The 4 Superpowers You Need to Speak (with impact) & Lead (with purpose)
Superpowers are having a moment. And, no, I’m not talking about x-ray vision (ew), shooting ice out of your hands (terribly inconvenient), or flying (though this one could be useful).
I’m talking about transcendence. A superpower is your evidence of overcoming some type of challenge or obstacle. It’s what you’ve learned to do better than you could before (constant improvement) and tapping into it will not only help your own career and team, but also enable you to find more satisfaction in what you do.
You’ve developed a superpower when you have overcome or improved upon an identified issue. If that issue is public speaking or leadership, congratulations! You’re in good company.
Forbes says over 70% of career professionals fear public speaking or presenting from the front of the room, while over 45% consider themselves to need “better leadership skills.”
So, what is that thing, that seemingly intangible ability to tap into transcendence? To kick a superpower into high gear to enable you to push through a fear of public speaking or self-doubt around leading your team (or family)?
Why is it that some people seem to have an almost supernatural ability to get up on stage, stand up in front of a board room, grab the mic, take control and MAKE SH*T HAPPEN?
Guess what this ability certainly is NOT? Something they were born with. Just like Maybelline, nobody was born with the ability to be a great public speaker or leader.
Yes, of course, some people have personalities that make it easier for them to stand up and address a crowd (or even those 3 team members in a Zoom meeting), but true communication and leadership ability is BRED not BORN.
Effective communicators create an environment where their fears are lessened and, in so doing, empower everyone around them. Sounds magical, right?
No, they’re not superhuman. And, no matter how charismatic they may seem, they aren’t mind-readers or vampires glamorizing their audience into some kind of spell-based action.
They’ve just mastered certain skills that enable them to captivate, encourage, inspire, and impact those around them. The truth is that these charismatic, captivating, confident communicators often deal with the same insecurities, fears and doubts that we all do!
And they do with these 4 “superpowers” that are available to everyone.
Mind Control. Er, your mind, that is. You can’t control the minds of your audience. (Unless you really DO have a superpower!) Too many of my clients spend way toooooo much time worrying about what is going on in the minds of the people in their audience. They’re constantly in their own heads while giving a presentation, focused on what they think is going on based on audience reaction, instead of what they are trying to communicate.Here’s the truth: you have no idea what’s going on in anyone else’s head but yours (and, honestly, sometimes we don’t even know that) and your interpretations are usually wrong. Not just you – the universal YOU (and me). A blank expression on someone’s face, a frown or an eye roll from a participant in the crowd, the distracted audience member who looks at their phone the entire time you’re talking, means… NOTHING in the grand scheme of things. Sure, you should be mindful of the audience's energy, engagement and response to you but only in the context of the understanding that all of the information is simply your own perception. None of it is actually 100% true because you have no way of knowing how true it is! You can’t read minds. More importantly, there are more strategic ways to ensure your audience is always engaged, which will empower you to focus on your topic and the impact you’re trying to make (more on how you can employ those strategies by working with me later).
Need more? Neuroscience proves that the brain can’t be subjective and objective at the same time – meaning you can only focus on one of these conversations at a time. It can’t have the external conversation of you actually delivering the talk while also having the internal conversation about your assessment of how well (or not) the talk is going. What usually ends up happening is the internal dialogue (aka the inner critic) wins out, takes over and kills your focus, and the quality of that inner conversation, which is usually negative, directly impacts your delivery and thus your energy, pulling you down into the rabbit hole of underperforming. (And you may need a superpower to get out of that mess).Hold The Light. Great speakers dominate every stage they are on and every room they are in because they know how to hold the spotlight without letting it diminish their own shine. In the spiritual and personal development worlds to hold light means being enlightened, keeping a high vibe, and raising your frequency. In the scientific world, it's called transmuting or changing your energy. The more you can hold light by remaining present, emotionally balanced, confident and secure, the more clarity, interest, value, connection and engagement you are likely to create with your audience. To do this effectively, you have to:
be willing to let go of any negative thoughts about yourself, the content, the audience or anything else that might disrupt your thinking and speaking;
be interested in what you’re there to share, because it will be nearly impossible to hold light and talk about something that you don’t care about or have genuine interest in. Your interest sparks the audience’s interest and their curiosity to know more;
be aware of your triggers at all times and know how to effectively manage them from moment to moment. There are all kinds of factors that can make public speaking unbearable and, while they are all uniquely personal and reactions to them are dependent on each individual, there are 3 main types of triggers to always be aware of: auditory triggers (i.e. sounds in the room or the voice in your head), visual triggers (i.e. lights or things and people you see or people staring at you), and anxious triggers (worries, doubts, apprehension, uncertainty, dread, jitters etc.)
Be All In. This is all about your self-expression! If you’re natural and elevated, that will determine how the audience will react, connect and engage with you. Being all in means bringing high energy with storytelling, motivation, encouragement, inspiration, and passion. Being all in is all about bringing IT – your topic – to life, re-enacting the drama and narrative of your own experiences in such a way that the audience lives, breathes, and feels what you have lived, breathed, and felt. It causes deep connection, meaningful engagement and, above all, IMPACT.
Create A Conversation (Instead of Giving A Presentation). Have you ever been in a presentation where you were talked “at” the whole time? It must’ve been exhausting… and boring!
When speaking to an audience, avoid coming across as a one-way flow of information. Instead, engage your audience by pausing, asking simple, relevant questions, and referring to things someone else has said or done. This is just a fraction of the engagement techniques you could utilize to make your presentations more engaging to the audience. To be more engaging, you have to learn and practice certain techniques until they become second nature. The trick is not to bombard your audience with techniques, but to be thoughtful about finding opportunities to engage with them throughout your presentation.
Are these 4 techniques superpowers? Definitely NOT! But will mastering them allow you to transcend your fears of public speaking, become a better communicator and more impactful leader? YES! And, if that doesn’t make you feel superhuman (or just plain super, I don’t know what will).
Interested in mastering these superpowers and making them your own? I promised you more information on how you can adopt all of these strategies, making them second nature, so here it is: get in touch with me today! I have trainings available from How Women Lead to Powerhouse Presenters to quick hits every Tuesday at noon (Tuesdays With Tihanna & Training) and all of them are designed to EMPOWER you.
Got some superpowers of your own you want to share? Leave ‘em for me in the comments! I’d love to hear about them.
