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Bay Area viewers of ABC7 News may find it difficult to associate Dion Lim with any kind of hardship. Her upbeat delivery and infectious smile make her on-camera presence and success seem effortless. But, in truth, as the first Asian American female anchor in Kansas City and later an anchor in Charlotte and Tampa Bay, the 35-year-old has seen her share of challenges—and has lived to write a book about it. In Make Your Moment, The Savvy Woman’s Communication Playbook for Getting the Success You Want ($26, McGraw-Hill), Lim offers readers lessons she’s learned along the way to not only navigate challenges in the workplace, but to ensure that their voice and their values remain in tact. We spoke with the Emmy Award-winning anchor to gain more insight into the genesis of her debut book.
Why do you think there’s a need for your book?
Women are told to stand up for themselves and to ‘roar’ and ‘lean in,’ and follow all these inspirational quotes on Instagram. But there’s never been a step-by-step playbook on how to execute these things the right way! I never learned how to do this in school or in corporate training, and these are the skills that can make or break someone’s career.
Your book is all about communication. Where/how did you learn the skills to communicate effectively?
Through challenges culturally and in my career—which spans four cities before getting to San Francisco. I’m the daughter of Chinese immigrants, and the path to success for my parents was to work hard and keep their heads down during adversity and times of struggle. Working then as the first Asian American to anchor full time at three different television stations taught me how to navigate odd questions or deal with adversity from the occasional audience member who wasn’t used to seeing someone who looked like me on their TV.
If there’s just one lesson/passage in your book that you want people to walk away with, it would be... ?
Authenticity is the key to everything. Until you learn to communicate with yourself and understand why you behave/react/feel certain ways in your workplace, you’ll never be able to effectively communicate with others.
Photography by: Russell Jew
