Welcome to the world of Freda Liu, a multifaceted personality who wears many hats, including that of a broadcast journalist, speaker, author, and moderator. Her areas of expertise span across various domains, including sustainability, design thinking, future thinking, entrepreneurship, leadership, and women empowerment. Join us as we delve deeper into her world and learn from her insights.
1: Tell us about your journey Freda to becoming a Broadcast Journalist I Speaker I Author Moderator!
I actually started my career in public relations working for a PR consultancy (Edelman) and subsequently in-house in IBM. All this while I was a part-time news presenter. About 15 years ago, I made a switch in this newly minted independent business talk radio station. During this period, I wrote 7 books which led to my speaking gigs. I get asked to emcee and moderate corporate events because of my business background.
2: Tell us about your latest venture ‘The Shift with Freda Liu’!
There is still a lot of misunderstanding and lack of information around sustainability especially with SMEs. Hence, I decided to develop a show around sustainability on my own platforms and possibly turn this into a media organisation.
3:You have interviewed some incredible people over the years while working at Malaysia’s only business radio station! Who was the most impressive/ influential and why?
Yes, I have interviewed a lot of interesting people from former Finnish Prime Minister Alex Stubb to Mohammad Yunus of Grameen Bank. Most impressive and personal to me had to be motivational speaker Nick Vjucic and it must have been the conversation after the interview where he prayed with me. It was just a personal moment and you can feel his warmth and sincerity.
4:Congratulations on your many accomplishments – especially winning the ASEAN Rice Bowl Awards for Malaysia Startup Journalist Of The Year! How did all this come about?
Well I was nominated for one! On a serious note, the show I did covered a lot of up and coming tech companies and some of these startups have gone on to become quite successful. So yes, it is an honour, but it has been more interesting for me to learn from them.
5:What has been the driving force behind your career and successes?
You don’t know what you don’t know. I am generally a curious person and love learning and this is a life-long journey. I am also willing to try new things and learn new skills and not be afraid to make mistakes. I hope to instil that in my son as well because monkey see, monkey do. Actions speak louder than words.
6: What have been some of the challenges you have faced along the way as a female and how did you overcome them?
Fortunately none. I think this has a lot to do with my upbringing because my parents never put a lid on me and made gender stereotypes and encouraged whatever I wanted to do. Maybe they were tired of parenting at the time because I am the youngest child with a difference of close to 10 years with my eldest sibling! Maybe armed with that grounding, I am not afraid to try things. That said, along the way, you do see hindrances along the way. However, I feel having a support system is crucial and so I elicit help wherever I can.
7: How did you become a professional speaker? What events have you spoken at and what sort of topics do you discuss?
I have spoken at TedX here. Also, I get asked to speak a lot at corporate events especially for their women. I cover everything from Personal Branding, Media Training to Design Thinking For Your Life.
8: What advice would you give other women looking to advance their career?
Learn new skills if you have to. Like an I phone that comes up with a new version every year, you too should be updated. Get good at branding yourself and also network and this could be as simple as arranging a cup of coffee with someone once a month to learn more.
9: As a successful empowered female, what do you see are the biggest obstacles that women face professionally and how can they overcome them?
At the same time, you’ve probably heard the following statistic: Men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them. Now that you know the statistics, change it. As much as we need new skills, you can actually learn something while doing. Tara Mohr in her book “Playing Big,” said women will tend to “This before that” a little too much. I recently have gotten myself enrolled in the 30% Club as I am aspiring to be a board member and also Deloitte’s Board Ready Women Programme. Put yourself out there.
10: Where have you travelled to that you found inspiring and why?
I have travelled to nearly 40 countries and I LOVE travelling. I try to do two new countries a year, sometimes alone and sometimes with friends. When I travel,I love cultures and observing little nuances and learning from other countries. I try to incorporate a run and a concert in my travels. Most challenging is always working out the transportation system in a language you don’t understand! I’ve been to Kazakhstan to Iceland and will be heading to Portugal soon.
Connect with Freda Liu:
- Host – The Shift – Powering Positive Change and HerVantage on: www.bfm.my
- Corporate Emcee & Moderator
- Speaker & Author
- Adjunct Professor at UNITAR – School of Media, Art & Design
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefredaliu/
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-shift-with-freda-liu/
- Instagram: @thefredaliu @theshiftasia
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefredaliu/
- Twitter: @thefredaliu
- Website: www.fredaliu.com
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheShiftwithFredaLiu