
Yolanda Harper, LCSW and Shamon Harper, MDiv
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Welcome to the Private Practice Startup, where we inspire you from startup to mastery. We chat with entrepreneurs, experts in the mental health and business arenas, and successful private practitioners to give you the tools needed to make your dream practice a reality. Visit theprivatepracticestartup.com for awesome resources, free trainings, and so much more. Here are your hosts, Dr. Kate Campbell and Katie Lemieux.
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Hey there, startup nation. Welcome back to another episode of the Private Practice Startup podcast. I am one of your hosts, Katie Lemieux.
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Hey, everybody, it's Dr. Kate Campbell. I'm so used to you like, introducing me. I'm like, wait a minute, I gotta introduce you.
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I like to sometimes. Surprise. And you know, whatever.
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We just had lunch, so now we.
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Have a little bit more energy.
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So you want to keep me on.
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My toes just a little bit. So last week's show we had Melody Wilding talking about the gremlin named imposter syndrome.
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Yes.
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So we had been wanting to do that for a while and actually Melody was the perfect guest to do that because this is a topic she's super passionate about and how perfect timing before.
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We'Re talking about getting on stage and doing your TED Talk with Yolanda Harper and her husband. Shaman.
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Yes, Shaman.
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Shaman.
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Shaman. Shaman.
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Sorry, Shaman. I butchered it. My bad.
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It's all good.
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The shaman, like the healer, like shamans. Yeah, there you go. I can remember that. So we're so excited to have Yolanda on for round two. Hey, guys. Yeah.
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Welcome. Welcome all. Thank you.
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It's great to have you guys together. I don't think we've had a husband and wife yet.
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We haven't. You guys are the dynamic burrow.
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I will apologize in advance. Then.
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I might need to grab my box of tissues because we were doing. We were on Facebook Live earlier and he just had me cracking up in tears, so.
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Makes it easier. So you guys are gonna be talking about holy cow. I'm on a TED Talk. Woo hoo song.
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Holy Cow.
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Yeah, that's a good title. Is that it?
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Oh my gosh. Totally.
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Yes. It's an omg. Holy cow, like freak out exciting moment. That's so cool.
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I will say that I still. There are moments that I'm like, did that really happen?
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All about it.
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So.
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But before we do, hey guys, if.
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You are brand new to us and.
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You'Re hanging out with us for the first time, we wanted to say thank you and we a special gift for you. We have our A to Z cheat sheet. The essentials for building and growing your dream practice. Because that is what we are all about. We want to help you do that. So go ahead and head over to PrivatePracticesStartup.com, head over to the Resources tab and find your A to Z cheat sheet. Along with that actually comes five days of practice building information, tips, resources, hacks. So you want to make sure you open those emails, read them, and actually apply the knowledge to help you do the work, do the work to help yourself.
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There's lots of value in there.
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Build your practice. So that is us helping you from afar. And of course, if you're part of Startup Nation already, like Yolanda is, thank you guys for joining us again on another awesome episode. So before we get started, let's hear from today's sponsor.
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Give a shout out to you guys for your paperwork? I definitely bought that package like forever ago, met you guys at the supervision training that you guys do, which was amazing. And of course the paperwork package is phenomenal.
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So thank you.
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I appreciate the spontaneous testimonial there.
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I think you actually bought it when we actually decided to donate to make a Wish, I think.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's exactly what happened.
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Proceeds to make a wish.
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Absolutely. And that's just so in alignment with who you guys are to give back and stuff. So thank you guys for the services that you give to your community.
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You get so emotional over here.
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Thank you, we appreciate it.
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Yeah, and actually, if you guys haven't been a longtime listener yet, Yolanda was with us on podcast episode 36 where she talks about five steps to building your business with audacious authenticity and courageous courage. So you'll definitely want to check that out. Yolanda is a Brene Brown daring way facilitator. And you guys, if you've been listening to us, you know how much we love Brene Brown. So Yolanda, really, you are your Work, and it's just beautiful. And you talk about in that podcast how you did have private practice before you closed that down, and then you rebuilt and really just feeling in alignment with who you are. And you just.
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You're just.
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You're just joy and love, and you just really express that. So definitely check that out. But today, we're talking about TED Talks, guys. That's what we are talking about.
