← Real English Conversations Podcast – Real English for Global Professionals | Speak Clearly & Confidently at Work
Real English Conversations Podcast – Real English for Global Professionals | Speak Clearly & Confidently at Work
🎙️Politics, Law & Leadership with Linda "Love" Lemos | Real English Conversations Podcast for Global Professionals
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- [00:00]
Podcast Host / Ad Reader
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- [01:12]
Podcast Host / Ad Reader
Wsecu isn't just one of Washington's best credit unions. We're a Forbes Best in State five years running. Why? Because we put you first. Lower fees, early paydays, financial guidance and service second to none. As a member owned co op, we love Washington as much as you do. From the Olympic mountains to the rolling Palouse. Join us and discover how much we care about your financial well being because what we really do best is invest in you. Visit wsecu.org today to learn more. Washington let's Credit Union
- [01:44]
Linda Love Lemos
this is the
- [01:45]
Podcast Host / Ad Reader
Real English Conversations podcast where we help
- [01:49]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
you to communicate clearly and confidently in the conversations that matter most in the workplace and your professional life. Hey everyone, it's Curtis here from the Real English Conversations podcast, helping global professionals to speak clearly and confidently at work. This week's guest is Linda Love Lemos, a dynamic professional whose expertise spans political management, legal studies and business consulting. Linda is a certified speaker, book author, consultant, executive producer, and a podcaster with with a passion for empowering individuals and organizations through knowledge and innovation. With dual Master of Professional Studies degrees in Political Management and Paralegal studies, Linda has built her career on navigating complex political and legal Landscapes, advising clients with impactful strategies, and producing media that amplifies important conversations like this one. From consulting and strategy to speaking and writing, Linda's got it all. Versatility and commitment to excellence make her a thought leader across all industries. Linda, welcome to the show. It's a real pleasure to have you here.
- [03:06]
Linda Love Lemos
Thank you. I'm so honored and I'm excited to be on your podcast.
- [03:09]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
Let's start here. You have such a diverse background. Politics, legal studies, business consulting, media. What first inspired you to pursue such a wide range of expertise?
- [03:22]
Linda Love Lemos
Well. Well, it happened by accident, actually. I was in between jobs and then nothing was calling my name and I was not getting a phone call with regards to work. So I decided to obtain a master's degree in paralegal studies, and that was in 2019. So it was during the pandemic. It actually worked out because you couldn't go out anywhere anyways during the pandemic, right? So you might as well stay home and study. And luckily, with my online classes, you got to have a cohort, have a group of students that you were in every single class with, and they got to like, at least socialize, at least via FaceTime, at least via zoom through the classes. So it was a great opportunity for me to obtain my master's degree also because many, many employment, such as pharmaceutical, only allow you in if you have a master's degree. So I wanted to just be a paralegal in the legal department in a pharmaceutical company. They wouldn't let me in because I didn't have a master's degree degree. So I was like, okay, fine, I will go out and get this master's degree. So I did that in 21. I graduated. But sadly, a month after my graduation, I was diagnosed with a rare medical condition called sarcoidosis. It has complications. I'm able to manage it, but it is not easy. And at that moment, I really didn't feel that the corporate hustle and bustle of the corporations and the commuting was going to fit my new modified lifestyle due to the sarcoidosis. So then I returned back to school and I was looking around and I realized I always loved politics since a child. It's always been my family and my me and my dad's. Mostly a fireside chat. We always talk about politics and world politics, you know, and what's happening in this country, in our country, and. And then I realized that I really do love politics and I also understand the laws behind politics, which is rare. Many of our senators, many of our Congress people, they, many of them are attorneys, I think about 50% or so. I think that that's the latest data or statistic on that. 50% of them are attorneys. And much of their work many times is monitoring a law, passing a law, creating a bill which is actually, they call it a bill, would call it a law, us normal folks would call it a law. And, and I said, well, I think these Congress folks, these Congress people would need someone like me who has 20 years of experience in paralegal and, and two degrees in it to help them with regards to bill and creating laws and all that boring legal stuff that goes hand in hand with politics. So then in 20, in 2012, we turned to George Washington University and started my journey with the master's in political management.
