Erica: Hey, girl. By now, you know I have Her Collective, my online community for ambitious women who are done doing it alone. Her Collective is for the women who are smart, capable, and driven, but they find themselves stuck on the sticky floors like self doubt, burnout, and waiting for permission that quite honestly never comes. Inside HER, you get more than motivation. You get real support, real strategies, and real momentum.

Erica: We work on things like clarifying what you want now and what's coming next, building confidence without burning yourself out, navigating hard conversations, career moves, and leadership moments with clarity, and surrounding yourself with women who actually get it. This isn't about hustling harder. It's about moving intentionally with the right tools and the right people in your corner. If you're ready to stop spinning, start choosing yourself, and build a career in life that actually feels aligned, I'd love to welcome you inside her collective. You can learn more and join us at www.joinhercollective.com.

Erica: Because honestly, girl, you were never meant to do this alone. Have you ever wondered what it takes to pivot from the courts to the corporate world with both grace and grit? Today, we're gonna dive into the remarkable journey of Rebecca Harlow, a trailblazer who has mastered the art of transition. From being an athlete to a celebrated sportscaster and now a mentor and a leader who empowers others to communicate with confidence, Rebecca's story is a testament to the power of adaptability and purposeful communication. I want you to listen in as we dive into the secrets of speaking with impact, living with intention, and making every room that you enter a stage for success.

Erica: Prepare to be inspired by a story that weaves through the excitement of both sports broadcasting to the strategic depths of corporate training. Rebecca, welcome to the podcast from now to next. How are you?

Rebecca: I am amazing, and I'm so excited to chat with you, Erica. This is gonna be great.

Erica: It's not only gonna be great, but it is long overdue because we are bouncing back and forth between sicknesses, which I think every person with children is going through that right now. Tis the season to be caught with some sort of a bug. So I am so glad that we are both here and we are all healthy. But I wanna talk about you because you are a woman on a mission to help people speak with purpose, power, and impact, which two snaps for that. But fill me in on the details first.

Erica: Who is Rebecca Harlow?

Rebecca: Yes. Well, that is my mission, and I love giving people those skills to just be able to show up in any room with confidence. But, you know, it all kinda started as me an athlete. I I grew up playing sports my entire life, played sports in college, and then ultimately became a sportscaster. So I currently broadcast Knicks games for, MSG Networks and the NBA, and I work for Turner Sports broadcasting NBA games for them.

Rebecca: But I've done every sport under the sun as a host, as a reporter, so many different roles. And, I've been super grateful that that this sports casting thing has been really amazing, but it's opened up this whole new door for me to kinda share the skills that it takes to be successful as a public speaker, and I've taken that into the corporate space. And I'm now teaching other people how to, like you said, communicate with more purpose, power, and impact.

Erica: Oh my gosh. I love that. And, like, the very first question that comes to my mind, what are the top skills that it takes?

Rebecca: Well, there's so many different things that I could say about that, honestly, and I think it depends on what role you're in. Are you working as a host? Are you working as a reporter? But no matter what you're doing in that space, you have to show up with confidence because that is the number one thing that comes out in your energy and your work. Because anyone who's on television will tell you that you're sort of taking your energy level up a notch.

Rebecca: And if you're not bringing that with confidence, things don't come across as authentic. And so that's kind of the main thing that you need. Obviously, on top of that, you have to have a deep understanding of sports, and there's a lot of work that goes into it you need to understand. Like, say, we're just talking about the NBA with the Knicks. I call it the ninety ten rule.

Rebecca: So of a 100% of the work that goes into any game, 90% of it is prep, and 10% of it is what you actually end up seeing on television. But the magic is in that 90% of the preparation so that when you actually do get in front of the camera, it gives you the ability to be able to pivot any way at any time in any moment on any subject. Because when you think about sports, they're live. So you never know what's coming your way, which is also what makes it really fun.

Erica: Well and that also very easily translates into the conference rooms or the boardrooms because you have to prepare and you have to know your stuff forwards and backwards and every other which way, and you don't know what questions are gonna come at you. And I think that a big piece of that is what causes that anxiety and makes people question their confidence. So when you work with people, do you start with the confidence, or how do you approach improving these public speaking and presentation skills?

