The main issue
One of the biggest problems facing leaders is how to engage people. How is it that some inspire naturally, and others struggle? This is an important question and I have worked on it with many clients. So what is the magic trick? It is due to being able to manage your mood or ‘state’. First of all you can act as if you feel inspiring, enrolling or brave – the opposite, and best way is to be inspiring, enrolling and brave. So how can you generate this readily?
Acting not being
Have you ever listened to someone, and felt cynical or bored. Often this is because communication is related to our body language and tone of voice, therefore only 10% of communication is the actual words. We spend hours planning what we are going to say in a presentation, or a meeting. We rarely spend any time planning our state of mind. Consequently doing this will massively increase your impact.
So what is the answer?
Plan your state for any important meeting because it will change your behaviour massively. So here is how you can trigger an appropriate mood or state? We are all different so keep testing.
7 Tips
Below are some suggestions which may help. Try one or two of the following and notice how you feel before and after. You could even try some of them on the way to work!
1. Go outside and spend time walking quickly, or doing some physical exercise you enjoy
2. Look at beautiful scenery, photos or pictures
3. Listen to different music, write your feelings before and after each song. You may enjoy a song, but you don’t want to meet your CEO feeling nostalgic
4. Dance to some music that you enjoy
5. Read an inspiring quote
6. Watch an inspiring talk
7. Reflect on a time when you won, or a time when you achieved a goal despite adversity. Really remember it in detail, feel how your body responds. You could write it as a story if you would enjoy that.
In future
Remember to find the mood/state that is needed for this meeting. Is it enthusiasm, passion, patience, courage, or even empathy? This will increase your success a hundredfold, because people will relate to you as authentic. Check out the ‘Preparation for meetings’ blog to help you put this into practice.
For an overview of preparation for meetings visit www.arturo-consulting.com, this will help you practice the above.
#Leadership, #Inspiration’ #Communication, #Success
