unforgivable in my eyes. Speakers with poorly designed presentations, unreadable slides, or unimpressive stage presence weren’t worthy to be on the stage.

With my business, Mind the Mic Consulting, we work with speakers who are committed to delivering an exceptional experience to their audiences. We help design presentations, and craft marketing materials to help them land more engagements. A great speaker toolkit includes a dynamic websites, videos, flyers, and other tools that show event decision makers that you take your stage time seriously. That’s where we really shine!

We also love to partner with organizations to design a compelling learning program filled with great speakers, opportunities for connection, and engaging activities. One of my favorite projects was designing a scavenger hunt for 150 team members in Manila, where we took over a hotel and had teams running around performing crazy challenges that reinforced the company’s new core values. Never a dull moment! We’re currently working with a software company on creating a memorable all-staff gathering, and a business conference on prepping their 70 speakers.

The #1 thing to know about us – we genuinely care about how much value an audience gets from their time in a session room. Whether that’s helping the speaker prepare or helping an organization choose the right person to be on that stage, we understand what makes for a great experience and will do whatever is necessary to make that happen.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

We’re still a pretty small business, and I’m responsible for bringing in new clients. Most of the time, I really enjoy reaching out to potential clients and having conversations about their speaking goals. I can really geek out on that, and it gives me great energy.
I didn’t fully appreciate how much of the business depended on my energy…until it was gone. In October of last year, Hurricane Helene nearly destroyed my North Carolina hometown, and severely impacted my family in the area. Several of our team members were also impacted and needed support. For about six weeks, I was pretty distracted with supporting relief efforts and making trips to the area, and feeling pretty depressed about the devastation. By the time I came back into myself and jumped back into the business, it was the holidays, and our new sales had fully stalled. By January, we had nearly run out of cash.
Fortunately, I was able to really dig in on marketing, go after every lead, and thanks to our great team, we came out of that slump. But it was an eye-opening lesson in the importance of protecting my energy and head space….and the consequences of what happens if I don’t!

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I think high morale comes from seeing constant progress and activity….which is great for a start-up on many levels! Our Monday project meetings are high energy because they always feel like we’re accomplishing things and moving through client work quickly. Tracking that progress, sharing client feedback, and celebrating wins is so important. I also make sure that every piece of good feedback I receive is shared with the team and celebrated. Often our clients send their thanks to me, but it’s the people behind the scenes that deserve that gratitude more.
I once worked for a CEO who told us “When things go right, you deserve the credit. When things go wrong, I take the blame.” That really resonated with me, and it’s what I strive for as we grow Mind the Mic Consulting.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mindthemic.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miranda-barrett-00214a4/