Deaf Community Engagement and Advocacy with Melissa Elmira Yingst

Mai Ling Chan 00:00 
Understanding more about Deaf culture is crucial for building a truly inclusive society. And on this episode of the Exceptional Leaders Podcast, Melissa Elmira Yingst shares her insights into Deaf culture, the power of representation and why raising awareness during Deaf Awareness Month and beyond is so important. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 00:21 
As much as I love providing access to the news in sign language, I found myself gravitating towards stories that I could really share my thoughts, help community discussions, discuss controversial issues, and it just felt with me just doing the news, I was putting myself in a box. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 00:41 
And I wanted to get out there and have more profound, meaningful conversations. 

Mai Ling Chan 00:47 
Welcome to the Exceptional Leaders Podcast. I'm Mai Ling Chan, and together with James Berges, we're getting you top tips and resources for building and scaling your disability -focused offerings straight from the forefront of disability advocacy and leadership. 

Mai Ling Chan 01:03 
Hi, I'm Mai Ling Chan, back from a three -week epic adventure in India and Dubai, where I was presenting on tech integration with speech -language pathology clinical practice, and I have learned so much more than I shared. 

Mai Ling Chan 01:16 
My co -host, James, is actually traveling in Greece this week, and we look forward to hearing more about him and his trip when he returns, but I'd like to take a moment to share a few pearls from my trip with you. 

Mai Ling Chan 01:27 
So mainly, I would say that, number one, people are people. It was absolutely wonderful to meet over 300 speech -language pathologists while I was presenting at speech and hearing departments in southern India and at the Emirates Speech Language Pathology Society Conference in Dubai. 

Mai Ling Chan 01:44 
I learned so much from my fellow colleagues, and I felt that same level of passion and commitment to service as I have. And number two, international travel is eye -opening, oh my gosh, from different foods to modes of transportation. 

Mai Ling Chan 01:58 
I grew so much in terms of really being out of my comfort zone and trying new things and being flexible. It was absolutely amazing. And lastly, there's a huge world out there that we can affect in a positive way. 

Mai Ling Chan 02:10 
And I honestly have to say that I did not realize that my reach, my ripple really could be global. I know that we have listeners in 140, 150 countries, and I want to thank you so much for being here with us over these past seven years. 

Mai Ling Chan 02:24 
And I know that new people will be joining us after this trip, so I want to welcome you. And I really hope that you find the tools that you need in our future episodes and also in our back episodes. So I invite you to go back and look through the categories and find areas that really interest you. 

Mai Ling Chan 02:41 
Speakers are available from all over the world. And that's what I'm so excited about. And I really feel that what we have been doing here on the Exceptional Leaders podcast is globally valuable. So I just want to take a moment to thank all of our past speakers who have come on and been our guests and shared their amazing journeys to becoming disability and accessibility leaders. 

Mai Ling Chan 03:02 
And also I'm excited about next season, which we are going to be starting here soon. So we'll be going into our seventh season, which is amazing. So let's get to our episode. Today, Melissa shares her exciting pioneering journey into Deaf representation in media and also as a public figure with over 43,000 followers on Instagram. 

Mai Ling Chan 03:21 
So she also discusses the more personal side of social media and how she makes her sharing decisions, which I was very interested in. So I hope you enjoy this episode and accept Melissa's invitation to find ways to include all abilities in all of your offerings. 

Mai Ling Chan 03:35 
All right, let's get to that. I am very excited to have Melissa Elmira Yingst as our guest today, definitely in honor of Deaf Awareness Month, but she is somebody that I have known for over a year now. 

Mai Ling Chan 03:51 
And it's been such a beautiful way to watch somebody grow on social media and in her professional platform. So welcome, Melissa. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 04:03 
Yes, thank you, Mai Ling. So excited to connect with you today and I still recall where we met last year at Back on Friends and it was so nice to see people of various disabilities come together as just a part of the same community. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 04:21 
Even though we have our differences, we're there to uplift one another and I'm excited about this opportunity today. 

Mai Ling Chan 04:28 
Thank you so much. I also want to introduce Mara Bowdidge. She is here with us as an interpreter from LISA and she has just been wonderful to help us to organize and replan this interview because this has been a very busy summer for everyone. 