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Yeah, let's dive into that.
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Like, how did this all come to be?
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Well, I'm gonna let Shaman take the lead on that part of the conversation. Cause he's the one that got me into this, because I am a Brene Brown girl, and we both love TED Talks. Who doesn't love a good TED Talk?
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Yeah.
C
Shaman, along the way, would joke about how I'd have my own TED Talk. And then he kind of did the legwork. So. Go ahead, babe.
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I think we were trying to initially talk about how do you host a conference or how do you do something along that line in mental health, something in our area. But like Yolanda had said, we're both big fans of TED and everything that goes on there. And we watch TED Talks all the time. A normal night will be, hey, I saw this TED Talk today. It was really cool. So when we were kind of talking through this idea initially of how could we host a conference or something like that, then it kind of morphed to, oh, how do you host a TED Talk? So then, obviously, that was kind of a really big apple, I guess, too big to take a bite out of at the time. So then the conversation was, well, man, Yolanda's got a lot of really cool things to say, and I think she could probably do this, and she would be awesome at it. And, of course, knowing, like, everything in her, like, that's a fear, she was probably a little worried about it.
C
And that was the last thing that I was gonna do, is research how to give a TED Talk. But.
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I reached out to the people that were hosting it, and I said, hey, I think my wife would be awesome at this. And what is even involved. And really, it was just kind of. I was just. Initially, I was just kind of playing with her a little bit because I was like, let me throw this out here, and let me. And I bet these people are gonna, like, research her and say, oh, this is awesome. Right? And that's exactly what happened. Like, they. They kind of came back, and they were like, well, we would love to have her come audition. That would be great. You know, so they. I had sent the email. They had responded back and I kind of went to her and I was like, hey, you should do this.
C
So throughout this entire event, I was known as the girl whose husband auditioned, signed her up for the audition. But actually there are. So TedX are the local events and they are happening all throughout our communities. So it's a matter of just hopping on to see. I was able to participate in TEDx Utampa, which is the University of Tampa College here. And just Shortly after that TEDx event, there was another one at another local university. So in theory I could have done back to back TED talks, but so that's the first like research what's happening. The first tip that we want to share with you guys is research what's happening in your community. TEDx events are happening all over the place.
A
That is so cool to hear how your husband is your biggest fan and supporter. I just love that. And that he, behind your back was going about this whole process and kind of pushing you out of your comfort zone there. Are you someone who's comfortable speaking in front of people? Naturally?
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Totally not in our relationship, he's the extrovert and I'm the introvert. So I'm so happy to have like small one on one conversations with people and he like owns the room.
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There might have been a couple of conversations that were like, well, you freaking do it because I'm not.
C
You get on the stage. But I don't miss the part where he said I was kind of giving her a hard time and kind of, you know, being joking around with her to see what her response would be. So yeah, there was that. But then, you know, after, after I realized that it, it was this process, it wasn't as big and huge as I thought it might be. You know, in my head, like ted's this huge thing and it is. I mean, TED itself is. But these TEDx events are local, they're smaller, they're much more, they feel much more doable. And each one of them is independently run. So each one of them has their own process for auditions and that kind of thing.
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So how did you prepare yourself to get ready to be on the stage knowing that you're not someone who naturally loves to speak in front of a bunch of people?
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Okay, so I would say the biggest thing. What are you laughing about? The biggest thing. There might have been lots of conversations about how this wasn't going to happen, but I think the biggest thing is, and you know, you guys are big authenticity fans and I'm a huge authenticity person. I got My cowbell. But it's on the other side of the room. That's right. You do have a cowbell. Yes, I do. And ever since you guys sent me a cowbell after the first podcast, I actually use it in sessions.
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That's awesome.
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We were just talking about celebrating on the Impossible podcast, Right?
C
Yeah. So clients and myself, we ring that cowbell and there's a lot of ringing of cowbell throughout this process. So you got topic that you're super passionate about. And I feel like my life's work is to help people find hope, growth and healing, especially from difficult situations that they've been through. So, you know, accelerated resolution therapy is a way that I do that clinically and it's a topic that I'm super passionate about and still kind of a rarely or fairly new therapeutic modality in the therapy world. So it just kind of made sense that I would talk about that. And, you know, Shaman was in agreement that that was something that hadn't been spoken about a lot and something that would be beneficial to our community because that's what it was really about. It was really about my desire to have conversations about mental health and well being, mental and emotional health and well being and finding healing. Yeah, go ahead.