Rebecca: I do. So I love to kinda start with that piece. And so there's kind of two different ways that I currently work. I'll either take on individual clients and help them in a one on one setting, or I'll go into a corporate setting where I set up a workshop for a company where we'll do anything from a half a day to two days where I'm working with a group of people. And everything that I do is on camera, which I actually kind of love because that being on camera piece is what really helps ignite those nerves that people experience when they are public speaking and presenting.

Rebecca: And so by being able to really create those nerves when I'm working with them, like, that's how we can really step in and teach them how to conquer those fears and be able to communicate despite the fact that they're gonna be dealing with some nerves, which are very normal. And, you know, that's one of the questions that I get all the time is, oh, are you still nervous to go on television? Yeah. Certainly. Sometimes.

Rebecca: I mean, depending on the situation, some things more than others. But, yes, that's such a normal thing. And so learning how to respond to those nerves with confidence

Erica: is the key. It's almost like you're creating a test environment.

Rebecca: Mhmm.

Erica: Yes. Love that.

Rebecca: I know what? Yes. Actually, yeah, that's true. Now you're taking me back to the junior high days, the high school days, college days. It's so true, though.

Rebecca: Yeah. Like, the same way that, you know, you study, study, study, study for some exam. But even if you're super prepared, you you still might be nervous because the results of that exam is important.

Erica: So we're creating the test environment. When we think about confidence, this is just my own curiosity. Mhmm. Did you ever struggle with confidence before you got into television, or how did that show up for you?

Rebecca: No. Honestly, I've always been a pretty confident person. I've always had a leadership mentality, and I think, you know, that probably stems from the fact that I don't know. I'm just incredibly blessed to have a wonderful family and so so grew up with a lot of love and support that allowed me to be confident and kind of fostered that confidence. So, no, I never struggled with that.

Rebecca: However, that doesn't mean I didn't get super nervous. I mean, I can remember looking back on my first college football game, for example, and I legitimately did not sleep one wink that night because I was so nervous. I was young. It was so early on in my career. And so you can be both extremely confident and also nervous when you're getting into broadcasting or when you are public speaking and presenting in front of groups.

Rebecca: So those two things can be can live together.

Erica: Yeah. They're not mutually exclusive, which I I think that's important to touch on because just because you are feeling the nerves or the butterflies or whatever you wanna call it, doesn't mean that you are not confident and that you're not capable. And, I mean, I've read a ton of books on confidence because I think it's a big issue for women, but they're showing that it's not something that you're necessarily born with. It's something that you can cultivate. And the more that you show up and the do the thing, the more confident you become in yourself.

Rebecca: Yes. Yes. You get a lot more comfortable going into a presentation saying, hey. I have to stand in front of this board today, and I have to talk about these really important things. And I need all this money for this new initiative, and I need to convince these people that they're gonna give it to me.

Rebecca: And there's a lot of pressure and a lot of people counting on me. Yes. I I'm I'm nervous. Like, this is something that creates nerves, but I also know that I'm gonna go in there and get it done.

Erica: So in this mission to help people speak with purpose, power, and impact, after you've conquered the confidence piece of it, what are some of the tips or techniques that you can share with people on how they can show up and deliver?

Rebecca: Yes. So, you know, I think one of the main things that people can do to show up with more confidence in these settings is use frameworks that and and I'm not gonna bore you with all the details here, but you can use frameworks where you can get really comfortable with how to present something. And so the content changes, but the way you're approaching it is the same.

Erica: It never does. Okay.

Rebecca: And so I think those are the types of things that really help people a lot because one of the things that people are most fearful of is what they do when they make a mistake and how to respond to that. Well, when you're working with a framework that you're really comfortable with, it's so much easier to get back on track when you're using a formula that you've used a million times versus saying, hey. I'm gonna present this way this time, this way that time, a third way the next time, you know, whatever. That's where it becomes much harder.

Erica: That makes total sense.

Rebecca: Yeah. You know? But and, I mean, I also say that, though. It's not like everything needs to be the same because that's boring. So that's not what I'm getting at.

Rebecca: It's just more having structure that allows your mind to stay on track.

Erica: So, for example, if you are presenting an hour long presentation on something, whatever, could be anything, you might do three pillars with three concepts in each pillar. And so you know that if you're on the second pillar and you've said the second thing, but you've lost your place, you've only got one more left.

