Who do you see when you look in the mirror? Is it the same person your boss, your family, your audience and everyone else sees?
All of us, men and women, alike, can be our own harshest critics. That’s why Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches campaign immediately went viral (as did its parodies).
For those of you who haven’t seen it, yet, the campaign features a forensic sketch artist from the FBI. He asked women to describe the way their faces looked, and he drew a sketch based on each of their descriptions. Then he repeated the process with someone else, a complete stranger, who had just met the same women. The result:
Two pretty different pictures.
The same thing happens when we are speaking. We think we are doing one thing with our actions (based on how it feels when we do them), but the people watching us often experience something different.
The best way way to decrease this disparity gap is by watching yourself on video.
The audience can’t see your heart pounding out of your chest or your mind spinning out of control. They don’t know what section of your notes never made it into your presentation. They only learn what you give them. With the help of our coaches and your video, you learn how to turn your ineffective habits into better ones.
Here’s your assignment:
Using your computer (or phone or camera), record yourself practicing a presentation, or rehearsing the opening you intend to give at your next meeting.
Then, watch it. See yourself as your audience will see you.
If you really want to improve, do it again.
And when you repeat the process, try to over do something. Fake it till you become it. Get out of your comfort zone. Consider:
- Size of your gestures
- Length of the pause between sentences – or when you can’t quite think of what word you want to say next.
- Frequency and duration of your smile
- Got tech woes? Keep calm, and carry on.
Own your space, and own your next opportunity. Got it? Now get it on video!