Mai Ling Chan 04:41 
So thank you, Mara. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 04:45 
Yes, yes, yes, yes, so thank you. 

Mai Ling Chan 04:47 
Wonderful. Okay, so the event that Melissa is referring to is last year we came together and we created an amazing online, it was called the Exceptional Alliances, all about accessibility conference and we had about 50 presenters and Melissa was part of that with us through a sponsorship with the Vision Plus company. 

Mai Ling Chan 05:06 
And since then, she has really grown into her independent brand, I would say, not even like brand and she has become a voice a strong voice out there on social media and right now she has 48 .3 thousand followers on Instagram so congratulations on that, Melissa. 

Mai Ling Chan 05:27 
Great. Well, thank you. So for our listener, can you share a little bit about what have you been doing out there on social media and why is your audience continuing to grow and follow you? 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 05:40 
Well, I have been on social media for a while now. I'd like to say I started being more active with my brand in 2018, Give or Take 2018, 2019. Before that, I had a long -standing career with media, conducting the news with Deaf Hearing Network, DHN, and then moving on to DPN TV, doing Deaf News there. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 06:08 
And then it just felt as much as I love providing access to the news in sign language, and it's much needed. I found myself gravitating towards stories that I could really share my thoughts, have community discussions, discuss controversial issues. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 06:28 
And it just felt with me just doing the news, I was putting myself in a box. And I wanted to get out there and have more profound, meaningful conversations. And from what I've observed, I see that very often public figures, such as, as we all know, Oprah, Barbara Walters, Jada Pinkin -Smith, where is the space for a deaf female doing this work? 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 06:58 
So that's how I initiated my platform, and I've thoroughly enjoyed it. I've just learned so much over the years. I've learned with the community, and I don't just deliver that to the community, but I also absorb a lot. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 07:16 
I learn from every interview I conduct. And insight in perspective is just always evolving, and that's where the real growth is, and I have to express my gratitude to social media for that opportunity. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 07:30 
The first time that I even had that media experience was when I was at Gallaudet University, which was many, many years ago. But at that time, I really thought I would have, I thought the idea of having a career in the media was intended for just hearing people, and it wouldn't be possible for a deaf person. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 07:52 
So the gig on campus was Campus News Show, and it was called What's Up Gallaudet? And so I was a host of that show, and oh, I enjoyed it so much. And at that time, I just thought, gosh, I wish I could do this for a living. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 08:07 
But at that time, opportunities for deaf people in the media was marginal at best. And so I just continued a career with psychology, which I did love, because I do love people. So I pursued that, and then again, just want to underscore it, thanks to social media, deaf and hearing people. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 08:26 
It's not 100% equitable right now, but we're catching up. I do feel like we're more on even playing ground now. There's more information sharing, an ability to deliver that information via social media. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 08:40 
So thanks to social media, where I'm at today, I mean, the power of it is to bring the community together, to educate, so on and so forth. 

Mai Ling Chan 08:49 
for. Fascinating. Oh my gosh, I hope that our listener is really excited about this because I really feel like this is an area that we have never heard of before. I love this mostly. You are such a pioneer. 

Mai Ling Chan 09:00 
So I have all these questions. The first one I'm thinking is just watching your relationship with Mara. So I'm on Zoom and I get to see her in the full screen as an interpreter. And I'm thinking about augmentative and alternative communication. 

Mai Ling Chan 09:15 
So AAC, and that's an area that I have a lot of experience with as a speech language pathologist. And we do find often that using this digital device, it's difficult to really capture somebody's true voice and their intentions by using this digital output for speech. 