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I was just going to add on to that saying if you're not passionate about it, it's a process that if you don't love what you're about to talk about or you'll get so sick of it that you won't, I don't think you'd see it through.
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Yeah, it'll fall for it.
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You really need to be passionate about what it is that you feel that you have to bring and share that.
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Really taps into people being clear on their why. Like, why is it that this is your calling? Why is this topic so very dear to your heart? Why is it something that's going to get you out of bed in the morning and keep practicing and to have the courage to actually get on the stage and share your message, to overcome all the fear and the difficult hurdles. That experience can be like coming from someone who's introverted. I'm introverted myself, so I would have a lot of anxiety and fear about getting on the stage. So in addition to choosing a topic that you're really passionate about, what was helpful about your process of preparing?
C
Yeah, so I would say getting super clear about my message. So when we first. When I first auditioned, it was the timeframe of 18 minutes and then that was narrowed to 12. So that sounds like a lot of time until you put something together, and then you realize how quickly, especially shifting from 18 to 12 minutes, that's a big chunk of time. So that's where all of the work in branding and marketing and getting super clear on your message, this goes. It's an ebb and flow. It goes back and forth. They complement each other very well.
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You're just after our own heart right now, saying all the ray words.
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Yeah, yeah. And so it's being clear about the message. For me, it was very much I wanted to share people's stories. I wanted to share stories of healing. I wanted to share stories of hope. I wanted to get across the message that, hey, if you have been through a hard thing in your life, there is healing. And this is what it looks like. This is what it's like for these other people, and this is what it has looked like for me personally. That's what kind of helped me narrow. Narrow the scope. But there were some elements when I was going from 18 minutes to 12 minutes, how do I hold on to these people's stories? Right? Because I didn't want to cut anybody's story. They meant too much to me. And that was something that Shaman really helped me with. And that's like a wording thing, right? That's where I could kind of cut words from here and there. And this part was a little redundant, so I could do away with that.
D
So I think it was probably, what, twice a night, we would sit down and start the timer on the iPhone, and she would just go through it. And she never really, I don't want to say memorized it, because Yolanda's not that kind of person, but she knew what she was passionate about and what she was talking about. And so she would tell these stories, and we would. You know, we set the timer and we'd go. And, you know, we were trying really hard to worry about cadence and how you got it to a point that you got everything across you wanted to say. And we used the most efficient words we could say to get the point across and spoke slowly enough and was comfortable enough that. That you met that 12 minutes. And it was. I mean, it's cutting that down. We have, like, these, like, knockdown drag outs about how. How do we still get this? You know, because it was. We looked at it from flowing from one story to the next story as it was. We were working on it. And, you know, Yolanda was very passionate about not wanting to hurt any story or cut it to a point where it didn't compromise it. Compromise it. So you Know, we were. Well, let's think about this and let's think about that and how do we change it here? And it wasn't a nightly process for a while. A while, yeah. I would say probably a good couple months, maybe more.
C
Yeah. So that's, you know, to speak to. How do you prepare? Well, you practice and you practice and you practice and you remember to be your perfectly imperfect, authentic self. And for tedxu Tampa, they linked us with the university speech department. So they helped with the process a little bit, and they watched me as I ran through. And really, you want to share your message and you also want to put some heart and soul into it, but you have to practice that too, as weird as that sounds. But I remember meeting with the speech department and they were wanting me to put a lot of the research into my talk. There's a lot of research behind Accelerated Resolution Therapy, which is what I ended up giving my talk on. And that just wasn't what my message was about. I didn't want to spend the time doing that because all of that information is out there, what is not out there as much. And what I felt led to share were people's experiences with the therapy, their benefit from the therapy. So I had to, you know, I had to really. That was hard for me because I'm a people pleaser. And, you know, at first I was like, well, maybe I should throw in a chart and have a. I didn't even have a PowerPoint or anything for my, for my talk. So there was that like, urge to kind of people please and move in that direction. But I really had to stand in that. That's not what this talk is about. Maybe there's another talk in the future and that incorporates that, but not this one.
