FTF259: Exceptional Experiences with Neen James

First Time Facilitator

First Time Facilitator
FTF259: Exceptional Experiences with Neen James
Oct 16, 2025 Season 1 Episode 259
Leanne Hughes

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Today, I’m thrilled to welcome back my friend, leadership strategist, and powerhouse of positivity — Neen James — to the show!

If you haven’t seen the YouTube version yet, go and watch it. Neen radiates light, energy, and fun — she’s truly a walking champagne moment.

Fun links:

Discover Your Luxury Mindset Self-Assessment

Luxury Is A Mindset

Neen James Luxury Mindset Research Executive Summary

You might remember Neen from her earlier book Attention Pays. She’s since continued her global journey speaking with C-suite leaders and luxury brands, helping them elevate their communication and connection. Now, she’s back with a brand new book: Exceptional Experiences — and this one is all about how to create moments that make people feel seen, heard, and valued.

We chat about:

  • 🥂 What Taylor Swift gets right about treating your energy as a luxury
  • 🌟 Why true luxury isn’t about expensive things — it’s about connection and attention
  • 💬 How to use “luxury language” to elevate your communication (and what words sound cheap vs. expensive!)
  • 🕯️ How facilitators and leaders can engage all five senses to create memorable experiences
  • 💗 The importance of champagne moments — those tiny, joyful touches that make ordinary experiences extraordinary
  • 🌏 Why the world needs more optimism and how not to dim your light — even when it feels too bright
  • 🎁 How personalization, customization, and fascination create magic in any client or workshop experience

Neen also shares some behind-the-scenes examples from world-class luxury brands (think Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton) and how we can bring that same level of care and intentionality into our own work — even in small, everyday ways.

If you’re a facilitator, coach, consultant, or anyone who cares about the experience you create for others — this conversation is pure gold.

👉 Learn more about Neen and her new book: neenjames.com

👉 Explore her Luxury Mindset research and download her Luxury Language Dictionary at luxuryisamindset.com

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Episode Artwork FTF259: Exceptional Experiences with Neen James 1:04:40 Episode Artwork FTF258: From Surgeon to Facilitator: Dr Liz O'Riordan's First Workshop 25:15 Episode Artwork FTF257: The Dark Arts of Interrupting Someone 7:10 Episode Artwork FTF256: Handling chat like a pro 8:25 Episode Artwork FTF255: How we built my new brand in 4 weeks with Jason Knight 41:58 Episode Artwork FTF254: Talk the Walk with Alan Weiss (How to avoid gambling away your career) 30:42 Episode Artwork FTF253: The Delegate Experience: Conferences Done Differently with Mary-Louise (ML) Huppatz 32:07 Episode Artwork FTF252: Obsess over the participant (not the meeting room) with Steven Demedio + a sneak peak of our Red Carpet Campout 26:56 Episode Artwork FTF251: How we sold out our event in 24 hours (Behind the scenes of How to Face Change) with solo reflections from Leanne Hughes 24:53 Episode Artwork FTF250: Building trust and driving change in workshops with Hitomi Whitlock 29:34 Episode Artwork FTF249 Michael Bungay Stanier's Co-Facilitation Tips & Brisbane Event Preview! 15:48 Episode Artwork FTF248: Mid-year check-in + sneak peak of Talk the Walk with Alan Weiss 36:43 Episode Artwork FTF247: From Workshop to Written Word: Translating Ideas into Books with Mel Loy and Jade Miller 34:16 Episode Artwork FTF246: Alan Weiss on speedy design + why workshops can be the worst solution for a client 43:25 Episode Artwork FTF245: Preparing to be spontaneous in your workshops with Lisa Leong 40:16 Episode Artwork FTF244: Get to the Point with Sally Prosser 19:11 Episode Artwork FTF243 Unseen facilitation tips: How Phil Woods creates epiphanies in his workshops 33:50 Episode Artwork FTF242: 5 Workshop Hacks Using ChatGPT with Leanne Hughes 18:56 Episode Artwork FTF241: Leanne Hughes’ Unofficial 2023 Annual Report 31:11 Episode Artwork FTF240: Get Lucked! How to Cultivate Serendipity in Your Work with Dr. Christian Busch 28:48 Episode Artwork FTF239: Tactics for powering yourself up to host a workshop (when you’ve had three hours sleep) 13:34 Episode Artwork FTF238 How to start a workshop: Which comes first - content or an activity? with Leanne Hughes 17:02 Episode Artwork FTF237: Deciphering culture and facilitation life as a charismatic introvert with Shane Michael Hatton 30:54 Episode Artwork FTF236: How I organise my facilitator materials to speed up workshop design with Leanne Hughes 19:29 Episode Artwork FTF235: Using the House of Communication to Create Contrast in Your Workshops with Michael Grinder (#bestof episode) 48:49