#389 Erin Diehl: From Talk Show Dreams to a Business Built on Bombing — Part One
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What inspired Erin Diehl to become a talk show host?
Yes, I am in Charleston, South Carolina. It's morning for me. It's evening for you. So I'm having some coffee and just enjoying the start of the day. When I was born, my mom said I came out of the womb dancing and saying, hello world, I'm here. So that was my first foray on earth. And then as I grew up, I fell in love with the stage. I was a dancer. I was an actress. I sang, but not well. And I decided early on I wanted to be a talk show host. That was my goal, then. And so I went to Clemson University and graduated with a degree in communications. And this was the early 2000s. So there wasn't a ton of internet coaching, or there wasn't a ton of opportunity for me to learn how to be a talk show host. So I said, where should I go?
Naturally, the home of Oprah Winfrey, my dream talk show host. So I moved to Chicago, started taking improv classes, and really fell in love with it as an art form. And over the years, I did book some hosting things, but I kept coming back to improv. And finally, in my late 20s, I decided to stop traveling. I was doing a ton of traveling at the time.
How did improv change Erin's career path?
take a nine to five job at a recruiting firm, which I had never done recruiting. And the job that I took was actually business development. So it was sales. And so I worked nine to five and then six to 10 every night. I took classes at the second city or improv Olympic or the annoyance, which are huge theaters in the U S and in Chicago. And I just saw everything I was doing on stage really spill over into my work life. I was becoming a better listener. I was more empathetic. I was thinking more quickly on my feet. And I knew that there was a connection between improv and the professional world. So at the time, one of my clients at this recruiting farm was United Airlines. I asked my boss if I could pilot, pun intended, a workshop to United using improv. And of course they said yes. And the first couple of ones I did were for free. And then United said, we're going to pay you. And so my very first client was United Airlines. As time progressed, I knew that this was my calling.
I knew I wanted it to be bigger than just me, so I left my full-time job and started Improve It in 2014. Improve It is an improv-infused talent development company for the new generation of work. We use improv to teach people how to lead teams, how to be the highest versions of themselves, but it's ultimately all through play, and we've been in business 10 years, and here we are.
He mentioned as a teenager, you were determined to become a talk show host. I find that intriguing. Honestly, most people in their teens or even in college don't really know what they want to do, let alone something as specific as hosting a talk show. I mean, when I tell people I set my sights on getting into business school and earning an MBA at age 15, they often say, seriously? At 15? It seems so young to have such a focused goal. But back to you, why talk show host? I imagine some might dream of being a news anchor or getting into show business. But for you, what was it about talk show hosting that drew you in? Especially back then, before podcasts even existed, what was the story behind that ambition?
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What inspired Erin Diehl to become a talk show host?
2:12–3:30
2
How did improv change Erin's career path?
3:30–6:56
3
What was Erin's experience with her first client, United Airlines?
6:56–9:22
4
What does Erin mean by being in the 'business of joy'?
9:22–11:19
5
How does Erin measure success with ROO instead of ROI?
11:19–12:04
6
What was the early version of Erin's business like?
12:04–21:41
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Chief Change Officer™: Ensemble
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