Elizabeth Cottrell: Heartspoken: How to Write Notes that Connect, Comfort, Encourage, and Inspire

Elizabeth Cottrell isn't just an author and speaker, she's an ambassador. As the author of Heartspoken: How to Write Notes that Connect, Comfort, Encourage, and Inspire, Elizabeth is on a mission to inspire readers to rediscover the power of connecting through notes and letters. It's one of Jason's favorite topics, and he's thrilled to welcome her to The Book Drop Mic.

Buy Elizabeth's new book:
https://www.heartspoken.com/heartspoken-book/

Learn more about Elizabeth:
https://www.heartspoken.com/

Subscribe to Elizabeth's free newsletter:
https://heartspoken.substack.com

Learn more about Jason:
http://www.jasonfwright.com

About the book:
In the hands of author Elizabeth H. Cottrell, the handwritten note is set free from old-fashioned irrelevance to become a superpower tool for connecting with others. Heartspoken: How to Write Notes that Connect, Comfort, Encourage, and Inspire will guide you to uncovering your own unique note-writing voice and give you the confidence to use it. Consider the flipping of a light switch. You can't see the electricity. You may not even understand how it works. But when power starts flowing through the open wire, it is nothing short of miraculous. She will show you how to find and flip that switch in your own note writing. Grasp this beautiful process, and your writing will become alive, meaningful, and impactful in ways you never thought possible.

This podcast is brought to you by InkVeins, your source for book publicity, promo, press releases and more. Text 540-212-4095 for more information.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome, friends, to the Book Drop Mic brought to you by InkVeins, your source for book publicity, promo and press releases. This is, of course, your host, your friend Jason Wright, and I do not have to tell you how much I love a handwritten letter, a handwritten card, those little notes that show up on your desk or in your mailbox, or on the pew at church or in your cubicle. I love this long lost art of a handwritten letter and card and note. And so today's guest on the podcast was the biggest no-brainer in the history of no-brainers. She is the author of Heart Spoken how to Write Notes that Connect, comfort, encourage and Inspire. She's a good friend, she's a local to me anyway. Her name is Elizabeth Cottrell and I'm thrilled to have her step up to the Book Drop Mic. Hello, elizabeth, how are you?

Speaker 2: 1:05

Good morning, jason. I'm great, thank you. Wonderful to be with you.

Speaker 1: 1:08

It is fun to have you here and of course I say all the time that these interviews are usually recorded, captured using Zoom, so I get to see your bright, smiling, shiny face and know that you're just down the road for me, which is unusual. Usually my guests are scattered about the planet and fun to have someone who is scattered so close.

Speaker 2: 1:31

Absolutely, it's a treat.

Speaker 1: 1:34

It is, and it's a treat to run into you around town. Okay, let's dive into this. We're going to talk about the book, that's why you're here, but first I want my listeners, who perhaps are not familiar with you and your work and this passion that you have for this topic today, to know a little bit about who Elizabeth is. Who are you? Great question.

Speaker 2: 1:52

Elizabeth used to ask me that, mom, what do we tell people when they want to know what you do? 25 words or less is usually kind of tricky for that. But I am a scientist. By training, a connector, by avocation, I did years and years of technical writing, which is just rather straightforward. Never really thought of myself as a writer, but I've always been passionate about connecting with other people and community work and that kind of thing. So that is how you and I first had our paths crosses, the various ways we both are involved in our community, which we both believe in, but the seeds of this book, I think.

Speaker 2: 2:37

When my husband retired as an internal medicine specialist here in the Valley, that was an opportunity for me to shift gears and ask myself what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, and so I started a blog, which was kind of fun, and what my blog is about is a connection, and I really came to understand that we are hardwired for connection, and so I began to explore what that meant in my writing and, of course, one of the four essential connections, those being our connection with God, our connection with others, our connection with self and our connection with nature. But in connecting with others. I just realized that this little wonderful pick up a pen and write a note was one of the more powerful connection tools that we have at our disposal. And so I started, have always written notes myself, but started hearing from people that, oh, I don't know how to write notes the way you do, how do you do it? And eventually somebody said you should write a note a book, I mean. And so that seed was planted, probably for years, and percolated, and then came COVID and my daughter called me that month after the world went silent.