- [06:14]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
Wow. It's such a courageous thing to do, to realize, okay, I've got to upskill, I need to do this now. So you went for it. And even with a medical condition, that's strength. That takes some courage, some commitment and some power to battle through it. So kudos to you for that. Now getting into these dual master professional studies degrees, how has that academic foundation shaped the way you approach leadership, problem solving and consulting today?
- [06:44]
Linda Love Lemos
Thank you. I love that question. Such a good question. There are so many leaders that we have in the world. There are so many CEOs that we have that have that bachelor's degree, which I feel that is great and it's wonderful. And there are many that don't even have the bachelor's degree. I think the greatest asset for any leader, whether it's president, whether it is a CEO of a major Fortune 500 company or even your day to day mom, mom and pop, the greatest thing and the greatest asset that they can have is to have that legal education and have that extensive education. Because the greatest skill that you can have is to avoid lawsuits. Lawsuits are very expensive. Right. Even if you, maybe it's not your fault as a business owner, but even trying to acquire an attorney is an additional expense to your company. So I believe that the best leaders are the leaders that avoid lawsuits and understand the law, learn how to pivot, which is one of the things that I'm doing now as a consultant with the business, business consulting is trying to help them pivot. Because now we in the United States have a whole new administration, whole new government, they are changing laws. And it's not easy. It's not easy for a company to change something they had in place for decades. So that's one of my jobs that I'm Doing right now.
- [08:06]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
Fantastic. In your work as a senior consultant, you navigate both political and business challenges. What's one of the biggest misconceptions people have about political strategy or the legal analysis?
- [08:20]
Linda Love Lemos
The legal analysis, I think a lot of things are. There is this misconception a lot of business owners have is that they'll just do it and forget about it. Later though, the they will create a change or not follow policy and forget. If they get caught, they get caught. I think again, it's also always easier to, to be more cautious than to just go with the wind. I think as a business, a strategy you have to, to also comply with the government. And many times you may not agree with the government. And that's kind of where I come in and I try to train either the company's employees help their CEO solve a problem. It's such a big case in our country, it's been around for decades was DEI compliance. I know such a dirty word. Nobody wants to talk about it, but, you know, that was in place early 1940s, I believe. Cat Kennedy was one of the first ones to sign that into law. And it was because they wouldn't allow women into the workspaces, into the workplaces, but actually started as a way to incorporate women into the workforce. There was no such thing as women engineers. I worked for a construction company and the CEO of that company told me he's around, he's probably around 80 years old now, but he told me when he first started and he was working, there were no women at all. Not even offices or anything in the construction field or doing anything. So that's why that was in place. And now, you know, I think in my humble analysis is the government also has to give companies some time to modify themselves in order to comply with their new laws and new regulations. It's not, it's not an overnight thing.
- [09:59]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
I like the way you work because you make sure nothing gets missed or skipped over. It's making your job is to make things clear for your clients that you may have not known about this, but with my expertise, you do know what to do and what not to do now. So it, it makes everything clearer for your clients to be like, if I wouldn't have worked with Linda, that important step would have gotten missed. That is highly impactful. I love consultants and coaches and people who work like you do, who make the things that should be obvious, the knowledge that they should know about. So stick. So that's, that's fantastic. Beyond consulting, you've stepped into roles as a producer A podcaster, executive anchor into media. How do you use media to extend your impact and share these important situations and conversations with wider audiences?
- [10:54]
Linda Love Lemos
Thank you. That question really hits home. Well, I started mentoring, so I've. I've been a mentor for, like, about five years now for George Washington University as well as Berkeley College. And then I realized, you know, I don't have a lot of time with my mentees or with people in General. I have 30 minutes and then moving on to the next item on my schedule. And the thing was, how do I explain things to them so they'll understand better? How do I get them to understand an interview? And one of the greatest shockers about entering the field was and is corporate culture and corporate jargon. There are so many. It's a whole other universe. It's a whole other world. Just even understanding corporate bargain, or I would like to call it corporate slang. It took me, well enough a decade to understand what my bosses were talking about.
- [11:46]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
It's like learning a new language.