Rebecca: Yeah. Exactly. I mean and then the other thing too is, you know, when it comes to public speaking and presenting with this type of work is also actually teaching people how to get out of their own way when they do make a mistake. So if you do screw up and say you do start stumbling with your words or something like that, you know, what are the things that you can do to kind of peel that back and and reset? And so I think what's really interesting and awesome is that when people take the time to figure out how they're going to self correct, then they don't make mistakes.

Erica: So what do you do if you mess up? That's my biggest question. How do you pull yourself back together and continue to present with confidence when you're like, oh, no. I totally, like, flubbed this whole thing. Yeah.

Erica: You know, honestly, you've just gotta take a beat.

Rebecca: I think one of the thing that I tell people and especially women is don't apologize. You know? When you when you get into one of those situations where, I don't know, say you're saying the stat's wrong or you script a name or something like that, there's this tendency to just kinda start saying, oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

Rebecca: And that sort of gets you kind of flustered, whereas it's okay. Like, we're all human. Like, think about a conversation with your girlfriends. If your girlfriend screws up a word or stutters a word or something, you're not sitting there judging her for it. So there's really no need to say, I'm sorry.

Rebecca: And I think that one really pertains to women because we tend to do that.

Erica: I think that's a huge one, and I think it's tied to this need to do it all perfectly. So that is tied with the perfectionism because we all think that everybody else is up here doing it perfectly. Why we have that misconception? I don't know. I've never sat in on a perfect presentation, but yet I get on stage, and I'm like, it's gotta be a 100% perfect.

Rebecca: Yes. Yes. And you've gotta let go of that because it's never gonna be perfect. And the harder that you try to be perfect, the the harder that it is for you when it's not perfect. And so being perfectly imperfect is okay.

Rebecca: And, you know, I think that was one of the hardest lessons for me to learn in television because when I was younger in my career, you know, I had this mindset where I needed to memorize this perfect story and then deliver this perfect story. And if I didn't deliver it perfectly, I I would just be so hard on myself. But when you're trying so hard to be perfect, sometimes things come out robotically. Yep. And you're better off just kind of being natural.

Rebecca: And and so, you know, way that you can kinda combat that that I think is super effective is, you know, take a piece of your presentation or say it is a story that would say it's a story within your presentation. Tell that story four or five different ways when you're practicing so that you put yourself in a position to be okay to deliver it more naturally, and then you recognize that, you know, the story might come out a little bit differently each time, and that that's okay.

Erica: That ties into one piece of advice that someone gave me one time, and they were like, practice it so much that you can start to have fun with it. Yes. And I loved that because it took the stress out of it. It took the pressure off of it to be perfect, and it made it honestly a lot harder to mess up because it was just a natural flowing conversation rather than a scripted event.

Rebecca: Yes. Yes. Yes. A 100%. Like, I never when I'm working on TV, I never memorize my stuff.

Rebecca: So, you know, I have little tricks, like, for example, I know the first sentence. I know that. I've got that memorized, but then the rest of it, I'll have bullet points. And so it's it's never memorized. But the bullet points also help with the nerves, though, for people too because, you know, you realize that you do kinda have that cheat sheet if you need to look down and just kinda remember where you are.

Rebecca: So those are very helpful too.

Erica: Yes. Absolutely. And I would say what has helped me is not only knowing that first sentence, but knowing my last sentence.

Rebecca: Yes.

Erica: Because then you can just nail it, and you can get out of there.

Rebecca: Yes. Well, sometimes it's hard to get out of stuff. And so knowing how you wanna do that really helps a lot because it's the worst when you get up and you deliver this amazing thing or you watch someone deliver this amazing thing. And at the end, there's this sort of like, okay. Well, I'm done now and

Erica: Yep. Yep. What do I do? I'm awkward. Alright, Rebecca.

Erica: You've had this amazing television career in sports, super glamorous to a ton of people who love sports, that is, I should say. You also now have this incredible mission with all that you're doing to help people just show up and really be impactful in the work that they're doing. Do you have any sticky floors? Because it doesn't look like it. And remember, those sticky floors, those limiting beliefs, those toxic behaviors, do you even have any?

Rebecca: Oh my goodness. Yes. I we all do. I mean, there's literally no way that anyone has none. Right?

