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Owning your expertise

Presenting with confidence isn’t just about being a confident presenter. It’s also about owning your own expertise.

 

I recently had a meeting with someone who was looking for a new trainer on a specific area of my expertise and I was keen to impress.

 

I started by thinking about how they might find me lacking. Frantically trying to do last-minute research on the topic, I stopped and took a breath.

 

I stopped to remind myself that I knew this stuff. I’d been doing it for years and training in it for almost as long. That was all I needed to get across.

 

It’s the same for you. When you relax and remind yourself that you know your stuff, some of your anxiety about presenting will go away, leaving you to focus on sharing that expertise.

 

Plan, prepare, practise – and relax.

 

 

 

Why not a book a call with me now to see how I can help?

https://calendly.com/storycoach/30min

 

Rachel Maunder is a communication...

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Living someone else’s story

Walking along the beach in glorious sunshine I chatted to a family having a picnic lunch.

 

‘What better way to spend Mother’s Day!’ the father exclaimed. The mother didn’t look so convinced.

 

It seemed he’d already been trying to persuade her to his way of thinking and there was a bit of an atmosphere.

 

Maybe she’d had her sights set on a different scenario – a luxury lunch served at a table-clothed table, with a glass of fizz to hand.

 

It made me reflect on how often we might find ourselves living someone else’s story and/or trying to persuade someone else to live the story we’ve written for them.

 

‘You don’t really want to….’.

 

‘If I was you I would…’

 

No right or wrong here but sometimes it’s important to note when you’re living your own story and when you’re not – and when or how you can change that.

 

Why not a...

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Reflecting on the past quarter

What stories do you tell yourself when you review each quarter?

Are they mostly of success or of things not achieved?

It can be so easy to tell ourselves we could or should have done more but is that really true?

What DID you achieve? Start a list and add everything you can think of, however seemingly small.

What got in the way of the others you didn’t quite manage?

While I’m not recommending completely letting yourself off the hook for jobs not done well, I AM recommending rewriting your story. We’re wired to be self-critical even when we don’t need to be.

If you did the best you could during a challenging period then make that your story.

If actually you were awesome, then make that your story.

Rewrite your story with a positive spin and start the new quarter with that in mind.

 

Book a call with me now to see how I can help.

https://calendly.com/storycoach/30min

 

Rachel Maunder is a communication skills and speaker coach and professional...

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Away from or towards?

mindset Jul 20, 2020

What are you moving away from and what are you moving towards?

In a world of constant change, we’re always leaving some things behind and bringing in some new. Even a positive change can mean leaving something behind that you’ll miss, and a change you’re less happy to be making can have some benefits too.

You get to choose which to focus on. You can either dwell in the past and regret all those things you’ll miss, and only notice the downsides of the change.

Alternatively, you can embrace the change and notice its benefits. What are you glad to be leaving behind and what are you looking forward to?

It’s human to have regrets, but perhaps you can reframe them into gratitude that those things left behind have been part of your life.

Being open to what lies ahead creates greater optimism and positivity, so which will you choose?

If you’re currently working towards improving your public speaking and communication skills, to find out how I can...

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