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So one of the things I think is interesting and I have a lot of questions like about those little fine details, because a lot of TED talks, the speakers do it in a very specific way. So you're saying they linked you to. You said speech department, Is that what you said?
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Okay, yeah.
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So what did you learn from them? What did they suggest?
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Well, they gave me an outline about the steps of a good speech, you know, an introduction, kind of like beginning, middle, end.
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Right.
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Well, we're storytellers. Right. So I know that process. I know beginning, middle, end. So, you know, their insight was helpful. They did help. I would say the biggest area of support and help that they gave was helping me to narrow that, narrow my top down, helping me to rephrase certain parts and helping me to realize the Parts of the speech that are kind of like your whole speech is near and dear to your heart, but the parts that would. That could easily be cut without compromising the integrity of your message. So. And then I will give you guys a little behind the scenes secret. I actually had an accelerated resolution therapy session before my TED Talk. And I think that was the thing that. Because up until that point, there had been so much time, so much effort, so much focus, so much practice. The hurricane blew in and threw things off. So that just extended the period of time that we were getting ready for the TED Talk. And I was like a dog with a bone. Every waking second I was thinking through this story to this story. After that session, my dear friend and colleague Myrna Molinari did that session with me. And it was just like, okay, however it comes, it comes. Right? I put in the work, right? So at some point, you got to decide to just do it. Right. It's not about memorizing. It's about getting clear on what your message is. Right. And that can sound any number of ways. I mean, anytime that I rehearsed the talk, it sounded a little bit differently. So memorization is just set you up for like crashing and burning on the stage. Right. When you're stressed, when, you know, when you're feeling anxious or jittery, as you say that.
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I'm reminded of when you are a brand new therapist in the world, right. And you're with your clients, you're physically present, but you're in your head trying to figure out what's the next step of the model. I get, okay, I have to ask this question, and you're up here and they say something and then you say something and it's not a match and.
C
You'Re like, totally not even present. Yeah, yeah, I have that conversation. I've had that conversation with interns quite a bit. Yeah.
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Interesting, right?
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Yeah.
C
And behind the scenes. So there was the dress rehearsal, and then behind the scenes, the day of, a lot of the speakers were just going over their notes, like they were pacing back and forth. They were going over their speech. I was sitting back there, I had my eyes closed. I was using the eye movements from accelerated resolution therapy, right. Just to calm. And I was breathing and I was reminding myself, like, you've put in the effort. Your people are here, right? Your tribe is here. And so I went into it with the thought of if just one person comes away saying, okay, I can get help for what I've been through, that's success. Getting up and giving a perfect presentation And I even told Shaman as we were preparing. I was like, I want someone to say, oh, you looked a little bit nervous, because no crap. Who is going to be on a TED stage and not look nervous? Right. So it wasn't about putting on a perfect performance or whatever. It was about sharing those stories and having it connect with one person.
A
I love how you define a successful TEDx talk. That is so cool. I got goosebumps as you said it. Because you're right. It's not about the perfect performance. It's. It's really about touching lives. And that's, like, at the core of why you're doing what you're doing anyways. So if you do that for just one person, it makes it all worth it.
C
Yeah.
D
And the spirit of TED is to tell a story. You know, it's not right. Like, if you go. Because where we were struggling. Yolanda had mentioned the speech department for the university gave her a very traditional format here. This is how you give a presentation. You tell them what you're going to say, then you say it, then you tell them what you said. That's how you do presentations. That's the typical way. But ted's a little different. If you start reading the Mission of TED and what they want you to do, they want you to tell stories that start ideas. And these ideas people we looked at. Yeah, thank you. And that's what we were like, well, people can go look for the research and people can ask us for the research and we can show it to them, but let's tell the stories. And that was, I think, the jump for us. Like, not the traditional, this is what we're gonna tell you. Tell you. And then this is what we told you. But how do we tell these stories in the spirit of TED and just share this idea?