Speaker 2: 3:58

She said mom, it's your 70th birthday and I know your calendar has just gone from completely full to completely empty, like everybody else's, and I want you to get that book out of your head and onto paper and to make sure that you do. I, for your birthday, I'm giving you some time with a friend of mine who's an accountability coach and she's going to call you every week to see what you've done.

Speaker 1: 4:19

I love that.

Speaker 2: 4:21

So my daughter, sarah, cultural props gets the big shout out for for getting me off of square one and getting me to write the book. And then, of course, I cannot tell the book story without including you, because I did write the book and then took another few months to figure out what to do with it. And just a few weeks before, a few months before it was to go to be published, my publisher said oh, by the way, have you thought about getting somebody to write a preface, to write an introduction? And you came immediately to mind, because you have written so eloquently about your belief in the power of a handwritten note. And I wrote to you and you were in the middle of your own book promotion. You were actually out west somewhere on a book tour and out of the kindness of your heart, you didn't even hesitate, you said I'm in. That was your, your answer to you, to my query.

Speaker 2: 5:17

So the introduction preface forward is, think I think is the way we used it, to my book is is Jason right, and I will forever be grateful, not just that you did it, but that you believed in it enough to put your name on it.

Speaker 1: 5:33

Absolutely, absolutely, and I can't say enough how thrilled I am that your daughter was was insightful enough to know this might be the little help that mom needs. I'm a big fan and in personal coaching and professional coaching and self development, self help, whatever you want to call it and so I love that she did that, that she thought maybe this one little piece is the thing that will help. Obviously, you did all the work. You do the writing, you did the research, you put the thing together, but having someone to push us along is it can be, it can be just so valuable.

Speaker 1: 6:11

I tell people all the time that want to write a book or that tell me that they're going to write a book. The most important thing you can do is tell everyone. Tell everyone you're doing it. If you post on social media today I'm going to write a book, I'm doing it this month or this year or the next decade, whatever it is. Tell everyone so they can hold you accountable, because there's nothing that drives you more than going to church or school or seeing your friend in the store and having them say how's your book coming, and you knowing secretly that you've written exactly two and a half pages over the last month.

Speaker 2: 6:41

So I love that Absolutely absolutely Great props your daughter.

Speaker 1: 6:44

I am holding the thank you note that you sent me when you sent me the book that was signed, and then I'm also holding up. Obviously, folks, we're going to have links in the show notes to Elizabeth, to her website, to where you can pick up heart spoken.

Speaker 1: 7:00

Okay so again, those that have followed my career for more than about four minutes know that I believe so much in how we can lift a person, inspire a person, comfort a person, mourn with a person, grieve with a person. There's no, there's. There's simply nothing better than a handwritten note. And people say to me why does it have to be handwritten? I said, well, I get that email is important. I send text all the time to people. When I just feel like I've got 10 seconds, I want to send a quick pick me up to a friend, to a family member, to one of my kids, to someone from church, whatever.

Speaker 1: 7:36

So I do believe that technology can play a role in how we and how we connect, but there is nothing that replaces your hand gliding across a piece of paper and and literally leaving a little bit of yourself on that paper as you share what's in your heart with somebody. So tell us what is the. You and I are in the elevator and you've got 30 seconds to tell me about heart spoken and and why you think it matters so much. You alluded to it before. Give me the 30 second pitch for those people that might only get to this point in the podcast and jet off to work or school or wherever they've got to go.

Speaker 2: 8:16

Heart spoken powder. Right notes that connect, comfort, encourage and inspire is not a lecture. It is a an encouragement. It is a an inspiration of why you can and you will find your own voice to give these messages to the people, professional and personal, in your life that mean the most to you. I really hope that by the end of this book you will understand and feel inspired and feel equipped to grab this superpower for your own.

