|
|
|
Delivered to Your Inbox
More information
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“Overcome
the fear of public speaking”
|
|
Are
you paralysed by fear when you have to speak in public?
Do
you need to make presentations at work but avoid them because of nerves?
Then our Teleseminar is for you.
The
Teleseminar will last for 45 minutes to an hour.
You phone and join the class to learn
the best ways for you to conquer your fear, and make your presentations
the best they can be
|
|
|
|
You will also receive a workbook with
notes and exercises to complement the seminar and to help you prepare,
and instructions on how to get the most from the seminar |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Need help with keeping your paper organised?
|
|
Sign up for a free email
mini-course. |
|
Click here
and send.
|
| |
|
Free
Public speaking Minicourses
|
|
Overcome the
fear of public speaking
Subscribe
Create the
Presentation Wow factor
Subscribe |
|
|
"Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will
spread beyond all boundaries."
-- Corita Kent
|
|
More Power In
Your Little
Finger....
By: Liz Ryan,
CEO and founder
of WorldWIT,
November 2005
Very often,
WorldWIT members
listen to our
radio
interviews, and
write to me to
say "How does
one achieve all
that? Do you
have suggestions
for gaining
influence,
rising in the
world, and
becoming
powerful?" The
answer is yes -
I do. In fact,
finding one's
personal power
is one of my
favorite topics.
|
|
|
One of the best
parts of my job
is getting to
interview
fascinating
women every week
(sometimes, I
interview men,
too) for our
WorldWIT Radio
program. Many of
our guests are
in lofty
positions and
have tons of
influence, as
well as
accolades in all
sorts of areas.
Very often,
WorldWIT members
listen to these
radio
interviews, and
write to me to
say "How does
one achieve all
that? Do you
have suggestions
for gaining
influence,
rising in the
world, and
becoming
powerful?" The
answer is yes -
I do. In fact,
finding one's
personal power
is one of my
favorite topics.
But the first
thing I would
note about power
is that there
isn't just one
kind. I believe
that there are
two very
different sorts
of power that a
person can focus
on developing.
The first type
is pretty easy
to identify.
You'll have lots
of power if you
have a
senior-level
job, a big
title, a large
staff and loads
of budgetary
dollars to
control.
Likewise,
awards, advanced
degrees and
high-level
business
relationships
are strongly
identified with
power. We're all
familiar with
people whose
resumes glitter
with these gems.
What more could
one want,
really, than a
long list of
honors next to
your name?
The trouble with
these hallmarks
of power is that
they are
externally
focused. All of
these things -
titles, awards,
degrees, staffs,
etc. - are
conferred by
other people. In
fact, the titles
and honors, just
like trophies on
the shelf, are
evidence of how
much other
people esteem
you. In my
experience,
there is a
strong
correlation
between a
person's desire
- or even need -
to be respected
and to feel
significant, and
his or her zeal
to amass
trophies during
a career. And
then there is
another problem
- what has been
bestowed upon
you can as
easily be taken
away. A big job,
a fancy title,
an enormous
organization of
subordinates -
these can
disappear in an
instant. That's
one of the
reasons why this
type of
externally-conferred
power - what I
call "Big P"
power - is so
stressful to
maintain. In the
quest to
continue
becoming more
significant and
more powerful,
if you're
focused on the
Big P trappings
of power, you're
never done!
There is another
kind of power
that I much
prefer. I call
it "small p"
power. It's the
power that
doesn't depend
on someone
else's
assessment of
you. It's inside
of you to begin
with, and only
gets stronger
over time as you
reinforce what
you know, sense,
and intuit. No
one confers
"small p" power
on you and -
wonderfully - no
one can take it
away.
The Big P power
is often
fear-based, in
two ways. People
thirst for
external
validation
because they're
afraid that
without it,
they're nothing.
Then, they fear
losing that
validation, and
so they may act
in fear-ful ways
to maintain all
those trophies.
Surely you've
come across, at
least once in
your career, a
lofty personage
(maybe a senior
leader in your
company) who
really has no
credibility at
all, except for
the big title
that someone
thoughtlessly
gave her?
Everyone knows
that this person
has all "Big P"
power, and no
personal
credibility
whatsoever. It's
sad, because all
the trophies in
the world - as
in "Look here,
I'm a division
VP and you have
to listen to
me!" can't
induce people to
respect this
person.
Big P power is
power that says
"Other people
(like the CEO of
this company,
I'll have you
know) respect
me, and
therefore you
must, as well."
Sorry - no dice.
You just can't
force people to
respect you,
although you can
certainly train
them to roll
their eyes
discreetly when
you say
something inane.
That's the
trouble with the
Big P variety of
power.
But "small p"
power isn't
bestowed upon
you and can't be
withdrawn,
either. You
carry it around
with you, and it
only gets
stronger over
time - if you
listen to your
gut, and speak
your truth as
often as you
can. It's not
that easy, in
many a corporate
setting (and
many other
places) to speak
your truth, of
course. There
are a lot of
incentives to
keep quiet, or
say something
silly in order
to avoid
standing out.