Mai Ling Chan 09:33 
And so I am loving watching you sign your responses and then Mara is then interpreting and speaking them. And so I'm just wondering, this is such a beautiful relationship. How has the journey been for you, especially because now you're doing something so public, you know, with media representation, finding an interpreter partner who really represents your voice and tone, you know, as well as possible. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 10:00 
Well, I will say it helps that Mara and I are very close friends, so she knows me very well. But yes, she is my go -to for all interpreting needs. I mean, it's really important for me to have representation. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 10:14 
Mara is female, she's also Latina, and she knows my personality, she knows my style, and she interprets for me in just various environments. So I know that I can trust her, I know that she's going to reflect me well. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 10:28 
And like you mentioned, for that captivating ability to convey all that information on screen, I mean, I would say that that's the beauty of ASL, quite honestly. And that also with ASL, you have the facial expression nuances, tone, etc. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 10:44 
And all of that is encapsulated in a visual method. And so we can capture that on screen as well. But yes, it's always good, it's always a bonus when you have a relationship with the interpreter where you have that comfort level, and you can go to them as opposed to someone that is new. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 11:04 
And as you can imagine, you know, there's some trepidation as we know each other, as we begin to know each other and develop that rapport. 

Mai Ling Chan 11:11 
Yeah. I'm also seeing that like you and I share this experience of being an interviewer, you know, and I love doing the podcast. So I've been doing this for almost seven years now. And, you know, this leaning in and making that relationship with someone and getting to the, you know, the point where someone feels, yes. 

Mai Ling Chan 11:27 
And so you've had that experience also now. So I want to ask you, what do you love about being the main interviewer? 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 11:37 
Hmm, I love doing the research, the research that happens beforehand. So since my platform is a community platform, I often give the opportunity to the deaf community to ask questions. So I'll advertise it. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 11:55 
I have an interview coming up and then I'll field any questions. If you guys know this person, what would you like me to ask them? So I gather that beforehand. And that way I'm also representing the community. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 12:07 
Sometimes it doesn't happen. And sometimes it's somebody that is really important in terms of their story. I want to share their story. It would be an impactful story. Like last year, I did an interview with a woman that was a surrogate three times. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 12:25 
And all three were multiple words. So twins, triplets, et cetera, yes. And so she and I had that connection. We had those conversations and she wanted to share her story. And I was like, yes, let's do it. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 12:39 
So anytime someone's willing to share their story on Melmeda, I consider that a big honor because that shows me that they trust me. They trust this space. They trust that I will ask these questions and the nature of those questions. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 12:52 
I always enjoy because I just, it's an opportunity to learn more and there's this target perspective. But then after you ask these questions and you get those answers, you find that your perspective will shift along the way and it solidifies my connection to the community. 

Mai Ling Chan 13:13 
I love that. And you've mentioned the community about 50 times already. So for our listener, I definitely want to kind of deep dive into this. You had a quote here is, I learn with the community rather than I learn from the community. 

Mai Ling Chan 13:24 
Can you share a little bit more about that? 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 13:29 
So I'm deaf. I was born to a deaf family. And my upbringing is kind of all across the board. I went to a mainstream school with a sign language interpreter. And then I attended Gallaudet University, which is an all deaf university. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 13:44 
That journey taught me the importance of always being aware of your community, because truly the community is home for you. So this world, it's not a deaf world that we live in. It's here in dominant. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 14:02 
But we do have a home within the deaf community. And that gives you that sense of fulfillment. And it gives you confidence to get out there in the world and do more. And with more and more awareness via media, more sign language, more accessibility, it feels like we have a place in the world, our community. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 14:25 
And for me, all of us will never forget our home within the community. And it's a community that raised me essentially. I learned from this community. I grew up with this community. And I'm always committed to sustaining that engagement. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 14:44 
And I find myself just kind of broadening as a deaf person also, I consider myself, I think about deaf disabled, I think about deaf blind and hearing individuals that have visual disabilities, physical disabilities, learning disabilities. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 15:03 
I feel like it's broadening that space for the disabled community to really connect. And to be honest with you, growing up, I felt a little resentful to even hear that, deaf was a part of that umbrella of disabilities. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 15:21 
So I had this after school performance and they had me placed with this other group of disabled individuals. And I was so irked by that. I said, I'm not disabled. And I really denied that. And we can do everything except hear. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 15:36 
But the more I learned, and like I said, from the community, I realized that being disabled is not a bad thing. And I've seen disability justice movement occur and that's truly feeding my awareness that it's good to reclaim being disabled, own it. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 16:00 
And we're all the same. And one thing I do want to mention here, I will say that sets me apart from, or us from other disabilities, is that ability to communicate. So for me, I feel, if I can't communicate, that's what I feel disabled. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 16:19 
So if I'm in a group of other individuals where you have somebody maybe that's wheelchair bound, somebody that's visually disabled, maybe they're blind, et cetera, they're able to all communicate on their own. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 16:31 
Whereas me on the other hand, I require an interpreter to access that conversation. And without that interpreter access, I'm kind of cast away there in that situation. Which is another reason why I like to go back to the deaf community, the signing community, because that is where my language is. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 16:52 
That's my ability to interact and engage. 