- [11:48]
Linda Love Lemos
It really is. Like, you know, have all your ducks in a row and don't put all your eggs in a basket and just all these little terminologies that they don't teach you in college. If you didn't grow up in a specific type of neighborhood, you would have never heard it. And it seems so silly. It's good to be able to be creative with social media and to be creative with my podcast and offer real solutions to those who just graduated from college or to those individuals who are looking to pivot in their career. Many people get together and talk, but a lot of times, many conversations are a bit superficial. Right? Let's be real. Sometimes I think that was my podcast with Lindella Talks. I think I'd bring that out where it's, you don't talk superficially. And we talk about real issues like how to deal with your office bully or how to deal with a micromanager. These are hard topics. These are real topics. I know I'm not the only one who's gone through it. So I think bringing that facet and bringing some help, some career conversations that can be applicable to many different industries.
- [12:58]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
Fantastic. It's totally relatable to my audience. My audience are a mix of different people. They're all adults. They're at intermediate to advanced levels of English, but they're mostly global professionals who need to have those hard discussions with their boss or feel comfortable in those meetings. And it's people like you that are changing the world, people like you and me that are changing the world to make those employees and professionals really stand out and realize there's nothing to worry about. You know, this is. This is how you do it. These are the words you use. And you practice that and put that on repeat. Like I said, many of my listeners are global professionals. So from your perspective, what's one principle of communication or influence that applies equally in politics, business, leadership, media, all of that? What is one principle, communication or influence that applies to those areas?
- [13:55]
Linda Love Lemos
Wow, that's such an interesting question. I think, honestly. Well, I think the best. I know we don't see it in practice, but I would tell you the best thing that you can do in business, regardless if you're the receptionist or an executive assistant or management or even if you're in politics, let me tell you, Fox News and all these other news channels will catch you if you're lying. So I think the most imperative thing with regards to business is, and politics is actually integrity. And you don't have integrity if you're always lying, lying and trying to cover up the lies. And, you know, there's, there's always tells. You can always tell when people are lying. First of all, there's the strongest language that no one really talks about too much, and that's body language. And that's one of the other things that I do is read politicians body languages, read business people's body language. Your body language will tell people what's going on before you even ever speak or mutter a word. So I think honesty is honesty and your body language. They need, they need to come together. It has to be one clear communication.
- [15:02]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
I think it's awareness of that body language, too. Such a. It speaks more volumes than actual voices. It's part of the whole communication process of listening to the other person, finding your next curious question to ask them. Based on that. It's all of this kind of stuff, honesty. And you can see right through that with, with body language and communication. And it's. It's passed over or looked over or forgotten about or not even thought about. So it's. It takes people like, like us to coach, train, teach others. You have to look at all of the aspects of communication. And that is, like you said, the, the highest of the high, the most important, one of the most important because whoever you talk to, you can see right through that. It's so obvious because it's not verbal. I think it gets forgotten about or, or skipped over. Even my last guest or many guests on my podcast, they've always mentioned body language. It's. It's top of the top. And I'm so glad that you mentioned that as well. I really have to drill that into the heads of my listeners and my listeners become my students as well. You know, I coach them through not only how to how to talk, how to communicate, but how to listen and how to use body language as well. So fantastic. I'm so happy that you brought that up. As a certified speaker and author, you've shared your ideas with diverse audiences. What topics light you up, get you excited the most? When you're writing or you're on a podcast or you're on the stage speaking in front of a bunch of people, what are the topics that really pump you up and get you excited the
- [16:39]
Linda Love Lemos
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- [16:45]
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- [17:20]
Linda Love Lemos
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- [17:43]
Podcast Host / Ad Reader
of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full terms@mintmobile.com WSECU isn't just one of Washington's best credit unions. We're a Forbes best in state five years running. Why? Because we put you first. Lower fees, early paydays, financial guidance and service second to none. As a member owned cooperative, we love Washington as much as you do. From the Olympic mountains to the rolling Palouse. Join us and discover how much we care about your financial well being. Because what we really do best is invest in you. Visit wsecu.org today to learn more. Washington let's credit union and I do
- [18:23]
Linda Love Lemos