Speaker 1: 8:51

Oh well, there you go, the door's open. We're off the elevator. Well done, well done Okay.

Speaker 2: 8:58

So let me make one little quick point, jason, and that is heart-spoken. You will have no doubt, reading my book, that I agree with everything you said about a handwritten note. But the message of the book is the heart-spoken part. It is from your heart, which can be conveyed in any number of ways, and we certainly I use technology as well.

Speaker 1: 9:20

So no, totally get it. And I happen to know that I have a listener right now down in Charlottesville, virginia, who may or may not be my mother, who would say that her handwriting is probably not suitable these days, legible these days, and so an email or a text message or a phone call for my mother, she would say, is much more powerful, impactful than a handwritten note.

Speaker 2: 9:49

And I have a whole section on there about alternatives to handwritten notes. So I try to anticipate that objection.

Speaker 1: 9:56

You do so, you have chapter one before you begin. Chapter two, start with Y. Chapter three the secret notes formula. Chapter four note for every occasion. Chapter five outside the box note writing. Chapter six take it to the office, business and professional notes and then tools of the trade passing the torch. So what I wanted to ask about real quick is the outside the box note writing. People might be listening right now and going. I have not written a note since the seventh grade when I wrote it on a piece of notebook paper that I pulled out of my trapper keeper and I shoved in the slot of someone's locker at school that I liked. I don't even know what note writing card writing would even look like in my life today and they find something in this out of the box chapter that applies to them.

Speaker 2: 10:46

Oh gosh, I sure hope so, jason. I think that that is. We get so bogged down in etiquette and I'm a great fan of etiquette but the thank you notes and the sympathy notes are sort of what's were shoved down our throats as children and made, and we were made to write. But when I am talking about outside the box note writing, it is all about caring about other people and the various things that they're going to go through in their life, and so it might be a pat on the back note for something they have achieved. It might be a note to say and I see your daughter has just been made valedictorian. This is amazing. Or it might be I hate that you're going through this. I know it's embarrassing or I know it's painful or I know it's whatever, but I just want you to know that I'm thinking of you. Or it might be as simple as hey, this is a book I read and immediately made me think of you. Just wanted you to know Two or three lines.

Speaker 2: 11:52

Often, and especially when it's unexpected, I think our unexpected notes from people are like getting a hug. They really are, and some of the really oddball ones that I talk about in the book are much more poignant. I've written to people. I've written to politicians, local politicians when there was a really very acrimonious election and just begged them to remember that we're all people and let's be kind to each other. I've written to people who were in the news because of an embarrassing thing that they did, that maybe even a mistake that they made, but to let them know that this is terrible, but you'll get through this. Somebody from church that was charged with something that was embarrassing, so those kinds of things. We should reach out to people and connect because they are. But, for the grace of God, go we.

Speaker 1: 12:53

Absolutely, and I think if you're listening right now and wondering, boy, who in my circle of influence could I lift or inspire or touch or connect with, it might be as simple as just closing your eyes and pondering, asking God, whatever that looks like for you. We all think and pray and ponder, perhaps differently, but just take a moment to just close your eyes, meditate, think about your week, think about people you've seen, think about people that you work with, interact with your neighbor down the street that you haven't seen in far too long, and you'll be surprised at how names will sort of come to mind and they'll stay there. And sometimes the most, I think, interesting notes that I have sent to people have been when a name occurred to me and I just let it roll around for a few days in my head. I keep a journal on Sundays in church and I take notes on the service that I'm in and I make notes on my goals that I'm working toward, and occasionally in that journal more than occasionally, quite often I make a note of someone that I perhaps didn't see in church and it's been a little while, and so I'll think about that for several days until I get to Tuesday, wednesday, thursday in my week and then early in the morning I'll sit at my desk and I'll scratch out a short note that just says I have been thinking of you and it's real and it's genuine and it's authentic.