Mai Ling Chan 16:55 
Excellent. Thank you so much for sharing this very intimate personal perspective, and I know it's educated me so much. If you're like me, you can't get enough of books, podcasts, blogs, and other ways to find out how to create, grow, and scale. 

Mai Ling Chan 17:11 
That's why I brought together 43 disability -focused leaders to give you more of what you're looking for. You will hear their stories in three best -selling books, which focus on general offerings, augmentative and alternative communication, and speech -language pathology. 

Mai Ling Chan 17:26 
I invite you to search for becoming an exceptional leader on Amazon so you can learn intimate, start -up pearls of wisdom and keep growing your brilliant idea. Now let's get back to our amazing interview. 

Mai Ling Chan 17:40 
You know, this is always like you never know someone else's perspective, right? You just know your own. And I want to thank you for all of the work that you're doing out there. I see that your social media is very personal and I love it. 

Mai Ling Chan 17:52 
Like I've been through a couple of health issues with you, you know, through Instagram. And I want to ask you about that. Like, how do you decide how much personal you want to share? 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 18:03 
It depends on the day and who it involves. There are some things that I just stay clear from and I remain private about out of respect for others. And that's the downside of the deaf community because we're so small. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 18:20 
You know, everyone knows who my family is. They are also familiar with my history. So there's just some topics out of respect for my dear ones. I just, I keep private. But when it comes to me, I do feel that I learned so much from others. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 18:38 
Let's say, I'd like to give you an example of this. You and I, we had that conversation about those health issues and I saw other women becoming more vulnerable. They were opening up about their health issues. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 18:51 
And with that, I just felt like, oh, I'm not alone. And so I just feel like if I felt that way and I felt that sense of gratitude for them sharing, then I'd like to do the same for my community. And then as a result of that, me being open about my hysterectomy, about my fear of losing my womanhood, I could go on and on, that opportunity brought me to connect to other individuals within the deaf community and even hearing individuals, 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 19:26 
interpreters, signers, random people have reached out to me due to me sharing that. And I hate small talk. So I just love to be real, transparent, open, you know, cut the small talk, let's get to the personal stuff, let's dive right in, let's connect, engage. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 19:45 
And I really have made some beautiful friendships from being so open. But yeah, I always think the rule of thumb when it comes to being open is when you are open, be prepared to discuss it profoundly, right? 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 19:59 
If you're not emotionally or mentally prepared for those conversations, you don't owe it to anyone, which is why when you ask me how much I share, it depends on the day. It really is contingent on my mental capacity and emotional capacity. 

Mai Ling Chan 20:17 
beautiful way to share this, Melissa. Because again, our listeners is straddling the professional, you know, representation through social media, and the private, you know, the individual, like, how much do you share? 

Mai Ling Chan 20:28 
And, and I know, just want to share with everyone for myself too, is, you know, I've gone through things personally, I'm like, Hmm, is this a shareable moment? Is it something that I want, you know, everyone to know, put that in quotes, like, who actually sees my post that day, right? 

Mai Ling Chan 20:42 
Because you don't know. And it's a choice. But I really believe that in order to grow, and in order to be successful, again, we'll put that in quotes, so everyone has their own definition of success. 

Mai Ling Chan 20:54 
But in order to do that, you have to connect on a personal level. And so once again, you have 48 ,000 people that you are sharing, you know, very personal information with. And I also love your style. 

Mai Ling Chan 21:08 
Like you're saying you have to be prepared to respond like you are very genuine rather than cookie cutter, thanks, you know, I appreciate your response. Yeah, so, so you're saying you have to be prepared. 