C
And I will add to that, too, to say, as time was getting closer, there were some people who were becoming aware that I was going to be giving the TED Talk. And, like, there's a little uproar behind the scenes of, like, what. What are you speaking on? I don't know if you're allowed to do that. And so I think another component is, you know, it's not the critic who counts. Right. I'm pulling from Brene and her quoting the Roosevelt man in the arena quote. So there are going to be people who don't like what you have to say. That's okay. It's not my job to make everybody happy with my TED Talk. I looked at the talk recently and I was like, oh, man, tedx flagged my talk. What's up with that? So, you know, so those things are gonna happen. But that doesn't take away from, you know, now I'm hearing from people who are like, yeah, I watched the TED Talk and I want to make an appointment with you, or I'm reaching out to another therapist.
A
That's what I was so curious about. How has your life been impacted professionally? What have been the benefits of doing the TEDx?
C
Yeah, so that I've been hearing more and more from people who've heard it. So one thing that I probably would do a little bit different is to. Because again, from the very beginning, I was like, this can't possibly be happening. Right? Is this really. Is this my life? And then things were kind of lampooned by the hurricane. So it was like, okay, that's it. It wasn't meant to be. It's not going to happen.
A
Good old Irma.
C
Right?
D
Yeah.
C
And even, you know, after was just surreal. So I think looking back, if I were to change anything, it was to think through how I would use it afterwards a little bit more, you know, have that kind of plan in place, maybe a marketing or outreach or whatever, kind of around the same time that they released the talk. Because they have to edit it. TedX has to edit it before they'll release it. And that takes a period of time. So we were shifting into adding clinicians to our practice. And so that's where a lot of the time and energy and I didn't want to say, hey, here's my TED Talk, and kind of, you know, have that be the forefront of the practice. So it's still there. It's evergreen. It's something that I can tap into at any point when the time is right.
A
Hmm.
D
It's actually a cool reference point for people to point to, like, you know, if somebody knows somebody that needs help or something like that that we've been hit up quite a few times with, hey, I showed so and so your video, you know, or so and so comes up and says, hey, so and so showed me your video. And, you know, I want to know more about what I said out there.
C
You know, all of the art entities. There's several different entities, but they've all added it as a resource to their websites. It's on website, and it's, you know, it's. It's a cool conversation point, for sure.
A
It's awesome. We'd love to be able to include a link to it in our show Notes page if that's something that you know, you'd be comfortable with.
C
Oh, absolutely. And then I want to make sure that I fit this in as far as steps for Ted and tips for Ted. Celebrate.
B
How did you celebrate?
C
Like, ring the cowbell. So Ted happened. That actually happened to occur on the same weekend as my birthday. And I will say that having. I'm gonna get emotional saying this. The people in my life were so supportive, and they put up with the insanity of me preparing for Ted. Don't laugh at me because he's laughing because I'm getting teary. They showed up. They were at the event. My kids were all there. And then we celebrated by going out and having a special dinner, which my kids are older, and so it's hard for all of us to be in one place at the same time at this point, but I just, like. I just hold that in my heart as just an amazing experience.
B
That's cool.
A
Yeah.
B
I have to ask, though, did you ever practice in front of Toby and Hobbs?
C
Oh, absolutely.
B
I saw a tail, and it almost had a squirrel moment in.
C
Yes, they were. They're walking around back here. Yes. They. They. They learned to follow some sleep when. When I started. And poor Shaman. He was the one that got the brunt of it all because, I mean, he had the thing memorized forwards and backwards.
B
I could do this now.
C
He could. He could have.
D
Yeah, yeah. She gets. She used to get mad at me because, you know, like, I'd pick up my cell phone and. And I would start to look at it, and really, I was looking at the timer, right. But she'd be like, oh, he's. He's just boring you. And I'd be like, no, no, keep going, because I know this is the next sentence. Blah, blah, blah, you know? Yeah, it's. I think it took a village in our house. You know, everybody sat and listened to mom do it. You know, everybody. Multiple times. And sometimes everybody would provide feedback or, hey, move around a little bit, or, you know, it was it.
C
My kids being so proud of me. That was phenomenal. My kids just saying, wow, this is really an awesome thing that you're doing. That was pretty cool.
A
Cool makes it all worth it.
C
Absolutely. I don't know if it made it worth it for Shama, but it did for me. It was a really cool experience, and I was glad to do it. There might be another one in the future again, if they'll have me. I don't know.
B
But hopefully, for those of you who aren't watching video, Shaman's, like, mouthing, yes, yes, yes.