know have the hard, very hard earned diplomas to prove it. I can talk about business. I can talk about Legal. I can talk about politics. I think people right now are so focused on politics, whether they're on the red team or the blue team and they get so wild up with a person's charisma. You know, we have a lot of charismatic leaders currently in the world and we have these individuals that will say things that are just wrong or just to try to create attention. Right. They're attention speaking individuals. And at the end of the day, it's not even all about that. It's not about the personality, it's not about the charisma, it's not about them being attention speakers. It's not about them even having the hateful speeches. That is all distraction. Because at the end of the day, right. And this is where I come in place. What really matters is the policy and the law. Right. And how that government or how that administration is making your life a little bit easier. And that goes across the world. Really, I'm not. There's so many leaders out there in the world. And the thing about whoever is a leader or a president in the world, it's not about them. And I think that's why we have such a, such this situations in the world. We have leaders that are narcissistic and egotistical. And it's not about them being a leader. Whether you're a girl scout cookie coach or you're a coach at a basketball team or you know, you are mayor of your town or whatnot. It's not about, it's not about you. It's about the service that you can provide to your community or to your country. And it's about giving the people the most that they can and not by separating them by classes. You know, there are extremely intelligent individuals all around the world, as you know, that are your listeners and your students that really you can bring in an expert in economics. You can create a tax system that is fair to all. You shouldn't have to over tax the rich, you shouldn't have to over tax the middle class. You should be able to provide services across, across the social economics classes. And I think that is going to be the greatest push. And that's why I work with both. I work with all parties. I don't really care to one party or the other. It's more about the individual. But I think that with that said, I'm hoping to influence some of our politicians in a way to get them to thinking of a more progressive and a more fair system to all and to all people.
- [20:59]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
Yeah. Equal across the board, which is the concept you know, of, of everybody working together, not dividing people based on who they like, who they don't, who they vote for, who they don't vote for, what their political opinions are. You're trying to find a way to bring everything together, no matter what the opinions are. And that's great. I really, really support people who don't divide people, but bring them together. You describe yourself as being driven by innovation. Can you share an example of a time when thinking outside of the box? There's one of those business English terms, thinking outside of the box created a breakthrough solution for a client or a project that you worked on?
- [21:40]
Linda Love Lemos
Oh, absolutely. There's been several of those situations. One of those situations was I worked well, I started in the construction industry as a consultant. They had a filing system that was old and antiquated. And I created, worked with it, with the IT department to create a better filing system that could be. That could cut my time as a legal consultant, that could expedite pre qualification packages and help me complete applications so much faster. And before that, they didn't have a system like that. So I basically worked with them. We created a system so that you could find scanned files easily. And I created search words that could be. That could create a result so much faster than what they had before. I mean, what they had before was like the old school file cabinet. Right. And you know what happens with those files? Someone always leaves a file out missing. It's always like underneath a desk or in a drawer. And it's not where it's supposed to be. Right?
- [22:43]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
Yeah, it's like, where is this thing?
- [22:45]
Linda Love Lemos
Yeah.
- [22:46]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
You know, I wish I could find that. I wish I put something somewhere to, you know, X marks the spot to find it easily again. Uh, wow. You do so much balancing, consulting, producing, writing, podcasting, speaking, doing all of these things. How do you personally manage your own mental, emotional and physical performance to keep showing up at your best?
- [23:08]
Linda Love Lemos
Well, first and foremost, we all have to exercise. Exercise is so important, whether it's walking, biking, yoga, whatever you can do, Even if it's 20 minutes or 30 minutes a day, do something. So I think that's so important. It kind of gets us out of our heads sometimes and it improves our ability to stay focused. It improves, it helps us with inflammation and many other issues that we have, especially as we age as well, so. Which is so amazing, but so interesting. When I have my assistants, I do have a team that works with me. They're my team of consultants. I have a fabulous event assistant which comes with me when I Do my speaking engagements. I have a fabulous new writing assistant. She is amazing. She's helped me with my new newsletter. I will be having my newsletter premiere September 30th on LinkedIn. It's called Career Queen.
- [24:03]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
Ooh.
- [24:03]
Linda Love Lemos
It's called Career Queen. It comes. It's a quick newsletter. It's about, I don't know, a three minute read, if that. And it's great for commuters or commuting on the train or on the bus or on a plane. And we have some amazing topics to read and it's all about like corporate work, survival and, you know, all those things you wish someone would have taught you in college. You know, college is great. They teach you your subject. They don't. They don't teach you the rest though.
