Meet Natsuyo N. Lipschutz | Cross-cultural communications strategist and international keynote speaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Natsuyo N. Lipschutz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Natsuyo, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I was born and raised in Japan, and I came to the US “accidentally”. In early 1995 when I was a senior in college, I was introduced to Mr.Chai, the CEO of a Japanese global company based in New York. He was visiting Japan for business for a week, and he invited me to have breakfast with him. We talked about my college, my one year exchange student experience in St.Louis, my love for dancing and musical theaters. And at the end of our 1 hour breakfast, he asked me, “so, where do you want to be when you graduate?” I didn’t know where I wanted to be, but what immediately came out of my mouth was “well, Mr.Chai, you are in New York, so…. New York!” Then he said, “ok then, you come work for my company”.
I had no idea that it was a job interview!! I had no plan as to how long I was going to stay in New York. I definitely didn’t imagine that I would immigrate to this country.

Growing up in Japan, I learned to read between the lines.
When I immigrated to the US, I quickly learned that what made me successful there, wasn’t going to take me where I wanted to go.
Fast forward 27 years, I am now a cross-cultural communications strategist, and professional speaker. I work with global organizations that want to improve cultural diversity, and have their leaders communicate effectively beyond differences, so your message is not only clearly heard, but also acted upon. My own personal cross-cultural journey, especially a lot of mistakes I made, was the major influence that led me to help global companies to succeed globally and locally. And I do so through keynote speeches, strategy consulting, corporate trainings, private coaching, e-learning program, webinars, books, and blogs.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a strategy consultant, but also a competitive ballroom Latin dancer. I’ve been dancing throughout my life. At the age of 3, I started with classical ballet, then contemporary dance, jazz dance, and now I’m a competitive ballroom Latin dancer. So “performing” in front of the audience has always been my comfortable space. Especially in competitive ballroom dancing, you are not dancing on a raised platform. You are dancing on the floor- the same level as the audience. So you can really communicate and interact with the audience with your physical expression and passion. And I think that applies to speaking as well. It’s about how you tell your story and bring them into your world.

As a cross-cultural communications strategist, I developed the 3 steps of effective communications called “the 3A’s”. And I attribute the 3A’s to my dancing experience.
The 3A’s of Effective Cross-Cultural Communication that I developed was inspired by my experience as a dancer.

Latin dancing is a very interactive partnership dance.
We move together as a team on a spur of the moment.
But we don’t talk to each other verbally during the dance. Imagine two dancers telling each other, “I’m gonna turn you now” “oh no, I wanna strike a pose here!” … ??

Then how do dancers communicate….communicate well?
The 3A’s.
First, ACKNOWLEDGE our connection.
Second, ANALYZE non-verbal cues.
Third, ADAPT our movements.
It could be just one breath.
It could be in your hips
It could be a slight flick.
Or it could be a release.
Acknowledge, Analyze, Adapt.
With these 3A’s, we can effectively communicate what we want to do and where we want to go next.

Effective cross-cultural communication goes the same way.
Instead of judging from your own common sense (which are most likely not so “common” in cross-cultural situations)…
Acknowledge your differences,
Analyze their communication styles, and
Adapt your own.
When your strategy is guided by the 3A’s, you’ll find that your results will embody a fourth – Amazing.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I, LOVE, cakes. I mean, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!! My close friends call me the “cake queen”. If my best friend was visiting New York city, I’ll take them to the ‘Natsuyo’s best of best cake tour” which will start with a private cake catering by Parfum Gateau at my house, then a tour of HARBS New York, Lady M, Lysee, Bibble and Sip, Fouet, then finish with grand finale at the Broadway musical, “The Waitress” (the theater sells the musical inspired pies!!!).

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Besides my family (may parents Yasusada and Tomiko, my husband Robert, and my daughter Leena), I want to give a shoutout to Dr. Toth.

On January 30, 2017, I had my routine annual mammogram. Dr.Toth noticed some irregularity, had me do a biopsy, and the result came back negative. Dr.Toth is the head of radiology at NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center. With her professional instinct, she turned down the result to the technical team, and had them analyze again. She said “imagine a loaf of bread. If it’s sliced into 4 slices, you may miss something that might be there. If it’s sliced into 8 slices, you have a better view. I want your biopsy result to be “8 slices”.”
It was February 7, 2017. Heavy snow day, my then 5year old daughter was off from school due to snow. We were getting ready to go sledding with friends, when my cellphone rang. It was Dr.Toth. She said “remember I talked about “8slices”? We found cancer”.
With my young daughter right beside me, excited to go sledding, I had to immediately hide my emotion. Dr.Toth gave me her cellphone number to reach out to her anytime I wanted to talk to her, no matter what the topic. We can just chat and get your mind off.”
I called her the next day. We talked about favorite restaurants in New York City, where to get best cakes, my competitive Latin dancing experience, and Toastmaster’s international speech contest I was preparing for. My first surgery was scheduled 2 days after my speech contest. Everyone around me (those who knew about my breast cancer situation) was telling me, “you should take it easy. You don’t have to compete now.”.
Dr.Toth said, “I disagree with your friends”. With a half joking half serious tone, she said “it’s a great topic to talk about and great timing to talk about it!! lol . Not many are willing to share a cancer story, and yet many want to hear the story”.
Because of what I was going through internally, I needed as much emotional support as possible. When I heard Dr.Toth, I was convinced that I needed to share my persona stories – my struggles, fear, flaws, frustrations…. and how I’m trying to overcome my setbacks. My stories can inspire my audience, and more importantly, my audience can inspire me. Public speaking is an exchange of emotions between a speaker and audience. That exchange maybe silent, but you definitely feel it. That’s the beauty and dynamism of public speaking. As I call it, “speaking is healing”.
Those words Dr.Toth gave me that day encouraged me to pursue professional speaking career. She made me reconfirm my mission as a professional speaker.

Website: natsuyolipschutz.us

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natsuyo_lipschutz/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natsuyolipschutz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natsuyol

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/breakthroughspeaking

Other: “The Art of Persuasive Speaking in Global Business” is a self-guided E-Learning program, that allows you to explore and practice the most powerful ways to frame your ideas and communication to influence your audience in a global setting. You’ll learn three critical skill sets that every global leader needs; logical thinking, storytelling and cross-cultural communications. Master the art of persuasive communication today and learn to speak with power, confidence and authority. https://natsuyolipschutz.us/elearning/