C
But the funny thing about that is that, you know, UTampa had their TEDx. The audition for USF TEDxusf was like, we had just missed the deadline and he sends me this email and he's like, hey, you can audition for this one. And I was like, have we not suffered? Has this not been all encompassing enough for us? Let's have a break.
D
I was ready to put her on the circuit.
C
Oh, my goodness. Yeah.
B
Well, we totally appreciate your tips and your experience and hopefully it was helpful. Yeah. And for those of you listening, like, I'm sure you get like, who Yolanda is just as she shares her story about, you know, the TED Talk and the tips. And she's very heart centered. And so I just want to recap what you said, so research what is happening in your community. Because you guys said there's a lot of TED Talks going on. Really deciding the topic that you're passionate about and getting clear on your message, that's really essential because like you said, those 12 minutes goes by so fast. And of course, practice, practice, practice, however that is, just do it and don't forget to celebrate. And we talked about that actually on our podcast with Melody Wilding. Especially when imposter syndrome comes up is celebrate even those little things, right? If you cut it down from 18 to 12 and you hit it on the 12, celebrate that, right?
C
Holy crap. We can do this.
A
We need a cowbell ring. We need a cowbell ring.
C
Wait, hold on, hold on. Okay, okay.
A
We gotta wait for it, guys.
B
So we'll wait for it. She'll grab it.
A
Ting a ling. Awesome.
B
That was awesome. Well, we loved having you guys today as our first married couple on the pod.
D
Thank you.
A
Thank you.
D
First and last, probably, right?
B
We'll see.
C
You never know.
B
So we'll actually have that link for you guys about your TED Talk on the Show Notes page. So you guys will want to check that out and if anyone wants to.
C
Reach out for more support. If you're thinking of doing the TED Talk and you have any more questions, please feel free to reach out. You can hit me up by email. YolaLaHarperTherapy. And I definitely recommend. Like I said, the art session for me was like the cherry on top. So yeah, that was super important. So if I can help link you with a clinician in your area or if you're interested in something like that, I can help with that too.
B
And you're on our Facebook group too, so they can reach out to Yolanda Harper and you guys can ask her there. And then a nice little thread can happen and more people.
C
Absolutely. Yeah, that's right.
B
So guys, join us for our next podcast next week with Elizabeth Bonet. And the topic is Hypnotize Me. Yes, we have some good like, I don't know, feeling podcasts lately. I really love it. So join us there. And like we had mentioned, join us in Facebook, look for the Private Practice Startup. Ask to be part of our group and we'll see you there with thousands of therapists across the globe. And we really love for you guys to subscribe, rate and review. Let us know what you thought of this podcast and we just love your love. So shoot us an email, do us a Google review, whatever works for you guys. So thank you so much for being with us today and allowing us to continue to inspire your journey on the journey of private practice Mastery Startup to mastery. So we really appreciate having you guys here. So we will see you later, Startup Nation.
A
See you next time. Thanks for joining us on the Private practice startup. Visit theprivatepracticestartup.com for awesome resources, free trainings, attorney approved private practice paperwork and so much more.
C
SA.
Episode 108: Holy Cow, I'm Gonna Do a TED Talk!!
Date: October 20, 2018
Hosts: Dr. Kate Campbell & Katie Lemieux
Guests: Yolanda Harper & Shaman Harper
In this inspiring and lively episode, hosts Dr. Kate Campbell and Katie Lemieux are joined by therapist Yolanda Harper and her husband, Shaman Harper, for a behind-the-scenes look at Yolanda’s journey to giving a TEDx Talk. The conversation focuses on how the opportunity came about, the preparation process, handling imposter syndrome and nerves, and practical tips for mental health professionals—or anyone—hoping to step onto a bigger stage and share their message.
Origin Story: The idea sparked from regular conversations between Yolanda and Shaman, who are both fans of TED Talks. Shaman humorously nudged the process along by reaching out to a local organizer on Yolanda's behalf.
"I reached out to the people that were hosting it, and I said, hey, I think my wife would be awesome at this. And what is even involved?... they were like, well, we would love to have her come audition." (06:57)
Getting Signed Up Unwittingly: Yolanda became known as "the girl whose husband signed her up for the audition."