Speaker 1: 14:22

It's not a card at the store that you pay $7 for that says thinking of you, signed Jason. It's much more real than that. It feels like it's actually coming from me and not just through me. And there's a difference in buying a card, which sometimes we have to do, I understand, but when you buy a card, you're simply the vehicle for that to get to its destination. When you make a card or create a card or just take something personal that's in your desk, a piece of stationary, it just feels like it's coming really from the heart. I mean, that's where this heart spoken comes from right, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 15:01

And I one little piece of feedback I got from my brother the first year of COVID. I was so moved by that whole experience and I wrote to every one of my four brothers and sisters in the first few months of that year just to let them know how much I love them and how much I appreciated them and why I appreciated them and one of my brothers. They all expressed gratitude for that. But one of my brothers said you have no idea how much it means to me to feel seen by you, and that is what happens. And to your point about going to the store, I think sometimes, if you have, if you think yes, I'd like to write more notes. One of the best ways to do it is to make it convenient and keep your supplies close at hand and stock up on notes that don't have any message in them so that you can write your own message. But I love your advice about just taking a moment and listening for that still small voice, because it will come to you.

Speaker 2: 16:02

Yeah, and that is actually the O in open of my formula, of my notes formula the O is open to is open yourself and your heart and your mind to inspiration.

Speaker 1: 16:13

And possibly to someone that you just could not imagine would need that kind of connection, and that's and that's what heaven can do for us is to guide us to those people like you you said a few minutes ago, it's so special when it's completely unexpected and you just open your mailbox and there is something from a name that maybe hasn't occurred to you in in so long and you just know that they have that same kind of experience. And so in return, you you know you want to have that kind of experience with them I will say I the reviews for the book are terrific Again in the show notes we'll have links to where people can look this up but lots of great praise at the beginning of the book. I especially like this one that I'll share with you, because I think this just sums up so well how I feel about the book. It says again praise for heart spoken. The beginning of the book quote what you have in your hand is far more than another book on the proper way to write a note or letter. It offers you the inspiration and encouragement to know, deep in your soul, exactly the right thing to say at the right time. I'm laughing because I wrote that, because that is how I feel. Thank you for thank you for including that. And again, there's all sorts of lovely sentiments from people that you have worked with and and studied with and the business with. So I just love the book.

Speaker 1: 17:40

I think, if you're, if you're listening again and you just want to know where to start, it's been 10 years since you wrote a letter. Maybe it's been 10 years since you got a letter, so you're completely out of the practice, maybe just have forgotten that it's even a thing. Yes, you can still buy stamps. You can still go to the post office, buy a stamp and put it on a, on a card or a letter. But if you're wondering where to begin, just make a goal right now that today or whatever day that you happen to listen to this episode of the show, that you'll grab a pen and a if it's a blank piece of paper that you pull out of your printer, that is okay.

Speaker 1: 18:18

Just start and just, you know, write, write your mom or your dad or your brother or your college roommate or your pastor or your elementary school teacher, and just share three or four lines about how you're doing and that perhaps you just hope that they're well, hope that they're healthy, hope that they're feeling happy and some sense of peace in a world that is not particularly peaceful right now. And I promise, if you do that once, it will, it will be well received. I guarantee you it will. I have written thousands upon thousands of handwritten notes throughout my life, in particular over the last probably four or five years. Not one time has anyone stopped me in this store or at church or on the sidewalk and said Jason right, I cannot believe you. How could you possibly send me a handwritten note? Not once that ever happened to you, elizabeth Cottrell. Well, I bet not.

Speaker 2: 19:16

It has not.

Speaker 1: 19:18

It has not.