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Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
And the title of the newsletter is fantastic, by the way. It's great. I like that. Career Queen. That's excellent. Looking ahead, what's the legacy of hope you work leaves whether it's in politics, law, business or media?
- [24:44]
Linda Love Lemos
Well, I'm working on my third book and it's a very personal book. It's personal. It basically is my memoir of my career. It has some of my personal life. It's very surprising. I believe it's. I'm not the rule of people who are born and raised where I've been born and raised. I believe I'm the anomaly. And I think strong stories like mine need to be told so that it inspires people that perhaps, you know, grew up on the wrong side of the track or on the other side of 8 mile and a same story of a lot of challenges and a lot of opposition sometimes. I, I will tell you a lot of what molds our careers and molds our personalities is sometimes not the good bosses. Because that's counted in my hand how many good bosses I've had. I think I've had two. And it's kind of sad because if you think about it, I've had a 28 year career span and I can only count two that were good. But I think that when we have those bad bosses, what can we learn from them? And hopefully we don't repeat the same issues with other individuals. Hopefully what we learned makes us eventually greater leaders than what they were. I think that's the lesson. When you have those horrible bad bosses that you're hanging on to, to work
- [26:01]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
for, cause that will happen. And no matter through the course of your careers or jobs or what you do as a profession, you're not always going to jive with everybody. And it's, it's what you do about that and what people can learn from from your books. Because all that information and knowledge is in that book for the secret to success. So it's doing something. Don't just read the books. Do something with the knowledge that you learned from them. That is the the, the key to getting through those tough moments with difficult co workers, difficult bosses. It can open up your your mind to Should I really be working here? Should I really be doing this? Do I have to put up with this? Or is there another way? Is there another way even if I want to keep this career? Or is there a way out that I can learn from reading one of Linda's books? So that's highly, highly inspiring. Linda. This has been such an insightful conversation. Thank you for sharing your expertise with my audience today. Before we close, I'd like to give you a chance to share with our listeners where they can find your books, connect with you, follow your work, and check out your speaking and consulting services.
- [27:15]
Linda Love Lemos
Absolutely. So find me please on LinkedIn in that's where many of my followers WSECU
- [27:22]
Podcast Host / Ad Reader
isn't just one of Washington's best credit unions. We're a Forbes Best in State five years running. Why? Because we put you first. Lower fees, early paydays, financial guidance and service second to none. As a member owned cooperative, we love Washington as much as you do. From the Olympic mountains to the rolling Palouse. Join us and discover how much we care about your financial well being. Because what we really, really do best is invest in you. Visit wsecu.org today to learn more. Washington let's Credit Union Find me.
- [27:53]
Linda Love Lemos
You can find me under Linda Limo. My books are available on Amazon. Again, just type in Linda Limo and my podcast Linda Love Talks is on Spotify and as well as YouTube. So thank you so much and I'm looking forward to having some new followers.
- [28:09]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
If you're ready to take your English to the next level and start speaking with confidence at work. Whether it's in meetings, job interviews, presentations, or important conversations with your boss, coworkers or clients, I can help you. You don't have to feel nervous about finding the right words, worrying about your accent, or struggling to keep up in fast paced conversations. With the right practice and guidance, you'll be able to express your ideas and yourself clearly and naturally. Let's start with a trial lesson. We'll go over what you want to improve, do a quick evaluation and map out a plan to help you feel strong and in control when you speak English. I only have a few trial spots available each month. So if you see an opening in my calendar, grab it while you can. Click the link below to book your trial lesson with me now.
- [29:04]
Podcast Host / Ad Reader
WSECU isn't just one of Washington's best credit unions. We're a Forbes Best in State five years running. Why? Because we put you first. Lower fees, early paydays, financial guidance and service second to none. As a member owned cooperative, we love Washington as much as you do, from the Olympic mountains to the rolling Palouse. Join us and discover how much we care about your financial well being because what we really do best is invest in you. Visit wsecu.org today to learn more. Washington let's Credit Union Spring is calling
- [29:36]
Curtis (Real English Conversations Podcast Host)
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