Mai Ling Chan 21:19 
And sometimes those posts last two to three days, you know, and so has it ever been too much for you, where you put something out, you're like, Oh, my gosh, it's a week later, and I'm still responding. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 21:31 
I have. Yeah, that's hard. I've had that experience and I wish I had more time. If I could, I would respond and connect to everyone that reaches out. I would video chat with everyone. I don't have the luxury of doing that. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 21:48 
I just don't. And it's not how I make a living. Melmina is not how I make a living. So I have to have a job that I continue to work in order to continue to make a living. So there's this balance that I have to find. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 22:03 
I want to do more of that, more monthly, but it doesn't pay the bills. But I've got so much passion there and joy that comes from there, but I have to earn money. And I do enjoy what I do for work. Don't get me wrong. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 22:16 
But that balance is difficult. It's challenging. And it's something that I'm always navigating even today. On a day -to -day basis, I'm always navigating that. 

Mai Ling Chan 22:26 
Amazing. Okay, so let's talk about Deaf Awareness Month. So this is your platform. You get to be one of our two episodes this month. So thank you so much. And I always love to give our listeners, you know, like the gold medal standard. 

Mai Ling Chan 22:40 
So what would you like to share with us that we need to know? Thank you. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 22:47 
Well, I always say this world would be a better place if everyone signed. Yeah, I mean, it just feels that if you sign, it's just, it's a beautiful way to connect to us with us. That full ability to feel whole right within society goes back to that ability to communicate within your own language. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 23:13 
And so I'd like to share that, learn sign or be willing to communicate with us as deaf individuals. It makes all the difference when you do. There are so many people that are suffering from language deprivation. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 23:26 
The community, it's actually a hot topic right now. Currently, we actually just recently lost a member a couple of days ago, member of our community due to mental health issues. And on his Instagram, there were a litany of posts talking about how he just wished his family had learned sign language. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 23:46 
And what a stunning individual. I never met him. I didn't even learn of him till after he passed. But I did look at his social media and I've seen how people have talked about him. And it's so disheartening. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 23:58 
I mean, I was gutted to know that his biggest struggle was that his family didn't sign and he felt so disengaged from them. And it's just so wrong yesterday. I also teach a deaf studies course at a university. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 24:16 
And so just yesterday, in fact, I was discussing language and I felt really funny. I was sharing about the fact that I grew up within a deaf family and I had the privilege of being able to engage in conversation with my family every day and at the dinner table. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 24:34 
And I caught myself saying, oh, I have to refer to it as a privilege. It's a privilege. It's not a privilege. It's a human right to be able to communicate. But sadly, yes. With lack of everyone's familiarity with sign language and ability to sign, it is a privilege. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 24:56 
I hope that someday that won't be the case. I hope it'll be the norm. And sign language now is really becoming more visual or you see more visibility within the media, more media representation. And it feels like people are wanting to learn sign language. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 25:12 
I'm stoked. I'm very excited, but I hope it's just not a thing that's trending and a trend that could fade. I hope that it becomes a norm. And so anyone that's listening out there, the deaf community is a place where you can connect and the way that you can connect with us is learn to sign or be willing to lead us where we're at in terms of communication needs. 

Mai Ling Chan 25:36 
Beautiful. Oh my gosh, this is fantastic. I will say my daughter took sign language in high school rather than taking Spanish or French. She had some basics. Then also as a speech -language pathologist, that is an option. 

Mai Ling Chan 25:51 
It's not a requirement. I also think of it as a second language. If you think about it, I'm surprised that that was offered to her as an option as a second language, but it's almost as universal as English. 

Mai Ling Chan 26:04 
Although, and if you could help me to educate her listener, I know there's American Sign Language and then there are other languages for sign language. Can you expand a little bit on that? 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 26:15 
Yes, each country has its own sign language. Here in the US, we use American Sign Language, but let's say I'm in Mexico. They're not using ASL, it's Lenguas de Señas de Mexicana. I believe, don't quote me on that, but the acronym for that is LSM, essentially Mexican Sign Language. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 26:38 
If I go to France, they have their own way of communicating, their own sign language. People think it's a universal language, but that's a misnomer. Just like spoken languages, they're all different. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 26:53 
They're even accents, believe it or not. There are regional signs. Let's say we have somebody from California. They are most likely signing quite differently than somebody from New York. There are nuances that you can observe. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 27:10 
That's the beauty of it. It's so neat. Again, ASL is an actual codified language, yes. 

