Eat, Speak & Think: An Interview

Lisa A. Young (formerly Lisa Murray), SLP, with Eat, Speak, & Think was recently interviewed by nicespeechlady.com owner Bekah Wilson Nice, SLP. Below is the transcript of the interaction, highlighting Young’s website.

How did you decide to launch Eat, Speak, & Think?

“I’d been wanting to have my own website for a long time. I actually started a different website in 2014, but I was trying to design a static website with all the content to be added at once. It was too overwhelming, and I gave up.

At that time, I wasn’t reading blogs. My perception was that blogs were basically personal journals shared online and ‘not professional.’

Then, in 2018, I stumbled across the ProBlogger podcast and everything crystallized in my mind. I realized that I could create my site over time, by slowly and consistently adding content. I learned so much from Darren Rowse through his podcast and website.”

When did you start it?

“I launched Eat, Speak, & Think on June 30, 2018 about a month into binging the ProBlogger podcast.”

Are you in a partnership, or is this something you do all on your own?

“It’s all me!”

What do you say when you describe Eat, Speak, & Think in a nutshell? What is it/what do you do?

“Eat, Speak, & Think provides practical, useful information and resources to help people who are living with chronic problems with swallowing, communication, and cognition.

You can sign up for the newsletter, which arrives in your in-box every other Monday. Newsletter subscribers have access to the Free Subscription Library, where you can find all the free cheat sheets and patient handouts on one page.”

Why did you decide to start it?

“In 2016 and 2017, I was getting burned out working in home health, frustrated by the increasing workload outside of treating patients. I was working full-time, 60+ hours a week. I was taking a lot of continuing education courses and only using a fraction of what I was learning. I basically had little life outside of work, exercise, necessary chores, and the occasional fun activity.

In 2017, I was dreaming of quitting and getting a retail job. Since I’m still paying off student loans, I decided it was wiser to drop to part-time and try to get a better handle on work-life balance.

When I started listening to the ProBlogger podcast, I realized that writing a blog would help me organize what I was learning. It felt like a ‘win-win.’ I’d have a better chance at remembering the information for my own patients, and I’d be sharing it with anyone else who was interested.”

What is something most people do not know about it?

“I would guess that most people don’t realize how many hours go into each blog post. From start to finish, I think a blog post takes a good eight hours or more. That includes research, writing, editing, creating the handout that accompanies most posts, designing the featured image, and several other steps.”

What is it most known for?

“It’s so new, that I’m not sure how widely-known it is. But from comments I get, I think it’s best known for providing helpful resources and tips for home health SLPs.”

What sort of direction are you wanting to take Eat, Speak, & Think?

“Right now, Eat, Speak, & Think is a hobby that I’m pretty much paying for out-of-pocket. I’d like to turn it into a business, because it’s not cheap to have a website! Plus I have a lot of ideas for the future. I’m in the midst of creating materials to sell on the site. I’d really love to create useful materials that follow health literacy principles. And I’d love to start a podcast within the next year.”

What has been your greatest surprise along the way?

“My biggest surprise is seeing how many people are finding my website from searching the internet. I don’t think I was really expecting that!”

Your biggest struggle?

“My biggest struggle lately is learning to focus on one project at a time. In addition to writing the regular blog posts and newsletters, I’m going back through older posts to update them. I want to redesign the home page, create materials for sale, and start a podcast. There are all sorts of behind-the-scene skills I have to develop.

I’m in the process of working out everything I need to do, evaluate the potential of the various projects, and focus on just one at a time. That’s something I really struggle with, because I feel like I should be doing them all now. I’m reading a great book by Jessica Abel called “Growing Gills: How to Find Creative Focus When You’re Drowning in Your Daily Life”, which I highly recommend.”

What would you most like people to know about Eat, Speak, & Think?

“My primary goal is to provide immediately useful information or resources. Nearly every post has a cheat sheet or patient handout that you can download. Newsletter subscribers have access to the Free Subscription Library, which contains all the downloads on one page.”

What sort of feedback do you receive from other SLPs?

“I’m grateful that other SLPs are finding the blog and handouts useful. I usually get an email or two a week from someone just telling me how much they appreciate what I’m doing. That really helps to keep me motivated.”

Do other disciplines benefit from Eat, Speak, & Think other than SLPs?

“Yes, I know there are many occupational therapists and a handful of physical therapists who read the blog, too. My sister is a home health nurse, and she says a lot of the information is useful to her as well.”

What has been your most popular post?

“The most popular post is actually a tie between ‘9 free swallow assessment tools’ and ‘18 free assessment tools for cognition.’”

What have you learned the most in pursuing Eat, Speak, & Think?

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned so far is that when I’m feeling completely overwhelmed, I don’t have to quit. There’s always a way to achieve my goal, even if it doesn’t follow my preconceived path.”

What are some of aspects of Eat, Speak, & Think that you wish others knew about that haven’t really been put out there enough?

“The Eat, Speak, & Think Updates newsletter has some great content. Not only do you get a summary of the newest post and a link to directly access the free download, you also get links to a few things that I think my readers would be interested in. So far, almost none of those resources have made it onto my website. They’re a surprise bonus for my newsletter subscribers.”

What is something that is newsworthy about Eat, Speak, & Think? Have you hit any milestones, is anything exciting happening or anything important to report that people need to know about?

“By the time this interview goes live, I’ll have surpassed 900 subscribers to my newsletter, which I think is completely amazing! On average, around 40% of people open the newsletters, which is really good because the industry average is around 15%. It is mind-blowing to think that 400+ people are reading at least a little of what I write.”

Why did you choose the name Eat, Speak, & Think?

“I chose Eat, Speak, & Think because I wanted to reflect the three main areas that I’d be offering information about: swallowing, communication, and cognition. And I wanted to be as transparent as possible, avoiding medical jargon that might put off the non-medical reader.”

What sort of opportunities have come your way because of Eat, Speak, & Think?

“I’ve made some nice connections with various researchers, which is always interesting. I’ve always wanted to be a professional writer, and now I’m getting a little taste with this blog and newsletter. I feel like I’m at the beginning of fulfilling a life’s dream.”

Nicespeechlady.com encourages readers to peruse Eat, Speak, & Think.

Young’s reciprocal interview on nicespeechlady.com can be found here.

Wilson Nice, M.A., CCC-SLP, is the owner of nicespeechlady.com.

Nice created nicespeechlady.com as a platform for medical SLPs to have free access to practical resources on the site; she also enjoys blogging and writing news articles on medical SLP issues. She also works full-time as a home health SLP.