Speaker 2: 19:20

And we need to just let go of the expectation, though, that we're going to get thanked for it. Sometimes you do. This is something that you just put out into the universe because it's a good thing to do, and and it does. And, jason, I need to say one more thing in gratitude to you, because in the book, before I even asked you to write the foreword, I had shared a story that you have shared about the note that you got from, I believe, a teacher when your dad died, and I was so moved by that, and it is just one of the most beautiful examples of of the lasting impact, of somebody taking the time to reach out.

Speaker 1: 20:02

Yeah, that is a special letter. When we end this interview. You give me about 15 seconds and I will produce that letter for you and I will show you that letter that I keep in carry, all right, so you're writing a high on the success of heart-spoken. You're speaking about it, by the way, if you're listening, and you have a group, a nonprofit, a business, something, and you would like Elizabeth to come speak, I'm sure she would love to chat with you about that. A speaking engagement, either in person or virtually. Reach out to Elizabeth through her website. What's next for you? What will you do now that you have met this goal and with a little nudge from your daughter?

Speaker 2: 20:44

Well, I'm really focusing right now on supporting those who have read the book or who say to themselves I really want to be a better note writer. So I've got a newsletter for those folks that I write weekly to help them, support them in that endeavor. But then more broadly, and then I'm creating some mini courses to go along with it and I think if future writing I don't know that there's another whole book in me, but probably some smaller books, but mostly I just want to get this. It's really a ministry for me now and I just if I know that I'm going to leave this earth tomorrow, I just know that the effort that I made to spread a little bit of light and sunshine around it through this book will be enough.

Speaker 1: 21:36

Well, and a ministry indeed. I can see that it's throughout the writing. You can tell that you're not just teaching some principles, like we're in a class at the local community college, but you're sharing a piece of you and you can feel the authenticity and the passion behind this. And so it does feel very much like a ministry. And it's just remarkable to know, and for anyone out there listening who wonders if their time will come when they too will write a book, whether it's fiction or nonfiction, and whether it might take that little bit of a nudge from a loved one, like a child in your case, there's something magical, remarkable, humbling, to know that, as you said, perhaps tomorrow you don't wake up and if that were to happen, this doesn't go with you. This stays for years and years and generations and generations. This book will be on people's shelves in libraries, on their device, whatever it might be. So your legacy, your legacy of this book, will long outlive you, and having written a few books myself, I know what that feels like and that's a pretty humbling thing.

Speaker 2: 22:52

So I thank you. You're really an inspiration. Thank you, and just really interestingly, a group that I never expected for it to resonate with are people in sales who have grasped the whole sort of old things become new again relationship marketing, realizing that people are people before they are the person you want to buy from you, and so they have really jumped on this as a tool for their sales teams, and I've been fascinated by that little dynamic.

Speaker 1: 23:24

Yeah, no, that's a great reminder and it takes the cost of a stamp and a little bit of paper and envelope and some time. But in the grand scheme of marketing budgets and digital advertising and streaming and television advertising which still exists, it's a fraction of what your team might spend to get their message out, to just sit and have associates or people in the field write a quick note. Yeah, I like that a lot. That's a great reminder. All right, where do we find you online? I'll put the links in, but just so we know where do we find you.

Speaker 2: 23:58

The easiest place is just wwwheartspokencom and heartspokencom forward slash book has information about various places. You can get it online, whether you're an Amazon fan and if you're not, bookshop, and lots of testimonials and excerpts.

Speaker 1: 24:20

Love it, and I can guarantee that here in a few days, I'm going to get a note in my mailbox, aren't I, elizabeth Cottrell?

Speaker 2: 24:29

You are indeed, you are indeed.

Speaker 1: 24:32

And you know what. You're also going to get a note, and I bet you knew that as well.

Speaker 2: 24:38

Your support has meant the world to me, Jason. I really appreciate it. It's been wonderful to have this conversation.

Speaker 1: 24:44

It's an absolute treasure to know you and to help you promote this book. I hope people pick it up, I hope that they pay it forward and, most importantly, I hope that they find someone to write a note to today. Thanks again for joining the show.

Speaker 2: 24:58

You bet. Thank you, Jason.