Interview with Barbara Daoust
Certified Thinking Into Results Consultant
Interview Summary
Barbara Daoust, a Proctor Gallagher Institute consultant with 25+ years in theater, teaches entrepreneurs to embody their goals through acting techniques and neuroscience-informed identity work. Her key discovery: breakout rooms create peer accountability that prevents people from skipping the hard work, and 15-minute "laser coaching" calls are the highest-leverage support tool.
The Visioneering Process: Acting Techniques for Transformation
Barbara's background is unusual for a course creator: 25+ years as a director, acting coach, writer, and producer in theater and film. She applies these performance techniques to personal transformation — what she calls "visioneering." Participants write detailed scripts of their ideal future selves and then practice embodying those identities. "You probably don't really know who you are until you discover the parts of yourself you haven't yet met," she says. The process frequently produces surprising pivots: one HR manager enrolled to become an HR director, but by module seven realized she actually wanted to run a vineyard in Tuscany.
You probably don't really know who you are until you discover the parts of yourself you haven't yet met.
Why Breakout Rooms Create More Accountability Than Content
Barbara discovered that her biggest completion challenge was not engagement with content — it was follow-through on exercises between sessions. "When I looked at how many people actually followed through all the way, if three classes in and they're on their own, they're not doing the work," she observed. The solution was small breakout rooms where participants share their progress with 3-4 peers. The peer accountability effect was immediate: people who felt answerable to their small group consistently completed more exercises than those who only felt answerable to Barbara.
Keep It Simple: The Kitchen Sink Trap
Barbara is candid about a mistake many course creators make — trying to include everything they know. Her advice: "Design your messy. Go for something and design it. If you're not perfect at it, be okay with that." She recommends remembering where you started before your own transformation and breaking things down to that beginner level, especially in early modules. The temptation to add more is strong when you are an expert, but every additional module or resource adds cognitive load that can overwhelm participants who are just getting started.
Design your messy. Go for something and design it. If you're not perfect at it, be okay with that.
Barbara's Action Steps
Barbara recommends these 3 steps to improve your course planning:
Add 15-minute laser coaching calls
Keep calls focused on that week's specific assignment, not open-ended. Short, targeted sessions maximize impact per minute of your time and keep students from overthinking between modules.
Use breakout rooms for peer accountability
Small groups of 3-4 create mutual accountability that is more powerful than instructor follow-up. Participants who feel answerable to peers consistently complete more exercises.
Resist the urge to include everything
Remember where you started before your transformation and break things down to that level. Every additional resource adds cognitive load — design your messy first version and improve it based on student feedback.
About Barbara Daoust
Certified Thinking Into Results Consultant
Barbara Daoust is a certified Thinking Into Results consultant with the Proctor Gallagher Institute and a certified Business Consultant through Mindvalley. With 25+ years in theater, film, and television as a director, acting coach, and producer, she brings performance techniques and neuroscience-informed identity work to her transformation coaching programs.
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From Course Lab with Abe Crystal & Ari Iny on Mirasee FM