Back in 2019, when we were colleagues (long before we were married!), we took a public speaking course with Eric Silverberg and Eli Gladstone, co-founders of Speaker Labs. To this day, we consider it the best corporate training we've ever experienced. And we've done a LOT of corporate training over the years.

What we didn't realize at the time was just how much that experience would influence our lives and eventually play a part in the creation of Vienna Waits.

Eric and Eli are best friends who went from teaching at Ivey Business School to working in tech before taking the leap to start Speaker Labs in 2016. Today, they help teams at organizations around the world become more confident and effective public speakers. But their approach goes well beyond presentation skills. As they put it, it's a life course disguised as a public speaking course.

Seven years later, Greg sits down with Eric and Eli (sadly, Whitney couldn't make this one!) for a conversation about fear, failure, entrepreneurship, building something you genuinely love, and the courage it takes to give something a shot.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Defanging failure: The difference between moment, message and major failures, and why understanding them can change how you approach risk.
• The way we talk to ourselves: Why becoming a better communicator starts with what's going on inside your own head.
• The Speaker Labs story: How two best friends turned their love of teaching and communication into a business.
• Building a great product: Why Eric and Eli believe an exceptional product should be at the heart of your business.
• Competition is a good thing: Why discovering that someone else is already doing your business idea might be exactly the validation you need.
• Following your enthusiasm: Why you don't need all the expertise figured out before pursuing something you're interested in.
• The fear of never trying: Why the thought of never giving something a shot can eventually become scarier than failing.
• The power of partnership: Why what strengthens and drains you matters more than simply having different skills, and how we can borrow courage from others.

There's something pretty freeing about realizing that failure probably isn't nearly as scary as we've made it out to be. And that the bigger risk might be spending our lives wondering what would have happened if we'd just given something a shot.

A HUGE thank you to Eric and Eli for this conversation and for the role they've played in our own journey.

And yes, we're already planning a Round Two so Whitney can join the fun next time!

EPISODE LINKS & REFERENCES

Speaker Labs:www.speakerlabs.ca

Speaker Labs on LinkedIn:Follow Speaker Labs

Eric Silverberg:Connect on LinkedIn

Eli Gladstone:Connect on LinkedIn

Martin Perelmuter, Co-Founder of Speakers Spotlight:Learn more

We’d love to connect with you. Here’s where to find us: 

Vienna Waits Website

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UNBLOCK Yourself™ Program

Corporate Programming

Waypoint Retreat

Vienna Waits on Instagram

Greg’s LinkedIn 

Whitney’s LinkedIn 

On this podcast, we explore what it means to get UNBLOCKED.

You’ll hear stories about finding clarity, navigating career pivots, and choosing to live with intention. Sometimes that’s through conversations with guests who made bold moves and changed direction. Other times it’s just the two of us unpacking the books, ideas, and lessons shaping our own journey.

We’re not experts looking down from a stage. We’re in it too. Building, questioning, adjusting, and trying to create lives that feel more aligned, more alive, and more intentional.