Mai Ling Chan 27:18 
I love that. I hadn't even thought about having different dialects for different regions. So I'm thinking like New Yorkers, are they more, I hate to use the word aggressive, but ornery. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 27:33 
Yeah, they are. You can see it in their facial expression and the speed to which they're signing is faster. 

Mai Ling Chan 27:41 
That totally makes sense. So that's exactly how they speak. So that's fascinating. I love it. Okay. Are there any projects or things that you're working on right now that we can support you on 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 27:53 
Hmm. I just want to continue doing a more for my platform More her vision plus streaming platform. All those shows are in sign language And i'm really hoping that we can see that return in thrive when it does My community work. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 28:09 
I always love that kind of support if you're wanting to learn more Feel free to reach out to me at any time. I can share resources anything you need. We have a place for every one of you 

Mai Ling Chan 28:20 
Excellent. And I have mentioned Vision Plus and now you have also. Can you just expand a little bit on what that is? 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 28:29 
Sure. So essentially, you must be familiar with Netflix, right? We all know and love it, Netflix. That is a platform, but Vision Plus is a platform similar to that, but it's all in sign language with international content as well and English subtitles. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 28:46 
So all hearing individuals are able to enjoy those shows as well, it's not just intended for those that sign or for deaf people, it's intended for all viewers. And right now we are going through some changes. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 28:58 
However, as soon as we're back up and running, then I definitely look forward to that community support as we continue to observe that thrive and strive. 

Mai Ling Chan 29:08 
Excellent. I love the idea of having the accessibility for every show, and I will share that my husband and I typically will put on the closed caption. Actually, we can just say captioning now, right? 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 29:21 
Yeah. Yeah, you're right. You're captioning. Yeah, you're spot on. I want to say I read somewhere that 80% of individuals watch TV with captioning, believe it or not. Yeah. I thought that was a really neat statistic and that looks like it's becoming the norm. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 29:37 
Let's hope that we see parallels with sign language. 

Mai Ling Chan 29:41 
Exactly and I love saying that the work that I do to spotlight let's say accessibility leaders is someday going to be not interesting because everybody is doing it and that's that's where we're working towards is that accessibility is not something extra it's the norm. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 29:59 
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. Oh, that's another thing. I would love I would love to mention here hearing content creators out there, please Caption your content Please please please it is so easy for you guys to do so. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 30:13 
It's a click of a finger, right? You just auto caption for deaf individuals you guys we have to manually Transcribe our videos and we do it anyways because accessibility is so important to us and we want to include the deafblind community So I beg of you. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 30:30 
Please do the same thing Bring us in make us a part of your conversations. That's how you do it by captioning your videos your content 

Mai Ling Chan 30:39 
Beautiful. Thank you. Thank you. And I've noticed that many software platforms like Instagram and YouTube now, they will, like you said, it's so easy. You just select caption and it happens for you and you just have to review it. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 30:54 
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. Exactly right. Yep, right there your finger 

Mai Ling Chan 30:58 
Excellent. Okay. So Melissa, how can we continue to follow you and support your work? 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 31:04 
Um, you can find me on instagram. So that's momita Instagram is where I am and that's just my real life day to day, etc. But i'm also on facebook. I'm on youtube 

Mai Ling Chan 31:16 
Wonderful. Thank you so much for joining us, Mara. Thank you for joining us also. And I'm so excited to share this episode with the world in honor of Deaf Awareness Month. So thank you. 

Melissa Elmira Yingst 31:28 
Yes. Fabulous. Thank you. And I really appreciate you having me here. It's always nice to see you and connect with you. Thank you. 

Mai Ling Chan 31:37 
We hope you enjoyed this episode and invite you to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and share the show with people you think will find value from it. This helps the show a lot. Or have a great guest referral, reach out to us at xleaders at gmail .com. 

Speaker 3 31:53 
And if you want exclusive tips on becoming an exceptional leader, deliver straight to your inbox, just go to ExceptionalLeaders .com and sign up for our mailing list. Thanks for listening.