Rebecca: So, you know, it's interesting, Erica, because I love your concept that you're doing with the sticky floors thing because yeah. I don't know. It just resonates with me, and there's I I have plenty of them. But one thing that comes to mind when I was thinking about this whole concept that I don't think is talked about enough and I think has been an issue for me is I think there's this thing where if you're a super driven, hardworking person and that's kind of what you know and that's what you do and you really kinda pride yourself on working hard, you also need to know when to stop and pivot. And I think sometimes you put your head down and you just work, and you don't listen to the signs that maybe something's wrong or you maybe need to change something.

Rebecca: And so I'll give you an example of that in my life. When I started my career and as broadcasters often do, I was chasing jobs all over the country because that's what you do. I mean, you just take the next job. You take the next opportunity. And I'm a Chicago girl.

Rebecca: I went to Princeton, so most of my friends are on the East Coast, New York. Those are my two cities, Chicago, New York. That's where my heart is. But my jobs that I got early in my career were all on the West Coast. So I lived in San Francisco.

Rebecca: I lived in Portland. I lived in LA. I actually lived in LA twice, and I stayed out West too long. Looking back on it, I stayed out West too long, and I did love my jobs professionally. But, personally, I didn't feel like I was at home.

Rebecca: I never felt like I was at home. And so for a solid decade or so, I was so focused on my career that I never stepped back to say, but okay. But is this where I wanna be personally? You know? And I think that if I were to do it all over again, I would have left a little bit sooner.

Rebecca: And I didn't because I was worried about, okay, but my career is here. I'm so established here. The longer I work here, the more job opportunities that are coming here. And at some point in time sooner, I needed to just rip the Band Aid off and say, I'm moving to Chicago and or I will live in New York. That's it.

Rebecca: That's where I wanna be. That's where my heart is. My jobs are gonna work out there and have confidence in that. And I did that too late.

Erica: So do you think that there was just a lot of fear around if you did that, that there would not be the job? So looking at it from that scarcity mindset?

Rebecca: Yes. I think so. You know? Because I was in this zone where I was just so focused and working so hard on building this career that I just didn't allow myself to stop and say, but what do I want? You know, what does, like, what does Rebecca want as a person?

Rebecca: It was more just like, well, I want to be successful. I want to be a sportscaster. I want to make this work. Okay. But, you know, is this right?

Rebecca: And so it's just interesting because, you know, I encourage people to make sure that they're taking time when they have their head down working so hard to stop and just take notes and evaluate, is there need to make a change or not? And we all have to make sacrifices and things like that when we're building our careers. I get all that. But when I finally said, hey. I'm out of here and moved back to Chicago, lo and behold, it all worked out in Chicago.

Rebecca: And lo and behold, my next opportunity after that was in New York.

Erica: What was the catalyst that made you rip that Band Aid off?

Rebecca: I just finally the finally felt the pull to go back to my family. Well, no. I should say I should say I finally listened to the pull to go back to my family. So that was it. I mean, I I I'd had that poll all along, all ten years, kinda knowing, you know, I love the West Coast, but I'm not a West Coast kid.

Rebecca: And I finally listened to it.

Erica: Do you think there was a lot of this, like, I will be happy when or do this when, and, like, it just kept pushing that move out? Like, you knew you would be happier on the East Coast, but you kept thinking like, okay, not yet or the next time or the next. And then Hey there, listeners. If you have ever felt like you're stuck in a place, held back by self doubt, perfectionism, or that pesky inner critic, you're not alone. We all face those sticky floors that keep us from reaching the heights we dream of.

Erica: But guess what? It's time to shatter those limiting beliefs and toxic behaviors to uncover infinite possibilities. My book, Glassy Leads and Sticky Floors, is your ultimate guide to smashing through barriers, overcoming limiting beliefs, and stepping into your full potential. This book has been endorsed by none other than the great Mel Robbins, best selling author and motivational powerhouse. It's also been featured in Success Magazine, so you know it's packed with insights that work.

Erica: Inside, you'll find real life sticky floor stories, practical strategies to help you navigate your own sticky floor moments, and a whole lot of inspiration to keep you climbing. This isn't just a book. It's your road map to success, confidence, and freedom. Grab your copy of Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors today at www.ericaandersonrooney.com. Whether you're in the boardroom, the classroom, or just starting out, this book is for you because no one, and I mean no one, deserves to stay stuck, no one deserves to feel small, and you have glass ceilings to shatter.

