Episode 172: Start the conversation: Creating a safe space to explore tough topics with Rose Allett
This week, we’re talking about a topic that isn’t really talked about, and today’s guest is on a mission to change that.
(A quick heads up if you’re listening, in this episode we’re talking about suicide, and starting a conversation if you’re worried about someone).
My guest is Rose Allett, and she is the face behind Start the Conversation. She’s a qualified counsellor, mum of one, keen yogi and singer (amongst other things!) and also a passionate, experienced and international tutor of suicide prevention skills.
In this conversation, I’m curious to discover how Rose creates trust quickly with her groups, particularly in the virtual world, and how she starts a conversation around a sensitive topic. We also dive into being a business owner and the importance of having an abundance mindset- valuing collaboration, over competition.
As you’ll hear, Rose is passionate about empowering people to overcome their fears and find the words to talk about suicide, because she believes... she knows... that talking saves lives. It saved hers.
And not just talking, listening too. A conversation; a brave, bold and necessary conversation
About our guest: Rose Allett
Rose is a passionate and experienced Suicide Prevention specialist and Founder of Start the Conversation. She has empowered hundreds if not thousands of people around the world (face-to-face and more recently on Zoom) with the skills and confidence to talk about suicide.
Her courses include: LivingWorks ASIST and safeTALK, Suicide First Aid (SFA) and her own 90-minute Zoom training Talking about Suicide: Ten Tools (TAS10), developed in partnership with the charity Olly's Future.
She has taught English in the Sahara desert, coached Vietnam veterans in the Australian bush on how to actively listen, created a guide and a film for parents worried about their teen's self-harming, coordinated role-play sessions (with young actors) to train doctors how to communicate more effectively with teenage patients who are self-harming or thinking of suicide.
She has managed projects, including the innovative award-winning Safe Space and youth mental health project Right Here (both YMCA DLG). She is a qualified Integrative Humanistic Counsellor, specialising in working with young people aged 13-25.
In this episode you will learn how to:
Create an environment of openness and trust quickly, to open crucial conversations
Start a conversation if you’re concerned about someone’s well-being
Manage your energy and put on your “game face” before a workshop
Channel an abundance mindset (and the importance of focusing on collaboration over competition_
Incorporate self-care as an everyday way of being
Here are some questions I asked Rose during the interview:
Can you talk us through what’s working in terms of creating that environment of starting a conversation?
You exude warmth, radiance and comfort. Did you hone that or is that just part of who you are?
How do you manage your state and energy before your workshop?
How do you reflect on how your workshop went?
What do you want to share with our audience about the abundance mindset?
Resources mentioned:
Connect with Rose Allett on Linkedin
Visit Rose’s website Start the Conversation
Join Rose’s next public workshop: Talking about Suicide: Ten Tools - online training for anyone
Watch the video interview below:
About your host: Leanne Hughes
Leanne Hughes is an international facilitator, speaker and coach who loves creating unpredictable workshop experiences, that predictably work.
She combines her experience in Marketing, with her education in Human Resources and Psychology, to help leaders create engaging everyday experiences - that are so contagious they scale across teams, functions and regions.
Leanne has facilitated leadership, onboarding and team-development workshops across Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore and believes in a strengths-centred approach to learning and development. She has over 14 years’ of experience across a range of industries including mining, government and tourism sectors.
She’s the host of the First Time Facilitator podcast and was a finalist in the 2018 Australian Learning Impact awards for Learning Professional of the Year.