Jen Oleniczak Brown: Author and Founder of The Engaging Educator
By Cheval John
February 28th, 2018
Today’s episode of What’s The Word? features Jen Oleniczak Brown, founder of The Engaging Educator.
The company helps organizations find their authentic voice to be successful.
Jen worked in a museum when she started the company on the side in 2012.
As of today, The Engaging Educator has served more than 30,000 students across 33 states.
Jen written a book called “Improv(e), Using Improv To Find Your Voice, Style, And Self” from her experience in running her business.
In this episode, you will hear:
-what led Jen to found her company
-why she self-publish her book
-why people should engage on social media
-how her acting background helped her to be successful with her company
This episode was recorded on Facebook Live via Blue Jeans Network
Snippet on Vallano Media TV
Full Episode on BlogTalkRadio
You can also subscribe to the show on Apple Podcast, Stitcher and Google Play Music.
Jen’s Company Website: www.theengagingeducator.com
Twitter: @JenOleniczak
Quotes from Jen Oleniczak Brown on:
SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK
I just found a self-publisher that I liked.
A close friend designed my front and back cover.
Of a million edits beyond anything, there’s is still one error that people keep pointing out to me and I’m like, “Thank You”
OVERCOMING FAILURE
I teach people to make mistakes and to fail.
It’s better to fail than to wonder what if.
It is such a powerful thing to fail because when you are in your worst, I think you learn the most because you are at the lowest possible point you could be in.
In that same sense, when you want to create something, it’s never gonna be perfect on the get-go.
It’s always gonna be something.
How I see failure is by knowing my definition of success.
My definition of success is doing something and pushing forward.
So failure for me is doing nothing.
As long as I am not sitting back and waiting for the world to happen to me, then I’m succeeding.
If the first step back that sets you back and causes you to quit, then you probably aren’t doing the right work.
I think it’s like one of those ideas that if you love what you do, the hard times are worth it.
I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
I couldn’t imagine being anything but what I am right now.
I look back at how upset I was when I quit acting and I was like, “Oh, that so strange” because now you can’t get me on stage.
I hate it.
I have no interest in doing it.
I’m glad I didn’t end up on a movie or something that made me a lot of money because I feel like I would not be as happy as I am right now.
IMPROV AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Improv is listening and responding.
That’s it.
At it’s core, you listen to what’s happening around you.
Not just with your ears, you’re listening with your eyes.
You are seeing what is happening around you in all senses and responding to your environment.
If you think about social media, we are not only taking it in, we are responding to it.
We are adding our opinion.
We are adding attention to it.
When you are truly thinking about being social on social media, you want to be having conversation.
You want to be responding. You don’t want to be spouting out information.
If you are spouting out information, then you have a firm reason about why you are doing this like your means to an end.
Is it just because this is what you do and this is the only thing you do?
Then that’s not social.
It’s just informative.
If we were having a conversation like this, it won’t be fun if we’re not listening or paying attention to one another.
If you ask me, “Jen, tell me about your book” and I start talking about my dog, then it’s a disjointed thing.
I think people do that often on social media for some reason.
The facebook change is attempting to bring it back to the roots of having a conversation like I say something, you say something, I say something back.
In improv, that’s actually called a three line conversation.
I see all of my interactions on social media as a three line conversation where my job is not to negate what someone else said.
My job is to add something to it, even if I disagree because it’s all just opinions.
Instead of saying like “hey you think that social media needs to be super social, but I like to consume things,” I negated what you think.
I’m just choosing to be social in this too.
I think people are running for the hills because we’ve automated so much.
You can’t schedule everything anymore.
You have to communicate.
You have to be part of something.
You can’t just say, “Well, I’ve got my month scheduled out” or “My social media intern can run this.”
Critical conversation is not attacking people.
Examining behavior isn’t attacking.
It’s asking someone to practice what they preach.
You are just calling them out on what they are saying.