Erica: Let's do this.

Rebecca: Yeah. And, you know, I also think too, I wasn't unhappy. Do you know what I mean?

Erica: Yeah.

Rebecca: So it's not like I was unhappy on the West Coast. I had awesome jobs. I had awesome friends. So my life was great. I mean, gosh.

Rebecca: The weather's fabulous. There's so many things. But those you know, I've I've always said it's like you don't live somewhere for the weather. You live somewhere for the people. And so for me, my life was great.

Rebecca: And, I mean, gosh. Those are still some of my closest friends and some of my colleagues who I still talk to all the time and who I love so much. But life is not it's not you know, life is never black and white, so I feel like you've gotta figure out even within all that, like, what is the next right move? And we're so focused on just go, go, go, work, work, work, work, do, do, do, achieve, achieve, achieve, achieve. You know?

Rebecca: And so I think that's kind of a sticky thing that we need to work out.

Erica: Yeah. I recently admitted probably to myself and a whole bunch of other people that I'm addicted to achievement. Right? I'm addicted to growth. I'm always looking for the next thing.

Erica: And while there is a lot of good in that, it also if I'm not paying attention to it, I'm not doing that slowing down and listening to myself of, like, is this the next right move?

Rebecca: Right. Right.

Erica: I love how you said that because it totally resonates with me as a high achiever because, also, too, when you do achieve all those things, then what?

Rebecca: Right. I mean, yeah, there's so much to be said for the it's the journey. It's not the destination. And I'm a firm believer in that because I think that, you know, your life is gonna slip by. Like, the present moment is this this very moment right now.

Rebecca: So if you're thinking about something from yesterday or you're stressed out about tomorrow, you're totally missing out. But that's different from saying, okay. I can I can be in the moment, but also what's my next right move? And or, like, why am I not taking it? I know this is my next right move.

Rebecca: Why am I not taking it? Let's break that down.

Erica: Well, what's also really fascinating too is this concept of you weren't having a bad time. Life was pretty damn awesome. You were living your dream career. You had great friends, but there was still a big chunk that was missing that you were just not slowing down enough to acknowledge. And I think there's a lot of women out there who probably do have that big chunk that they're not acknowledging, but everything else is pretty damn good.

Erica: So why should I pay attention to it?

Rebecca: Yes. And there's so many different polls and factors that that go into that too. Right? You know, you've got your professional life. You've got your personal life.

Rebecca: You've got your friends. You've got, you know, who you're dating and things like that. And and I think that'd be just such a great spot. So, you know, I don't know that it's that I would go back and change it specifically. I just think it's that it's important to stop and take the time to ask yourself these questions and ask yourself self when you have all of this momentum going.

Rebecca: The ball's rolling this way, but should it be going this way or this way? And think through those things.

Erica: Well, I think that's a good analogy, and I wanna dive in on it. Did things click into place for you when you did go back to the East Coast?

Rebecca: Yes.

Erica: So, like, how? Tell me all the things.

Rebecca: I mean, it clicked in so many ways because my heart was where it was supposed to be, and everything else works from that. Right? I mean, I feel like when you feel an inner peace and that's the starting point, everything else kinda comes together. And so what I ultimately learned was that I could have both. I could have my career, and I could have my personal life where I wanted it, and those two could be in the same place.

Rebecca: And so once I was able to sort of put that together, that's when that sort of piece and click for me settled in. But it's not like I became any less motivated then at that point. There just wasn't this pull. There wasn't this one foot out the door with, you know, whatever current lease I had.

Erica: Yeah. Well and I think the real big overarching picture here is that you can have it all if you are paying attention to what your heart, your intuition, your gut, whatever you wanna call it, is saying. Mhmm. I love that. And now you have this business where you are taking the impact that all of the skills that you learned on screen and you're giving it to people in corporate America, if someone wants to work with you because they're like, I need this in my life, I need to present like a pro, how can they get in touch with you?

Rebecca: Yes. They can just go to my website. It's rebeccaharlow.com. So all the info is there. They can reach out to me via email.

