An Interview With Rena Suzuki,
Leader of Lean In Tokyo
I met Rena Suzuki, co-founder and leader of Lean In Tokyo, when she was emceeing an event to promote the Global Summit of Women – known as “Davos for women” – which will be held in Tokyo in May. I was immediately impressed by Rena’s passion at the podium.
A few weeks later, we chatted over lunch at an Italian restaurant in Tameike Sanno. We were so deep in conversation that the owner had to come and ask us to leave because it was closing time! I hope you enjoy this writeup as much as I enjoyed our conversation.
What kind of communicator do you want to be?
I want to become someone who is inspiring. That’s the person I want to become in the near future, in like a 20-year space. If you want to become inspiring, it has to come with a vision and passion. I don’t think I can be always inspiring. For example, if I don’t like a product, I can’t be passionate about it and I can’t be inspiring about it. I think I can at least become inspiring now when I talk about my own department because that’s what I really believe in. It’s what I take action for. So, I think I want to become a really inspiring person with a vision, a passion, and beliefs of my own.
Why is becoming that kind of person –
someone who is inspiring and has
a passion and vision – important for you?
One of my hobbies is to watch TED talks and every time I watch a TED talk, sometimes I really like them and I get inspired and sometimes not so much. I can see the passion of what each speaker is saying and about their experience behind it. So that’s what inspires me. I think that’s why I want to be inspiring, like the people who talk at TED, and have a vision and passion.
What is one communication success that you can share
with us?
So, one of my first and last best communication stories. I was talking at TEDx youth last October and I think it was the best communication that I had. First of all, I had never talked in front of so many people. But then at the same time I got so much good feedback and so many people wanted to help me going forward with Lean In Tokyo. So, I felt I was able to make them motivated and inspired. They wanted to be a part of it. So I was really happy. That was my best communication.
What did you do or say in the talk that made it so successful?
Two things. One thing is practice. I had never talked in front of so many people – especially in English. So it was really tough for me. But I had 2 months for the preparation, so I practiced so many times. The first month I was using my time to write my draft of what to say. It had to be logical and understandable. So I was taking time on making it. And in the last month, I presented it in front of my friends who are not even related to Lean In Tokyo, so they didn’t understand what I was talking about. I was practicing almost 3 times a day every day. I was recording myself and listening back to it.
The second thing was this: when I was making the talk, I kept trying to remind myself of what was important. Why did I want to talk about this? Why did I want to share this idea with others? By coming back to these things, it helped me remember what I wanted to say and focus on. It made my mind clearer.
What is one communication failure you can share with us?
I was a PR manager, so I often had to communicate with journalists. In the beginning, it was very tough for me to talk about our product and our company. Because when you’ve just started and have been there for a short time, you don’t know much about the products and the company. You haven’t grown that passion for the company yet. So it’s really hard to sell something or to talk about something that you don’t fully know about. Sometimes journalists would ask me questions and I couldn’t answer. Or I would answer unconfidently. And they didn’t understand what I was saying basically.
So it was really hard for me to talk about something I really didn’t know. After that, I tried to learn more about the product and the company and understand what the management’s vision was so that I made their vision my own when I talked about it.
Before I thought I was a good communicator, but I wasn’t. And I think when we talk, we need to know what we are talking about first from a deeper perspective.
These days, I have a chance to talk in front of people about Lean In Tokyo. And because I founded the chapter, I know a lot about it. I have passion about it, so I can talk about it.
That was the one thing I learned from the failure – to know what you’re talking about in the first place.
What would you tell people in companies
who are asked to communicate about something
they don’t know about?
Personally I would take the question and talk about it later, like the next day. I would be honest that I didn’t know about it. And after I researched it, I would get back to whoever was asking.
How did you feel when you did not have the information
to communicate effectively?
I felt really awkward. I wanted to look professional but at the same time I couldn’t. I’m the kind of person who is not able to lie, so you can see all the emotion in my face. I was sure the journalists could see that I didn’t know the answer. It was really awkward, but I would say, “Sorry, I’m not sure, so I’m going to check with my boss. I’ll get back to you.”
I felt really embarrassed, but looking back now, I think it was the best choice I made. Now, I feel it’s okay – especially as a PR manager, I shouldn’t say something that’s wrong to the public. It was a good learning opportunity, though.
What is most challenging for you in communication
right now?
Right now my improvement point is to try and engage many kinds of people. Because for me, especially with Lean In Tokyo, I was always talking to women. I was always talking to the people who wanted to listen to my stories. But these days, I have a chance to speak in front of many older men who are a bit doubtful. It’s really hard for me to try to engage with them.
Sometimes they don’t even want to know what I do and they don’t even care, but I still have to talk about it. I can see their faces, and I ask myself, “Why am I talking here?” Then I have to remind myself to be passionate and inspiring. But it’s really hard for me.
First I try to ask for information from the general audience to see what kind of people are there. Then, after that, I try to talk from a male perspective and be more empathetic with my stories. I think I can inspire women because I am a woman and I’m talking about my experience. But that doesn’t work for men. So I’m trying to have more perspective for men.
What communication skill, resource, or advice
would you recommend to our readers?
I recommend to watch a lot of TED talks, which are free online. Since I speak so often in English, I try to watch the ones in English and learn from them. I try to find one that I really like and I download it to my phone. Also there are events you can go to. If I know of somebody from reading articles or reading a book, I try to go and see how they talk. Sometimes they are better at writing than talking. But if someone is really good at speaking, I go for the events.
Also, since I work at a startup and am going to be a venture capitalist next, I often hear about events for startup pitches. I like to go to those and listen to their presentations. Every team has a different type of presentation and sometimes it gets you inspired. I try to learn what kind of logistics they made up. I ask myself, “Why are they doing this?” and “What they can fix with this product?” I like how they structure the presentation.
Lean In Tokyo co-founders, Satoko Nakano, Rena Suzuki, and Yoshie Takao
What else do you
want to tell us
about?
Lean In Tokyo. It’s an initiative that started in the United States and we are the regional leader of Japan. We are trying to empower women in Japan. So, we do all the kinds of events, and I want everyone to participate if possible. I want to spread the idea of Lean In. It’s not only for women but also for men. We want to make a society where everybody has their own choice and are free to pursue their ambitions. Lean In means to take a step forward for your personal goals. And I hope everybody can take a step forward for what they believe, feel passionate about, and what they have a vision for. And then to take action towards it.
What do you see as the challenges for Lean In Tokyo and
how can you overcome them?
It’s all over the world, but we talk about the lack of confidence in women. It really happens a lot in Japan. I think to be confident is a very important word. Now, these days, as a woman, if you don’t work, you feel guilty. Then, if you’re a mother who is working, you feel guilty for working. Whatever you do, you feel guilty. I want people to be confident on what they decide. It’s okay to not work and become a mother. It’s okay to work and raise a child. It’s okay to not marry. It’s okay to not bear a child. If you decide, it’s okay. But so many people, including myself, feel judged by others. We need to be confident. If you’re confident, it’s smoother and easier for us to take a step forward for what you really feel passionate about. So, be confident is the one thing I want to tell to Japanese women.
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