How to Advocate with Heather Hansen

About How to Advocate with Heather Hansen

This is the Elegant Warrior Podcast. It's a podcast about elegance and all of its forms. We're talking about our definitions of elegance and how we maintain it in times of trial. We're also talking about how we can advocate for ourselves with elegance and in a way that makes us most likely to win. I'm your host, Heather Hansen, author, speaker, consultant, trainer, and self-advocacy expert. Let's talk Elegance!

Publisher

Heather Hansen

Category

business · education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Oct 2018

Latest episode

9 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

83 of 378 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   9 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT

   356: The Real Secret to Ultimate Charisma

   Heather Hansen, a trial attorney and leadership coach, reveals that true charisma stems from believing in others, not self-confidence, offering practical tactics for greater influence.

2. 

   2 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT

   355: These 2 Words Help You To Be Understood

   In today's episode, Heather shares one of the 12 proven tools for increasing charisma and mastering difficult conversations and it comes down to just two words: it's like. While storytelling has dominated the communication world for years, Heather explains why metaphor can be even more powerful. Stories take time. Metaphors create instant clarity. By comparing something unfamiliar to something your audience already understands, you not only become more charismatic, you become unforgettable. Through courtroom examples, coaching breakthroughs, and practical exercises, Heather shows how metaphor builds connection, increases inspiration, and helps you avoid the number one fear in communication: being misunderstood. If you want to feel more confident, persuasive, and impactful in negotiations, feedback conversations, presentations, or high-stakes moments, this episode gives you a tool you can use immediately. In this episode, you'll learn: Why Metaphor Beats Storytelling in Many Situations How stories require time and structure, but metaphors create immediate understanding. The Two Words That Increase Charisma Why saying "it's like" instantly makes your message clearer and more compelling. How Metaphor Prevents Misunderstanding Why comparing the unknown to the known helps your audience grasp complex ideas quickly. A Courtroom Example That Changed Everything How a surgeon compared knee cartilage to tire tread and helped a jury truly understand. The Coaching Breakthrough Why cleaning cabinets instead of floors perfectly illustrated client expectations and created an aha moment. Two Simple Questions to Generate Metaphors How asking "What's it like?" or "How is it like something my audience understands?" unlocks powerful comparisons. Cultural Awareness in Communication Why metaphors only work when your audience shares the reference point. Why Metaphors Make You Memorable How concise comparisons stick longer than long stories. In this episode: [00:00] Why communication tools create real excitement [01:24] The 12 proven charisma tools and where metaphor fits [03:00] The power of "it's like" [04:00] Simple examples of everyday metaphors [06:07] The surgeon who explained knees like tire tread [08:32] The cleaning floors versus cabinets breakthrough [10:50] Two practical ways to create metaphors [12:00] Cultural awareness and testing your comparisons [13:30] Why metaphor is more memorable than story [15:17] Preview of next week's charisma tool Resources and Links: 📘 Book: I Never Metaphor I Didn't Like A playful collection of metaphors to help you see comparisons everywhere and strengthen your communication. Connect with Heather: Schedule a call with Heather Follow Heather on Instagram Follow Heather on Facebook Connect with Heather on LinkedIn Website Watch Episodes on Youtube Heather's TikTok heather@elegantwarrior.com The Elegant Warrior Podcast and content posted by Heather Hansen is presented solely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user's own risk. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

3. 

   16 Feb 2026TRANSCRIPT

   354: One Sentence to Help You Face Difficult Conversations

   Heather Hansen shares a mantra to face difficult conversations by acting despite dread, using evidence to prove personal capabilities and resilience, even when emotions feel overwhelming in this episode.

Inside a recent episode

356: The Real Secret to Ultimate Charisma

Published 9 Mar 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] There are 12 of them. He calls them charismatic leadership tactics. I think of them more as leadership tools. And what we're talking about here today is combining two of them. The two that we are combining is he says that in order to be charismatic, you need to set a high goal for your followers for the people you're in front of. And then you have to communicate a confidence that they can reach that goal. You've got to believe in your people. You've got to believe in your followers that if you set a high goal, they can reach that goal. If you are a lawyer, you need to believe in your jury that if you set the goal that they find for you, that they reach a verdict in your favor, that they're capable of reaching that goal. […]

Who has been a guest on How to Advocate with Heather Hansen

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Jefferson Fisher
• Vin Gang
• Natalie
• Dr John Antonakis
• Z

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

16,963

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

105 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 83 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

99

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

92

Contact How to Advocate with Heather Hansen

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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