B. with Anna Brand

Nic Redman has a master's degree in voice studies, a background in stand-up comedy, and a very strong opinion about AI-generated scripts.In this episode:•       Why slowing down doesn't automatically make you a better speaker•       The real reason people freeze on camera — and it's not confidence•       Why your voice is tied to your identity in ways you haven't thought about•       How to write for speaking — and why you should never start with a script•       Accents, bias and why being told you're well-spoken isn't a compliment•       Why authenticity on camera is nonsense if you haven't put the practice inStill hiding behind the script?

Becca Brighty is a business psychologist, occupational psychologist, and ADHD coach who spent years watching RSD run her business before she even knew what RSD was.In this episode:•       What rejection sensitivity dysphoria actually is and why it's probably running your business too•       Why imposter syndrome and masking aren't the same thing•       How coping mechanisms that got you through school are now holding you back•       Executive function, spiky profiles and interest-based nervous systems — explained properly•       Why being brilliant at what you do isn't enough if your brain is working against you•       What changes when you finally understand how your brain worksStill think it's just a bit of disorganisation?

Sarah Mills was the shyest girl in the room for most of her life. Now she speaks on stages, runs Wow Women, and has plans to keynote in Vegas.In this episode:•       Why you have to do it badly before you can do it well•       The role other people's belief plays before you have any in yourself•       Building a brand within a brand — and why personality is the whole point•       Why she finally started the podcast after telling everyone else they should•       Silk boxer shorts, Vespas and the Greek islands — early business ventures that didn't quite work out•       Why not giving a f*** is a skill you develop, not a personality traitStill waiting until you're ready?

Nicola Little spent years being everywhere, being told she was too much, and not knowing why nothing quite felt like her.In this episode:•       Why you can't be authentic if you don't know who you are yet•       Masking, neurodivergence and the exhausting performance of fitting in•       The 24-hour rule that changed how she communicates•       Why putting yourself out there is actually the fastest way to find yourself•       White male privilege, women in business and the conversations people avoid•       What she got wrong about authenticity when she was teaching it to othersStill pretending to be someone else?

Owen Ryan didn't set out to be a neurodiversity coach. He got there via the media industry, a veterans programme, and a lot of unexpected conversations.In this episode:•       Why he doesn't call himself an ADHD coach — and what he does instead•       Rhythm vs routine — the reframe that actually works•       Why the ADHD crash isn't a crisis, it's just physics•       How to stop giving yourself a hard time for the things your brain genuinely can't do•       Why calling ADHD a superpower can do more harm than good•       Downton Abbey, hyperfocus and why some series should come with a warningStill forcing the routine?

Michelle Minnikin is a work psychologist, author, ADHD brain, and self-described menace on the internet. She wrote her first book in 2 years, put on 5 stone doing it, and isn't sorry about any of it.In this episode:•       Good girl conditioning — where it starts, how it works, and why it's keeping you small•       Why staying small is a choice — even if it doesn't feel like one•       The psychology police on LinkedIn and what happened when she slid into his DMs•       Why society deliberately keeps women separate from older women — and why that's not an accident•       Post-menopausal women are at the height of their power — and the world is scared of that•       The one thing she'd tell any woman who knows she's got something to say but is terrified to say itStill playing by rules that were never written for you?

Ashley King paid privately for her ADHD diagnosis because she says it saved her life. Then 4 of her siblings got diagnosed too. Nobody in her family had ever known.In this episode:•       Why she hates the word superpower — and what she'd call it instead•       Raving as ADHD self-medication — and why it actually made sense•       Blind growth — going from 3 to 10 staff and back again with no strategy•       The rockstar reframe — and why arriving 5 minutes before filming is not late•       Epigenetics, timeline therapy and carrying trauma that isn't even yours•       The one question every ADHD person carries: what if I never reach my potential?Still waiting to feel like you've got it together?

Jenny Smith invented a job going to networking events full time, started a business on maternity leave the day lockdown began, and accidentally enrolled in a PhD at Durham. She also once spent a night signing gossip across an A&E waiting room with strangers. This is that kind of episode.In this episode:•       The lobster list — why gangster lobsters hold the secret to chemical confidence•       Why free networking events are a waste of your time if you want the right people in the room•       Extroverts think by speaking, introverts think before speaking — and why that changes everything about how you network•       Networking your kids — and why sports kids are consistently the most confident in the room•       Accidentally starting a PhD researching networking ecosystems•       The three chairs — and why you have to start with one before you can have any of the othersStill trying to connect with everyone before you know yourself?

This one's got it all: flaming toilet rolls, driving to work starkers, a house with ears, and a beautifully honest chat about life, IVF, and starting kickboxing at 54. Mychael Owen joins Anna for a rollercoaster of a conversation that bounces from absurd to emotional and back again.In this episode:•       What happens when you stop waiting•       The business of being human•       How a potato (yes, really) can sometimes do a better job than your glossy marketing brochure

YAlexander Bell — yes, that's his actual name — has built an entire career around our relationship with technology. He also once nearly got expelled for doing the Full Monty in a school talent show at age 11. The two things are more connected than you'd think.In this episode:•       Why a 7-year-old asking for an iPhone sparked a whole new direction•       The 26% productivity boost that comes from putting your phone in another room•       Infobesity, email bankruptcy and why your inbox is lying to you•       The Full Monty phone pants — and the 2,000 unusable pairs from a surplus warehouse in Portsmouth•       Why social media isn't cigarettes — and why he changed his mind on that•       Anna's phone scoring 369 on a bacteria test. A restaurant would be shut down at 30.Still think you're in control of your phone? 