But you don't
build your
personal power
by going along
with the crowd
and keeping your
mouth shut, even
if that is the
predominant
cultural mode in
your company.
You speak up -
politely, but
from your gut,
and without
equivocation.
So when
history's most
idiotic idea is
on the table,
and you're dying
inside at the
stupidity of it,
and so is
everyone else in
the room (except
the person who
proposed the
idea) and no one
is speaking,
it's your
personal power
that allows you
to say "You
know, I'm not
sure I
understand how
this idea will
get us to the
Point B we've
identified.
Perhaps I do not
understand. Can
we walk through
that again?" Or
when you
yourself have
proposed a plan,
and you know it
has merit, and
the ranking
person in the
meeting shoots
you down by
saying, "Okay,
that's one idea,
are there any
others?" you
find the voice
to say "Before
we move on, can
we go through my
plan in a bit of
detail? That
might be
useful."
Speaking your
truth is
essential to
finding your
personal,
small-p power.
You do it
enough, and it
becomes
habitual. You
find it harder
to keep quiet
when there's
something that
needs to be
said, whether
it's the
clothes-free
state of a
leader in your
midst or some
other truth that
can't stay under
wraps. Other
people begin to
look to you to
say what needs
saying, and to
help them find
their own
voices. And
here's the crazy
thing: as you
build your own
engine of power,
without benefit
of titles or
accolades, those
external
trophies begin
to come. I'll
bet you've
witnessed that
to the person in
a company who
seems so
together, so 'on
it,' that
someone says one
day "Is she a
manager? She's
really on the
ball," and about
a week later you
hear that
indeed, this
person has just
been promoted.
Real power is
magnetic - it
inspires
respect. If you
get a big title
down the line,
that's great -
but that's not
why people
respect you.
Your personal
power doesn't
rest on your
title in the
slightest.
Big-P and
small-p power
work together
like that. Big-P
types don't get
the dynamics of
this
relationship at
all. When you
obsess over,
chase after, and
value only the
Big-P stuff, you
don't discover
who you are. It
is too easy, in
the Big-P-power
value equation,
to do the things
you believe
you're supposed
to do in order
to get promoted,
get noticed, and
get the external
praise you're
after. In the
small-p
orientation, you
do what your
heart and mind
tell you to do,
and let the
chips fall where
they may. Damn
the promotions,
full speed
ahead: and over
time, you find
the place (maybe
several
employers later)
where that kind
of power is
valued, and the
external honors
come - exactly
when you realize
you don't need
them.
A woman said to
me at a recent
speaking gig,
"But isn't it
important to let
people know your
accomplishments?
Just recently, I
was at a meeting
with a woman who
had been a very
high official,
and in her
introduction,
she was
encouraged to
share this
information - to
let people know
that she had
been very
influential in
government, and
wouldn't be
trifled with." I
winced inside.
Why would it
ever be
necessary to say
anything other
than "Hi, I'm
Claudia James"
in an
introduction?
What benefit
could possibly
come from adding
"And here's what
I've done, and
here's why I'm
important?" Your
power will show
through, as soon
as you open your
mouth - or
perhaps it will
be evident as
you sit
silently, not
opening your
mouth at all.
In fact, the
more one argues
for her power -
for instance, in
one of those
excruciating-to-witness
"Battles of the
Bios" you
encounter from
time to time in
corporate
meetings - the
more a colleague
insists "But you
must listen to
me, I have 25
years of
experience in
this area," the
more her power
seeps out and
puddles on the
floor. That
isn't power -
that's a
trophy-brandishing
exercise. Power
is the ability
to be
influential
without invoking
the trophies.
That's the piece
that Big-P sorts
always miss.
And that's why
talking with
women about
their power is
so exciting to
me. We have it -
we're bursting
with it!-we only
need to
determine where
the power
yardstick lies.
It's not in
degrees, honors
and titles. It's
in us. Waiting
for the world to
notice our
greatness is the
road to stress,
frustration and
internal
conflict. Simply
being powerful,
day by day, is
about a million
times more
satisfying, and
doesn't require
you to wait for
anyone or
anything outside
yourself.
Your personal
power is there,
waiting to be
reinforced by
your words and
actions. You
have it in
spades, far more
in your little
finger than in a
glass case of
trophies on a
paneled-oak
wall. You can't
control how
other people
value you, so
why not focus on
how you value
yourself? Are
you willing to
let your sturdy
gut speak for
you, rather than
some
hourly-shifting
notion of what's
correct in your
organization,
under today's
leader, given
the current
strategic focus,
etc? The direct
link from heart
to brain to gut
to mouth - let
it rip, sister -
that's power
that could light
up the city.
You'll wonder
how you ever
lived without
it.
Liz has over
20 years
experience in
managing
high-growth
organizations,
she lectures
nationally and
writes about
working and
managing in the
digital economy.
If you're
looking for
advice or have
questions
related to your
job, just ask
Liz! You can
email Liz at
lizryan@worldwit.org. |
|
|