Rebecca: I do feel like there's one more thing, though, with this whole thing

Erica: Do tell me.

Rebecca: That we're talking about.

Erica: Do tell me.

Rebecca: I think that we I think we can have it all, but I don't think we should put the pressure on ourselves to have it all or at least have it all all at once. Mhmm. Because I still don't have it all. You know? I'm not still sitting here with my life completely figured out.

Rebecca: You know? So I think and I think there's this pressure for women these days to have it all because now we've fought so hard to, you know, break some of these glass ceilings and have opportunities and do all this stuff. Then now there's this expectation that, you know, we're supposed to be 100% moms. We're supposed to be a 100% professional. We're supposed to be a 100% in our relationships.

Rebecca: We're, you know, we're supposed to be a 100% in all these different areas, which is impossible all the time. So I think, you know, going back to that whole sticky thing and listening to your intuition and all that, it's like sometimes that next move might not be an easy one. Or it it can still be the next right move, but that doesn't mean it's gonna be easy, and that's kind of okay. Yeah. It can just be the next right move that's going to lead to the next right place.

Erica: Yeah. My thoughts on having it all because, again, that's the whole premises of all of this stuff, right, is that we have to define what it all looks like to us. Because my it all is gonna be different than your it all and the next woman's and the next woman's, and we need to take this big old box of crappy shoulds that society has given us, which says, you know, we should have homemade cookies for when our kids come home from school, and we should be room mom, and we should have a great job that we love, and we should be appreciative of all these things coming your way. And we need to take that and throw it out and figure out what works for us because that is the only way you can have it all. And, yeah, if we're looking at this traditional view, it's really BS.

Rebecca: Yeah. It's completely impossible to have it all together all the time.

Erica: What I find so fascinating is I think it is a lot of our generation that was told and taught through our parents and society that this what the it all is. Right? It's because our parents, our mothers, women of that generation, didn't have the luxury of doing and being anything they wanted all the time. Right. Because the need to be home was so much more.

Erica: So we have these women who are from a generation above us who are like, climb the corporate ladder, break the ceilings, be a sportscaster. Right? There were no women sportscasters back then. And so we're out there and we're doing it, but they're also like, but you also need to be a good mom. You also shouldn't be traveling that much.

Erica: You also need to be, like, making five horse meals every day. So, like, why are you traveling for work? Why are you doing this? And it's totally conflicting. So we're working, you and I, on redefining what that looks like.

Erica: And I think the generations that are hearing us and seeing our struggles are learning, okay. This is what it all is gonna be for me and what it's gonna look like going on, you know, in the next generation. So it's a completely iterative, I'll exit my soapbox now. But

Rebecca: No. But you're so I mean, you you're you hit the nail on the head because I think on top of that it all mentality is social media that's also telling us that it all is supposed to be so perfect, and we're supposed to do all of that and also look fabulous while we're doing it and also, you know, working out 17 times a day and, you know, it so, you know, eating Green juicing

Erica: and also getting my nails done and my hair done and all the things. Yes.

Rebecca: And so I think the I think you're hitting the nail on the head that you've gotta define your own at all and then not allow all the outside forces to make you feel guilty about what you're it all is.

Erica: Amen. Another two snaps for you. I do have one last question. It's the one I end every podcast on, but it would be what is the one piece of advice that you would give the Rebecca who's up and down the West Coast, moving in and out of LA all the time, what piece of advice would you give her?

Rebecca: Yes. I would give her the advice to pick her head up from the hard work every once in a while and just check-in, Check-in and see how everything feels and see if there's a next move that needs to be made or not. That next best

Erica: move. And just like that, we've wrapped up another amazing episode. Don't you just love Rebecca Harlow's story? And that's just the kind of motivation we all need. From nailing in the sports arena to rocking it in the corporate world, Rebecca has shown us that it is all about believing in your voice and owning your power.

Erica: Remember, it is not just about the big leaps, it is about those small everyday steps that lead to massive changes. So whether you are gearing up for the next big game or preparing for that important meeting, take a leaf out of Rebecca's book, speak your truth, stand in your power, and watch as the world just opens up to you. So thanks for hanging out with me today. I wanna make sure that you keep chasing those dreams, keep breaking those barriers, and, hey, stop putting ceilings on what's possible, and y'all start breaking through.