Consider this the episode we never planned to make.In this episode:•       Max the German Shepherd treats the microphone as a chew toy•       Nobody can do their intro without bottling it at least four times•       Fake tattoos make an appearance•       Coffee goes everywhere it shouldn't•       The Benny Hill theme plays in your head whether you like it or not•       Snippets from guests you'll recognise from across the seriesStill think everyone else has got it together?

Paul Lancaster organised his first ever event, got 600 people through the door, and ended the week with £3 in his bank account. Nobody tells you that part.In this episode:•       How he went from zero events experience to 600 people in nine months•       The night before his first event when he couldn't string a sentence together•       Why he went back into employment during lockdown — and why he's glad he did•       Stoicism, thoughts becoming things, and weaponized distractions•       Why doing it for the community and not the money is the only reason it lasted•       What it actually feels like to be on the honeymoon after the wedding nobody warned you aboutStill waiting for someone to give you permission?

Lucy Batley fell into business by accident, lost it all, hit rock bottom, took up white collar boxing at 50, and came out the other side with zero patience for hype.In this episode:•       What AI actually is — and what it absolutely isn't•       Why your data is probably somewhere it shouldn't be•       Losing her first business and her identity with it•       What boxing taught her about focus, patience and discipline•       Being a woman in tech and still fighting for a seat at the table•       Why most business advice is just confident people talking shitStill believing everything you're told?

You don't need to be ready, you just need to start. In this episode, I'm sharing 11 surprising things I've learned from doing the thing that scared me: launching this podcast. Only 5 episodes in, and it's already changed everything. This isn't a highlight reel — it's real momentum, raw lessons, and proof that showing up before you feel ready is where the magic happens.

Charlotte Windebank started her business on job seeker's allowance, living on a £2,000 boat in Newcastle marina with a cat that let itself in through the tarpaulin. She didn't know there was a startup loan available. Nobody told her.In this episode:•       Why that feeling of dread walking into a room full of strangers never fully goes away — and what to do about it•       How to prep for a networking event so you're not just showing up and hoping for the best•       Why talking at people instead of to them is the fastest way to get nothing out of networking•       The moment she called out a government organisation in front of 100 people — and they changed their policy•       Why underrepresented founders are still missing out on support that exists for them•       Separating yourself from your business — and why it took 11 years and an MBA to figure that outStill avoiding the room?

This episode is a masterclass in unapologetically showing up as yourself, from someone who's been doing it before personal branding even became a buzzword. Alan Robson brings stories, truth, humour and serious wisdom.In this episode:•       How to stop being scared of showing up•       What to do about trolls and online critics•       Why knowing your audience is everything•       The power of listening and giving people what they actually want•       And the quote that floored me: "If you're going to go on the journey... go all the way."Still talking at people instead of to them?You can find Alan's website at www.robsonsworld.com

In this episode, I turn the tables on Neil, normally behind the camera, to help him fix the real reason his messaging isn't landing. It's not about being louder or more polished. It's about saying what matters in a way that actually connects. We work through this live(ish) on air: stripping back the waffle, finding what makes his message resonate, and showing how to say what you do so people actually give a shit and want to buy from you.Neil's website is at www.media-arts.co.uk

Alfie Joey has been terrible at everything he's ever done. Stand-up, radio, keynotes, podcasting — all of it, rubbish at the start. He also trained to be a priest, did 30 gigs a month to learn comedy, and went on to win Station of the Year at the BBC.In this episode:•       Why everyone starts rubbish — and why that's the whole point•       The guy who texted saying Alfie wouldn't last 6 weeks on radio — and what happened next•       What training to be a priest taught him about communication•       The Gruffalo analogy that is genuinely the best business communication advice you'll hear•       Why confidence is a skill, not a personality trait•       If you're not doing reels you're an idiot — and it's freeStill waiting until you're good enough?

This one's a little rough around the edges... and that's exactly why I'm putting it out. Episode 2 is me, slightly stiffer, definitely less flowy, and absolutely overthinking it — but showing up anyway. Because that's what this whole thing is about: doing the scary, awkward, uncomfortable stuff even when you feel like it's not your best.There's still plenty of value here — especially if you're someone who struggles to talk confidently about your business or second-guesses every sentence before you hit post.So here it is: a slightly clunky but still useful episode that I refused to scrap. Because done is better than perfect, and brave always beats polished.The app Anna mentions is:https://www.sesame.com/research/crossing_the_uncanny_valley_of_voice#demo

Anna chats about why (after 15 years!) she's finally decided to set up a podcast and what she hopes it will become!