"Throughout this entire event, I was known as the girl whose husband auditioned, signed her up for the audition." (07:37)
Finding Local Opportunities: The pair discovered there are many independently run TEDx events in local communities. Yolanda participated in TEDx UTampa.
"Totally not... in our relationship, he's the extrovert and I'm the introvert. ...There might have been a couple of conversations that were like, well, you freaking do it because I'm not." (08:41)
Clarifying the Message: Compressing an 18-minute talk to 12 minutes intensified the need for focus.
"Getting super clear about my message...I wanted to share people's stories...I wanted to get across the message that, hey, if you have been through a hard thing in your life, there is healing." (13:03)
Practice, Practice, Practice:
"I think it was probably, what, twice a night, we would sit down and start the timer...We used the most efficient words we could say to get the point across..." (13:55)
Support and Outside Help: UTampa linked her with their speech department for coaching and revision help, though Yolanda stayed true to her message, choosing heartfelt stories over technical research.
"I wanted to put some heart and soul into it, but you have to practice that too, as weird as that sounds...I really had to stand in that. That's not what this talk is about." (15:13)
Staying Present, Not Perfect: Rehearsal was never about memorization; presence and authenticity mattered most.
"Anytime that I rehearsed the talk, it sounded a little bit differently. So memorization is just set you up for like crashing and burning on the stage." (17:04)
Pre-Talk Rituals: On the day, while others paced and rehearsed, Yolanda practiced calming techniques from Accelerated Resolution Therapy on herself backstage.
"I was sitting back there, I had my eyes closed. I was using the eye movements from accelerated resolution therapy, right. Just to calm." (19:22)
Defining Success: Success wasn’t about a flawless performance but making an impact on just one person.
"If just one person comes away saying, okay, I can get help for what I've been through, that's success." (19:53)
Professional Benefits: The TEDx Talk has become a calling card—clients and colleagues now reference it, and it’s used by therapy organizations as a resource.
"It's actually a cool reference point for people to point to, like, you know, if somebody knows somebody that needs help or something like that..." (24:09)
Personal and Family Pride: The process became a family affair, with kids and even pets involved in practice, ultimately resulting in immense pride from Yolanda's children.
"My kids being so proud of me. That was phenomenal. My kids just saying, wow, this is really an awesome thing that you're doing." (26:59)
Marketing Lessons Learned: In hindsight, having a plan for leveraging the talk once published (for marketing/outreach) would have been helpful.
On Facing Big Opportunities:
"Oh my gosh. Totally. Yes. It's an omg. Holy cow, like freak out exciting moment."
Yolanda, 02:02
On The Importance of Practice:
"You practice and you practice and you practice and you remember to be your perfectly imperfect, authentic self."
Yolanda, 15:13
On Success:
"If just one person comes away saying, okay, I can get help for what I've been through, that's success."
Yolanda, 19:53
On Storytelling and the Ted Spirit:
"The spirit of TED is to tell a story... they want you to tell stories that start ideas."
Shaman, 20:40
Ring the Cowbell!
"We need a cowbell ring."
Katie, 28:47
[Yolanda rings cowbell] (28:57)
| Timestamp | Segment | |---------------|------------------------------------------------------------| | 05:24 | How Yolanda got roped into a TED Talk (Origin story) | | 07:37 | Finding and auditioning for local TEDx events | | 08:41 | Navigating introversion and pushing outside comfort zones | | 13:03 | Honing and clarifying your message | | 13:55 | Practicing the talk—support from family and partner | | 15:13 | Working with a speech coach and staying true to your style | | 19:22 | Backstage nerves and self-soothing routines | | 19:53 | Redefining success on stage | | 24:09 | Professional impact and community recognition | | 25:02 | Celebration & family pride | | 28:44 | Recap of actionable TEDx tips | | 28:57 | Cowbell moment—celebrate progress! |
Fun, warm, supportive, and deeply authentic—with humor and occasional emotional moments, particularly as Yolanda recounts both the hurdles and the high points of her TEDx adventure. The episode is energetic but down-to-earth, peppered with practical insights and encouragement for clinicians and entrepreneurs alike.
Final Takeaway:
If you dream of giving a TEDx talk (or any big presentation), let passion drive you, practice relentlessly, stay true to yourself, ignore the critics, and celebrate every step—cowbell optional, but recommended.